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Will Windows 7 make you switch back?
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Have you actually used Vista before? It's MILES ahead of what XP can do. 7 is even better because Microsoft added things that should have been in Vista when it shipped (Home Groups, Federated Search, etc).
Just read Neowin's Windows 7 Overview Series for why.
I used Vista for over a year for my main operating system on my Toshiba and Acer laptops. Comparing its performance to XP it was junk.
May i add
Microsoft/Windows 7 wont be the deciding factor why i would personaly change back, but the hardware.
I like the simplicity of GUI in OSX, kind of reminds of Gnome in Linux. I like the terminal and i use quicksilver for launching so it makes me multi-task quite easily(not just for launching).
But i still find the taskbar easier to handle 20+ applications/windows running(anyway besides the point).
I'm a developer(still nothing commercial yet), so .NET is very appealing plus most companies use that in my country anyway, or just java, and a few rare c++ position. Frankly if it wasn't for .NET i might not even consider moving back...BUT!!
Here comes the main point..the hardware! Sorry but an entry level desktop for my needs is essentially the mac pro, for its expandability and the ability to add a seperate screen. And no, the iMac is not enough, its slower than it should be, and reasonably dated by now, not to mention the shiny screens and no expandability.
The macbook pro you say(for external screen, and quite fast?) ? By the time i configure it with what i want ill be paying over £2000, if i get the 15'' one, otherwise the 17'' starts there.
Dont get me wrong they're not slow machines, neither the iMacs nor the MBP.
But they are expensive, and it doesnt get any cheaper with time going after the initial release. Plus now they are more expensive than ever.
Not to mention, that you are stuck with what apple wants you to use and thats it, and you have to wait for Apple to actually decide when they want to upgrade, otherwise you'll end up getting an outdated version of what you are buying. Just like all the people buying imacs now, when its time for the update.
Even the new mac pro is expected to be reasonably more expensive, and since it uses ECC ram and its even more expensive to end up with lots of ram and raid cards. Even the graphics cards you need to buy from apple.
I can handle proprietary hardware, for a reasonable price and reasonably priced options but not this.
The current core i7 range is nearly or as fast the current mac pro with the 2 cpus, which is more than enough considering the mac pro is/was blazing fast last year and should last anyone a couple of years.
Apple has a great great operating system, but i just feel like we are trapped in a box. You can only buy the hardware they have, at the price they want which is overpriced mostly, and sometimes the specs arent there. They are obviously taking advantage of the operating system.
Windows makes a lot more sense in the long run i think. As someone mentioned here, he uses itunes, ical, address book and has an iphone. Just like me
. So im afraid that this would be a complication when you need to switch over. They are not forcing you to use them, but once you do and you've got your whole set up running all 'mac-like' then you're kind of stuck.
What happens if tomorrow they raise prices on the hardware. I think most people are blinded with the whole anti-microsoft thing, and the 'i dont care about specs' when they should see how controlling apple has and will become. Thats what worries me. If you all you know are you're mac apps and eveything is set up around that, then any price apple asks you'll pay for the hardware.
And for what are you paying that price for? the ability to run osx. Which you still have to buy. They are locking you down(not by force obviously) to what they want you to use.
I think we'll find ourselves in a worse situation than we were before buying a mac. Now im not saying the every day consumer who checks their email and browses the web need anything more( so i still recommend them to friends), but i cant bare the thought that i kind of forced into buying whatever they have JUST so i can run osx.
Dont know what ill do, but depending on whether i get a mac pro, if i dont im going back to windows.
Either way the os is great, but i just dont like the hardware lock they have on you and windows 7 is shaping up...honestly
Microsoft/Windows 7 wont be the deciding factor why i would personaly change back, but the hardware.
I like the simplicity of GUI in OSX, kind of reminds of Gnome in Linux. I like the terminal and i use quicksilver for launching so it makes me multi-task quite easily(not just for launching).
But i still find the taskbar easier to handle 20+ applications/windows running(anyway besides the point).
I'm a developer(still nothing commercial yet), so .NET is very appealing plus most companies use that in my country anyway, or just java, and a few rare c++ position. Frankly if it wasn't for .NET i might not even consider moving back...BUT!!
Here comes the main point..the hardware! Sorry but an entry level desktop for my needs is essentially the mac pro, for its expandability and the ability to add a seperate screen. And no, the iMac is not enough, its slower than it should be, and reasonably dated by now, not to mention the shiny screens and no expandability.
The macbook pro you say(for external screen, and quite fast?) ? By the time i configure it with what i want ill be paying over £2000, if i get the 15'' one, otherwise the 17'' starts there.
Dont get me wrong they're not slow machines, neither the iMacs nor the MBP.
But they are expensive, and it doesnt get any cheaper with time going after the initial release. Plus now they are more expensive than ever.
Not to mention, that you are stuck with what apple wants you to use and thats it, and you have to wait for Apple to actually decide when they want to upgrade, otherwise you'll end up getting an outdated version of what you are buying. Just like all the people buying imacs now, when its time for the update.
