The Love Triangle: Windows, Linux, and Mac OS
A penguin, an apple and a squiggly window walk into a bar.
The most important piece of software on any computer is the operating system. An operating system, such as Windows, is the program that arranges data in the computer, regulates the hardware and runs the other programs.
Microsoft Windows is found on most computer labs on campus and on most personal computers across the world.
There are, however, several options available to computer users looking for something beyond Windows. The most common of these are the Mac OS and Linux.
Derrick Davenport, a junior majoring in business information services, said all systems have their advantages.
“Anyone interested in gaming or who wants to run a wider variety of programs should go PC,” Davenport recommended, saying that this was easier with Windows.
Davenport said that Macs are good for surfing the Internet and writing papers, noting they are more secure from malicious software.
Davenport said he has two computers at home, both of which run Windows.
Computer Solutions, the computer store within the USU Bookstore, sells both PCs and Macs and they sell a lot more Apple products, said Dennis Lee, a junior majoring in economics, who works at the store.
“Higher education is a much bigger market for Macs,” Lee said.
Lee said he estimates around 30 percent of college students use a Macintosh.
“Campuses always have a higher percentage than the rest of the market because of art majors and music majors,” Lee said, explaining that the most popular programs for these majors are produced for the Mac.
He said it’s not just artists and musicians that are switching from the more commonly used Windows platforms.
“A lot of people are getting fed up with Windows. Macs get less viruses, spyware and stuff like that,” Lee said.
Lifetime Mac user Christopher Clayton, a senior in journalism, agreed, saying, “In my three years at school here, I’ve never had a problem.”
While Macs are often said to have less problems, when issues do occur it’s not as easy for students to get things fixed.
“Finding support on campus is a little more difficult,” Clayton, the president of the Mac Users Group at USU, said. “The helpdesk is mostly PC users. There’s one guy who knows a little.”
Lee used to use a Mac, but said he uses a PC now because he prefers to be able modify and change his system.
Apple computers are often criticized because they can’t be customized as easily as a PC can.
“With a Mac, the architecture is you buy it and you use it and that’s it,” said Nathan George, a senior in computer science and the president of the USU Free Software and Linux club.
Clayton said there are some Mac systems, particularly the laptops, that do have limited options as far as customization goes, but there are also many upgrades that can be done by the user.
Apple is not the only source of an alternative to Windows. Although currently the most popular, Linux is produced by any company.
George and the other members of the Linux club try to inform students about the other options available from them on their computer.
According to Linux.org, Linux is an operating system developed by Linus Torvalds and countless other developers around the world.
There are hundreds of different Linux distributions, which include different additional programs.
“You can get a system tailor-made for you,” George said.
While Linux is found more often on PCs, George said Linux can be install on pretty much anything from a Mac to a toaster.
The biggest difference between Linux and other systems is in that it’s open source.
“When you buy other software, you don’t own the software – you only own the rights to use it,” George said. “With open source, you can change it any way you want. You can give it away.”
However, with this open-source status comes a conception that Linux is only for a certain type of person.
“A common misconception is that Linux is just for nerdy computer guys,” George said.
While George admits that installing a new operating system can be intimidating for someone who hasn’t done it before, he invites those interested to speak with a member of his group.
“That’s what Linux is all about – people helping each other out,” George said.
Not everyone is so passionate about Linux, though.
“It drives me crazy,” Lee said. “I like [computers] to be user-friendly, and to me, Windows is more user-friendly.”
With some many different opinions about the various operating systems, students interested in learning more have plenty of resources available.
Common starting points include www.microsoft.com, http://www.apple.com and http://www.linux.org.
steveshinney@cc.usu.edu