OS Battle: which is the best? (OS X, Windows, Linux ...)

[Meylis Delano Lawrence]

In your opinion, which is the best operating system?

[Ryantology]

I like Ubuntu and use it occasionally, but Windows is my OS of choice. Windows 7 is probably my favorite of all operating systems I've used for extended periods of time.

I've never owned a mac and therefore my OSX experience is fleeting.

[dg-pilz-e]

Windows 7.
Vista sucked so bad, and i loved XP but 7 just feels more modern and all

[Tiberius]

I'm going with Linux Mint (well, Linux generally), despite me using Mac OS X both at home and at work. My reasoning is as follows:

1) Anyone who chooses a Windows operating system as the "best" is clearly uneducated in operating systems, especially in terms of security.

2) Whilst I love Mac OS X and generally find it a very easy-to-use and configurable OS, it does have its annoyances. Most of these are alleviated by installing other programs, such as Homebrew/MacPorts (which allows you to compile / use a load of Linux programs). One thing I would say about OS X is that is it by far the most stable OS I have ever encountered. Linux server doesn't really count, since it doesn't have to do anything graphical, and anyone who has used Linux extensively knows how dodgy Linux is with graphical stuff.

3) Linux is secure, and out of the box does pretty much everything you'd want from a good OS. Mint just makes it very pretty and easy to use (since Ubuntu lost its mind with the GUI a few years ago). I'd recommend Mint to both Linux newbies and veterans, because it doesn't try to hold your hand, but gives you that option if you want it. For servers, there is none better than Linux...period. You can set it up with the bare minimal hardware requirements; it will run without a graphical user interface, and will not need restarting if you update it.

So there you go. I choose not to use the best OS because I prefer something that is easy to use. Besides, I have Linux installed in virtual machines on my laptops that I can use at any time (oh yeah, and unlike Windows VMs they don't take up ridiculous system resources). Plus, atheistforums.org runs on Linux and I wouldn't run it off anything else.

[Angrboda]

None: All software sucks.


Best is a value judgement, and so it would depend on the values in question. No single piece of software does everything well, so what your values are, and what you intend to use it for, determine which is in what way best. (The old saw about, "fast. good. cheap. pick two" is analogous here; it's a matter of matching between needs and each os' virtues.)

I use a 32 bit version of Windows XP because it's relatively simple for a person with only one finger to operate, and there's a lot of good, inexpensive software for it, much of which I've collected over 15+ years. That being said, I will be moving to 64 bit Windows 7 soon, and by losing the 16 bit subsystem, likely be forced to run a 16 bit compatible OS alongside it. Regardless, I will probably run multiple operating systems simultaneously as no one operating system is perfect, nor is running everything under one OS.

In the past, besides Windows, I've very much liked Solaris 10, Debian, FBSD, and OBSD. (the latter even despite it's ostensible slowness) I will probably run one of the more graphical Linux's alongside a 64 bit Windows, a 32 bit windows, possibly a layer of Debian or Ubuntu on top of Windows, and a few dedicated virtual machine appliances, when I rebuild later this year. At this point it's somewhat ill-defined. (I'm upgrading my file server from 2 TB to 7 TB, and that is a prerequisite to rebuilding.)

[catfish]

It depends on the use for me.
For security network configs, Ubuntu, Debian or any flavor of Linux.
For DirectX games Win98se (when supported)
For printing and general graphics apps, OS X and WinXP pro (OS X has major font issues at times)
For video editing and web design, XP pro or 2K.

They all suck and they're all good.

[Forsaken]

Linux is for me and I use RHEL both at home and work. In terms of volunteer community, all flavors of Linux are very strong.

[The Magic Pudding]

Windows 7 though I make it look like XP, I like the old form of quick launch and a separate task bar tab for each instance of a program. Libraries I banish from sight, I can create my own directory structure. Too few systems are sold with two partitions set up, so the user can put their stuff on the second and restore the operating system partition without loosing anything.

Transparent windows are ugly, the popup previews on mouseover of a taskbar tab can be annoying and can be prevented. Start menus have always required taming and though I seldom have to go there I don't like ugly windows 8 removing it. There's the msconfig - startup check to do.

Ye so win 7 but it has to beaten into shape, if I had to accept it with default settings, with pop up autoplay and everything else, I might have to look elsewhere.

[Ryantology]

1) Anyone who chooses a Windows operating system as the "best" is clearly uneducated in operating systems, especially in terms of security.

Is that fair? The poll does say 'best for you'. I use PCs for recreation more than anything else, I usually just want shit to work with minimal fuss. Windows is best for that.

[Brian37]

I think it is funny that the OP felt the need to put any of the Windows on the list at all.