Comments on: Mac OS X vs. Windows 7: Who has the best upgrade?

Apple and Microsoft are both going to release major operating systems this year, but who offers the best upgrade.

[opiapr]

Been a PC and Mac owner I will definitely upgrade both system. I will upgrade Vista hopping to see a big improvement to the lowball vista was. I will upgrade Leopard because it make sense $29 for an optimized system new features and 6gb in saving.

[Austin_Mike]

Wow, there's no bias in this article. CNET -- this is about the furthest thing from objective journalism I've ever read. Shame on you.

[Sabroson]

Why is that?

[tm_anon]

Because MS doesn't come out looking good.

[oresteia22]

I totally agree! CNET get some bloke who's spent his life writing about the joys of Apple to do a comparison piece?!
His conclusion isn't really a surprise... even if wierd-beard is.
I'm pretty new to all this Apple - v - Windows stuff. The question I have is this - if the Mac really is so much better, why do do so many more people use Windows? It can't just be because Macs are so much more expensive, can it? Something else I'd like to know is, if Mac users are so convinced that they're onto a better thing, why do they keep bleating about it? Does using a Mac make you super-altruistic? Or is it insecurity?

[Alan4ik]

Microsoft has a really bad position to win its customers back. It is like in casino, once you lose you try to get your money back but you lose even more. Microsoft needs something outstanding to turn all Mac users to Windows and show its solid reputation (if ever had) to existing users. Take a good rest and make a very good brainstorm! At least in the marketing field. It is all about proper marketing because OS X is very close now than ever to turn the whole IT market up side down.
I cannot judge on a technical side but performances of both systems sound great. Let's wait and see reviews after release.

[freemarket--2008]

"...turn all Mac users to Windows" That's so funny.

Much more likely, it's keep more Windows user from moving to Mac/Linux.

[Sabroson]

First of all, don't talk about the new OS-X release if you do not know what you are talking about ... Take a look at the features here:

http://events.apple.com.edgesuite.net/0906paowdnv/event/index.html?internal=ijalrmacu

People that use it ... use it only for these reasons:

1. They have not tried anything else
2. They believe people that have not tried anything else.
3. It is easier to copy / pirate software
4. Cheaper computers / clones
5. Playing some games not available on Macs

Most Windows users will stick with Windows XP for several reasons ...

1. Windows 7 will require users to put down a good chunk of money for the upgrade
2. Most people will not be able to run it on their PCs (too slow, too old)
3. Windows XP runs very well compared to Windows 7.

If Apple comes out with OS-X for any PC then that will be the end of Windows. I, for one, think that Apple should allow a limited number of vendors to bundle OS-X with their PCs ... namely Dell, and HP ... but then again, Apple is making a lot of money the way they are so ... perhaps selling more copies is not the same as making more money .... and making more money is what is important.

[pithenumber]

2. 7 is nearly as fast as XP, with fancy UI stuff turned on
3. and looking at 7 performance on older machines, too slow isn't really a reason to not get 7

[tm_anon]

Ubuntu is faster than XP with fancy UI stuff turned on.
Looking at Ubuntus performance on older machines, 7 still looks bloated and slow.

[abcd9009]

At the end of the day for an Avg user, as the commercial "I am a PC" shows it all comes down to COST and availability. Let's face it majority of the PC users will only get Win7 when they buy a new PC as compared to Mac users which are generally not your Avg users.
Which is precisely why Mac users can argue about the performance or bugs or any technical issues BUT they forgot to mention the 2 key issues for an avg user - COST and App support. Every software on the planet will work on Windows (or have a Windows counterpart) but only a few will work on a Mac. That's reason enough to keep using PC even if Windows sucks.
And when it comes to COST, Apple knows it will NEVER be cheaper than a PC. Maybe the TCO might be cheap to have a Mac vs PC but at the time of purchasing a computer an Avg user is not going to think of the TCO. All they care about is what does it show on the price sticker.
With COST in mind, Linux is the cheapest but the way Microsoft handles Linux is through marketing & distribution. How many stores will carry Linux computers as compared to Windows PC. And again it comes down to Apps.

This is just my opinion but I believe Windows 7 will be much more successful than Snow Leopard and here's why. Windows 7 will be adopted more quickly by Corporate users and that's what will make Windows 7 successful. Microsoft just has to sell Win 7 to 1 company with 1000+ license and Apple will have to convince 1000+ individuals to buy Snow Leopard.

