Apple vs Windows

[Tsuki]

i havent actually used maverick, but i worked for applecare when Lion when and Mountain Lion were released so i was very familier with those. for the most part, i dont mind the OS on the mac, its functional. but its the little things that annoy me, when i try to change something and i just cant. i also dont like the file structure. keeping all your data in package files drives me insane. its great for people that just want an os to work and have no intention of doing anything.

[emachado99]

Really, the only reason why I am using windows is for gaming. Other than that I kinda prefer OS X over windows because of the security, functionality, etc. If your into editing then OS X would be good for you too.

[Legion]

I prefer windows but I haven't touched OS X for an extended period of time.

I think snow leopard was the last update I used

[elecxonica]

Windows 8 most of the time. 8 looks better in my opinion (but I don't like iOS 7 or Kitkat's design, so I obviously don't get design). Additionally, most of my games either don't work on OSX or don't work as well as windows (I haven't tried the OS X version of Deus Ex yet though). Finally, I don't like the sort of ecosystem and the fact that more of OSX's softwear features need you to use Apple's services.

 

All that said, I do use it at TAFE and have it installed incase I require some random OS X only app for whatever reason and it's defiently not horrbile.

[mr moose]

Horses for courses, which one is better depends solely on the end users mindset.  Anyone who tries to insinuate one is intrinsically better without actually showing some objective test results (like processing speed for a unique task) is just fanboying or misinformed. 

[rambi36]

I used both at times and i prefer windows over osx, but osx isnt bad. I honestly dont like the design of yosemite(too much like ios imo) and Windows with its latest updates is becoming a lot better of an operating system. Those are my thoughts on it.

[madcow]

OSX for me. I have a mostly Linux network so it fits right in. Faimilar permissions, file structure, commands, native nfs and ssh support, etc. Game support is good enough for my little gaming needs. I do like the UI for the most part too.

[jezza39]

WIn 7 vs OS X is a coin flip for me, but Win 8 vs OS X is a big win for apple. It also helps that Apple make amazing laptops vs windows OEMs. Obviously if gaming is what you want to do you will be going windows for the time being. 

[EmotionalSloth]

OSX is better to create media

Windows is better to enjoy media

 

I like the general layout and simplicity on OSX more tbh, the only reason I am using Windows is gaming. (I might get a macbook air for school next year)

[Builder]

Im not a fan of either of them. I liked the user interface in windows 8 but that's about it.

THE ELUSIVE METROCORN! I'VE FOUND YOU!

 

OS X is UNIX based, I rest my case.

 

Seriously though compatibility, fanboys (tons and tons of them) and misinformed users (often caused by before mentioned fanboys) is the only thing Windows has going for it.

Ahem. Nerd inbound.

 

It's technically BSD based, which was originally a free version of AT&T's Bell Labs highly advanced UNIX operating system.

Not really, It just a visual update to my opinion. But we don't know a lot yet. 

We know everything. Handoff, continuity, various other massive changes-it's huge.

 

Linux is lacking, OSX is lacking, Windows covers everything. 

 

I'd swap to Linux in a heartbeat if most of my software had native support and OpenGL wasn't a piece of shit.

Bold words about OpenGL. Do you think DirectX is better?

[ManWithBeard1990]

I like linux for many reasons, but I do want to try ReactOS at some point. Has anyone tried that recently?

[Hans Christian | Teri]

It's technically BSD based, which was originally a free version of AT&T's Bell Labs highly advanced UNIX operating system.

 

So that would make it UNIX based, to me it sounds like we agree.

[Builder]

So that would make it UNIX based, to me it sounds like we agree.

No. It is BSD based. UNIX would imply UNIX standard compatibility. It is UNIX-like in that it was supposed to work like UNIX but is not necessarily compatible.

[mr moose]

No. It is BSD based. UNIX would imply UNIX standard compatibility. It is UNIX-like in that it was supposed to work like UNIX but is not necessarily compatible.

 

As far as I am concerned using "it's unix based" as an argument as to why OSX is better is silly.  It is just an OS, at the end of the day it is no more or less stable, speedy or user applicable than any of the other os's.  You may as well argue that MS is better it is a custom os design specifically for the 0x86 processor and has been purposely evolved over 40 years to suit the needs of 90% of the market.

