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.

Which of those two (use versus spend) is more important?.

Let's start with the key questions I ask when anyone comes to me for advice about computer purchasing: We've started each OS off with six key considerations, so if you want to just skim, you'll get a good feel for the pros and cons of each system merely by scanning the 18 considerations in our pro and con lists.Īnd, with that, let's take a deep dive into today's three leading desktop platforms. We will consider how these well-understood OSs differ in 2019.

Windows vs mac os x market share