Comparing 2 Operating Systems - OS X and Windows 10

[bbfc]

Windows 10 is probably the best OS I have ever used from Microsoft. The UI and performance are spot on, much better than Windows 8/8.1. There are still some bugs that need worked out though I think, I've encountered weird issues like right clicking on the Desktop freezing Windows Explorer. Haven't used Cortana, I never find voice controls useful on computers.

Ignoring Yosemite because it's always sucked for me. El Capitan is probably the best OS from Apple since Mountain Lion. It fixes the mess that was Yosemite and makes OS X stable and quick again, but Apple's neutered a lot of apps (poor, poor disk utility) and I find iCloud features to still be very buggy (can't sign into iCloud Keychain no matter what as it never gets verified, 2-step verification is never sent to my phone number, etc).

Overall I think they're pretty much equals. Definitely not the Vista days, Windows is easily just as good as OS X, if not better. All comes down to user preference really though, and I just like the look and features of OS X more than I do Windows 10.

Apple has already stated that Disk Utility is missing features that will be added back in.

For me, Mavericks was the best version of OS X i've used (I've only been around since Lion).

 

[eco7777]

I remember when no one would choose windows but it seems Tim Cook wants to cook Apple until is burnt

 

[cube]

Just give me ToySX on ThinkPad.

 

[campyguy]

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 read your post later in this thread, and I'm offering some clarification here for you and other readers in this thread.

Apple provides a "fork" of the Java 6 Runtime Environment for OS X - it's development and official support of Apple's JRE 6 for OS X that is being discontinued - for future OSes. Apple will not be working to provide an Apple-produced JRE 6 for future OSes, unless they revise their stance. Apple does not produce a JRE 7/8, deferring to Sun's JRE for OS X support. IMO, Apple's JRE 6 may run on future OSes, but that's at least a year away from being confirmed.

 

[applCore]

With the coming of Windows 10, I have argued that if M$ could get their proverbial heads out of their butts with regards to the user interface and UX and actually emulate the way OS X works for keybindings and the cursor interaction, allowing for a full Cocoa interaction functionality then you'd see a lot more people (on the dev side) willing to give Windows another chance.

 

[campyguy]

I'm not voting in the "poll" as none of the options represent my position. I use OS X, and I use Windows - we have a few PCs and several VMs.

I have a different perspective than most of the other posters here. OS X and Windows are but a "shell" in which applications I use/need run in. I could care less what the OS environment "looks" like, since I'm rarely looking at it as I'm in a program/application I need to play or make money. I only want an OS to get out of my way - I need a clipboard that ports ALL of the data I copy, to not crash at an inopportune time, and to "run" the applications I want to run. For instance, in order to listen to music, does it really matter if you're using iTunes, whatever Windows is using, or a different application? - you turn on the application and start playing your music, and you're not looking at the application after that since all you want it to do is play your music, not crash, and stay out of the way.

Windows 10 is an OS, not really different than Win 8/8.1 or XP - it just has a different skin. OS 10.11 is no different than Lion 10.7 - it just looks different. The newer OSes have "hooks" into newer services provided by MS and Apple - but the documents you printed out and the music you want to play look and sound pretty much the same. My only negative with the MS OS is that I needed to disable 22 (not exaggerating) Settings to throttle back the Privacy-related hooks that MS wanted to know about me that were enabled by default - I'd rather opt-out than have to opt-in.

 

[762999]

In the end, since owning a Mac, I hardly spend time fixing my computer. I use it when I need it and put it to sleep when I don't. Long gone are the days of "okay this thing that has been bothering me for 2 years needs to be fixed so I'm going to spend my weekend working this out". I even thought naively that computers have just come a long way in the past decade, but occasionally working with Windows I'm reminded that it's just that I use a Mac. To me, that's huge, it actually affects my life in a positive way.

I totally agree with you. I'm a certified Microsoft engineer (MCSE&MCDBA), so I deeply know how bad it is! ah ah ah. I feel the same. I normally work on my PC and use my Mac. So far Mac is the nicest and well rounded product. The app ecosystem is also wonderful.

