Linux is still way more popular than windows for servers, certainly for web hosting purposes. I would never use a windows webserver for hosting, though I may use one for an internal network. It may have been a light exageration, but it was certainly true at least in part. It's best on NEXTSTEP. Play games, run the majority of software, use non-apple hardware.
So basically you're saying they can't run windows games, they can't run windows software, and they can't use PC hardware. Clever. That's like saying a PS3 is limiting because it doesn't run 360 games.
I switched to Mac and never looked back. I would never have done this a few years ago - but these days there hardware is competitively priced and just as powerful - and don't tell me its not powerful, I work in media and everyone else in media use Macs for one of the most demanding tasks out there, video editing.
Particularly for webservers Windows is catching up rapidly. Apache used to be clearly in advance of IIS (2002 62% vs. 27%) and lost meanwhile enormously (47% vs. 37%). Previously it was a difference of 35 percentage points, now its 10. In corporate networks it is often even worse for Unix. While there are historically certainly still many Unix servers/networks Windows is here often even more a key player than for public infrastructure servers. Sorry, not to offend, but your personal preference is not the key here.
Yes, I'm saying that it does not run the majority of games, software and doesn't run on the majority of hardware. That means that I cannot use the games, software or hardware that I want to. The real world doesn't say "It's OK that it doesn't run the software I want because that's a Windows program!", no, they say "It doesn't run the program I want, so i'll use Windows instead. If I want to upgrade the hardware, I want to be able to do it myself and to have a choice who I buy from. I don't want to be locked into Apple's hardware and to have to go to them for everything, it's that simple. If the PS3 didn't run the games I wanted then, yes, I would say that, particularly if the 360 had the vast majority of games available and the vast majority of people using it. In corporate networks, yes Windows is popular. For web servers i'm betting it's the corporations who will be hosting on Windows, not the normal web hosting companies. It's the personal preference of most of the people running webservers.
If I go out and buy a PC tomorrow, I'll find that it doesn't run the stuff that I've bought for my mac... We're not discussing what your past purchases are and what platform your software library is for, we're discussing what is the better operating system. I moved to OSX 6 months ago, and I've not looked back. There's not a single application that I used on windows that I haven't been able to get on OSX - and in the case where OSX has an alternative, I've found they're usually of higher quality anyway. I didn't come here to say that OSX is the best, as thats very much a personal preference. I just can't sit and watch people say inaccurate and poorly researched things about OSX, just for the sake of it. And to be completely fair, I can run any windows program that you have, on OSX if I wanted to.
Lets put it this way it took 45 secconds to load safari so what does that tell you about loading office software.
You can't base the power of a whole range of computers on a short experience with one mac. Safari opens as soon as I've finished clicking on my Core 2 Duo Macbook Pro. And Core 2 Duo is anything but a slow processor.
Well, we can guess, we can bet, but we dont know for sure. The only fact we are currenly having is that Windows' marketshare gained big parts of the last years and is still increasing. If you mean by "normal web hosting companies" $5/month hosting you might be right, but in this case one cannot track the personal preference down to Unix as the 500 customers on such a server do not care for the operating system but only that they have a website online. Yes, and this personal preference moved partially towards Windows over the last years.
You would find that there would be equivalents to pretty much everything that you could run on a mac, often even the same program! Which is what i'm saying, the better operating system for normal use is Windows because most software is made for it Windows! You obviously don't play many games or use any software from small developers. I think everything i've said so far is completely true. Via emulation, virtualisation or dual-booting. The first two take a significant performance hit. The last one requires you to reboot every time you want to use that other program. You're still ignoring the point about non-compatible hardware and that is what really drives me away from getting a mac. I can put up with the incompatibilities, but not with beholden to Apple's will. But that Linux is still ahead. I mean any hosting up to buying your own dedicated server. It will always be cheaper, and generally more secure, to run on Linux. As it has with Linux on the desktop, but just to a far smaller extent. Windows won't gain a monopoly over the server market.
Sorry wheener. Im not sure when SP1 comes out. But it will most likely come out in mid-late 2008 [^^^ Just A Guess!]
If my memory serves right, back in 2006 I had read an article from netcraft that Godaddy migrated huge lots of servers from Linux to Windows 2003 server. searching on netcraft I found the article. http://news.netcraft.com/archives/2006/04/06/april_2006_web_server_survey.html Godaddy not the largest, but sure one of the largest hosting datacenters on the US, This is one of the reasons since mid 2006 we see the growing use of Windows Servers and the drop of Linux servers. I personally use both platforms, Windows 2003 Server and Linux. Both are good, but I prefer Linux.
Not Linux, Unix. But while its correct that Unix is still ahead I would say the loss of Apache's share and the simultaneous gain of IIS is saying something about the direction of Windows as server platform. Security always depends on the administrator and not the operating system. Also the price issue has been already proven as wrong. As to your hosting, we can still continue to bet, guess and believe but dont have any hard numbers. Fact is Windows is gaining in the webserver market. Again, I am not saying Windows is a better platform for webhosting than Unix (not Linux in particular) but I am only stating facts. Nobody is talking about a monopoly, only that Windows was catching up very quickly over the last years and this gain can certainly not be compared to Linux' marketshare in the desktop business, which is still virtually non-existent.
That was my response to you, and you've turned it around again and thrown it at me. This is going to be a damn long conversation if we're going to do that I play plenty of games. That's what my 360 is for. You're just way off whack on the software thing. OK a small company may only make their software for windows. But there's guaranteed to be another small company making software to do the same on OSX. OSX has tons of small companies producing fantastic products, if you cared to look, they actually have a very wide library of applications available for OSX these days. The hardware one I will give you, because its true theres limited components for upgrading a mac, and if you're big on upgrading then obviously thats not going to sit perfectly with you.
I sense that this conversation isn't really going anywhere, so I'm going to leave it at that. Found this cartoon which I thought was really funny, and not biased one way or another, have a watch: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qHO8l-Bd1O4 Matt
OSX is my OS of choice. Vista is very annoying at times (especially all the pre-installed crap) If your used to windows the transistion can be hard.. but when you get used to mac, you will love it.
I'm pro Linux and Open Source Fan but also like Mac OS The new Leopard tour http://www.apple.com/macosx/guidedtour
That doesn't have any relevance to my point. I'd be interested to know why they switch but I can certainly scratch Godaddy of my list of potential hosts in the future. You are right, that is what i'd call an online slip of the tongue . Unix is, by defenition, cheaper than Windows, because it's free! The unfortunate facts, at that, but I suppose i'll accept that as true. I was assuming that's what people are implying, as that's what happens on the desktop market. The difference is, it was true the way I said it because Windows does have a far bigger software library. Quite possibly I prefer to play them on something more portable and long lasting. Not nesecarily, there is a far bigger market for Windows software than for Linux. Hence, it makes sense to make either for both or for Windows. But not nearly as many as Windows. That's the problem, if i'm going to have a desktop then I can't resist tinkering with it. Yes, Vista is very annoying but at least it still runs on a pc. I'll have a look at it later.