Reader Comments

Yes, I can't wait for Microsoft to demo Tiger in action! Oh, wait...

I'm looking forward to the news Paul, I trust there will be alot of pics on WinSuperSite in the coming week? @Mac Fan Boy: Cant you flame another article?

I thought I escaped the insecure Mac fans.....Anyway, can't wait for the news..

I can wait Paul, I have already set your WinHEC '05 page as my home page. "Yes, I can't wait for Microsoft to demo Tiger in action! Oh, wait... " You mean Tiger done right.

www.russianbaby.com while you wait for win-heck

Paul, I'd like to thank you for letting everyone get a glimpse of the show that can't be there in person. I'm really looking forward to the new Longhorn build. :D

Mac fans ... tch tch Longhorn search capabilities were declared LONG before OS X was released and now Tiger has Spotlight !! hmmmm I have nothing againt mac or OS X, infact i experiment with mono on mac and XP WS but most mac users seem to have nothing to do but to complain about windows .. maybe because there are so few of them !! ;-)

Its coming what everyone had been waiting for nearly one year. We will see a glimpse of the event and much more that is Longhorn.

For those of you who haven't seen these Longhorn Concept Videos yet, I reccomend them. They ARE quite dry, but most things like this are, and some will enjoy seeing some of the places Microsoft is taking us. http://msdn.microsoft.com/Longhorn/productinfo/conceptvid/default.aspx

Don't be too hard on mac people, Tiger (and OSX in general) offers a lot of Apple innovations: 1) File / folder encryption 2) Fast User Switching 3) Real multitasking and memory protection 4) index search 5) Dashboard 6) transparency, shadows and window animations 7) iChat 8) "Search folders"... No, wait. Actaully all of these were innovated by soneone else. 1 was already in Win2000, 2 was in XP, 3 was in NT 3.1 over 10 years ago, 4 was in Windows NT in 1996, 5 was stolen from Konfubulator, 6 was stolen from WindowBlinds and WindowFX (shareware programs for OS/2 and Win9x), 7 has all most all of it's new features taken from MSN Messenger and 8 was stolen from OutLook 2003. Paul already made an excellent summary about the "200 new features"...I guess in LongHorn MS can just redraw all the old icons, those should make up 300-400 "new features" in Apple vocabulary!! And let's not forget how Apple made the first and most powerful "64-bit workstation" (years after Alpha and Opteron)... Oh well, don't let facts affect the RDF.

I like windows, but because I fancied something new, I bought an Apple Powerbook as an additional computer. I like the hardware, and the operating system is very pretty. However, it seems to crash more than Windows XP - that thing about OS X being more stable is nonsense. I like OS X because it is pretty, but would never SWITCH to OS X (i.e. I would never choose an Apple if I only had one computer.) i think apple mac fans are crazy fanatics who are blinded by the fact that Apple hardware and software is pretty.

Paul im around your site every other day reading your stuff and those reports, and you are a really nice guy and very intellingent :) =P Ill be around next monday for it :) im exited, cant wait to get to see what ill be getttin the next year :) mickey Roxxx!!!! w00t :) and to the little MacW**reBoy.... Go figure what you are going to do with your new copy of Tiger... maybe leave it next to those food leftovers from last night so your mom can throw it all together... she won't notice the difference :D

Consider this for a moment... Microsoft has been "talking" about their WinFS and Searching system for the past 8 years, when they released Windows 98, it was just something that they couldn't get working until now... Which in why it has been removed from the initial release of Longhorn and will be comming out in beta form when longhorn ships. Also, consider this, the equivilant to the WinFS came out under Linux with EXT3 and Reiser five years ago. Then, well before Apple released Spotlight, linux released realtime search tools including most recently the one that quite litterally is "BEST" (Bleeding Edge Search Tool) and Beagle. So, everyone "steals" ideas from others, although when they can't get them to work (most of Microsoft's promises) then does it really matter? I would say, good job Apple & Linux for actually turning these "concept technologies" into working systems. So, everyone quit your crying and be greatful for the fact that we actually have some stuff that works.

I'd like to clarify a few of the "facts" presented in a previous post. "[File encryption] was already in Win2000" Correct, though it's only available in Professional editions. "[Fast User Switching] was in XP" Yes, Microsoft did beat Apple again, but Linux beat Windows to it quite a few years ago with Virtual Consoles. "3 was in NT 3.1 over 10 years ago" Unix had this first. "[Indexed search] was in Windows NT in 1996" You MUST be joking. The indexing service didn't work then, and still doesn't work properly to this day in XP. "[Dashboard] was stolen from Konfubulator" That WAS a bit unscrupulous, wasn't it? "[Transparency, drop shadows, and window animations] were stolen from WindowBlinds and WindowFX (shareware programs for OS/2 and Win9x)" WindowBlinds had nothing to do with these, but WindowFX did beat Apple. "[iChat] has all most all of it's new features taken from MSN Messenger " Actually, Webcam support was first introduced in Yahoo! Messenger, and MetraTech and Octave Communications were the first to provide multi-user AV conferencing. "[Smart folders] was stolen from Outlook 2003." ...and iTunes had smart playlists before that. The idea of having dynamically grouped content has been around for a while. "Paul already made an excellent summary about the "200 new features"...I guess in LongHorn MS can just redraw all the old icons, those should make up 300-400 "new features" in Apple vocabulary!!" Paul oversimplified in his article; 10.3 -> 10.4 is more of a "Second Edition" than a "Service Pack," which Microsoft DID overcharge for, just like Apple is doing now. "And let's not forget how Apple made the first and most powerful "64-bit workstation" (years after Alpha and Opteron)..." Why don't you try and run Photoshop on your Alpha XL? "Oh well, don't let facts affect the RDF." You're just as bad as the Apple fanboys, making up your own facts just to prove a point. BOTH Microsoft and Apple innovate, as well as many other companies. I use both Windows XP and OS X, and they're both fine OSes, each with their own advantages and disadvantages. I personally prefer OSX, and I look forward to Longhorn, which I hope will finally bring Windows to the level of elegance in OSX.

This whole disuccsion is pointless.... apple lost out on the desktop market years ago by binding it's OS to its platform. It doesn't matter how innoatice they are, they'll still own like 2% of the market. Apple is only going because some loyal fans. Strangely enough the loyal fans in my school all seem to support the gamecube...... another failure that is insificant in power to the Xbox and PS2 that relies on a samll group of fans. It's not all bad news for apple though.... atleast they've found a new way into the market with their range of iPod devices, and apple seems to be more of a fashion icon then anything.

"It's not what OS works best, It's what OS works for you"

^update "...It's what OS works best for you"

This whole disuccsion is pointless.... apple lost out on the desktop market years ago by binding it's OS to its platform ---- Ah, I see... so besides touting the Windows business model.. why exactly do you continue to admit time and time again that WIndows sucks (but Bill Gates runs the world) and maybe in 2007 LH will be on par with Mac OS X circa 2003... You just confessed that really you're more impressed with market share than the quality of the OS. Beyond Gaming, there are only paper-thin reasons to use Windows. And IT Pros who base they computing decisions on Video Games are doing a disservice.. ...wait a minute.. the same IT Pros that would be out of work if more people used Macs? Oh yea.. Makes sense now..

