Most Macintosh computers being sold and bought nowadays are desktops or laptops. Even if you have your computer set-up beforehand, you would still need to learn how to correctly install packages or modify any of the settings on it. Linux is a little bit more complicated than Macs as there are a wide variety of things that you need to configure before you can use the computer. You would not need to know anything more complex other than the actual usage of the computer. The great advantage of the Macintosh comes from being sold as a package, as you can use the Mac as soon as you take it out of the box and plug it to your wall outlet. You can only get the Mac OS along with a Macintosh as they are sold as a package, but you can be sure that part of the price that you are paying is for the software. You can download and install any Linux distribution on any compatible hardware without spending a penny on the software. Linux is open source software while the Mac OS is proprietary. The most major difference between Linux and the Macintosh operating system is in the licensing. The OS on the Macintosh though is based on a distribution of Linux called BSD and they share somewhat similar characteristics.

Comparing Linux with the Macintosh is a little bit difficult as the former is an operating system that can be installed on any computer while the latter is complete package that includes both hardware and software.

Linux vs mac os x