Windows, macOS and Linux
🏠The everyday picture
Three well-known car makers. All their cars have wheels, a steering wheel and brakes, and they all get you there, but the dashboards differ, the spare parts aren't interchangeable, and each suits different drivers.
📘What it really is
| Windows | macOS | Linux | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Made by | Microsoft | Apple | A worldwide community (free, open source) |
| Runs on | Most PCs and laptops | Apple computers only | Almost anything, from tiny devices to supercomputers |
| Common for | Offices, homes, games | Design, media, many developers | Servers, cloud, developers, Android underneath |
| Cost | Usually included with a PC | Included with a Mac | Free |
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Most of the internet runs on Linux. When you put a website on a VPS or cloud server (Level 6), it is very likely a Linux machine with no screen, controlled by typed commands.
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Android is built on Linux. iOS (iPhone) is a close relative of macOS.
- macOS and Linux share a family history (Unix), so their command lines feel alike. This is why many developers like them: what works on their laptop works similarly on the server.
🖱️Try it
Find out which OS and version you have: Windows Settings → System → About, or Apple menu → About This Mac. Then look up whether it still receives security updates. Unsupported versions are a real security risk.
✅Quick check
You're choosing a server for your website. Which OS is it most likely to run?
Show the answer
Linux. It's free, stable, light and the standard for servers and cloud hosting.
Is Android a separate OS from Linux?
Show the answer
It's its own OS, but built on top of the Linux kernel (the core of Linux).