There are a bunch of even more reasons to switch to Windows 7. Please read the nice 70-page review on Windows 7 RTM via http://www.activewin.com...ys/windows7/index.shtml

Nice feedback from a users using both systems.
However, this sounded a lot like a work experience.

At work, i use XP. Not MAC, not Vista, because i don't have a choice.
Company policy is XP on Company Laptops. Backup is managed by a Company tool over a VPN connection, and i do not manage my personal videos, photos, music, movies etc... on my work computer.
Also when it goes wrong, I can get a profesional to fix it for me.

Now, at home, i have an iMAC. Not a laptop, an iMAC.
Originaly, i bought an iMAC because my computer moved to my living room and it had to look reasonably good. Laptop screens are too smal for a home use imho, and Macs laptop are way too expensive for my budget where i live (Asia).
Main reason i would keep an iMAC: TIME MACHINE.

Do I feel like spending time maintaining my machine ? NO
Do I want to buy software to maintain it for me ? NO
Do I want to buy software for my machine to be secure ? NO
Do I want to have to install software for my iPhone and iPod to synch properly ? NO
Do I want to have my machine slow down overtime (usually after 6 momnth to 1 year using it), because of that thing i do not understand or want to understand called registry ? NO
Do I want to have to remember to backup, or be a trained professional to be able to restore that file i deleted by mistake a week ago ? NO
Do I want to have to install extra software (free or not) to manage my photos ? NO
Do I want to have to buy software to get Videos from my videocam to my PC and do some simple operations on them? NO

iLife
TimeMachine
0 Trouble, 0 Maintenance time spent
1 clic in iChat and my 68 year old mum can see me fullscree on the other side of the world, 1 more clic and i can take control of her iMac provided she allows me to do so, and show her how to do this or that on her MAC.

A machine running 2 years without an antivirus expiring, and without having to clic anything else than the "yes" from apple software updates. All that with as low as 10% free disk space sometimes.

Installed 1 system tool named Onyx, u dont really need it but it s simple enough and i was using it on Tiger before upgrading to leopard.

When i use my computer at home i dont want to spend time doing "Computer stuffs" i want to go on the internet, play MMORPG, organize my Multi Media content, that s it.

When Windows will have time machine, I may consider it.

Windows 7 has iLife ? No
Widows 7 has Time Machine ? No
Is Widows 7 final release out yet ? No

For Work, I may not go MAC unless i work in multimedia industry, but at home, i have forgotten what Sandglass, buying antivirus, updating drivers, defragmenting,.... even means. And i WILL NOT go back until this is adressed by Windows.

Windows 7 looks really great though and I hope company policy will be to switch to it soon, but i m not spending 100$ to switch a working system to a just released one. If Windows 7 SP 5 brings time machine, why not, until then, while you upgrade and maintain and check compatibility, then ultimately are happy to see that sandglass disappear faster than before, I'll be gaming, watching videos and sorting pictures.

Have fun :)
Now Time machine is slow and i'm on my way to buy a 29$ Service pack to fix it.

I've installed Snow Leopard on my Mac mini and Apple really milked that OS to the max; Lean & fast, everything Vista should have been and what Windows 7 "almost" is ;-) Actually, I think Windows 7 is alright but for now I will stick with Mac OS X because, well, all those little tweaks Apple did are just the extra spark that it needed. Everything works silk-smooth, stable, magic :)

Although Windows 7 running on those slick VAIO must be nice. I want one. Haha.

You're missing the point. Most of us want to balance portability, performance, and productivity. It's not all about cramming high-performing hot components into a plastic box. I personally wouldn't travel with an 8-pound computer with an 18-inch screen. What actually qualifies this as a *LAP* top? My lap would be crushed and burned after using that monster a couple hours.

Thanks for the link.

There is nothing questionable about the Z720's specs. It's plenty fast and portable and packs a helluva high-resolution screen (1600 x 900) for the size. This machine offers an unusually good balance of portability, performance and battery life.

Now why do you have to be so condescending: "Well that's enough chat for now....there are deals to be had the INTERNET is the largest repository of available information known to mankind...but you have to understand how to utilize it first." How old are you? I probably registered my first domain before you were in diapers. :) I found the deal on the Z720 on the InterWeb, thank you.

Here is the fastest Windows, guaranteed unhackable and cost $0: use your old Windows XP in a Virtual Machine. The host will be Linux running Virtualbox. Set the VM network settings so that XP in the VM can only access the local LAN and zero access to the Internet. That is how I setup for my wife to use Office 2007 at home.

bravo, good editorial...if only more of your colleagues could be the same (but guess not if they are somewhat independant content providers...I have no clue how betanews works :))

I'm using Windows Server 2008 R2 as my main in addition to Windows 7 Ultimate. It is all about productivity afterall. I might consider myself a "fanboy" of MS and Windows...so I'll agree to the Apple ads when they make fun of Windows users and all about getting work done. It's ok by me. ;)

Excuse me? Didn't test what? I used the 13-inch MacBook Pro, as clearly stated in the post. The MacBook Pro sells for $1,599, direct from Apple.

The VAIO's battery life is a solid 4 hours, more depending on battery optimization and graphics accelerator used -- that's with standard battery. The MacBook Pro continually delivered 5-6 hours, which I consider to be exceptionally good for a portable in the size class.

The macbook pro: 13-inch. Starts at $1199. Drectly from the Apple site... Where are you looking from, please? I afraid you had been robbed.

definite trolling propaganda w/ lies -- "I got mine from PC Nation for $1,499.98 -- or about $100 less than the 13-inch MacBook Pro sold direct from Apple"
-- go to Apple.com Store: 13" MBP is $1,499 for top model and $1,199 for standard...

He bought his several months ago...who knows what the prices were when he bought it.

He's right though the dock is outdated -its looked the same for quite some time, hence old.
Most of the "improvements" Snow Leopard is receiving have existed in Windows for quite some time. The fact they still try to charge you extra money for their media player is hilarious.

Its his viewpoint (you know what that is, right?) So he can say whatever he wants. If you don't like it go to slashdot.

The price several months ago is the same as when I wrote the post.

It is no contest with me as my next build is likely getting Ubuntu. It will largely depend on certain equiptment that is going into it but there is a possibility that it could get XP (but likely Ubuntu).

Windows 7 is great... Microsoft OWNS the internet now ;)

Nice article, thanks. I've just installed win7 and to tell you the truth - i simply lowed it! U have vista, i never used it as it's too slow and buggy, but win 7 is super fast as xp and looks a little bit better than xp :)

I chose Windows XP over Windows 7 because they removed some of my favorite features.

Such as?

Yes, I have been using Windows 7 since RC1 continuously and I have never had any problems with it. The operating system flies......fast, sleek, responsive and very good looking. Microsoft must be over the moon with all of these positive reviews about Windows 7. I got an ASUS laptop 2 months ago and the first thing I did is install Windows 7 (dual boot) and now it's only Windows 7, Vista is gone. Windows 7 is what Vista should have been. The "WOW" starts now, not with Windows Vista.