I use both a mac, and a PC with XP, and I'm happy with both, full stop. The common misconception is that apple are the innovators and microsoft take the ideas to use themselves. IMO they are both innovators, and similar features you see across Longhorn and Tiger are just part of the evolution of the desktop OS. For example, desktop search:- Tiger features the new spotlight, and Longhorn will integrate the MSN search capabilities into explorer. For anyone to say that apple innovated the idea are wrong. This feature was thought of years ago (before I was born probably), however it is just now they have decided to implement it. Personally, I really dont see the point of OSX/XP comparisons, they are all undergoing the evolution of the desktop OS, and if you like OSX, get a mac, but if you like windows, get a PC. Apple and Microsoft copy ideas from one another and 3rd Parties alike. Many people believe that the Dashboard was an apple innovation, the idea was actually taken from http://www.konfabulator.com/ and the developer of this received nothing in return from apple. My point to all of this is, why dont we all become bi-computer owners. I use OSX just as much as I use XP, and very happy with both. As for WinHEC 2005, I cant wait to see the photos Paul, I bet MS have some amazing tricks up their sleive, with the new 50xx build of longhorn. Happy Days :) ! And please, no more Longhorn/Tiger comparisons, its a worn out topic, and I would just like to see what MS have to offer, after all, that is the whole point of this article.

touché

Exactly, Tiger is a Demo for Microsoft... Longhorn is final

Exactly, Tiger is a Demo for Microsoft... Longhorn is final ---- Damnit... if it wasn't for those Lawyers running around with their patents, you might have a case... Well you'd have a case, and about 1.5 years to contend with SP2 You'd also have the most expensive gaming system on Earth.

who cares about macs or tiger. I haven't seen one every since finished college. Those things are as exciting as eating bread without butter. now I really apprecitate the longhorn news since it is an OS that's actually relevant in the world. it is certainly more interested that hearing mac trolls while all day about evil MS is and how I should switch....yeah right. I'd switch the day mac users get half the IQ my dog has and make a case that doesn't involve blind fantatism.

I'd appreciate it if you read this: What most people don't understand is how they think, how they work, and how they interact with everyday things. And that's precisely why we get these pointless "debates" of mac vs windows all over the net. Since the average user doesn't understand why things are set up how they are in an OS, they argue the pointless virtues of OSes: new shiny graphics, a new way to view your calculator or the weather, autohiding and grouping of menus, the number of buttons there are on a mouse... Most of the features people argue about are either pointless to argue about (graphics), no longer important (hardware compatibility), or are hyped demo features (the dock). When anyone does any real innovating in this market, it goes largely unnoticed. Things like microsoft making the move to a task-based interface is rarely mentioned, when anyone who's ever thought about it realizes it's a much better solution than an application-based interface. The two greatest features in Tiger (IMO) are Spotlight and Automator. Before Automator, there's really been no way to tell the computer what you want to do aside from pulling it by the ear the whole way through the process each time. As long as developers include support for Automator, it could be one very useful program for power users, but it's rarely being hyped... RSS support in Safari is getting better recognition!~ Come on! Longhorn, for the most part, isn't getting the recognition it deserves. People are saying "Finally in 2006, microsoft will have an OS comarable to OSX from 2001" but they're referring to the graphical splurging only! There's no talk about the Real innovation here. Think about this: What would happen if you had a computer where you could tell it to save documents, but you don't tell it where--you just don't need to. And when you want a document, you just ask it for it via a search query. There's no sight of file structures or folder trees. Are you cringing? Well if you are, that's because you're stuck back in 1970. File structures are nice for computers, but having the documents just be there when you want them is nice for people. Longhorn is heading in this direction, and it will help everyone (especially beginners) in the long run. Now think about this. What do you use for an internet browser? IE, Netscape, Mozilla, Safari, Opera, Firefox? Now why do you know that? Is it really important? No, it isn't; this is just useless information that you're forced to remember because the computer isn't remembering it for you. If you want to use the internet, you should be able to use the internet, no questions asked. Furthermore, if you want to learn about mosquitoes, and there's information about mosquitoes on the internet, you should be able to look at that, no questions asked. This is what task-based computing is all about, and you can see a fair attempt at it in XP, and in Longhorn it'll be taken much further. Just consider "When I get a file that can't be read by any of my current programs, why do *I* have to find it and download it off the internet? (assuming it's free)" There's no reason for you to have to go through that hassle, and Longhorn will allow for immediate and automated software downloads and installs. Maybe YOU don't care right now, but your grandma will be relieved to hear that she has nothing to worry when her friends send her a "zip" file. Very few people will realize the significance of Longhorn until it's been out for a while, or maybe until we get some info from WINHec, providing microsoft doesn't solely hype the graphics. :p Well, I hope that if you read this, you enjoyed it... or something. I'd be happy as long as some people weren't turned off by this post's horrendus size. I guess I can look forward to google reading it though... :P

Purely search-based file navigation might be fine for beginners, but some of us like to organise our files and sometimes go simply browsing through them. No Operating System could ever do a better job of sorting out my files than I can, because it's -my- computer, not the OS's. Having a soley search-based approach is a ridiculous idea - you need a proper file structure (so we can organise the information in our minds as well, as opposed to remembering file names) and a instant desktop search. Also, I know what browser I use simply because the one I use is better than the competition. It'd be *nice* if the OS knew what browser was best, but it's going to be shipped with Internet Explorer 7, so I very much doubt it does. File opening is a huge job, how does the OS say which program it is using? "Oh sorry, you don't have the program to open this file" Why is that? Well for instance, you need PowerPoint to open a presentation. You need to pay for PowerPoint. The OS having the ability to open the file would detract from PowerPoint sales, and Microsoft would be in a whole load of trouble with some devs for users being able to open any type of file. Microsoft was almost sued for Windows XP's ability to nativly open ZIP files. An application-based approach is not archaic, and a task-based approach is only any good for absolute beginners. Everyone else -likes- to have more control than the computer.

Longhorn will be MUCH MORE BETTER THAN MAC OS X, Why? The Answer is: Avalon to Developers,WinFS(May be beta in longhorn RTM) to developers,Indigo to developers. But does MAC does have any word like Developers in it. NO. MAC ANIMATION AND LOOK AND FEEL CAN BE CREATED EVEN USING FLASH AND MACROMEDIA DIRECTOR, but Longhorn is a OS which is someone need to experience with it. MAC is inside four wall where developers cannot peek into, while longhorn is a OS(MS OS) where developers take it as a Base.NO ONE PLEASE COMPARE MAC OSX WITH LONGHORN, LONGHORN IS ENTIRELY DIFFERENT, USER ORIENTED, DEVELOPER ORIENTED, WEB ORIENTED, MAINLY GAME & VISUALISATION ORIENTED

"OMG LONGHORN ROXORZ TEH BIG ONE!!!!111" "OSX PWNS MICRO$HIT!!!!!" Grow up people.

to ^. ? I don't see any of that going on here. Actually, some rather interesting discussion has been going on here. As I see it the Mac is a great idea, but not really feasable to be widespread. As a small, agile company, they are quite able to add and remove functionality faster than "TEH BIG ONE!!!!111" but they will offer no benefits to users should they become mainstream. They'll find their position becomes the same as Microsoft, trying to wrangle a compatibility nightmare around with providing stable solutions for everyone. Server market and all. [Microsoft is incredibly good at this.] Even if there is a Mac Revolution, I don't see it being sucessful in the long term unless it involves TOTAL use of something like .Net Macs have never been known for compatibility.

