It’s always astounding how much passion any OS criticism generates. Guys, it’s your money and your choice. It’s also anyone’s rightful opinion whether one likes or dislikes some or all aspects of OS or applications. There is enough tech info out there – I come here to hear real-life accounts of working with gadgets. If someone gets annoyed with something, I’m interested to know. If I have frustrations, I would like to be able to share it with people in good faith, without the fear of someone getting offended and threatening to not visit the site again. I thought James went to a lot of trouble to explain that this post was not meant to be a fan-boy comment.

Only Windows offers tablet and ink, so there is no contest in my case. If Mac released a tablet, it still would not be enough without all the inkable softwares available for PC. I too find Windows annoying, like an intrusive waiter, and find that OSX offers a more peaceful and slicker interaction. But I choose the tools to get the job done, not to enjoy the operating system environment.

I think the basic premise here is computing environment. JK’s comments are observations. Just like your car or any product you buy, you compare the newer version to others or competitors that also claim to do the same job if not better or easier. I am also “bi-textual”, meaning I use Vista and OS X daily. My Vista machines work perfectly on high end RAM indulged laptops, Just as OS X is also on comparable Mac hardware. OS X Leopard 10.5 has put the Mac’s memory usage almost on par with Vista, as I have had to upgrade my Dual 1.8 G5 Power Macintosh to 4 GB of RAM. Where I am concerned is how these Netbooks with the highly acclaimed Intel Atom processor are coming preloaded with some half-baked Linux solutions or XP; why not Vista?!?!? I have a Fujitsu LifeBook U810 and it came pre-loaded with Vista Business on it and it ran decent to terribly. I reloaded it to XP Pro, and I loved it, but I then loaded it with Vista again and just pretty much turned off anything that could suck the life out of it and it is useful with Vista albeit as ugly as a Windows 95 load. But that is the thing, I have to tweak Vista (basically cripple it) to get it to run on hardware that came preloaded with it. There though part of the blame is fujitsu, if they put 2 GB of ram in the U810 then I wouldn;t complain …. as much (the 800 MHz processoer also makes things SLOW. Don’t get me wrong though I love Vista enough to load it on my IBM ThinkPad X41 that does not support Aero. The funny part is that I think it runs a LOT better because Aero is not supported. When I think about Windows, the Aero adoption is the moot point for me. Windows has been so ugly for so long (compared to Mac OS X) that I still wonder what the point of Aero is for, if not to Rival Quartz Extreme for the Mac. in the Mac its “Aero” interface has functionality, because its simple. You have Expose, on Vista you have Windows+Tab. I find Expose much more useful because it is tied to F key commands as well as hot corners that you choose. Vista Aero Windows+Tab … well keep hitting those keys one of those windows (I usually have almost 18-22 open at one time) will be the one you want.

In any case there are trade offs, like and dis-likes, but in the end its about the work environment and what these 2 OS’ do to allow that productivity to continue with minimal fuss from the OS or hardware.

I have been playing with Ubuntu lately but for me its hard to get used to it (reminds me of OS X 10.1) and am not yet willing to totally be detached and plugged into the cloud (apps). I have loaded it and scrubbed the OS off of laptops to reload them back to Vista, but one thing is clear to me – when I am ready to work in the cloud Ubuntu may be the OS I will turn to do so, with OS X right behind it.

“nor do most people”

This is why we call you a fanboy JK.

Nice traffic bait, though.

As far as I am aware the tight Apple hardware/software integration means every apple product is tweaked by Apple. ie: Apple sets up a Macbook Pro differently to a desktop Mac. If Acer, HP et al don’t get their drivers right, or tweak the OS for the best user experience then it’s certainly not MS’s fault. It remains a fact, as far as I am aware, that the Vista is quite capable of a great user experience, vastly superior to XP. It remains up to the manufacturers not MS, to tweak the OS to provide that on their hardware. After all I’m 100% sure if I gave you my tweaked Vista machines you’d have none of the issues you rant aimlessly about.

For the record I have two Vista machines which have been in sleep only for the last two weeks. AN HP Mini-Note and a tablet PC. No crashes. My iphone has crashed 9 times, all when using Safari.

And James, I’m a fan but… You better get used to the fact that you are now a full time journalist. Call your self a blogger, writer or whatever you want. But as long as you write for the 21st century media, a journalist you are.

