Operating System

The Mac operating system — earlier called OS X and now renamed macOS — has traditionally been viewed as more stable than Windows. The main reason for this was that Apple produces both the hardware (Mac computer) and the software (Mac operating system); so they have better control over the integration of the entire system. Apple is also known to use only the best parts for its computers.^[1]

Since the Windows operating system can run on hundreds of different types of computers, variations in hardware configurations within those computers can cause stability problems. There are dozens, if not hundreds, of PC manufacturers and so there is a wide variety in hardware quality of PCs.

Another reason for Macs being traditionally more stable is that since PCs are the more popular choice in the desktop market, most hackers and computer virus makers target PCs. As the popularity for Mac computers increase, it can be expected that the incidence of hacker and virus attacks will increase.

It should be noted that you can run Windows on a Mac but cannot run macOS on a PC. Apple has also released a software kit called Bootcamp for running Windows on the Mac. Other software virtualization applications used to run Windows on Macs include Virtualbox and Parallels.

Another factor contributing to a better user experience on the Mac is that there is no software cruft i.e., there are no third-party applications that are pre-installed on your Mac. PCs usually come with several 3rd-party apps pre-installed. For example, antivirus software from McAfee or Symantec, or DVD reading/writing software. Some of this software can be downright dangerous for the security and privacy of the user; case in point: Lenovo's Superfish scandal. Interestingly, this feature of Apple devices also applies to the iOS vs Android debate; Android devices ship with 'crapware' (3rd party applications that many people don't ever use) while iPhones and iPads ship only with Apple software.

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User Interface

The most noticeable difference between Macs and PCs is in the user interfaces. While many computer users will proclaim one or the other “superior” or “best,” this is ultimately a matter of personal preference. Highlights of the UI in Mac OS X include Launchpad (a screen full of app icons for easily launching your favorite apps), hot corners that can be customized for various types of views, a 'dock' that has icons for your favorite apps, full screen mode for apps, and 'spaces' that create as many desktops as you like so you can minimize clutter. With Windows 8 UI highlights include a touch-friendly 'metro' interface that contains 'live tiles', rectangular boxes of varying sizes on the screen that represent an app and get refreshed with the latest content from the app. Several apps utilizing the 'metro' interface are full screen apps like in tablet computers.

Security

Macs have a reputation of being more secure than Windows PCs. In the 90s and early to mid-2000s, Windows was plagued with adware, malware and viruses that were mostly a result of users downloading compromised software, opening malicious email attachments or other malicious files downloaded from the Internet. Macs had a lower market share so malware-makers and distributors focused on the Windows platform.

Today the situation is not so lopsided. Windows security and Microsoft's Defender anti-virus program have made great strides and made Windows a safe platform. Macs have had security problems of their own, like the admin login vulnerability discovered in November 2017. And because of the growing popularity of the Mac platform — especially among high-value targets like computer programmers — malware-makers are increasingly homing in on Macs as targets.

Irrespective of whether you're on a Mac or PC, it is not advisable to open files from unknown sources or any files downloaded via email or on the Internet that seem suspicious. If you're on Windows, it is further recommended to not use anti-virus programs other than Microsoft's Defender because they introduce security vulnerabilities of their own.^[2]

Uses

Mac computers are most widely used in the creative professional market, including in journalism and desktop publishing, video editing and audio editing, but have also made inroads into the educative and scientific research sectors. Macs are also popular with computer programmers — a majority of web and app developers tend to use Macs.

PCs are also used with some of the video and audio editing and research purposes but are found largely as the Home or Office Computer. PCs are also widely used in gaming due to a wider variety of games available for the Windows platform.

Market share

Apple's share of the U.S. personal-computer market nearly tripled from 2004 to 2008 but hasn't gone up significantly since then, and stands at around 8.5 percent in August 2009, according to IDC. (Source: Associated Press)

In Q1 2008, worldwide PC shipments were around 70 million (up from 61 million in Q1 2007) whereas worldwide Mac shipments were around 2.3 million (up from 1.5 million in Q1 2007). Historical charts for PC vs. Mac shipments are available at http://blog.seattlepi.nwsource.com/microsoft/archives/137350.asp

The market share of Mac for the July-Sept 2007 quarter was estimated at 3.2% for worldwide sales. While of PCs ( including major companies like HP, Dell, Lenovo, Acer and Toshiba) was a total of around 56%.(Refer: http://www.systemshootouts.org/mac_sales.html)

Interoperability

PCs and Macs can usually share peripherals if they connect via USB, FireWire, or Bluetooth, three industry standards available on every Mac. Most popular applications for Mac and PC use the same file formats, making it simple to exchange documents with friends and coworkers or move existing files from a PC to a Mac.