I sincerely hope they sort the GUI out. I've just seen a desktop shot from the Winhec build 5048 and they're still using crappy bitmap icons! Where are the vector ones? Unless of course it's all hidden in the Aero experience...

"LONGHORN IS ENTIRELY DIFFERENT, USER ORIENTED, DEVELOPER ORIENTED, WEB ORIENTED, MAINLY GAME & VISUALISATION ORIENTED" ~~~~~ Make up your damn mind Mr. Hyperbole.. until then MS will be humiliated by comparaisons and point only to their bank accounts to convince themselves that mediocrity is the future...

I'd switch the day mac users get half the IQ my dog has and make a case that doesn't involve blind fantatism. ---- Fanaticism? How's your dog's IQ...? Has your dog cracked cold fusion yet? Hell, how's your dog's spelling?

http://www.hugeimage.com/userfiles/5244x32b/mylh.jpg tsk thanks for keeping them waiting

[url]http://winsupersite.com/reviews/winhec_2005.asp[/url] :roll: well hers an early look of the build which will be relesed there [img]http://www.hugeimage.com/userfiles/5244x32b/mylh.jpg[/img]

The real question is will we ever see a screenshot of the Task Manager showing how much processor and memory utilization is being used to generate that image? I can tell you how much it takes to run Gnome 2.10 with full transparencies, off-screen rendering, compositing, and window distortions... 27.3 MB It was stated quite aptly above, "LONGHORN IS ENTIRELY DIFFERENT, USER ORIENTED, DEVELOPER ORIENTED, WEB ORIENTED, MAINLY GAME & VISUALISATION ORIENTED" Typical USERS care solely about prettyness, and could care less how it works or how hard they are getting screwed. Typical DEVELOPERS care solely for pleasing Typical USERS. Being WEB ORIENTED... So is every other operating system from the past five years on the planet. MAINLY GAME & VISUALISATION ORIENTED. You hit the nail right on the head! The only reason why you use Windows if you have an understanding about the operation of a computer is for Games. The entertainment industry as a whole in the #2 top grossing worldwide industry (#1 is energy). That being the case, they make their products usable to the typical user. (Thus restarting this damned cycle).

http://www.myfilestash.com/userfiles/x32c/SystemProperties.jpg and get a mac you looserthen rant abuut its mac theme see if we care

SCREENSHOT OF NEW BUILD http://www.hugeimage.com/userfiles/5244x32b/mylh.jpg

for the last time who cares about macs. It's not like anybody within 10 miles of me uses them. Macs are as relevant to the computing world and to windows users as a new toaster.

It all comes down to use it or lose it. Whether we like it or not, Microsoft is the most used operating system and will stay that way for quite a while. As such, more development will occur, not saying good development, but more. Most people are concerned with the outer trappings of the OS, all of which are easily changed, while the main concern should be on the underlying core stability and security. No matter what OS you use, you will be confined by it's inherent limitations - even with open source you are still limited unless you are going to write an entirely new kernal. The more you delve into the OS, the more you learn, the more ways you will find to work around the limitations - or, you can spend all your time complaining about them.

Mac fans are idiots. Who else would spend over half a grand for software from the first oxs to Tiger... Stupid mac fans... Go paint a picture or something...

I'm still waiting for them to add networking capabilities to the Mac.

"for the last time who cares about macs. It's not like anybody within 10 miles of me uses them. Macs are as relevant to the computing world and to windows users as a new toaster." Do you live in Nevada? Here's why you should care: competition is the only thing that will force micro$oft to improve their OS. If it weren't for the innovations of OS X, you'd be using winXP for the next 5 years instead of just 2. Try this: open up task manager and go to processes. Launch an explored window and grab it with your mouse and move it around on the screen. Wow, almost your entire 3 Ghz gets hosed just to redraw that stupid window. You want to live with that for 5 years? Be glad OS X is forcing micro$oft to finally improve the GUI.

Why should they add networking support to the Mac if the Mac supports Windows? I can get on my Mac from my Windows PC without a problem. Also no problem the other way round...

Paul, you let me down man. You shoulda taken your TABLET PC. They rock so hard! I wonder if the pre-beta supports the Tablet OS? Let us know, kay?

hey guys..... who frickin cares? I mean......I think it sounds like a lot of you people take the MAC/PC battle personal? I mean....no one of you guys make the big money from them........stop being so loyal to a brand and use what covers your need the best! I use XP, Xbox, Ipod and OS X....because I like the different features and they fit me in different areas....use what you need.....dont't make what you need fit what you use.... DHØØØØØØØØØØØ!!!!

"Longhorn will offer a very rich experience with transparencies, vector graphics, shading, 3D, and animations." Hey, I've been enjoying that for five years now in OS X. What took Microsoft and their fanboys so long to catch up? You guys are so sad and insecure. :) Microsoft is forever chasing Apple's tail. P.S. I can't wait to enjoy my desktop searching and desktop widgets this Friday. You guys get to wait until late 2006 (given Microsoft's track record, probably delayed to early 2007). Have fun waiting!

mac news are as exciting as commodore 64 news. and they probably have the same userbase numbers.

Windows--for when you want to play videogames, like The Sims. Macs--for when you want to actually get some work done.

I love Windows. Only on Windows do you get backwards ideas like clicking "Start" to turn off the computer. Haha. And gotta love all those insecure ports that are open for no reason at all, requiring a FIREWALL. OS X doesn't even have its firewall turned on, because it leaves no ports open. You guys get to deal with viruses every day. There is no known virus for OS X. You also have to click three times as much to get anything done. On a Mac, it's usually once, or it's not even needed Remind me again why I should care about Longhorn when it's offering everything Tiger already has? By the time 2007 rolls around, the NEXT version of OS X will be rolling out. Clearly, it's obvious who the better software engineers are when it comes to Microsoft versus Apple. Instead of waiting and waiting and waiting for Microsoft Windows Longwait, I'll just use Tiger now.

Let's look at Longhorn's "innovations": Hardware-accelerated, vector-based graphics...done in OS X. Desktop search...done in OS X. Desktop widgets...done in OS X. Actual security for a change by NOT RUNNING IN THE FREAKING ADMIN ACCOUNT (embarrasing that you guys defend this in Windows)...done in OS X. Scripting language abilities...done in OS X. Not to mention, EVERY LONGHORN API IS BEING BACKPORTED. So why should I bother with Longhorn again, requiring 3Ghz and 512MB of RAM just to boot up? lame.

