“Windows 7 goes a few steps beyond merely repairing Vista. It borrows –and improves on — tricks from the Mac’s playbook to make it easier and faster to organize files and launch programs. Like Apple’s operating system, Windows 7 not only looks good, but it has tools and shortcuts that help you work more efficiently,” Franklin Jr. reports.
“Still, once you’ve had Mac, can you ever go back? Mac OS X Leopard received rave reviews for good reason, and Snow Leopard further improved OS X. Although the changes to the GUI are minimal (why mess with success?), there are important improvements under the hood,” Franklin Jr. reports.
Franklin Jr. reports, “After spending a few weeks with both new operating systems and exposing each to my geek’s gauntlet of everyday tasks — e-mail, instant messaging, Web surfing, blogging, creating and editing Office documents, Web page creation, and audio, video, and photo editing — I have to call Snow Leopard the winner. All considered, from starting up to backing up, Mac OS X still offers the best overall user experience.”
Find out how Computerworld’s Curtis Franklin Jr. believes Windows 7 and Snow Leopard compare in usability, features, security, and speed here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Judge Bork” for the heads up.]
Apple’s competitive advantages?
1. NO VIRUSES
2. NO TROJANS
3. NO REGISTRY
4. NO MALWARE
5. NO REFORMAT/REINSTALL every 6 months to a year
6. JUST WORKS
7. iTunes/iPhone/Mac OS X integration
8. TCO (total cost of ownership)
9. SECURE BY DESIGN
10. Apple innovates and embraces Open Source Standards, MS stifles innovation with lock-in and abhors Open Source Standards
This is just a partial list, many of which are far more important to the casual user than the power user…
@ MISSING THE POINT,
Boy, is your name appropriate.
The point is, Apple already has the hearts and minds of the majority of the under 30 crowd. Especially the higher IQ portion of the under 30 crowd.
Tomorrow’s movers and shakers use Macs, iPods and/or iPhones today.
All I’m saying is if you have Microsoft stock, sell those dogs now.
“Put W7 next to SL. W7 looks glossy and slick while SL is all flat grey and boring.”
I LOVE that Mac OS X isn’t “in your face” and flowery like Win 7.
@ jboo0. As you can see I’m not the only one concerned (see above).
And I dont think a casual user even knows what the registry is. In fact many of the items on your list dont make a difference to the casual user. If they did, everyone would be ditching M$ in DROVES. Remember that most people are stupid and think that viruses are a way of life. Its called Stockholm syndrome.
Has Apple picked up share? Of course it has. But if Win 7 is PERCEIVED AS A GREAT OS, it MIGHT, hamper mac sales. Thats all I’m saying. Is there a rule book out there that says I’m not allowed to ring an alarm bell or something?
Agree with Jake above. the PC guy tilted the field toward W7. what about Boot Camp? not mentioned. what about multitasking speed – Windows weak point? not tested.
and he considers all the flagrant copycat UI features that W7 has taken from OSX as “convergence.” uh, no, “knock-off” is the term to use. or would be if W7 didn’t cost so much more.
Win 7 is impressive only because Vista was very disappointing and because MS incorporated even more features from OS X to put in Win 7. Snow Leopard can be considered a refinement of Leopard because Leopard was alread a top-notch, feature-rich OS. I bet that MS will add even more features of OS X into the next version of Windows (Spaces, QuickLook, Stacks, etc).
@lorax. Exactly. What do you do when a competitor emulates you so much it becomes difficult to separate the two OS’s. Mind you, I’m talking about casual users, not us Mac users who KNOW the differences. Thats my biggest concern. However, I just saw the article thats talking about installation issues with Win 7, so I HOPE very much that my concerns are moot here.
