Linux vs. Mac vs. Widows

I use virtual software such as VirtualBox to run various Linux distros in Virtual Machines on my Windows boxes.

A few years back, I wanted to find out what all the hoopla was regarding Macs so I bought a Mac Mini. It cost me about $1000 and worked about as good as a $300 Windows machine. I found OSX to be very inconsistent and not any more usable than Windows. After about 6 months, I tired of the machine and gave it to my daughter. She used it for about 2 months then begged me to get her a Windows machine. When I tried to sell the less than 1 year old Mac for about 1/2 of what I paid for it, I got nothing but extreme low-ball offers. I finally traded it to someone for a Toshiba laptop and feel I got the better end of the bargain.
 
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Another poster said that MAC's are expensive. This is very true. They run smoothly and for a lot longer than windows.

I disagree, (well it depends.)

if you buy a $1000 Macbook (which is the budget model)
and a $300 windows machine - (which is the budget end of the line.) yep the macbook probably lasts a little longer.


if you compare price for price however, a $1000 is the bottom end for a Mac, it's not going to come packed with resources, it'll show its age fast, especially if you're running a bunch of processes at the same time...

a $1000 windows laptop on the other hand is likely to be packed with CPU resource, RAM and HDD space. it's going to be functionally usable for longer. and be smoother to use...


Chrome books are ridiculously cheap, and provided you have a good internet connection they stream apps well (e.g online office or google apps) and they run any app that you could run on any android device. (so if you have an android phone you can get application consistency between platforms.)
 
Going to weigh in here for the last time. Macs are stupidly expensive and not many people use them. Only worth the money if you are doing high end graphics or music and then the prices go way beyond normal. Chrome books and Android devices, at this point in time, are for kids to play Pokemon on. Linux is okay, well Linux Mint is, if you are a geek. 99.99999999999% of the world uses Windows whether we like it or not. If you want to use a computer then buy a Windows machines. You can play with all the other stuff on your nice cheap Windows Computer and if you like it then go and buy that a couple of years down the line. It's a no brainer. Do not forget the OP is a beginner and he can learn ALL the other stuff on a Windows computer and then make his own mind up.
 
Pros and Cons of all 3:

Windows:
Pros:
Simple, user friendly interface with a relative high level of capability and near universal compatibility.
Cons:
Actually simple to hack with physical access (Remote access is a little harder), and has major privacy invasions by default (some of this can be turned off of you know what you are doing)

Mac:
Pros:
Good options for graphics design, sound editing and software development.
Cons:
Ridiculously expensive, and extremely low price to performance and no upgradability

Linux:
Pros:
Lots of choices, some very user friendly, incredibly capable, and extremely fast and reliable.
Cons:
If you don't know what you are doing and choose the wrong distro, you will be scared of it forever.
 
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