I honestly like them all, and I use them all on a daily basis.
Windows 7 and RHEL at work; Windows 8 on my desktop gaming and media production machine at home; Ubuntu and OS X on my Macbook air; Debian my small home server; and a Chromebook to play around and casual web surfing.
I like Windows 8 mostly because of the compatibility, and it makes the most sense to put on a desktop for things that require high-end hardware, like video games and photo editing software.
The Metro interface doesn’t bother me.
I mostly stay in the desktop, but I find that the ‘just type’ feature of the start screen is convenient for quickly opening apps – just hit the Win key, type a few letters, and go.
Not too much different from things like the Unity Dash and Quicksilver.
I like Mac OS X mostly because I’m a long time Mac user and am somewhat partial to Apple’s UI and hardware design.
Mac OS X is also the best runner up for third-party software.
It’s less useful at the command line as Linux is and I’ve found it doesn’t make a great server OS beyond the simple things you can switch on. It works well as a general OS though.
I like Ubuntu and other Linux distros for various reasons. They are free, both as in beer and freedom (Open Source).
If you are a power user or developer Linux is excellent as you can customize Linux to your heart’s desire, provided you know how and put the time in.
I even like some of the default interfaces link Unity, although not everyone does.
Linux could still use some polish for the average person.
Some UI elements could be improved and if a Linux system breaks it’s not easy to quickly recover for the average user.
It’s not for everyone, but for those who are power users and appreciate the openness of Linux it has endless possibilities.
It can run anywhere and having Linux skills are valuable. Linux is also a great server OS.
For servers it’s cheap, reliable, and easy to remotely manage.
Now, Chrome OS and Chromium OS. Well, it’s limited, but what it does it does well.
They’re great for living on the internet, but has some obvious limitations for any localized work.
It is growing more capable over time though, as now there is the Chrome Native Client (NaCl) which allows more native code to run.
Power users can also enable developer mode and get access to a real terminal and install change root (chroot) to make it easier to install Linux applications.
If you have a Mac device you can have a great opportunity to try them all out to see which you prefer.
WRITTEN BY RYAN KAROLAK
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