There are a lot of debates and arguments on selecting the best operating system out of Windows, Linux and OSx. Various people come-up with a bunch of reasons to convince that they have made the wisest decision while selecting their Operating systems. When one person keep saying that his/her OS is the best one, the other person says that his/her OS is even better.
When this is applied to my situation, I touched a computer for the first time in 1997, and then I learnt a few commands of MS-DOS. Frankly, more than being ignorant of what those commands really do, I didn’t understand why would a person keep typing such commands on an ugly black and white console, and what would someone really gain by listing the files or a set of directories on it. But that is how we all begin to learn things, and with the time we begin to love those things.
However, I did not like MS-DOS very much then―but later, began to love Computers when I started to play the computer game called Commandos on a Windows 98 machine, with one of my school time friends. Just like that―thanks to Windows 98, I started my life with a Computer. Therefore, I still do respect Microsoft Windows Operating Systems for being such an OS for such a long time, which is easier reached by an average user. When I wanted a document typed it was available on Windows. When I wanted to connect to the Internet, it was available on Windows. When I wanted to play a computer game I loved, it was also available on Windows. Most of the third parties provide support for Windows with their tooling and drivers―therefore, I would recommend Windows Operating Systems ( not Win-ME, Vista, you know why :p ) to anybody―including my wife—who wishes to get regular things done, without much of effort.
I used a Mac Mini for some time with OS-x Lion installed on it. Some people mentioned that MacOSx was more stabler than any Windows or Linux OS, and was much user friendly. It indeed has a beautiful UI, and has a lot of cool applications provided within, such as Airdrop. Perhaps, on an expensive Macbook Pro or on an expensive Mac Pro, it would be felt like much stabler than Windows 7 or any Linux OS. But on that Mac Mini with Intel core i5 processor, 4GB of RAM and 500GB of Hard Disk Space; it wasn’t any better than the HP machine that I used then with Windows 7 installed; which had an Intel core2-duo processor, 3GB of RAM, and 520GB of HDD space. Specially, that MacMini gave me a lot of troubles by getting stuck while I was running only Photoshop CS5 and Xcode on it.
Choices : Windows, Linux and MacOSx I chose to stay with Linux, because of a few reasons.
Choices : Ubuntu, Mint and Others
I used Ubuntu for a long time. Especially, I loved the version 9.04 “Jaunty Jackalope“. But when the unity desktop was arriving I felt somewhat restricted, even if I loved the 'Change'.
Then I moved to Linux Mint, when one of my friends recommended it. It was really great and I didn’t face much of problems. Later I heard about the Linux Mint Debian Edition (LMDE), and learnt that it is more stabler than the Ubuntu based Mint distributions.
Then I tried LMDE, and it was truly performing the better. More than the quality of being stable and performing better, I loved it for being version-less. Because of this reason, all the new features and improvements kept flowing to my PC, without re-installs or major updates. Most of the required tools were well supported by LMDE, and I couldn’t find any better OS for me yet; because I would consider the LMDE as an all-rounder when it comes to matters such as freedom, usability, customization, performance, look and feel and tool support.
When I install LMDE on any PC, there are several things that I do, right after the installation process completes. The very first thing is nothing else than updating the OS. This usually takes a few minutes, but I always like to make sure that my OS installation is 100% complete and, that I am having the latest updates on my PC; before moving ahead. When the update process completes, I install most of the software tools, that would be used with software development.
Since this post was mostly about selecting an appropriate Operating System, I will be composing another post having described the installation processes of the software development related tools and utilities. In that article, I will mention about my writing style, and my objective and the reason for presenting facts in such a manner as well.
See you until then!!!
―If such a one best OS really exists, why wouldn’t all the people around the world, choose that (best) OS and stay with it?Perhaps such a one best OS really doesn’t exist: and the factors that decide the best (or most appropriate) OS for a particular person always depend on how that person intends to use a computer and what he/she is willing to do with a computer.
When this is applied to my situation, I touched a computer for the first time in 1997, and then I learnt a few commands of MS-DOS. Frankly, more than being ignorant of what those commands really do, I didn’t understand why would a person keep typing such commands on an ugly black and white console, and what would someone really gain by listing the files or a set of directories on it. But that is how we all begin to learn things, and with the time we begin to love those things.
