Which is the best operating system for the average computer user?

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I think the discussion on this topic shows that it still has the ability to get people worked up. I'm fine with this as is.

issue prior to revisions:

Platforms and operating systems are two totally separate issues, which I think we should keep separate. There are a billion different permutations that we could never capture completely. Plus, Windows running on a Mac is no different from regular Windows; it's just running on a nicer computer. The choices should be:

Microsoft Windows [Optional: Vista]
Mac OS X
Linux

I think we should leave Linux general because there are a lot of "flavors" out there and we're better off not starting a pissing contest over which is better.

wow, that was helpful!  does anyone with any technical expertise have something to offer to this issue so that we can get it approved??

we can add a "Apple with Windows" but that can't be the best solution because if you leave apples at your windows they'll spoil...

HA! HA! HA! HA! HA!

...er...um....right then.....

the only problem with nick's suggested revision is that Mac now comes with the ability to use Windows ...  should we represent Intel into this issue?

if the question is one that helps somebody make a decision, you'd really have to decide on both a platform and an operating system. The problem is that the lines are pretty blurred with Linux on PC's, Intel chips in Macs, etc.

I think taking the specifics out of the wording makes it better.

What is the best computer for the average user?

• PC with Microsoft Windows
• PC with Linux
• Apple  with  Mac OS

can a technology editor please step in here and provide the appropriate stands for this issue so we can get it approved.

Can I take my last comment down and never be allowed back into this topic again?  Please.

Should we  have Windows and Vista up to see how many choose windows over Vista and vice versa.

This is a great issue with the recent release of Vista and the impending release of Leopard. I agree, Jenna, that it should be "Mac," not "MAC." "MAC" was that arguably adorable alien in the McDonald's-themed rip-off of "E.T."

I also prefer the more specific options:

Microsoft Vista
Mac OS-X
Red Hat Linux

And, jsyantiss, I remember evaluating OS2 Warp when I was a college sophomore. It was awesome, and I was so sad when they killed it.

Actually the original question is viable I think, "MAC" threw me off.  So the below could be its own thing, then:

Which is the best operating system for the average computer user?

-  Microsoft Windows
-  Mac OS X
-  Red Hat Linux

OR

- Windows
- OS X
- Linux

Maybe want to throw Oracle or whatever in there but I think those are the big 3.

Wouldn't the options be "Macintosh"/ "personal computer" as opposed to "Windows"/ "Mac"?  (Apples and oranges... so to speak.  :-)

I'm not certain, but I think at least "Mac" would be lowercase, and probably not abbreviated (as in "Macintosh" vs. "MAC.") 

The Mac/ PC debate is a good one, I like this topic.

I don't think "operating system" is quite the right phrasing though.

Did some research, I think the way to phrase it would be:

Which computer platform is best for the average computer user?
-  Macintosh
-  Personal computer

*for the average computer user*, definitely like it much better

i give it a thumbs up  ;-)

i also removed "other" because for the "average user" no esoteric OS could possibly be recommended.

issue prior to revisions:

nice point lrod... in keeping with a recent trend, I think we should have specific issues within business, arts, etc. to handle what's best for people in those fields.

I'm going to revise this issue to be explicitly more general.

Ah, the ongoing dilemma of the *best* operating system?
The best for... what exactly?
The best for business?
The best for creative types?
etc....

inquiring minds want to know ;-)

i'm fine with this issue as is provided all major operating systems are represented in the stands.

jsyantiss - would you say all operating systems are represented?

and, your comment here seems to indicate that we might want to consider another issue ...

what do you think about proposing a new issue -

To achieve compatibility must people use the same operating system?

The issue really is not which operating system is the best. "Back in the day," for anyone who can remember, and cared to truly evaluate competing OSs, OS2 was so far superior to Windows that the fanatical debate was comical--ludicrous. OS2 Warp, in 1995, was where Windows just began to be with XP. I was unabashedly an OS2 fanatic. There simply was no comparison. 

My point? I am now a dedicated Windows guy. Why? Because one has to, at some point, bite--or is it byte--the bullet, and go with what is pervasive. To interact in today's world of Internet computing, regardless of what anyone says, the only way to ensure fairly consistent compatibility is for all the users attempting to be compatible to use the same OS. O, sure, Mac and Windows users can and do share things, even files, but have you ever thought of installing a Mac client/server network in a large commercial enterprise, which needs to use commercial software suites? I do not mean things like MS Office, or even Macromedia (now Adobe, yuk) Studio. I mean like FileNet (now owned by IBM), or Legato (formerly OTG) Xtender Solutions, or Software Finesse FlexSuite.

Whether Mac OS, or Linux, or some flavour of Unix is better, in some characteristics, or even overall, than Windows, is a moot point. Windows owns the desktop. When are people going to stop bemoaning that and get on with life. It would be better to work WITH MS, than throw grain-of-sand size rocks at it by touting the better anything of Linux, Mac, etc. Red Hat is going to make a serious dent in the desktop/laptop arena? Yeah, right. I went down that road with OS2, and wasted a lot of time becoming an OS2 guru/expert. Indeed, IBM, if it could have gotten its own act together, could have blown Intel AND MS out of the water, with OS2 and the PowerPC chip, which was itself 10 yrs ahead of its time--whatever it means to be ahead of your time.