Posted on 08/24/2009 12:50:28 AM PDT by Swordmaker
5 Reasons Macs Can't Claim They're Better than Windows 7
By Mitchell Ashley
Apple's heyday of picking on Windows is over
August 19, 2009
I regularly use both Windows and Mac PCs, so any comments that I've never used a Mac are bunk. I've been using Windows 7 since before its public beta release at the first of this year. I use my Mac for video editing, iPhone development, etc. I love all of my computers equally -- my Windows PC, my Mac and my Linux servers. They all do what I ask them to do very well, and I have things about each that I like and things I don't.
But frankly, the differences in the Windows 7 and Mac OS X platforms from a usability standpoint are pretty much nil. Windows 7 has simplified much of the complexity introduced in Vista and made Windows a very clean and easy-to-use OS. I would even go so far as to predict that the days of Apple trampling all over Windows in the "I'm a Mac" commercials are pretty much over. Not to say Apple won't go after Windows 7 as soon as Windows 7 has some vulnerability or issue Apple can exploit in a TV commercial. I'll grant, too, that Apple still has its "cool" factor and Windows isn't like to encroach on that. But Windows 7 is not only a "good enough" operating system, it is so much better an OS and user experience that Apple will have to think hard before using the same advertising tactics that worked so well on Vista.
Here are the five reasons Apple fears Windows 7:
Clean and Simple User Experience. There is now very little difference between the easy user experience on Windows 7 and Mac OS X. Gone from Windows 7 are Vista's loads of unnecessary bloatware applications, confusing and poorly designed configuration dialog boxes, and moronic UAC popups that impeded a user's productivity at every turn. The new task bar is more simple and straightforward than Mac OS X's crowded icon bar. Windows also has very good screen configuration settings that make switching between monitor configurations extremely easy. And the Control Panel has been redesigned to the basics of what end users need to manage Windows 7. Like it or not, we're now down to personal preference when it comes to usability and ease of use.
Mac Crashes More. Fact is, my Windows 7 systems don't crash... ever. Those days of frequent Windows Explorer crashes went away when I installed the Windows 7 RC. My Mac now crashes more often (about once a month or so) than Windows 7, and my Mac isn't over laden with junk on it.
Flexibility and Lower Cost. Microsoft has updated its "PC hunter" commercials but they still show how easy it is to find a better value when buying a Windows PC over a Mac. You have to use some pretty convoluted math to come to the conclusion Macs don't cost more than PCs for the equivalent devices. If you buy a Mac it's going to be because you consciously have decided you want a Mac instead of a PC, you hate Microsoft, you prefer the Mac user interface, etc.
Performance. We may not have side-by-side Windows 7 and Mac OS X performance comparisons yet (I'm sure we will soon) but Windows 7 isn't the performance hog Vista was. The experience is great. Windows 7 tools are fast, applications don't freeze up waiting for resources, disk I/O performance is great, memory utilization is much more efficient. Startup, shutdown and sleep are fast. Outlook still has its issues with not responding but overall we're talking a speedy experience on Windows 7. Now add that to the fact that Windows has access to the latest hardware advances -- you can crack the core on the latest Intel i7 or other hardware advances.
Mac Security Is NOT Better Than Windows 7. Many still live with the myth that Mac OS X doesn't have any security issues while Windows does. That myth ignores the facts. For example, Apple just released 18 security patches (the smallest collection of patches this year) for Mac OS X on August 5th. Many try to argue that not all the fixes are for Mac OS X, but rather for other software that might be included with it. To compare apples-to-apples (pun intended) you have to stack up the software each vendor ships with their products, not selective parts of it. While it is true that Windows is still a much larger security target because of it's market share, it isn't true that the Mac doesn't have plenty of security issues of its own.
Okay, when you comment... please disclose if you use both Windows 7 and Mac OS X?
OK Thanks
whereas every Windows laptop I’ve ever used has seemed to get its knickers in a twist after maybe four or six sleeps or hibernations.........
My Compaq laptop does great. It will sleep and wake up with no problems and at least fifteen times. I just shut it off today after was on ten days straight
My home built computer is also sleeping and waking just fine (beyond what you have seen) with Windows7. With Vista it hung sometimes
(and no,I don't work for Microsoft nor am I a stockholder and I've never worked for Apple)
Why? This is a PRO Windows 7 article with a PRO Mac rebuttal from two different sources.
I maintain the FreeRepublic Mac Ping List of over 375 fellow freepers who are interested. If you are not, move on to something you are interested in.
When Windows people routinely run their Windows systems without any anti-virus software or third-party security software, I’ll believe Windows is as secure as the Mac.
Swordmaker, you’re always welcome to post here. And FReepers like to hear both sides of an issue.