I remember when Vista was launched how the PC fanbois behaved exactly the same i was told by our IT geek how it was so much better blah blah blah. I will make my usual judgement in good time a few months down the line when all the initial enthusiasm has dispersed and the usual windows hell starts to break through into reality. meanwhile PC centric magazines etc are still saying that a relatively minor update on mac keeps the software ahead. The work that has been done in snow leopard behind the scenes is what will expand that lead in future incarnations. With windows inards all they can do is add bulk and complexity as they head down a dead end. Things come in waves PC has had his wave and they still can’t catch up, the march of the hushpuppies is but a distant irritant.
“MS windows as we know will NEVER be secure, it has something to do with the REGISTRY (which links files unnecessarily to each other) which leaves ports open to attack.”
You really don’t understand how the registry works, do you? That’s a rhetorical question, by the way, as you’ve made your ignorance on the matter utterly clear. Everyone thinks they know how “bad” the registry is, but they can’t actually tell you why (or why not) that may be the case. Must be on a card that comes with new Macs or something…
I don’t know why Macolytes are bent out of shape about W7; Apple customers, by and large, are not M$ customers. They’re buying into the brand with Apple–no one using M$ outside of an enterprise capacity cares about the M$ brand. It’s not like if W7 is good that suddenly Apple’s customer base will dry up or even shrink. That’s just not going to happen.
Relax people, the sky will not fall on Cupertino. Return to your RDF programming in confidence.
I’d love to see Apple come out with a truly revolutionary OS. New file system (evidently not ZFS), new UI and way of interacting with it. This would be the final nail in the M$ coffin.
Yes, the iPod and iPhone has definitely added to the halo effect, but I want an amazing new OS that really has the wow factor. I hope SL is paving the way for it.
And for all those bashing me, heres a quote from a Win 7 upgrader…
“Amazon shopper Herbert Freeman said Windows 7 is “everything it promised to be.” User Nix Cadavre said the OS is “good enough to switch from Mac to PC.”
Perception is everything…..
“A lot of Apple fans are sticking their heads in the sand right now Im afraid. Its not about the fact that OS X is still better. Its about OS X being only a “LITTLE” better now.”
When it comes to Windows 7, or any Microsoft product for that matter, there’s a very large dissonance between reality and hype.
The idea that OS X is only a “LITTLE” better now is squarely hype, pushed by tech journalists who, for credibility reasons stemming from the fallout of Vista, can no longer get away with breathlessly fawning over Windows while poo-pooing OS X. The real significance here is that even people like Curtis Franklin Jr, still obviously attempting to shill for Windows(Security is a draw? Uh, no, Curt), are being forced to admit that OS X is better at all.
Unfortunately I think it’s going to be long, loooooong time before they start being forced to cautiously admit that it’s not just OS X that’s “slightly” better than Windows, but hey. It’s a start.
“This IS the perception whether you want to believe it or not.”
A manufactured perception of that kind is a very, very flimsy thing. Even for the those initially fooled by it, impermanent and fleeting best sums it up.
“Apple would be very careful to not over estimate M$ at this point. When their back is against the wall is when they are the most dangerous. “
Hahah, what? When faced with competition that they can’t simply crush by default using their monopoly status and/or vast marketing division, Microsoft becomes profoundly helpless. Witness their ruderless flailing against Apple, Firefox, Google etc. On anything even slightly resembling a level playingfield Redmond is, and always has been, completely screwed.
MW: blood. As in, bloodbath!.
@ MISSING THE POINT
Do you have any idea what a light year is a measure of?
I find it amazing how many so-called intelligent and educated people think that a light year is a measure of time. They alway use the phrase in the context of ‘time’.
@ several posters
Are you people really this thick? This behavior is unworthy of Mac users.
Mr/Mrs Missing The Point is just saying that how normal people – as in, Not Nerds, Fans or Average MDN Junkies – look at computers differ a lot from how we view the subject. Particularly operating systems. What kind of socially medium-skilled person obsesses over Operating Systems? No, you are not socially skilled – neither am I, or I wouldn’t be here.
I am a proud Jobs Evangelist, but I realize that other people don’t take the level of interest in this discussion that I do.
It’s not about Microsoft or Apple, it’s about STUPID EFFING TECHNOLOGY. And most people try to care as little as possible about it.