Applications

Macs major applications include Ilife and Time Machine while the PCs most widely used application includes MS Office. Some popular games provided on a Mac are Mac Crack Attack, 3D Klondike while on PC are Solitaire and Virtual Pool.

There is a variety of software available for PCs, which are better than a Mac machine for use as gaming machines since most high-end games are created for the general PC. PCs and Macs can usually share peripherals if they connect via USB, FireWire, or Bluetooth, three industry standards available on every Mac. Most popular applications for Mac and PC use the same file formats, making it simple to exchange documents with friends and coworkers or move existing files from a PC to a Mac.

Gaming

Traditionally PCs have had the upper hand when it comes to gaming because more publishers developed games for the PC platform. Dollar for dollar, PCs have also provided more powerful processors and speed is an important criterion when it comes to gaming. Some popular games that are available only on PCs are Age of Empires III and Crysis. Games that have both Mac and PC versions include Call of Duty 4: Modern warfare, Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock, LegoStar Wars II, Starcraft and World of Warcraft.

Productivity Software

Microsoft Office, Adobe Creative Suite & Cloud are available for both Windows and Mac platforms. Other productivity software like OpenOffice and StarOffice is also available for all platforms. Apple's iWork office suite, which includes Pages (word processor), Numbers (spreadsheets) and Keynote (presentation maker) are only available on the Mac and iOS platforms.

Mac vs. PC War

Macs were hugely popular when the Macintosh was introduced in the mid-80s. They pioneered the GUI and the mouse. With Windows 3.1 and the wildly popular Windows 95, Microsoft gained a large market share. In the 1990s, Windows grew by leaps and bounds and Apple went downhill. After Steve Jobs was brought back to Apple, he introduced the iMac and revived Mac sales. Microsoft bought a 5% stake in Apple with a $150mn investment in non-voting shares in 1997.

Apple's Macs have always had a small but passionate fan base. In 2007, Apple released Mac vs PC ads showcasing the “cool” factor of Macs. These have been parodied online, often with a 3rd character (a woman) for Linux.

The Mac vs. PC ads

In September 2008, Microsoft responded to the Apple campaign with a campaign of their own to break the PC stereotype.

A MAC into a PC (and vice versa)

By installing software like Boot Camp, or a virtualization solution, such as Parallels Desktop, a Mac can function like a PC machine. In other words, a MAC can run Windows on it.

Apple does not allow the use of its operating system on non-Apple hardware. So a Windows PC cannot run Mac OS X. However, the Hackintosh project allows users to run Mac OS on any supported Intel-based PC.

Price

The MacBook Air starts at $999, whereas the MacBook Pro costs $1,199 and up, depending on the model. See MacBook Air vs MacBook Pro and MacBook vs MacBook Pro.

Current prices of various models and accessories are available on Apple.com and on Amazon.com.

Mac Os Vs Windows 7 Gaming Pc

PCs usually cost significantly less than Macs with comparable hardware. This is mostly because PCs are manufactured by a large number of hardware manufacturers, resulting in increased competition and lower prices. A wide selection of PCs with varying costs is available on Amazon.com.

References

Mac and Windows have been a rivalry dating back decades, most famously encapsulated by Apple's somewhat amusing Mac versus PC commercials. It was always said that Windows PCs are built for spreadsheets, can break easily, aren't supported well enough by manufacturers and do not offer a consistent experience. Apple Macs, on the other hand, simply work out the box. Some of this was actually true back in the Windows XP and Vista days, but times have changed and so has Windows.

Microsoft now produces sleek, aluminum-based portable PCs that offer immense performance in a gorgeous form factor, the same goes for vendors like ASUS and HP. The OS has evolved too, offering advanced features like ink and pen support, touch-friendly operation, and even more immersive gaming. I'm going to run through a few reasons why you should at least consider upgrading to a Windows 10-based notebook.

Microsoft has come a long way with Windows over the years. XP was the golden years, Vista brought issues, 7 fixed said problems and 8 completely changed the OS for the worse. Now we have Windows 10, skipping 9 entirely, and things are better than ever. The OS — when installing on an SSD — is blazing fast, especially when booting and waking up from hibernation. It's also super stable.

The OS comes rocking a number of features, including support for Virtual Reality (like macOS) and Windows Mixed Reality — the latter allowing you to bring the desktop experience to life with a compatible headset, running Windows apps in a virtual home. Security has also been improved by Microsoft with Windows 10 and Defender has become quite the package. While it remains true that more vulnerabilities are present for Microsoft's OS, Mac owners aren't safe.

