Mac or PC? Leopard or Vista? If you're in the market for a new computer, the choices may seem endless and limiting all at once.
New Macs generally cost several hundred dollars more than Windows machines that have similar specs, but Mac fans swear the difference is worth the cost for security and ease of use. Plus BootCamp, included with Leopard, can also run Windows. However, die-hard Windows devotees insist that their less-expensive systems can run more applications and are more customisable.
Apple Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard touts more than 300 new features. Microsoft didn't advertise as many changes to Windows Vista, which also introduced new eye candy and under-the-hood changes. Here's a rundown of the features offered by each.
| Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard | Windows Vista | |
| Overall score | 8.0 | 7.0 (Basic); 7.4 (Home Premium, Business); 7.8 (Ultimate) |
| Setup and interface | 9 | 7 |
| Features | 8 | 6 (Basic); 7 (Home Premium, Business); 9 (Ultimate) |
| Performance | 7 | 8 |
| Service and support | 7 | 7 |
| Basics | ||
| Cost | AU$158; AU$249 for 5 users | AU$385 Basic; AU$455 Premium; AU$565 Business; AU$751 Ultimate |
| System requirements | Intel or PowerPC G5 Mac; or PPC G4 with 867MHz+ processor; 512MB of RAM; 9GB available hard drive space; DVD drive | 1 GHz processor; 1GB RAM (512 for Basic); 40GB hard drive (20 for Basic) with 15GB available; DVD drive |
| Applications included | Mail; iCal; iChat; Safari browser. iPhoto, iLife, iMovie included with new Macs | Windows Mail, Calendar, Photo Gallery, Messenger, Movie Maker; IE 7 browser |
| Tie-ins to Web-based tools | .Mac accounts; Wikipedia | Windows Live services |
| Accessibility for disabilities | Speech-to-text commands (not dictation typing); VoiceOver text-to-speech narration (male voice); Braille support | Speech-to-text commands and dictation typing; Narrator text-to-speech narration (male or female); magnifier; onscreen keyboard |
| Energy saving tools | Yes; automated sleep and shutdown settings | Yes; automated sleep and shutdown settings |
| Keyboard shortcuts | Numerous | Numerous; also mouse, sticky, and filter keys |
| Desktop organisation | ||
| Search | New Finder, Spotlight | Instant search; Search folders |
| Document organisation | Cover Flow flip-through; Instant Quick Look preview | Drop-down arrows replace slashes; Metatags; Larger thumbnails |
| Virtual desktops | Spaces | No |
| Business tools | ||
| Remote desktop | Remote Desktop , Screen Sharing (in iChat too) | Remote Desktop |
| Videoconferencing | iChat Theater | Windows Live Meetings; Windows Live Messenger |
| Security and backup | ||
| User account controls | Yes | Yes; steps you through setup after installation |
| Firewall | Firewall not on by default | Windows Firewall |
| Drive encryption | File Vault, AES256 support | Ultimate only; Windows BitLocker, EFS |
| Parental controls | Set time limits; Restrict and allow specific sites; log a child's activities. | Set time limits; Restrict and allow specific sites; log a child's activities. |
| Backup | Time Machine | Windows Backup; Restore Points; ShadowCopy |
| Entertainment | ||
| TV | Apple TV | Windows Media Center; record TV shows on PCs with TV tuners (Premium and Ultimate only) |
| Gaming | OpenGL; both 32- and 64-bit support | Direct X10 APIs; both 32- and 64-bit support; Xbox 360 support |
| Default media player | QuickTime Player | Windows Media Player |
| Support | ||
| Technical support | 90 days free, then $49 per incident; free user forums; online knowledgebase; Genius Bar at Apple stores | 90 days free, then $59 per incident; built-in performance tuning and self-diagnostics' free user forums; Online knowledgebase |
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drg55
08/11/2007 09:53 AM
You forgot to include that many non microsoft programs don't run on Vista including Quicktime movies. Also Vista is very annoying. I dual boot with win 2000 and use Vista mostly for watching dvds. Also its DRM is annoying, rip a cd then copy it to your MP3 player and it will corrupt the original file. User satisfaction score 3/10
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noName
08/11/2007 04:59 PM
drg55: Hmm...dude either you're a moron or just m$-hater (both?), because I have Vista AND I DO RUN QUICKTIME MOVIES ON IT!!! wtf are u talking about? And that's your problem...dont dual boot vista with anything on the same box. You a newb? That'd be like having WSrvr2003 Ent. and dual booting it with ubuntu server...WHY? Personally, it sounds like you dont know what you're doing on a box and it's easier for you to blame M$. aTypical.
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chris manuel
10/11/2007 07:34 PM
Apple Tv isn't built into the machiene like Windows Media Centre is and your can't record live Tv onto it. It is just another music and video player
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jackiechan
27/11/2007 05:56 AM
You give Ultimate a higher rank than Home Premium/Business? Huh? What's in Ultimate...nothing - it's a waste of money! That really lowers the credibility of your review. Then you give Vista an 8 on performance and Leopard a 7. What... seriously? Vista is a dog compared to XP, requires much steeper base hardware, ram and video cards. Leopard is a tad sluggish compared to Tiger on older HW. Vista has poor performance compared to XP, Leopard, and Tiger, on all but the top-end HW. People who write for Cnet are constantly harping on the speed, yet an 8 here - Zoinks!
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vmguru007
19/02/2008 07:49 AM
Nice Comparison. Another interesting comparison in this regard can be found at http://itcomparison.com/OS/MacvsVista/macvsvista.htm enjoy, vmguru007
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batitombo
12/03/2008 06:04 PM
LOL!! Vista 8 and leopard 7!! jaja In new computers I have seen Vista running fast but Leopard is much much faster, Vista is quite heavy and it looks ugly compared to Mac OSX. Vista is for republicans usually no good taste.
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Owl
17/05/2008 06:34 AM
"Apple Tv isn't built into the machiene like Windows Media Centre is and your can't record live Tv onto it. It is just another music and video player" That must be the dumbest thing I've ever heard. Do you even know what Media center even is? It's an OPERATING SYSTEM and is not included with vista. You can't record tV into either one, but with mac os you can use Front Row to manage movies, music, ect.
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noName
01/10/2008 10:54 PM
Owl, have you even used Vista....if you had you may have seen the Media Centre program which loads what looks like the media centre os and records live tv - providing you have a tv card Get you facts right before posting bs.... the internet is full of wannabee techy's with opinions not facts!
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