Windows vs Mac vs Linux: The Pros And Cons

Here are a few facts about operating systems. Today, the market is dominated by Microsoft’s Windows, followed by Apple’s Mac OS X, which is a strong contender. And third, 2013 has been the biggest year for Linux-based operating systems. That said, let’s take a look at some of the pros and cons of each of these platforms. This will come in handy when you are trying to choose which is best for you. We’ll start with the market leader.

Windows: Microsoft’s Windows OS has owned the lion’s share of the market in PCs for a long time now, but with the rise of mobile operating systems, it has lost favour to the Linux-based Android and Apple’s iOS operating systems.

Pros:

- Everything works on Windows. Well, almost everything. Still, when it comes to compatibility, neither Mac nor Linux can boast better records.

- Finding support for problems in Windows is very easy. That said, Mac and Linux aren’t far behind, but simply by the volume of users it has, there is much more help available for Windows.

- Features and functionality is another segment that Windows has been known for. The other two are catching up very fast though.

Cons:

- Being the most popular OS, it is also the most attacked. Hence, there are many viruses and other forms of malware for Windows.

- Windows OS eats a lot of your system’s resources and makes it slow. In fact, Windows Vista and Windows 7 can easily be called the slowest of them all.

- It’s proprietary and so comes at a cost.

Mac: What many newbies don’t know is that the Macintosh OS is actually older than Windows. In fact, Apple’s platform was the first ever successful graphical-based operating system and it was released a year before Windows.

Pros:

- Mac does not get viruses. This is one of the biggest USPs of the platform. Because of its lesser market share, there aren’t many viruses for Apple’s Mac OS.

- To run a Mac, you must have a Mac too. Being compatible only with Apple’s devices, this OS always runs smoothly as the devices are made for the OS.

- On the presentation department, Apple has always been ahead of Windows. Mac always comes with a style quotient attached to them.

Cons:

- If you thought Windows was expensive, then Mac isn’t the one for you. It is even more expensive than Windows.

- The second point in the pros section is also a con for the Mac. You have to buy an Apple computer to run the Mac. These computers are expensive.

- Mac has never been known for its gaming compatibility, even though the computers are immensely powerful. Moreover, many other programs do not run on the Mac PC.

Linux: The way things stand right now, laptops and PCs are becoming passé and mobile operating systems are gaining popularity. Linux is being adopted like never before!

Pros:

- Linux is free and that is its biggest USP. You have to pay nothing. You can download a copy of your favourite Linux distro and then even build your own distro using this one.

- Linux is just the kernel, not the OS. Being proprietary OSes, Windows and Macs come about once a year or not even that. Linux, on the other hand, has a variety of options available. You can go from Ubuntu to Fedora to Debian to Arch Linux. If you’re interested in hacking, then Kali Linux is at your disposal.

- An interesting thing about Linux is that it is almost immune to viruses.

Cons:

- Linux is somewhat more complicated than Mac or Windows. You can’t always go clickety click on the mouse to unlock its full potential.

- Linux also has a compatibility issues, but that is strictly because of its market share. There are open source alternatives to almost all programs though.

- While many have started selling Linux-based computers, the number of vendors is still low. You will most often have to buy a Windows PC and then download Linux onto it. The OS is free though, so there’s no added cost.

When it comes to choosing your operating system, you must focus on what your usage is. A gamer will always prefer a Windows PC, simply because all games are compatible with it. On the other hand, a sound engineer or a video editor will prefer to work with Mac for its superior support in that segment. Linux users are open source proponents and they like the flexibility of the OS. Often, Linux users are more serious computer users than other and know about coding etc.