20 replies to this topic

[Chakaa]

What's your favorite OS and why?

My favorite are Windows OS's, specifically Windows 7. While not as customizable as Linux can be, I find it a lot more customizable and user friendly than OSX, and there's a lot wider range of compatibility than Linux and OSX. It's not as glossy as OSX might be, but I find it a lot more functional for what I need to do with it. There are a lot more security threats for Windows than other OS's, but that can be fixed with protection and being smart about what you do. PC's are a lot easier to upgrade and repair than Mac's are, but that's more of a hardware thing, not the operating system itself.

For a mobile OS, I'm torn between Android and iOS. Android has more freedom for customization, and had widgets, a nice little feature that iOS lacks. iOS on the other hand, has a much better music player built in, and a wider variety of apps than Android. From my experience, iOS is much faster than Android, although this might just be because I've never owned a high end Android device.



inb4 fanboy wars
inb4 someone says 'Macfag' and the thread is closed

[Russ]

inb4 someone says 'Macfag' and the thread is closed

Hey, you just said it right there. THREAD CLOSED.

Er, I mean. Personally, I prefer Windows. I've been using it since as far back as I can remember, and Windows Vista and 7 just really seem well put together and easy to use. With the exception of the new toolbar in 7, but that's easily changeable. After that, I guess Linux. I've only tinkered with it briefly, but it seemed pretty good. Little complex, but hey, with all the customization you got there, who cares. Mac is by far my least favorite. The interface, the support, everything about it is just a nightmare. I dread every moment I have to use it.

As for mobile OS, I haven't really played with Android enough to have a definite opinion on it. iOS is easy to use and full of nice features, but it's not customizable at all, and it doesn't support flash, which are two massive downfalls for it. But eh. Guess I'm voting for it by default, just because I haven't tried the others enough to have a definite opinion.

[The Satellite]

With the exception of the new toolbar in 7, but that's easily changeable.

*Taskbar, and you have problems because it's literally better than any taskbar ever made.

I picked Windows as well. Never actually tried Linux, and I dislike Mac operating systems. Windows is simple, familiar, and it gets the job done. Macs are just confusing to me. Plus I don't like their appearance. As for mobile OSes, never tried one except briefly on an iPhone, therefore no opinion.

Also I feel this is relevant:

[King Harkinian]

Also I feel this is relevant:

Yes, ERB is always relevant.

My choice is windows. I'm torn between 7 or XP, they both are so good, XP gives me a little nostalgia and 7 is what I now use. I hate macs, they are too expensive, aren't very compatible with other OS's such as Windows and Linux, and YES you CAN get viruses on a Mac. MacDefender anyone?

[Yapollo]

Difficult.

Linux is wholly more useful for network debugging and testing out budding software developments, and it is arguably the most secure OS around. That said, Windows has been improving (REALLY SLOWLY), and, as a gamer, you do need to appreciate the magnitude of games available and the convenience (Wine is a beast at times).

So I like both about same, and I use them both (Windows to game and Debian to test stuff)

[Ben]

OS X. (not big surprise)

I also use Windows 7 on a regular basis and while it is superior to any other version thus far, in my mind OS X still trumps it significantly. Apple is about user experience instead of specifications, and thus far they've given me a fantastic one. Their marketing, insofar as it applies to me as a customer, has yet to really fail. "It just works." I used to be a crazy Apple fanboy but grew up; OS X isn't perfect, but no one else has come out with anything quite as well-thought-out yet, and the software that runs on it is generally just fantastic. Worth the price premium if you ask me. But don't get a Mac if your primary focus is playing games, that'd be pretty dumb.

obligatory mythbusting segment: File sharing and compatibility with my Windows box works just fine, not sure what the "incompatible" argument is about. Also Apple hasn't shipped a single-button mouse for ten years, and there are millions of programs available, including a lot of things that also exist on Windows. Malware does exist for OS X but you'd have to be dumb as a stump to get infected with anything; every vulnerability thus far has been due to a weakness in third-party software (Flash, Java - things no one should need) or user dumbness. Pricing is generally actually competitive with other manufacturers if you take the time to compare not just specifications but also included software and manufacturing cost.

Windows 9x, XP, and Vista have given me all kinds of grief in the past. 8 is shaping up to be a disaster for everyone.

Not being such a young person anymore, I don't really consider "gaming capability" when buying a PC unless it is for that direct purpose; so I have my Mac mini for work; it handles everything I ask it to just fine, despite its core 2 duo and 4GB RAM and integrated graphics. If I want to play Skyrim or Just Cause 2 I have my Windows box, but Windows is too demanding of my time (frequent maintenance e.g. updates, scans, cleanup) to make it my work machine. In addition it costs $what to upgrade, whereas I can update to OS X Mountain Lion in late July for $20 without any draconian activation schemes or needing to make any hefty backups since I already have Time Machine making a record of everything in case something does go wrong. Don't get me wrong, I like Windows 7, but it's ... it just didn't do anything that was really new, even when it came out. It was nice to have a version of Windows that was less clunky to use, reasonably stable, looked nice, and was reasonably fast, for once.

I also have an iPhone 3GS and an iPad 2. Android frankly is just too fragmented to succeed on phones and is only good if you get it on a device direct from Google (or Amazon, but that's not using the Android UI.) Windows Phone 7 is actually better than Android in my experience. It's faster, mainly, despite its lack of features.

