“With the success of Apple’s latest MacBook, the laptop market has become the very frontline of the war between Mac and PC. So that’s what we decided to concentrate on… Jason used his own MacBook – which he loves dearly,” Suzi Perry reports for The Gadget Show. “And I used my own Sony Vaio – it was brand new so I was only just getting used to it and its new Vista operating system.”
Perry reports, “For our challenge we had decided to become news reporters – using our laptops as our only means of writing our stories, editing our video, accessing our photos and then uploading the whole lot to the internet. This would be a way of really checking out their usability and capabilities.”
“We reported on a fantastically ridiculous carnival held every year in the North Italian town of Ivrea. Basically, it’s a big celebration of the town’s history and independence, but what really interested us was the fact that each days festivities culminate in a massive chaotic orange fight. Yes, you heard me right, an orange fight. Now, we thought that really was something worth reporting on,” Perry reports.
Perry reports, “When it comes down to looks and design though the Mac wins hands down… When it comes to operating systems the new layout of Vista is a very attractive look But as Jason pointed out he couldn’t help thinking he’d seen something like Vista somewhere before – on his Mac. Mac OSX operating system was the first to offer users widgets, and animated boxes and the like so it seems that what you’ve got there is actually Microsoft trying to catch up with Apple in the operating system game. Security is another bone of contention or at least it was. Mac’s are famously secure and Jason’s never had a virus, or any spyware or phishing or nothing on his Mac.”
“So, we spent 24 hours as reporters; compiling reports, shooting and editing video, processing photos, then uploading all that media onto the web. All we could use was our laptop, the software that it came with and a camcorder,” Perry reports. “The rules of the challenge – rules we actually made up ourselves – said that we each had to write a three hundred word article about the carnival with 3 accompanying pictures, and also edit a two minute film showing our experiences.”
“Using the same word processor on both machines we were unsurprisingly neck and neck and finished our articles at virtually the same time… Articles finished it was photo time and this is where we started to see a difference between PC and Mac… Because iPhoto was so easy to Jason finished his photos first and moved onto the next test. While I spent another 10 minutes putting the finishing touches to my photos,” Perry reports.
Perry reports, “My new Vista version of Windows Movie Maker recognises High Def footage which is good as I’d shot everything in full 1080i HDV. With the click of a couple of buttons you can import photos and music from other parts of your computer quite easily. The only problem with the new movie maker is it’s not that easy to actually edit with. I’d drop some footage in, try and move it around and everything would freeze which is incredibly frustrating and a complete waste of time.”
“Editing with iMovie, the Mac editing package was fantastic, it’s so simple to use. Like movie maker you drag and drop clips into the timeline and it’s even easier to get photos and music into your project as they are all stored in other parts of the iLife programme. How it beats movie maker hand down for me is, it works, everything most people would want it to do, it does,” Perry reports. “Using the built-in microphone Jason even recorded voiceover with the touch of a button… It’s this Mac ethos of everything working, and working together, that meant Jason cut my 2 minute film really, really quickly and it took me, well It took me a lot longer.”
Full article with much more, including photos and the finished articles with videos here.
MacDailyNews Take: Completely predictable results. The moral of the story? Get a Mac.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Dirty Pierre le Punk” for the heads up.]
Related articles:
Wired: Distinct sea change in people’s perceptions of Apple: Macs will save you money – March 20, 2007
WSJ: Apple makes inroads with Macs that can run Mac OS X, Linux, Windows – March 20, 2007
Network World: Need a new PC for Vista? Switching to Mac may cost less and give you more – March 16, 2007
Windows expert dumps Windows, switches to Apple’s Mac OS X, finds software plentiful – March 12, 2007
InfoWorld: 9,000 people switch to Apple Mac every day (plus testing ‘Embrace and Extinguish’) – February 28, 2007
Netscape founder Marc Andreessen switches to Apple Mac – February 28, 2007
Computerworld: Windows expert dumps Windows, switches to Apple’s Mac OS X – February 08, 2007
Embrace and Extinguish in action: TechIQ’s ‘The VAR Guy’ dumps Windows, switches to Mac OS X – September 25, 2006
Windows sufferer spends six hours trying to ‘upgrade’ to Vista, says: ‘I should’ve bought a Mac’ – February 07, 2007
Windows Vista woes push BBC News editor to regret never having ‘defected’ to Apple Mac – February 06, 2007
Digit: Don’t buy Vista; Microsoft may be driving millions to stick with XP or move to Apple Mac – February 05, 2007
TIME Magazine: Microsoft’s Windows Vista ‘an embarassment to the good name of American innovation’ – February 02, 2007
Microsoft’s Windows Vista: Five years for a chrome-plated turd – January 30, 2007
Digit: ‘Microsoft’s Windows Vista may be the best reason yet to buy an Apple Mac’ – January 29, 2007
Windows Vista disappoints, so get a Mac – January 29, 2007
CNET Reviews Windows Vista: Is that all? Clunky and not very intuitive vs. Mac OS X; warmed-over XP – January 24, 2007
Windows Vista disappointment drives longtime ‘Microsoft apologist’ to Apple’s Mac OS X – January 17, 2007
InformationWeek Review: Apple’s Mac OS X shines in comparison with Microsoft’s Windows Vista – January 06, 2007
Unlike Microsoft’s Windows Vista, Apple’s Mac OS X Leopard will create no new jobs – December 12, 2006
A Windows expert opts for a Mac life, finds the experience ‘superb’ – December 07, 2006
15-year Windows vet tries Apple Mac: ‘My God! This is amazing!’ – December 04, 2006
Harvard Medical School CIO picks Mac OS X over Linux and Windows – November 30, 2006
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Embrace and Extinguish in action: TechIQ’s ‘The VAR Guy’ dumps Windows, switches to Mac OS X – September 25, 2006
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Good thing I got the Boss to buy Macs to do video editing at our school!
