Microsoft Windows 8 and Mac OS X are two different animals, operating on a variety of elements with differences as clear as Apples (literally and figuratively) and oranges. Microsoft rules the PC market and Apple is the stand-alone operator on the Mac front. Most computers in the world run on Windows while only a few computers run on Mac. Windows machines are inexpensive while Macs are expensive.
There are fervent Windows users and there are just as fervent Mac users. Yet, for comparison sake, lets take them on together and pit them against one another, what gives?
Design and Philosophy
Mac OS X has been around for ages and has been improving ever since. Of course, every new generation of Mac OS X brings something new with it while killing something else but on the whole, Mac OS X feels, operates, looks, and works differently – way different than how Windows operates. As far as the design cues, typography and the overall working scenario go, Mac stands on its own.
Windows, on the other hand, went through a normal growth chart starting with basic look and feel to the present day Windows 8 which features tiled display that admittedly looks great. It also renders itself well to the new spate of responsive touch screens available for purchase in the market.
Where design and the sweatshop work that goes behind the scenes, no company worked harder and longer at it than Apple. Windows evolved while Apple has set the benchmark while stretching this benchmark as high as possible.
Applications and Utility
Apple is on its own when it comes to the number of applications available for Mac users to choose from, to play with, and to work with. With more than 500,000 applications on the App store, clearly, there’s nothing close what Apple offers. Utility-wise, again Apple’s Mac OS X just works differently. It has a different design philosophy, a rather sensitive approach to UX/UI, and hence Mac OS X users find it strange to work on a Windows PC and vice-versa.
For a long time now, Windows just ruled the roost. It was – and still is – the operating system for the masses. Windows might not have the sheer number of applications as Apple does but it does have the world still creating software and applications for its operating system. By default, everything is built for Windows. Applications for Mac OS X follow next.
Security & Usage
How do the operating systems work, when compared with each other? For one, security is a dicey concept when it comes to Windows because practically every virus, malware, and spyware has been built to target machines running on Windows. For Mac OS X users, for a long time now, security was really not much of a concern. With a decent Mac specific anti-virus solution installed, Mac OS X is an impenetrable fortress.
As for the “learning curve”, Windows 8 is reported to have a steep learning curve (which beats it’s own reputation to be an easy OS to use earlier) compared to Mac OS X. Pick even the most recent Mountain Lion release and it’s easy to get used to a Mac compared to a Windows 8 Laptop.
Future-proofing to mobile devices
When Apple launched the first iPhone and the first iPad, it essential reworked its Mac OS and actually weaned out a brand new operating system for its mobile devices called iOS. Now, what runs on a MacBook Pro is not the same as the one that runs on iPad or iPhone. However, Microsoft didn’t get that right. It created Windows 8 and pushed it to its phones and tablets.
As you can see, Microsoft is trying to catch up and not exactly getting the tablet space. It didn’t do much with its phones and it’s highly unlikely that its tablets such as the Surface Pro RT would match the capabilities of an iPad or even Nexus. In case you noticed, as an aside, Google adopts Android to power its tablets and not Google OS, which actually work on Google’s Chrome Books.
Apple releases frequent updates to Mac OS X software whereas Microsoft releases updates much slower. In fact, while Apple releases updates more than once in a year, Microsoft does so once only in a couple of years. As far as moving with the times is concerned, Apple leads Microsoft. Further, Microsoft – in spite of a release – is known for quirky updates and security lapses. Apple, meanwhile, just gets better and meaner.
I might come off as a Apple Fan boy stuff, but there’s a thing to be said about products and software that lasted as long as the Mac OS X did and continues to do so.
Agreed that Windows 8 is more affordable while Apple’s products are way too expensive for many people. But are we looking at the whole picture here? Is it true that we are getting what we are paying for? Is Apple’s Mac OS X truly the greatest Operating System?