Operating Systems as Farm Equipment

For the purpose of this analogy I'm equating working on a corporate network with the task of plowing a field.

Windows - A tractor:

Does the job. Pretty much eveyone uses one. It breaks down from time to time, but because of it's ubiquity mechanics are easy to come by. Some tractors are better than others and every so often the manufacturer markets a real lemon. Fuel costs a fortune and the diesel you used to run your old tractor on is no good for your new gasoline-powered tractor so you are stuck with a useless tank of fuel behind the barn.

Linux - A really cool, custom-built, steampunk tractor:

Does the job. Everyone thinks you a freak for even wanting one, except for those that already have one. There is a guy on a farm in South Africa who will even give you one for free. Parts are easy to manufacture and anyone with a rudimentary knowledge of metalworking and mechanics can make their own, and if you are into it, you can add to it, tweak it, customize it for you specific needs and, make your own parts and keep it running forever. But if you can't do that sort of thing yourself, mechanics are hard to come by and cost through the nose. Fuel doesn't cost a thing - you can fire up the boiler on anything that burns.

Mac - A Porsche:

Sleek, more powerful than a tractor, expensive as hell to buy, and high octane fuel is extremely expensive. A status symbol. Other Porsche owners will fawn over the latest model and tractor owners are vaguely jealous of how cool it looks. Mecahnics are hard to find and expensive. If you need parts you can only get them from the manufacturer in Germany and they cost an arm and a leg and take forever to show up. It has a pedigree of a workhorse designed by Nazis for the common man, but is, in fact, almost completely useless for the job at hand.

Oringinal post: http://mbarrick.livejournal.com/885226.html