You do the math who sell more. At the end it all comes down to who is selling more.

[austinbarry]

Not all software works on Windows. There is more software for Windows because it is currently the most popular OS. Some of the "windows counterparts" you speak of are several versions behind or are missing features. It's like saying that anything worth reading is written in English (or has been translated into English).

BTW I use both OSX and XP on different machines. The only major software they have in common is Firefox and OpenOffice.

[tm_anon]

Funny, the only apps that work on all three platforms are open source. The only OS which works anywhere is open source. The OS which fixes any problems quickest is open source.

Also, the apps and OS which cost the least both in time and money is open source. No wonder MS does everything corporately possible to keep Linux out of stores. If the general public tried it out, MS would be out of business.

[tussery2]

This thread was not supposed to be a microsoft bashing thread like most any thread you'll find with regards to OSX vs. Windows. I'm not for one or the other, they both have their uses. If windows is so bad then why is most every business on the entire planet using the OS? It's because it works very well and has a very small learning curve . On the other hand, Apple has a great product. It works very well doing certain tasks. I believe to each his own. Windows has it's problems and anyone who thinks Apple software does not have bugs has another thing coming. Market share speaks volumes. Can't everyone just get along.

[tm_anon]

Market share just says more people either bought it or are stuck with it.

Windows is used by more corporations across the globe for one reason, businesses are stuck with proprietary apps that can't be ported. If it was just documents, Open Office does a wonderful job at opening and working with documents created in MS Office. Linux does everything Windows does with the exception of running a very small amount of proprietary apps.

Unfortunate that so many businesses use that small amount of apps.

[ppgreat]

Maybe someone can clarify. I thought that Windows 7 footprint was going to be smaller initially because you were going to need to download some large files to reach parity with Vista or XP. True or false?

And yes, you're going to see a lot of savings on Snow Leopard with the omission of PowerPC code, but not 6 GB.

[LoudHeart]

I notice whenever there is an OS article, there are many comments that follow. Personally, I would love to own a Mac. I grew up using IBM XT at home and Apple IIe. The Mac computers are too expensive. So, I guess for now I will stick with KDE 4x on Ubuntu OS. The KDE's graphical navigation is as close to what Mac OSX has to offer.

[anamericanbanned]

I work in the IT for a university that uses both PC and mac on our campus. Our initial testing of Windows 7 has been quite favorable and I believe that both upgrades will suit each of their audiences well.

The comments that Bertrand Serlet made during the keynote were off about windows. DLL problems have been a thing of the past since the Windows '98 days. The registry rarely needs to be access by home users. My IT department uses it tweak applications and some change windows behaviors as we do the same with plist files on the Mac. Defragmentation is certainly a knock against the NTFS file system, however Vista and 7 both schedule defrags and require little user interaction.

As for working in an enterprise setting macs are really lagging behind. Exchange support will help in snow leopard, but there are still issues with mac Enterprise offerings. Of course Apple has Open Directory and you can use Workgroup Manager to enforce policies. But these solutions don't always work. For instance, the LDAP database goes corrupt and diradmin can no longer login. There's no rhyme or reason to why this happens, it just does. What about Software Update Server? Good luck pushing updates to mobile users off campus. Then there's the problem with the ldap.conf file on Leopard that refuses to trust another Leopard server without it's SSL cert being imported. This problem still has not been fixed in the near two years that Leopard has been out.

Performance wise macs take the cake. My iMac can be up and running in seconds while my Vista box takes 10 minutes for me to be productive. I'm quite excited for Snow Leopard to come out this September. The refinement of Leopard into Snow Leopard will definitely make my mac responsibilities easier.

[revolver777]

My newly built computer may take longer to startup than your iMac but I bet I double your benchmarks. Startup time != performance.

[Craig Kesner]

After having to deal with my four copies of Vista, I should get a free windows 7 upgrades for my time and trouble with this bloatware. I will gladly pay the small upgrade fee for my six copies of Leopard which have run so smooth! I will replace my 20 plus copies of XP with Linux. I have 7 beta running smoothly on my Intel Mac's via Bootcamp, but will not pay a high upgrade price for upgrading the old units with 7! Will Microsoft hear us, or will they have 27 versions all selling for big bucks?

