Does Vista give OS X a run for its money?

I was wondering if anyone here has used Vista much and if so how does it compare to OS X? I've seen a couple of videos of Vista and read a bit about it but have never used it. Is it me or it a huge resource hog? If you want to run the Aero theme in all its glory is it right you need a fairly nippy PC?

From what I've seen Microsoft have taken features out of Vista left, right and center (one article I read quippi
ed, 'Vista is losing more features than Michael Jackson') and what they've released is too little, too late compared to where Mac OS is and some Linux distributions such as Ubuntu. Is that right?

I used Vista beta right from February this year and later RC1, right until I got my Mac just a few months ago. Vista was one reason I got a Mac, which should say a lot.

With Windows XP, Microsoft finally built a decent OS for the home by adding a nice GUI and Direct X to NT...:headphone but by leaving all the doors open and insisting that IE could be controlled by everyone and anyone on the world wide web, old Redmond built a security nightmare.

A few years later and SP2 is what should have been delivered in 2001. However if you were a veteran, SP2 was simply an annoyance. 'Windows has detected you're not using an Anti-Virus programme'. 'Windows thinks the web site you're visiting has too many colours'. Etc

Now Vista is like that, only 10 times worse. Vista warns you about everything and anything, whether you're installing an update, deleting a file, moving a picture from one folder to another or daring to use a non-default media player.

On the positive side, Vista can look nice if you have the right hardware. You do need a gig of RAM but worse, of you want to run Aero in full you need a 128MB DX9 compatible GPU. On a laptop this is quite rare and gobbles up battery life anyway. I ran it on a laptop that was a AMD3000+ with 1.5gigs of RAM with a Radeon R9600m with 64MB of RAM. Once booted, it was surprisingly fast (for a Beta OS). I also ran it on a desktop, 3400+ with 1 gig, plus an nVidia FX5900u with 256MB of RAM and dual Sata 150 drives. It was quick.

I also installed Media player 11 (which astonishingly looks remarkably like Songbird... I don't know who copied who) and also Office 2007, which is the ugliest thing MS have ever made. In fact from the beta programme they apparently changed the interface so you could get the classic look back.

Vista will no doubt succeed and it is actually pretty customizable. But where OS X is simple to use and intuitive, Vista simpy patronizes you through wizards to do everything and, IMO, still looks cluttered. It's pretty huge, Windows Mail is a rip off of Mail, IE7 takes cues from Firefox and Opera and Aero Glass is 5 years late and has already been copied a dozen times.

It's a decent OS, but it won't be fun for a lot of people to use. I expect many more to follow into Apple's arms.

Good post Zoolook, I thought that I was the only one who really didnt like the looks of Office 2007. I also ran the beta through to RC1.Hmmmm and I am also here

That's a great post Zoolook, thanks.

I have to say I'm a real eye candy addict: with all the bells and whistles turned on on the Aero theme how does it compare in "wow" factor to Tiger? The first time I saw Tiger is action (I'd never really seen OS X at all before) I just though, wow, this is a work of art! I know it has thumbnail previews of minimised windows, the frosted glass look and that wierd perspective window switcher thing - does all these blow you away (for first impressions) less or more than Tiger? If more, I hope Leopard has a few aces up its sleeve . . .

DrQuincy said:

That's a great post Zoolook, thanks.

I have to say I'm a real eye candy addict: with all the bells and whistles turned on on the Aero theme how does it compare in "wow" factor to Tiger? The first time I saw Tiger is action (I'd never really seen OS X at all before) I just though, wow, this is a work of art! I know it has thumbnail previews of minimised windows, the frosted glass look and that wierd perspective window switcher thing - does all these blow you away (for first impressions) less or more than Tiger? If more, I hope Leopard has a few aces up its sleeve . . .

Click to expand...

Vista looks nice compared to XP. However any XP user who loves eye candy will have already used a Windows theme like Vista Inspirat or something. The glass effects look great and the 3d folder look is very nice, although from what I have seen, Apple blow this away in Leopard anyway.

A simple analogy is this.

This is OS X Tiger



This is Windows Vista

Zoolook said:

Now Vista is like that, only 10 times worse. Vista warns you about everything and anything, whether you're installing an update, deleting a file, moving a picture from one folder to another or daring to use a non-default media player.

Click to expand...

To be fair, Vista only does that the first time you do something. I've been using it for a while now and hardly ever get the UAC up anymore.

Having said that, I completely agree with your other points. I really think they are shooting themselves in the foot by making virtually every pc over six months old incompatible, due to the hardware required to make it run as it should. I had real trouble with my ATI graphics card and the drivers.

I find now that XP is quite a secure OS, most problems I've encountered recently have been user error, rather than an operating system fault. I've had no problems with it in a long time, so I'm just going to stick with that for anything I need to run on Windows.

i will definatly stick to os x at home now. after xmas i will install xp on my imac ( ahh! lol ) but will NOT get vista when it is released for what ever version is right for me !

nice comparison ' zoolook ".

cheers

Zoolook said:

Vista looks nice compared to XP. However any XP user who loves eye candy will have already used a Windows theme like Vista Inspirat or something. The glass effects look great and the 3d folder look is very nice, although from what I have seen, Apple blow this away in Leopard anyway.

A simple analogy is this.

This is OS X Tiger

This is Windows Vista

Click to expand...

If windows vista is that much more powerful then what I have now, I might have to get it and throw it on my macbook pro.

I have that same remote control, for my DVD player, Xbox 360, surround sound system, VCR and HDTV. lol