ChefDude

since the release of the core2duo mac mini, i'm totally hooked on getting one and working out how to fund it lol

but also, being the assembler/c++/os architecture geek that i am, i've been reading up on osx and there are some interesting gripes about dock and finder, etc - but I don't know enough about osx, having never used it.

i think what i'm getting at, is...

which tasks are better to do on osx than vista and why? and obviously the other way too.

i'm not really best placed to start this off, but...

I do like vista's task bar and the screen shot thumbnail that appears when you hover the mouse pointer over the task bar entry.

and on ilife08, i like the ability to drag the mouse over the folder of images left/right and the thumbs of the images in the folder appear in the folder icon - you don't have to dbl-click into that folder to see the contents.

come on then, what's better about each os than the other?

pimmo2000

iTrader: (6)

I very rarely us any of the OS operating systems but use MS everyday.

If you're going to compare I would probably suggest comparing XP and OSx as at least XP has a wealth of programs that actually work

I've found in Delphi for example, if you create a form and then run it on an xp machine it tends to look a bit crap... the edges move and such and its a royal pain to sort it out.

I like Vista for a Home PC, but if your into your high end applications I would go with XP.

Not really OSx vs Vista I know but ... shut up

InvisibleMan

they really need to sort out the mmc tool for vista...

bigsinky

they really just need to sort out vista 64 bit full stop.

lightning101

I think you guys must have a different version of vista from me.

I have a high end dual processor mac in the office and about as high a spec PC as is humanly possible.

The PC with vista is perfectly stable, runs every professional application well and look superb.

The mac is very stable as well but lacks a decent 3D card selection, I can't build or overclock the mac easily and it's just not nearly as fast as the PC at doing anything pound for pound of your money.

The mac is easier to use if you are used to using macs. The PC is easier if you are used to PC's.

It's like saying my apples are better than your oranges if you'll excuse the analogy.

The mac does a lot out of the box, as it should considering the extorsionate price. It looks great, but then you can build a PC that looks better.

Markus

What exact spec of Mac have you got? What OS version is it running?
The graphics card selection is somewhat of a limitation, and going to a Mac Pro just to be able to run the latest high end card, if it's possible for a Mac to run it, is a bit overkill.

As for overclocking, this is true, you can't really overclock the macs, however some machines do allow you to switch in a faster chip, If I recall correctly the mac mini's were upgradable from core solo to core duo (probably not to core 2 duo though). Ok, so you'd void your warranty doing so, but it was possible. Yes you can't build a Mac beyond the specs Apple gives, but that has always been the case, and I doubt it'll change. For some it's a hinderance, for others, for example us support types, it's a blessing in disguise as we don't have to deal with incompatibilities between motherboard and graphics cards, or their associated drivers.

Anyway, back on topic, as your comments are more Mac vs PC than OS X vs Vista.

I've only really used Vista very breifly. I have my Intel iMac running OS X 10.4.10 (and maybe even 10.5 now and then ) and Vista Ultimate, via BootCamp (plus if needed Parallels 3 or VMWare Fusion 1.0).

For running things such as AutoCad and anything seriously 3D intensive, including games, I have to say that Vista would have the edge.

OS X? Well, "fun" stuff, as in iLife type things. Apple really seems interested in the lifestyle side of things more than the business side of things. Yeah, you can get Office (but no Access, but I'm not sure if that is a good or bad thing ) and other business apps on OS X, but MS isn't exactly pulling it's finger out to get Office 2008 out.

One could also argue that Print and Design is another big draw for OS X. There are still many designers who will, even though the QuarkXPRESS, Photoshop, Illustrator and others are cross platform, stick with the Mac.

GaryK

Well I run both and have used WinNT/XP for a loooong time and use OS X daily to run VS2005/SQL2005 under Parallels emulation.

Thanks to Marcus on here who has been a big help and I am in no way an M$ advocate but I have to say having used both systems for a long period of time I have never made XP crash, OS X has crashed for me several times and recently I managed to screw the directory structure to the point where I had application failures and OS X disk utilities could not repair. My experience is that OS X is *not* as stable as many would have you believe.

