Hey yall I am a "PC" guy but I do like Apple's technology, I own an iPod touch. But I know absoulutely nothing of Mac computers or computers running Linux. Could someone please enlighten me? What are some of the differences, pros and cons. What do you use?

Adventureboy

True they don't run linux, they run Apple's own version of BSD which is similar.
They are very overrated, working for a reseller that sells both you get just as many problem with macs as pc's, mac users just rate theirs higher. They have plenty of their own issues and hardware breaks down as much if not more than a teir 1 pc vendor.
There really isn;t any advantage anymore to running Mac's other than being part of the 'in' crowd. You can put one of the easier linux distros on a pc and have the same thing, linux has grown up to where it just works now.

Linux is an open system. You can probably download a copy to your PC right now, free. That's the good and bad news. It's open, so you can make it do what you want. It's open, so others can make it do what they want it to, including mess up your PC. Never DL from a website unless you absolutely 100% trust it, and then be wary, because a lot of virus programs won't work on Linux.

Linux is adaptable to what you want it to do, if you know how and can program. Programming isn't all that hard, but if you screw up one little letter in one line in a multi line program - oh no -- you can spend days looking for the problem. Not that all programs aren't like that, but in Windows and I think Mac OS you can't wander in and change a lot of stuff.

I've worked with both MS and Linux, and like both for different reasons. The big reason I use MS now - 95% of programs are written for it. Yes, I know you can get the same results with Linux and some add ons. The best part of Linus tho - few if any people write viruses in it, but when they do - yikes.

I build my own desktop computers, so I've always had a bit of fun messing around with all the different operating systems.

My favorite is Microsoft Windows, just because it's what I started on and it's what I'm used to. I'm using 64-bit windows Vista and Windows 7, and I'm quite happy with them.

My experience with Linux comes mostly from a few computers I built with Ubuntu. The nice thing about Linux is, most of it is free. I mean, the operating system is free, many programs are free....if you're trying to build a working computer for as cheap as possible, it's quite nice. With that said, the biggest problem I found is that, not all programs and peripherals are supported. Along the same lines, sometimes it can be quite complicated to get something to work as it should. Because of that, I just could never see a Linux computer being my only computer.

MacOS is a nice operating system. It looks nice and it's pretty easy to use, even when you aren't used to it. With that said, it isn't without its own quirks and everything Apple seems to carry a bit of a price premium.

All in all, I've really seen no reason to move away from Windows. Windows 7 has worked very well for me and it's compatible with just about everything.

The main setup I'm running now is an Intel DX58SO motherboard, Core I7920 processor w/ cooler, dual XFX Radeon 5770 video cards, four 1TB WD Caviar Black hard drives in Raid 1+0, blu-ray drive, Antec 1200 case and a 1000w power supply. Cost me around $2000 to build with Windows 7, and it's faster than I really need and has had rock solid reliability. (Even with both the processor and the graphics cards slightly overclocked).

To build a Mac Pro with similar features at the time would have been well over $4,000...and it still wouldn't have had everything my setup has. I looked into it, but I just couldn't justify spending over double for the same basic hardware.

I have - and use - Windows 7 at work, Windows XP at work and home, Mac OS at work and home and Linux at home. I have also iPhone, iPad, Android tablets and more as a result of my job (I constantly need to test new platforms and devices.)

In general, they are - if you're just using web sites and doing basic stuff with digital images - identical. Pick the computer you like.

Here's where it gets different.

If you are the kind of person who likes to connect lots of external devices to your computer - game controllers, data loggers, and other fancy stuff, you're going to want to go with Windows based computers (and Windows XP if you really want to be sure it's going to have a driver).
If you're into computer games, no question about it, it's a Windows world.
If you're into selling on eBay, it's a windows world - the eBay applications that let you "mass auction" stuff are windows only.
If you like to be able to tinker with the innards of your computer hardware, it's a windows world (mostly).

When it comes to Mac, it's all about ease of use and excellent multimedia applications. There's no equivalent to Mac OS-only applications like Garageband, iMovie and Omnigraffle, to name a few. Every person I know who uses a computer to make a living - as in they spend their entire day in front of a computer and that's the main tool they use to earn their money - prefers to work on a Mac (even if work gives them a Windows computer).
Macs are more expensive out of the box, but I have found that they are also less fussy and get me up and running faster than a windows computer. I also find Mac computers to have some ineffable "unity" to how they work (same goes for iOs) - there's a lot of subtle and mature user experiences in Mac OS that only become apparent when you're using the Mac for a few weeks. Switching back to windows reminds me of these issues frequently, especially when it comes to file management.

Linux - in particular Ubuntu Linux - is an interesting beast. It appeals to two very distinct audiences. The first is the complete computer novice who will never try to do more than visit a web site and perhaps connect a digital camera to offload images. For these users, Linux is just a platform to run Firefox or Google Chrome, and that's about it. It's the ideal system to give someone who hates computers - you can basically set it up as a Kiosk running a web browser and it won't crash. On the other extreme is the perpetual tinkerer - if you want to totally customize your user experience, if you love twiddling setting and making a computer deeply personal, Linux is for you. You can mess with the innards of every program and with the operating system itself.

It's the middle ground folks - the fairly competent non-expert computer user who will be confounded by Linux.
You can't stream Netflix on Linux (no compatible media player). You CAN install SOME windows applications SOMETIMES with the help of a software pacakge called WINE, but they might not work quite right. Many won't work at all. Forget most Windows games.

External device support beyond printers and digital cameras is weak if you just want "plug and play" compatability. You can always write your own device driver if you can't make your device work. Digital camera support for lower end cameras is iffy. File system navigation is often confusing for people who don't really "get" files and folders. There are some confusing nomenclatures used if you're used to windows file/folder navigation.

