Should Operating Systems Matter Anymore?

I've been watching two of the smartest bloggers I know begin to explore the question "Do operating systems matter any more?

The initial discussion opened up here and got picked up as a post by David Churbuck on his blog here. This conversation and my growing dependence on web-based applications has forced me to ask myself "Do I really need to care who makes my operating system?"

I'm writing this on Google Docs and spreadsheets so I guess I've answered my own question. For the moment, I really don't care much whether I use an operating system developed by Microsoft, Apple or Adam's off ox.

    What I care about is connectivity and occasional local computing. And reliability and efficiency.

Microsoft has had it's decades in the sun. But it's latest operating system may be it's biggest commercial failure. From my side of the computer, Vista is a pig wearing vermilion lipstick and bright red rouge. I used it on a convertible notebook I had for about two weeks and disliked its performance and memory footprint. I really don't want to go back to Vista and I honestly don't want to be forced into using an operating system because it's the only choice I have on my preferred hardware platform.

    Going a step further, let me add that I"m not your average computer user.  I bought a spiffy 15-inch MacBook Pro last year and found some of its features so unsuited for my basic requirements that I sold it  to a friend who works for an all-Macintosh company.

I try hard to be specific in my criticisms. What turned me off about my MacBook Pro was the sub-par range of its WiFi transceiver and the fact that it ran very warm

     But I'm writing this morning about why anyone should give a damn about operating systems, not about why I disliked the MacBook Pro I bought and discarded.

    But there were and are things I really like about Apple today and right at the top of the list is the OSX operating system family and Apple's iLife applications. I believe OSX sets a very high bar for all operating systems. It's rock solid, fast and very reliable. Secondarily, the bundled applications included with the Mac may be the best ever shipped with any personal computer.Ever! And the iLife software suite works very well with Apple's OSX operating system. Unlike Vista it doesn't choke up when I switch apps.

     Moreover, OSX can accommodate 4GB of system memory, but moves out nicely with much less memory. Vista by comparison wants 2GB for full functionality but still requires that some programs run in a "compatibility" mode.

    And Linux? Give me a break. For all I care the penguin could be dropped into a try pot at some whaling station in the Baja Falklands and rendered into earth-friendly, biologically inert, facial soap.

     I use a personal computer to perform specific tasks, some of which could not otherwise be done very easily. My blog is one example.

          I really don't want to be forced into learning operating system minutiae. I also don't think most other PC users really want to be forced to become  network engineers or systems analysts. The God's truth for me is that such discussions are about as useful as enthusiast's arguments over an automobile store parts counter on what modification to an upright 1600cc Volkswagen engine produces the most horsepower. There was a time in my life when I cared about such things. That time ihas now passed. I want my operating system  and my computer to be like my Toyota Prius; I hit a round "on" button and I get to the task at hand without really thinking about what makes it possible.

     So please, please spare me the arguments about the efficiency of various "kernels" and "page swaps." I really,really, don't need, or want, to know about them. I just want to accomplish my sundry tasks. It's  personal computing, damn it, not the crusades.

     But there is an angle to this discussion that I care a lot about. It has to do with the underlying hardware and the capabilities it provides. Any hardware I use has to be drop dead reliable,  very sturdy (and for the sake of this discussion and its relevance to mobile computing-- which after all is one of this blog's primary topics, it has to be light enough for me to tot around for hours at a time and be able to get an Internet connection no matter where I am, the very first time I use it.

    I'm relying on shrink wrapped applications less and less today, so time to initial productivity is a key consideration when it comes to any portable computer I choose. Time spent looking at my fingernails as my computer loads an operating system is wasted time in my life. So the quicker an operating system gets out of my way, the happier I am.

All I want is a simple, solid operating system. I really don't want to spend a lot of time learning intricate keyboard dances to get to work, or having to remember to switch to a compatibility mode in order to run TroutFinder 2.0 as I sit by the side of some mountain road, waiting for my notebook to boot up perched beside me on the home built wood doghouse nestled between the driver's and passenger's seats in my beloved '68 Volkswagen bus.

     Operating Systems. Discussions about toasters are nearly as interesting. Oh, there are no magazines called "Toaster", "toaster Week", or "Toaster World."

     Well that's my two pennies worth--Jim Forbes, 10/09/2007.

Comments

[Jack @ The Tech Teapot]

>It's personal computing, damn it, not the crusades.

Oh, I really agree with your sentiment here. To hear some of the open source crowd talk you'd think there was some huge political point being debated. I think we should keep politics out of your choice of technology. Use on the basis of suitability to purpose not the license it may or may not be distributed under. Most open sourcers seem to have a hard time understanding that most open source wouldn't get a look in if it was charged for.

[Tim]

"The God's truth for me is that such discussions are about as useful as enthusiast's arguments over an automobile store parts counter on what modification to an upright 1600cc Volkswagen engine produces the most horsepower. There was a time in my life when I cared about such things. That time ihas now passed."

I'm not quite there, but I'm getting closer day by day. I was/am a computer enthusiast and most definitely am a car enthusiast. I went from barebones-ing a desktop together to buying a top of the line rig and overclocking/tweaking the crap out of it to selling all that junk and living off of laptops & external storage.

Will that shit come one day with cars? Sure some day maybe I will spend $100K on a late model Corvette ZR-1, but I have a feeling there will be something that I feel could be improved and I will spend my time detailing how best to fix it.

Sorry this doesn't follow the OS-wars, my thoughts on that are on David's blog. But just thought I would share that you aren't the only one who is moving on from the minutia.

Good post!