Vista and Leopard - You Gotta Ask Why?
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Reader Don Naphen made a comment about an interesting article over at PC Magazine in which the writer was critical of the new Apple operating system Leopard. There was also some comparisons made between Vista and Leopard, which makes for interesting reading. Though I do not use an Apple system, I can not comment on whether the writer is correct or not in his assumptions about the new OS. But after reading this article and having also used Vista from beta to its final release, one question does come to mind for both operating systems. Why?
The first part of the ‘Why’ question is easy to answer. Both Microsoft and Apple make bundles of cash on a new operating system which in theory should, in my opinion, make using a computer easier and provide for a more pleasurable user experience. One could argue that by adding eye candy to the system and making a new OS sparkle on our screens can be considered more ‘pleasurable’. With this in mind, one can conclude that both Microsoft and Apple have succeeded in this. I am the first to admit that in my experience using both Vista and XP, Vista by far is more eye pleasing. It would appear from reading the article from PC Mag that Leopard for the most part is more eye applealing than Tiger. Again, I don’t use an Apple system and can only base this assumption on what others write.
The second part of the ‘Why’ is hard to define. Moving things around on a system that we have all become familiar with makes no sense to me. I would imagine that those who work on a new operating system may feel that by moving things around, changing the appearance of icons and adding more menu items to a system which requires a user to click more is a vast improvement over a previous OS. Imagine if you would , going down to buy a new car and finding that the gas and brake peddles on the vehicle have been reversed. When you question the salesperson as to the ‘Why’ you are given an answer that the engineers felt that this new design would enhance your driving experience. Huh? Another new feature we have added is when you turn the steering wheel to the left the vehicle will automatically make a right turn for you. Needless to say that these added new features will add a definite “WOW” to your driving experience.
I am not writing this with the purpose to continue the argument about keeping XP or upgrading to Vista, nor if one should upgrade from Tiger to Leopard. But rather as an observation that just because something is new, doesn’t automatically make it better. The decision to use any OS is best left to you and what you prefer using. Whether a person writes something good or something bad about an OS, the final decision on what is best for you can only be made by you and you alone. 
Comments welcome.
PC Mag article here.
Tags: microsoft, apple, xp, vista, leopard, tiger, operating systems, good, bad,
4 Comments
stefan
December 3rd, 2007
at 7:39am
Youre spot on with the aesthetic improvements. Vista looks better than XP (where I have a vista look alike mod in place) and Leopard definitely looks better than Tiger (I got soooo sick of brushed metal). But the major faux pars here are with performance traded off against features. Vista’s Aero is one of the reasons why Vista is so clunky, and the graphical whizz bangery of Time Machine has excluded a large number of users from installing using conventional methods (theres always a way around), while on the whole being slower than 10.4
On the front of features and moving things around, if youre used to Tiger, then moving to Leopard lets you still have all the things in the same place aside from one or two minor things. For example, one of the things that annoys me most is that the window view style constantly changes and even though you can supposedly lock it to a particular view, it wont necessarily stay that way (its a bug that will hopefully be addressed). mix in a few small counter intuitive changes, such as Front Row not being intrinsically linked to iTunes, and youve got plenty to be annoyed by if you look in the right places.
Without having much experience with Vista, I cant really comment on it too much, but it definitely appears that lots has been changed for the worse, not only in terms of performance but also with moving things around etc. etc. which isnt really the case with 10.5. In that respect, I prefer OSX. its more consistent across updates.
In terms of stability of OSX, 10.5 is bringing plenty new to the table. Its like going from XP to Vista in that theres bound to be bugs introduced (never buy a rev A or .0 release from apple the old mantra goes). Right now i often experience a blank screen upon waking from sleep, or the mouse starting to skip or the ports stopping working. all fixed by a restart, but annoying none the less. Once the little bugs are ironed out, 10.5 will be as solid as 10.4 and easily be the better choice. right now its a transition period, more and more things will start to be 10.5 only, and 10.4 will only get security updates (not that it needs much more improving).
so my advice, as im sure the guide is for Vista is either be an early adopter or hang back until its improved (which will happen quicker with OSX than with Vista) and fixed in various ways. Or if youre perfectly happy with the way things are running now, dont change a thing.. Im a cutting edge kinda guy, so im on 10.5 on my main machine and 10.4 on my old one (admittedly this is mainly because of potential hardware-software link breakages on it, but its also quite comfortable to return to every once in a while.
Ron Schenone
December 3rd, 2007
at 8:08am
Hi Stefan,
Thanks for sharing your experience and thoughts with us. It is appreciated.
Chris Lowe
December 4th, 2007
at 1:17pm
Except that Apple doesn’t make a bundle of money on the new operating system.
Apple makes money on their hardware - which is one of the main reasons that OSX is not available for non-Apple hardware. Leopard helps to sell new computers, but even computers that are 3 years old will run Leopard, while Vista has problems on computers bought last year. Also, many people waited for Leopard to come out before buying their new computer - I did - so it had a depressive effect on sales prior to its release.
Leopard is an evolution from Tiger, with enough new bells and whistles to justify paying some money for. Vista is a completely new OS, much in the way that 10.0 was a completely new OS for Apple. The considerably higher price tag is a reflection of that, I presume.
I’ve updated to Leopard, and have not experienced any major problems. Some things have changed, but the only two things that have irked me so far have been the translucent menu bar, and the shelf-like dock. I’ve ‘used’ Vista at my work, and find it confusing and alien. Windows XP is quite familiar to me, so I do have a good background to judge Vista from.
I don’t think that Leopard and Vista can be compared in the way that you’ve done. Please try using a mac, and see the difference for yourself.
Finally - nobody goes into an Apple store and says that they want to buy a new computer, but could they please have Tiger instead of Leopard.
Ron Schenone
December 5th, 2007
at 5:32am
Hi Chris,
Thanks for sharing this info. It is appreciated.
Regards, Ron