When detecting operating system or environment characteristics, prefer direct access to system properties over external library dependencies for basic checks. Use `System.getProperty("os.name")` with `regionMatches()` for case-insensitive OS detection instead of relying on third-party utilities like Apache Commons Lang3's SystemUtils. This approach reduces external dependencies while maintaining equivalent functionality. The `regionMatches()` method provides robust, case-insensitive string matching that handles OS name variations effectively. Example implementation: ```java // Instead of: SystemUtils.IS_OS_WINDOWS boolean isWindows = System.getProperty("os.name").regionMatches(true, 0, "Windows", 0, 7); // Instead of: SystemUtils.IS_OS_UNIX String osName = System.getProperty("os.name"); String[] unixPrefixes = {"AIX", "HP-UX", "Linux", "Mac OS X", "Solaris", "FreeBSD"}; boolean isUnix = Arrays.stream(unixPrefixes) .anyMatch(prefix -> osName.regionMatches(true, 0, prefix, 0, prefix.length())); ``` This pattern is particularly valuable when the external library is used minimally and the custom implementation can be easily maintained and tested.