Mac OS versus Windows OS - Literature review Example

Mac vs. Windows Presentation MAC OS X Snow Leopard and Windows 7 differ in their basic approach of handling application and documents. Mac vs. Windows (2010) described the two systems and considered the first one to be an application-centric operating system while the latter is more document-centric operating system. Dock is considered to be the main mechanism by which applications and documents are dealt with in OS X. Taskbar is used by Windows 7 for the same purpose, which is considered as the reminiscent of the dock available in MAC operating systems. Mediati (2009) stated that both the products offer a large icon display. However, Snow Leopard excels by providing a finer support for 512-by-512 pixels icons while Windows provides support for a maximum display of 256-by-256 pixels. Har-Even (2009) described a great feature of Snow Leopard version- Spaces, which can be considered as virtual desktops. These virtual desktops can be used to place different applications. Such a feature is still to be seen in Windows. MAC OS X has a better looking interface and is easier when it comes to navigation. Franklin (2009) explained that one of the new features from Microsoft is Windows Aero; which gives a ‘glass’ view to the users. It enables the users to see the desktop which is present behind the active windows. It works when the cursor lingers over the small bar in the lower right corner of the desktop; this makes all the windows go transparent. This feature has another aspect with respect to the applications. When the user lingers over an application in the taskbar to hover over its respective thumbnail, all the other windows become transparent and the application window turns active. This glass effect is very attractive and the visual effects are impressive. Franklin (2009) further explained that Snow Leopard also possesses a similar feature of bringing out the active windows in a prominent manner. It achieves this by clicking and holding onto a running application icon in the dock; this enables the shrunk application to become visible on the screen prominently while the rest of the screen darkens. The application tends to become prominent on the screen no matter which Space it is currently within, therefore it serves to be an effective way of jumping between different desktops. Snow Leopard offers this feature better than Windows 7 as the Snow Leopard’s technique seems more integrated with the rest of the screen. Snow Leopard offers greater ease to switch between the windows. 2. Functionality Application-centric tendency of the operating system gives the applications greater accessibility by putting application shortcuts on the left side of the dock. Whereas, the shortcuts for the documents and folders are identified as minimized windows. Great features are present to handle running applications for instance a context menu can expand to show functions of that certain application. Figure 1: Mac vs. Windows (2010) A very good example of this is of the iTunes context menu; it enables the user to find out which song is currently playing and also change the songs whenever required etc. Mac vs. Windows (2010) described Snow Leopard’s three main functions with respect to applications; Launching Controlling settings which are specific to that application Bringing all open windows to the front. While Windows 7 only offers the first function. 3. Customization Customization of the interface has been an important aspect of operating systems since the time when color found its way in our displays. Figure 2: Mac vs. Windows (2010) Firstly, MAC OS X Snow Leopard users are provided with the power to customize the color for the main interface controls for example; highlighted text, window scroll bars etc. There are two color options for interface controls; blue or graphite. Whereas any color can be chosen for highlighted text. The shadow feature of the windows is not customizable in Snow Leopard. There is a very valid reason for this inability. The people behind Mac believe in giving the user as much screen space as possible due to which they enable the application to be designed without borders. The permanent shadow provides a clear and better separation than Windows 7, between the windows. Windows 7 provides a border of minimum 4 pixels which is customizable. It also offers shadows but its usage is better in Snow Leopard. Har-Even (2009) explained that the background of the screen can be changed like any other OS, from a range of OS X pictures or user’s own collection. The menu bar in OS X is transparent to give more visibility of the screen. It is transparent by default but can be changed to a solid one. Junhau (2009) stated that Windows 7 also offers transparent taskbar but it is not as easily configured as it is in Snow Leopard. However, background customizations, scroll bars, text customizations etc can be changed by moreover the same traditional mechanism of Windows operating systems. 4. Marketing Both the operating systems released at a time when the whole world was in the midst of the global recession and to date recovering from it. The marketing teams at both ends were faced with the challenge of making their products successful during these difficult of extensive lay offs and salary reductions. Due to this fact, both of the companies offered great deals on these products. Tech Night Owl, (2009a) stated that Windows 7 was available to students for a price of £30 only, but this introductory campaign ended in January 2010. However, Apple has adapted a better approach of giving package deals to the education sector and continues to benefit the society with such opportunities to utilize latest technologies at reasonable rates. Apple decided to launch their product before Microsoft. Some suggest that this gave an edge to the company with their new operating system. However, the early release wouldn’t have mattered much if Snow Leopard was not a stable, reliable operating system and didn’t come up to the expectations of the people. But it did! Snow Leopard captured its targeted audience to a great extent and provided Apple with a successful market share. Another great weapon that Apple possessed at the release of Snow Leopard (followed by the Windows 7 launch) was that computer users were a little bruised with the experience of the past Windows product of Vista. 