Now I heard the advantages of Windows from mrtwo, and would like to hear the concrete advantages of the other operating systems too.
You know what, me too. Life is about learning you know. I would be happier to be proved wrong than to have to deal with all this 'noise'.
I heard that most of the big firms and hedge funds tend to use either Unix or Linux as operating systems for trading algos. I imagine the reason must be technical and not emotional.
The first reason is trust. For most people it is much easier to trust a Unix system than it is to trust a Windows system. Some of Microsoft's mistakes are still very fresh in our minds I guess.
Not long ago I remember voting against having Windows servers on production because of 'reliability issues'. I was such a Solaries zealot back then. Today I have absolutely nothing against the Windows platform - and more than that - I believe Visual Studio sets current benchmark for IDEs.
Nonetheless, I must say if I had to start a high-budget project today, I would probably work with HP-UX or even AIX instead of Windows. When you have deep pockets the 'time-to-market' pressure is much lower and you treat yourself with a non-compromise setup.
As far as I know, you are running a one-man-show, am I right? And if that is the case, the Windows platform can give you the leverage you need to be done in 6 weeks, not in 6 months. Now, are you compromising anything? Of course you are. Now you are 'trapped' but remember: it is all about intent. Will you really have to port your trading system? Why?
When the money start piling up in your account the last thing you will think about will be that you should port your system
I know that Windows have the ease to use. What would be the technical advantages of the other two systems specifically?
I can name 'free' as the main one and 'less code rewriting due platform changes' as the second. Would anyone like to add to this list?
I am completely neutral, just want to make an informed decision. Also, will it be very costly to switch operating system later on?
It depends, to make the migration less complicated, portability needs to be a requirement from the get go. Portability sometimes means that you will have to work with the 'lowest common denominator' of both platforms, keep that in mind