However, I did not like MS-DOS very much then―but later, began to love Computers when I started to play the computer game called Commandos on a Windows 98 machine, with one of my school time friends. Just like that―thanks to Windows 98, I started my life with a Computer. Therefore, I still do respect Microsoft Windows Operating Systems for being such an OS for such a long time, which is easier reached by an average user. When I wanted a document typed it was available on Windows. When I wanted to connect to the Internet, it was available on Windows. When I wanted to play a computer game I loved, it was also available on Windows. Most of the third parties provide support for Windows with their tooling and drivers―therefore, I would recommend Windows Operating Systems ( not Win-ME, Vista, you know why :p ) to anybody―including my wife—who wishes to get regular things done, without much of effort.
I used a Mac Mini for some time with OS-x Lion installed on it. Some people mentioned that MacOSx was more stabler than any Windows or Linux OS, and was much user friendly. It indeed has a beautiful UI, and has a lot of cool applications provided within, such as Airdrop. Perhaps, on an expensive Macbook Pro or on an expensive Mac Pro, it would be felt like much stabler than Windows 7 or any Linux OS. But on that Mac Mini with Intel core i5 processor, 4GB of RAM and 500GB of Hard Disk Space; it wasn’t any better than the HP machine that I used then with Windows 7 installed; which had an Intel core2-duo processor, 3GB of RAM, and 520GB of HDD space. Specially, that MacMini gave me a lot of troubles by getting stuck while I was running only Photoshop CS5 and Xcode on it.
Choices : Windows, Linux and MacOSx I chose to stay with Linux, because of a few reasons.
- Linux is free and open source
- Programmer friendly
- Customizable
- Performs well on any average PC.
- When you are familiar with an OS that is available everywhere for free―it’s just a matter of downloading and installing it, when you need to do something on a PC.
Choices : Ubuntu, Mint and Others
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| I see LINUX as kind of a “Vamanos pest” based lab (in Breaking Bad) |
Then I moved to Linux Mint, when one of my friends recommended it. It was really great and I didn’t face much of problems. Later I heard about the Linux Mint Debian Edition (LMDE), and learnt that it is more stabler than the Ubuntu based Mint distributions.
Then I tried LMDE, and it was truly performing the better. More than the quality of being stable and performing better, I loved it for being version-less. Because of this reason, all the new features and improvements kept flowing to my PC, without re-installs or major updates. Most of the required tools were well supported by LMDE, and I couldn’t find any better OS for me yet; because I would consider the LMDE as an all-rounder when it comes to matters such as freedom, usability, customization, performance, look and feel and tool support.
So I chose, the LMDE.
Even after the scope of choice was narrowed to LMDE, I had to make a “Choice” again!!
Choices : Gnome, Mate, and Cinnamon
This totally depended on User Experience and how my eyes would see things. Both Gnome and Mate are known to perform very well, even on a very old PC. However―In my case―I had some good hardware specification on my Laptop. Therefore, I didn’t have to worry about the performance and speed/latency related matters. All I had to think about was the accessibility, user experience and the attractiveness of the Desktop.
For me, the “Cinnamon” desktop was “Choice”. I loved it then, and I still love that Desktop. It’s look and feel and the user friendliness was not any lesser than Windows 7 or MacOSx Lion―and that’s how I became a fan of the “Cinnamon Desktop Environment”.
Even after the scope of choice was narrowed to LMDE, I had to make a “Choice” again!!
Choices : Gnome, Mate, and Cinnamon
This totally depended on User Experience and how my eyes would see things. Both Gnome and Mate are known to perform very well, even on a very old PC. However―In my case―I had some good hardware specification on my Laptop. Therefore, I didn’t have to worry about the performance and speed/latency related matters. All I had to think about was the accessibility, user experience and the attractiveness of the Desktop.
For me, the “Cinnamon” desktop was “Choice”. I loved it then, and I still love that Desktop. It’s look and feel and the user friendliness was not any lesser than Windows 7 or MacOSx Lion―and that’s how I became a fan of the “Cinnamon Desktop Environment”.
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| Linux mint Debian, with Cinnamon Desktop Environment |
Therefore, please note that I―hereafter, when describe something technical―will always be referring to a Computer that runs Linux Mint Debian Edition together with Cinnamon Desktop Environment on it.
When I install LMDE on any PC, there are several things that I do, right after the installation process completes. The very first thing is nothing else than updating the OS. This usually takes a few minutes, but I always like to make sure that my OS installation is 100% complete and, that I am having the latest updates on my PC; before moving ahead. When the update process completes, I install most of the software tools, that would be used with software development.
Since this post was mostly about selecting an appropriate Operating System, I will be composing another post having described the installation processes of the software development related tools and utilities. In that article, I will mention about my writing style, and my objective and the reason for presenting facts in such a manner as well.
See you until then!!!
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