technology Operating Systems

[caesar15 231]

Okay, "crap" is an opinion. Overpriced certainly isn't. The same specs will cost a lot more in a Mac than a PC.

 

Yes thats true, but then again, how much does windows 8 cost? Compare that to the price of Mountain Lion.

[Clover Heart 978]

Windows. I grew up with Windows. I also grew up in a time when Apple products were pieces of crap and totally sucked. Also at that time, Apple was suck about compatibility with files from other computers. We owned a PC that ran on Windows. At school, all they had were Macs. I'd usually work on computer-related projects at home because one, I had more time to work at home than in the computer lab; two, I knew my way better around my own computer than I did theirs; three, I could, ultimately, get the job done faster. So I'd spend a ton of time on my project/paper/whatever at home only to find out when I brought it to school that I can't access my files, cuz Mac felt like being an exclusive jerk. I think that's the main reason I don't like Apple; they make all these weird file types to make it like you're part of the "inside" of the Apple clique. In reality, this just makes a bunch of hassle for non-users, and rather than convincing non-users to use their products, really, it deters us. Sorry, didn't mean to go on a rant. Apple products have come a long way, and have improved a lot in recent years, but the problem of not being able to use it like a mainstream PC still exists. But I'll admit, I do have kind of a chip on my shoulder, due to my early experiences with Mac. And Linux... Meh. I didn't even know it existed until I was, like, 13. By that time, I'd already been using Windows nearly all my life, so why bother changing?

Edited August 18, 2012 by Clover Heart

[Sky 746]

I prefer windows because 1. Im a gamer and 2. Its pretty easy to understand 3. The only thing I like about macs is garage band.

[XUNUSEDXXX 3,459]

ive always used windows ever since i was a small child. i never liked the layout for mac anyway and im just used to windows.

[Iudex 1,945]

Li.... nux? What is this Li.... nux?

I've never even SEEN one, much less used one.

 

I've used Mac OSx a few times, but I've gotten used to Windows so much that I find it unusable.

[Key Gear 6,663]

Dragonfly definitely is great -- I'm even planning on installing it onto an old desktop I have to make use of it as a server of sorts! As for the window manager, I simply compiled Awesome Window Manager for it, and that's what I'm using for it

Awesome window manager is amazing!

 

The thing that I miss the most in Mac OS is the ability to experiment with other window managers. It really is brutally annoying to be stuck with the default Mac OS window manager and its very boring default behaviors. (But it's totally worth it when snooty Mac users in coffee shops spill their lattes while staring at my crappy PC laptop running Mac OS. :D )

 

Dragonfly would probably make an awe-inspiring server operating system on old hardware. The HAMMER filesystem is really quite speedy compared to FreeBSD's ZFS.

 

Vim definitely IS better than Emacs. I have arguments with people all over the place about that for the glory of text editing, of course!

Here is one point that you could use to convince Emacs users to switch. Emacs is absolutely brutal on your hands - so many of the Emacs shortcuts require you to reach for the control button. Over several years of heavy use, this leads to development of the infamous Emacs pinky syndrome.

 

As it turns out, VIM is one of the best ways to avoid Emacs pinky syndrome.

 

(On a related note, I'm actually going back to VIM from TextMate. TextMate was fun while the party lasted, but now I have a fairly nasty case of RSI and it's time to get serious again. Mercifully, all of the best features of TextMate and more are easily available in VIM. I should've switched back a long time ago.)

 

As for working with FreeBSD on a 486-based computer.. wow, you've definitely been speaking geek for a lot longer than I have What'd you think of FreeBSD back then? I bet it was a lot different than how it is today.

(Note, what follows may or may not be an exaggerated account due to my own personal biases and the distortions of memories that occur naturally as time passes by. It will also be a bit of a long-winded rant.)

 

Back then, I thought that FreeBSD was freaking amazing. It offered a similar software selection to Linux, but it was rock solid stable and remarkably consistent in its behavior. At that time, all of the BSD operating systems were, in my opinion, technically superior to Linux. In a nutshell, they benefited strongly from the fact that BSD was an entire operating system and not just a kernel.

 

My first taste of a *NIX environment was actually Red Hat 4. I didn't really like the experience much though because there were quite a few corner cases in both performance and reliability. So, I tried a half-dozen other Linux distributions before deciding to do something totally different - switching to one of the BSDs. OpenBSD scared the heck out of me due to its fairly Byzantine installation process, so I decided to go with FreeBSD instead.

 

Thinking back, the general experience of running a BSD operating system hasn't really changed all that much. So long as you stick to the terminal, it still offers the same stable and consistent environment that was provided back then. This kind of makes sense if you think about it though, parts of the BSD code base date back to the original UNIX code in the 1970s. That is serious business.

