Random thoughts... I'm glad that there are continuing efforts to make Linux more user-friendly. Having experienced it first hand, I was amused that the history section touched on the superiority complex that some of the more vocal Linux users suffer from (though obviously that attitude is not at all limited to just UNIX people)-- though the site did censor the definition of RTFM, so I hope no one reading that tries to use it in "polite" conversation! Anyway, it was interesting to learn more since I've never used it, though I considered Ubuntu recently.
The history of Mac OS X was also interesting. I've used Macs, but have never owned one so far, so I don't really know a lot about the actual OS. I don't really have much to say about the more technical parts of the reading, as they (largely) went over my head. The prevailing attitude is that Mac OS X, among other things, makes the extra cost of the hardware worth it. I leaned that way too when shopping for a laptop earlier this year. But I ended up not getting a Mac-- instead, I was able to afford a decent laptop and upgrade my husband's desktop for less than I would have spent on a Macbook. I'm interested in eventually owning a Mac for many of the reasons described in the kernelthread reading, but the cost is a big factor for me right now.
The reading about Windows was the most familiar to me simply because it's what I've used. I was disappointed that XP stopped being readily available-- I've had some pretty irritating issues with Vista, and I haven't been very impressed. (I liked XP just fine, though.) I will admit that hearing people rave about their Macs can make me a little jealous. I bet they never have to use programs to turn off horrid "features"-- like Vista anti-lag, for example, which I need to force Vista to stop looking for new wireless access points every minute. It's not noticable when browsing sites, but made online gaming impossible. It caused a five to ten second lag every single minute. So frustrating!
I am skeptical about Windows 7, though-- but maybe I shouldn't be. It seems like every other Windows release is ridiculously buggy. Well, mainly I'm thinking of Vista and Me. So maybe Windows 7 will be the more stable release.
All 3 operating systems have their pros and cons-- and all 3 have reasons people gravitate toward or away from them. UNIX is still considered a "tech person" thing and, even with more user-friendly versions out, I'm not sure it will become popular on a wider scale for a while. Mac OS X is generally easy to use and stable, but the cost of the hardware does limit who can use it. Vista has its problems, but is widely available and on inexpensive hardware, which makes it the default for many people.
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I think it is very interesting of how you brought up the topic of who is likely to use what systems either because of: (1) how easy they are to use or (2) because of the costs. I think a lot of people are intrigue by Macs because the high tech people rave about them (and the advertisements are neat too), but than again, "techies:" and marketers must remember the average customer. Kind of like along the lines of what you said - XP/Vista is fine for what I need to use my computer for. I think a lot of "techy" people forget that although Microsoft Vistas experiences a lot of problems, it is still the most user friendly and also it is the most affordable if you don't want to (or don't know how to) download Linux products.
I had forgotten about Windows Me being more buggy than an Amish transportation system! It's good to remember that we've been through all this before with Windows. I'm definitely with you in thinking XP is the more secure and simplier operating system. Call me masochistic, though, but I really have a soft spot for Vista, bug-infested as it is. I am holding out hope that Windows 7 will have all the best qualities of both Vista and XP.
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