4.1 Pricing If a customer buys a new Mac machine today, they will find Snow Leopard installed in it. Likewise, Windows 7 can be found on any newly purchased PC. If a customer plans to upgrade a machine then Windows 7 might cost from a range of £80 to £200. Har-Even (2009) stated that Snow Leopard proves to cost lesser than Windows 7 as it only costs around £29. Snow Leopard is more affordable than Windows 7. 4.2 Market Share Apple Inc (2010) claims that Mac OS X Snow Leopard is strong, stable and secure, due to which it proves to be great for scientific research, as well as business purposes. Windows 7 Center (2009) stated that Windows 7 mainly aims to target the Netbook market and satisfy the needs of the customers that Vista has failed to achieve. It was reported by Kahney (2009) that within a month of the release of Snow Leopard in 2009, 18 % of all MAC users upgraded to it. It was released on 28th August 2009 and the adoption rate of the OS within a month showed remarkable increase (as shown in the fig below). Fig. 3: Kahney (2009) Kahney (2009) also states that Net Applications is involved in the process of estimating the market share of browsers and operating systems by recording visits to a set of sites. According to such mode of estimating; Apple gave out their estimates that around 5% of people around the world use Mac operating systems. They further estimated that 1% of computer users around the world are using Snow Leopard, which means 18% of Mac users have shifted to the new operating system. An article at Tech Night Owl (2009b) explained that before the release of Snow Leopard, the media started predicting that the sales would be around 5 million units by the end of the quarter in September. Another article at Tech Night Owl (2009a) stated that Windows has not been such successful with their Windows 7 because they made their audiences believe that it would be a major software upgrade with extensive feature. However, most users feel that Windows 7 basically aims to clean the mess that Windows Vista created for its users. The marketing team behind Microsoft knew that Vista did not become too popular with the masses therefore they did not take the risk of naming this new operating system as the second version of Vista. On the contrary, they chose a totally different name- Windows 7. 4.3 Target Audience Apple caters to a large number of people in the education sector and offers great packages and discounts for Snow Leopard and other Apple products. It helps the students and institutions to incorporate latest technology in their process of learning and teaching, respectively. On the contrary, Microsoft conducted a campaign for Windows 7 for students for only a few months, as stated earlier. Apple was able to satisfy its audiences more because this time Apple came up with a very Windows compatible system. Windows made an agreement to incorporate Outlook on the Mac. This gave birth to a compatible and interconnected operating system for its users. Windows users are recovering from the downfall of Vista therefore Microsoft fears the possibility that majority might prefer to buy Mac machines and not go for a Windows upgrade to Windows 7. The GUI of Mac OS Snow Leopard has attracted the young audiences towards the product. The GUI is easy enough to be understood by an amateur user. It provides a good platform for a new user (of any age) to get acquainted with the controls and the operations. The fact that it is easier for young audiences does not mean that it is not suitable for any older people. The design of the GUI seems suitable for a person of any age who wants to explore and discover its features. It has attracted the student’s community because of its reasonable price. It has efficient magnification features, which makes it accessible for the weak-sighted users. It even serves the mobile users very effectively as Mac Snow Leopard provides an enhanced mechanism of detecting new networks to provide wireless connectivity to mobile users. Conclusion After a thorough analysis of the features offered by both the operating systems, it becomes apparent that Mac OS X Snow Leopard has an edge over Windows 7 in the area of user interface. It offers a simple yet useful GUI which incorporates many new features like Spaces, improvised dock, controlling option for application icons etc. Windows 7 offers some of these features but they cannot be performed with the simplicity that is offered by Mac OS X Snow Leopard. References Anderle, R. (2009), Snow Leopard vs. Windows 7: A Marketing Battle Royal, Internet.com, Retrieved from: http://itmanagement.earthweb.com/features/article.php/3836241 Apple Inc., (2010), Mac Markets, Retrieved from: http://www.apple.com/science/ Franklin, C., (2009), Snow Leopard vs. Windows 7, InfoWorld, Retrieved from: http://features.techworld.com/operating-systems/3204975/snow-leopard-vs-windows-7/?pn=1 Har-Even, B., (2009), Head to head: Windows 7 vs. Snow Leopard, IT Pro, Retrieved from: http://www.itpro.co.uk/615916/head-to-head-windows-7-vs-snow-leopard Junhau, (2009), Get Transparent Taskbar in Windows, PC and software tips, Retrieved from: http://pcandsoftwaretips.blogspot.com/2009/01/get-transparent-taskbar-in-windows.html Kahney, L., (2009), Wow: 20% Of Mac Users Already Upgraded To Snow Leopard In Just One Month, Cult of Mac, Retrieved from: http://www.cultofmac.com/wow-20-of-mac-users-already-upgraded-to-snow-leopard-in-just-one-month/17755 Mac vs. Windows, (2010), Mac OS X Snow Leopard vs. Windows 7: The Final Word, Retrieved from: http://www.macvswindows.com/index.php?title=GUI_Customization Mediati, N., (2009), Snow Leopard vs. Windows 7, PC World, Retrieved from: http://features.techworld.com/operating-systems/3200651/snow-leopard-vs-windows-7/ Tech Night Owl, (2009a), The Snow Leopard Versus Windows 7 Report: Marketing, Retrieved from: http://www.technightowl.com/2009/08/the-snow-leopard-versus-windows-7-report-marketing/ Tech Night Owl, (2009b), Apple Fires Another Torpedo Across Microsoft’s Bow, Retrieved from: http://www.technightowl.com/2009/08/apple-fires-another-torpedo-across-microsofts-bow/ Windows 7 Center, (2009), Windows 7 to target the Netbook Market, Retrieved from: http://windows7center.com/news/windows-7-to-target-the-netbook-market/ Read More