 

[aldrinjtauro]

Regarding the updates, I think it's actually a great thing that Microsoft is forcing most updates for home users. My parents (for some reason) have a strict aversion to updates of any kind, even if they're for security. Funny thing is, based on the amount of times I've had to clean install their computers, I'm surprised they haven't realized that security updates shouldn't be ignored. Plus with the fast ring system, it shouldn't be too bad as things settle down. Honestly, I'm more than pleasantly surprised with Windows 10. Upgrades from 7 and 8 are extremely smooth and hassle-free (in my experience so far). Haven't had to troubleshoot a single thing. Yeah, the new UI will come with a bit of a learning curve, but for Windows 7 users (like my parents) who mainly use a browser and maybe other small things, shouldn't be a problem.

 

[Beavix]

I installed Windows 10 in Bootcamp on my MBP. It's extremely fast, no lags whatsoever (unlike Yosemite), the Edge browser opens instantaneously. I had no hardware issues, everything worked well using the old Bootcamp drivers. It has some things which are clearly inspired by OS X (e.g. the new system settings panel = System Preferences; the Task View = Mission Control; the new notification center). It is designed to work on both laptops and tablets with the interface adapting to each device, something I wish Apple did with OS X. It's a good operating system and to be honest it makes OS X look a little bit dated.

 

[zaxxon72]

- knowing that if you use EDGE, browsing info will be sent to Microsoft even if you don't use bing
- To enable Cortana to provide personalized experiences and relevant suggestions, Microsoft collects and uses various types of data, such as your device location, data from your calendar, the apps you use, data from your emails and text messages, who you call, your contacts and how often you interact with them on your device. Cortana also learns about you by collecting data about how you use your device and other Microsoft services, such as your music, alarm settings, whether the lock screen is on, what you view and purchase, your browse and Bing search history, and more.
- if you use a Microsoft account, all personal information (web history, wifi passwords, wifi hotspots and more) will be synchronize with their servers.Sign into Windows with your Microsoft account and the operating system immediately syncs settings and data to the company’s servers.
- if you enable bitlocker for encryption, the private key will be stored on OneDrive, so they can have access to your encrypted data.
- We will access, disclose and preserve personal data, including your content (such as the content of your emails, other private communications or files in private folders), when we have a good faith belief that doing so is necessary to protect our customers or enforce the terms governing the use of the services.
-The updated terms also state that Microsoft will collect information “from you and your devices, including for example ‘app use data for apps that run on Windows’ and ‘data about the networks you connect to.'”

If you care about privacy, install Windows 3.1 or DOS!!

I know that some settings can be turned off, but it's hard for them to do so. The system enforce an anal probe by default.

Saving the bitlocker key is evil, ok...

Being an apple fanboy, I still fail to see how this is so much different from Spotlight, Proactive, Siri, iCloud Keychain, Safari syncing, iCloud backup for iPhones....????

 

[Shirasaki]

I have installed Windows 10 on my MacBook Pro and to do that I first had to install it on another PC which failed twice, so I recently had to spend a lot of time working with the depths of Windows 10. Oh and did it bring back good old memories! Windows has not changed one bit at its core.

No internet connection? You'll have to download a network driver. Wait, no internet connection right? Can't download driver. No problem, common sense, right? Download it on another computer, then use a USB stick to put it on the Windows 10 PC, simple yes? Oh wait, the Windows 10 PC doesn't even have a driver for a generic USB stick. How will I install anything on it without an internet connection if it can't read anything at all without a specific driver? Well, there was a way, it was just really, really, really complicated (required formatting a 500 GB hard drive to FAT 32 and mounting it as an internal drive somehow on a laptop (don't ask me how I did that) and using that just to transfer a 700 KB driver). It took 3 days. To transfer 700 KB of data from one computer to the other. Yep.

