Leopard vs Vista
November 2nd, 2007 by Elsa WenzelMac 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 |
Oh this is a good one I have been looking into how to play flac 
george
November 10th, 2007 at 2:22pm
The worst video... Whats a point of it?
David
November 12th, 2007 at 11:23am
that video is so bad! the Beach Ball doesn't mean that OSX has "died" it's the loading cursor. When a program is loading, just like how there's the hourglass in windows.
Jamie
November 14th, 2007 at 10:23am
What a waste of space. Wrong, stupid, not funny on either side. 1 mouse button? Stupid ass, the mouse he was showing was the 4 button mighty mouse with a scroll ball. Just for the record, I use a Logitech MX 620 and all the buttons can be configured for anything you want. Dumbass. I hate when they comment on 1 button mice, we dumped that back when OS 9 was young, you can always use a two button mouse with a scroll wheel. They were trying to be funny here, but it was just plain stupid.
Johnny_Needs_Meat
November 26th, 2007 at 10:20pm
FYI regards the closing button for the mac applications of course you can't close the app you were trying to close in the video it was a bloody installer you were trying to close the only way to close that is to Force Kill it. Stick to windows champ ;)