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Hi, I was wondering why don't people who are not pc gamers stop using Windows and switch to Unix systems like Linux and Mac OS X. What does Windows offer that Linux and OS X don't. I play all my games on consoles and I have a Mac and Linux desktop and laptop incase anyone is wondering. Thanks for the replies and take care.

2007-10-20 06:39:29 · 4 answers · asked by Anonymous in Computers & Internet Software

4 answers

Microsoft has done an awesome job. Their software is better documented in books and online. Documentation is consistent and up-to-date. Often times, specialty software houses cannot afford to develop on both Windows and Linux platforms. It can nearly double develpment effort. Often software is written specifically for Windows (of course it can be written specifically for Linux, but it would typically be written for both OSs in that case).

The Microsoft development tool set is awesome. Microsoft invests a lot of money in this area to assure that they maintain their dominance in the office product line and operating systems. (That's where they make their real money.) They clearly have improved software developer productivity, maybe even the 30% target that they set out for themselves with Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0.

There are more people who know Microsoft operating systems. However, the "Total Cost of Operating" the operating system can be less in a Linux shop, despite the lies promolgated by Microsoft.

The "Open Office" suite and others are very good, however, they do not have the automation programmability offered by Microsoft and are probably 5 years behind Microsoft in their development efforts in Office productivity.

If I were a business owner, I'd feel confident in using open source products, however, no one get's fired for recommending Microsoft products. Larger organizations can get political, and you may find yourself out on the street if you don't use a conventional product like Microsoft.

In the web world, Microsoft is catching up quickly. For quick web applications, Microsoft Windows Development Studio 2005 Web Applications under .NET Framework is hard to beat. Free versions are available for downlaod from Microsoft. The integration with other software and databases is great.

Microsoft has spent many years cultivating the driver development community. It's often very difficult or impossible to get some drivers for wireless or DVD devices to work under Linux. It may involve very technical processes or is simply not documented (and may be impossible anyway). You can spend many hours to discover some hardware will not work on your Linux OS. (It's getting somewhat better, but is still a problem in this multimedia world.)

It's still a Microsoft world, although those who are very technically competent can navigate the wide variety of open source products and come out a winner.

The flexibility of Linux and other open source software can be a strength and a weakness. Microsoft can beat others in documentation, hardware compatibility, and ease of implementation and configuration. It's more expensive to purchase than open source, but the cost and quality of support is also a critical factor.

2007-10-20 07:03:07 · answer #1 · answered by Skeptic 7 · 1 0

"What does Windows offer that Linux and OS X don't."

Relationship.

Linux is fairly new almost non-existence to many thus it's hard for them to build relationship.

Just give it time, Linux and Mac OS will explode like Firefox one day. ;)

2007-10-20 06:45:55 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0 2

cause some people won't buy a 13.3 inch laptop for a $1000!!!
even though i will like a mac laptop,i don't need that much memory!

2007-10-20 06:45:33 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 2 1

Cost, not familiar with the system, simply don't like it...

2007-10-20 06:47:28 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 2 0

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