Microsoft has begun testing some alpha versions of Longhorn, their next iteration of Windows. Some of the features sound pretty cool. I found an interesting comparison with OSX:
http://www.winsupersite.com/faq/longhorn.asp wrote:Q: But Mac OS X already has a lot of these features. What's the big deal?
A: Apple has implemented some basic desktop composition features in Mac OS X "Panther," due this fall, and they appear to be quite impressive. But the basic problem with Mac OS X isn't going away: It's a classic desktop operating system that doesn't offer anything in the way of usability advancements over previous desktop operating systems. Today, Windows XP and its task-based interface are far superior to anything in Mac OS X. In the future, Longhorn will further distance Windows from OS X. From a graphical standpoint, there won't be any comparison. Expect to be pleasantly surprised--dare I say "blown away"--when the Longhorn UI is revealed in October.
This is from a review, and not from a Microsoft site.
Realm wrote:wow, cool stuff. technology keeps on chugging, and MS is still leading. Q and Apollo, eat your hearts out.
Oh please, you're like the guy who says "Playstation Portable owns the GBA!!!111". Anyone can talk big, we'll just have to wait and see if this new OS is as good as the reviewer from "winsupersite" says it is.
Besides, I've used both XP and Jaguar extensively and I find them both to be perfectly fine user interfaces, except that they BOTH will periodically lock out my access to a file (fixed by a restart but still annoying). That's something Mac OS 9 never did .
Ok, it's time for the explanation I wrote for my own forums (which you've already seen, Break; you should know better, tch tch tch.)
With a Mac, it's not so much about doing things that can't be done on a PC, which is almost always every PC owner's argument against Macs (except you, Break, I know your sob story). It's about doing things better and easier than it can be done on a PC. Take video editing, for example. On the PC, the best you've got is Adobe Premiere. On the Mac, Final Cut Pro. I've talked to many people who've used both (animemusicvideos.org) and they all like FCP better, just because it's much more capable than Premiere; hence why movie studios use Macs and subsequently FCP to do their editing, ya know.
But mostly I think it's actually about style. On the Mac, everything is about style. Until OSX, Apple actually required that all programs made for it used the same graphics for its interface instead of letting them be customized. Granted it was annoying to programmers, but as a result it made using the Mac much easier and sleeker.
Now you know I'm not the type of person that usually pays much attention to what looks good; i.e. preppy clothing, the latest hairstyles, etc. But I always find myself drawn to anything that has a certain style, a flash, a panache that makes watching it just enjoyable in and of itself. It's partly why I'm so much into anime and Japanese culture in general. Have you ever been to a hibachi? The chef prepares your meal right in front of you in a very very flashy fashion, but as much as it is a show, it's all about skill and talent. The Japanese heavily believe in style where style is deserved, instead of our American "gotta be in style" way of thinking. In anime and games, only the coolest characters get the sweetest costumes. It even goes back to old styles of Japanese art, where you'd see characters with ribbons floating around their heads or bodies. This extravangence symbolized great power within.
With Macs, it's this sense of aerodynamic ease-of-use combined with the polished and stylish interface that draws me to them irresistably. These days it's even so much about company loyalty anymore. It's just that when I sit down at a Mac, I *enjoy* using it more than when I sit down at a PC, despite all the extra things the PC can do. For people who don't think like I do, who don't have this same "style where style is deserved" way of thinking, it would be much harder to accept the Mac, given its software availability shortcomings. If my way of thinking is flawed, so be it, but I'll keep buying Macs until they die or I do, or they abandon the whole style thing. But I doubt that last one will ever happen.
Just so you know, I saw a computer yesterday with many of the G5's capabilities. (Way before it shipped hehe.) I saw it in the dorms. Dual AMD XP2200+'s with 64 bit PCI slots as well as the 32 bit ones. He does a lot of video editing, and used macs for a while till he tried the PC. He said he immediately switched for ease of use, and stability. Just so you know, the Windows NT kernel has supported SMP's for a long time.
Ok, let's try this one. GMR's review of the GC version of Soul Calibur says that "the control in the GameCube version is surprisingly good, with buttons intuitively arranged." Almost everyone I've talked to who's played the GC import says that the control is the game's only shortcoming and that an arcade stick or alternate controller is almost necessary. Obviously the GMR staff didn't have this problem, however. So obviously their concept of what's easy and intuitive is different from ours.
So it is with Macs and PCs. I can do something ten times faster on a mac than I can on PC just because it's easier and intuitive for me, where ShaneCannonBoy had a hell of a time just figuring out how to load the damn web when he used my Mac. The guy you met just works better with PCs than he does with Macs. Different strokes for different folks.
Break, you once told me that it's not whether PCs or Macs are better, because they're different for different people. And now you're sustaining the argument? Can't we just agree to disagree and let the damn thing slide?
macs are good cause japanese cooking is good? ...what.....the.....hell? made me think of something though, how do macs fare in japan? not debating, just an honest question.
They actually do a bit better, thanks to the Japanese people's more aesthetic tastes. The original iMac practically flew off the shelves when it was out. But the ratio of PCs to Macs isn't that different, only by 5 or 10 percent.
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