""Yes, I can't wait for Microsoft to demo Tiger in action! Oh, wait... " You mean Tiger done right." LOL...so Windows users admit that Longhorn is a Tiger rip-off. By the time Longwait ships, the next OS X will be coming out! What will Microsoft do then? Tricking more fanboys into thinking they're some sort of "cool" company. Yeah, real cool, even their own employees are buying iPods...so much for Windows Media Audio.

Even Microsoft knows it's ripping Apple off. That's why their execs are getting all defensive every time they mention Longhorn. They've done more advertising for Apple this year than ever before. It's hilarious. Microsoft is in a crisis right now, competing with itself and with other companies who have outpaced it by five years. Don't get me wrong, I'm typing this on a Windows laptop right now. But even Windows users have to nod and acknowledge that Apple has done a kick-*** job with OS X and leading the industry in a lot of things. My next purchase is an iMac G5.

Here are some examples of programs/features/things no one talks about: IE: File Vault- encrypting/decrypting on the fly you home folder. Bluetooth- better support in OS X. Mail- Full version of a mail client Expose- this alone was worth the $129 for panther. look it up if you don't know what it does or go to the apple store and experience it. System wide spell check & speech- why isn't this in windows... Preview- built in pdf into the system. i can create and view pdf with just the os. FTP, Windows Sharing, Personal Web-sharing, etc- built into OS X. no cheap home version here. Firewall- stealth mode.. Bonjour- better known as "Zeroconfig". Windows has yet to successfully use this. For me OS X has more useful feathers then Windows.

im still waiting for you, oh im still waiting for you... oh no, im using OS X, hahahaha

"You guys get to deal with viruses every day. There is no known virus for OS X" Why would you bother writing a virus? Nobody uses OS X anyway...

Seriously you should be so greatful (since xp lags so far behind many other OSes) for all the features you get in longhorn but you should know that they have been around for years and years in other OSes. I don't understand why you haven't complained more in the past about NOT having these features? It's like being content with a trabant when you can have a ferrari. Looking forward to longhorn, it will force apple to give M$ new stuff to copy :)

We wouldn't have all these pointless comments if you couldn't post anonymously...

i've just finished downloading a copy of the new longhorn, the screenshots av seen from winbeta.org look class, tell y'all wot its like after av installed it :D

but it's so much fun to see mac users suffer when microsoft moves a finger. not that i care about macs or ever have/will.

desktop search was first done on windows, just not by MS ;p but delusional mac fans think they did it first. it's ok, they use macs, I don't expect any sort of rational thinking from people who pay big money for such underpowered closed hardware.

." I can't wait to enjoy my desktop searching and desktop widgets this Friday" Destop searching is already available for XP through third party programs such as msn destop searh ahd google desktop search. Destop widgets can also be found on a PC through Konfabulator.

mac doesn't always inovate. take 64bit for instance. Though the G5 has a 64bit cpu, OSX is not a native 64bitOS like windows xp 64bit. Seems MS will beat macs to that. Even better, linux has been on 64bit for quite sometime. Macs are just trailing in the 64bit migration.

Sullivan had an interesting message for Apple Computer, which is touting the search capabilities in Mac OS X 10.4 "Tiger," which will ship much sooner than Longhorn. "Search is great," Sullivan said. "We have desktop search with MSN, and we'll have it in Longhorn. But our contention is, if you're searching, you've lost something. ------------ If you have 160GB of stuff, you're telling me that if I 'hide' all my stuff in folders, etc, I'm disorganized and lost if I go looking for it? huh?? Ah yes.. Longhorn.. land of 4 million 'shorcuts/aliases'

Mac usesrs are such @;"?s. They think just because Macs don't have that many viruses tha they are good... no matter what technology they inlcude the only reason they are safe is because thre are so few of them. what kind of hacker is gonna make a virus to hit like 2% of the computer market. Stupid stubborn mac users. They'll probably now say that microsoft copied win 95 of them and that microsoft is som e sort of governement consiparacy....pfff....

omg its world war 3...the os wars... windows users wave the flag....

I really don't understand the amount of bashing on both sides. Really, how can we even tell if the "Mac Fanatic" isn't a Windows user trying to give Mac users a bad image? I own both PCs and Macs, and I think that Windows XP and OS X are both great OSes. They have a lot more in common than they do different, and both are very capable. Each OS has advantages and disadvantages. Both Apple and Microsoft are innovating - is it the end of the world for one company to expand or even (gasp) copy another companies features? No! It's called COMPETITION - another company will always innovate in a way another company did not think about, and it is NORMAL for the company that was left behind to implement that feature. I can't understand what the big deal is. BY THE WAY: I would like to restate that I am a Windows AND Mac user, and like both OSes very much. I use each OS and like different things about each, but I would never switch over to one entirely. Competition is ALWAYS a good thing - Apple and Microsoft fighting over adding new features - copying or not - are advancements in the industry, for which I am thankful. PC/MAC USERS: GET OVER YOURSELVES!

do you know why the human falls in love most of the times??? the look...... we all have gone tru that. I liked you cause you looked nice.... Now what are the innovations in Mac????? list them... please :) Mac is too limited compared to Windows, thats it. And yes there is people here who takes the Mac/PC Battle for themselves. Go to TigerDirect.com or Newegg.com and see who is buying a mac. Or even try to see if they "Sell" Macs. Now go back out to BestBuy. They have a whole department for Mac, and another for PC. Count how many people you will see around the Mac dept. 0, while 10 is around the PC Dept. Mac is made for those who likes the "Good looking" but if you want your PC too look good, like Mac, go get Stardock products, they just rock, go to Wincustomize.com and figure how you want your XP to look like.. Go do it yourself, you could :), thats why you have IconWorkshop, Flash and Photoshop for Windows XP.... When is this pointless war going to end. OS X will never reach Windows in features (third party software developers talking) and one of the most used Windows reliable features on earth: the Networking. which suxxor on Mac. I will never get a Mac server... wherea are they? Think of a Longhorn Server Edition. Windows will become unstoppable and unreachable. Just think of Windows 2003 Server today, and believe in Longhorn Server 3 years from now, there isn't camp for any other. Just Windows. That's it. Mac can stay busy with iPod and iTunes, while their new Q7 with H.264 gets beated by DivX again....or even WMVHD :) If you like the good look, get a Mac. $2300 bucks. My AMD 64 is twice fast and reliable and stable than any Mac and costed me $1500. Go figure :) In fact, i could say Mac is like having a Porsche Boxter (100,000 grands) while you can get a Hummer 2 (60,000 grands) :D....

------------------------------------------------ Yes, I can't wait for Microsoft to demo Tiger in action! Oh, wait... ------------------------------------------------ Are Mac users so insecure about their platform that they have to come and post crap like this on anything MS related? Yeah, MacOS is powerful, pretty, and is based on BSD, that's nice. Now run along and play with your fellow users, and leave us alone.

good screenshots Paul!!!!! :) thankz man :) They rock .... better quality than Neowin :)D oops.. hope they didnt hear me :P

Mac is made for those who likes the "Good looking" but if you want your PC too look good, like Mac, go get Stardock products, they just rock, go to Wincustomize.com and figure how you want your XP to look like.. Go do it yourself, you could :), thats why you have IconWorkshop, Flash and Photoshop for Windows XP.... ---- Funny, no one cares about this crap... Who cares what your hardware looks like.. The reason Mac users are Mac users is because of Mac OS. It's the software stupid. Wow, you mean I can run a clunky, outdated WinXP on a pretty box shaped like a freakin Tuba? COOL!! God you are so tacky. Photoshop?? What in God's name are you talking about.. customizing icons in Windows.. who gives a ****.. you can do that in any OS.. please.. someone.. get this kid a bib..