 

(Linux has really improved over the last decade or so, but BSD didn't need to improve, it was already perfect. )

 

Seriously though, BSD hardware compatibility has improved exponentially. Back then, there were tons and tons of really obnoxious corner cases in hardware compatibility. The installation process has also improved. If you ran into a problem back then, things would get very messy very quickly. It's also way easier to install lots of software these days too. Broadband Internet is a beautiful, beautiful thing.

 

Really though, the one major difference between BSD today and BSD back then is that Linux now reigns supreme. Linux is everywhere. If you walk into a computer science course and mention BSD, then the majority of people in the class will probably look at you strangely. Mention Linux and they will wave stuffed penguins around in response. Linux was in the right place at the right time.

 

Because of Linux's current dominance, it now feels as though the BSD community constantly has a cloud of impending doom hovering over it. The “BSD is dying” meme has been providing entertainment for over a decade now. Of course, the statement is completely false. Plenty of innovation and activity are occurring within the world of BSD operating systems. BSD is still alive and well. </lamentationsofaBSDuser>

[Ad Foedera Cresco 188]

I've always been using Windows, I currently use Windows 7, it's been working fine for me since I got this laptop. The only time I used a Mac, and the only time I'd ever use a mac is when in acting, and/or digital/media class. Macs are alright, but they're way to expensive and only good for when you're trying to do specific things as far as I heard of.

[Abstract 832]

It still has mostly Mac hardware, so you still won't be able to run some windows software.

 

OK, I just gotta point out that this is completely incorrect. Once upon a time, it was true. There used to be Mac specific versions of hardware, and though you could run Windows through emulation software, it was slow and incredibly buggy. However, in 2006, Apple switched to Intel processors from PowerPC. Ever since then, Macs have literally become PC's in pretty cases. Take your average PC laptop, and compare it to an Apple one. Chances are, the hardware is identical, or very similar. There is no version of any Windows software today that will not run on a version of Windows on a Mac. (Unless it requires specific hardware, in which case even many PC's cannot run it.)

 

Sorry, just wanted to clear that up. No offense meant, but misinformation irks me.

 

I used to a huge Mac fan. I never hated on Windows like so many asshats out there did (I suppose you could compare them to the "way too open about it and in your face" cloppers.) but I certainly preferred OS X over anything else. The deal with Macs is, a lot of people find the OS much simpler and more intuitive than Windows. The GUI is (was, at least) much nicer looking and much cleaner than either Windows or Linux had to offer. And I hate to say it, but seriously, it's true; there are almost no viruses out there for OS X. Trojans? Thousands of them, but unless you're stupid enough to give root access to a program or website you've never heard of, you're fine.

 

Plus, ya know, they're pretty.

 

In the past few years, however, I've found myself drifting further and further away from anything Apple related. I'm a Mac guy, and Apple is all about the iPhone and iPad these days. (And I cannot stand iOS, it's piece of crap) Macs come third in their list of priorities now, and when they do throw the platform a bone, they simply make it more and more like their iOS offerings. 2008 was about the last time Apple really cared, and I don't see them coming back to caring ever again.

 

Microsoft did pretty good with XP, but took far too long to bring out a new OS. And they blew it with Vista. However, Windows 7 is pretty nice, and 8 is shaping up to look good too. They're getting back on the ball, hopefully. We'll just have to see.

 

Oh, yeah, the actual thread question. I use all three OS's to a certain degree. I use my eMac with OS X 10.4 the most, followed by my HP mini 110 netbook with Windows XP and finally my Dell OptiPlex 170 with Ubuntu 11.10.

 

I also have a lot of other machines with varying versions of Mac OS and Windows, but there's too many to list and I don't use any of them all that often anyway.

[Motion Spark 7,807]

I used windows my whole life and but I can't wait to take a leap of faith to Mac, the bad thing is that I can't afford a mac right now, and I bought my laptop this year, so I have to wait a little longer U_U

[Lost 1,410]

Plus, ya know, they're pretty.

 

 

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, i would much rather have:

 

Than:

 

 

But i know some people prefer that whole simplistic thing. But i couldn't agree more with you about Apple shifting to favoring the iPad and iPhone over their macs, i personally love my iPhone, but that is purely because i like iTunes/iPod and i ride a motorbike, so i only have room for either an iPod or a phone in my pocket, making the iPhone much more convenient for me.

[Herlin Firehoof 12]

I play lots of video games in my pc that is windows but one day someone offered me a mac i installed a simple game and it didn't worked that make me thought

 

-windows = games

 

-mac = work

 

-linux = ?

[Retro*Derpy 3,190]

-linux = ?