Something off topic: Except for the GUI, I am also quite impressed with Ubuntu. It is something that one should consider.

Good take on this. I disagree with your hardware choice though. Even though your Sony specs look better on paper, I chose Macbook pro because:

- sturdy & solid aluminum chassis
- ZERO screen flex
- 4 hours batt life on W7 (never had such luck w/any Sony)
- Lit keyboard
- can dual-boot into SL, so why choose if you don't have to?

Now if I can just get used to forward fn-delete and the trackpad sensitivity.

Apple and MS keep quality leapfrogging and right now MS is the lead frog with W7. Been running it now for several days on my MBP and no hangs or crashes. Apple though, will always be in front on hardware design elegance (MBP, iphone, etc).

Pretty pathetic attempt at trolling wouldn't you say? I mean even PC_Troll and Hollywood_ can do much better than this.

Although, compared to you, iTard, they've got nothing on trolling.

I completely agree with you. I'm very impress with windows 7. I had a vaio too, switch form vista home premium to windows 7 and i tell you I'll never going back to any windows than the 7. The performance of my laptop is like 40 percent and i have like 3 month using 7 every day and no problems found. Everyone should wait for windows 7 official launch it is worth to wait.

For me its simple: Windows 2008 R2 ~ Windows 7 is:
1) Fast.
2) Managable .(If it crashes i can boot and try to recover using the utilities on the cd directly. I dont need to be a rocket scientist and a Unix guru there.
3) A New look, as mentioned fresh.
4) I can direct someone over the phone to install it and fix it if anyting happens.
5) Install Kaspersky and forget about the Viruses.
6) Play BATTLEFIELD 2/OTHER AWESOME GAMES
7) Just connect to the Cisco VPN and work on my outlook.
8) Use Hyper-V running Win2k8 R2s running E2k7 or E2010 (I love 2k8 R2 fast as hell, its my desktop os , I mentioned it here cos you can just install the UI using the server manager.)

Oh and all the stuff I have on my PC are simple. I got a 3x 500 GB Raid 0 disk. 2 x 500 GB WD in single mode, 1 x 320 GB single. 8 GB of ram and a pathetic and poor 8600GT 512 MB card. its an E8400.
If i buy a MAC here, it will cost me 4-5 times of what I made my system with.

OS X is great, but only the GUI for me, I love it , amazing , but showing 'AGE'. If it was SWF skinnable like my LG viewty OS then hmm it would be lovely.

OS X is a good unix system to me, but for my desk I will always format the MAC (if i buy 1) and Install WINDOWS 7/2008 R2 on it.

MY 2 Cents, you are entitled to your opinions Guys and Gals

P.S I ran 10.5.7 and it was good. But BF2/ really good games :( .
10 Yrs in IT and i still miss Mac 8.5 and 9.0 as much as Win95 OSR2.

I totally agree with you. OS X looks cool but 7 is way better than that crap though not as slick as OS X

"I get about 30 percent to 40 percent more work done using Windows 7 than either Leopard or Snow Leopard". What type of work is he doing? Photoshop? MS Word? Programming? The OS is going to make that big of a difference? Making a comment like that without details strikes me as exaggerated and makes me wonder about his bias.

Why are Mac fanboys always trying to convince the other 90% of computer users that their choice was the good one and that we should follow them? Are you guys insecure or trying justify to us your purchase of that expensive status symbol?

Listen: most of us don't care, ok?! Most of us prefer an OS that can run 1000x more applications, that supports 10000x more hardware accessories and that is equally suitable for home users as it is for enterprise users. Yes, enterprise, because lots of us actually do real work on the computer; work as in "business work" -- we don't simply surf the web at Starbucks or visit Facebook in the school campus. Sure, you Mac zealots will point out some companies do use Macs but it's an insignificant minority (some still uses BeOS too!).

If Win 7 is a good update, then lots of us, 90% of computer users, will eventually upgrade; if it's not, then we'll stick with XP or Vista. And Mac's market share will remain under 10%, as always.

I love this --- last year, people were saying the same things for the same reasons but the figure under which Mac's market share would remain was 6%. (Look it up in the archives of betanews)

I'm certainly not a "fanboy", indeed I don't even know what that means. But I did replace all the windows desktop computers in our home with Macs a few years ago and the amount of time I had to spend doing "maintenance and administration" went down from about 4-6 hours a week to less than 1 hour / month....i.e, I've essentially not needed to do anything to keep those machines humming.

As for those 1000x more applications, you're probably correct on that order of magnitude. However, what you conveniently ignore (oh, god, you don't work for Fox News do you?), is that many of those apps are DUPLICATES in terms of their functionality. In other words, suppose there are 200 photo editing products for Windows rather than 10 for the Mac. I will be very comfortable asserting that those 10 Mac versions will be comparable (at least) to the top 10 Windows apps in the class. I'm losing NOTHING due to there being more of the same thing for Windows.

Now, there are certainly a couple of important apps that have not yet shown up for the Mac. Fortunately, apps like VMWare Fusion, Parallels, and VirtualBox let me run those things essentially perfectly. So I can get the best of both worlds with no pain.

That's reality. And that reality is reflected in the increasing stock price of Apple.

--------
And Mac's market share will remain under 10%, as always.

And by the way, I said "under 10%" just as a ballpark figure. I believe Macs market share is currently around 7%.

No, it's never a good thing. 1000 times junk is 1000 times junk, and the consumer gets screwed.

Mac-switchers are manier than PC-switchers, so the stock price would still rise.

I bought an broken mac mini from a friend, and while i figure what i have to do to get it fixed (I live in Brazil, Precisely in Goiânia, and no one told Apple that Brazil has other cities that São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro), i will create a Disk and install OsX on my PC. But for now, from all apples i used, windows 7 offers a better experience than any of them...

that what? dolt. i? What's i?

still trying to convince yourself with your leopard snow leopard

It is known that Microsoft copies from Apple and Apple Copies from Microsoft. Linux has some innovation and other things they copy from both Microsoft and Apple. The original GUI came from some copier interface and was copied by both Microsoft and Apple. There are still some things that looked better on OS2 that both Windows and Mac have tried to copy and just couldn't pull off. That is the nature of technology.

But to say that all of Microsoft is a copy of Apple is just a bunch of bunk and BS. As for no ones chooses ... I guess 90% of corporate America is no ones

"no ones chooses a copy over the "Real McCoy". "

*laughing*

Gotta love how fatty and this iTard can totally ignore this thing we like to call "Reality", don't you?

I'm telling you..... It's like the republicans that still insist Obama wasn't born an American. You can put all the proof you want right in front of them and they will still deny it's there. The good news is they have a big name person they have something in common with, Ahmadinejad.

