Developer participation is optional, so not all apps are distributed through the Store. To improve on Windows app quality, Microsoft has instituted the Windows Store. This, of course, is not unique to just Windows, but because there are so many developers, you see a wider range of spotty apps along with a wider range of apps for almost any purpose. In my experience, the applications on Windows range from excellent to some that are, to be kind, are barely workable. This is a much bigger factor than the operating system or even the cost. When you choose a machine, it's about the apps you need to run. But if you purchase a less expensive machine from a white box reseller or many of the lower-cost off-branded suppliers, component quality, support, and testing can range from unpredictable to downright unavailable.Īs you might imagine, as the platform with the largest market share, Windows also offers the most applications. If you purchase a machine built for a business buyer from a top-tier vendor, you're almost sure to get excellent quality, better components, pre-shipment testing, and long-term support - at a higher purchase price. You can also build a $100,000 PC, if the urge strikes you.īecause of the vast number of Windows suppliers, product quality can be inconsistent. It'll perform like a dog, but it will run. While machines from mainstream manufacturers like Dell, Microsoft, and Lenovo have prices comparable to Apple products, it's also possible to buy a Windows laptop for under $200. Variable quality and variable costĪnother big benefit of Windows is cost. Most Windows users will buy pre-built laptops where all the drivers generally get along with each other and (again, generally) have been pre-tested at the factory before shipping. Finding exactly the right mix of drivers that don't conflict with or break each other can often be a hair-pulling experience.īut if you're building something this custom, you've probably been down this road before. Getting all these independently produced components to work together can be challenging. There are downsides to all this flexibility, of course. Do you want to be able to run 10 drives internal to the machine? Well, of course, Windows can do it. Do you want on-board instrumentation inputs? Windows can do it. Do you want four beefy graphics cards working in tandem? Windows can do it. If you want to build a machine yourself, you can add nearly any configuration of cards and features you want. When it comes to customization, that choice increases exponentially. That means if you want a Windows computer that's really a tablet with a detachable keyboard, an all-in-one, a super-beefy tower machine with lots of blinking colored lights, or even a system on a USB thumb drive, along with so many more options, there's a Windows machine for you. Windows machines are built by hundreds of manufacturers, and users have long built their own machines from easily-available components. Microsoft has long embraced touch-screen computing with Windows, a feature not found in Macs anywhere. No matter what kind of computer you want, what configuration, or what form-factor, there's a Windows machine for you. In fact, choice is Windows' outstanding feature. For most people, Windows is the default choice. But corporate usage, with the exception of some companies like IBM, is almost all Windows. In developed markets like the US, the Mac percentage is considerably higher, at around 20 percent. The much bigger cost for all these environments will be your ongoing maintenance expenses.īy most accounts, Windows runs on roughly 90 percent of PCs worldwide, with desktop Linux usage accounting for a very low single digit percentage of usage and MacOS making up the rest. Macs always come with MacOS, so there's no cost there. Pretty much the only time you're going to pay to buy Windows is if you're building one of your own, and we'll address that later. If you have an old PC, it almost certainly came with Windows.
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