Even the new mac pro is expected to be reasonably more expensive, and since it uses ECC ram and its even more expensive to end up with lots of ram and raid cards. Even the graphics cards you need to buy from apple.
I can handle proprietary hardware, for a reasonable price and reasonably priced options but not this.
The current core i7 range is nearly or as fast the current mac pro with the 2 cpus, which is more than enough considering the mac pro is/was blazing fast last year and should last anyone a couple of years.
Apple has a great great operating system, but i just feel like we are trapped in a box. You can only buy the hardware they have, at the price they want which is overpriced mostly, and sometimes the specs arent there. They are obviously taking advantage of the operating system.
Windows makes a lot more sense in the long run i think. As someone mentioned here, he uses itunes, ical, address book and has an iphone. Just like me
. So im afraid that this would be a complication when you need to switch over. They are not forcing you to use them, but once you do and you've got your whole set up running all 'mac-like' then you're kind of stuck.What happens if tomorrow they raise prices on the hardware. I think most people are blinded with the whole anti-microsoft thing, and the 'i dont care about specs' when they should see how controlling apple has and will become. Thats what worries me. If you all you know are you're mac apps and eveything is set up around that, then any price apple asks you'll pay for the hardware.
And for what are you paying that price for? the ability to run osx. Which you still have to buy. They are locking you down(not by force obviously
) to what they want you to use.I think we'll find ourselves in a worse situation than we were before buying a mac. Now im not saying the every day consumer who checks their email and browses the web need anything more( so i still recommend them to friends), but i cant bare the thought that i kind of forced into buying whatever they have JUST so i can run osx.
Dont know what ill do, but depending on whether i get a mac pro, if i dont im going back to windows.
Either way the os is great, but i just dont like the hardware lock they have on you and windows 7 is shaping up...honestly
I tried it out on my PC. Within 20 minutes, I was reinstalling XP. The way Explorer has changed really doesn't sit well with me. It's too cluttered and way too bloated compared to XP's simple interface which I really enjoy. Plus my wireless USB dongle software wouldn't install. And they made it harder to pick tools in Paint.
I like the look of it though, might download a theme for XP.
I like the look of it though, might download a theme for XP.
OK, well 7 offers performance on older machines comparable to XP, but with the increased stability, security, searching, data management features of Vista, plus a number of good UI tweaks.
So what isn't there to like about 7?
Oh, I see old Uncle Billy has once again squatted down and laid another brown odorous present for us computer users, goody! I can't wait to venture skipping back into the nightmarish zone projected by the abomination's surreal glow, which engulfs all in its perimeter in a suffocating cocoon of torturous mediocrity.
Wait, on second thought I think I'll stay where I am. Hell can wait till after I am dead.
Wait, on second thought I think I'll stay where I am. Hell can wait till after I am dead.
What happens if tomorrow they raise prices on the hardware. I think most people are blinded with the whole anti-microsoft thing, and the 'i dont care about specs' when they should see how controlling apple has and will become. Thats what worries me. If you all you know are you're mac apps and eveything is set up around that, then any price apple asks you'll pay for the hardware.
And for what are you paying that price for? the ability to run osx. Which you still have to buy. They are locking you down(not by force obviously
Honestly, I think you are the one that's a bid blinded. You claim Apple is controlling and has expensive hardware? You say that people are just "anti Microsoft" for whatever reason? Have you conveniently forgotten that this entire world is a Microsoft controlled matrix? One of the main things (besides price) that stops people from CHOOSING to use Mac OS X as their EVERYTHING system is because their job refuses to go anywhere outside of the Windows world. Most people are chained to their Windows software and Microsoft knows this all very well. Windows doesn't come cheap either, Vista Ultimate was singing a tune of $400 U.S. Sure, you can get it a bit cheaper now but it's still more than twice the price of Mac OS X.
Microsoft pretends to cater to all price points by creating Vista Basic that has NO AERO UNLESS YOU PAY TO UPGRADE VISTA.
All companies gouge their customers, I wish people here would get their head out of the sand and understand that having a cheap Windows PC doesn't mean you got a good deal.
You pay for convenience when you buy a Mac just as you would pay for convenience when you buy a Dell or a Sony.
Next time you are visiting the Dell or Sony website, configure one of their PC's and notice how they charge you extra to get the "Mac Like" experience, example, a clean desktop with no crapware.
Initial Impressions
1. Easy to install in Fusion.
2. Running single CPU and 1,500mb ram. Performance seem actually 'snappy' which, for an Windows OS, tends to be an oxymoron.
3. Buggy but for a beta, not bad.
4. The UI: after using the OSX UI for a year now and being a PC user for 25 years prior, Win 7 is evolutionary but not revolutionary. I'm still trying to see where the sex and sizzle is. Is it OS stability? I hope not.