Since you want to bring presidential politics into a discussion of operating systems, fine. You say, "all the proof you want" ??? Not so quick.

Only one thing I want to see, the long-form birth certificate. Why has Obama spent over a million dollars trying to keep it suppressed (along with a lot of other seemingly-innocuous documents, like his school records)? It's a simple and as-yet unanswered question -- why spend a million to keep it hidden, rather than 5 minutes signing a release. (Short-form, available to anyone for the asking doesn't prove anything.)

The words, "all the proof you want" is an intellectually dishonest assertion.

And for the record, 99.99% of the Republicans know that disqualification of Obama won't put a Republican in the White House. Instead, we would get that lunatic, Biden, as a president, but at least that might slow the balls-to-the-wall drive towards Socialism that is Obama's mission.

Apple copies If I remember, the GUI, MS licensed it from Xerox, I was confused about this earlier then I read this somewhere. IPOD is fun, Iphone is nice (I love the Phones that Samsung Makes except their pathetic W299 sickest one)What I mean to say is they are not to be argued about. If OS X is to prove its better and stable then I needs to go on to every possible platform. I have used Windows in an isolated form. Required 5 reboots in 8 months. It ran standard drivers as a test. No 3rd party drivers other than the inbuilt ones. It was good. But I can pop a windows cd into any cheap budget machine and make it work as a server as well. It Just works. Well as for the SSO I get with Windows , I wish i could just do a Dcpromo, make a domain , set DNS and then bingo production but NO i can't even with OS X server can I?.

And without Xerox you would never have a GUI based Mac OS.

I'm a moderate independent though slightly more conservative. I would have to say though that most normal republicans disown those who are stupid enough to claim Obama isn't a real citizen. They're zealots and idiots. Don't let them tarnish the whole party. :)

"Consistently, I get about 30 percent to 40 percent more work done using Windows 7 than either Leopard or Snow Leopard."

Joe, can you elaborate on your experimental methodology and results?

I agree. I prefer Windows 7 over OS X myself, but it's personal preference. I see nothing wrong with this article but I wouldn't mind seeing some examples. I believe you can make a case for either OS, it just depends on the type of work you're doing. Not everyone is going to see a performance increase either way. I'm a programmer, which is why I stick with Windows OS for work, but if I were a designer I would go the other way. I think both are extremely capable OS's for their intended purposes (and by the way, thanks to MSDN I am currently using the release version of Windows 7 Pro 64-bit).

I bought a Mac Mini this past Saturday. I've had an original iMac since they first came out. The only reason I bought another is because at some point my iMac wasn't enough for OSX (after OSX 10.3). When I needed a Mac, before my new Mac Mini, I went the 'run OSX on your PC' route. After all of this I prefer PCs to Mac anyday and twice on Sundays. Basically, it's what you get used to and 'I want my, I want my, I want my MPC*'.

Mighty!

PeeSee stands for Piece of s***.

I'd rather blame you for misuse of your computer than Vista issues for your video card failure

nah, I treat my machines great. I'm not a windows vista hater at all! I just never tried windows 7. I do prefer snowleopard over vista, but thats not saying much I know.

"The Mac OS X user interface, once trendsetting, is now a tired motif overdue for overhaul."

I agree. Mac app interfaces are usually ugly - for instance Safari. Yuck.

While I'm not sure I agree with this, I argue that it's irrelevant. The point is to be able to run apps and get things done efficiently and with as least pain as possible.

Wrong, they are usually not. Firefox and IE are ugly.

alysdexia -

I personally hate the interface for all three browsers, but I find the interface design irrelevant. However, I'm a programmer and web developer and while IE has it's faults, Macs are the biggest headache for me by far. This has some to do with font differences but has a great deal to do with the antialiasing done by OS X (happens on Macs in both Safari and Firefox) which can cause layouts to break if sufficient room is not left to account for font size changes.

Applications is by far the most significant criterion for choosing an OS. Even though the last years there are some good Mac apps out there for commonly used softare (only), Windows wins hands down in virtually any application category you can think of in terms of variety, price and quality.

For example....?

3D Studio Max is a biggie for me. As is Expression Studio, although I think Microsoft needs to release it for the Mac if they're serious about Silverlight evolving. I also have some apps I love like the lightweight imgBurn application for CD/DVD burning which has some powerful features and customization.

Joe,

Where in your article does it state why we should be using Windows 7 over Mac OS X? I know this is an opinion article, but you still need to tell the reader something to back up your statement.

I'm saving more specific reasons, other than those stated, for a follow-up post.

By the way, I had a Windows 7 release candidate running flawlessly in a virtual machine (VM) for some time and I agree it is the best Windows so far but I found some app incompatibility problems. However, anti-virus software is needed for the Windows VMs. I have never had (or needed) A/V software on the MAC side.

Mac people can't have it both ways. If you want more people to use more Macs you're going to have to start installing more antivirus and antimalware programs. The virii and spayware, and malware are out there and you'd be shortsided not to have software on your OSX. But if Macs become more popular, which I doubt with Windows 7 RTM, you'll find the need for AV programs rise very fast. There is little reason for those people writing these harmful programs to do so because the install base is still so small.

You may be right. Certainly OS X is not immune to virus/worm/trojan/malware threats but it is much harder to attack than Windows has been. I do not see a reason for A/V programs on the MAC until a significant threat is actually present. This has been forecast many times but has yet to materialize. If/when that happens, I will spend the money on protection but not now when the platform is safe. The only threats I am aware of currently require permission from the computer user to start malicious activity.

I was trying to find out the size of the MAC computer installed base and good data seems hard to find. The best estimates I saw look like 40 - 50 million machines. The Windows market is approaching one billion machines so the MAC share of the installed base is perhaps 5%. One trend that is changing this equation is the iPhone which is in the process of morphing into a hand-held computer of considerable power. I suspect that, 5 years from now, the OS X installed base will be hundreds of millions of units when this new platform is included. We will see if the bad guys are interested in/capable of attacking this growing target.

I do not know how robust Windows 7 will prove to be. Only time will tell. Everything I have read suggests it will be the safest Windows yet. It appears to be a considerable improvement on Vista.

There is no MAC.

data seem

COMPUTERS ARE TOOLS!! Even though some want them to be religious cults..

Anyone that buys a BEST of bread PC. There is not a mac that will compete with it. Oh ya and with some tweaking that same hardware will run OSx..

deluded giiberish

Excellent comparison, and it is too easy to get caught in the Great OS Debate... I'm glad your upgrade experience echo my own, and others who have tried out the Win7 Enterprise free trial - they DON'T take 20 hours to complete.

I did a fresh install of Win7 Enterprise RTM and in the Win2k3 domain environment I'm in, I was back up and running with all my applications and settings in about 4 hours. An amazingly fast turnaround. My colleagues have spent days rebuilding their Macs when new versions of OSX come out and corrupt their installation. Time machine and all running. It takes me back to the days of Win98 --> Win98SE upgrades.

