The term “unix workstation” is a well known under computer experts. It describes powerful single user computers in the 1980s which are looking similar to today's PC. The only difference is, that Unix workstations were available very early before the advent of the internet.
Between a Unix workstation for example a SUN sparcstation and modern PCs since the 2000s there was a step in between. A “Windows NT” Workstation was a combination between cheap PC hardware and a modern operating system which is working with graphical windows. Windows NT workstation were much cheaper than unix workstation because it was running on mainstream hardware. On the other hand it has supported powerful features like OpenGL, networking and object oriented programming.
Compared to Unix workstation a windows NT workstation has a major disadvantage. It's not open source software and it's not Unix. On the other hand it was used more often than Unix workstations. The reason is, that the technology of Microsoft plus Intel wsa cheaper than the technology of Sun and Unix. Windows NT workstation were sold next to normal home computers. The software and hardware was available in the same store like an Amiga 500 computer and the MS-DOS operating system. In contrast, the world of Unix workstation was some kind of esoteric computer system which has it's root in mainframe computers sold for millions of US$.
The difference between Windows NT and Unix has to do with different underlying hardware. Consumer hardware is equal to the PC, which means that it was an Intel CPU, a harddrive and cheap monitors. The standard operating system for consumer PC hardware was always provided by Microsoft. Since the 1980s it was the only software which was widespread used. Microsoft has developed different kind of operating systems which were addressed to different underlying hardware. MS-DOS was an operating system for low end PC, Windows 3.0 was adressed to mid range PC and Windows NT was an operating system for high-end PCs.
The shared similarity of all intel/AMD PC was it's low price. It was sold to single users and small companies in a large amount of volumes. From a formal perspective a low end Unix workstation and a high end Windows NT PC have much in common. They are sold for the same price and they have the same features. The difference between them is located in the history of computing. The mainstream user was familiar with PC technology and PC Software, so he decided to buy a Windows NT workstation but not a Unix workstation. While computer professionals were familiar with Mainframe systems from IBM so they have decided for Unix workstations.
This look back into the history is important because the conflict between IBM hardware and PC hardware is available today. Technically it's possible to install a Linux operating system on a cheap consumer PC, but nobody is doing so. Because the perception of Linux workstations is, that they are the same like Unix workstation which are very expensive. It's a bit paradox, but the mainstream user is preferring Windows 10 over Linux because Windows 10 is cheaper. Or at least, it was cheaper in the past.
On the other hand, a Linux PC has become the de facto standard for computer experts who are familiar with mainframe computers. A linux workstation is only a smaller version of a large IBM mainframe system. It was designed for handling high workload and it's known for it's reliability. Bascially spoken, Linux is the modern form of the IBM OS/2 system, while Windows 10 is a modern version of MS-DOS.
Comparing prices
The reason why Unix workstation were not successful in the early 1990s was it's high price. The average Unix workstation had a price of 20k US$ for the hardware plus more US$ for the commercial Unix software. Now let us take a look what Microsoft is selling to their customers. On the home page some prices are provided what it will cost to equip a workstation with software:
• Office 365 home version, 99 US$ per year
• Microsoft Visual Studio 2019, 600 US$ for a licence
• Windows 10 professional , 160 US$
• Microsoft SQL Server Standard 2019, 1000 US$
• Microsoft Windows Server 2019 Essentials; 600 US$
• Adobe PhotoShop Elements 2020, 100 US$
• ABBYY Finereader 15 Standard, 160 US$
• AutoCAD LT 2020, per year 450 US$
• QuarkXPress 2019, 1200 US$
If somebody is buying in the year 2020 a Windows Workstation and installs some of the normal software on the PC, he will spend the same amount of money like for a professional IBM mainframe system in the 1990s. That means, Microsoft is no longer an underdog company which provides cheap software, but it has become the most expensive option available which isn't affordable for the mainstream customer.
In contrast, the former expensive Unix workstations have become a low entry system. For a little amount of money the user gets a standard PC plus a Ubundu USB stick and will have a lot of fun with the system. It seems, that Unix workstations and WIndows NT Workstations have flipped their social roles. Unix has become ultracheap while Windows NT has become the most expensive technology available-
Unix workstation
In the early 1990s it was possible to use a Windows NT Workstation or a Unix workstation. The second choice was described by
Lai, Kevin, and Mary Baker. "A Performance Comparison of UNIX Operating Systems on the Pentium." USENIX Annual Technical Conference. 1996.
They have bought a standard Pentium with only 32 MB of RAM and installed different Unix operating systems on the system: Linux, FreeBSD and Solaris. They come to the conclusion that all of them were running great and they are describing in the paper that the x86 platform is a very cost effective hardware.
The public perception of Unix has changed. In the beginning of the 1990s Unix was known as an expensive Workstation operating system. It was sold by commercial vendors together with propriatary hardware which costs 40k US$ and more. For normal users, a Unix workstation was out of reach. In the mid 1990s Unix was recompiled for the x86 hardware and has become the opposite. It's some kind of low cost operating system for a mainstream audience.
The open question is, why does the Unix workstation on a x86 hardware never become popular? The answer is located outside of the operating system. Microsoft Windows was some kind of educational effort. On top of the PC operating system lots of additional programs were installed: games, edutainment software, CD-ROM applications, business software, learning software and so on. These third party software wasn't available for Unix but only for Windows. And all of them were created as commercial products by the upraising PC software industry. What the mainstream user is buying is not an operating system but he is interested in the third party applications.
Microsoft Windows is only the frontend for the software industry. These companies have programmed computer games and enterntainment applications and the idea is to sell them to the customer. This educational effort never was available for the Unix operating system. The amount of Unix games is low and no commercial software is available. An additional element was, that before the advent of the Internet, multimedia CD-ROMs were the only option to get access to databases, full text information and ebooks. It was logical that the WIndows operating system but not Unix has become successful in the mainstream market.
The question is not why is Microsoft Windows successful but the question is, why are so many CD-ROMs and DVD with games and other edutainment programs are sold each year.
MPC
In the early 1990s there was a standard for so called multimedia PC. That was a type of x86 hardware which ws equipped with CD-ROM drives and high resolution graphics card. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multimedia_PC THe main purpose of MPC computers was to playback multimedia CD-ROMs sold by software vendors. This sort of multimedia revolution wasn't available for Unix operating system. The interesting point is, that multimedia CD-ROMs were from the beginning a commercial product. It was sold with a propriatary license for a large amount of money.
Let us take a look what Amazon is selling in the category “software” today: there are many computer dvd available for learning languages likes English, become familiar with mathematics, chess serious games to become a better chess player, learn reading in general, make the tax report and lots of games: for example the consumer can buy card games on DVD, jump'n'run games, simulation games and lot of other software. All these programs were written exclusively for Microsoft Windows operating systems. They are not available as open source or free to download but they are commercial products adressed to a larger audience.
These sort of multimedia DVDs are not available for Unix workstation. They wouldn't even start if the disc is inserted. Bascially spoken it's not a battle between Unix workstaions and Windows NT workstation but about the access to multimedia-DVDs.
The reason why many 10k of multimedia DVDs are produced for Microsoft Windows but not a single one for Unix operating systems is because a multimedia DVD is a commercial product. It's sold for a price to the costumer and this fits great to the ideaology of Microsoft Windows which is also a commercial product. The GPL license was never popular for computer games, movies and multimedia software.