October 26, 2009
PC vs. Mac deathmatch: Snow Leopard beats Windows 7
Windows 7 is a worthy rival, but Mac OS X Snow Leopard is the better operating system by a whisker for discriminating professionals
72 RecommendationsI have a confession: I'm a switcher. My long journey with Windows, which began even before Windows with MS-DOS, ended with Windows Vista. While so many others navigated the Vista debacle by sticking with Windows XP, I gave Vista a try -- and gave up. I leapt to the Mac OS.
Could Windows 7 lure me back?
Windows 7 was built to fix the problems that plagued Vista, and it unquestionably succeeds in doing that. It's a bit less bloated, and it runs a bit faster. The annoying security alerts from User Account Control have been quieted. And the compatibility issues with third-party software and hardware device drivers have largely been ironed away; after all, it's been two and a half years since Vista debuted. Windows 7 even includes a virtual "XP mode" for running legacy programs.
[ Which is better? The Mac OS and Windows 7 UIs face off. | Get InfoWorld's 21-page hands-on look at the next version of Windows, from InfoWorld’s editors and contributors. | Find out what's new, what's wrong, and what's good about Windows 7 in InfoWorld's "Windows 7: The essential guide." ]
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. If there were ever a Windows that could challenge Mac OS X, Windows 7 is it.
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, including a recoded, 64-bit Finder that takes better advantage of multicore processors. Snow Leopard also makes the Mac a better fit with PC-oriented businesses with integrated Mail, Address Book, and iCal support for Microsoft Exchange Server 2007.
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. The competition was close, though -- far closer than it's been in quite a while.
| Test Center Scorecard | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |  |  |  |  |  |  | |
| 20% | 20% | 20% | 15% | 15% | 10% | ||
| Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard | 10 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 10 |
9.3
Excellent
|
| 20% | 20% | 20% | 15% | 15% | 10% | ||
| Microsoft Windows 7 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 9 |
9.1
Excellent
|
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ObviousTroll
26-Oct-09 4:42am
Lost me on the second page.
Since the week that I switched (to Panther) back in '03 my dock has been on the right side of my screen and has sported the "pinned" Applications and Utilities directories - to address the overcrowded dock you warn against in the previous paragraph. Latest versions come with the Documents and Downloads directories "pinned" by default.
Advantage: Reviewer who is knowledgeable about the products being reviewed.
JustAnnuthaDewd
26-Oct-09 5:53am
1 reply
1 reply
With regard to the toolbar tasks, while I have to admit there are a couple not on there by default in OS X that really should be, I do dislike the approach in Windows to throw them all up there by default. It lends to a very cluttered look and can even be intimidating to some people who already aren't very computer literate or not used to the interface.
I'm also not sure you realize that you can pin documents and folders of your choice to the left-hand side of the Finder window under "Places".
You also don't seem to understand OS X's Dock. You can put it on the sides or on the bottom. With a simple edit of its plist (or using a freebie tweaking tool like Tinkertool), you can pin it in the corner. You can also pin folders to it (on the side next to the trash). I'm rather amazed, if not appalled, that you didn't know this. Exactly what is it you think the Stacks folders are? Folders off your drive pinned on the Dock, of course. You can also pin documents there.
With regards to application compatibility, I'd rather have things break because the OS has advanced and left behind legacy support than deal with Windows' method of increasing bloat for the sake of backwards compatibility. Inconvenient? Yes, but then that's progress for you. On the flip side, I have to say I found it amusing how many Mac advocates criticized Vista for breaking a lot of applications.
Personally, I wanted to like Windows 7. I really wanted to. I especially like the Aero Glass look and graphical goodies. I switched myself a few years ago after years of building my own desktops and becoming pretty skilled in working with Windows and tweaking it, and to some degree I miss all that. But the UI has gotten so cluttered and generally annoying to deal with that I just can't stand it anymore. OS X is so much simpler to deal with and far less stressful, yet every bit as usable.
Elfish
26-Oct-09 8:30am
1 reply
1 reply
You can move the dock in system preferences.
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