Linux (ubuntu version) for ME is just a way to get a free OS and surf the web. I can't play games, watch movies, or do really anything with a disk (Besides pictures) At least you don't have to worry about viruses :/

[Mcayon 24]

I'm a Mac user, I have a MacBook from late 2008... and you can tell that it's been with me for a while.... and if it doesn't crash or anything else bad happens to it, it will stay with me for at least 2 more years... and at the moment it needs more RAM and a new battery... going to order that sometime later this year.

 

And if you wonder, no, I don't have an iPhone... I don't even have a smartphone!

[AngryGamer432 155]

I am a windows person because i don't have 1,200 dollars to spend on a Mac or mac book and I am a gamer as well

[Gone Airbourne 21,977]

Probably Linux is the choice that I would go with

 

But personally all the OS are good at certain things and it depends on how you use them too

Edited August 19, 2012 by GoneAirbourne

[Creamy Arty 6,252]

Linux! I'm logged into my Windows partition right now because I was playing some games, but I use Linux for everything else, and for whatever games that will run within Wine.

[LMW-YBC 102]

Mac OS for me. I've never actually owned a Mac before (I've always had Windows on my computers), but every time I get the chance to use one, I really enjoy it.

 

The interface looks great and is a breeze to navigate, the security of it is solid, and although it lacks in compatibility to Windows, it has most, if not all the programs I would ever require such as FL Studio or GIMP. I'm getting a Mac for my Christmas to start me off on a solitude computer life, as I am getting fed up of being a console guy.

[null1 606]

I was born and raised on the Mac since the 1990s. Most times I would use a Windows was at school, specifically a document formatting class where I was able to use Windows 7, which I actually like.

 

As for gaming, I usually use consoles. Xbox, N64, Playstation. But I've had some fun times gaming on a Mac (Yes, on a Mac). Jedi Outcast and KOTOR I was able to play with fun mods. Star Wars Galactic Battlegrounds was fun too. Steam lets me play a good variety of games as well. I like to fool around on Garry's Mod, and I would play Amnesia more if it didn't make me go insane.

 

But PCs are far more better for gaming, hands down.

[Modphase 1,271]

pc, cause I'm a gamer, and mac is super overpriced. And I don't like how apple buys out all it's competitors or even worse, finds something silly to lawsuit them.

[Dusty Soul 2,611]

I'm a windows person. I just don't like apple... Plus I've only used Mac once, and Linux none so I can't say for a fact which one is better. I just know my computers all run windows.

[I_wesley125 393]

Linux for work, Windows for gaming.

I am not looking forward to Steam on Linux, because then I will always procrastinate with games.

[Archangel 143]

Well it's asking which I USE. Not my favorite. So I had to put Windows as that's what I mainly use do to program compatibility. I am soon however, getting a new computer and I'm going to put my favorite, which is Ubuntu, on it.

 

Macs? Well, Macs can go burn in a hole somewhere in a special spot in Hell. Just... RRRAGGH! Macs.

Edited August 20, 2012 by Archangel

[Mrhnhrm 5]

Linux. No, I can't emphasise enough on it, LINUX.

I've had it enough with Microsoft using its end users as paid beta-testers (in the sense that YOU have to pay them to beta-test their abominations). And as if that wasn't enough, they keep changing everything of what actually used to work from version to version. The interface of 7 is a wreck, and I can't share a network connection unless I pay for a super-duper version of this so called OS? And don't get me started at how I tried to get a somewhat antiquated wireless card working in it (not surprisingly, to no avail). I'm not much of a gamer, so I have little reasons not to damn it to hell. Actually, what little I play runs just fine in Linux under Wine or other emulator-like programs.

 

And there's an important news for you, gamers: Gabe Newell stated that they'd be porting their stuff to Linux 'cause Windows 8 is a 'catastrophe'. I think I'll just trust him. So, you'd better start learning the magic of CLI like # rm -rf /* , you're gonna need it

 

Never had an experience with a mac. But from what people say, no matter which OS you use, once you try doing something that isn't expected from ~ 90 % of all users (basically, you try something other than what the OS gets shipped with), you can't expect everything to work properly. So, I choose Linux as the best of the abominations for its seemingly endless security, flexibility and customisability.

[SPLinux 380]

I use both Ubuntu Linux and Arch Linux

 

Messed with tons of others though, especially lightweight distro's that i can run from a flash drive

quickly(ones that are copied to ram) like puppy linux, Slitaz Linux, Tinycore and more.

[spaghettinoodles 298]

I use a Mac, deal with it.

My whole family is a Mac family because they need one for the work that they do, so they bought me one as well because of that.

/privileged American white child