I spent days and days just doing ridiculous, frustrating things just to get basic things to work. "Oh to do that, you need that. To have that, you need to do that. But you can't do that because first you need that other thing. Which you can't do without that first thing you also don't have." It reminded me of the good old days of installing Windows 98 where absolutely nothing and I mean n-o-t-h-i-n-g is anywhere near as simple as it sounds. Behind every problem there are 10 totally unexpected problems. Then behind each of those 10, there are 10 more, and so on, until you throw your computer out the window (which is why it's called Windows, as it turns out).

I'm surprised by how Windows has managed to change nothing at its core for decades while only ever changing on the surface. The device manager, control panel (try finding anything in there), registry (like, really, open the registry and just look at it if you want a headache), administrative tools (why are all the important things hidden away in there??), computer management (have you tried formatting and partitioning a hard drive on Windows? Have fun! Now go try Disk Utility and see what I mean), network tools, all that crap, it's just so old, so convoluted, so impossible to use without deep, educated, specific knowledge of exactly what to do, Jesus Christ, give me a break!

On the other hand, OS X also has convoluted things but it is actually phasing those out. For example, you had "repair permissions" which is probably one of the stupidest thing ever - if it's broken and the OS can detect the problem and fix it all by itself, then why did it let it become broken in the first place? - but Apple has now gotten rid of that because it makes sense! Also, on OS X, plug in any printer, scanner, USB stick, hard drive, almost anything, especially "basic" things that you may need in an emergency, and it just works! You don't have to install a separate driver for every single different USB stick for every single USB port on your computer, because unless you're Microsoft, you know that's stupid! At the very worst it just pops up a message about whether you want to download and install the driver, and you click "Yes" and wait, then it works. One click, that's it. There is no wizard, no questions, no error messages, no problems. This is even true for devices that are not even officially Mac-compatible. With Windows, even in 2015, these often just don't work at all until you go to the manufacturer's web site, find the exact model of exactly what you own, tell them your OS version, download the package, extract it, install it, etc...

I really thought by this time Windows had now matured enough to be as out-of-your-way as OS X when it comes to the more basic things, but it's not.

I believe, when mac removes all integrated drivers in OS X installation package, installing OS X would be a much more painful thing than installing drivers under Windows, at least under Windows, you have a graphical interface to do this job, with less distraction.

Try to install drivers under Linux, and you will understand why I say this.

And this is just one of reasons I stay away from Linux.

 

[Shirasaki]

Saving the bitlocker key is evil, ok...

Being an apple fanboy, I still fail to see how this is so much different from Spotlight, Proactive, Siri, iCloud Keychain, Safari syncing, iCloud backup for iPhones....????

In fact, there is no difference. They simply just try to believe apple more than Microsoft.

 

[bobbie424242]

• Font rendering and soothing is MUCH better in OS X. This makes a huge difference over time and I hate looking at text in Windows.

OSX font rendering is only OK on 4K (or retina) screens. On regular resolution screens, it is just plain horrible and much much better in any version of Windows. Since Yosemite, Apple doesn't give a **** about making fonts look good on 1920x1080 or 1920x1200 monitors.

 

[zulugod]

I prefer my OS free and without ads.

http://www.gizmodo.com.au/2015/07/if-you-want-microsoft-solitaire-ad-free-itll-cost-you-10year/

 

[Traverse]

OSX font rendering is only OK on 4K (or retina) screens. On regular resolution screens, it is just plain horrible and much much better in any version of Windows. Since Yosemite, Apple doesn't give a **** about making fonts look good on 1920x1080 or 1920x1200 monitors.

I personally disagree. I mostly use OS X on non-retina screens and font smoothing is much bolder and more pleasant in OS X. Now, I'm going to play around in Windows 10 and see how that is.

