15 Apr 09 The OS War: Mac, Windows or Linux
Windows and Mac have always been on the two opposite sides of the digital divide. Mac users always consider themselves superior to the windows users, and their claim is well-supported by the robust architecture provided by Macintosh system (both in terms of software and hardware). Over the years, Mac with its ardent followers has become a cult, so, whoever feels or wants to portray him or her as creative or innovative joins Mac community (not all Mac users are pseudo, but quite many are). Windows on the other hand provides a whole range of applications to keep you busy and entertained. There are problems with windows, and I am sure there must be problems with Mac as well, but in my view the problems on Mac or even Linux (the geeky cousin of the two) is not very highlighted because the user base of these two combined is nothing in comparison to the users of Windows OS (Operating Systems), hence there are more fault finders for windows then there are for any other OS.
There is a third major challenger in this OS War, and this challenger is not one entity rather it’s a family, Linux Family. The problem of Linux is Linux itself. It is an open source operating system that effectively means anyone can take Linux Kernels, make the tweaking and build a customized version of it. Sounds fascinating, isn’t it? It is this fascination that is going against Linux. There is no one Linux, rather there is a huge army of various Linux Operating Systems around. The last estimation suggests the presence of close to 100 Linux Distributions in the market. (Read List of Linux distributions and Comparison of Linux distributions on Wikipedia to get the complete list of Linux distributions).
These different distributions are different operating systems in their own rights, so despite having the most robust architecture Linux has failed to catch the fancy of average home user. People are not sure which one to go for and which Linux is the Linux he or she wants. There are number of things that are stopping the growth of Linux Operating system, and they are:
1. User’s perception of Linux being hard to use: This is a common deterrent. The average user who hardly knows to make his or her way around windows finds Linux to be made for aliens or geeks.
2. Fear of being beginner: More than 90 percent of the world population has grown with Windows and Microsoft Office packages around, so word processor (Word), spreadsheet maker (Excel), or presentation maker (PowerPoint) got the power of default. The user cannot even think of working on any other office packages. They fear they will have to relearn everything from scratch. This fear immobilizes them. Users of other software packages like, Photoshop, Acrobat also have the similar feelings.
3. Linux doesn’t come bundled in: Unlike Windows Linux seldom comes bundled in with a new PC. This works against Linux.
Linux has the most secure, failsafe and robust architecture, and Mac, indeed, is the coolest looking personal computers around, but it is the Windows that got the largest share of pie, perhaps because windows got the power of default working in its favour, or may be because the range of applications available for the platform? The relationship between application and operating system is an interesting one. It tells the same old chicken and egg story. Which one should come first?
Tags: Challenger, Estimation, Fascination, Fault Finders, Followers, Linux Distributions, Linux Kernels, Linux Mac, Linux Operating Systems, Linux Windows, Mac Community, Mac Users, Mac Windows, Macintosh System, Open Source Operating System, Os War, Robust Architecture, Wikipedia, Windows Os, Windows Users
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Gossimer Press Releases
- Gossimer Announced a Transfer-in Domain Promotion to Allow Customers to Consolidate Their Domains Into One Account November 7, 2009
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- Gossimer Became Reseller of the Month for October October 17, 2009
October brings another piece of good news for Gossimer. The fastest growing web hosting and domain name registration company has been chosen as the Reseller of the month for October by ResellerClub. [PR.com] […]
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October is going to be hot with offers, extended support, and enhanced serviceability, as Gossimer has acquired HiTek Networks, and launched new and improved Support desk. The web hosting world is abuzz by the two important developments in Gossimer. [PR.com] […]
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Gossimer, the fastest growing domain name and webhosting company, has announced a no-upgrade “The Ultimate Email Plan” that will give the buyer an access to unlimited email accounts for just $1/month. [PR.com] […]
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The news is on the air that Gossimer, the fastest growing domain name registration company, is shifting its base to Melbourne, Florida from the first of October. [PR.com] […]
- Gossimer Offers the Cheapest .Com Extension September 24, 2009
Gossimer, the fastest growing domain name registration company, is going to offer low-cost off-the-shelf .com domains at an unbeatable price for the month of October. [PR.com] […]
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Gossimer, the fastest growing domain name registration company, is offering a low-cost solution for one-page website. This product will help the information product makers in making their sales page, and the low cost will help them keep their sales page live for months. [PR.com] […]
- Gossimer’s the Ultimate Hosting Plan is Out and Running July 25, 2009
Gossimer has released a new Unlimited Web Hosting plan as of July 1st and so far it has been a complete success. The release also provides some information about other innovations being implemented. [PR.com] […]
Gossimer Promotions and Announcements
- PHP4 Discontinuation - 18th September September 7, 2009
As announced earlier, PHP4 will not be supported on our Linux Hosting Servers from the 18th of September, 2009. Please pass on this information to your Customers and Resellers to ensure that they can update their websites to work with PHP5. […]
- .CN Launch - Coming Soon August 16, 2009
We are glad to announce the launch of .CN - the most popular and fastest growing ccTLD worldwide. The .CN domain extension has seen an exemplary growth since its launch throughout the world. Earlier this year, .CN crossed over 13 million registrations to become the second most registered domain extension after .COM. Moreover, with China now representing […]
- Live Chat Product Discontinuation - Moved to 18th August August 16, 2009
Based on feedback that we received from several Resellers, we have decided to postpone the Live Chat discontinuation to the August of 18th, 2009 at 12:30 UTC. From the 18th of August, it will not be possible to purchase new Live Chat packages but exisiting packages will continue to function normally. […]