natty_dread wrote:The vast majority of servers are Linux-based PC:s. The market share for linux-based OS:s is growing constantly. As for Macintosh, maybe it has an operating system built over a unix kernel, but why would you go for a proprietary system when you can get a real unix-based system on a PC for free? Macs may have some niche applications, but I posit that even in those cases most people only use them because they are unaware of the alternatives for Microsoft on PC.
I cannot speak for the people who choose to use the Mac OS, so I can't be certain why they prefer the proprietary system. I suspect it has something to do with the fact that for most people in the industry, the freedom allowed by the "real" UNIX-based system is quite irrelevant (for the same reason that people who do programming in the C environment can do it in a Windows environment and often do). As a result, you make the obvious choice -- the one that allows much easier communication and interfacing between the non-technical and technical members of your operation. For people who actually do the work, they know that it
doesn't actually matter who wins the eternal OS debate. All that matters is you get done what you need to. Insisting on using a
non-Mac or WIndows OS because it makes you
not a hipster is an equally dumb move, you know.
It's kinda telling that the only way Mac fanboys can argue against PC is to equate it with Windows.
"PC" does not mean "non-Mac computer," since a personal computer can have the Mac OS installed on it. That, however, is meaningless, since everyone
knows what they mean when they say "PC," even if the terminology is incorrect.