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Operating Systems

jds123

I prefer Linux, and I have heard that people who do work use Windows, people who do creative work use Mac, and people who like to mess around with settings use Linux. What is your opinion?

  • Here are my opinions.  YMMV

     

    I do almost all my work on GNU/Linux.  "Linux" is the kernel, not the user interface and OS utilities normally seen by the user.  Many people incorrectly refer to GNU/Linux simply as Linux, which is like calling an Android phone a Linux phone.  Like GNU, Android is a user layer that runs on top of Linux.

     

    My main machine runs Ubuntu 11.10.  I find Unity annoying, and the X11 emulation layer sometimes does silly things, but I figure it's the most used version so I want to see how the software I develop runs on it so I can work around problems instead of having confused users.  I far prefer Debian, from which Ubuntu is derived.  I run Debian "Squeeze" on a Raspberry Pi and it works great, with no X11 misbehavior.

     

    I'll use Windows reluctantly.  You generally have to pay me to use it.  I rather like Windows 2000.  I dislike Windows 7, but I use it if I have to.  I never hook up my Windows machines to the Internet.  That's a very bad idea, since there is so much malware targetting Windows.  My Windows 7 machine dies fairly soon after being hooked up to the Internet, but runs fine as a stand-alone machine.  Just my experience -- YMMV.

     

    I used Macintosh a lot back in the 680X0 days when it was running Mac OS System 6.  System 7 made everything far more complex, and it became impractical for an individual to write software.  I was working on other things in the PowerPC days, which is too bad because PowerPC is a really great architecture.  I've used PowerPC a lot in embedded applications.

     

    My general impressions: people who do serious computer development are best off with GNU/Linux.  It was designed by programmers to provide good tools for programming.  GNU/Linux is secure by design, instead of by feeble attempts to close the barn door after the horse is gone.  There's a reason practically all servers run GNU/Linux.

     

    Microsoft Windows is used by businesses who feel they are stuck with Microsoft Office.  In fact, Libre Office has progressed to the point where it's silly to feel stuck with Microsoft Office, but some people hate change.  Fortunately, Microsoft has come out with Windows 8, which requires a different mind-set so the users will have to change.  They'll probably find that changing to GNU/Linux is easier than changing to Windows 8.  It's awfully nice of Microsoft to promote GNU/Linux this way :-)

     

    My impression regarding modern Macintosh products is that they're beautiful machines, but value style over substance.  However, I don't ever use them so this is only an impression -- YMMV.