Which OS is most reliable/stable/bug-free and changes the least?

[benali72]

I've been an Ubuntu user for years. But I'm getting tired of the many changes they make to their system. I feel they should concentrate on polishing what they have rather than doing Big Changes every release.

And now I read that Windows 8 has a new interface -- hhttp://technolog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/06/01/6766654-microsoft-gives-first-look-at-touch-friendly-windows-8soon

Oh joy!

What I want is an OS that does NOT change fast. Esp stupid worthless interface changes. I want stability, reliability, fewer bugs, etc. Not "all new!" features. Steady, measured improvements are good. Change for the sake of it is bad. Windows and Ubuntu are nice systems but don't fit the bill with the value system I'm after.

Any sugggestions?   Thank you.

[DG9]

I watched the video about "8" and think "8" may make me sea sick and/or dizzy.  I see where they are going by trying to be a phone, tablet, machine OS.  Oh well, life and time march on...

[TRexx]

z/VM, z/OS   

[I D Shukhov]

I've been an Ubuntu user for years. But I'm getting tired of the many changes they make to their system. I feel they should concentrate on polishing what they have rather than doing Big Changes every release.

And now I read that Windows 8 has a new interface -- hhttp://technolog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/06/01/6766654-microsoft-gives-first-look-at-touch-friendly-windows-8soon

Oh joy!

What I want is an OS that does NOT change fast. Esp stupid worthless interface changes. I want stability, reliability, fewer bugs, etc. Not "all new!" features. Steady, measured improvements are good. Change for the sake of it is bad. Windows and Ubuntu are nice systems but don't fit the bill with the value system I'm after.

Any sugggestions?   Thank you.

I update Mac OS X every couple of weeks.  Nothing ever seems to go wrong with it.   It's supposed to be less virus-prone, although I don't know if it's because of security by obscurity (not a good practice), or if the architecture is more resistant.

It seems like they are currently wrestling with virus-injected via scareware problems.  A new OS X release added some new definitions on 5/31 to protect against a virus dowloaded through a "MacDefender" scareware popup. 

Snow Leopard (the current release of Mac OS X) had 5 virus signatures it checked for, so maybe now it has 6.   Yesterday, it was reported that a new variant of the MacDefender virus was detected in the wild.

Any Mac users here install third-party antivirus software?

[Carrie Cobol]

VMS.   

Seriously, another vote for Mac.  I've been running Mac for several years now, started on (I think) Tiger, and now on Snow Leopard.  Apple improves the way things work but they're really good about not doing complete redesigns.  And it's very stable.  Much fewer problems on Mac than I ever had on Windows.  Plus you have the nice BSD Unix backend if you want to tweak it up.

I use VirusBarrier X6.  It seems to work well and doesn't drag things to a halt the way Semantec does on Windows platforms.

[I D Shukhov]

VMS.   

Seriously, another vote for Mac.  I've been running Mac for several years now, started on (I think) Tiger, and now on Snow Leopard.  Apple improves the way things work but they're really good about not doing complete redesigns.  And it's very stable.  Much fewer problems on Mac than I ever had on Windows.  Plus you have the nice BSD Unix backend if you want to tweak it up.

I use VirusBarrier X6.  It seems to work well and doesn't drag things to a halt the way Semantec does on Windows platforms.

The newer multi-processor machines with 6 GB+ finally seem to be able to support Symantec products.  I agree, they used to make the computer useless for anything but malware checking.
 

[benali72]

z/VM, z/OS , and VMS  -- I love it!  So true, but unfortunately not popular for PCs 

Mac -- hey, good point. I think I'm ready to try Macs. Always avoided them in the past due to slightly higher prices, but for what I'm looking for here, it might be a great solution. Thanks.

[Carrie Cobol]

Once you go Mac, you'll never go back.   

[TRexx]

Once you go Mac, you'll never go back.   

As an AAPL stockholder I love that attitude.

Unfortunately the Java app I have to use to work remotely only runs on Windows (I use the word "run" in it's broadest tense. "Stumble", "plod", and "crawl" are probably more appropriate.)

[codger]

I'm curious about your java app. Is it just badly written? Is the infrastructure you're using flaky?  What does it do?

[TRexx]

I'm curious about your java app. Is it just badly written? Is the infrastructure you're using flaky?  What does it do?

It  sets up a remote desktop session with the PC on my desk in the client's office, and insulates itself from everything on the host PC.    I think the problem is primarily in the app itself.

The major problem is that it frequently just stops dead in its tracks.  You're typing along and suddenly the text isn't appearing. Sometimes after a few seconds it picks up where it left off. Sometimes it's dead and you have to kill the app and start over.  When this happens the Task Manager on my PC says that Java is using a huge (~30%) percentage of the CPU.  Maybe it's garbage collection?   Moving to a much faster PC with a lot more RAM has made things better, but it still hangs at least 4 times a day. Then there is the problem where the Java app just goes away with no explanation. That usually requires a reboot.

They recently installed  a new "feature" on everyone's (office) PC that automatically puts it into hibernate mode after some period of inactivity. Supposedly this will reduce our carbon footprint.   Unfortunately about half the time the PC doesn't wake up when you establish the remote connection.  Sometimes the Help Desk can do some magic and get things going, but usually you have to power off/on the target PC -- kind of tough when you're working from home.   So you spend half an hour trying to find someone who happens to be in the office who is willing to walk over and hit the power button. More than once I've had to drive the 30 miles just to push the power button myself. I wonder how much carbon that trip generated, relative to keeping the PC awake all night?

What sucks is that they used to have another system that used a VPN.  You installed the VPN software on your home PC and connected it to the network. Worked great. But someone decided that was a security violation so the only way you can use that is if you have a company owned PC and they are not giving those to contractors.

I just keep reminding myself that they are paying me by the hour and if they are OK with wasting all this time and money, I'm not going to complain.

[The Gorn]

^ @TRexx:

I think the human race is waaaay overdue for a Butlerian Jihad.

[benali72]

Butlerian Jihad -- that's a new one on me.  I learned something very cool there, thanks!

[The Gorn]

Down with the thinking machines!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'll stop by Lowes and pick up the pitchforks. One of you guys can bring the torches and the kerosene.

[Walter Mitty]

Butlerian Jihad was new to me as well.  Thanks, Gorn.

Please bear with me.  One of my recurring flaws is to take a comment intended in jest and run with it as if it were serious.  Here goes.

I think the case in point is not so much a problem with thinking machines as with automated bureaucrats.  The policy to hibernate after a certain time with no activity is an unthinking one, and one with a certain upside.  In this case, it has a certain downside, and it's reasonable to infer that the person who chose the hibernate policy at the client's site (or more likely accepted the default policy) wasn't thinking about the unintended consequnces for Trexx.  So it's a human being who didn't think that's at fault here, rather than a machine that did think.

A couple of cases of thinking machines come to mind.  The first is from the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey  Hal screws up a couple of times, and the astronauts begin conspiring against him.  With good reason.  They consider shutting him down, an appropriate step with regard to a malfunctioning machine.  Unfortunately, HAL has been programmed to mimick human responses, and responds to the conspiracy against him with a very human paranoid and antisocial response.  The downside of machines that act like human beings is that they act like human beings.

The other case in next response.