[StareX]

OSX has barely viruses.. Windows has the most.

[mr moose]

OSX has barely viruses.. Windows has the most.

If we are going to use lack of viruses as a reason to use a particular OS then we should all swap to burroughs.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burroughs_MCP

 

But we can't, as its incomparable with everything we use...

[Lyons]

No. It is BSD based. UNIX would imply UNIX standard compatibility. It is UNIX-like in that it was supposed to work like UNIX but is not necessarily compatible.

 

Sorry to burst your imaginary bubble.

 

And at least read the Wikipedia page...

[Guest]

IMO, OS X is designed to be much more user-friendly out of the box. Apple's suite of apps are top-notch, and the design of the OS (especially in the redesigned upcoming Yosemite) is much more tight and refined. Most things also 'just work'; not a whole lot to configure, it's just plug in and go.

 

Windows is good for gaming, but the general UI and experience is a little more archaic. I think with Windows 8, Microsoft kind of stopped trying with the desktop. They focused too much on tablets with the whole swoopy UI.

[Guest]

As far as I am concerned using "it's unix based" as an argument as to why OSX is better is silly.  It is just an OS, at the end of the day it is no more or less stable, speedy or user applicable than any of the other os's.  You may as well argue that MS is better it is a custom os design specifically for the 0x86 processor and has been purposely evolved over 40 years to suit the needs of 90% of the market.

 

But OS X, being specifically built for the hardware it runs on (which is of course much more specialized), it is more stable. It's much more rare for the OS X 'Black Screen of Death' than Windows' BSOD. The OS is Unix-like, but its origins were using NetBSD and FreeBSD back when OS X evolved out of NextOS.

[mr moose]

But OS X, being specifically built for the hardware it runs on (which is of course much more specialized), it is more stable. It's much more rare for the OS X 'Black Screen of Death' than Windows' BSOD. The OS is Unix-like, but its origins were using NetBSD and FreeBSD back when OS X evolved out of NextOS.

No, just no.  Apple hardware is NOT more specialized,  It is identical in nearly all aspects. Add to that that windows is no less "built" for the hardware it runs on.  I think you will find that OSX hangs and fouls just as much as windows, the difference is that with 90odd% of the market share you will hear about windows more than you will OSX. 

 

There is no outstanding feature that makes one OS better than the other, it is purely user preference and end use specific. 

[Guest]

No, just no. Apple hardware is NOT more specialized, It is identical in nearly all aspects. Add to that that windows is no less "built" for the hardware it runs on. I think you will find that OSX hangs and fouls just as much as windows, the difference is that with 90odd% of the market share you will hear about windows more than you will OSX.

There is no outstanding feature that makes one OS better than the other, it is purely user preference and end use specific.

By specialized, I mean that Apple knows exactly what hardware it's OS is running on, and optimizes it for that. The reason Windows is so popular is that it runs on any hardware under the sun, meaning that it's impossible to be fine-tuned to any specific set ups. I'm not saying OS X is perfect, but just like iOS, it's a much more curated experience than Android, which has all sorts of issues with phone specs,screen sizes, resolutions, and the abominable fragmentation. If Android ran only on Nexus devices, it would be much more manageable.

[mr moose]

By specialized, I mean that Apple knows exactly what hardware it's OS is running on, and optimizes it for that. The reason Windows is so popular is that it runs on any hardware under the sun, meaning that it's impossible to be fine-tuned to any specific set ups. I'm not saying OS X is perfect, but just like iOS, it's a much more curated experience than Android, which has all sorts of issues with phone specs,screen sizes, resolutions, and the abominable fragmentation. If Android ran only on Nexus devices, it would be much more manageable.

 

I think you will find that with standardization, today's hardware is not as problematic as you make out.  Again the number of crashes and blue screens are no longer the bane of having a windows os.  As for the android analogy, well that is all subjective.  I could easily argue that I know more people who have had issues with apple products than windows/android (and I know a lot working within an industry filled with IT novices on windows machines), however this is all anecdotal and subjective.

