What are the advantages and disadvantages of MAC OS X?

The Advantages are the Simplicity of use, it's viruses free and Mainly the OS Stability because it's kernal based Disadvantages are fewer programs than windows, although there has been a lot of Options lately, and the need of softwares to become windows friendly, like virtual pc or for example ntfs read & write software to use HDD with both Win & Mac

MacOs IS NOT VIRUS FREE. this is a broad misconception. there is just simply less viruses designed for macs as there are less users. and the fact that Apple is very restrictive on allowing software to run, it adds another layer of securtiy. you should always have an anti virus installed on a mac because you will eventually catch a small virus

YOU CAN PLAY VIDEO GAME  on mac, although it is not primarily designed for it, you can still play the biggest titles on a mac. that is the second misconception

 

Impossible to install a root virus on a mac: UNTRUE: it has been showed recently that mac has some flaws that could allow root virus (although much rarer)

 

advantages is the build (made of metal), looks, the os experience (very different from windows), the good resale price, software designed only for mac (final cut pro, etc...)

 

Flaws: not enough users. and now with Windows coming in force with new product (surface studio) and technologies, Apple is and will be in decline at a very slow pace.

Every operating system OS has its good and bad points, and Mac OS x is no different i'm going to list and clearly describe what the major advantages and disadvantages of Mac OS are.

Advantages of Mac OS

Security

Mac OS is a two-layered system: the attractive GUI sits atop a Unix core, and Unix is best-known for its security features. It's simply impossible to install a destructive trojan or virus unless the user explicity allows it root access via typing in the admin password. Mac OS's built-in firewall is set up to work unobtrusively out of the box as well as being highly configurable.

Mac OS users should be vigilant about strange files and never allow an application they aren't certain of admin access, but they don't need special anti-virus software.

Reliability

Because OS X was designed from scratch from the ground up, Mac OS is incredibly stable. Apple controls production from start to finish, so every part of a Mac is designed and tested to work together.

Ease of Use

Apple's known for hiring the best industrial and interface designers around, and it shows in the intuitive nature of the GUI. I don't mean to sound like I'm verging into fangirl territory here; it's just true. Like the OS's reliability, the OS's functionality is designed to just work.

Mac OS Can Run Windows at the Same Time

Mac OS runs on Intel chips, which means you can run XP or Vista concurrently with Mac OS, with Boot Camp or Parallels software.

Disadvantages of Mac OS

Price

All that flashy secure reliable power comes at a price. Macs cost more than machines that run other operating systems, though publications like MacWorld occasionally run feature-to-feature comparisons and find that comparably-equipped Mac and other machines run about the same price. The result is you're paying a premium to have what is often the highest-end hardware on the market.

This article is focused on Mac OS, however, which is software. Apple's been steadily upgrading OS X every few years for $129 or so a pop, which isn't cheap. Intermediate upgrades are free, but digit upgrades (10.4 to10.5, for example) cost.

Gaming

If you're a computer gamer, Mac OS isn't going to do it for you. Boot Camp and Parallels will allow you to run games natively in Windows, but there may be a performance hit. Some games are produced for Mac OS, but the number is very small.

Fewer Software Options

Highly specialized software can be difficult to source for Mac OS, such as industry-specific applications, and businesses you work with may provide files in one of the few non-Mac OS formats left in the computer world, such as Microsoft Publisher.

The advantages of Mac OS X are user friendly, simple and nice user interface, security and maturity of OS kernel because it's based on darwin which is a FreeBSD based kernel.
Where'as the disadvantages are3rd party software application support although it's growing slowly but still windows has the edge over it.
Example of that would be accounting and game software's, most of them are developing on windows rather than mac os x.
The other disadvantages is hardware dependency.
Mac OS X are required to run on specific set of hardware that's why it is running only on mac machines which is quite expensive.
You can virtualize the OS or run specified hardware based on mac specification but you will encounter performance issue lately.