Comparison Review: Apple Mac vs. XP vs. Linux

Microsoft's overhauled desk-top OS, Windows XP, has now been unleashed on the world. It's big and requires plenty of system resources - it does run in 128MB, but only really becomes enjoyable with 256MB, a fast PIII/P4/Athlon CPU and a snappy graphics accelerator. On the other hand, there's no denying Windows XP is a very good general-purpose operating system. It's stable, fast, supports just about every kind of new hardware there is, and is backed up by mountains of Win32 software. But how does it compare to a couple of the rivals?