What operating systems is most of the computer science work done on?

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1

<p>What operating systems is most of the computer science work done on in universities, such as Stanford, etc.? Is it mostly Unix/Linux stuff? Or Windows-based? Or Mac OS (a.k.a. Unix as well)?</p>

2

<p>At my school UC Davis, all the computer labs are linux and the programs are all graded on the lab computers. I've noticed that on their personal computers the professors use a mix of windows, linux and apple. I've gotten the impression that for most computer science departments you need to know how to use unix.</p>

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<p>all unix based stuff</p>

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<p>I know someone who started with a Dell laptop with Linux.. because of hardware troubles he had to replace it 2 times. He ended up getting a Mac... it took a little more fiddling to make Mac OS X more like a linux environment, but it's working great.</p>

<p>He's at a top-5 CS school. *NIX is important. It's not like you'll be using MS QuickBasic.</p>

5

<p>You do need to use Linux, but having it on your PC is not a necessity. You can code in the school's labs or SSH in using your PC and use Linux remotely.</p>

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<p>Would it be much more beneficial if one had knowledge of how to use UNIX and its commands, as opposed to Windows and its commands?</p>

7

<p>You could always run a computer with two boot files so you can run *nix and windows.</p>