5. A big question mark for me: will app developers continue to treat OSX as modest market and avoid developing NEW apps for OSX? Will app developers continue to flock to Win XP/Vista/7 as it represents 90% of the market? (BTW, I always laugh when the Mac boards scream about how the Mac is now 10% of the market ...up from 7% which was gained over 4 years. At this rate it will be a major player (20%) in the year 2040 and I won't care because I will be dead OR...
is it all going to the net/open-source and both Microsoft and Apple miss the boat entirely due to their proprietary ways?
6. Is Win7 going to replace my Mac? Nope but I must continue to use windows via Fusion because several key pieces of business and engineering software will never be ported to the Mac: Audocad, Visio and MS Project but to name a few. They are as entrenched in the business world as much as Excel and Word.
Just one man's opinion.
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17" MBP 2.6 Ghz, 4GB Ram
1. Easy to install in Fusion.
2. Running single CPU and 1,500mb ram. Performance seem actually 'snappy' which, for an Windows OS, tends to be an oxymoron.
3. Buggy but for a beta, not bad.
4. The UI: after using the OSX UI for a year now and being a PC user for 25 years prior, Win 7 is evolutionary but not revolutionary. I'm still trying to see where the sex and sizzle is. Is it OS stability? I hope not.
5. A big question mark for me: will app developers continue to treat OSX as modest market and avoid developing NEW apps for OSX? Will app developers continue to flock to Win XP/Vista/7 as it represents 90% of the market? (BTW, I always laugh when the Mac boards scream about how the Mac is now 10% of the market ...up from 7% which was gained over 4 years. At this rate it will be a major player (20%) in the year 2040 and I won't care because I will be dead OR...
is it all going to the net/open-source and both Microsoft and Apple miss the boat entirely due to their proprietary ways?
6. Is Win7 going to replace my Mac? Nope but I must continue to use windows via Fusion because several key pieces of business and engineering software will never be ported to the Mac: Audocad, Visio and MS Project but to name a few. They are as entrenched in the business world as much as Excel and Word.
Just one man's opinion.
-----------------------
17" MBP 2.6 Ghz, 4GB Ram
I have an Acer Aspire One netbook with XP and OSX on it. I downloaded Windows 7 beta and it has completely transformed how I am able to use this thing. I would never buy a full blown computer with windows on it and I'll never give up my Unibody MacBook Pro for a Windows machine, but 7 is definitely decent. It runs so much smoother than any of the other OSs I have installed.
Thats because businesses cant afford to dish out 2x as much cash to get a mac setup going when they can easily get something from toshiba or dell ata reasonable price. Businesses also greatly rely on legacy support, something apple doesnt give a crap about. When i upgraded to Leo about 1/2 of my programs were broken for anywhere from a week to a month until the developers patched it. When i upgraded to Vista all but 2 of my programs worked and the two that didnt were fixed by running them in compatibility mode.
The only OS dev with a business focus is MS, so obviously they are going to go with them.
It's a nice new OS. I think 7 will not make me hate new PC's. I really hated Vista, but like 7, so I may put a new PC in the house and upgrade from XP for gaming, but I still see myself as a Mac guy.
7 is more comparable to XP when it comes to performance, yes (it ran surprisingly well with 512MB ram on Fusion). It still doesn't beat XP though
. I find XP stable enough, and I can make my own security. At the moment I'm running XP on Fusion so I can already search for which application I want. If this wasn't available to me I could use a tool called ViStart, which mimics the Vista start menu (including the startmenu search feature).Agree with most of that. Though what I've seen of WS 7 so far impresses me considerably & I'll probably (if not certainly) end up buying it mostly for gaming via Boot Camp (though I still buy OS X ports where available), there's just so much high-quality 3rd party OS X-only software out there, on top of Apple's excellent offerings, for me to even consider dropping Macs for PCs. I think each platform has its pros & cons, but for me the choice of software for Mac figures very highly in my decision.
For eg,. Scrivener
I don't think anything is better for media playback and such as OSX. I can't imagine Windows 7 overtaking OSX for me, or even XP.
I still can't see myself leaving Windows XP. It's doing everything perfect for me, and I've never had a virus on it in the last 2 years I've had this iMac.
And since Win 7 can't run iPhoto, Logic, Garageband, iCal, Mail and Final Cut I'll be sticking with OSX too. Thanks.
I still can't see myself leaving Windows XP. It's doing everything perfect for me, and I've never had a virus on it in the last 2 years I've had this iMac.
And since Win 7 can't run iPhoto, Logic, Garageband, iCal, Mail and Final Cut I'll be sticking with OSX too. Thanks.
OS X still needs a Windows Media Center like backend for TV tuner support. I don't have to worry about EyeTV or the expense because of it.
I'm looking forward to Windows 7, but probably won't do the beta thing. (Although I am half interested in trying it out on an older Pentium 4 2.0 Ghz with 1.5GB ram and 256MB video card to see if/how it works)
I have become such a proponent of OS X though, I doubt Windows will ever have the same appeal to me. Still, very excited to use it when it is out.
I have become such a proponent of OS X though, I doubt Windows will ever have the same appeal to me. Still, very excited to use it when it is out.