Comparing 2 Operating Systems - OS X and Windows 10

[kissmo]

Recently I have had the occasion to play around with a Windows PC - something I haven't been using for many years.

The laptop had Windows 10 running on it.
Now, I haven't had much time to play and dig deeper, but I feel that MS has grown a lot in terms of how they build their latest OS.

I have been using El Capitan since the beginning of the DP launch and I am also impressed with the performance improvements along with the small newly added features.

Anyway, at this point I have the choice to add another laptop to my business and I can honestly say I will give Windows 10 a shot and the PC market.
It is solely for business purpose - Office, Web Browsing - no hardcore gaming or other GPU taks.

Share your thoughts regarding the experience with Windows if you have any.
Leave hate aside, and be as straight as possible to how do you see Windows at this point. Do you see them as a solid rising competition for Apple at this point?

 

[SG-]

so many terrible 'little' things on Windows that annoy me every day when I have to use it for a few minutes:

-text selection is bad by double/triple clicking words/etc compared to OSX
-terminal emulators in general (iTerm2 and even OSX Terminal are so good along with all the system integration they offer, drag and drop scp in iTerm)
-windows update is annoying and bothersome (frequency, reboots and just annoying in general with all its panels/warnings)
-USB devices lose their settings when you move it to another port such as wifi/network adapter or headset along with general hardware detection crap that happens in Windows
-how much stuff you have to right click to get to a setting.

the list goes on but that's just what I can think of for now. i've actually given up on Windows for any work for a while now and this list just represents what annoys me for the small amount of gaming I do.

 

[2984839]

Windows already completely dominates the market and has for decades.

 

[ssn637]

I prefer OS X and would use it exclusively if possible, but in my work environment I've been forced to keep a Windows 7 x64 virtual machine (Boot Camp is too much of a hassle and should be avoided unless you absolutely need all of your system's resources, e.g. for gaming). Although Microsoft recently released its Office for Mac 2016 suite, so many features are not available (and probably never will be) compared to the Windows version that I find myself working exclusively in Windows when at work. Add to that the fact that neither MS Visio nor Project are available to Mac users, I feel we've been neglected by Microsoft to remind us that OS X will never be the choice for businesses unless they make the switch to another Office Suite company-wide. Since many of our legacy applications were developed internally on a Windows platform, making the switch just isn't possible. However, since our company has been generous about allowing employees to bring their own devices in recent years, I see an awful lot of MacBooks being lugged around to meetings.

I can easily get through an 8-hour day on the battery and don't even bother bringing my charger in to the office anymore, which was never possible on my Windows machines. That's a big plus for me. And I've just read that battery life in Windows 10 is at best no better than in Windows 8.1, and probably worse, especially if Cortana is being used. So my advice would be: Stick with OS X and use Windows only if you have no other choice, preferably in a virtual machine.

 

[SoyCapitanSoyCapitan]

I have extensively tested Windows 10 10240 against the latest El Cap and have to say Windows finally has the edge in terms of representing modern times, great features, speed, plug and play, drivers, gaming. There is still some annoyances and legacy stuff but I think that rolling updates will allow fast changes. But in terms of productivity both systems are equally good.

 

[Tubamajuba]

The poll question is pretty vague. You can easily argue that OS X is better, and therefore more competitive, than Windows. However in terms of sales, OS X has never been and likely will never be as successful as Windows.

But yes, Windows 10 is overall a step in the right direction for Microsoft. It's more of a pleasure to use than any past version of Windows, in my opinion.

 

[kissmo]

The poll question is pretty vague. You can easily argue that OS X is better, and therefore more competitive, than Windows. However in terms of sales, OS X has never been and likely will never be as successful as Windows.

But yes, Windows 10 is overall a step in the right direction for Microsoft. It's more of a pleasure to use than any past version of Windows, in my opinion.

Well the pool is vague indeed because I believe the line between El Cap and Win 10 is pretty vague too in terms of comparing these 2 OS-es.


But I believe it's getting closer - Windows 10 was a pleasant surprise for me.

Now I am typing this message form a Windows 10 machine. Testing it around.