 

[azpc]

I installed Windows 10 in Bootcamp on my MBP. It's extremely fast, no lags whatsoever (unlike Yosemite), the Edge browser opens instantaneously. I had no hardware issues, everything worked well using the old Bootcamp drivers. It has some things which are clearly inspired by OS X (e.g. the new system settings panel = System Preferences; the Task View = Mission Control; the new notification center). It is designed to work on both laptops and tablets with the interface adapting to each device, something I wish Apple did with OS X. It's a good operating system and to be honest it makes OS X look a little bit dated.

My brother is reporting the same results. Fast and it just works. That used to be Apple's call to fame.

Look out Apple. Yosemite did Apple no favors. I know a lot of people who are thinking about switching back. Why? Four reasons:

1. Yosemite did not just work.
2. Yosemite is slow.
3. Many users don't care for Full Screen, they would prefer a Windows style Maximize option.
4. Stuck with either transparency or gray everywhere with thin hard to read fonts. (Read App Store reviews!)
​

Apple needs to pay more attention to user requests. At times they almost appear as clueless as the old Microsoft.

 

[dyn]

Windows or Mac, try to get a hi-dpi display, it's a must have.

I disagree with that. OS X has a very simplistic way of doing hi-dpi which works out terrific. Many apps support it. This is not the case with Windows and it is caused by Microsoft decision on how to do things. It is overly complex and thus hard to adapt. Not many apps support hi-dpi. In Windows 8 and 8.1 using more than 1 display is also an absolute disaster. The had a blogposting raving how well Windows 8.1 did this but later disabled the comments on that one. Probably due to the many complaints of it not working and accusations of Microsoft being a liar. Even the Metro UI apps had issues. I have checked it with Windows 10 on my hi-dpi device. All the issues remain except for the external displays. They seem to have better support now. When moving over apps from the hi-dpi to the non-hi-dpi display the windows change size and now have the proper sizing in both displays. In Windows 8 and 8.1 this didn't happen. The windows stayed the same virtual size as on the hi-dpi display causing it to be rather small on the non-hi-dpi display.

So I'd say that there definitely is a huge difference. Avoid hi-dpi displays when running Windows or use Windows 10 if you haven't got a choice/really want hi-dpi and would do anything for it. When running OS X I'd go for the hi-dpi one. Crispy text and much less worries unlike with Windows (there will still be some apps that have difficulty with it such as virtualisation software; the problem is with translating the virtual display of the vm to the physical display of the host it is running on).

OSX font rendering is only OK on 4K (or retina) screens. On regular resolution screens, it is just plain horrible and much much better in any version of Windows.

That is purely personal preference. Many people get sore eyes, headaches, dizziness, etc. from the font rendering in Windows. The one in OS X causes sore eyes to some people.

Since Yosemite, Apple doesn't give a **** about making fonts look good on 1920x1080 or 1920x1200 monitors.

Apple nor Microsoft have changed their font rendering systems so it can't possibly have been broken since Yosemite This is just looking for something to rant about...

 

[Ethosik]

So you're installing an OS that wasn't meant for your hardware at all and you complain it doesn't work? Did you try installed OSX on a standard PC? I tried and it was more complicated to install Windows on a Mac.

Sorry but saying that Windows doesn't have a generic driver for a USB stick says it all about your Windows knowledge and you probably should stay away from Windows.

I agree with a few things you're saying and I find myself that Windows 10 is like putting new icing on an old cake but let gets the facts straight.

Yeah the registry may look complicated but it was not meant for casual users. Same thing on the mac with the Library folder that is hidden by defaults and contain the preferences for all applications. I had to remove some preferences for an application that was failing upgrade and it was not easier than the registry in Windows.

I still don't understand the learning curve required for Windows and I do agree that plenty of stuff are buried and where never improved.

I think it's a good time to be on the Mac. But I manage Windows & Linux machines at work, so I personally don't have a choice to use it. Mac is not perfect but it's verrrrrrrrrrrry close! If only they updated hardware as often as the software.

have a nice day Baryon.

Actually, I had to put Windows 7 on a NEWER computer. It did not have built in support for the network adapter. The network adapter is supported with Windows 7 since the manufacturer provided Windows 7 drivers for it.

