As a massive computer nerd, I always have two machines around at all times. I do this for two reasons; one, having an all-purpose computer works wonders when you’re testing code and other multiplatform goodies, and I have a tendency to test new Linux releases every time one of the distros I watch has a new version. The flexibility of my PC cannot be denied, and it’s saved my bacon on many occasions. However, I also find a number of very appealing qualities with Apple machines; for example, I wouldn’t trade my Macbook Pro for anything in the world. So, what strengths/weaknesses do each of the various systems possess?

Windows has the most obvious strengths and weaknesses, even to the common man. Everything runs on Windows; it’s massive software library and knack for compatibility cannot be denied, and chances are that you’ll need to run some version of Microsoft’s flagship program at some point in your life. However, it also suffers from massive security holes and malware. Yes, malware exists elsewhere, and yes, there’s more malware for Windows because it’s a larger target. However, Windows still has a number of security issues and flaws that make it far more vulnerable to attacks than other operating systems.

Mac and Linux, however, have their own sets of strengths and weaknesses. Both systems run UNIX-style subsystems at their cores, which are both more resilient to attacks than Windows machines (for example, system permission on UNIX machines don’t require the user to operate as as administrator 24/7). Both lag behind Windows as far as sheer number of available software titles, but almost any application you can find on Windows has an open source equivalent available. However, neither system can run Windows applications outright (though Wine helps somewhat), unfortunately, like I said above, you’ll probably need Windows for something you need.

So in the end, Windows is unavoidable, but this might not always been the case. Both Apple and the Linux camp have made massive strides to step up to Windows’ challenges in the last year or so, and with everyone and their mother bashing Vista at every turn, now might be the time to look into something other than that Microsoft-run box you’ve got. It’ll be a while before anything can take Windows on head-to-head, but that day will arrive eventually. Will you be ready?