Buying Laptops part 1: the operating system.



     So in the nature of this blog, I'm going to find information on various topics and arm you with what you need.  Today I'll be addressing some information about buying a personal laptop and specifically decyphering between operating systems.
     Windows PC, Linux machine, or Mac?  The reason all 3 formats exist is that they all fill gaps in the market place, and none of them is the obvious choice.  I will start by pointing out that all 3 are closer to being like each other more and more as time goes on.  Why choose one over the other? 

     Windows is still the standard.  Virtually any program you'll really want will be available for windows, or there will be a comperable program in its place.  Virtually any manufacturer (or you) can build a computer and load windows on it.  That creates competition which drives down price, and opens the market to new devices and options quickly.  It also, however, creates problems where Windows has to be flexible enough to be compatible with all sorts of hardware, much of which doesn't exist when they program it, which in turn allows much room for error.  Manufacturer's try to test their systems with compatibility and mostly do a great job, but mistakes are much more likely than a Mac, where the computer and OS are built for each other.



     Linux is an open source operating system, which means people can take it, add to it, create variations of it, and distribute it, and it's all free.  I lean towards ubuntu, because it is popular, and I'm most familiar with this variation.  Pretty much any windows machine can be a linux machine.  There are many popular flavors of Linux, like Ubuntu, Red Hat, and many others.  If you are unfamiliar and afraid, there are tons of forums blogs and books to help out, Linux is not a new product that hasn't had time to find bugs or anything.  There are windows patches, simulators and work arounds to be able to run most anything windows can run.  The advantage here, is:
A) not paying for the OS,
B) the OS consumes fewer system resources, therefore running faster and leaving more room for programs. and
C) not open to the same viruses that Windows is.

     Macs clearly maintain the prestige in the industry, and for good reason.  They offer very very few products, but they all work incredibly well.  With the same computer stats, a mac will often run faster and with fewer errors.  The trade off is primarily cost, and stepping to a computer that isn't the "standard" which may or may not apply depending on the industry you are in.  They take a little to adjust to, operations are not hard to learn, but different from the windows experience. 
     Remember that because Macs have a tendency to work fantastically, windows machines are not automatically not good, but there are a lot more choices, and with the choices come the possibility for errors on your and the manufacturer's part. 
   I personally go with a Windows PC, because technology changes too quickly to sink as much money into a Mac as it takes, but it may very well be worth it to you.  I also choose to not use Linux, not because it is not great, but because my laptop came with Windows 7, and it hasn't posed any problems for me yet that Ubuntu would solve.
     Have information to add?  Think I'm wrong about something?  Please let me know.