[djaquays]

While i'm sure snow leopard will be a lovely service pack, why don't the leopard users actually upgrade your operating system? FreeBSD 7.2-RELEASE is a nice, stable version and is a free upgrade to your mac! You should be used to most of the functions, since you're currently running a bastardized version of it.

[Zekeuyasha]

My computers have never crashed once. Without explaining, that would be a boldfaced lie, you see I have a load of computers, mostly Windows XP, some 98 and 2000. But my main PC is running Windows Vista. These computers lock up all the time, I like to overwork them and such. But I can always pull them back from the depths. A savvy user can fix most crashes, but unfortunately, most PC users are not savvy (take my dad for instance) I can also safely assume there's a lot of Mac users out there that aren't savvy either.

I will never buy a Mac personally (Before you shoot me down, know that I've used a Mac before and did not like what I was seeing, it was simple yes, but it doesn't have that feel that my Windows PC can give) As I was saying I won't buy one for a few simple reasons. One is that I can't go to a computer parts vendor and build a Mac that suits my needs and my wallet, I built a great computer a while back for about $300. it suited me just fine, and I like to tinker with my computers. Two is simpler than that; I play games. That's another story though.

I will definitely get Windows 7, I was very satisfied with the beta, the upgrade might be a little costly whatever Microsoft does but quite frankly, the recession never really hit me.

[useful_worms]

I will upgrade my iMac and MacBook Pro to Snow Leopard. I will "wait and see" before I upgrade my Dell with Windows 7. I know not to expect any problems with OS X while Vista was a disaster for me. I hope Windows 7 doesn't suck as hard as Vista.

[thorpedonj]

It's so interesting to read everyone's comments on this thread! Personally, I don't really care which OS is better than another. For me, it's all about software and applications. Right now, I'm writing this comment using Ubuntu 9.04, Jaunty Jackalope. I installed it on this box because I kept getting a BSOD when playing back video clips in XP/Vista/7!!!

However, I have absolutely no problems with video playback in Linux! Hmmm... Is the problem the OS or the hardware? The fact that Linux has no problems shows that it is an OS or driver issue. Besides, it's nice not to have to troubleshoot Windows on this box. Using Linux on it is like breathing fresh air! Did I mention this box is almost 5 years old? Athlon XP 3000+ 2 GB Geforcefx5200 AGP. Runs like a charm!

My next big plan is to purchase a laptop that can run all 3 major operating systems : Windows, OSX & Linux. WHY? Think about it! Run any modern software on ONE computer!!! I am sure there are Mac Users who will say, "Just go buy a Macbook Pro!!!" That would be the simple solution. But who has 1500$ to spare these days? I don't. I'm sorry it will have to be a PC, modded to run OSX. WHAT? You can run OSX on a PC??? YEP!!! It's called OSX86. Look it up!

[revolver777]

So many people are not educated enough to realize you've been able to run Mac OS on a PC since the beginning....

[kelmon]

@catch23

Yes, just to echo that anyone suggesting that the Windows Registry is superior solution to the likes of Preference Files is absolutely mad.

@All

To be honest, WIndows 7 is the most compelling upgrade of the 2 systems, particularly if you are coming from Windows XP. There is more new stuff in there but you are going to have to pay for it. Snow Leopard, while it has done a lot underneath, certainly offers the end-user fewer new features but then it is also going to cost peanuts.

And, yes, a lot of the space savings in Leopard will be due to the removal of PowerPC code but that's a "good thing". Having both codes available is convenient during the transition from PowerPC to Intel but there comes a point when keeping that old code is pointless and simply takes up space.

[Constable Odo]

No matter how good OSX is, it's not going to make a dent in Windows sales. In order to use OSX you must first buy a Mac. Most Windows people either can't afford or are not willing to spend the initial extra money to buy a Mac. It almost seems futile to try and change the majority of people to purchase Macs. Worse than that is the business world. They just don't think it's practical to dump all their Windows computers to buy Macs. Windows has been around so long, it's just the natural way to go. Apple had some small chance to get into the corporate world with the Vista disaster, but the economy went sour and now Microsoft has recovered with Windows 7 and if it is even a tiny bit better than Vista, companies will begin to upgrade with Windows again. Apple just can't win because there's just too much resistance against changing hardware.

