Considering adding Windows 7 to your Mac? Or ditching Apple altogether? Listen to this
CNET Labs takes a look at the impending release of Windows 7 and compares it to Apple's Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard in this edition of the CNET News Daily Podcast. Get answers to relevant questions about the two operating systems and make an informed decision when considering adding Windows 7 to your Mac or simply switching.
Also on today's podcast: Facebook admits it was too slow to react to a database error that left hundreds of thousands of users without access to their accounts for more than a week, a security expert calls for Internet passports and Internet police, plus a new take on Olympic medals.
Check out the CNET review and comparison between Windows 7 and OS X.
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Windows 7 may have it's perks, but it's not a Mac, which is the environment that I've grown accustomed to computing in. Granted it will have it's benefits and uniquenesses over OS X, but likewise OS X will also have it's perks. Erica Ogg mentions a few in this podcast, such as the launch and boot times of the OS, but also mentions that currently the OS does not currently play games as well as Windows 7. This is for a variety of reasons, primarily because of years of optimization by driver and game developers; however, despite this Erica did not discuss the potential that OS X has brought to the table with Snow Leopard.
When applications (primarily benchmarks at this point) have used Grand Central Dispatch and OpenCL, there have been MASSIVE gains in speed. I would very much like to see how this could be used by games, and I suspect it will yield exceptional speed increases for games. Granted this would depend on the hardware demands for the game, but while previously developers had to take advantage of the system hardware with their own code, they can now rely on Apple's APIs to integrate better use of any CPUs and GPUs the system may contain.
I imagine developers are actively incorporating GCD and OpenCL in their applications, and we will see them coming out in the upcoming years.
Personally, despite being a Mac guy I am looking forward to trying Windows 7 out with VMWare; I wont install it using Boot Camp just yet. I would like to see what they've done and how it compares to OS X, so out of curiosity I am interested in it, but as for what I'm comfortable with and what I like, I choose OS X. Many people I've chatted with who have tested Windows 7 have given their impression that it's good and comes close to OS X, but that's about it: comes close.
"Finally, if money is not an issue--and it definitely is for most of us--you should get a Mac anyway. It's the only platform, for now, that can run both Windows and OS X. Note that this article touched the two operating systems only from the performance point of view. (Mac is also really pretty and Windows offers a lot more options and compatibility.)"
The ability to run all major OSes on Apple hardware makes it exceptionally appealing.
cnet?s takeover of this site has made it all but useless. Another useless site to drive ad revenue.
Thanks cnet. Thanks a lot.
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BUT HERES THE KICKER
The 21st Century will not be kind to Windows as times go on;
Its architecture chains it to the 20th century
As the years go by the Mac will cruise further ahead of Windows on ALL tests
Windows HAD its day in the sun
Its time to for it to move aside and let the new blood take over
Best,
Richard
Yeah sure they have the Apple Byte Podcast but even that is just yawn! Kinda like their token Apple piece.
Even the interview with Steve Ballmer was heavily MS biased which my wife said he came over as arrogant and she likes Windows but said he put her off of Microsoft as a company.
I use Vista at work, and have no problems with it at all. And I'm looking forward to trying Win7. But I'll not be switching from my Mac at home any time in the near future.
Ditch my Mac. What kind of headline is that?
Besides I've run W-7 on my Mac. It runs on top of NT, it's not new and it's a total resource hog. I ditched Windows 7 for sure.
What else could possibly explain the title of this piece-of-crap article. Cnet, you can kiss my Mac arse. Your are useless to Mac users. Eat you-know-what and die!
As it turns out, many of the people now using Macs were using PCs (running Windows) as their last machine. That trend is very much set to continue, so providing a resource that compares the Mac OS to Windows hardly compromises the integrity of this blog being Pro-Apple.
I find it somewhat disparaging that you consider the title of this article "incendiary". When a new product comes to market, especially one as dominating as Windows, the most common question has to be, "do we keep what we have or make the switch?" It is no different than our articles about why people should switch from Windows Vista to Snow Leopard. It offers the facts, some opinions, and lets people decide.
I fail to see how this article, or any article on MacFixIt "bashes" Apple. If you have a specific example that you are worried about, feel free to let us know.
Gone are the days of the close knit Mac forums and really useful information.
So sad to see the original MacFixit get bought out by folks who don't give a dam. So Sad..
Many of our users run Windows on their Macs for various reasons. It is a part of the Mac landscape whether the die hard fanboys like it or not. And, as one of those fanboys, I do not particularly seek to write about the Windows environment or post much information about them. However, as a writer that supports the Mac community (a community that does use Windows), I feel it necessary at times to bring issues to the forefront of people's thoughts.
If you would like to submit issues that you have and would like us to report on, help troubleshoot, or otherwise be a part of, please feel free to contact us: macfixitinfo@cnet.com
I think Joe is very correct in his responses to the commenters above, who seem to be venting frustrations that are based on incorrect conclusions more than anything else. Perhaps this article should have better clarified our take on the title question, but I dont believe its necessary. Our position is this: we don't intend for people to switch and hope people instead find the Mac more appealing; however, given the upcoming OS release some people will be asking themselves this question, especially those who've recently switched from PC to Mac (a good 50% of the Apple store customers). For those people, we recommend they read the linked article to see one angle on the situation and the overall conclusion which is that regardless of the perks of each OS, getting a Mac is still the better solution. The reality is, Windows is better for game performance, and the article points that out. That's not to say that games cannot be played on the Mac, but from a game performance standpoint Windows has been highly optimized and OS X is still playing catch-up. Nevertheless, there are other areas where OS X excels, such as in general application use, and in the potential it brings with GCD and OpenCL, and compatibility with services such as systemwide Exchange support.
OS X is absolutely ripe for the picking, and is primed to take off in terms of performance and features. I think it would benefit everyone greatly to get familiar with this OS, since the marketshare is growing and I feel it's only a matter of time before it's suddenly used by half of all home and business computers in the US.
I boot to Windows every time and use Windows exclusively on it.
Why you ask?
Because if I have access to Windows, why would I ever want/need to boot into OSX?
Windows has far greater compatibility, and quite frankly, it does a heck of a lot more.
Aside from being pretty, there just isn't a need for OSX if you have access to Windows.
I boot to Windows every time and use Windows exclusively on it.
Why you ask?
Because if I have access to Windows, why would I ever want/need to boot into OSX?
Windows has far greater compatibility, and quite frankly, it does a heck of a lot more.
Aside from being pretty, there just isn't a need for OSX if you have access to Windows.
:)
this post just kills me:
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The ability to run all major OSes on Apple hardware makes it exceptionally appealing.
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MS Has to make their software run on millions of configurations, Apple? handful.. And god forbid they open up and let you put it on your own computer.. do that?
They sue you.
It is monopoly of expensive hardware.
But seriously, no matter what a review says comparing 7 to Snow, fanboys of each side will cry.
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October 21, 2009 2:27 PM PDT
- No hablo por lo tanto tapoco consugo leer en su totalidad el ingles,por lo que pido sime pueden mandar en ESPAŅOL.Gracias
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