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Five reasons why Vista beats Mac OS X

blogs.computerworld.com — The conventional wisdom, that Mac's OS X is superior to Windows Vista, is flat-out wrong. In fact, despite much belief to the contrary, Vista is a superior operating system. Here are five reasons why.

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  • jasongdx, on 04/09/2008, -15/+7All of the reasons why I switched from Mac to Windows.
  • DiggLive, on 04/09/2008, -10/+7Self-built, cheaper, upgradable off NewEgg > No hardware choice, expensive, non-upgradable Mac
    Vista > O$X

    Where's all these viruses I'm always hearing about?
    • estvir, on 04/09/2008, -3/+6Viruses?! VIRUSES?!?! Who cares about viruses when you have speech recognition flaws ( http://www.istartedsomething.com/20070206/more-vis ... ) and what about all those problems with the new network stack Symantec found? I mean, who cares if the ridiculous 'problems' were already fixed in newer builds and were more or less "IT'S NEW C ODE LOL," we have a serious security problem on our hands!

      In all seriousness, fewer and fewer people seem to be using anti-virus (And other similar software) on Vista and also thanks to things like UAC, Protected Mode, Parental Controls and so on, there's next to nothing to worry about if you have family members who aren't particularly experienced with computers..

      I'm still waiting for all these serious security flaws in Vista to appear. It's been out like what, a year and a half? For such a horrible, buggy OS from "M$" I'm surprised we haven't had another MSBlaster (Fun fact, the MSBlaster exploit was patched months before it hit) or so.
    • scy1192, on 04/09/2008, -1/+2come on, don't use the $ pun! It's what separates us from the Apple fanboys
    • sirhomer, on 04/09/2008, -1/+1Ubuntu > Vista
      http://www.whylinuxisbetter.net/

      I have karma to burn!
  • clak, on 04/09/2008, -5/+5Number 5 is Steve Jobs? HOW the hell does Steve Jobs make Vista better? Click bait.
  • grumpyrain, on 04/09/2008, -3/+8I think Vista is awesome, but that has got to be one of the most lame comparison articles I have read.
  • turoczy, on 04/09/2008, -1/+8Oh wait. I get it. This was supposed to run a week ago, but the editors held it. April Fools! Better late than never. Well, on second thought. Not really. Better never.
  • bluehound, on 04/09/2008, -2/+11How about the #1 reason to use Mac OS - Windows has been copying it for years.
    Why do people think Macs are not upgradable? They upgrade just like a PC, if you get any compact-type computer, they are harder to upgrade - Try a Desktop model.
    Mac OSX back end is UNIX with Terminal and all. You can program with it and it is secure.
    I use both platforms (Win/Mac) it would be nice if Windows fanbois actually knew something about Macs before they write stupid ***** like this.
  • akkibaba, on 04/09/2008, -1/+11Here're a set of instructions
    For Windows users:
    1. Use your computer to get your stuff done and shut the hell up.

    For OSX users:
    1. Use your computer to get your stuff done and shut the hell up.

    For Linux/BSD users:
    1. Use your computer to get your stuff done and shut the hell up.

    • shdurham, on 04/22/2008, -0/+2I completely agree, but if we did that, then Digg would only be about politics.
  • clak, on 04/09/2008, -3/+7Reason #1: Vista runs more software

    This is essentially a quantity over quality debate. I have been both a Windows user (10 years) and a Mac user (5 years) and I can tell you that in my experience, programs developed for the Mac are almost always better. In many cases, I would have to buy three shareware programs in Windows to get the same functionality of one product made for the Mac. Now I can feel the Windows fanboys creeping up on me ready to scream out something about AutoCAD and games, but do most people even need AutoCAD? That's a very specialized market. But games, on the other hand, are important, at least to me. Apple has a stopgap measure in Boot Camp. And yes, you can run Windows at native speeds using boot camp (it's just a partitioner, not a virtual machine).

    But then that begs the question: if a Mac can run OS X AND Windows AND Linux, wouldn't there thereotically be more apps available for the Mac?

    Reason #2: Vista is safer

    This is highly debatable because for one thing, none of the laptops at CanSecWest could be broken into remotely. It was only after allowing the hacker, Charlie Miller, to connect his MacBook to the MacBook Air using a crossover cable and directing an user to a site with malicious code, was he able to use his exploit.

    I'll be sure to remember NOT to connect my MacBook (if and when I get a Macbook) directly to a hacker's computer in the future. Another thing the Apple haters are failing to acknowledge is the fact that Safari is based on WebKit, which is open source. More than likely Miller used his access to WebKit's source code to find and exploit a security hole, while had this been in the wild from the get-go, more than likely a third party would have discovered the flaw and closed it before it was ever a problem. That's the beauty of open source. Miller actually held back the exploit so that he could win some money and look like a bad ass, which is contrary to what open source is supposed to be about. So forgive me if I don't get all excited about this. This little sensational hack won't change the fact that OS X doesn't have any viruses and probably isn't going to have viruses in the near future. This is no different than when those guys working for SecureWorks claimed to have hacked a MacBook using third party software back in 2006. As far as I know, there still hasn't been an increase in viruses or malware since that time (Of course, those guys admitted to lying about it later).

    Wake me up when a hacker discovers how to gain access to my machine without my interaction and install malicious programs on my Mac without my Administration password. When that happens, Mac users might be in trouble, at least for the couple of weeks that it takes for Apple to close the hole.

    Reason #3: It's the money, stupid.

    What the hell does hardware prices have to do with Vista being a superior operating system? And how much hardware out there is actually "Vista Capable." It seems like you have to have a super computer to run it. There's a reason why XP was given extended availability to run on the Asus Eee. Vista runs horrible on it.

    And while we're talking about prices, how come the retail version of Office is still $400. You can't get a retail version of Windows for less than $200. Apple may not offer low end PCs outside of the Mac Mini, but at least their software prices are reasonable. iWork will set you back $79. iLife comes for free with most new purchases.

    Reason #4: The Mac is closed; Vista is open.

    Closed in relation to what? Developers? Is Microsoft releasing the source code for Vista now or something? The "closed" argument is usually reserved for open source, not hardware. And it's currently easier to develop for OS X than Windows.

    Reason #5: Two words -- Steve Jobs

    It's a little silly to say that Vista is a superior operating system because of Steve Jobs (huh?), but I'll bite. Maybe the writer ran out of good things he could write about Vista (Software. Check. Security. Check. Money. Check. More hardware. Check. Uh, seriously, what else does Vista have going for it? Aero?).

    Anyhoo, I can give you a two word reason why Vista is a ***** OS: Steve BALLMER
  • LANjackal, on 04/09/2008, -4/+2It all comes down to personal preference. I run Vista as my primary OS because I the OS X GUI literally drives me nuts*

    *OS X is document-centric, whereas Windows is application-centric. Neither is inherently superior to the other, it just depens on the type of user.

    It amazes me that people actually find themselves productive in OS X at all.
    • wellyuk, on 04/09/2008, -0/+1You say: "Neither is inherently superior to the other, it just depends on the type of user."

      and then you say: "It amazes me that people actually find themselves productive in OS X at all."

      Apparently people do find themselves very productive in OS X. Why does it amaze you or did you throw down that comment to get yourself buried?

      How can I NOT bury your comment?
  • Hermiod, on 04/09/2008, -3/+6None of these are technical reasons why Windows Vista is better, it's just the author's personal dislike for Macs and Mac users. All in all, a very poor effort.
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