 

[KALLT]

My initial enthusiasm for Windows 10 wore off quickly. I remembered exactly why I left Windows behind and I still see that many things haven’t changed. Speed, stability or modern looks were never the reasons why I left (and truth be told, Windows doesn’t run nearly as good on older systems whereas my 2008 MacBook still runs El Capitan reasonably well). The user experience is still too system-centric, there are illogical design decisions all over the place (even some things that are new in Windows 10 just make no sense to me) and overall it stays a system that burdens your working memory with annoying decisions all the time. In short: it’s not a pleasant and mindful system. Windows is never going away or change and I’m still glad that I made the switch years ago.

so many terrible 'little' things on Windows that annoy me every day when I have to use it for a few minutes:

-text selection is bad by double/triple clicking words/etc compared to OSX
[…]
-windows update is annoying and bothersome (frequency, reboots and just annoying in general with all its panels/warnings)
[…]
-how much stuff you have to right click to get to a setting.

the list goes on but that's just what I can think of for now. i've actually given up on Windows for any work for a while now and this list just represents what annoys me for the small amount of gaming I do.

Really true. Windows 10 will also force these updates upon users. Imagine that on OS X or Linux.

 

[paris18m]

biggest problem i see in Windows is that they keep cluttering the UI and they keep being inconsistent everywhere!

 

[Shirasaki]

Really true. Windows 10 will also force these updates upon users. Imagine that on OS X or Linux.

Mac OS X does force users to accept new features they may or may not want, as well, when system is upgrading.

For example, Java 6 support ends in El Capitan, which is the last version officially support it. After that, all applications require Java 6 to run will not working, including some adobe software, possibly CS 6 suits and earlier version.

And Yosemite introduces new photo app, which is an app cutting down many features available in aperture. Unfortunately aperture and iPhoto is out of support.

I don't know anything about Linux, but I believe there could be similar thing happen on Linux.

 

[hanser]

But you are free not to upgrade to El Capitan. And you are free to continue to use iPhoto, which is still working.

 

[Sheza]

Windows is the king of operating systems. That doesn't mean it's a good King. If you were to ask which O/S is better if they could be ran on both systems easily, then I'd say OS X. I like OS X. However I do enjoy using my Windows PC, having much better specs than my MacBook, for that 60fps feel. The way that the windows open and close, scrolling etc it's less pretty than OS X but it's more straight-to-the-point. I think El Cap will help towards achieving that feeling in OS X.

 

[Shirasaki]

But you are free not to upgrade to El Capitan. And you are free to continue to use iPhoto, which is still working.

Of course, you are free to use Windows XP as long as your hardware support it is still working properly.

 

[ps3zocker]

There are two things that I really like about Windows 10 and also Windows 8.1. All the animations are 60fps, buttery smooth. Boot time is at around 8 seconds on a standard HDD and about 5 seconds on an SSD. Wow. My HDD iMac needs around 60 seconds... In general, Windows 10 is more fluid and fast without an SSD.

 

[Phil A.]

IMO, OS X is still miles ahead of windows where it counts - in its underlying architecture.

The fact that OS X is *nix is a massive plus and the integration with the iPhone (handoff, messages, etc) just makes the whole experience much more fluid and integrated for me

 

[SlCKB0Y]

Windows is the king of operating systems.

Define king? It's certainly not installed on more devices than Linux.

Windows has the desktop market a good portion of the non-web server market. Not much else.

 

[SoyCapitanSoyCapitan]

IMO, OS X is still miles ahead of windows where it counts - in its underlying architecture.

The fact that OS X is *nix is a massive plus and the integration with the iPhone (handoff, messages, etc) just makes the whole experience much more fluid and integrated for me

There's nothing about OSX underlying architecture superior to Windows apart from an easier to use SDK. In terms of graphics and sound APIs, gaming APIs, drivers, plug and play, support for new hardware, support for enterprise solutions, these are in Windows favour. Also the hybrid NT kernel is partly based on Posix, which Apple's variant of BSD conforms to. The other parts of the hybrid kernel are Win32 and OS2 Warp.

 

[Sheza]

Define king? It's certainly not installed on more devices than Linux.

Windows has the desktop market a good portion of the non-web server market. Not much else.

Yeah I'm not talking about the server market or the post-desktop market. Sorry, I forgot it's 2015 and people consider an iPad to be a laptop replacement (what a joke).

Look, there's way more consumer laptops and desktops with Windows on than OSX. That's what I meant.

 

[KALLT]

Mac OS X does force users to accept new features they may or may not want, as well, when system is upgrading.

