Windows Vista vs Mac OS X

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darkassasin93
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Post by darkassasin93 »

@RMcGirr83:
In my experience with computers over the years, I have come to realize that computers are extremely stupid... That is, they only do exactly what they are told. As said by AdamR above, you can't expect Microsoft to write a program that has a database of every combination of hardware. As I have seen, the program only looks at the individual pieces of hardware and sees if there is a functioning driver made for Vista available for that hardware. And did you look at the Programs tab? You might also need to do something with the software you have on your computer.

And did you every just think about backing up your files and doing a clean install? If the clean install works over the upgrade path, then it must be software or driver issues. Personally, I think that a clean install is much easier and (in my experience) much more stable than an upgrade of an operating system. And its always nice to start over when you have accumulated dozens, or even hundreds of programs and instabilities.

@imac600:
Could the 3.2GHz computer be dead, i.e. DOA? Also, Aero has transparency, which requires more processing power and more memory. And personally, it seems that Tiger doesn't have that many impressive effects. It might have a few hopping icons or pretty buttons, but thats about it.

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Post by AdamR »

Another thing to add is that Vista is much faster on the same hardware than XP. The main reason for this is Vista almost entirely offloads every single GUI process to the GPU, which is why you need a more powerful GPU. In previous versions of Windows, this was done very minimally and relied heavily on system RAM and the main CPU. In my experience, multitasking in OS X (at least to the level that I'm accustomed to) fails miserably on older machines that can supposedly run OS X without issues, even if you have the RAM upgraded. On the other hand, I can run Vista on my 1.5Ghz P4 with 512MB RAM very nicely because I have a relatively good video card in there as well (Radeon X700) and multitask up to my RAM's limit. I couldn't do that on XP.

You can't use the full power of Vista unless you have a good GPU. The same applies to OS X, believe it or not.

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RMcGirr83
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Post by RMcGirr83 »

darkassasin93 wrote: And did you every just think about backing up your files and doing a clean install?


Yep, same issue...blank screen.

It's interesting that everyone is blaming the hardware manufacturer...and maybe rightly so.

But who do you think the normal joes who wander into a Staples and pick up a copy to load on their one year comp only to have it fail are going to blame?

The hardware manu or the OS that told them their system was compatible.
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Post by stickerboy »

I have Vista installed on a spare drive for playing around with and i'm very happy with it.
There are things about Vista I don't like but i know how to turn them off.
I'm more used to working with windows - most of the little programs I need that I use for work or to do things for my site are windows based and I haven't seen any Mac equivalents.
Don't get me wrong, I like the simplicity of the Mac and certain eye candy.
But I don't like using/working with them.

One thing that I do like about Vista, which I didn't see mentioned, was it's ReadyBoost technology.
For those who don't know -
Windows Vista wrote: Windows ReadyBoost introduces a new concept in add-on system memory. You can use nonvolatile flash memory devices, such as universal serial bus (USB) flash drives, to improve performance without having to add memory "under the hood." The flash memory device serves as an additional memory cache—that is, memory that the computer can access much more quickly than it can access data on the hard disk drive.


I'm not saying either OS is better than the other - I don't really think you can.
Things don't always have to be better than something else.

Lastly, please excuse the quick and rubbish attempt at an analogy - I choose football (i'm not a foootie fan btw ;)).
Going by what a lot of people in this thread have said so far - Mac City are better than Vista United because they have better strips?
Or are Vista United better than Mac City because they have more fans? :?

Sounds silly now doesn't it :P
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Post by pulling his hair »

AdamR wrote: You can't use the full power of Vista unless you have a good GPU. The same applies to OS X, believe it or not.
Not really. Without a powerful GPU on Vista you can't use Flip3D for one, which is part of Aero Glass. On OS X, no functionality is lost.
darkassasin93
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Post by darkassasin93 »

RMcGirr83 wrote:
darkassasin93 wrote:And did you every just think about backing up your files and doing a clean install?


Yep, same issue...blank screen.


If there is still a blank screen, I would suggest methodically removing and/or replacing certain hardware pieces until you find the problem. I would start with the video card, replacing it with a cheap one you have laying around or using the onboard video (if applicable). If that doesn't work, then I would remove any PCI devices until solved. And if that doesn't work, then I would start replacing the RAM with cheap stuff you have laying around. If all else fails, then try to replace the CPU and motherboard. Its probably not the hard drive because Vista already installs it fine and Windows XP ran fine, according to your first complaint.

