Our testers were asked to set up the computers right out of the box and explore the machines through everyday tasks such as Web surfing, document creation, uploading photos, downloading Adobe Acrobat files and playing music and movies through Media Center and Front Row (the entertainment software suites integrated into Vista and Leopard, respectively). We tested two all-in-one desktops and two laptops-one Mac and one PC per category-and assembled a panel of testers with a range of experience and preference that ran the gamut from expert users to my wife's stepfather, who, by his own account, had never actually turned on a computer. These things are largely matters of preference and style, but you can still make a reasonable attempt to quantify them, and we did. To users, however, the position and movement of the virtual knobs and levers make all the difference. Internet Explorer versus Safari, Windows Media Center versus Front Row, Photo Gallery versus iPhoto, Backup and Restore Center versus Time Machine-these system components from Microsoft and Apple are designed to accomplish essentially the same goals. Yet what makes the platforms feel so dissimilar is their approaches to these applications.
For media artists mac or pc mac os x#
The underlying operating systems have distinctly different flavors, but in terms of functionality, Microsoft Windows Vista and Mac OS X Leopard have surprisingly similar built-in multimedia, Internet and productivity applications. Both buy memory, hard drives and graphics cards from the same small pool of suppliers. Both types of machines use Intel processors (although some PCs can be configured with processors from AMD). (Apple is, in fact, the fourth largest computer manufacturer in the world.) And now, more than ever, the guts of both platforms are remarkably similar. With a 7.5 percent market share, Macs are no longer just the computer choice of artists and unemployed writers. Funny thing is, both stereotypes are wrong. Then again, Windows PC enthusiasts probably think that Mac guy is a smug slacker with an overpriced toy that can't do any serious computing anyway. And if the marketing is to be believed, the former is a hip, sport-coat-and-sneakers-wearing type of guy who uses his computer for video chatting, music mash-ups and other cool, creative pursuits that starchy, business-suited PC users could never really appreciate unless they tried them on the slick Apple interface. Apple's popular commercials have painted the picture in stark terms: There are two types of people, Mac people and PC people.
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