First off I was using a Skype plug-in which *possibly* was locking the system. The sheer fact is that a modern pre-emptive multi-tasking system should *never* let an application bring it down. I like *nix based systems because there is a greater level of abstraction between the GUI and the kernel than there is on Win32. That said running my VMs under parallels on OS X now makes me nervous because I cannot (based on daily use for 6 months) guarantee 100% the reliability of the OS. That may go against the grain but I speak from pure factual experience. From the windows point of view it makes me laugh when people say its stable as anything, the first question I ask is what do you use it for? If the reply is internet and office then its not really going to stress a system is it? I love Mac and OS X, dont get me wrong but I my experience hasnt been a totally enjoyable one.

Gary

Mr Footlong

iTrader: (7)

If it was me I would also be comparing XP against OS X, not Vista. The company I work for supports over 1600 clients (sites, not pc's) and Vista is still a great big thorn in our side. Like a lot on here, we have used it ourselves for ages, well before it came out and ar all so unimpressed with it we use XP and thank god that we have dual boot. The amount of issues that we alone encounter using it daily, let alone our customers is scary. On certified Vista machines I have lost count of how many random reboots etc we have had or come across and we aren't the only ones that feel a bit like deja vu with Millenium. Vista really is the first MS O$ in years where I don't think it will be vagualy useful until SP1 at least. My own home PC is an absolute animal and I still use XP on it due to too many Vista-related issues being encountered.

Vista=Hot Blonde. Looks beautiful but a bit dim.

mykp

Wow you took the words right out of my mouth there.

I still think XP still has plenty of life left in it and even on the newest machines it still installs and runs fine.

I have a few customers now who have against my advice upgraded to Vista or bought new pc's with vista on and some have had major problems. I've been using vista since day one on my laptop and its prone to freezing or just crashing even though the manufacturer says this machine is "Vista ready"

Roll on Vista Service Pack1

As for OSX, I personally prefer the PC just for speed of use, cos i've been using it for years but like the look and feel. Thankfully I only have 2 customers who use Macs and there easy to support as they generally have a higher knowledge of the OS.

ScoobyDoo555

I think it's fair to say that any OS has gliches, and GaryK has to have been very unlucky But it does happen.

Personally, I've been using Macs (albeit it with Mac-native apps - music production and video etc) for over 20 years now, and I can count the crashes on ALL my Macs over the years in the single multiples. That's what you call reliability. This is what has led me to being a Mac fanboy.

I do use this opportunity to push my PC with the latest software, as it isn't my main machine. As it stands, I'm running Vista Business on my old Athlon, and it works really well.
A couple of driver issues (as you would expect), but on the whole, a very useful package for a home user.

But of course, I'm speaking from a user's perspective, not a developer/programmer.

Dan

mattbeef

Now i know that i work for the company but i love working and supporting macs. As they are both x86 machines inside there is little in them from a hardware point of view apart from Graphics cards as mentioned before.

When it comes down to the OS's Its like driving different cars. You get used to one and when you change it takes a little time to get used to it.

OS X (10.4) is great, stable and the unix underpinnings make it great for *nix geeks and for me i can open a Terminal session and get on with it.
Gaming and 3D stuff can be lacking compared to windows systems but i think that everyone admits that

Win XP- Stable OS but IME its not as stable as 10.4 but to be honest there is little difference in it when i say not as stable. Great for games and 3D stuff and now i think has everything you need in an OS.

Vista- Used it but not on a day to day basis. Used it from a support and playing with point of view. It's like XP with more eye candy but less stable. The Authentication dialog box seams to pop up every 5 minutes (im sure it can be turned off though?!) which gets annoying.
The other thing i dont like is that you have to open a command line session as a super user rather than doing a sudo or su.

All the OS's are good and work but for me i choose OSX because i dont have to maintain it like i used to when i was running XP. The iLife apps (well iPhoto) are great for for a lot of people do more than they will ever know.
There is also so much good freeware out there for a mac. Failing that the installing and uninstalling applications is always a winner for me as very little applications actually use an installer