But Linux is also free and had ALMOST all the software you could possibly want somewhere out there - if you want to install any software at all. With an Ubuntu distribution, you're almost set from first run. My Linux machines start from a basic installation of Ubuntu linux and then I add in Dropbox, install "Restricted Extras" (So I can play Flash video (Youtube, Hulu, etc.) and DVD's on it - you can't with a "stock" installation, and I use the Google Chrome Browser, which allows me to simply and without fussing synch ALL of my computers (and I have too many) with the same bookmarks, settings and all that.

Nice synopsis Martin.

It's nice to see that this thread hasn't turned into a flaming battle. I mod on a few other forums. This kind of question (mac vs pc, android vs iphone) almost always seems to need moderation.

I usually lock the thread once posters starts making sweeping generalizations about this or that group of users' competency, social standings or motivations.

the other advantage of a Linux OS is no need for activation. When your internet is down or a part of your computer breaks so you swap out a network card for a modem and MSWindows decides it needs to be activated again its a big pain.
My equipped hat applies a lot of disaster recovery to my home computers, I can say that I have a better DR plan than most small businesses out there. Think about your important files you keep and make backups of, I keep a live distro with those so I can boot and read my files outside of the (possible) malware infected pc borrowed from someone else.

In a nutshell, if you are really into computers ... Linux by a mile. If you want a no fuss tool ... MAC by a mile. If you play games, or don't know a dishwasher from a computer ... Windows.

---

IMHO, MAC's are for people who do lots of intensive photo or video editing. And people that believe it gives them some kind of prestige. And for people that want to buy something that just works, with no fuss. For me, they're just too overpriced to be worth it, and I can't "have my way with them" to do whatever I'd like. But they are very good computers.

Linux is for computer knowledgeable people. "GUI? I don't need no stinking GUI!" However, newer distributions have put it into the hands of the less computer literate. And it works well there too. A computer-illiterate person will have no more trouble using a Linux box (with a GUI desktop) than a Windows box - for basic things. However, if that illiterate user wants to play games then they would need to stick with Windows (or take themselves up a notch, to "literate" status). Or if they are used to calling some helpdesk and paying $30 a minute for handholding by someone talking in a foreign language, they should stick with Windows.

Windows is for everybody else. It comes on just about every computer you can buy at retail. When it works, it's great. When it breaks, it's a nightmare. I find Windows to be very user unfriendly, although many say that Windows is the "user friendly" standard. I think that comment comes from people who only use Windows. It's all they know, so of course it is more user friendly than anything unknown.

Windows users generally know Windows, and that's it. Linux users usually know both Linux and Windows (and other OS'es as well). Linux people are often the "local tech support guru" that gets called when a Windows box breaks. MAC users generally don't mingle with other OS users (or vica versa, depending on how you look at it). I don't know why that is.

For general use, I'd say Windows wins. Even if you don't know what you're doing, your next door neighbor might. And if not, they have a cousin who might. And there is no end to paid support options for Windows - including drop-off/pick-up at your local technology store. Windows will probably cost you the most money in the long run. Even more than a MAC (which has a much higher initial purchase price). But MAC's generally don't break as badly or as often as Windows boxes. If you are not knowledgeable enough to fix it yourself, Windows will suck the life out of your bank account.

MAC's are for people who have enough upfront money to buy something that generally works, and works well, and doesn't break much. The downside of MAC's is that you better like it the way it comes from the store, because you don't have many options to change it yourself. For a work computer that just needs to work, MAC is probably your best bet, ... UNLESS you work in an environment where almost everybody else uses Windows (which is very very typical). Then you will perpetually be the odd man out, just like a Linux user would be in the same Windows-centric environment.

Linux is really best for computer gurus who like to have things work just their way, and are willing to expend the time and effort to educate themselves. It is also good for the people they support (there's always someone asking you to fix their computer!) If that person asking for help is the typical computer-illiterate and they treat you as their computer genius, just switch them to Linux (where you can trivially remotely support them) and they'll be in your debt forever. Linux-with-a-GUI (like Ubuntu) is just fantastic for your 80 year old Aunt Ethel. Email and web browsing are the only two things that Aunt Ethel knows how to do (and even then, it's pretty iffy).

Actually, Linux has changed a lot, you can just install it and it just works too, the mac has no real advantage over it anymore.
I fix servers all day long at work and a lot at nights too so I wanted something at home that I didn't need to fix or mess with, Linux takes a lot less work.

Well thought out but I need to disagree with a couple of points.



By any reasonable standard I would qualify as "really into computers" and I use all of the above professionally plus a bunch of other systems. Apple's OS X has UNIX (well BSD) underpinnings and is great for people who are "into computers". Heck most of the OS (but not the GUIs or the critical APIs) are even available as open source. If it is a available in Linux the odds are you can make it run on a Mac.

Also


The $ thing is always tough. Recent cost comparisons of equivalent systems show that Apple is usually about the same cost (and often lower) as other brands. The challenge is in the whole equivalent systems thing and a reputation for being high priced. Apple does not have products available to address every possible market segment and generally isn't that interested very low end machines. The sheer variety of PC systems out there means you can almost always find a lower cost system but an honest comparison of capabilities will show you why it costs less. If you don't need those features / capabilities - great but that doesn't make the Mac high priced - just configured in a non-optimal way for your needs.

By the way - thanks to all for keeping this a well reasoned discussion. In the end a computer (any computer) is just a tool (well a toolset). Find what works for you and use it well.

- Eric