Jagasian wrote:
A Mac? It is probably just as crappy as Linux and Windows.
Right, but Mac OS is crappy for the same reason Linux is crappy: it's not Windows. IMO Mac OSX supersedes Linux, but unlike most Linux boxes, Macs are not cheap.
It all really depends on your priorities. Here is my opinion:
Money - Linux > Windows > Mac
Software selection - Windows > Mac > Linux
Stability - Mac > Linux > Windows
Aesthetics - Mac > Windows > Linux
Peripherals - Windows > Mac > Linux
Performance - Linux > Windows > Mac
Power user options - Linux > Windows > Mac
Intuitiveness - Windows > Mac > Linux
Linux is ugly and clunky, but it has huge potential if more people were willing to adopt it and it's users were sometimes willing to pay for software. It's just not there yet, and won't be for a long time, if ever.
Windows is slow, bloated and crashy and it's only getting worse since MS wants everyone adopt C# and .NET. Windows however has the best programs under the sun.
Mac OSX is sickenly user-friendly and graphically frivolous, which is Apple overcompensating for poor 3rd party support. Since OSX is based on BSD, you should be able to use a lot of POSIX software with it however.
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As far as game development, there is no alternative to Windows IMO if you're interfacing with hardware such as CopyNES.
Good console emulators are available for Linux/Mac, but the selection is weaker than Windows and Windows releases are usually given priority.
If you need an OS for a secondary PC which will primarily be used for web browsing, by all means go Linux; it's free and you don't have to worry about spyware. Linux also great as a dedicated server OS. But otherwise do you want to have to always find opensource programs or write your own?
Probably the only other redeeming quality of Linux is that it's great at keeping other people in your household from using your computer.