What is the best operating system? As a user of the three most used operating systems, I think there is no definitive answer. Windows will be the best system in terms of compatibility (where video games have a lot to say), but while it has improved quite a bit in Windows 10, I think it’s still a bit slower than Linux and Mac. In any case, in Ubunlog we wanted to focus on Unix-based operating systems, so we thought to make a comparison to find out which operating system is better, what gives name to this blog or desktop operating system developed by Apple , Ubuntu Vs. Mac OS X. Who will win the fight?
Table of Contents
design
File Explorer in Ubuntu 15.10
In terms of design and in my humble opinion, the Apple’s operating systems are much more attractive visually than Ubuntu. Admittedly, the Ubuntu image has improved since they changed the GNOME graphical environment to Unity, but for example, the file explorer still looks a bit off, while on the Mac it’s all cleaner.
OS X Elunch Captain Launchpad
On the other hand, it is also worth mentioning a good point of the “dictatorship” of Apple: although it is true that there are many developers who go on their own, to create an application and upload it to the Mac App Store you have to do it like Apple says, So that the system goes all in harmony. However, in Ubuntu we can install a program from one graphical environment to another very different, so we can have a window on the other side and not look like almost anything.
winner: Mac.
customization
MAT graphic environment
As for personalization, no debate is possible. I still have to confess that it seemed all the simpler to me before Unity arrived, changing the Ubuntu image can be a command away. Without going any further, we can install the Ubuntu 10 graphical environment and access it by logging out and starting from the other environment. In the same way we can change many aspects of Ubuntu. And if we install the MAT graphical environment and want, we can add shortcuts to the top (or bottom) bar, such as the xkill that I like so much.
Captain OS X Finder
On Mac, there are also programs that change the image of the system, but they are usually paid. By default, we can change a couple of colors and put the dark mode, as well as change the icon of a folder by just scrolling Ctrl + C and Ctrl + v, but we can never change the image and other aspects as much as in the distributions Linux, where we can modify almost everything.
winner: Ubuntu.
Ease of use
At this point I should try to think about where I could work best at the user level if I had never touched either operating system. So which one would be easier to use? I think they both have their pros and cons:
- Mac can be harder than Ubuntu if we have never touched any operating system. It can be harder because the default applications are more unknown many of which carry Ubuntu by default. For example, if we want to write a text or start a spreadsheet, on the left we have the launcher with icons that make it very clear what they are for. If we have used at least Windows, it is easy to know why Firefox works and the drawing of the file explorer is much clearer. On a Mac, if we’ve never touched it we won’t know what Safari or Finder is, a browser that has a blue square face split by a line.
- Ubuntu can be harder than Mac if we will do something that is not included in Ubuntu by default or in the Software Center. If we want to do anything that the system doesn’t allow us to just start it, the first thing we will do (or what I do) will be search the internet. What we will find will be many applications for Windows, some for Mac and less for Ubuntu. Luckily we’ll find a way to add a repository and a little tutorial, but that won’t stop us from sometimes finding any software for which we need to do something that we’ll just let go of.
For everything else, both systems have their app stores where we will find almost everything, both have their own way of accessing applications, your file browser or your web browser and I think here there are no differences in ease of use.
winner: tie.
functions
Preview of Captain OS X
In both systems we can do everything, whatever goes ahead. Of course, just start a Mac we will have in sight (in the Dock) one video editing application, An application for editing audio and an application for photos. But the thing does not stop there: by default, selecting a text we can export it to audio, which is perfect to make our own audio balance. the application Preview it allows us to edit images in a super simple way, being able to resize, add text or paste one image on top of another. All this, and more, just start the computer.
Then we have the Apple service, where, for example, we will have our passwords stored in the cloud and we can access all the web pages where we are registered without having to remember the password. And even more, the gestures of the trackpad that I like so much.
Launcher in Ubuntu 15.10
In Ubuntu you could say that the functions are the same, however nothing else to start the system. To edit video we will have to install some application like OpenShot and for audio we may have to install Ardor (and a little more). To edit images we will have to use GIMP, for example, which is a program that if they tried to make it less intuitive I think they would not have succeeded.
On the other hand, we can use other services, such as Google, but, as it is software from different developers, it is not as integrated as in Apple’s operating systems.
winner: Mac.
performance
I think at this point the thing is pretty even, but with important nuances. I have a 2009 iMac with 8GB of RAM and the system performs perfectly. But I also have an Ubuntu laptop with 4GB of RAM which also works perfectly for me. The processor of the iMac is also superior to that of the laptop, so the thing seems clear: one similar performance with fewer resources gives Ubuntu as the winner, but quite.
winner: Ubuntu.
stability
Perhaps, the most equal point of all, At least in everything I’ve tried. It is true that my iMac is more powerful than my laptop, but it is also true that on the laptop with Ubuntu I see more errors (few, but I see them) than on Mac. Sometimes, and it’s something I hope to fix in the version that will be released in just over two months, I see some warning that “something” has had to close in Ubuntu. On Mac I can see this, but with specific third-party applications that are known to cause problems.
winner: tie.
Compatibility with common applications
Microsoft Office Web Applications
This is one of my complaints regarding Linux based operating systems. As I mentioned earlier, in Ubuntu you can do anything, but sometimes we have to search too much. When I’m on Ubuntu, I usually visit the web alternativeto.net per look for similar applications that run on Canonical’s operating system. It’s something I’ve done recently to look for an alternative to Photoshop that convinces me or one for a Twitter client in condition.
Photoshop startup image on Mac
While it is true that Mac is not the most compatible operating system, it is the most important applications are for Mac, As a Microsoft Office (official and offline), something very important for my job (yes, yes, it has to be the official). Game developers are also releasing more and more titles for Mac, so I think at this point there’s no debate either.
winner: Mac.
compatible devices
At this point I could summarize by saying that Mac can only be used on Apple and Ubuntu computers on virtually every computer in the world, but I would not be telling the whole truth.
- Officially, Mac will only be available and installed by default on Apple computers, But there are also the hackintosh o CutoMac. A Hackintosh is a non-Apple computer on which we installed OS X. I myself made one on an Acer Aspire One D250 with Snow Leopard, so I know you can. A CustoMac is a custom computer made with the components that work best in OS X. For this to be possible, the computer must have Intel processorBut it is not an easy task. Installing the system is like blowing and making bottles, but it will take the equivalent of drivers, the .kext, to make components like the Wi-Fi card work.
- Ubuntu can be installed on any computer (And the same system also on mobiles and tablets) with a minimum of resources. Having 32-bit version, it can be installed on any laptop and it will work virtually smoothly. And, as always, we won’t need to install any drivers; everything will work just start the system.
winner: Ubuntu.
Bonus: Price
This point also needs to be commented on, but there is no debate. I ran Ubuntu on my Acer Aspire One D250 which was priced under € 200 and now I use it on a laptop (shared with a sibling) which is priced under € 400. To be able to use Mac officially, we would have to buy the most basic and oldest model of the MacBook Air which is priced at € 999. The numbers speak for themselves.
winner: Ubuntu.
If the accounts don’t fail me, the winner of this fight is Ubuntu by a tight score of 6-5. I have to admit that I feel more comfortable on Mac, but to make this comparison I have set aside my personal preferences and tried to be objective. What has finally tipped the scales in favor of Ubuntu has been the price, which I have decided to break the tie and where Apple products will always have to lose and that. What do you think? Which system do you think is best: Ubuntu or Mac?
