You can say what you will about computer hardware and the operating system that you run, but when it comes down to it, the main thing a user cares about is what you can do with the computer you have. Many times what I hear from Mac users is (para-phrased), "OS X is so great because of all the useful programs it comes with." While that may be true, often times computer users confuse packaged software with the operating system. Well, not to worry here, I will take a look at all the aspects of software between Apple's OS X, Windows, and Linux. The three major factors to consider when examining available software for each OS include functionality, availability, and cost-ability (needed to rhyme there).

Functionality

Windows functionality is not the greatest in the world, that is generally accepted. The reason? Software development is open and not very well controlled. So while there is great software out there, one needs to be careful about what he/she puts on the platform.

Mac's OS X software offering brings great things to the table, and because Apple is a dictatorship/communist-like controller over everything that goes on in their world, they put out seriously stable and functional software.

The worst by far in general functionality is Linux. Sure, you can pull some tricks that might get your software to work, but it is a widely accepted fact that often times the software does not work, or at least does not work well. I can personally attest to this fact. I will say, however, that Linux has some great software that allows you to do "grey-hat" work, if that is what you are looking to do.

Placement: Linux (3rd), Windows (2nd), Mac (1st)

Availability

It is true that the more software developers available for your platform, the more software will exist, and that generally translates into more options and overall functionality of your platform. With Windows dominating the market share at about 90% (see previous Last Word article), it is clear that demand has caused most consumer software to be at the very least made available on their platform. Some may see this as a disadvantage to have so many choices, but basic economics theory teaches us that this competition is good in developing great software.

Mac's OS X has some wonderful software offerings, but overall availability and compatibility is growing but limited compared to Windows.

And while Linux has a huge open-source offering, commercial support for consumer software development is severely limited.

Placement: Linux (3rd), Windows (1st), Mac (2nd)

Cost

This is where Linux shines! The whole ideal of the Linux community is the creation and use of open-source software. That means pretty much everything you get is free, and that is the right price for me!

Windows and OS X both have access to a similar amount of open-source software. When comparing similar software packages, I noticed a significant difference in price between OS X and Windows. For example, as of this article, I found Office Home and Student at $76 for Windows compared to $118 on Apple's computer. Also, like it or not, running software in Mac OS X almost requires the use of VMWare Fusion or Parallels to run some version of Windows in order to fully function in this technology world. That extra money alone keeps costs high for the Mac platform.

Placement: Linux (1st), Windows (2nd), Mac (3rd)

The Final Verdict

So when it comes down to it, Windows wins the overall competition, but this really depends on what you yourself need. Mac can be great if you like to keep things simple. Linux is the choice for you if you want to do the heavy duty programming and minute control. It's all up to you!