Mac, Windows, Linux - does it matter any more?
By Pcunix
I use quite a few operating systems. The big computer on my desk is an Apple iMac running OS X, my main website runs on Ubuntu Linux and I use an iPad for a lot of my daily browsing and email.
I also have a Windows laptop that I use for helping people with Windows issues and I have a number of other operating systems running as virtual machines under Parallels or VMware on my big Mac.
Many of the things I do can be done anywhere. Obviously browsing and email are almost entirely independent of operating systems - you might not have the specific features you want on every platform, but you can definitely get the job done on any of those platforms. Even editing web pages and creating other types of documents is mostly unrelated to perating system choice. I make great use of Google Docs, for example and can access that from almost anywhere.
Even when I am doing programming or extensive text editing (making global changes rather than writing) and I revert to "vim" (a Unix/Linux text editor), I can do that everywhere, even on my iPad or on Windows.
Are PC's dead?
More and more, the actual operating system is becoming unimportant. Many typical "computer users" can get by just fine with an Android or iPad tablet, for example - they often need nothing more. This is just one of the many reasons why Microsoft may have an unpleasant future ahead - as people contemplate new computing hardware, many are learning that they have other choices beyond Microsoft.
Some folks are even daring to say the unthinkable: PC's are dead. That's not quite the case yet, but when you imagine a cell phone that has all the computing power of any PC and can use a bluetooth keyboard and an external display when you want it to, you can see that times are changing.
Such a device is likely only a few years away at most. You'll be carrying your computer with you always and many will stop thinking of it as a computer. It will simply be the device that lets you do everything you need to do while connecting you to everyone and every thing you want to connect to.
The company that produces and markets that device most successfully (very likely Apple, though Google has a good shot and Microsoft certainly will attempt it) will literally destroy everyone else.
The most important thing to understand about whoever does win supremacy in that market is that nobody but the shareholders and the employees will care. Many cell phones now are powered by Linux without their owners knowing or caring. The iPhone owners are certainly aware that Apple has something to do with the IOS operating system that powers it and their iPads, but the operating system itself is hardly anything they care about. Many owners of Android devices are blissfully unaware that this is a Linux operating system tweaked by Google. They care about applications only and the most important of those apps will run anywhere.
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Not quite yet, though
I'm still an Apple fan, though, and statistics say that most of the people reading this are using Windows and will likely buy a Windows operating system again if they buy a new computer soon. That's definitely true.
Yet, everywhere I go, i see more people using iPad and Android tablets. When my daughter and her husband spent a week with us over Xmas, they didn't even pack their laptop as they had in previous visits - they brought their phones and their iPad.
I have been really surprised to see so many iPad tablets turning up at the retirement community we live in. Apparently many children are seeing these as an ideal gift for computer-phobic grandparents and the grandparents are loving it. Some already had computers, but now the computer sits mostly unused as the tablet satisfies all their needs more efficiently and easily! The idea spreads quickly too - I overhear people talking about how wonderful it is to talk to the grandkids with Facetime, for example.
Computers still matter, of course. My website runs on Linux and probably always will. Business will always have computer servers to manage inventory, point of sale and many other functions. However, what the employees will use will probably not be the PC's that are on every employees desk now. The "carry everywhere" device will kill those, too and desks will only have screens and keyboards - if they even have that, as virtual keyboards are real now and virtual screens are within the possible near future.
Change is coming, and it is coming quickly. I'll remain an Apple bigot for now, but I know I won't be forever. It just won't matter to me or anyone else.
Comments
But they aren't. That's what the people who insist Microsoft will reign forever are missing: these iPads and Androids are so easy to use that people don't care about what they are comfortable with.
I'm not promoting any one OS over another. Personally I use Windows, Linux, OS X and even the Classic Mac OS. My question was not meant to start anything. Sure, I love my Android powered tablet and its great for when I just want to browse the web. However, I'd much rather use a desktop or laptop computer to get some serious work done.
That's another thing that people say that amuses me. "These are just toys". That's exactly what the microcomputer people said about personal computers. Exactly.
They were right and you are right. I suggest reading "The innovators Dilemma" if you have not already (link above in Amazon capsule).
Thank you for again misconstruing my comments.
Oh, sheesh: some people get themselves offended so easily. I didn't misconstrue your comments. They are right there, read them for yourself:
"but I feel strongly that people will use what they're comfortable and familiar with."
"I'd much rather use a desktop or laptop computer to get some serious work done."
Gosharoonie - it must be fun being you!
By the way, jesimpki does have some interesting and well written hubs. He may get offended easily, but you might want to check him out just the same. I followed him, which is a fairly rare even for me nowadays.
Tony, some comments. My daughter uses both Apple and Android. She initially got irritated with the Android, then she got irritated with the ipad.
For myself, you know I prefer PC. However, I have an issue with what is happening. My fingers are too large and I am too clumsy to deal with those horrible little small things that people carry around in their pockets. I like my laptop. It gives me the best of both worlds.
I'm also concerned about tablets because I would have to bend down to look at the keyboard. And if I get a separate keyboard, I might as well get a laptop - which won't be in circulation anymore...
You need the kind of thing shown in that concept video - don't worry, it won't be a long wait!
I, too, have been a Mac fan and that's my preferred operating system. But with technology advancing, it's going to continue to become whole new playing field! Great hub!
I'm sitting here reading this on my Google Chromebook while watching a TV with builtin Internet apps. The TV is probably running some stripped down Linux under the hood .... or not. My desktop just a few feet away is running Linux as is my Laptop and home office computer. My wife's phone is running android, her laptop is running XP, and my kids have a Windows 7 computer and another Chromebook. My comcast DVR is probably running Linux underneath its bogus UI. At work I use Windows to get a couple of req'd apps that won't run on my primary work desktop(linux).
Yes most people will buy what is comfortable for them. My kids are at home on the Xbox, Windows(any flavor), Android, IOS, Linux, Chromium OS, and any device you could possibly stick in front of them. They use MS Office, OpenOffice, LibreOffice, GoogleDocs, etc.
Tony is right - the OS is becoming irrelevent.
Once place I disagree: I dont' think you'll be carrying your ultra-portable computer with you in the future - not a computer in the the traditional sense. It won't be 58-core powerhouse with 8 terabytes of storage. It will be a capable gadget that hooks you up to the cloud where all your music, pictures, documents, videos, and even computing power are stored.
As a recent owner of a Chromebook - I think Google has right vision for the future. The Chromebook absolutely has it's limitations and absolutely will NOT work as your primary device ..... today. But a few years down the line, I think the ripping fast appliance model that serves as your cloud portal is the the way of the future. It makes no sense that everybody has to be a professional archivist - storing and backing up their terabytes of pics vids, audio etc.
Gordon Bennet, Pcunix ... I'm too dim to understand the last comment. All I know is that when I changed from Microsoft/PC to a Mac I have never looked back for ease of use.
My Mac knows how I think ... I know it has been said before but it is true ... Macs are intuitive. Now, I know you'll maybe laugh scornfully but as an old git that is important to me.
I love my Mac. I love all things Apple even though I can dream about owning them. I just play with my son's iPhone and iPad when he's not looking ...
Funny, you don't seem dim to me :)
Gosh I just want to read more about how a Mac is intuitive!!!!
jesimpki 4 months ago
Thank you for the hub response to my question. I agree that nobody knows what the future holds for computing, but I feel strongly that people will use what they're comfortable and familiar with.