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RMcGirr83
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Post by RMcGirr83 »

darkassasin93 wrote: I would start with the video card, replacing it with a cheap one you have laying around or using the onboard video (if applicable). If that doesn't work, then I would remove any PCI devices until solved. And if that doesn't work, then I would start replacing the RAM with cheap stuff you have laying around. If all else fails, then try to replace the CPU and motherboard.


...or just stay with XP. ;)
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Post by imac600 »

darkassasin93 wrote: @imac600:
Could the 3.2GHz computer be dead, i.e. DOA? Also, Aero has transparency, which requires more processing power and more memory. And personally, it seems that Tiger doesn't have that many impressive effects. It might have a few hopping icons or pretty buttons, but thats about it.


It ran perfectly under XP for about 2 months prior to Vista's release.

Tiger has plenty of impressive effects under the Quartz Compositor and
Core Image engines, including Transparency, On-the-fly 3D, Real-time
Rendering, 3D Effects and Exposé. Microsoft has basically called these
DirectX 10 and Windows Flip 3D.

It's currently on par with Windows Vista in terms of special effects. But it
looks like the 2007 Mac OS X Leopard build has a new rendering engine
that works in place with Quartz Compositor and Core Image, called Core
Animation. This means the entire OS can be live-animated and rendered
in real time.

Of course this will need a bigger, heavier graphics card, but 64mb VRAM
should do. The baseline for the new rendering engine will be 32mb VRAM.
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Post by 3aGLe »

Hello, im going to join in.
I installed vista in december (The rtm edition), on my machine: a amd 4000+ san diego, 1 gb ram and 320 gb hard disk. I started with the 32 bit and then went to 64 when drivers came out. Both in 32 and 64 its a rocket, and i HAVE tryed linux, mac, almost everything theres out there because i own some servers. Its simply awesome, i have yet to find a bug, even though i expected it to be a mass of bugs since every windows system at release is, and instead, not one.

And come on, theres no doubt about Windows compatibility over Mac, i mean if 90% of the world uses it, Software companies will make 90% of theyr software for windows.
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Post by imac600 »

3aGLe is correct. Mac users generally go by the principle of the apps they
do have, including Mac only apps, Cross Platform apps and Open Source
apps. 10,000+ applications for a 5% market share OS isn't too bad.

Devices are cross platform Mac, Windows and Linux by standard. We can
thank USB for that.

I switched to Mac OS X when I became frustrated with that nightmare called
Windows ME. Then XP rolled around, which was better, but still had it's
flaws. Vista is even better once again, but i've got every application I ever
need on the Mac now and generally don't intend to switch back.
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Post by RoverRoad »

I was one of those dopes standing in line at the computer store waiting for the doors to open so that I could get my copy of Vista. I got my copy and installed it on my laptop first. I liked it but it made my system run too slow, so after about a week I put XP back on it. I installed it on my desktop about two weeks ago. It's a newer computer and it can handle it. This time I was able to install the 64 bit version and I'm impressed. No complaints and no bugs found.

Well, I did have trouble installing some things because the applications needed more administrative rights than Vista was willing to give them, but I figured out a way around that.

As for Mac, I worked for a company that only used Mac, and we had to find a Shipping software solution that would tie in with our accounting software. It didn't happen, not to mention all of the network crashes. And yes the interface was simple, too simple for me... I like bells and whistles.

That's why I buy computer systems that are powerful enough to handle the operating system that I'm going to run on it.
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Post by SAK ` »

Something fishy about vista: You can change icon and font sizes for your desktop in XP, but what about Vista? I like the designs and the cool Aero thing, but something tells me the icon and font sizes are pretty big. I know bigger than 8 pt Tahoma.

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Post by stickerboy »

Sak, just found this neat thing. Doesn't work on XP, but does on Vista.
If your mouse has a scroll wheel:
1. click on an empty space on your desktop
2. Hold the control key (CTRL)
3. Move the mouse wheel up or down - icons should change size :P
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Re: Windows Vista vs Mac OS X

Post by SAK ` »

Wow, a nice handful of wildlife animals used as Mac OS X code names. I can't wait to see a Lion or even a Squirrel.

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Re: Windows Vista vs Mac OS X

Post by soxie »

I've been using a good ol' MacBook Pro running osx for the past 11 months and I've never been more impressed by a computer overall. I've used Vista slightly and, while I do believe it's better than XP, I don't see myself leaving the Mac team for a while. It's almost a silly discussion to have at times because it mostly comes down to your preferance on many things. I like getting things done faster and cleaner and for me, OSX tops Vista/XP/etc. in those areas.
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