. . . continued from Hot News All of the basic productivity, entertainment, communication and utility needs are clearly addressed with robust software and there are several layers above that which just as clearly address professional needs. Mac OS, formerly the preserve of graphic designers, illustrators, desktop publishers and video editors, now seems to think it belongs everywhere. Considering that the bloom should have been off that particular rose years ago, and that Mac OS X is roundly praised (and with great justification), there's no doubt that Apple has proved its course of action too. The depth and breadth of software and hardware available for Apple computers is vast and thorough. But I don't have time to make precipitous changes to the way I work. While the foregoing chorus spiels new tunes yearly, Windows on the other hand, hasn't seen a major release since 2000. That's five years ago. The current OEM release of Windows XP 64-Bit is just that—an OEM release. You can't buy it at the software store and you can't order it online from Microsoft, so who cares about it. Besides, it addresses what still amounts to a niche market and I have no idea what Microsoft is doing with it. And I still don't have time to make precipitous changes to the way I work.

Really the only exceptions are small businesses that must make use of proprietary software which has yet to be ported or otherwise released for the alternative operating system.

I use Windows XP and I hear all of the praise heaped on competing operating systems. I hear that you can do almost everything on Linux that you can do on Windows—often faster and with less fear of data loss. I hear that you can do everything on Mac OS X that you can do on Windows—often better and more intuitively. But I don't have time to make precipitous changes to the way I work.

Over the past six months, I've edited our reviews of Xandros Linux Desktop and Mac OS X Tiger. Both reviews are wonderfully enthusiastic, written by smart people, and clearly show that both operating systems are not only ready for prime time, but also ready for anything that small business users need to do. Really the only exceptions are small businesses that must make use of proprietary software which has yet to be ported or otherwise released for the alternative operating system.

I'd love to change operating systems for a few months (or even a year or two). I'd like to try different things and get used to a slightly different way of interacting with software and hardware. But my small business, my research work and the continuously growing commitment to Kickstartnews leaves me with only a few hours every week to actually sit down and experiment with something. It's not enough. I don't have time to make precipitous changes to the way I work.

Rest assured that you and I can get used to the basics of Mac OS X and Linux inside of a few days. Problems only arise when long-standing habits cause us to expect an action, feature or function to be in a particular place that just doesn't exist in the new operating system or in one of your favorite programs running on the new operating system. Microsoft Office is a perfect example. Look in the Tools menu in Office Word for Windows, then look in the same menu in Office Word:mac. There are enough differences to stop you in your tracks. It's not Microsoft's fault. It's not Apple's fault. Windows and OS X are different operating systems which impose different things on programmers. It's nobody's fault.

Are there compelling reasons to change operating systems? If, in the course of doing business, working at home or pursuing a hobby, you encounter a fine piece of software which exactly fits your needs but only runs on a competing operating system, you've got no choice—you have to make a change, or at least pick up a second computer capable of running the new software. If security concerns keep you up at night, you've got no choice—you have to make a change. If you're bored with the same old look, the same old functionality and the same old problems every day, every week, ad infinitum, you've got no choice—you have to make a change. Just remember that changing to a new operating system takes time, and that it often takes several months before new users truly get the hang of it.

With all that in mind, the obvious conclusion is that change for the sake of change isn't always a good idea. People with SOHO, small business and even busy home computing responsibilities are well-advised to come to grips with the real amount of focusable free time they can devote to changing operating systems. The lost time, lost productivity and (occasional) overabundance of stress during the process belongs to you. Give it up only sparingly. On the other hand, if you can truly find the time, the change can be absolutely rewarding and exciting.

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