The computer also had USB 3.0 ports on it, which Windows 7 does not support out of the box. Again, these things are supported by Windows 7, but you need to manually download drivers. Luckily there was a DVD drive in the computer, so I had to burn a disc to get USB 3 and Networking drivers installed.

So 90% of what he said was correct. Windows supports his hardware, but not out of the box. That is very annoying.

Why does my mouse/keyboard driver need to be re-installed when I plug it into a different port? The driver should already be there! Or was that fixed with Windows 10?

 

[KALLT]

I personally disagree. I mostly use OS X on non-retina screens and font smoothing is much bolder and more pleasant in OS X.

I find that it’s mostly a question of getting used to it. To me the skewed low-resolution font rendering on Windows feels very surreal and it makes you constantly aware that you are using a computer. OS X font rendering just blends in and once you get used to the slightly blurry fonts, especially if you are used to Windows, you will appreciate it. The same with scrolling, the smooth inertial scrolling with the rubber-band effect is a super nice experience that no other system has. Windows has improved in that area a bit, but there is no Linux desktop environment that has any of this. This is something Apple nailed years ago and no other has come close. Apple is still ahead in the desktop user experience because of things like these.

3. Many users don't care for Full Screen, they would prefer a Windows style Maximize option.
4. Stuck with either transparency or gray everywhere with thin hard to read fonts. (Read App Store reviews!)
​

Apple needs to pay more attention to user requests. At times they almost appear as clueless as the old Microsoft.

Can you stop spreading your propaganda everywhere? You’ve had your threads for this.

 

[chevalier433]

Bye bye core rotten apple you no longer can provide us a stable and fast os.

 

[ImBuz]

I left windows for many of the same reasons listed in this thread--- Oh My Gosh--Win 8--Forgidaboutit !!
I did update my wife's Pavillion 20 to Win 10--great improvement--install was smooth---and pains takingly LONG
Works fine and a nice upgrade (anything would be better than win 8)
I will stick to Mac--for now

 

[762999]

Actually, I had to put Windows 7 on a NEWER computer. It did not have built in support for the network adapter. The network adapter is supported with Windows 7 since the manufacturer provided Windows 7 drivers for it.

The computer also had USB 3.0 ports on it, which Windows 7 does not support out of the box. Again, these things are supported by Windows 7, but you need to manually download drivers. Luckily there was a DVD drive in the computer, so I had to burn a disc to get USB 3 and Networking drivers installed.

So 90% of what he said was correct. Windows supports his hardware, but not out of the box. That is very annoying.

Why does my mouse/keyboard driver need to be re-installed when I plug it into a different port? The driver should already be there! Or was that fixed with Windows 10?

- Microsoft is not advertising that it can automatically detect all the peripherals on the market. Non-oem computers are coming with Windows and their drivers pre-installed. If you decide to re-install it yourself, it's expected at some point to install drivers. They support generic peripherals and that's it.

- Native support for USB 3.0 is not included due to delays in the finalization of the standard. So why expect do you expect them to support natively something that was not finished at the time?

 

[SoyCapitanSoyCapitan]

- Microsoft is not advertising that it can automatically detect all the peripherals on the market. Non-oem computers are coming with Windows and their drivers pre-installed. If you decide to re-install it yourself, it's expected at some point to install drivers. They support generic peripherals and that's it.

- Native support for USB 3.0 is not included due to delays in the finalization of the standard. So why expect do you expect them to support natively something that was not finished at the time?

And Windows 10 has built in USB 3.1 drivers while El Capitan does not.

 

[762999]

And Windows 10 has built in USB 3.1 drivers while El Capitan does not.

Its already working. The new Macbook have a usb-c 3.1 port

 

[SoyCapitanSoyCapitan]

Its already working. The new Macbook have a usb-c 3.1 port

That's not the 3.1 standard for 10gbps. It's a 3.0 speed port with a type c connector. The driver for that is still XHCI 1.0.