Microsoft, a company I have been very critical of for years, has done something right and has done it right in a big way. Win7 is not perfect and there are compatibility issues with some software, but technically it's not being released until Oct 22nd, so companies like Symantec have a little time to get their butts in gear. But no matter what, as long as Mac continues to prevent companies like Dell, HP, Sony, etc from selling hardward that is OSX compatible, they are more guilty of any antitrust laws than Microsoft is of putting Internet Explorer inside it's own operating system. When Apple leaves Safari out of their build then it's time to complain about Msft, but not until then.

its

what "their"?, dolt--you said "leaves".

I like and use em both. They both have their pros and cons.

contras

What a stupid discussion this is because 90% of the people on here are drones that too stubborn to admit that some other "toy" may be better than theirs. Most people don't pick Windows or Apple of their own free will. They are tricked into making their purchase based on false information from markerters, friends, family, store employees, and journalist or it just happened to come with the computer they were given. Once they buy either a Mac or a PC for the first time, they never buy another brand because it is what they now know best.

And fatty, don't type your response hungry. Please make sure you eat a large supreme pizza and a 6 pack of coke so that we might have a chance of actually getting a decent and coherent comment out of you besides Apple rules and Microsoft sucks...

My Vista-Mac will soon become a W7-Mac.

Guess which OS is my default boot???

I just love to hear the Mac boys crying about how 'their' OS is superior. Are they trying to convince the rest of the world or just themselves??

ROFL!!

Actually, on a daily basis, I use Macs, Windows, and Linux --- they all have their pros and cons but for the most part, OS X does a very good job at being an excellent (and essentially maintenance free) desktop as well as being excellent (but too expensive for just) backend services (LAMP, etc)

I am a PC too, not a vendor locked crap :)

I hate to rain on your parade, but you are a fanboy.

Mom and Grandma would do just fine with windows 7, It's easier to use in my opinion, but even then, there's not much in it apart for the apple-tax you pay for their locked-down hardware.

Students are often told to use software as part of their course, and guess what platform it's usually written for. I personally need to have access to visual studio as part of my course (Not available on OSX), One of my friends is doing a biology and they are required to use a statistics package that's not available on Mac. A windows platform is better (and once again cheaper) for a student.

For any kind of development I'd still chose a windows based PC just because firstly I can write for any platform using Java or .Net anyway, but the wealth of development tools available are much better than the limited choice on OSX. As for iPhone development, you could always install OSX onto your PC (OSx86/Hackintosh) or run it in a VMWare host.

And as for games? You'd buy a Mac?! Please - that's the most flawed part of your argument by a long way.

The Windows OS is considerably more expensive than the MAC OS. PC hardware is, on the other hand, significantly cheaper than MAC hardware unless you restrict yourself to top of the line PCs where the cost differential is relatively small.

You make a good point about the much larger set of available Windows applications. That is why I never considered a switch to a MAC before excellent virtual machine (VM) software became available. I too need Windows applications and I have taken them with me. Virtual Machine software is not free but it is relatively cheap. Getting rid of the Registry and gaining the rock-stable Unix underpinnings and freedom from viruses (at least on the MAC side) was worth it for me.

The area where you may have the strongest argument is game software requiring very high end graphics. The high end Windows software graphics support in a VM is not currently as good as native Windows and I don't know if it ever will be. Where this is important, I think the choice is clear. I am not in that group.

students of almost all university and colleges can now get Windows 7 for $29 ;) so much for the expensive bit

Oh, they don't just steal it anymore?

1) Virtualbox is 100% free VM software.
2) Your virus statement is a marketing scheme and not truthful or factually correct.
3) If you're a gamer, buy a game system. Msft/Sony/Nintendo/etc...

They can still run them natively on a Mac, cretin.

Heheheh Such a joke about a gaming system. Try upgrading a gaming system and u know, besides an all in one system helps reduce carbon foot print. Nothing beats BF2 on the PC. Not even my PS2.

you still play PS2? :)

Having trouble reading today?

In his opinion, he claims it is better because it performs better and is "more fun".

Got it now?

As previously stated, however; It's flame-bait. The whole article. No-one here seems to be able write an article about either OS that focuses on it's features, functionality, stability, security, responsiveness and so on. They just tell us which one they thin is prettier or gives them warm-fuzzies.

It's funny that this guys gets a thumbs down when he's the only one with anything intelligent to say. I agree, I don't want to know that you like one or the other better, I want to know why.

I'm doing tests of Windows 7 in my environment now. For one, there is absolutely no software or driver support for it yet. My security software vendor (Trend Micro) won't even attempt anything until the Oct 22nd release. Pro/E and Solidworks are both telling me that Windows 7 is not recommended as of yet. Half of my printer drivers are failing. Although it may look and feel like a nice OS I wouldn't put my money into it until there's at least one major service pack.

As for OSX, if it had the software support of Windows I'd probably switch many of my workstations. But unfortunately I don't see that happening anytime soon.

Your comment makes a great deal of sense.

"For one, there is absolutely no software or driver support for it yet. "

Liar. I've been using it as my main OS @ home (5 systems, oldest is an '03 laptop) since Beta and here @ work since RC. I have had *zero* driver or software issues.

Just because a few bits here and there are not working for *you* does not mean the case holds true for *anyone* else...much less *everyone*. There's zero justification for such a generalized statement.

Your software/driver comment is pure malarkey. Been using Win 7 beta --> RC --> RTM for many months now. The only problem I have run into is with Symantec Endpoint for Win7 RTM, something they claim will be fixed with their MR5 release in September, long before Win7 is being sold.

I've had approximately 40 different printers, ranging from HP and Epson photo printers to all sorts of laser printer (even some wide format dot matrix printers) and large format plotters. The only problem I've had, not a single issue with drivers, is Win 7 doesn't take the default duplex setting from servers for some reason on HP printers.

As for software. Again, virtually no problems. And when I have had problems I've been able to get around them in one of two ways... 1) The Win 7 built in compatibility modes (greatly improved since Win XP.) or 2) Win7's free WinXP VM (still in beta.)

I was even able to get 23 year old proprietary dos based software to run that a client uses to manage billions of dollars and 1000s of employees (good luck guessing the company, one hint, they didn't take a government bailout.) They have finally decided to start testing a replacement package that has been in development for 5 years now that they are convinced they can run a stable network with Win2k8R2, SQL2008, Exchange 2010, & Win7. Microsoft seems to have taken a few years off from offering a well rounded platform suite, but they seem to be back and Win7 is the cherry on top. I can't wait to see the final web based Office 2010 suite. They have a lot of work still to do, but I'm hopeful we can get away from desktop based office suites.

Nescius it is.

