Contrary to what many people think, choosing a new computer is much more complex than just going to the store, taking out your credit card and returning home with the product in your bag. Perhaps even more difficult is giving new life to that old machine that has been asking for help for some time or has been stored in the back of the closet without much use. In both cases, however, it is worth the advice that it is mandatory for the user to know what their needs are and what purpose they will give the equipment.
Partisanship and fanaticism aside, in today’s article we will talk about the pros and cons of each of these platforms, but always guided by the needs of the home user, who uses the computer to consume multimedia files, browse the internet, play games and even run some work, whether academic or professional. With this scope defined, corporate, infrastructure and embedded systems scenarios will be left out of this article, as each of these, by itself, would yield a separate individual article.
That said, let’s take a look at the three operating systems that dominate the domestic market today, pointing out positive and negative points of each of them, as well as indicating which usage/need scenarios each one is best suited for.
What you need?
It is not uncommon to hear from so-called experts that Windows is no good, that Linux is the most secure operating system of all and that macOS, being from Apple , is too expensive. All these statements are very relative and need to be very, very considered by the user when buying a new computer or opting for a new operating system to use on an old PC, otherwise it is almost certain that you will be dissatisfied with the choice you have made. others did for you. So let’s get to the question everyone should ask anyone looking to buy a new computer: what do you need? After defining very well what you will use this computer for, you need to think about how much you are willing to pay and try to balance everything on the cost-benefit scale to arrive at the ideal configuration that fits your budget.
Made it up? So it’s important to know one thing: there is no perfect operating system. Almost always a very good feature of one of them will be lacking in the other and vice versa, which is why it is important to know exactly what your expectations are with your computer to understand what Windows, Linux and macOS can offer and do for you Take the following into consideration: although many people complain that Windows is paid for, the truth is that most of the time the cost of the license is “built in” to the value of the new computer and you will hardly have to pay for it “outside”. macOS, in turn, is free, but limited to Macs (we’ll talk about their price later). Linux, finally, is completely free, regardless of platform, but it may lack some features you need. Of course, this first explanation is very simplistic, but it helps you keep in mind that it is very important to know what your needs are and what you need.
Windows
Windows has been the most popular operating system on the market for many years, currently being installed on around 78% of all computers in the world . The number is impressive and, in part, is a consequence of the aggressive adoption policy that Microsoft has prepared for Windows 10 since its launch in 2015.
The company’s idea was to offer a free upgrade to the new system for Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 users , which in itself was a huge incentive. Furthermore, Windows 10 arrived with the promise of correcting all the mistakes made by Windows 8, delivering a more fluid and consistent user interface, and being the “last” Windows released by Microsoft. In practice, we saw that this meant that the system became a service and is now periodically updated to receive new functionalities, resources, security fixes and the like — in other words, you don’t have to worry about when Windows 11 will come out or how much it will it will cost.
This whole strategy worked very well and today Windows 10 alone is installed on no less than 800 million computers around the world. Because of this, for many people the Microsoft system is the most obvious choice of all, but this change to software as a service has brought some problems to the platform
Therefore, the first analysis to be made is this: if your budget is very limited, then you will probably feel inclined to go with Windows or Linux. If your goal is to work with video production or graphic design, 3D modeling and the like, then a Mac may be worth the investment.