I wonder how Vista would run if MS built a complete hardware/software solution like the Mac?

Gordon

Let it be known that I highly respect your experience and value your knowledge when it comes to mobile technology.

But a 1400 word rant?

Tell me you’re not getting too old for this.

“I don’t want to have to tweak Vista any more. I’m tired of it.”

That’s a pretty silly and childish statement coming from someone with your years of experience. When your JOB involves reviewing PC hardware and working with the same, you KNOW you’re going to have to deal with Vista. But the above comment? You might as well be saying you hate your job!!!

No offense James, but if you can’t take the heat get out of the kitchen. Go sell shoes, that’s a lot less stressful.

Respectfully yours,

L.M. Lloyd… you are guilty of leaping to conclusions as much as anybody else. You criticize this blog as being opinionated and therefore less credible, but do not check out the information available before making assertions. You claim there are not studies out there comparing Mac vs Windows, and yet a Google search turns up at least:
http://www.it-enquirer.com/main/ite/more/pfeiffer_report_mac_windows/

Whether or not the study is flawed or not is not the question: the fact remains that such studies do exist, and we can interpret them.

We all have our preferences for OS, hardware, heck, even life in general. If you don’t like what you read here, well, that’s good for you. What I cannot stand however is how respondents to JK’s post somehow self-righteously declare that because in their own *anecdotal* experience they disagree with the original author’s viewpoint, the result is that the original opinion expressed must therefore be invalid or diminished.

I think L.M. Lloyd makes at least a couple of good points; 1) are there studies which demonstrate quantifiable differences (OS X vs Vista/XP et al)?, and 2) (inferentially) who’s responsibility is it that, because of modest innovation and so much “me-too” mentality there is very little to write about in the world of MS and related hardware?
JK on the Run continues to be a favorite stop for me and I urge L.M. to reconsider. I am a big fan of the podcast, too. These guys are not hard edged cynics, but instead just three (of my) friends talking about mobile tech in a casual way with good nature and humor.

You know, I have been hearing this “it is a better user experience” argument since the first Mac came out. Problem is, if it really was such an objectively superior user experience, there should be a clear and measurable productivity increase in businesses using Macs, as opposed to businesses using PCs. Funny thing is, I have worked at a lot of studios and design houses, some all Mac, some all PC, all doing the same sort of creative work, and I have yet to find any quantifiable productivity or ROI advantage to the Mac. As far as I can tell, it is entirely a personal preference issue, that has absolutely no bearing on the profitability or productivity of a company. That tells me that the claims of a clearly superior user experience on the Mac are nothing but subjective statements of personal preference masquerading as studied fact.

Not that you really care, but I also have to add, you have just lost a reader of your site. There are a million blogs on the planet that will keep me up do date with what new apps are out for the iPhone, and the minutia of the iPhone’s newest firmware, while lecturing me about how a puppy is slaughtered every time someone boots Vista. I don’t really need to bother coming here to get more of the same predictable blogger “I love Apple because it just works” groupthink. I came here to get interesting information about mobile computers. That seems to be less and less of a concern on this site, at least until Apple comes out with a tablet. If I am looking for gushing praise of the iPhone, excited articles every time a new app is added for the iPhone and unsupported vague comments about how horrible Vista is, I can go to Gizmodo, Ars Technica, Engadget, Think Secret, or Digg. I don’t need to bother coming here to read a reworded version of the same stories.

Why is it that the instant someone’s full-time job is to give their opinion, they suddenly don’t have anything to say that is any different than everyone else getting paid to give their opinion? Is it that you all just spend too much time together, so all end up sounding the same, or is it because once you are getting paid for your opinion, then you can also get paid to have a specific opinion?

@Dion

Respectfully, you had some issues but your final comment ‘Vista is a disaster’ typifies many of the ‘discussions’ that take place over the OS. Again, I’ve got to come back to drivers. Is it the fault of MS that Acer supplied a laptop that could not connect to a wireless network? Course not, there must be some underlying hardware/driver issue. Same with the sleep issue. There is some power management issue that must be causing this problem, many laptops use custom power management drivers.

Anyway, glad you’ve got a solution that works for you, which is what it’s all about.