We’re the minority, fella.
As for Point’s argument, I think we’ll see how Windows 7 fares this winter. Microsoft has a lot of rotting floorboards under it.
mw: reaction, as in over-.
In other shocking news, water is still wet.
Windows 7 is just one zero day exploit away from complete and total collapse.
I have no doubt that someone, somewhere, is sitting on the knowledge of a Windows 7 hole just waiting for a critical mass to develop.
The foundation is rotten. Everyone knows that. Only the stupid will be fooled again.
“Windows 7 is just one zero day exploit away from complete and total collapse.
I have no doubt that someone, somewhere, is sitting on the knowledge of a Windows 7 hole just waiting for a critical mass to develop.
The foundation is rotten. Everyone knows that. Only the stupid will be fooled again.”
Hehe…Macolyte hope springs eternal…
Anyone want to switch from Mac to Windows? Although I don’t know why anyone would. LOL then check this. >
http://www.winsupersite.com/alt/mac2win.asp
my boss is sticking with xp, does anybody knows what will happen if I get documents from win7 users? will I be able to open them?
Also if you are running xp, don’t upgrade to ie 8–as usually fricking MS states it won’t run, so I went with safari and firefox, love them both and they work great with xp! MSFT sucks and balmer had to have trashed the set after being on with mat lauer–would love to see the outtakes during commercials!
I think ever since Windows 95 came out the general perception already became that the Mac is only slightly better… so what?
Macs are for those who see or wish to see the light. Let those who prefer darkness stay in the darkness.
That’s it, lads, pitchforks out!
Missing the Point has dared to suggest that Apple may be in danger of slipping in market share now that MS has an OS that appears to be ‘okay.’
Let’s bring a giant vat of koolaid to quaff while Missing the Point cooks over the spit.
Good grief people — the guy makes a reasonable point. Frankly, I feel that Apple could have made much LARGER gains during the Vista debacle had they dropped prices a few years back.
End of the day, Joe Sixpack can buy a ‘good enough’ laptop for $600. Apple should offer the MacBook in black as well as white (like they used to) and drop the price by another $100.
Like the Mac Mini, it’ll work as an entry drug.
And, yes, with Windows 7 garnering good reviews, getting Macs up to 15% to 20% of the market just became that much tougher.
:Whew. Lots of comments. But I will throw mine in and go back to work.
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Want to see the real world.??? Go to Walmart and stand by the computer section. See the average user come by and poke at the Keys!!
They have no idea…. even now… of what a computer is and does. Yes it saves pictures, watch movies,and surfs the internet, oh yes, and does porn. Hmmm. pretty plastic!!! Poke, Poke. See the surface dent in. See the whole pc bend and flex.
Hmmmm. Let me get the prettyist and cheapest that has a 15 inch screen. Period.
Apple wants to stay away from this market, at least for the next few years. There is no winning here, just loses of profit. Its a race to the bottom.
My evaluation of the ComputerWorld evaluation: Entirely too subjective and focused on mushy stuff. It’s nice the Mac OS X Snow Leopard won, but a more fact based and critical analysis would have more clearly pointed out Snow Leopard advantages.
A couple examples:
– Microsoft pulled ahead of Apple in memory randomization. But to still say 7ista is on a par with Snow Leopard security is pathetic.
– “C:” – Enough said.
What I liked about their analysis:
Despite the baloney factor, it revs up the spirit of competition between Apple and Microsoft, always a good thing. Chant along with me:
Competition is the father of…
Snow Job stinks less than Windows 7. Congrats, Apple, your new OS is only less putrid than Windows.
I would say M$ has a winner. Why? Because even people who have Macs will buy it to run along side SL. Apple needs the same advantage with its OS to get mainstream exposure. Marketing is more important than innovation. And people go with what they know. I, for one cant remember the last commercial explaining Apples benefits, only M$’s problems. They need to follow thier iPhone and iPod formula and tell people why they need it.