What is an operating system? If you've ever used a computer in any function, you've interacted on some level with an operating system. There are many schools of thought on which operating system is the most user friendly, the best designed, and the best for professionals in the technology industry. As a lay computer user, that is, someone who uses her computer for mostly recreational purposes, I've used a variety of operating systems and present my reviews of each system I've interacted with.

My family has always used Windows. From Windows 95 to the new Windows 7, I can pretty much get myself around any Window operating system with little hassle. This Windows exposure may seem to have lent me to a user bias as it's the most familiar system to me. I do like Windows for its familiarity but I also like its functionality. It is a simple system for the simple user. It doesn't have a lot of bells and whistles and copies messages off the computer's printed circuit board quickly and for the most part efficiently. Window's Achilles Heel, as most already know, is its propensity to crash and freeze. These delays are annoying at best, and can put me behind for days when I'm working on a project.

I've recently had Ubuntu loaded onto my lap top. After spending a few days navigating around the new system, I can say I think I like it. It runs smoother than Windows and has a great user interface. So far I've had no crashes and have been very impressed with its functionality. Unfortunately I can't use it as frequently as I'd like because there are some programs I have to use for work that are at present incompatible with Ubuntu. Hopefully I can get everything on the same page and start using the system whole hog here soon.

The operating system I've used the least but still appreciate is Apple's OS X. My experience with OS X comes almost exclusively from a previous job I had where I had to use a program accessible only on a Mac system. I learned how to navigate around OS X and come to like its sleek style and user friendly icon system. Because I don't have a Mac computer of my own at home it will probably be a while before I get the chance to really get to know OS X but I was impressed with what I saw.