I do not know why you are comparing only the visual parats of OS X and Windows...Windows NT 6 (aka Longhorn) will provide whole new managed API for the developers. This time MS will tell us how to implement all nice thingies in NT 6 from the first day when the OS will be released. Think of something - every .NET 2.0 application can run in 32-bit and 64-bit mode, when it is started on the 32-bit hardware it will work in 32-bit mode, when it is started on a 64-bit platform it will work in 64-bit mode. There are lots and lots of features in Longhorn which you do not mention. For example with .NET almost all security issues will be solved by design. Of course we have .NET now too, but unfortunatelly it is not so widespread...the is OS is not only about visual styles...do not be so primitive.

Heh, my favorite comment is: "Stupid mac fans... Go paint a picture or something... " :)

My favorite comment in this whole list.. "Networking suxxor in Mac".. not only does he show that obviously he's some 16 year old immature kid. He's probably never even used a Mac. Funny how the first time I turned my powerbook on it set up my network automatically.. and in XP it was a struggle to get networking to work right. Lets be realistic here.

I love how my Mac browses Windows network shares faster than my Windows laptop does. Really sad.

I can't afford a Mac :( Oh well, I guess I will have to stick with Windows and use the millions of software titles it has :(

you can all watch the 1 hour and 40 min keynote at neonwin.net. but skip to the search demo. To put it simple: longhorn's search capabilities make apple's spotlight look like script kiddy-ware. in fact i can already hear the apple engineers scrambling to put something new out and demand another 129 bucks for it. So is the apple way.

I can't afford a Mac :( ---- liar.

"My favorite comment in this whole list.. "Networking suxxor in Mac".. not only does he show that obviously he's some 16 year old immature kid. He's probably never even used a Mac. Funny how the first time I turned my powerbook on it set up my network automatically.. and in XP it was a struggle to get networking to work right. Lets be realistic here." ---- I can't agree with you that networking in Windows is difficult. Mind you, I have NO PRACTICAL knowledge about MacOS (last use of it was System 7, heh) but I can't imagine that Bonjour is all that revolutionary. I know that WindowsXP automatically discovers file shares and printers as well. How well Bonjour and Windows' networking features compare I don't know, but networking in MacOS OR Windows is far from difficult. IMO, the only OSes that makes networking difficult are your CLI based OSes like DOS and GNU/Linux.

Ok guys, time for your nap..........oh, wait, i must have gotten you guys confused with a class of three year olds. Yes, that's right, I said three year olds. Your fighting for your favorite os like you would for a favorite toy........and it is disgusting to see a bunch of adults acting as if they never grew up. Everyone has there favorite os, and there's no need to fight over which one is the best, there's plenty to go around. There are good and bad features in any os. Most of an os being a favorite has to do with the individual, not the os. Now, because I've worked for Apple, I know a little bit that it seems you people don't, because apparently you've found the "perfect os" (as if it actually exists. For instance, people actually do write virus for mac os x. There aren't as many of them. Equally true is the fact that they are more able to resist, because it doesn't have as many holes in the os. You also should have virus protection on your mac. Even if though a virus can't affect you, your can be a carrier of viruses. In that sense it could transfer a virus to a pc via email, or perhaps file transfers. To the person wrote in that haven't seen a mac since college I would say that if you haven't seen os x yet, I wouldn't blame you for not wanting a mac. They don't crash near as often as they did before os x. Now, as for it being based on BSD. First of all, you can't just say BSD. You have to say FreeBSD. And, far as that goes you need to understand that it only has as much as the os NeXT had, which is really just one line of coding. From what I understand, Steve Jobs simply brought NeXT os with him when he came back to apple. So, pretty much mac os x is NeXT os. In conclusion, I would like to say that I hope it was understood throughout that I do not favor one os over another. At this time I would not choose mac os x, because of the features that I've seen are coming, there are very few that I find useful to me. Maybe you find that a lot of the new features are useful to you. I don't know, but I don't think it's worth arguing about. OSes will continue to change throughout history, and I don't find it at all exciting to think that we may be arguing about this everytime some new features come out. I find it sickening. goodnite!

I don't want a Mac unless you're talking trucks. 'Cause Macs make my skin crawl. :)

Longhorn build 5048 leaked BT Down ! www.flldls.com or www.torrentspy.com or www.torrentreactor.net

On, and Windows users can get a program which makes the windows "trippy" when you open and close them...

Come on, people. Longhorn is only about 1/2 finished. When Longhorn comes out amr maybe the next Mac OS, then you should compare. I personally think Longhorn is very stable for an alpha. Microsoft might be able to lower the system requirements by the time it comes out.

"P.S. I can't wait to enjoy my desktop searching and desktop widgets this Friday. You guys get to wait until late 2006 (given Microsoft's track record, probably delayed to early 2007). Have fun waiting!" Lol, apple search? I have MSN search, and I've had it for quite some time.Widgets? You mean what Apple stole from Konfabulator? Lol... lol lol lol

Lol, apple search? I have MSN search, and I've had it for quite some time.Widgets? You mean what Apple stole from Konfabulator? Lol... lol lol lol === Uh, Apple's had a deep search since Panther, Spotlight is waaaaay deeper... And .. duh.. Konfab started on the Mac.. we can all DL it.. Dashboard is way better for developer and way stronger..

"I have NO PRACTICAL knowledge about MacOS (last use of it was System 7, heh)" And millions of Mac users roll their eyes.. is it possible to as misinformed as the guy who posted that? Wow.... wow.. wow... Even though every news source reports LH will have features shipped in 2001 on the Mac, you haven't touched a Mac since the... er.. early 90's ?! Welcome to Windows IT Pro

"You mean what Apple stole from Konfabulator?" You mean what Konfabulator stole from MacOS in 1984? Apple had this little thing called Desktop Accessories. Hear that sound? It's the sound of another clueless Windows fanboy losing their argument. I love being able to fire up a UNIX shell on my Mac. Let me know when Windows catches up.

By all means have fun with your stooooopid one button mouse... You really have to think different to think different...

TO the guy who said that Mac OS X isnt more stable than Windows... dude what are you smoking. OS X never crashed on me but Windows does all the time. I still love Windows but I mean honestly guys give credit to both companies for trying to be innovative. And yes earlier versions of Windows had some features that Tiger now has but the only thing is that they just are not as advanced and well come on it is very clear to see that both companies copy off of each other. I like the nice lil search bar in the start menu it is very similar too hmm spotlight. Before anyone goes bashing each company if you didn't know they steal ideas from each other all the time.

