Windows Vista Beta 1 vs. Mac OS X "Tiger"

[Chris]

Windows Vista Beta 1 vs. Mac OS X "Tiger" (Part 1)

After years and years of waiting, we finally have a reasonably stable Windows Vista beta build to work with. Windows Vista Beta 1 (see my review) doesn't feature many end user features per se, but it does include a nearly complete next-generation Windows shell, instant desktop search, a preliminary version of the new Aero user interface, and other useful functionality. For Windows enthusiasts, Windows Vista Beta 1 is a much-needed demonstration that Microsoft can still churn out valuable Windows releases, after years of doubt. For Mac OS X users, however, Windows Vista Beta 1 engenders a sense of déjà vu. Isn't a lot of this stuff already in Mac OS X 10.4 "Tiger" (see my review)?

Yes and no. For accuracy, I think it's important to compare Windows Vista Beta 1 to both Mac OS X Tiger and the promises that Microsoft made at the Professional Developers Conference (PDC) 2003 (see my show report), at which the company publicly revealed its plans for its next-generation Windows version. After all, Apple was clearly influenced by some of the technology Microsoft showed off back then and knew that it could come to market much more quickly than the software giant.

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Windows Vista Beta 1 vs. Mac OS X "Tiger" (Part 2)

In part one of my comparison of Windows Vista Beta 1 and Mac OS X 10.4 "Tiger," I looked at three key aspects of each system: Look and feel, desktop search, and data visualization and organization. For the most part, OS X came out well ahead of Windows Vista, as you'd expect, since it's a polished finished product. Vista, meanwhile, is all knees and elbows, an awkward teenager on its way to maturity. Microsoft will iron out the details, I'm sure, but the end result will likely not change much. Specifically, OS X will always be elegant, and Windows will almost certainly lag behind in the fit and finish department. The only questions are how much Vista will improve when compared to previous Windows versions, and whether it will be enough to keep customers from moving to OS X.

In this second part of the comparison, we'll look a little deeper, and examine security, networking, and power management. Whereas the features in the first part of the comparison where largely related to user interface issues, this time we're dealing more with the nitty-gritty of safety, connectivity, and productivity. Let's jump right in.

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