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A Mac User's Reactions to Vista
by , 3:35 PM EDT, March 30th, 2007
A user very familiar with both Macs and Windows tested Vista for several weeks and had a mixed reaction in a story published at Low End Mac on Friday.
Adam Guha experimented with Vista for a few weeks on a new Acer notebook to get a feel for the new OS.
"Firstly, there's the new interface. Its "shiny" as one of my friends pointed out. It is, thankfully, less distracting than XP's "Luna" or "Royale" theme and can be set in any color you want. I chose gray - maybe I still can't get over the fact I'm not running OS X. It's also translucent, and closing windows has a very pleasant "fade out" effect. The close box is also larger than the minimize and maximize box, something that I find welcome, though not absolutely necessary," Mr. Guha reported.
One problem noted was that if the user doesn't have the right video card, Vista lapses into a very ugly appearing basic mode that cannot be modified.
Regarding the overall feel, "Unfortunately though, the Vista interface still feels "contrived" and "pasted over", just like the XP interface did," Mr Guha wrote. "Not all applications completely conform to it, and some older ones need the system to run in "basic" mode. I know, Microsoft's just trying to make it as compatible as possible, but it doesn't feel elegant like OS X does."
In terms of productivity, getting something done is ultimately more important than pretty interfaces. "I've typed this article (and a paper just before it) in Word 2007 on my Acer, and, provided that the computer doesn't fall and break in the time before I get to send them in, I think I will have succeeded in the productivity department."
Vista also comes with a Backup and Restore Center that allows the user to make regular backups, but also return to a previous state if there's trouble. The Reliability and Performance Monitor allows the user to see what's been installed and what's been done to the computer.
"As someone who has had a lot of experience with both the Mac and all versions of Windows since 3.0, I have to say that Vista offers a compelling reason to buy a new PC. Of course you could just buy a Mac and have the elegant user interface, stable and proven operating system, and still have the ability to install and use Vista," the author concluded.
Observer Comments
Fri Mar 30, 2007 6:36 pm Subject: Compelling reason for what? Sticking with a Mac
Vista offers a compelling reason for what? I would say to stick with OSX and a Mac. You can run both if you need to but don't have to worry about being hacked or attacked by viruses and spyware if you were just running Vista on a PC. Oh, and by the way Office 2007 isn't part of Vista so I think the productivity part fails.
Its really largely a graphical difference. I went to try out a Vista PC, and I really tried to be impartial! But the main differences that I saw on first glance were graphical, and as 'cool' as that is its not a sign of a good OS. Features such as gadgets, well-indexed search (?), and viewing all open windows, have been on Macs for YEARS. Getting ideas from other companies is understandable, but that is just too obvious!
And all the new security features... well, apart from being annoyingly repetitive in its alerts (as usual), its also a feature that windows NEEDS. Its just like everything else, an after-the-fact overlay for a lot of basic issues with the opertating system. MS simply never made a jump like Apple did from OS9 to OSX, and it has been needed for a long time. No matter what the reason, Apple does not need all the security features, and that is a huge plus.
From Safari to iTunes to the Finder and so on the Mac OS interface is a mesh of styles as well. Don't get me wrong. I am typing this on a DP G4, also own a new MacBook, Cube, Snow iMac G3 and a few others. But to say Vista is lacking because the interface is not consistent is a moot point coming from a Mac user. Our interface is the same mish-mash. I hope Leopard cleans this up.
Gotta keep the comparison real...
QuoteGuest wrote:
From Safari to iTunes to the Finder and so on the Mac OS interface is a mesh of styles as well. Don't get me wrong. I am typing this on a DP G4, also own a new MacBook, Cube, Snow iMac G3 and a few others. But to say Vista is lacking because the interface is not consistent is a moot point coming from a Mac user. Our interface is the same mish-mash. I hope Leopard cleans this up.
Gotta keep the comparison real...
i use a mod called UNO that keeps most things pretty consistent on os x.. there are a few discrepancies.. but the mod doesn't seem to hinder any applications in any way.. point is, if it's that simple to mod the interface, why doesn't apple just bite the bullet and make one universal look..?
I've installed Vista Business and Office 2007 on VM Ware virtual machine on my mini Mac. Initial observations (ignoring performance issues related to the VM installation).
1. The non-aero interface is ugly but functional
2. File copying, especially over a network, is slow and can fail.
3. Some apps fail to open files from a network drive.
4. When performing actions deemed to be security risks you are asked to confirm the action rather than to authenticate as in OS X. As this confirmation request happens a lot more in Vista the risk is the users just automatically confirm, even in circumstances they shouldn't
5. Office 2007 has a major change in user interface. Quite a steep learning curve e.g. "Where's the close document menu option gone"
6. Widgets are good as they are always visible but bad in that they take up so much space. Not all are easy to use e.g. the RSS feed on requires setting up a feed in IE 7 which in itself is a major pain.
Would I choose Vista as my main OS? No, Mac OS X just works better. Even on my games PCs I wouldn't use Vista as the performance hit with the current nVidia drivers, the greater memory requirements and appetite for disk space all count against it.
"Of course you could just buy a Mac and have the elegant user interface, stable and proven operating system, and still have the ability to install and use Vista"
...and restart your computer every 15 minutes every time you want to play a game or run one of the many pieces of Windows-only software in the world today.
Yes, that is a great alternative.
Fri Apr 13, 2007 2:35 pm Subject: Re: You could just use 1 OS that does it all too
QuoteAnonymous wrote:
"Of course you could just buy a Mac and have the elegant user interface, stable and proven operating system, and still have the ability to install and use Vista"
...and restart your computer every 15 minutes every time you want to play a game or run one of the many pieces of Windows-only software in the world today.
Yes, that is a great alternative.
The Parallels site list of supported OSes includes Vista Business, Enterprise and Ultimate. MS doesn't allow the cheaper version(s) of Vista to be run in a virtual machine.
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