Fantastic point. Well said. These forums are usually (read:USUALLY), little more than fanboys, ranting and arguing over which OS is better. When in reality, both have a great amount of strong points and weak points. Such is life. At least there are some mature, reasonable, non-argumentative people around here. :D

Well Thurrot reports that LH is so far graphically unimpressive, exceeded by Apple's current offerings, honestly that takes all the fun out of it. If Thurrott is being honest, and saying he expects more from an incredibly resourceful and rich company like MS, and they've not met his expectations, hats off Thurrott, once in a while, I like the way you talk.

Actually Paul said, above: "This build doesn't include the advanced Longhorn UI elements--called Aero Glass and Aero Express". So any comparison between Longhorn and another commercially available OS is pointless. These developer builds are simply not representative of the final product. You don't go to a Ford motor factory and laugh at their car chassis on the production line, claiming it is uglier than a competitor's car that you saw in a showroom, do you? (Maybe you do)

Another article covering ms vaporware... When is the 'longhorn consumer preview' ?

This is a good article but it's just the content (i.e. Longhorn) isn't ready yet. I use both OS X (at work) and WinXP Pro (my laptop) and while OS X catches your eye, it's WinXP that really lets you do what you want. It's intuitive and stable -- surprisingly something I cannot say about OS X. And on Apple, to not be stable means a lot because everything is designed and certified by Apple itself! Sure there are cool features in OS X like icon resizing capabilities but how many people actually use them? In any case, this is supposed to be a discussion about the article lol :D

"Photoshop?? What in God's name are you talking about.. customizing icons in Windows.. who gives a ****.. you can do that in any OS.. please.. someone.. get this kid a bib." and who cares about littel windows floating on the screen. go get WindowFX, you will be able to do the same. i guess that the 100% of Mac OS X users has already shown up in this thread :D lmfao :D good job :) how many of you are in total??? :D nice thread people :) this is so inmmature. Look how most of you Mac'ers have replied to my post, saying im 16 years old :) please go to bed, 9 pm is too late for you to be posting. now go play witn your Mac :) hehehehe..... this is hilarious :D, why everytime Paul postes about Windows Longhorn, Mac users have to show up and start bullcrap :? i wonder.... what could it be???? gj Mac'ers :D and i dont kno abouy the one who said his Windows crashes everyday.... oh, i know wait, you have never configured a PC... thats why... cause my Windos never crashes. it just depend of who configures it ;) :) about the last post, word. :) we were talking about Longhorn here not about OS X :D.... little mac whores are too in the dark and they need to show up like this.... shame on you :) look at yourselves people. poor souls :D good thread i must say, very funny :D

When will Microsoft get it, no matter how much you polish a turd, it's still a turd.

For those who wonders who copies who, please read the book "Revolution in the Valley." The story in there of how Windows original UI was copied from the Mac is humorous. Everyone wants to state the Microsoft talked about search capabilities first. Let's see Spotlight is a derivative from the experience Apple gained with iTunes and from the Next OS that Jobs brought with him when he came back to Apple. If Apple copied from Microsoft, they would have to wait another year (at least), since Microsoft's product isn't out on the market yet. Announcing a concept and implementing are two totally different beasts. In the end, what matters is did you get the product to market. So far, Longhorn is still a long ways from market. They are talking the Christmas buying season of 2006. Add another six months for the first SP, so it looks like two years from now we will get a true OS that is comparable to what Apple has today.

"and who cares about littel windows floating on the screen. go get WindowFX, you will be able to do the same." Apparently Microsoft does since they're copying it from OS X and sticking in Longhorn. Lol

For those Longhorn fans who think Apple copied Microsoft's search technology: http://www.macobserver.com/article/2005/01/27.10.shtml "A patent granted to Apple January 25th, 2005 appears to reveal that Apple had a multiyear head start on Microsoft for Spotlight, the Apple search technology that will be released later this year in Tiger. Many had seen Spotlight as a quickly developed, me-too technology intended to compete with Microsoft's long-delayed Longhorn update to Windows, but the patent application shows that Apple began working on the technology in January of 2000, years before Longhorn was announced."

I think this is one of the best comments so far... "Competition is ALWAYS a good thing - Apple and Microsoft fighting over adding new features - copying or not - are advancements in the industry, for which I am thankful." Exactly, both MS and Apple are companies who will try to outdo each other. If it wasnt for the competition, there would be no innovation, no advancements. Both of them Innovate and both of them copy. Im personally looking forward to Longhorn. It may look a little bodge job at the moment, but that is only the interface, and some of the new features sound amazing. I think OSX is also great. I use both, and each one has their +s and -s, but I would NEVER EVER say one was better than the other. I dont really give a s~*t who did what first, its the fact I am able to (or will be able to) use them. From what I can see, there are 4 kinds of people commenting on this article 1 Windows Fans - will defend longhorn and bash everything about the mac 2 Mac Fans - will do vice versa 3 Multi-System users (myself included) - will talk about the bonuses and drawbacks of each system) 4 Couldnt give a monkeys' I would also like to point out that is article is titled:- " WinHEC 2005 Longhorn Developer Preview " People should talk about Longhorn, nothing else. If the article was titled " Which is better Apple [] Microsoft []? " Finally, keep up the good work Paul :) Some of us cannot get to the US to be there, so you're all we have! :)

Ok, this is the ex-apple employee again. I needed to come back because I need to explain something. I made a mistake in saying that macs don't crash as often in mac os x as they did in previous versions of mac os. The truth is that mac don't crash, and as of yet have never crash. Windows is the operating system know for crashing, though it has been a while since I've seen a pc crash. You will most of the time get the blue screen death, and from what I hear, you are in a bad position if you get the black screen death. I have never seen the black screen so I can not speak from personal experience. Macs on the other are to freeze. That is that the screen simply freezes in it's current picture that it is showing. So, in truth what I meant to say was that Macs freeze less often since mac os x came out. And, to the person that said "By all means have fun with your stooooopid one button mouse... You really have to think different to think different..." I look at this quote, because you are obviously stupid enough, or perhaps simply uninformed that you don't know that all you have to do to use a two button mouse in mac os x is plug it into the computer. Yes, it is that simple. Alright, I think I'm done for now. Have fun kids!

"I love being able to fire up a UNIX shell on my Mac. Let me know when Windows catches up." http://www.colinux.org/ Thanks guys. Mac fanatics, (and by no means do I mean normal Mac users, but only the lame ones who post arrogant and misinformed comments like that) do some reasearch. Windows, being a platform which 94% of the desk computing world uses is blessed with many freeware and community written apps. I love being able to go on the net and pick up a program for free which can do a small task which no other large scale/popular program can do as well. Linux has it, becuase it's a developer's OS. Windows has it, because it's a popular OS. Mac OS doesn't have it to the same extent.

OK, brand new Mac, fresh copy of OSX, my macintosh crashes just as much as my windows pc. When I say crash, the system just halts completely, and the only thing I can do is force switch off using the power button. Even the command+option+esc doesnt work, and I am unable to restart finder. On the other hand, at least if my xp machine crashes, I can force quit explorer, then restart it. This is a brand new macintosh, with nothing loaded yet.

