subject: MacOS X vs. Windows 7 [print this page] MacOS X vsMacOS X vs. Windows 7
When dealing with operating systems, the big players are Microsoft with their Windows operating system, Apple with their MacOS X and then the open source Linux community. Computers are divided into two groups:
Apple Macs, consisting of either iMacs or MacBooks - that mainly run on MacOS X or Yellow Dog Linux.
PCs, running either Windows XP, Windows Vista or Windows 7, or a variety of other Linux distibutions.
You CAN run MacOS X on a PC or Windows on a Mac, but they were not created for doing so. And why should you do that?
The big question people should ask themselves is: what are your needs? In general terms you can say that the following rules of thumb apply:
if you want to create apps for the iPhone, get a Mac.
If you want to run graphics or video programs, or sound editing, get a Mac.
If you want to run database systems, get a PC.
If you want to program/design websites, you could use any of the two machines.
If you want to run data-intensive design programs, you could use any of the two machines.
For other types of applications everything is dependent on what tools you prefer. You could easily run databases on a Mac if FileMaker is your choice. When a website has already been created using FileMaker, there is no need to change all the work applied. Converting into another database would take more time than actually necessary.
Operating systems were created for each their type of users. A Mac-user doesn't need to worry about C- or D-drives, viruses or other types of malware - simply due to the fact that there are less users using Macs. Similarly, a PC-user would never be concerned with how to format a drive. There ARE ways in which an administrator can directly format a drive without needing an original boot-cd.
Windows has a faithful user base just as MacOS X has its own user base. You can never convince the other party about the beauty of your own preferred system, but one thing is certain. Microsoft has changed their Windows operating system considerably since the days of Windows 95. Their system is very stable, and the big winners of all the competition that has come on the scene has been users, because they have all gotten better operating systems to run on their computers.
The computer operating system war is over. Each can learn from one another, and I wouldn't be surprised if all camps watched features on each other's platforms.