Five’s ‘Gadget Show’ is a great programme.
This is no suprise … they always go for quality. Hurrah for Mac OSX
I personally think the Gadget show is crap – they’ve partially redeemed themselves with this though.
They still make some slip ups though. Perry was allowed to hold up a long list of PC software which she bragged came free with her Vaio and Jason let her get away with it without pointing out that a Mac did most of those things (i.e. DVD burning) as standard.
It’s actually pretty amazing the quality you can get outta iMovie. I’m finding that I use it more that Final Cut on a regular basis.
Well my six year old daughter likes it!
It’s “entertaining” rather than documentary quality about all sorts of gadgets, sot’s not “must see tv” like ‘Top Gear’ but is good fun none the less.
The gadget show is crap. Partial reviews of a few options in any catagory leads to whatever result they want to spin. All delivered in a pseudo knockabout format.
Cool, as you’d expect – Windows Media Player required!
yeh, who the hell needs norton on a mac?
MDN: enough of the ads already! This site is getting harder and harder to read. Putting ads in text ereas does not help with legibility. Apple is all about good design. Hows about you design this site better?
…”Talking of programmes, the software you get bundled with the MacBook is meagre compared to the PC bundle. There’s the iLife stuff – your photo and video editing software a whole load of widgets and Microsoft Office for Mac on a three month trial.
My PC comes with a incredibly long list of bundled programmes:
SonicStageCP 4.2
DVgate Plus 2.3
WinDVD 8.0
Adobe Photoshop Elements 5.0
Easy Media Creator 9
Click to DVD 2.6
AdobeAcrobat Standard 8.0
Adobe Reader 8.0
Microsoft Works 8.5
Microsoft Office 2003 Trial
Norton Internet Security 2007
VAIO Recovery Utility 2.6
HDD recovery (hidden partition)
Google software package
Skype
Plus more…
…the software you get bundled with the MacBook is meagre compared to the PC bundle.
Stupid idiot, how the fuk do these people find/keep work?
I’m with M.X.N.T.4.1 on the Gadget Show being crap. If anyone saw the comparison of LCD and Plasma TV’s a few weeks back you wouldn’t believe how much that review stank of sh*t. And that they did the comparison using video shot on a SD camera burnt to DVD was even more embarrassing. Like that’s how I decide the quality of a HD TV set?
An interesting real-world case study. Of course, I’m not really surprised to see a triumvirate of tasks (writing, photos, and video) going to the Mac. What I’d like to see added is if they both had to do travel expenses on the notebooks, and maybe had to track a couple hundred data points and integrate the resulting chart into the document. Oh, and they have to send and receive 50 emails, and set up and attend 10 meetings using their notebooks.
I still think the Mac would have won, but I’d love to see what the relative times would be.
From the article:
Talking of programmes, the software you get bundled with the MacBook is meagre compared to the PC bundle. There’s the iLife stuff – your photo and video editing software a whole load of widgets and Microsoft Office for Mac on a three month trial.
My PC comes with a incredibly long list of bundled programmes:
Incredible software bundle? Note that most programs are not “top of their class” and that many functions for dealing with your photos or music are spread over several programs:
SonicStageCP 4.2 – software for music management and transfers of your favourite tracks
Beaten hands down by iTunes which is freely available for the PC
DVgate Plus 2.3 – capture, edit and record digital video images
Beaten hands down by iPhoto which is part of iLife.
WinDVD 8.0 – play DVDs
DVD player is included on every Mac.
Adobe Photoshop Elements 5.0 – Image editing tools for digital imaging acquired from cameras and scanners
iPhoto does most of them and in a much easier way. Photoshop Elements wins on features but looses out on integration.
Easy Media Creator 9 – Burn music CDs & DVDs
Integrated into MacOS X or use the iLife programs iTunes for burning music CDs and iDVD for burning DVDs if you need more control.
Click to DVD 2.6 – burn to DVD control software
A separate PC program for what on the Mac is the “One click DVD” menue.
AdobeAcrobat Standard 8.0 – pdf files creator
Making pdf files is integrated into MacOS X.