I use a Mac, and TBH I love it, but whoever said that Macs don't crash is an idiot... my home Mac crashes just as much as my Windows PC at work. Mac OS X is one unstable PoS, even though it's has a sexy UI and some sweet programs, which is why I chose it over windows.

No one so far has mentioned the really nasty new feature in Longhorn hinted at here - 'high fidelity printing system'. Microsoft call this 'Metro' and it seems to be a direct competitor to Adobe's PDF. It's a new XML based file format and print processor. This will cause absolute havoc to the printing and graphic design industry. Yet another 'not invented here' thing at Microsoft which will set back computing many, many years and cause major headaches. This is Microsoft saying 'Screw you Apple, Screw you Adobe, Screw you Quark', we want to screw up your industry too as well as the Internet and the business world.

"use a Mac, and TBH I love it, but whoever said that Macs don't crash is an idiot... my home Mac crashes just as much as my Windows PC at work. Mac OS X is one unstable PoS, even though it's has a sexy UI and some sweet programs, which is why I chose it over windows." ^^^^^ w0rd.... Well forget about the Mac fans rite now. Hum, i got the beta version and i'll be trying it on my badass-more-stable-than-macosxpieceofc...-AMD64 pc tonite, and see what i get out of it :) looks interesting. the file is a hundred megs more than a standar CD. so a DVD will be needed. I'm also assuming it will be a really huge DVD when it comes out to the public. I bet it will be at least 2GBs on a DVD... that OS is gonna be humongous and awesome :) Great job Mickey :) i cant wait till its all done :)

"No one so far has mentioned the really nasty new feature in Longhorn hinted at here - 'high fidelity printing system'. Microsoft call this 'Metro' and it seems to be a direct competitor to Adobe's PDF. It's a new XML based file format and print processor. This will cause absolute havoc to the printing and graphic design industry. Yet another 'not invented here' thing at Microsoft which will set back computing many, many years and cause major headaches. This is Microsoft saying 'Screw you Apple, Screw you Adobe, Screw you Quark', we want to screw up your industry too as well as the Internet and the business world. " Perhaps the developers from Adobe are working with the developers of Metro, I'm watching Bill's Keynote video now, and I must say, it looks impressive. The man who demonstrated this, Arvind, has confirmed it will be cross platform, compatible with everything and will only build on what we have already

"Hum, i got the beta version and i'll be trying it on my badass-more-stable-than-macosxpieceofc...-AMD64 pc tonite, and see what i get out of it :) looks interesting. the file is a hundred megs more than a standar CD. so a DVD will be needed." Again, watch the keynote vid. Microsoft is building a true x64 OS, which is legacy 32bit compatible, rather than a 32bit OS which will run some 64bit apps(OSX). Obviously, 64bit support is going to be the key factor.

Microsoft sucks.. I'm moving to mac

OMFG... I'AM 0N TEH INTREWEB WITH MY W1ND0W5 B0X.

Indexed Searching was present in Mac OS 8.5. The confusion comes from Microsoft announcing it first, but Apple developing it before them. In any event, Be developed it before either of them, so the point is moot. Regardless who copied who, Apple is getting the most touted features people want in 2006 in an OS this 29th. Microsoft can blab all they want. Apple got it out first, suck it up. And for all the 64-bit fanboys. 64-bit is also overrated. Unless you have an application that can really take advantage of over 4GBs of RAM, it's going to run slow as hell. Your CPU's cache will be exhausted as well as your existing RAM as all your address will be twice as big. If the app doesn't need to be 64-bit, don't bother. Stuffing 32-bit addresses into 64-bit spaces just makes it slow. The smart thing to do (and I believe both Microsoft and Apple are doing this) is to keep the OS itself 32-bit (what the hell is the point of driving your GUI in 64-bit? Just stupid) with access to 64-bit memory addressing JUST for the apps that need it (like databases, 3D modeling and animation, realtime video and audio processing, image processing, etc.) 64-bit might be relevant for gamers sometime in the future, but not immediately. As for stability, Macs are more stable. The reason is that Apple only has to write their software for one vendor, itself. Microsoft has to support hundreds, if not thousands of PC manufacturers with different components and driver support. Getting them to all work seamlessly is nearly impossible. I'd have to say that Microsoft doesn't get enough credit for how stable Windows is already given their install base. However, if OS X is really crashing, there's a hardware issue. I administer several labs with well over 100+ eMacs (not the greatest Macs, but good enough.) NONE of them crash, not once, for months on end. They run 24/7 and are used for the better part of the day during class and open lab times. In every instance that any of them have crashed it was due to corrupted memory. We've had some serious problems with Quark, but nothing that crashed the OS.

Why do our servers need high end video cards? UNIX machines can run via a serial port for a display....

"Perhaps the developers from Adobe are working with the developers of Metro, I'm watching Bill's Keynote video now, and I must say, it looks impressive. The man who demonstrated this, Arvind, has confirmed it will be cross platform, compatible with everything and will only build on what we have already" I'd somehow doubt they'd be working with Adobe, creators of PDF. The problem here is, PDF is the industry standard in print with 10+ years of investment in it from many sides in creation, workflow and production and a whole software and print industry finally at the point where we can shove PDF files between applications and to just about any print shop and they'll take them and thank you for it as it makes their life so much easier than Quark files or TIFFs or god knows what format files. Hey, ask them to print your Publisher or Word files and see what response you get. Microsoft introducing their own file format, even if it's open and free, does not help the industry. Print shops don't want a new file format. Tool developers don't want to have to add another new format particularly not one controlled by Microsoft. You can bet once it's in use, Microsoft will continue to extend it in ways that they see fit. This isn't Microsoft being all friendly and solving problems, this is Microsoft wanting to own another industry segment where it doesn't do well. When 95% of the desktops out there produce Metro file output I guess they'll have to comply but this was a problem that didn't need solving. Thanks Microsoft for ******* up another industry. This was the most significant announcement and Thurrot missed it entirely as usual, the same way he missed core imaging in Tiger. Or was he just keeping quiet about it? After all, Macs are particularly prevalent in print and design and screwing up their industry probably serves Microsoft well. Mac users get accused of being in a reality distortion field - well, if you don't see Metro as a very bad thing for an entire industry, then they have pretty potent Koolaid in Microsoft land. However, they can redeem themselves by using Metro for the native Word file format. At least then it's open and finally people can move away from Word - that's the only upside I can see out of this.

"OK, brand new Mac, fresh copy of OSX, my macintosh crashes just as much as my windows pc. When I say crash, the system just halts completely, and the only thing I can do is force switch off using the power button." This is because you have a hardware problem. The difference between OSX and Windows is that when OSX crashes, it means your computer is actually broken. You need to have it serviced or replace the RAM or something. Also, Tiger vs. Longhorn comparisons are rediculous. One exists, the other doesn't. It may be more appropriate to compare Longhorn with OSX 10.5.

