Battle MacOS Sierra vs Windows 10(Creator)

[MrExplorer]

I have been reading about macOS for quite some time & tried it out on one of my friends Macbook Air too. The operating system seems to be great & have plenty of features and its integration with iOS is quite fantastic.

What i really want to know is which is better in which perspective like Windows is way better option for gamers.

& Please this is not Macbook vs PC, just the battle of OS in terms of their features.

Try not to biased.

 

[Bryan Lam]

If you're referring to a Desktop OS, Graphics would definitely go to Windows because of the large amount of support from not only third parties, but Microsoft themselves. The new rollout of graphics changes after Aero which is coming soon, will change the entire theme and improve something which is great already. Along with this, Third parties support Windows because it's the most widely home used Operating system. Mac OS runs on linux and is limited in terms of features.

 

[fredwerk]

You can't really compare both OS. It's kinda like you want to compare night and day

I use a MacBook Pro with macOS for everyday stuff, web design and photography including Photoshop.

And I use a Desktop PC with Windows 10 for gaming only and watch movies.

By the way Bryan, macOS is not based on Linux but based on Unix.

 

[roger_m]

I hate macOS. When compared with Windows, macOS just seems badly designed in my opinion, and it is evident that a lot more thought has been put into the design of Windows. I could go into details if you want.

I want to make two things clear. Firstly, this is just my personal opinion, there are of course, many people who refer macOS to Windows, and which OS is best comes down to personal preference. Secondly, I don't have any dislike of macOS just because I'm a longtime Windows user. My opinion is based soley on experiences using of both operating systems.

I'd always presumed that macOS/OS X would be better than Windows, until actually I spent some time using it, and my opinion changed.

 

[Handsome Recluse]

Windows is more common so it attracts more software and is a standard desktop. It should be a more practical learning experience. The tabs on top function of browsers with regards to Fitt's law focuses their efforts more on Windows and the taskbar doesn't take so much height and actually uses the corners for Fitt's Law so it's more efficient and less intrusive. Your friends are probably using Windows so changing your workflow from your Mac would be annoying. Majority of the speed of navigation comes from familiarity and you lose that when you use Mac and you have friends. (But then again, I don't have any friends).

 

[212eta]

Windows 10 (Creator Update) offers much more choices...

 

[Daniel Keller]

It really depends on what you wanna do. I love MacOS for everyday work. I like how many things like pdf support, creating backups or encrypted file containers are already build in the OS. I don't need much 3rd party tools. And because of that I even don't need an anti virus tool to run all the time (safe system resources).

If you like to game or need special software or need to be compatible with others who use windows, it is not the first choice. Although some of these problems can be solves by running windows in a VM.

 

[TheJokerz]

My vote is for windows. The only time that I recall using a mac is in school in the 90's, and I only ever remember playing oregon trail! I have spent the rest of my life using windows. I am a big fan of the new win 10 with, you can tweak just about anything to your desire. There is also built in encryption into windows as well. Just my two cents!

 

[Fritz]

No offense @TheJokerz, but having seen a Mac back in the 90's hardly makes for a qualified base comparison.

It's also funny to read MacOS is "badly designed" – MacOS has had design guidelines for ages, which means you feel right at home in whatever program you use. Not like Windows, where everybody reinvents the wheel up to and including the UI. Not even MS themselves have a friggin clue. Take one look at the Settings, there's a modern version and an old version. Some things can be done in the new version, some only in the old one. Very straightforward. Not.

Fact of the matter is, people get used to logical bloopers like clicking on "Start" in order to shut a machine down or being asked if they really want to do something after every single click. And change usually sucks until you get the hang of it. But that's not the system's fault.

I'm running 7 Windows machines and 2 Macs in my office and the only ones that just work 24/7 are the Macs. Apple has gone to great lengths to ruin MacOS during the last years, but it's a certified UNIX after all. Restarts happen app. twice a year, whenever there's a major update. That's it.

TL;DR:

Go MacOS, if you couldn't be bothered to fumble around with your system and you just want to get stuff done, especially on the creative side. It's also a no-brainer in case you already have an iPhone / iPad / AppleTV since the overall integration is just great.

Caveat emptor: IMHO, the current Apple hardware lineup is a disaster. Feeble graphics, old processors, funny design decisions. I certainly wouldn't recommend to jump the gun, at least wait until after WWDC (beginning of June), there are rumors regarding certain updates.

Go Windows, if you like to play modern games or if you require services or software which feel most comfy on that system.

N.B.: There's also the best of both worlds, reserve a 2nd drive / partition for MacOS and dual-boot either one according to your mood. I'm not going into details here, though, since I'm not familiar with the official forum stance regarding that topic.

 

[TheJokerz]

No offense @TheJokerz, but having seen a Mac back in the 90's hardly makes for a qualified base comparison.

None taken what so ever!

 

[roger_m]

It's also funny to read MacOS is "badly designed" – MacOS has had design guidelines for ages, which means you feel right at home in whatever program you use.

Of course that's just my personal opinion. But I really do find that macOS gives me a terrible user experience. The last time I used it, I installed uBar which replaces the Dock with the a Windows style taskbar and adds a Start Menu. Both of which, go a long way towards making using macOS a more pleasant experience, but not enough to make me want to use it more than very briefly.

