Operating Systems

The primary driver to selecting a computer and operating system should always be your business needs. If you need to run specific software for your business you will need to determine whether it is available on your prospective OS. If you already have hardware or software that you want to continue using you will need to check for that compatibility as well. Changing operating systems or even upgrading to a new OS can create time consuming issues.

	1. Windows	2. Macintosh	3. Linux
General Advice	The standard for small business computing. If you want a utilitarian solution this is your best bet.	If your business lives and breathes creativity then an Apple computer may be the best choice.	The cost savings are attractive but you must do your homework to ensure it will meet your hardware and software compatibility needs. There is also a dizzying array of distributions for Linux that you will need to pick through to find your best match.
Find Local Tech Specialists Search TechShortcut's tech profiles for specialists in your area	Microsoft Windows	Apple Macintosh	Linux
Find More Information Use Research Helper to find related web articles	Vista Microsoft Windows Operating System Microsoft Windows Operating System	OS X Apple Macintosh Operating System Apple Macintosh Operating System	Linux Operating System
Examples of Products and Services These are not endorsements, simply some product or service names we encountered in our research to get you started finding your best fit.	Microsoft Windows	Apple Macintosh OS X	Fedora 1 openSUSE 1 Ubuntu 1 1 Free and open source

Outside Information

• WIkipedia.org: Operating system
• WIkipedia.org: List of Linux distributions