No I don't have trouble reading and there's no need for you to be rude. I just can't find any explanation in this article backin up his initial claim. It performs better? OK, why?? It is more fun? Why?? Besides, what does the author understands by "more fun"?
If the author is saying what the readers should do (as he claims in the title) then at least the readers deserve a logical argument.

Kudos on the MSE bit. I know it's been "essential" on my home systems since it hit the "Connect" site.

As for the upgrade-bit.... That's from a relatively "clean" system. You weren't moving a ton of data.

For those users who download *everything* they find online, torrent warez, and porn, well... It's going to take them a *lot* longer. Sadly, most of these folks have apparently never heard of having a separate Data partition/drive, so they'll whine about how the Win7 upgrade is so insanely long.

Microsoft needs to fix that. The default library folders should *never* be in the same partition as the OS. Ever. They're getting better with their "system reserved" partition, but didn't quite go far enough. Next OS I will definitely be looking for separate "reserved", OS, and Data partitioning by default.

A score of -2 and no comments as to why - dont you have a good enough reason to put it in writing?

Well, I didn't rate ya down though I disagree with ya. Vista post SP1 was very good, though had an annoying UI glitch until SP2. Pre SP1...ugh. I liked it, especially once they got the dx9 RAM munching fix in, but there were some painful elements (especially wrt UAC.)

The OS is far more stable and keeps itself performing better on a long term basis than XP, and Win7 brings back the performance and lack of glitchiness everyone wanted from Vista, along with some very neat changes.

If you have some spare time, win7 RC is very worth it. I didn't expect to care about it at all, and put it on a spare partition. Then practically right away it went on the main partition, and I immediately installed it on my other computer also. :)

But then, it's only another month anyway so hey :)

Ok I concede to your point I was mainly referring to the interface problems but in comparison to XP, Vista it is more blotaed and slower generally, unless you boost your hardware or turn off some graphical features (on machines with 2GB ram) and I agree that you either go forward with the technology your using (i saw no advantage in going to Vista from XP) or take a risk and change ship; I wont be changing ship to MAC or Linux any time soon so Windows 7 will be where the safe money lies!

I'll be changing to Win7 in time, but i'll wait till it's been out a short while first :-)

reasons are everyhwere.

1. many softwares people need just don't exist on a mac
2. as ugly as IE is, there are many websites demand it
3. OSX won't work with more than half of the peripherals in the market
4. it asks $400 extra for a non-existence benefit, "your feeling"
5. atrocious flash performance on macs, who likes hulu? cbs video? any flash video that are 10 minutes or longer?
6. no clear options regarding security situation, when more and more malwars/viruses pop up for mac, and we know there will be more and more, just look at the trend, apple takes position to fool their users to think they are fine forever, if there is anything worse than need to use a AV software on a PC, its not knowing the virus/malwars and got infected with absolutely no protection and know nothing about it, three months back, thousand of mac zombie story, you forgot?
7. abysmal game options. You probably got more causal games on an iPhone than on a mac.

There is no MAC, and it's its.

0. Macs can run nearly any OS.
?. Macs offer much better input, navigation, feedback, and scripting support than others. If you believe otherwise you are ignorant and deluded, akin with Flat-Earthers or YECs, and cannot RthFM.

Just because they exist in your head doesn't mean they "work for you"

Q: What's holding you back, or are you already using a Mac?

4 out of what number (That could mean everyone or .001%)? I do like the new "Windows Vista 7" you are trying out. Maybe you do this because you are taken by Apple's new naming of their OS. So, the next version being OSXI right?

wow ONLY 4?

Anastasia:

That'd be pretty clever, really.

Hint: Pronounce it as a single word.

Is it just me, or are there about 15 different post under 15 different names that say something like "I bought a mac about 6 months ago and haven't looked back". Maybe it's me, but it seems like someone is going through a lot of trouble. I have to admin, I haven't tried a mac in a few years, and I am a little biased towards windows, but that is what I use mainly, both at work and home. Last time I borrowed a friends mac, I gave it back after a couple of days because I just could not use it. I have similar problems with *nix, though I keep trying to force myself to use it, because there is a lot more money in being a Linux admin in my field right now. I'm not saying I don't enjoy Linux. I enjoy getting down and dirty with the terminal and messing around with it, but when I want to relax for a little while, I don't want to have to compile a program to make it work, I just want it to work! And I get that with windows.

"Microsoft spends more on marketing than any other company. period."

If you want to look at it that way...

Microsoft also spends more than any other software company on research and development. I found that MS spends about $8 billion, and Apple spends around $800K.

Now, some would argue that MS doesn't spend the money as well as Apple, but the fact remains that MS spends about 10x more in R&D than Apple...

They also give more money to charities then any other company as well, so its a fair trade off

I do some sys admin work too, swattz. I use Linux every day, at work and at home. At home I use Ubuntu and Linux Mint. I haven't had to compile anything at home in years. I can install something on Linux much faster and easier than I can in Windows. Not knockin' Windows, just asking what you have to compile in Linux at home?

I think it's natural to think that one made the right choice. And if you have regrets, it's possible to divorce yourself from your computer and go with another. It's only money, and powerful computers are getting cheaper every day.

There are plenty of merits to Windows, Mac and Linux, and each can be very productive depending on what you're trying to do. Windows has the largest ecosystem of software and tools by a giant margin. If there isn't a Windows application that does what you want, chances are that it simply can't be done. Mac is great for its overall quality and ease of setup and maintenance. And Mac is great for audio/video applications. Linux is fantastic for servers and experimentation. If you need another Linux application, chances are that you can install it quickly from the repositories - at no cost!

Downsides? Security software on Windows sucks system resources, and system upgrades and patches require frequent reboots. On Mac, there's much less software and compatible hardware than Windows. And while Mac users love to argue that they get good value for Mac systems, this is only true if you place value on the bundles of hardware and software: you can't build inexpensive Mac systems a la carte, unlike Windows or Linux. Linux has made many strides in ease-of-use, but it's still far behind Mac and Windows, especially for consistency across applications.

Me? I use all of them. Mac for my primary desktop computers. Linux for servers. And Windows via VMWare for customer support and for obscure applications.

I think this about sums up my thoughts on it as well. I have pretty much an identical pattern. Although I am also open to experimentation with some other platforms as well. I love the ports system used over in the BSD world (which is mimicked in MacPorts and actually really nicely in Gentoo as well). I am also just nerdy enough to check out what Chrome OS might be about (as stated in a few posts down... Windows 7 today, Chrome tomorrow?)