Is there even any large corporation that uses OSX Server? I've heard it's very inexpensive to deploy for large companies, but I continue also to hear that there are some important tools missing and whatever they are IT will not allow OSX and say it's inferior to Windows Server software. So again, Apple is thwarted by IT. I don't understand why it's so difficult for Apple to build Server software that is as good as Windows or at least one that is as easy to use for IT.

Apple has an uphill battle for the iPhone in corporations (beaten by RIM), OSX Server (beaten by Windows Server), and Macs (beaten by a half-dozen PC manufacturers). There isn't one corporate spot that Apple can get a foothold in. I guess it will just have to stick with consumers for the time being and hope for the best by grabbing 1 or 2% of some market share every year. It's slow going in a mostly Windows world no matter how bad Windows is. Consumers and companies are just resistant to change.

[freemarket--2008]

You seem to forget that Apple is a hardware company. Let's see DELL is 25B Mkt Cap and AAPL is 124B. They seem to be doing OK to me...

[ppgreat]

"Is there even any large corporation that uses OSX Server?"

Yes, a multi-billion dollar company that is growing by leaps and bounds. Apple.

But there are others. Genentech comes to mind.

[JPC2009]

After comparing vista and window7 as well as Leopard with Snow Leopard, I realized that Windows 7 is really another version of Vista, not a upgrade. According my experice after using windows 7 a while, it make a bit or no improvements (why many people online say windows 7 is better bacause the Vista is really so bad and widows 7 just fix the problems on Vista, so the benchmark is very low.) While Apple rewrite more than 90% of the Leopard and Snow Leopard is more than 200% faster with additional more than 100 new features.
Otherwise, we,vista users,buy Vista with great expectations and finally downgrade the Vista to XP. Now, we have to pay extra for MS's failures about USD$100 (which I can buy a new version of Vista too, it is so funny!!!!) when upgrade Vista business to Windows 7 professional (according to the Bestbuy). So what about the Snow Leopard, it just cost only USD$29 upgrading from Leopard and USD$49 for family package. By the way, you don't have to worry about which version is fine. Snow Leopard as well as other Apple OS has only one version with all featuers. No Starter, No Professional, No Ultimate

[techSage]

Cost of Windows 7 Upgrade: $49 for most people ($100 for the very few who need more than Home Premium) according to a leaked Best Buy memo (http://www.engadget.com/2009/06/05/best-buy-memo-explains-that-vista-doesnt-work-details-windows/). And that's retail - there are legimate ways to get it cheaper than Best Buy. That hardly qualifies for the author's comment: "Microsoft has yet to release its upgrade pricing, but it is expected to be much higher."

Also, the author fails to address the question posed in the post title: "who has the best upgrade?" It should read: "what I think Snow Leopard has going for it according to the bullcrap the Apple fed me about saving disk space and 'coming from a better position'."

The savings in disk space is from it allowing you to delete the temporary install files after installation and because they dropped support for an entire CPU architecture: PowerPC. Too bad if your Mac is older than 3 years - no new OS for you!

[techSage]

@ppgreat: Wow, they are their own best customer? Too bad they don't pay themselves.

[J242]

@ lennie22

"I'm going to make this point.....since everyone is going on about how much Snow Leopard is a "completely new OS" and how it is 6GB smaller than the previous is a testament to that. So let me put this out there Vista install takes 12GB of space while Windows 7 takes up less than 5GB of harddrive space, thats more than 7GB smaller. so in essence Windows 7 is even more of a new OS to Vista than Snow Leopard is to the regular Leopard."

The difference is, Windows 7 removed Windows Live Mail, Windows Photo Gallery, Windows Movie Maker, MSN Messenger, and many other applications that previously came bundled are optional downloads. How much space do all of the programs removed take up? About 5 1/2 gigs so while 7 DOES have a smaller footprint than Vista, it's primarily because they removed most of the "idiot user" bloat and made them "optional" downloads.

That doesn't mean they got better at coding it, it means they removed crap people didn't want pre-installed and shipped it all to MSN "Live" services to handle thus making it "appear" to have a smaller footprint to the uneducated masses like yourself.

Next time you want to give someone a "gotcha!" make sure you know what you're talking about first thanks.