 

Also I think you will find that hardware has vitally nothing to do with popularity, but the fact that windows was born out of the industry standard when IBM/HP had the monopoly on business machines has more to do with their current market dominance.  When something becomes the de facto standard it is very difficult to change that.    

[max1220]

I used Windows and OS X. (Also Linux, but let's just ignore that...)

 

I prefer Windows over OS X, since you can do everything you want. Gaming __or__ Creative work. I don't know a single OS X peace of software, which couldn't be replaced by a Windows counterpart.

I think we could left that part out of the comparison.

If you want your system to look like you want to, if you wan to to change stuff in it(Not just hardware, Windows desk modding, for example...), or just play the latest games, Windows is the way to go.

Some people say OS X is more secure. While there are less Viruses for OS X, it's far away from invulnerable. Also, most infections on PC's are through misbehavior of the User. If you pay a little bit attention on what you're doing, you should be fine!

My conclusion is use Linux use Windows, if you've got at least a bit of a clue what you're doing. OS X might be great, if you're a content creator, got no clue of computers, don't want to game, and just want it to work.

If you've got the time to use Windows, you not only can save some money, you can also game, or modify your OS, at least a bit. And if you've got Problems, you most likely got a larger community that can help you.

 

One last note: I have used OS X for a while on my 2nd machine, and even though it worked just fine, I found myself uninstalling it after only 3 months. This was quite a while ago, and I don't know, how relevant my Information is. Please correct my, if I said something, that isn't correct(anymore). For my personal needs, I almost always use Linux for my stuff, except for gaming, for which I use Windows.

[Builder]

As far as I am concerned using "it's unix based" as an argument as to why OSX is better is silly.  It is just an OS, at the end of the day it is no more or less stable, speedy or user applicable than any of the other os's.  You may as well argue that MS is better it is a custom os design specifically for the 0x86 processor and has been purposely evolved over 40 years to suit the needs of 90% of the market.

I don't know what you're talking about with "custom designed for the x86 processor," if you mean that large swaths of it are written in assembler, then sure, but that's not really considered a virtue these days. 

 

OS X is more stable, this is basically inarguable fact. It doesn't have a registry, it defrags itself automatically, has built in trojan and adware defenses, among a host of other more modern advancements over Windows. 

 

I use to be a Windows guy, I used it for awhile before getting a Mac and realizing how much I had been missing out on with the terminal and the built in text editors like Emacs and Vim.

 

Sorry to burst your imaginary bubble.

 

And at least read the Wikipedia page...

I said not necessarily compatible...

 

Anyways, I'm not perfect and when I first started using OS X it hadn't yet been Unix certified. Most of the programmers I talk with still consider it a flavor of Unix specifically in the BSD realm due to its use of the XNU hybrid kernel. On top of that, in its purest sense, it is ratified as Unix V3 full compliant, however I'd say it's as much Unix as Windows 8 is NT, probably less due to the fact that most Unix compatible programs have to be ported to OS X to get them to run, which was a provision specifically allowed for OS X.

 

This is reinforced by a lot of power users on http://superuser.com/questions/49434/how-unix-is-mac-os-x

[mr moose]

I don't know what you're talking about with "custom designed for the x86 processor," if you mean that large swaths of it are written in assembler, then sure, but that's not really considered a virtue these days. 

 

OS X is more stable, this is basically inarguable fact. It doesn't have a registry, it defrags itself automatically, has built in trojan and adware defenses, among a host of other more modern advancements over Windows. 

 

I use to be a Windows guy, I used it for awhile before getting a Mac and realizing how much I had been missing out on with the terminal and the built in text editors like Emacs and Vim.

 

MS dos was written specifically for the intel 0x086 processor for IBM as their main OS, My point is that this is no more relevant an argument for windows than unix is for OSX. 

 

The OSX is more stable argument is a myth, it's not more stable,  just as many people have issues with apple as they do with windows machines.   https://www.google.com.au/search?q=OSX++crashes&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&channel=sb&gfe_rd=cr&ei=TCqWU8icJMSN8Qfb64CABQ