I am also that way with development... mobile, desktop, web using combinations of lisp, C/C++ (from lattice to vc9 and gcc and lcc32), C#, Objective-C, Java, Groovy, Ruby (loving this one - latest), Python, Perl (less of this last years), win32 assembly (stopped this a few years back ago too but was a hell of alot of fun, mostly macro oriented style and a copy of SoftICE handy), Amiga 68k asm, PHP, Scala (new, still haven't wrapped enough time on this one yet), Erlang, JavaScript, Delphi (hah ... it's been a while :P), can't forget Turbo Pascal (even longer since that one was last used), ActionScript, VB (eep! friend from MIT wrote a voice pattern recognition package for the police using VB), GWBasic (why did I even mention that, blah), Haskell, SQL (dialects such as T-SQL and PL/SQL as well), Nu, Logo, and a bunch of obscure stuff over the years. Each language gives me a different angle and perspective to solve problems with.

I'm a PC. I can't sit here and argue which is 'better'. I own a Mac as well, a gift...I'd NEVER buy one. I do like OS X, but like Ubuntu, I don't feel AS comfortable using it as I do Windows. I've never been able to bring myself to use it mainstream, and I don't think I ever will. All I do in OS X is surf the internet and listen to music or play movies but I prefer to switch to 7 for anything more.

My whole issue with Macs are the hardware and pricing. But if you're willing to shell out for a Vaio or 'premium by brand/price' stuff then I mean, the Mac may make more sense, as you can always install and run Windows through Boot Camp on it, though in Joes case, the intricacy of higher resolution mattered.
I too am also that intricate regarding the features vs. price/value of the equipment I buy. I've never had an issue with OS X other than the fact that it's nowhere close to being as ubiquitously coded for as Windows. My little programs like lastpass, xmarks, switchit, hulu desktop etc. all work for windows before they ever port to OS X.

But if I could have found a Macbook Pro with the exact same specs as my Gateway Laptop for $499, I'd buy the Macbook. That's the problem...that will never happen because if you want to sell a product for a premium, you have to sell it at a premium. Like a $300 s*** from D&G showing up in Marshalls for $40, even though the 'materials' are the same, it's the price and venue that makes the product exclusive. And Apple has already made it clear that they won't ever sell value priced items. I'd be ok with that if it were justifiable. For example, Mercedes and BMWs, Audis, etc. are priced higher because they're literally using more expensive parts. A $2400 Macbook Pro is made of the same parts as its $1300 counterpart from Dell, save for a different 'shell', and even that is set to change soon.

I love 7 compared to Vista for really, 1 big thing....the sheer speed. I don't care what benchmarks say, I know for sure that all my hardware running 7 runs peppier than when it ran Vista, in every case. The lesser the power, the better! My C2Q 6600 at 3.2GHZ with 8GB of RAM is the only machine that doesn't run significantly faster in 7 - and it's obviously because Vista was completely satisfied with it. I only really ever felt vistas negatives on my other machines when I put 7 on them. But in all reality, Vista isn't as problematic as it was made out to be, it's just a bit greedy, and much more so when compared and contrasted with 7. My laptop, my macbook pro, my wife's laptop, my beta PC and my htpc all run so much faster with 7. I'm not sure if OS X users can say that regarding their 4 year old+ systems between OS upgrades.

In the end, I truly believe that to each his own. If you prefer OS X, fine. If you prefer 7, fine. Hardcore people for both teams may find huge issues with each OS. Neither are perfect, but it's all about preference as each has it's pros and cons.

its, dolt
contras
Fast is not a speed: http://google.com/groups...s+for+the+illiterate%22. Glue is fast.

Macs and Dells do /not/ use the same parts other than chips, drives, screen, and batteries. Do the latter win design awards for the insides or outsides?

While it's an interesting viewpoint, I have to say this feels a bit like flamebait simply because you don't do a lot of explaining - aside from snow leopard looking dated (hard to quantify, especially given that the current interface is only as old as 10.5), I can't really see what your problems are with snow leopard - e.g. by what measurement is your output 40% higher on windows? And if you can't explain what is more "fun" about windows7 than snow leopard, then you're expecting your readers to take it on blind faith - and that's not particularly good or compelling writing.

I am on a similar page as you - I am not dogmatic, I am not a fanboy. I happily note when either OS does something well and I equally condemn either OS for poor design choices. I have used both OSes and have strong opinions on hundreds of points - so with such massive differences between the products, why write an article so lacking in substantive content?

I'm saving more specific reasons for a follow-up post.

Ah, neat. In the mean time, it might be worth renaming this article "I chose Windows 7 over snow leopard, and I may give some sort of reasoning in the future."

How can Snow Leopard's Finder feel "old"? It was just revamped with Leopard--and it looks about just like everything else in the OS--which, by the way, also got the most significant theme revamp in OS X history with 10.5. This is still basically *new*. (Personally, I think Windows feels old to me: it's a new visual style, but some dialogs in Vista, probably 7 as well, still use MS Sans Serif as a font. That's TWO fonts ago, with Tahoma and now Segoe UI or whatever they're using.) Also, the only "service pack" in which Microsoft added anywhere *near* the functionality that Apple added in Snow Leopard was XP SP 2. This is more comparable to 98 -> 98 SE (although even *more* of a change if you look under the hood.) Basically, I don't think the upgrade-price argument (not to mention, how can you complain about $29 when the *cheapest* upgrade version of Windows, crippled Home Basic aside, is over $100 more?) or the "it looks old" argument hold any water.

I use OS X at home and Windows XP at work and don't mind either, although I obviously prefer OS X since that is what I have chosen to use at home. I have far fewer problems than I did with Windows, I know I have good hardware (although you could also get something comparable in a business line of Dell or other manufacturers), and the power of UNIX allows me to do easy scripting, piping, and things I would sometimes do with Linux (which I also use in a VM) but can't really do under Windows (until PowerShell came along, anyway, but does it even come with Windows?).

Basically, there are pros and cons to both. OS X works for me, but I have no problem if someone uses Windows and likes it. Still, I think this article is a bit unfair to OS X.

Because a hackintosh is the worst of all worlds: No support from either company.

Not everyone has to pick a primary OS. That's a condition your faced with sounds like.

Windows 7 today, what tomorrow ...

http://www.betanews.com/...ot-vaporware/1247520661

Good article, but to each his own I suppose.

I made the switch to Apple a few years back and I have not looked back since. Over time, I have tried Windows Vista and now Windows 7 and while both are massive improvements over their predecessors, they just don't compare. The simplicity, elegance, beauty, speed and power (UNIX) of a Mac and Mac OSX is unmatched by anything the PC manufacturers and Microsoft can come up with, at least for the time being.

As with anything in life, you get what you pay for.

lol, its not like the term "price gauging" doesn't exist in a dictionary. What you paid for is a feeling that worth exactly $0, if not negative in productivity and judgment.

Ummm, check your spelling. It doesn't exist in the dictionary.

living in apple's RDF and losing judgment for general public, and you think thats a healthy adult-like thinking?

Im attacking your judgment, you are right on that. Because you just made a statement on the value of the computer that based on nothing but your fan love to apple. Thats something should be attacked, why not, if you put out some data and facts, then would be a different situation. But obviously, like any apple fanboy idiot, u didn't. or you couldn't.

