1. Windows 8
It seems there are two types of people in the world: People who don't like Windows 8, and filthy liars. I haven't had as much experience personally with Windows 8 as I have with 7, OSX and Ubuntu, so my opinions on the perfect desktop OS are probably very different to Microsoft's. I won't be going into why 8 is considered so bad, as there are many, many more people who are more than happy to tell that you in great detail, I'm just going to say one thing; Windows 8: $150 Windows 8 Pro: $400 OSX Mavericks: Free Any Linux Distribution: Free Mavericks, of course, is set back by the fact that it's a Mac OS, and thus to use it you need to buy a very overpriced computer. However it's still a very polished OS, does everything that most people need, and is fast becoming a more popular OS than Windows. Most people buy Macbooks, citing security and reliability as their major reasons for the change, which is a very good point! Businesses are also catching on, many opting to switch totally over to Macbooks, iPhones and iPads, creating an interlocked ecosystem that works seamlessly within itself. Linux is a much overlooked and undervalued option. Anyone who understands how to turn a computer on can use Ubuntu, for example, which is just a flavour of Linux. It's very polished, very fast, and is growing rapidly, expanding into phones and tablets. It can be installed onto basically any computer, young or old, and work fairly well, unlike the chunky and bloated Windows 7. For anyone who complains that software is too expensive, the Open-Source world is a very good place to look. Big prices does not, by any means, translate into the best software. Then there is ChromeOS. Backed by Google, the idea behind ChromeOS is that all you use in your computer is your browser, so why not cut the crap and make your browser your computer? That didn't quite work at first, so they've expanded it, added new features, and made it better. The idea is still the same though; remove all the clunky extra stuff that slows your computer down, and end up with a lightning fast computer that is aimed at people who don't use their work machine for much more than word processing and web browsing. Contenders: Mavericks, Ubuntu, ChromeOS
Conclusion
For me personally, I will probably continue to use Windows 7 for most of my devices, having grown up on Windows, and having most programs that I use being Windows only. I will probably continue to use Skype on the odd occasion, to chat with mates that don't have Facebook. I already have an Android phone, and am planning on buying a PS4 not an Xbox. I realised as I wrote this article, that for a bloke who grew up vehemently opposed to the idea that Microsoft was anything less than the only option in computing, I actually don't really like or use many of their products anymore.