For example, Java 6 support ends in El Capitan, which is the last version officially support it. After that, all applications require Java 6 to run will not working, including some adobe software, possibly CS 6 suits and earlier version.

And Yosemite introduces new photo app, which is an app cutting down many features available in aperture. Unfortunately aperture and iPhoto is out of support.

First, Windows 10 will remove or replace system features that you liked as well, for instance, the freedom to refuse or pick and choose updates.

Secondly, Java 6 has reached the end of its life cycle more than two years ago and still continues to have lots of security issues for which no publicly available patches are offered. It is a liability and Apple is right to abandon it. If you are not willing to purchase updated software along with your operating system then that is your choice. If the software is not updated at all then that is too bad, but for that you can use virtual workspaces.

Thirdly, iPhoto is a standalone app, it always was. It just happened to be bundled with newly purchased Macs and updates were offered for free since the App Store (before that you needed to buy each new version of iLife yourself). That has nothing to do with OS X itself, Apple merely decided to discontinue iPhoto and Aperture and provided a new product for consumers. Also, Microsoft discontinues or remodels products all the time, it happens there as well.

 

[Shirasaki]

First, Windows 10 will remove or replace system features that you liked as well, for instance, the freedom to refuse or pick and choose updates.

Secondly, Java 6 has reached the end of its life cycle more than two years ago and still continues to have lots of security issues for which no publicly available patches are offered. It is a liability and Apple is right to abandon it. If you are not willing to purchase updated software along with your operating system then that is your choice. If the software is not updated at all then that is too bad, but for that you can use virtual workspaces.

Thirdly, iPhoto is a standalone app, it always was. It just happened to be bundled with newly purchased Macs and updates were offered for free since the App Store (before that you needed to buy each new version of iLife yourself). That has nothing to do with OS X itself, Apple merely decided to discontinue iPhoto and Aperture and provided a new product for consumers. Also, Microsoft discontinues or remodels products all the time, it happens there as well.

I accept that I do make mistakes on some points. I am a newbie when using mac.

But I believe what windows does, Mac OS X will eventually do, sooner or later.

Mac OS X doesn't force you to update, simply because mac OS X adoption rate is not so bad. If it takes more than half a year to adopt new version of the OS, I bet apple will force system update just like windows does.

 

[KALLT]

But I believe what windows does, Mac OS X will eventually do, sooner or later.

Mac OS X doesn't force you to update, simply because mac OS X adoption rate is not so bad. If it takes more than half a year to adopt new version of the OS, I bet apple will force system update just like windows does.

OS X adoption rate was much worse before Apple offered the upgrades for free. The tendency is actually in favour of Apple.

 

[Gator Bob]

"Java 6 support ends in El Capitan, which is the last version officially support it. After that, all applications require Java 6 to run will not working, including some adobe software, possibly CS 6 suits and earlier version."

I just cannot believe that is true. Countless users will need to run Adobe on their Macs with El Capitan.

 

[KALLT]

I just cannot believe that is true. Countless users will need to run Adobe on their Macs with El Capitan.

There are ways to install the legacy version in El Capitan, but you need to do it yourself and with some workarounds.
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/apple-java-6-for-10-11.1890762/

 

[definitive]

Is MS going to become a strong competitor to Apple?

Microsoft currently holds a much bigger percentage of the operating system market than Apple, so there's your answer.

 

[kissmo]

Microsoft currently holds a much bigger percentage of the operating system market than Apple, so there's your answer.

I meant in terms of quality and finished product.
My bad - I should have been clearer with this.

Regarding the IB (Install Base) yeah... you are absolutely right - they eat Apple as a side dish the same way Apple still eats Windows in terms of OS quality.

But I feel that Windows is catching up slowly.

After 4 hours of playing today with Windows 10 I have mixed feelings. I love some ui changes - like the start menu (I really do! or the Notification Center)
But there are things that are still.... well.... Windows....
File manager, restarts for every damn update.

I love Cortana! I never use Siri in general - but I used Cortana (not just voice)
Pisses me off badly that in Spotlight I cannot do anything that is not supported in Romania - like weather, or location searches - while Cortana does an excellent job.

I think there are small things that MS took care off.

In my opinion they are on the path to become a serious alternative for OS X but they have a long road to cross. They have the money for it... I just hope they have the brains too.

And I am happy - I love competitive markets.