Attacking forum to defend your fact-less, data-less, statement, fine, what do I expect from apple fanboy anyway?

Wow. Joining Carmi in the flame-bait articles, are we Joe?

Here's a thought:

Instead of telling users what to use, why don't we run down the features, functionality, pros and cons of both .... and let *them* decide?

...or better yet, just drop the whole thing right now. No-one here seems to be able to write about either OS with any semblance of personal detachment.

Need to use CS4? Get a Mac.
Need to play CoD? Get a PC.
Need to code for cross-platform applications in virtual environments? Get Linux and Window...on a Mac.
Need to write e-mails and browse the net? Hit an Apple Store, a Best-Buy and give Linux a try; then buy the one you like best.

Oh...and don't listen to the "journalists" and anonymous internet posters regarding which is better. Who's going to be using it: Them, or you?

lol are you on something tonight? i believe one could buy a 500$ system, Windows 7 and still save $ over most Apple PCs and still have the choice between desktop or laptop

"Blaspheme"

"MacBook Pro 13""

"PC manufacturers ... prices ... is ridiculously high."

Sorry. I couldn't help but laugh at the religious commentary and obvious troll that followed. My extended family just bought two laptops for under $800 (combined). Still less than you paid for that 13" MBP. It will browse the web, send email, and run chat programs just fine, too!

and that's about all.

Indeed. I just wished there was a Core i7 mobile (or whussisnextgenmobileplatformname) based ThinkPad T series out yet...

This year I bought my first MacBook and sincerely I do not wish to return to use Windows because my degree of satisfaction with "Mac OS X Snow Leopard" is very very high.

The best operating systems are the derivatives of UNIX (BSD, Linux, Mac OS X).

Windows is the most popular but exist better options.

Well, I'm on a MacBook Pro 15" with the 2.66GHz C2D, 4GB RAM, 9600M GT, 320GB HDD, and I like it. I know I could get more performance with a PC, but I like having Mac OS X Snow Leopard. I also have Windows 7 x64 on here, which I primarily use for gaming. I want to have the best of both worlds TBH. My previous laptop was a perfectly running hackintosh with a few really annoying bugs that got too annoying, so I got this MBP.

Can you say "fluff" boys and girls. This article has about as much depth as saran wrap and as much content as Kanye West's brain. Joe is the "Beta" in "Beta News".

can i have the MacBook Pro if your not going to be using it ??

i will have to disagree with Joe and yourself in one regard today and that Vista being bad, Vista is a fine OS, it has its quirks but otherwise its a great OS, reliability wise? its great and i only expect 7 to far exceed that in the eyes of average users this time around

so fatty, complain all you like
http://imgur.com/giGh5.png
but Vista is rock solid, what else can be said?

Have you actually tried the Zune software? In many ways it blows iTunes out of the water. If I didn't have any money invested in either platform I think I would have to take a serious look at the Zune. If Microsoft opens the Zune up like Apple did with the Touch I think Microsoft would have a better product. But since I have so much iPod accessories it's not worth it to switch.

i believe third party apps can run, i've seen it ;) just can't be sold via some store yet, only Microsoft official apps, etc, that said ... i kind of dig an underground app system for the Zune HD right now
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N4Y1LehYFK0

either way, still excited bout the HD, i need me one... f*cking canada ;)

you must be drunk, fatty. have fun, just don't drink & drive!

They're only speaking truth :P One can't honestly believe that the ugly, insecure, overpriced POS that is the Mac is actually better than a Windows box.

Mac -> Windows box
Windows box -> Mac

Macs win design awards, inside and out. PC magazine likes Macs more than PCs. Macs' insecurities are patched within days, whereas Windows' take months. Macs are cheaper or the same price as equivalent PC configurations. Macs run nearly everything, support at least four modes of input of commands, hav the equivalent of a 17-button mouse/trackpad in modifier keys and hold-click and with gestures now it could be 25 buttons or so, are more efficient keyboard-wise and GUI-wise, and are much cheaper to run and keep up.

rstat1 = cretin

are you on glue? OS X has been dead last in security in recent years, leaving Java unpatched, putting their users at risk, shipping snow leopard with bad Flash versions
hacked left and right...
my guess is you've been living under a big rock ;)
now Microsoft on the other hand has been pretty much on top of security for the last number of years
only recently did one zero day exploit catch them off guard, because someone disclosed it publicly instead of through the proper channels

Vista is more secure than OS X and Windows 7 even more so, this is fact as of late and even with Snow Leopard they (Apple) haven't caught up

SMS iPhone Flaw? that was in the wild for months i believe
let me write your handle down *takes note
another biased user with zero clue

Just did a "upgrade" from my Vista to Windows 7, took less than 2 hours. It's AMAAZING! So much better than Vista. Had to disable services I don't need again but I boot up faster and system uses less memory as well. Everything works, no problems. Just gotta wait till software is "fully" supported since Windows 7 not out officially but if it works with Vista it will work on 7.

Good article.

"More importantly, I have loads more fun using Windows 7 than Mac OS X. I haven't had this much fun using a Microsoft operating system since Windows 95" - Funny how that is exactly what I thought when I first installed the Windows 7 Beta and started playing around with it. Although I compare that more with Win 98SE than I do 95.

"The Mac OS X user interface, once trendsetting, is now a tired motif overdue for overhaul." - My thoughts exactly. They haven't done any major changes to the UI in years. Some tweaks, a lil tuck here and there but nothing drastically different throughout the OSX series. I would hope they consider that in the future releases, or are they waiting to do that in OS 11 I wonder.

Lol, its amazing how full of crap you are fatty.

and we expect no less from you fatty.. continue to drink the apple koolaid!

What do you want?

I would agree windows 7 is better. I would also mention it may be the best OS i've ever seen. While i've owned a few macs, i can no longer justify paying such a huge premium for a product that is in no way better. I have a desktop gaming machine(which can only be windows based). And yes it cost a fortune, but i build it and it has balls then a mac could ever have. My laptop which does need to be high end is a 400 dollar best buy special. It does every single thing i could want in a laptop but 600 dollars less then the cheapest apple laptop. It just makes no sense to waste money.

You fail. Read above.

you know there are better places for articles such as these and thats on a personal blog, esp with the 'I'm a PC and why aren't you?' bit, ignites flames ;P though i do give thanks for clearing up that for most people, upgrading to 7 will not take 24 hours
and do not forget XP upgrades, can't do it... clean install will take 15min for most and you're better off anyhow

but i agree, those considering upgrading will be pretty happy in the end, XP to 7 or Vista to 7

"Consistently, I get about 30 percent to 40 percent more work done using Windows 7 than either Leopard or Snow Leopard."

Just. Wow. How do you even begin to qualify that statement?

I also work between both Windows 7 and Leopard platforms daily and can easily say I get more productivity out of Windows than I do while working on the Mac. I don't think I could quantify it in percentages, but 30 to 40 percent would be a much more accurate guess than 5 percent.

