First off, I must apologize for having not published anything lately. I have been quite busy, as I will outline in a later post. But, in honor of Apple’s Mac OS X Snow Leopard nearing its release date (this Friday, the 28th), I have decided to write an article on both this OS upgrade, as well as Microsoft’s Windows 7.
There seems to be a major argument amongst the fanboys of each party (Microsoft and Apple) over their new, upcoming operating systems. Some argue that each is just a glorified ‘service pack’ for the OS, others claim that it is one of the best OS upgrades ever to come about. But, we need to set the record straight. In my eyes, from a neutral perspective (a user of both OSs), both of these upgrades are worth the wait, and their price tag. Let me explain.
You see, Windows Vista wasn’t exactly the most popular release of Windows ever. Some would even claim it was worse than Windows ME over nine years ago. But, while Vista did have issues with excessive resource usage, driver problems (which fall onto the shoulders of device manufacturers, not Microsoft), and all around dislike, it was still a stable and modern operating system. Windows Vista, in my opinion, really began the push to 64 bit computing.
With Windows XP, computers were running on abysmal amounts of RAM (128MB was the minimum, I believe). While many complained that Vista needed such a large amount of memory (forcing many to upgrade or purchase a new machine), this widespread ‘memory boost’ helped to make the case that the 64 bit computing revolution, at least for consumers, was beginning. Now that consumer-level systems were supporting RAM in excess of 4GB, OEMs shipped systems with 64 bit versions of Windows Vista.
Now, don’t get me wrong, I am not sure how many people actually upgraded their systems to move from XP to Vista. Most machines manufactured before 2005 (2 years prior to Vista) would most likely be unable to run Vista, at least acceptably. Following this mentality, I think it is safe to say a large number of current Vista users are on that particular Windows version because of a new computer purchase.
So, for costs purposes, the consumer (in a way), got their copy of the OS for free. Yes, a large number of Vista users didn’t even pay for the OS they are using, the OEM did, and it was calculated into the price, just like Macs.
Windows 7 fixes a lot of gripes people had with Vista. It also adds a number of new features into the mix, such as touch capabilities, Aero Peek, Device Stage, and more. But, it’s not a major OS release. In combination with Vista, Windows 7 is in many ways a single OS: Vista, you could argue, was the perpetual beta of Windows 7.
That’s not like Mac OS X Leopard. Leopard brought hundreds of new features into the mix, and was, for the most part, stable. But what it had in end-user features, it lacked in core power. There was no global 64 bit support; each application was limited to 4GB of RAM. There was also no multicore processor advancements made to the OS, so it was up to the application to support a particular processor with multiple cores.
But, with Snow Leopard, Apple has brought these particular features and enhancements to the forefront, essentially setting the platform up for major advancements in the future. In essence, the Leopard and Snow Leopard combination is strikingly similar, in a way, to the Vista and 7 team.
With a price of $130 for Leopard, and now $30 for Snow Leopard, OS X users are (potentially) looking at a $160 price tag for upgrading to the newest OS. Those Windows users looking to upgrade to 7 are looking at similar prices.
In many ways, Windows Vista is the Snow Leopard of Microsoft, except it came two and half years earlier. Also in many ways, Leopard is the Windows 7 of Apple. It provides the end user features and fixes that people want, but the under the hood changes are minimal. There was no revolution with Leopard; Snow Leopard may be that push that the industry needs to say goodbye to 32 bit entirely.
This article may seem poorly worded and described, I know. It’s very vague, but the ideas are there. The two platforms, for the first time in almost three years, are going to be equal again. The technological and feature fields have been leveled again. I have already pre-ordered my Snow Leopard upgrade disk, and I will be first in line to pick up the Windows 7 Family Pack on October 22nd.