I expect the Macs to work 100%.
They have a death grip on the hardware/software symbiotic relationship.
Windows is a software only company (xbox/mice notwithstanding) that should have bought the IBM that became Lenovo outfit to get their own line of kickass rocksolid line of products they could shove the Macs throat and shut up the “256mb or ram” raging pc clone lunatics.
It is not a queston what is better out of the box. MAC IS!!! – It is a well tailored suit, it is an awesome system. …and it is a niche product.
Windows? I’m actually amazed this thing works on the horrendous hodgepodge of crapopaluza of discontinued hardware by questionable manufacturers.
The Operating System has grown to the point where it will be more and more difficult to simply release the software with the expectation of it running smoothly on everything out there.
So your new windows suit is going to feel more and more baggy looking on your personal frame, unless you visit a tailor.

Dear fellow JK-otr writers and readers.

I am working with windows since 1989 and have stopped having bluescreens with windows XP. I have now 3 IBM/Lenovo Notebooks with windows XP and Vista and NO Problems at all. I -did- do a fresh install on all of them, installed the latest drivers and invested in a real antivirus-solution from kaspersky and NOD32. Here, everything works everytime and everyday. Any “problem” any of my friends have with their PC’s boil down to driver issues (which are NOT MSofts fault), working in admin mode and installing crapware.
The Mac-People arround me generally have way more trouble with their machines. Not compatible peripherals, frequent need to restart, constant browser-crashes… and clueless “Mac-Experts” unable to help them other than by saying ‘well you need to reinstall’
Bottom-Line:
ALL this Apple vs MS talk is completely pointless as it is nearly ALWAYS only PERSONAL EXPERIENCE (except for a lack of apple malware due to lower market-share).

PLEASE JK if you want to talk about Apple then by all means do so. Tell us wich programms you enjoy using on a MAC and why. What you feel their advantage is over windows based solution etc.
That way we can learn something from you Mac-loving-folks. But this whole Vista-and MSoft-critisizing is getting realy old. I personaly feel more and more driven away from this site because I just cannot stand these completely unscientific and above all pointless Mac vs PC debates.
Have a nice sunday y’all

Maximilian

When I started a new post I was given a lovely little Acer 6292 Windows Vista notebook. It is small, well built, has a great 7 hour battery life, lots of disc space and 2 gigs of RAM… It should be a great machine…

However, it simply never works! I can never get it to connect to wireless networks, the hard drive thrashes constantly, it frequently doesn’t wake up from sleep or will not go to sleep (like my 2 year old baby!)

So, I eventually got the IT department to hook my Macbook Pro up to the Microsoft Exchange server… It works first time every time, I can travel with it and know that my computer will simply work!

I’m sorry to say it… Vista is a disaster! Even on a GREAT notebook it simply does not work!

Have used both OS’s over the years. The Apple user interface, while far fom perfect, is vastly superior to any that Microsoft has produced. Apple makes routine tasks trivial and complex processes simple. Microsoft requires a deeper level of involvement by me in system processes which in turn reduces the efficiency of my primary objective(s) in using a computer. That coupled with the constant threat of assault by nefarious 3rd parties means that at the end of any work session I believe I’ve accomplished more with less stress on OS X than on XP or Vista. BTW, both are so much better than Diablo on Nokia on which this message was composed! So a definite knowing nod of agreement to James from me.

I think MS locking down a version of their OS and doing there own hardware (likely in partnership with a company) would be a gutsy but good move as long as they did not give their venture significant pricing advantage above anyone else.

Worth noting here that jk is a Microsoft MVP here, he’s on good terms with that company. He’s saying what you wouldn’t expect perhaps from an MVP – that takes some balls, and should be applauded rather than confronted.

I’ve partially switched to Apple but still find Windows more flexible/capable in my own field (programming). Take for example Xbox programming or even programming for BlackBerry, not doable on a Mac.

I can’t help but think, though, that what has happened with the iPhone in the mobile sector is a sign of things to come in the PC sector.

If MS remains distracted by Apple/Google they may get torn apart by both from each end over the next decade. That might put Apple in a position of too much power, which wouldn’t be good. Alternatively we might see some fresh new competitors that imitate Apple’s style (provide HW/SW and target particular industry sectors). Then things would really get interesting. Perhaps Microsoft should just strengthen their OS as a business/engineering offering and start doing HW too (they proved they could execute on this fairly well with the Xbox 360 and their peripherals unit is quite competitive), it may be their best means of survival in the long term.