"Consistently, I get about 30 percent to 40 percent more work done using Windows 7 than either Leopard or Snow Leopard."

Just. Wow. How do you even begin to qualify that statement?"

@ mjm01010101: lets pretend he has 10 papers he must complete in a single day. Using his Mac he completes 6 or 7 per day, while using his PC he finishes all 10. See, really simple mathmatic word ploblems solve peoples Made up magic numbers and percentages.

in other news, 82% of all statistics are made up on the spot... more at 11.

There are lots of ways. One among many: Words. I write for a living, and much of that writing involves research. My writing output is up significantly, using the same Web-based tools (I blog in the browser not in a desktop app). It's difficult to quantify, because there is no one thing improving productivity, but a bunch of little things. There also is the enjoyment factor, which emotional impact affects productivity. Windows Vista annoyances increased my frustration, which negatively impacted productivity.

Something else, I should have mentioned that has to do with hardware as much as software. I find typing on the Z720 keyboard to be easier than on the MacBook Pro. Additionally, the high-resolution display and how Windows 7 renders the fonts also are, for me, productivity boosters over Mac OS X (Font rendering is better in Snow Leopard, or so I perceived).

i am looking forward to what PC makers come up with after christmas myself, hardware wise

Heh Joe, you're reminding me why I puke every time I try Linux. Ubuntu is good...but nowhere near great.

I agree with the article. I dual boot both, but Windows 7 is better for nearly everything. They both do the same things for the most part, but if you look at what one can do compared to the other, Windows OS (yes even XP) can simply do more because there are so many more software and hardware options for Windows. I'd say OS X makes things easier out of the box, but doesn't offer nearly as many options post-install. Here's my stupid break-down:

Marketing: Both lose here. Both annoy the S out of me. I'm not a PC. I'm a human. And that Mac guy (Actor Justin Long) just makes me want to press his teeth to the curb and stomp the back of his head... maybe a bit graphic, but truthful. It's the "here's why I'm a fanboy" theme of both companies that bugs me here.

UI: Tie. They're too close to call. I'm much faster with Windows 7 UI, but that's probably just because I'm more used to it since I default boot Windows 7 for other reasons.

Application Support: Windows 7. Duh.. There are just so many more applications that use Windows over OS X.

Development: Depends on what you're developing. If you're any good at it, dual booting hackintosh/snow leo, 7, and linux is no problem for you.

Grandma and Grandpa: It's close here, but I'm going to have to go with Windows 7 again. OS X offers ease of use that they would enjoy, but what about when they want to use the Windows computer at the senior center? Some old brains can only handle one UI.

Web browsing: Windows 7. Hopefully this will change; but IE is still required by a lot of websites for things like streaming video.

Gaming: WINDOWS 7. There is no competition here. The same games just run worse on OS X with the same exact hardware.

Ease of use: OS X. It installs without needing to find extra drivers and works with my raw images without additional software. To me, this is the only part where OS X truly excels. But I would much rather be required to install some additional software if it means being able to view ALL websites, get the most out of my gaming hardware, and be able to run the vast amount of windows applications.

If I could get 30-40% more work done using a PC over a Mac I'd do it. Please tell me what you're actually doing to achieve such remarkable results.
How did you measure your output?
Did you do the same work on a Mac and find you were 30-40% slower?
Which applications were you using?
Are these applications that aren't available on the Mac?
Are the alternates on the Mac 30-40% slower?

'It's difficult to quantify, because there is no one thing improving productivity..

But, you did quantify it! You came up with 30-40%, which makes the whole article open to ridicule.

If you are a student or write for a living there is nothing as good as Scrivener available on Windows 7. There is DevonThink, but that is OS X only too. For browsing nothing on Windows 7 compares with OmniWeb. Mail, Contacts and iCalendar beat Outlook. Anything as good as 1Password or Yojimbo or BBedit on Windows? No. As someone who works unsociable hours with little in the way of technical support, I need something that works all the time, every time. OS X does that for me and Windows never has and probably never will.

(and you should, too)
The arrogance.

Just have to say how can you pick windows just because some sites demand ie?

You know you can install other browser than safari on macosx.

One thing i agree on when it comes to the vs debate is that if you are a gamer , its cheaper to buy a pc than a mac 100% if your gonna play nextgen games other than that you can pretty much do anything on the mac except some minor stuff thhat mostly has to do with personal opinion.

Using both pc and mac and i like them both,

MAC is for real production users
Windows is crap but good for industry
Ubuntu is my favorite and saves me a lot of time
About games who cares about that just get PS3 slim and you're off junky M$.

PS: Some software is completely the same on MAC and UBUNTU like Transmission and PDF view so why buy MAC just get some ACER laptop and install Ubuntu and that's that.
http://my.opera.com/Filip007/blog/

What kind of crap is this article?
There is no fundamental info why W 7 is better than Os X.
No referential, no comparison just an opinion based on, yes on what actually?
Snow Leaopard had no intention to give new features or a new UI.
It was from the beginning a code rewrite and cleanup of old code. A prepare for the future.
It never intended to be a W7 killer.
Read the ars technica article on the subject, so you understand why this is definitely not a bug release.
It is all about the road ahead.

Please give me some figures, Ho heavy is W7?
How does it perform on a heavy application load and a full app. list?
Where are your benchmarks to prove your 30 to 40 % speed improvements?
Wat makkes you do your work so much faster? ....

If you make an article please make it informative not just some publicity talk.
I would like to learn something here, not to waste my time.

You did install the 64 bit version, how about apps? Drivers? what does W7 do with 32 bit apps...

This is all important info not found in your article, so this makes your article totally incomplete and a bunch of crap (read Microsoft commercial)

There are still quite a lot of sites that require a newer version of IE that simply doesn't exist for any other OS. Yes, you can install many different browsers on OS X, but the fact is that there are no OS X versions of IE above version 5.2. I know that this may be a silly reason to use one over the other, because in comparison to the rest of the web, there are not that many sites anymore that have this requirement. However, if I had to choose which OS is better for web browsing, it would have to be the one that can browse all of the web (Windows).

"... It's difficult to quantify ...."

Then please just don't fake it.

LOL.. get over it. We have 3 macbooks that are now exclusively running W7... initialy dual-boot with Leotard, but all the users have agreed with productivity over looks (or old looks as it is).

Its amazing to me why people still use Windows, you can do the same things in OS X without ever worrying about viruses, trojans, malware, spy ware, then you have to keep all the apps that protect you from that stuff up to date. On top of that Windows was to share resources with all those apps running. It is inevitable that something will screw up and your system is gone. Switched two years ago to OS X after being a hardcore PC guy. Never looked back. Nothing in terms of protection running on my machine, even the firewall is off, and what do you know my machine just works day after day. Try that with a PC.