Adobe Reader 8.0 – pdf files reader
Free download, or use the integrated Preview program on the Mac.
Microsoft Works 8.5 – integrated office suite
Comparable to AppleWorks which is no longer bundled.
Microsoft Office 2003 Trial – office suite
Free download.
Norton Internet Security 2007 – antivirus etc
Not required on the Mac
VAIO Recovery Utility 2.6 &HDD; recovery (hidden partition) – necessary since Recovery Disc is not bundled.
Note: After installing Norton GoBack, VAIO Recovery Utility may not function properly. In order to track changes and restore data to the hard drive, Norton GoBack changes the hard drive’s partition type. Since the Sony VAIO Recovery Utility requires a specific partition type to create a recovery media kit, it may not function after installing Norton GoBack.
This is simply embarrassing for the PC.
Google software package
Another free download
Skype
Another free download
So the only programs worth mentioning are Adobe Photoshop Elements 5.0 (which is good) and Microsoft Works 8.5 (which isn’t). I’m just glad this “reporter” did not mention the incredible “calculator and widgets and desktop picture” bundled with her Vaio … which btw costs pretty much the same as the MacBook.
VAIO Recovery Utility 2.6
What, we’re including the software that re-installs all of Sony’s proprietary hardware drivers as if it’s a piece of added value software as opposed to just something that should be there as standard.
I’m surprised she didn’t go the whole hog and include the mouse and keyboard drivers, or maybe the power switch.
Suzi Perry’s very pleasant to look at, especially when she’s doing her MotoGP commentating thing and wearing leather jumpsuits, but as a technology writer she leaves a lot to be desired. Still, better than that fsckwit Jon Bentley.
@John again
When I read with my finger (cursor), those bloody ads keep interfering. I have to learn to read with my eyes.
-:)
Oh and iMovie is not like movie maker. Movie maker is like iMovie because that’s what Microsoft copied, again. And as usual they made it not work very well too. So Microsoft like isn’t it.
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@razor
Those are all kiddy software. Acrobat Reader 8, thats funny.
AdobeAcrobat Standard 8.0, really.
Norton Internet Security 2007, what is that?
I think Skype is the only software you have, that worth mentioning.
mejia
I had the distinct displeasure of using a Sony Vaio 2 weekends ago. God, what a freakin’ heavy brick that thing is! It was running Windoze XP SP2, had a P4 3 GHz. chip, had 512 MB of RAM, and ran like total shit!!!
Running anti-virus and anti-spyware software found nothing that could be slowing it down. The disk wasn’t defragmented – it just sucked! Most likely Winblows in my opinion.
This is the best Sony can do?!?!? This is the “top notch” PC laptop out there?
Very sad.
Finally, real life experiences with the pain that is called Vista!
>>My PC comes with a incredibly long list of bundled programmes:
>Incredible software bundle?
No, incredibly long list of programmes, not a long list of incredible programmes! They could be (and mostly are) crap compared to the short list of incredible bundled software on the MacBook.
Razor is a complete idiot I would be surprised if Razor is or has ever been employed in anything more serious than street cleaning. A kindergarten janitor would be a promotion!
That list Razor put up came from the Gadget Show as a indication of how crap Windows is, as even with those programs Windows still lost the challenge to OS X.
MW: ‘side’ as in I am glad to be on the enlightened side of computing for all my personal, educative and professional business needs. Get a Mac, period!
That’s a stupid test …
The only way to be fair would be to have the same guy do all the same things on a PC and then a Mac and then compare … eliminating the skill of the user bias …
Sad. That’s all I can say: Sad. Too many variables, not a long enough or broad enough trial, and then biased reporting on the bundled software and its value to/on both platforms.
At least the Mac won in their comparison. Still, however, it’s sad to see the sorry work that is called “journalism” these days.
MDN: figures
Here’s an example of gross overgeneralization and poor qualilty reporting of Channel 5’s Gadget Show regarding Macs vs PCs, IMO:
“When it comes to price everyone thinks Macs are more expensive. Jason tried to claim that was a myth but when you look at the cold hard facts it turns out it’s true. The cheapest Mac laptop you can buy costs £749, the cheapest PC laptop is a miniscule £320. They’re not comparable but if you just want to do emails and word processing then the PC would be great value.”
It is totally irrelevant to point this out in light of the fact that they are comparing his MacBook to her Vaio in the program, the latter PC being similar in price and capabilities to the MacBook. Cars made by Mercedes are more expensive than those made by whomever makes the Yugo, but that’s because no Yugo can come close to matching the fit and finish and general build quality of the lowest cost Mercedes. So it is with all of the PC laptops that cost “a miniscule £320”: they cannot match either Macs or other PCs that cost twice as much. So why even mention it.
And I didn’t even begin to go into “total cost of ownership”, which I am certain would be [price x 2] for those low cost PCs over time, given increased time/labour/money to manage, additional software cost, parts repair, and so on.
As goes the old addage: One should not judge a book by its cover. So it is for any £749 vs. £320 computers, no matter who makes them.
just my 2c