Operating System Personalities

My mother-in-law is looking for a new computer. Her ancient machine - with CRT and running WinXP (no service pack) is finally going to be retired.
I find it interesting the advice she has been given from the rest of the family and what it says about the source.
Her daughter has recommended an Apple, preferably an Air or even an iPad. That says something about her.
Her son has recommended getting a shop to put something together from parts and make sure you install Linux. That says something about him.

To introduce an analogy - Apple are the cool kids in the school-yard. Everyone admires them and wants to be part of the group. They are where the party is AT. To be accepted you have to do things the acceptable way - which means the Apple way. You should sneer at everyone else. Also you need to update your entire wardrobe every six months to stay in fashion. Apple products ARE cool and desirable - but they are not designed to last.
And yes, my sister-in-law is very stylish and popular.

Linux is the nerdy kids and the outcasts. It is very robust and built to all the best specs. It is technically the best. It is eminently Extensible, Flexible and so forth. It is *very* robust and can be adapted to be exactly right for any purpose. There are multiple versions with fine distinctions that only the geeks really care about - but which you have to know in order to set it up properly. Basically there is a whole lot of context that you need to be aware of before you can join.
And yes, my brother-in-law is a geek.

To continue the analogy, Windows is the mainstream. They are inclusive and let anybody join. By default you are part of this group whatever your inclination. They go out of their way to make sure that they are open to all comers. Of course, this is also the downside. They are also open to all the undesirables (whatever that may mean to you). The bad kids (malware) and the clueless (useless applications) are there as well and you have to share the playground with them.

To answer the obvious question - my mother-in-law eventually bought an iMac. Not stylish anymore but it suits her use and, more than anything else, it just works. Which is fine by me since I know nothing about Macs and so I won't have to try to fix it for her :-)