# Windows, Mac or Linux? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [May 31, 2000, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/windows-mac-or-linux/21042 "2000-05-31T21:22:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![bantmof](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/96bed5/32.png) [@bantmof](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bantmof)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2000, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/windows-mac-or-linux/21042/41 "2000-06-11T05:34:01Z")
SPOOFE Bo Diddly writes: : So these specialized OS’s are definitely going to run : well, since they’re designed to do less overall. : Ever wonder why Linux is cheap? It’s a simpler program. Linux is an OS - saying it’s a “simpler program” is the wrong terminology. Without implying anything about their relative merits, I do not think it is simpler than Windows. If anything, it is has more complexity under the hood than Windows does. (Ever looked at the kernel source?) I don’t particularly like Macs, but I do want to see Apple succeed in order to provide a competitor for MS. It’d also be nice if BeOS does well. -b ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2000, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/windows-mac-or-linux/21042/42 "2000-06-11T19:55:34Z")
> [@](#): > > I don’t particularly like Macs, but I do want to see Apple succeed in order to provide a competitor for MS. It’d > also be nice if BeOS does well. My sentiments exactly (except that I’m a Mac user). I hope BeOS and Linux catch fire on the desktop, enough so that there’s a wide and diverse market for which to create software. And neither Apple nor Microsoft owning the market. ---
**Author:** ![Monster104](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Monster104](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monster104)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2000, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/windows-mac-or-linux/21042/43 "2000-06-12T15:35:10Z")
I personally own a PC that runs Win98. I’ve found it to be stable as long as you don’t jerk around with the system files and such. This makes it a suitable system for the common Joe who just wants to run a word processor or play games. Windows also makes it very easy to connect to the internet. I favor Windows above all others because I use it the most, I know its quirks, and I’ve learned what makes it work better and what makes it crash. Once you get to that point, it is a very nice OS. However, I am not biased in favor of Windows. I have used other OSes as well. I’ve used a couple of MacOSes…I don’t remember which ones, but one was a lot older and it totally sucked, but the other one was 9, I think. 9 Was very nice, although confusing for the first 10 minutes to someone used to running Windows. However, I think the internet capabilities of Macs suck. It locked up on me a few times (4, I think) in less than an hour. All in all though, a good operating system, though a little cumbersome to a Windows user (Note: I played around with the OS for about 3 hours figuring out the quirks and stuff so I could accurately compare it to other OSes) I’ve also used Linux. Since I have nothing but the basics of programming abilities, I couldn’t really tinker with the customizability. However, a friend of mine being a computer genius, played around with the system with me telling him how I wanted it customized, and in a very short time he had everything personally customized for my preferences. No glitches whatsoever, a completely stable system customized for me. So lets compare: Windows - Stable if you don’t mess with it; Compatability with just about everything; Easy, stable internet connections; Easy reinstallation in case you screw something up MacOS - Very stable for running applications, though I had some problems with the internet (Probably just an isolated event); Faster for the most part than Windows; Not compatible with a lot of software without running virtual PC, which usually runs a lot slower than a real PC (Unless you have the top Mac processors); Somewhat cumbersome interface for users switching over from a different platform Linux - Very stable and fast; Easily customizable by a programmer; Free; Easy to install and uninstall; Easy interface to learn (Not as difficult as everyone makes it out to be); Not compatible with a lot of software, but make good servers That’s my comparison…I guess your preference is whatever you need it for. ---
**Author:** ![JoeyBlades](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a87d85/32.png) [@JoeyBlades](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JoeyBlades)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2000, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/windows-mac-or-linux/21042/44 "2000-06-12T17:28:07Z")
Monster: > [@](#): > > Somewhat cumbersome interface for users switching over from a different platform. Technically, you have Microsoft and Sun to thank for that. Since the MacOS was windowing first and defined the paradigm (Yeah, yeah, I know Xerox), if you have issues with the differences, you have to ‘blame’ the ones that came after… Believe me, when I first switched from MacOS to Windows I found it incredibly cumbersome… what am I saying? I still find it cumbersome… But now I switch back an forth pretty much every day. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/windows-mac-or-linux/21042.md?page=2)