It's an incredibly versitile OS, running on tablets, laptops and powerful desktops. That means it has many usabilitty features ready to go.

An issue with Windows is the design and lack of consistency, mainly in context menus and how software looks. Microsoft is working to address this with the Fluent Design System, which is gradually being rolled out. This will help tie everything together in a sleek-looking package. But until then, you'll have to deal with a few visual issues that wouldn't be experienced with macOS.

Windows 10 isn't perfect, nothing really is, but Microsoft is making strides while Apple seems to be crawling.

Get all your apps

Microsoft added a Store in Windows 8 to allow consumers to purchase and download apps from a centralized location. This allowed for the release of Windows 10 S that restricts access to just the store for installing software, but keeps costs low and improves security for the education sector.

While the store itself may not be perfect (it's far from it), it does mean that macOS users who rely on the App Store can find a replacement and won't need to run through countless installation wizards. Gone are the days when you need to roll out CDs and install ugly software.

Gorgeous on the Surface

Should you be looking to replace an aging MacBook and don't wish to fork out the extra cost introduced in the latest generation, Microsoft has some amazing looking devices. The Surface family of portable PCs include tablets, 2-in-1s, and laptops. The Surface Book is one of our favorite PCs, which offers the best of tablet and notebook worlds. It really is a killer machine.

Purchasing a Windows 10-powered PC from Microsoft (and partner products at the Microsoft Store) will ensure you deal with no bloatware. A clean installation of Windows 10 ready for software and apps to be downloaded and a device that not only sports premium materials like an Apple product but can at times cost a little less while sporting better components. Then you have the Surface Studio, which is a beast for creative individuals.

Attractive third-party hardware

Mac Os Vs Windows Gaming

If the Surface line from Microsoft isn't quite what you're looking for, there are a collection of partnered manufacturers who also release Windows 10-powered PCs. Laptops specifically used to come as bulky black slabs that looked horrific when placed next to the MacBook for the day, but vendors like ASUS, Acer, HP and Dell have really stepped up their game to offer some compelling products. Take the stunning XPS 13 laptop as a perfect example of this.

You could even go all out and not purchase an Ultrabook but a machine built for intense workloads. you'd be hard-pressed to find a MacBook that could match something like the MSI GS83VR in raw performance. It has two (yes, two) GTX 1080 GPUs running in SLI, costing around $5,000.

Vendors use different touchpads, keyboards, screens, materials and more. You may prefer the keyboard of a Dell laptop than that of an MSI notebook. The beauty of choice means you can purchase a Windows 10 PC that best matches your requirements, meaning you'll be less likely to endure issues that affect all machines, like that problem MacBook owners are experiencing with the keyboard of more recent MacBook models.

Making all kinds of savings

With Windows 10, there are some serious savings to be had. If you're not after a powerful notebook or PC, nor do you require fancy features like an IR camera that can scan your face and log into Windows or an expensive Core i7 processor, there are some more affordable devices running Microsoft's OS. There are some great little devices that cost you less than $300.

The MacBook can be purchased with an Intel Core m3 processor for a whopping $1,299. The Surface Pro from Microsoft costs just $799 and features the same processor, amount of storage and RAM. It's also made of aluminum. For $1,299 you could upgrade to a Surface Pro model that comes with an Intel Core i5 CPU, 256GB SSD and 8GB RAM, or the HP Omen 15 gaming laptop with an Intel Core i7 CPU, 16GB RAM, GTX 1060 GPU, and a 2TB HDD.

Get your game on

Gaming on macOS was being pushed by Apple a few years ago but it seems the steam has run out in the engine. Oculus Rift still isn't officially supporting Apple's computers but Windows users can enjoy a number of VR-ready titles available on the store. The same goes for normal gaming, which continues to take place on Windows.

Most gamers use Windows to play titles on and developers don't develop games with macOS in mind. This likely won't change because in order to get a Mac computer with enough power, you're looking at well into the thousands. You can build a $700 PC and run The Witcher 3 without issue.

Build your own

You can build really cool-looking Windows 10 PCs. That alone is awesome enough. Not only can you use a computer but you'll learn how to build one, troubleshoot and make upgrades as more powerful components are released. You... can't build your own Mac.

Your reasons

Made the switch from macOS to Windows 10? Let us know what made you upgrade in the comments.

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Mac Os Vs Windows 7 Gaming Laptop

Windows 10 preview build 19041.207 hits Slow ring with handful of fixes

Mac Vs Windows

Microsoft pushed another Windows 10 preview build out to Slow ring Insiders today. Like recent updates to the Slow ring, this one is a cumulative update that focuses solely on delivering a handful of fixes.