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First: Mac OS X is a BSD Unix and GNU/Linux is a family of BSD UNIX-derived OSes. So you are really saying what is the differences between Unix and Windows? Unix is modular. Which is how BOTH Mac OS X AND GNU/Linux -- and for that matter Schillix and FreeBSD and DragonflyBSD exist. Nobody writes everything. Everyone writes little programs which together add up to the OS. In fact the Darwin Kernel which runs the Mac was written by someone who is now a VP and Micro$oft. Windows is not just proprietary it is written by people who are not allowed to see more than the part of the Operating system they are working on. Thus if I want to run my Linux box for forty hours and do heavy work on it I can. It is monolithic and a lot can go wrong with it. WGA is a good example of the problem.
his Answer only covers X-nix and Windows systems. Mac OS and Linux are both variants of r clones of Unix. The only drawback of a Mac compared to a X-nix system(and it's a big one) is that there are many ways to break your warranty at the command line on a Mac. This fact is not just a practical problem but has begun to become a political problem as the legislators in Washington continue to argue over our rights(linux) verses the rights of the corporation(microsoft). (think Tron- red verses blue) There are many different reasons for doing different things in the digital world- so this Answer will cover the Philosophical, Financial, and Pragmatic pros and cons. Pragmatic(usefulness): 1. Linux systems are quite handy at doing most common chores. Word processing, image/video/audio editing and viewing software, complex scientific tools and drafting software (loads more) can be easily added on to most Linux systems with package management software. Windows comes with some but really good software costs money. When you buy it you own it, and any bugs that come with it. 2. Linux was built by programmers for programming, web services and number crunching and so, it is really good at these kinds of tasks. Windows has the ability to do these things too, usually if you purchase it. 3. Linux doesn't get viruses very easily, though you can get one through wine(the windows compatibility layer software) but it is really rare. Also Linux can be used to find and remove virus infections on Windows systems. 4. Linux very rarely crashes. (anyone remember Bill Gates getting shot on the nuclear sub on The Simpsons?) and is very secure. (if you want to secure windows yank the network cable from the wall) 5. if you Don't know some basic things about how computers function, you may have a hard time using some of the more advanced feature of Linux - the radically expensive bug filled Windows compatible software solution may be for you. 6. Windows plays some games better than Linux. Especially new games. Sometimes this is because the maker of the game is operating on the principal that if they release the code then it will get exploited or stolen and so the code is not available on open source systems. Other times the it was just written for windows systems and wasn't ported to open source. Usually a game will run in wine or dosbox on Linux. 7. Windows used to be more user friendly, This trend has reversed and is quickly becoming a strong selling point of Linux. Financial: 1. On Windows you have to pay for the good software. Linux is Open source. This does not mean it is free. While you don't pay money to download and use most versions, it is still limited by its license and this could have many implications for commercial use (far beyond the scope of this document) . 2. install Windows here->http://www.microsoftstore.com/store/msst... or install Ubuntu here->http://www.ubuntu.com/download/ubuntu/do... 3. When you use or donate to Linux you support the free and open source software movement providing free software and closing the software gap for impoverished persons around the world. Philosophical: 1. You own the source code. You own it and are free to write a better version of it. You are also responsible for contribution to the community. If you write a better version of the code you have to give it back to the community and then everyone owns it. This is how it gets written, this is why it is free and why it is virus resistant. In this way it is organic and grows with the needs of its users. 2. Windows uses closed source code(unreadable) which hides bugs so that only crackers and black hat hackers find them.This is based off of the philosophy that other developers can somehow steal the code or find bugs in it. Kind of backwards. 3. Microsoft doesn't play well with others. Microsoft programs like word don't read document produced by other programs well, so it's better just not to get into them. One extreme example is that Internet Explorer just recently released their first fully css compliant browser last year. .. sad. 4. Windows releases bug fixes on a schedule, this is a result of corporate policy. Linux fixes them as soon as a solution is found. (this may be more pragmatic.) 5.Programmer don't like to be locked out of the code. If you can't change it what happens when the firmware changes?The biggest differences are in the licensing. If we Look at all of the pros and cons we can see the only reason to use Windows is if we want to play a newer game or if we need to write a document for a windows program like word. Windows won't read open word documents uniformly and if they did, Microsoft would release a word update on the next update date ... to fix it. Source(s):If you want to know how and why it's all like this ... read this: http://oreilly.com/openbook/freedom/ and this: http://www.catb.org/~esr/writings/homest...