Also, while I'm sure that overall you encounter less problems when using macOS/OS X vs Windows, there are somethings that Windows handles much better. A while back, I had to fix a MacBook on which the wifi was not working. It turned out to be a faulty wireless card. I figured since I had some USB wireless adapters, I could use one of them as a simpler alterantive to replacing the internal wireless card. While this is a quick and easy task on Windows. It took many hours trying to get it work on the Mac. While I eventually got it working, it stopped working when I upgraded to a new version of OS X, and the only way I could get it to work again, was to go back the previous version of OS X.

 

[Fritz]

So you tried to use MacOS according to the Windows conventions you were used to. That's bound to fail. You can use a brick to drive in a door nail, yet using a hammer would probably give you a better experience. Each OS comes with a certain way of doing things and you have to use it accordingly. And compared to Windows, MacOS is VERY streamlined and structured instead of being all over the place. But it's still easier, because you're used to it. I get that. It's just not the OS's fault.

Just to give an example, since you mentioned the start menu. I missed it, too, when I got started on my Hackintosh. It was either digging deep in the Finder or had to find it amongst a thousand icons in my dock.

By now, I've become familiar with MacOS. I hit CMD+Space, which opens Spotlight, type PH, hit enter and Photohop pops up. Takes under 2 secs to get it done without as much as looking at my mouse. That alone sure isn't an argument to change an eco system, but it's just one of gazillions examples that make life so easy on MacOS.

As far as drivers go, it's even easier since most are already integrated. Got a new printer? Connect it, click, use it. No download required.

Of course, there is always hardware that won't play well since MacOS isn't as ubiquitous as Windows, some manufacturers won't support it at all. A quick Google search beforehand will usually save you from any trouble.

 

[Handsome Recluse]

Hey! On Linux you can do even the weirdest stuff. Weird people after all.

 

[brambedkar59]

Go with Mac if:
your other devices are Apple, love simplicistic UI, Hate to reboot often, hate AVs, required software is available on App store, don't want to tinker with OS settings & UI, don't want to play games, work doesn't require Powerful GPU, doesn't want to/can't custom built your own system, want to shell out much more money every time you need to upgrade just a single component, doesn't want UI to change at all, want free major OS updates (although true for Win10 too)
Otherwise go for Win10.
Just my opinion. Personally, I would go for Win10 just for two reasons alone: custom built my own system, & tinker with OS settings.
PS, MacOS can't be considered alone, as it can't be used on other hardware (at least without any hacks)

 

[roger_m]

By now, I've become familiar with MacOS. I hit CMD+Space, which opens Spotlight, type PH, hit enter and Photohop pops up. Takes under 2 secs to get it done without as much as looking at my mouse. That alone sure isn't an argument to change an eco system, but it's just one of gazillions examples that make life so easy on MacOS.

I can do the same in Windows. I press the Windows key to open the Start Menu, and then as soon as I start typing, Windows starts searching. If what I'm looking for is the first search result, I can press enter to open it. If it isn't I can use the arrow keys or touchpad to select what I want.

As far as drivers go, it's even easier since most are already integrated. Got a new printer? Connect it, click, use it. No download required.

The same can be said for Windows, and each new version of Windows includes a lot more drivers than the previous version.

Of course, there is always hardware that won't play well since MacOS isn't as ubiquitous as Windows, some manufacturers won't support it at all. A quick Google search beforehand will usually save you from any trouble.

Yes, driver support is much better in Windows.

 

[roger_m]

So you tried to use MacOS according to the Windows conventions you were used to. That's bound to fail.

I did try to use its in it default state, but I found it awkward to use. I guess part of the reason is that I've been using Windows 20 plus years and I'm used to how it works. But, even so, the way Windows works, just seems much more logical to me.

 

[brambedkar59]

I can do the same in Windows. I press the Windows key to open the Start Menu, and then as soon as I start typing, Windows starts searching. If what I'm looking for is the first search result, I can press enter to open it. If it isn't I can use the arrow keys or touchpad to select what I want.

The same can be said for Windows, and each new version of Windows includes a lot more drivers than the previous version.

Yes, driver support is much better in Windows.

I agree. Even with huge quantity of hardware windows has to support, nowadays you don't need to install any drivers on your own (except for the graphics card, for which the driver version windows will install is usually old). Connect a print and it automatically installs the driver, connect Android phone same thing.

 

[brambedkar59]

Try not to biased.

It's hard not to be biased after having used windows for more than 10 years straight.

 

[Handsome Recluse]

I did try to use its in it default state, but I found it awkward to use. I guess part of the reason is that I've been using Windows 20 plus years and I'm used to how it works. But, even so, the way Windows works, just seems much more logical to me.

Most of the navigational speed comes from familiarity. I believe Windows fits better with Fitt's Law without comprimising. I don't think there's much difference between good OS nowadays except for app availability since it's dependent on the economic decisions of developers. What's standard and what's supported. I hated that the clicking the icon on the dock doesn't also minimize though when I'm trying to do stuff fast and productive.

 

[Fritz]

Fastest and most productive way: Hit CMD+H, Window gone. No need to click really.