“When Windows people routinely run their Windows systems without any anti-virus software or third-party security software, I’ll believe Windows is as secure as the Mac.”
For the last 6 years I ran my windows machines wide open, with no anti-virus software running. I could do this because I know to pay attention to what I am clicking on and what web sites I look at. I also only clicked on attachments in emails if I was certain it came from a safe source. Never did get a virus. It can be done.
Of course, since giving the pc to my wife and going full time with the Macbook I haven’t worried about catching a virus or installing malware a single time :)
Likewise. often 12-14 hours a day on the Web, and in about 7 years using W/95 got one virus, and none on XP/Vista in 4 years. I do not go looking for porn sites or gambling, and rarely open an attachment from even a friend, and above all pray for safety. Surfing is liking driving. I do use the mvps host file though, www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/hosts.htm and Firefox, get no pop ups. Thanks be to God.
Thanks, but i was really asking how W/7 fares in the things i mentioned. Good to know it is faster.
i often g many day w/out a reboot, as i have leave about 100 tabs open on FF, and different programs for projects i am working on. And very rarely does XP crash or lock up. I do have to restart FF in order to get back memory, as 3GB is not enough, and 32 bit cannot utilize more than that. I wonder how Mac fares with that. But when i do reboot, which is usually due to MS updates, then FF saves/restore all the tabs, and Open Office has an add on that can restore all the documents i was working on. Boot up and press 3 keys and my 5 main programs (Quick Verse, E-Sword, Open Office Thunderbird, Firefox) load simultaneously.
I also wonder how MAC fares as regards 3rd party apps. In addion to those mentioned previously, i also like TClockEx (the one by Dale Nurden) which shows seconds, and free ram, and other options, the AutoHotKey app, KB piano (1.2 last free version) which turns your keyboard into various instruments, Win Patrol which alerts about changes made surreptitiously by programs - and MS, and other helpful programs. Thnak God for those who write such good stuff.
I’ll answer what I have 1st hand knowledge of. I don’t use many 3rd party apps, myself. I use Logic Express 8 for my multi-tracking/mixing/mastering needs. Sometimes I do some scratch work in Garageband. I “think” you can use your keyboard in Garageband as a midi controller. I’ve never had a reason to use that feature as I have a controller. I had no problems running any of the music software with just 1 gig of ram. I recently upgraded to 2 gigs and all is well.
There is Open Office for the Mac which works nicely. I do use Thunderbird and FF and have no problems at all.
I have a router.
Then you ain’t “exposed” to the net. Try putting just your machine on the net w/out the router, and no firewall or anything else I mentioned.
Many still live with the myth that Mac OS X doesn't have any security issues while Windows does. That myth ignores the facts. For example, Apple just released 18 security patches (the smallest collection of patches this year) for Mac OS X on August 5th.That's interesting -- 18 security patches equated to how many Wintel-only viruses and other malware? The author is clearly either a shill or a complete idiot.
I’ve been using both for a while. The Mac interface still blows it away. While Vista was lipstick on an XP pig, Windows 7 just removed much of the more gaudy lipstick. It’s still the old kludge Windows interface. I can still show you dialogs from the NT days that just have a repaint.
Leopard runs well with 1 GB, runs sweet with 2 GB. Snow Leopard is supposed to clean that up quite a bit and run even faster.
Why? I’m not TRYING to get infected, I’m just anti-antivirus. Norton and Mcafee are two of the worst viruses I’ve ever had to kill. They take over a machine and kill the performance. I tell folks to buy a router instead of AV.
I set up my brand new Vista using all defaults, playing the “dumb consumer” role, just to see how long it would last with nothing but my router. Still going. I’m now on W7, same situation.
FWIW, before I switched to Mac, I ran Windows without anti-virus, and never had a problem. Most of the viruses require you to do something. I never open the emails that say, “You received a greeting card from...” or if I went to a web site and a popup window offering me a choice of installing something came up I force quit the browser.
I prefer Macs, but never had a malware problem on Windows. The only virus I ever got was the Ethan Fromme Word macro virus. It infected about 2/3rds of the Word documents on my campus.
But since you are running behind a router, and not depending on Windows directly for your protection, your initial statement of running bare nekkid is at least, inaccurate.
As for myself, I run Linux, and yea, I do run behind a router. The router, a Linksys 4400N, runs Linux too.
I've been meaning to take my Laptop out to a public WiFi spot and get on the net, and use Wireshark to watch all the hits my ports are going to take. I just need to find one that serves beer and allows smoking.
And you would have the same crappy experience you have now, the Mac OS is designed to run on Apple hardware. Windows has to accommodate thousands of versions of the PC.
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