by Kolalo Shifter

Created on: September 06, 2009

There are many good arguments as to which os is better, and although it is a personal opinion, it can be convinced to another to switch. If you are undecided as to which operating system is right for you, then keep reading. You will see that there are many good arguments for both of them and it is impossible to choose which one is right in every situation. The old os wars start right now!

The first point on the table is Graphical User Interface, or GUI. This is the on-the-top design of the interface that you see. OS X, many argue, has the better of the two interfaces on the surface. This has been true for me, but not since the release of Windows 7 BETA. After Snow Leopard came out recently, I realized that Apple hadn't changed almost anything with it. In fact, you haven't seen much of a change since Tiger (OS X 10.4) came out! Windows has changed their interface with every build. This may be because the interfaces have been so bad, or it could be that Apple doesn't like to change and give users a fresh, new look. Mac wins this round.

Second, let's look at how easy it is to use each os. Macs in general, have always been known for their ease of usability, ever since the Macintosh Plus came out in 1983. Windows got its first GUI in quarter four of 1985 with Windows 1.0 and even then, it was not that easy to use. PC's, from the beginning have been known for business, and they have stayed true to that, while Macs, in the old commercials, is "The computer for the rest of us!" Macs have always been known to be much easier, although Windows switchers will notice a slight learning curve. Macs also win this round.

The next point is openness. Windows has always been a platform that just makes the software and does not make any proprietary hardware, only third party hardware. Apple has always been closed in that the Apple User License Agreement only allows their closed source, proprietary hardware to run their os. It is possible to run the source code of OS X on an x86 processor with Windows, but this is without the GUI. You also could run an OSX86 project like iDeneb or Kenway, but that is illegal in most cases. Since Windows can run everywhere, it wins this round.

We now come to price. Since OS X only runs on proprietary hardware, it cannot be compared to Windows easily. If you are comparing the software just by price, Apple would win with a $29 upgrade price. Windows has a $110 upgrade price for Windows 7, which comes out in October. This may not be easy to understand why, but Apple wins because once you get a Mac, it is cheap to upgrade the software, so you are essentially saving in the long run, unless you plan to upgrade the hardware a lot.

Now it is time to assess which is the better computing platform. Since OS X is so closed, it is able to make Apple more money, which makes you lose money. For this reason, PC's are the better buy. Apple is better for the people who don't care about money, but want a better computing experience. PC's can work for everyone, in most situations. We conclude the old os wars.

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