Great comparison: Windows Vista versus Mac OS X Leopard

Apple and Microsoft put great afford in enhancing the optical qualities of their operating systems. os-informer.de doesn't tell you who wins the fight, but they present a great direct screenshots-comparison. The competitors are Windows Vista and Mac OS X Leopard. Now see for yourself!

The main downside of Macs: Their bad game compatibility. Hey, but you can install Windows on a Mac (Intel).

[Fishy Fingers]

A bunch of screens showing how the different OSs render certain applications? Not really a comparison, more of an OS Beauty Pageant.

[JsonHenry]

The fact it is even in question which one is better surprises me. Given the fact that OS X is developed within a closed hardware environment it should be blatantly better.

But it isn't. Which shows why, even with it's flaws, more effort and thought was put into action when creating a windows OS.

[TheWiseguy]

Cant live without Spaces, Expose, Keyboard Shortcut, Time Machine, dashboard and my pretty looking dock.

[Pain]

Max OSX >>>>Rapes wannabe.

[habsfan9]

Microsoft ripped off Apple for a lot of their ideas, especially the dashboard and spotlight ripoffs. Oh well, I guess Microsoft will never make something innovative...

[mhr512]

Watch Pirates of Silicon Valley.... Bill Gates has never had an original idea in his whole life.

[habsfan9]

Yeah I saw that movie. I found it quite accurate...

[rawd]

OS X no contest. Sorry Billy

[CryofSilence]

OS X, no contest. I'm not sorry Billy since your original Windows OS was a rip-off of a Mac OS anyway.

[delgernaran]

now that will tell which OS is for gamers

[TheWiseguy]

doesnt really matter considering Leopard runs Windows native. I swap over to Vista when i feel like playing a game...then go right back to Leopard when im done with that because pretty much everything else works better on Leopard.

[Spydr07]

Then they could have had virus and blue screen pageants...

[FantasyStar]

Vista is a blatant rip off of Leopard because Microsoft needed something to combat it. The screens really speak for itself. Go back to the drawing board Microsoft.

WinXP SP3 w/ WindowBlinds > Vista.

[buffy386]

Vista came out before leopard was even announced so maybe u think that leopard is a ripoff of windows. I use a mac and a pc so i dont really care, just thought i would point out that apple takes alot of its ideads from microsoft and vice versa its buisness thats how it works with every competing company

[DR-IVO]

both systems have their advantages and disadvantages get over it on which system is the best. Just pick one and enjoy it.

[DJ]

But Mac OS X Leopard wins hands down in visual design, as it's very easy to read in a short amount of time. Everything about it is obvious and intuitive.

[Millah]

Comparing the visual presentation, not a very good comparison.

How about comparing all the new features of the modern OS that Apple had literally created themselves with OSX, and then compare how Microsoft almost totally ripped them off. Then even compare how they just totally ripped off certain elements while not even trying to make it look different or at least hide the fact that they copy, basically just taking a photocopier to Mac and adding it to Windows.

Then compare Vistas performance and requirements to just run DECENT, compared to OSX which will run perfect on an old Mac G3 platform.

Then compare how Microsoft copies practically EVERYTHING that Apple does, not just from the operating system, but to business strategies, to the Zune and music industry, to their new Mac Genius ripoff that MS calls "Microsoft Gurus." Microsoft is one of the most pathetic and completely uninspired and unoriginal companies in the business world, it disgusts me.

I don't see how you can compare the looks of both OS's, there is no comparing them, the only thing you can do is show how MS copies. People don't realize that OSX was released 7 years ago in 2001. Apple created the visual style for the modern operating system 7 years ago. They made a lot of slight tweaks to the visual style, but the basic premise of "Aqua" and the GUI with fancy graphics and high res icons and such was created with OSX in 2001. Vista came out in 2007, while OSX came out in 2001.

[nosmok]

I thought this was a gaming site? not a homage to MAC.

Any gamer worth his salt will tell you that MAC suck arse for games. period. Yes I know - I have one, wait erm 2 macs in the house (one as a media server)

Mac are good for budding film designers, php coders, photoshopers.
But not for games.. stop dreaming if you think otherwise.

Apple has a long way to go before breaking into the games market.
Windows PCs and Consoles rule games.
Just that Apple fanboys are more vocal than th typical gamer,

(not counting dev stuff which is not relevant - ie Visual Studio, database, identity management, EAI, SAP etc- i.e. big business) MAC isnt even on the market in these areas.
(I know - I work in large scale business system - i.e. 900,000 integrated user systems.

Servers == Linux / Windows.
Gamers == PC/Console
Designers == MAC
Only thing that has changed over the year is the british invented ipod - which Apple copied the user interface for (go search on it if you dont want to swollow that truth). Apple copies their biggest product from another design (see the transcripts of their court case against blast.com).
Neither Micro$oft or apple MAC$ are innovators - thats the small business guys who get bought up or sued down at a later point in time.
Think otherwise try sending a multimedia message on your new shiney 16gb 3G mac.. oops you cant? why is that? oh you have to hack it to get it to work.

The next max laptop will have a touch screen.,.. woopie... bit like a tablet PC had years ago, and my HTC XDA played movies and MP3 years ago before iphone as well.
Third party companies are the innovators... like HTC like pando like....
What apple does really well even in japenese markets is "consumerize" a product for the mass market - and they surely do rule at that.
respect to the for that.

[erodrig]

WE ALL KNOW WHICH ONE ITS BETTER THE MAC OS X FOR ME ITA WAY BETTER OS THAN THAT CRAP OF WINDOWS VISTA I PREFER XP OVER VISTA CAUSE OF HOW MANY BUGS IT HAS SO THATS WHY I SUPPORT MAC'S THAN PC BUT FOR GAMING PC WELL HIGH-END PC COULD BE MY CHOICE JUST RUNNING ON A BETTER OS THAN VISTA LIKE XP OR OS X

[theflyingfool]

why is it that people love to be like look who did it first there is very little in the modern OS that was done first by either apple or MS, deal with the fact that both copy each other lets look at spotlight which was real time search m$ had it as an optional download long before apple released it and 3rd parties had applications for it long before that. this is pointless you can't compare OS's based on which one is shinier

[Millah]

Its not just about who was shinier first, but Apple introduced first a lot of the functionality and interface design of the modern OS with MS copying them in Vista 6 yrs later. I could sit here and list many small features and functionalities that Apple designed first in 2001, but it would be too much to list. MS did direct x, and thats about it. Oh yea and they also managed to make an OS cluttered and archaic with a stupid registry.

The fact is, whether you like it or not, Apple has made an enormous contribution to the PC industry and the GUI. Also fact is Microsoft likes to follow Apple in everything they do, not just their software. They want Apples marketing appeal, they want Apples sense of style and elegance, they want Apples software and interface, they want Apples mp3 market, they want iPhones app store, they want Mac Geniuses, they want their own Steve Jobs, etc etc etc...They want to be Apple so badly you can just see it. Stealing from Apple worked for them for the past 15 yrs, but now that consumers are paying more attention to the originators, MS is becoming more and more worried.