(mac defender is scareware; it is not a "virus," just unwanted software that tries to get money via phishing. it does not "infect" anything nor spread since you can remove it just by deleting it. you have to give it an admin password to install it, so basically you'd have to be a moron to get it. if you want to talk about malware that is not stupid, look up the Flashback trojan - that one got a lot more gullible people who bought into the "no viruses EVER" hype)

[Hergiswi]

I always have a little bit of trouble when it comes to PC operating systems because my heart tells me that Linux is the most logical and stable, but I just haven't had the time to master it. OS X feels very constricting to me and I have a hard time navigating through it; perhaps my opinion will change slightly when I get more familiar with it, but the price is still highly unreasonable to me. Thus, Windows gets my vote, because despite all of its inherent flaws, it works best for me.

I'm sort of biased when it comes to the phone region. I don't know anything about the Windows 7 phone, but given the amount of problems their computer operating systems have, I definitely wouldn't trust it on a phone. I've also never used iOS, but I am aware that Apple milks its customer base for all it's worth when it comes to mobile products, so that's a huge turn-off for me. I've never had any problems with my Android phone, but I don't like the fact that Google can basically stalk me unless I hack into the OS. =/

[Neppy]

Well, for OS, I went with Window. I have 2 laptops, and my desktop that all run Windows 7 Home Premium, one laptop being x86, and the other laptop and desktop are x64. I highly enjoy it, and it does what I need it to do. Second up is Windows XP, but perhaps it's because I used it for years and years.

With Cell Phone, I went with Android. I am on my third Android phone. My first one was the HTC Wildfire, and ran Android Version Froyo, and was a nice introduction. My second phone was the HTC Aria, running the Gingerbread version, and I am on my third phone, the HTC Vivid running Ice Cream Sandwich... haha.. silly names. But I enjoy the hell out of my phone!!

[NoeL]

I nulled because I haven't used all the options enough to pick a "favourite". I've been a Windows user my whole life, and hated the few occasions I was forced to use OSX (I needed to use Dreamweaver *shudder* but it wasn't installed on the Windows partition - only the Mac) I made a gigantic mess of the UI trying to switch between programs, put them side by side, copy+paste from one to the other, etc. I also had to ask for help to turn the computer on since the power button was at the back of the computer - completely out of sight. It was embarrassing, and I'll never forgive Apple for it. But that's hardware issues, not OS.

I've never used Linux.

[Vinyl Scratch]

Windows 7 x64 for gaming, Ubuntu 12.04 for code and testing and whatnot.

I use Android on my phone. Never owned an Apple product in my life. Don't plan on changing that any soon.

[sigtau]

Here's my arsenal:

Windows 7 x64 (Intel i7 920 2.6Ghz Quad-Core, 6GB DDR3 SDRAM, 500 GB SATA HDD) for gaming, game testing, game playing, and day-to-day use.
OS X 10.6 (MacBook Pro--Intel i7 920 2.6GHz, 4GB DDR3 SDRAM, 320 GB HDD) for intensive media work such as music composition, video editing, and video compositing.
Debian 6 (Intel Pentium 3 800 MHz, 1GB DDR2 SDRAM, 30GB HDD) for the Bladerock IRC server.

I also have my old laptop armed up with Linux Mint. As far as mobile devices go, I used to be Android-only, but in light of the Android's apparent suffering of vendor choke--that is, Motorola, Verizon, and the like all enjoy limiting perfectly good phones for the sake of their own money--I'll soon be switching to iOS.

[Fabbrizio]

I have several different versions of Linux running off my netbook. The primary OS is Windows 7 Starter, which is useful for a lot of things, but I tend to prefer my Linux boots. My personal favorite Linux is JoliCloud, because it's so blindingly fast on my computer. Second would be Ubuntu (which I refuse to upgrade past 10.10 because v11's taskbar is stupid), and then Mint. I also have Gentoo and OpenSUSE, but I don't use them as much.

On a completely separate computer I have Mac OS10.6 Snow Leopard, which has been my dedicated workstation for audio recording and my copy of the Adobe Suite.

On my slightly older desktop I have Windows XP, and on my ancient Dell laptop I have Win98. Both are nice when I need systems that aren't bogged down by a load of crap so I can just write stories and stuff in peace.

So yeah. I don't really have a 'favorite OS'. I voted linux because that's what I have the most of (albeit the presentation of the question bothers me since Linux is not just one single thing. It's not like Mac or Windows where each distribution is just a new version - each version of linux is it's own unique operating system). As for mobile OS, I voted other since my favorite mobile OS is PSP CustomFirmware.

Edited by DavidReinold, 29 June 2012 - 09:59 AM.

[Ventus]

I mostly Use windows for the time being. I use Windows XP most of the time (Its simple and it runs better then windows 7)
also I have a laptop that runs Windows XP so I guess you can say I like windows.

I've also have Linux Mint 12, (On a second hard drive on my main desktop) And so far I'm loving Linux it runs very fast.

And I don't have a mobile device that has a OS like windows, android. (Man I really need to get a smart phone)

[Chakaa]

So yeah. I don't really have a 'favorite OS'. I voted linux because that's what I have the most of (albeit the presentation of the question bothers me since Linux is not just one single thing. It's not like Mac or Windows where each distribution is just a new version - each version of linux is it's own unique operating system)

I grouped them by family, I just assumed everyone would say their favorite version in the thread. There wasn't enough room to list every version.

[Vinyl Scratch]

the presentation of the question bothers me since Linux is not just one single thing. It's not like Mac or Windows where each distribution is just a new version - each version of linux is it's own unique operating system

http://en.wikipedia....ux_distribution