Hm, I am using both, but for work I must admit Mac Os X is and mac machines are more stable and more effective to use due a lots of problems generally with windows and HW. I have used versions of windows since 3.1. What is done well in Windows is the explorer.exe which is integrated in the open/save dialogue and the Windows explorer. it is snappy and effective and the three system it features good customizability, but its default settings are crap (web-folder/one-click folders(explorer.exe)/no file extensions on known filetypes etc.). What is making mac os better is that they have included free open-source software like ssh, apache etc etc. which is better than windows isolated-to-windows users alternatives. I am running ssh/apache etc. etc. on the windows machine now, but still, you have to be a power user to install some of it. For microsoft to have a success with longhorn i recommend them to see at apple and how they doing it at probably a lower cost. They have to revolutionize the Windows platform and drop some backwards compatibility... Make the privileges like in UNIX systems and have a more strict profile for installing SW and HW to make it more stable. For you that mention windowFX, it cannot be compared with the graphical hw-accelrated engine featured in panther and tiger, please check some of the lates keynotes from apple. And it should not be needed to install Firefox, thunderbird, some anti-virus and some anti-spyware program to use the computer securely on the internet for a average user. For games I use consoles, I dont play FPS so I dont need a computer for that and when I want to play a games I want things as hassle-free as possible.

for everyone complaining about Mac, Windows, and Linux; you are all welcome to your opinions, but let's have more fact in these discussions. I am sure that Microsoft, Apple and especially the open source community would love to have some of you fix the problems with the various operating systems. Have at it... Can't wait to see your contributions. I personally like all three and even some of the not-so-known OS's. Like some posters stated, just pick your favorite and use that. I suggest using all of them and actually learning about them all. thanks.

hardware, hardware, hardware. PC's generally cost less and in lots of cases, have cheaper hardware. Macs are somewhat standard hardware from Apple, but not always if user changes stuff. I personally use top of the line hardware in my PC and I don't have Windows XP crashes unless I am causing it by loading a bad 3rd party driver, etc. or overclocking without proper cooling. Other than that, it works GREAT! I think that some of Microsoft's Windows Update drivers for 3rd party hardware absolutely stinks, but overall, Windows XP is stable. I also love OS X. Linux is great too especially Ubuntu and Red Hat. Have great hardware and you will have great running OS's (at least out of the main OS's).

You basher guys are dickfaces! Go and hit your cute hole. Get a life or a better religion! What makes our life better from the past till the future is the improvement of ideas. Say, I have better way for someone's idea, and i want to improve his idea by incorporating my own ideas, isn't that good? And, later, he soons find out my idea has indeed proved something useful from his original idea and he allows it to happen, isn't that cool? Ok, he wants to improve my ideas a little bit after finding out something can be done to make his old ideas and my ideas work better, isn't that fair? Ok, dicks, I don't care if my ideas are copied several times by you, because, after all I will be dead but my ideas will live on, isn't that great? Just quote my name in your ideas, that will be enough. I am not greedy for my ideas to be used by others? What for? I have said that I am not greedy and soon I will leave this world to make my Maker. So to all developers from all camps (Linux, OS X, Windows, etc), please unite and make our life better for the future. Don't listen to dickface users who do not know how difficult it is to develop a software to ease user's burden. It's not developer's fault to make user's life difficult; it's greed (the 7 sins). Remember Chicken and Egg's problem, or Prisoner's Dilemma? Choose what is best for everyone. Owning a computer is more than just having an operating system.

Oh, yes, if you have your own preferences, it's your freedom of choice! Thank God for a lot of choices. Survival is possible now :)

i can't believe i'm actually attaching a comment to all these statements of drivel. I think the ratio here of intelligence to ineptitude is pretty drastic. i will make four points and then actually go and do something. first off, when it comes to servers, unix based platforms (fbsd, linux, etc.) are by far the most "secure." Secondly, everyone here that is arguing "windows vs. mac os x" is retarded (get-out-of-jail-free-card to people who know that earlier versions of mac os 9 and anything below sucked ***, but then again so did early versions of windows.) thirdly, mac os x is pretty and it's function is limited (but for certain people it can do everything that is needed-- esp. since now all mac os is is a bsd flavour that costs way to much money... etc etc... graphic designers and people that like colors... yay mac os x...) fourthly, windows is ******* butt-ugly (longhorn, from everything i've seen, doesn't seem to fix this) but it does manage to be *extremely* flexible with the programs that one can make use of, while not being incredibly difficult to use (like linux, etc.) hence, anyone who claims any OS "is better" than any other OS is making a claim about something that is absurd, and thus they are retarded. reduction ad absurdum, i'm gonna go smoke.

"Yes, I can't wait for Microsoft to demo Tiger in action! Oh, wait... " "You mean Tiger done right." Dream on. "Tiger done right." == "windows 95" Tiger is no mach for windows XP and by the speed that the apples evolve now they will probably reach the level of longhorn around the year 2800

As a Mac user for many years, I am willing to make the switch to PC/Windows if Longhorn is as good as it promises. I am fed up of Apple giving us Mac people pretty looking OS upgrades when what we need is power and stability! We are not kids, and since I'm not gay either, I don't care about pretty Mac icons.

No No No this not Tiger... This is VMS with Tiger UI elements stapled on!

I have read your review and e-week's review of the alpha-release of Longhorn. I am the administrator of a technical support staff for a 600 user windows-xp client base. Our client users operate in a business and academic environment. After reading these reviews, all I can say is my "typical" user will rarely use the new features. Instead, they will be utterly confused! Microsoft needs to change their strategy. It appears Microsoft has a team of young programmers trying to out-do each other on new, cool features they can develop! Features from a gaming, music, and entertainment viewpoint. Not, how Windows should work in a business or academic environment! I am not against creating these cool features. In fact, I think they are great. Eventually, businesses and acadmeic institutions find ways to use them for their needs. However, initially, these features cause user confusion, wasted productivity, and new ways for employees to spend time on non-productive work activities. To accommodate business needs, Microsoft should release a basic "Windows" system on a single CD/DVD. On a second CD, should be a list of OS add-ons. This would allow technical support staffs and users to select only the add-ins they need. Instead, technical support staff have to figure out ways to "turn off" some of the "cool" OS stuff not needed for a business environment.

The first time Microdoft make something that doesnt suck, it will be a vacuum cleaner.

"As a Mac user for many years, I am willing to make the switch to PC/Windows if Longhorn is as good as it promises. I am fed up of Apple giving us Mac people pretty looking OS upgrades when what we need is power and stability! We are not kids, and since I'm not gay either, I don't care about pretty Mac icons." freaking good point! .... Yo ma man! :D and im not gay either, thats why i never used Mac OS :D....

i will wait...

Tut, tut, the old apple vs windows argument again! What seems to be forgotten here is that anything man made is imperfect and prone to mistakes and failings, that any OS has its advantages and disadvantages in comparison to another. Instead of this bickering and fault finding, computer users should just be grateful that their choice of OS makes use of the available technology to please them. Each to their own, hey. I use Windows XP home and look forward with great anticipation to the release of Longhorn, but I'm also dabbling with Linux and will investigate Mac OS'es because I have an open mind and like to enjoy the best of what's on offer. Thanks, Paul, for your articles, they raise the anticipation levels and answer many previously unanswered questions

90% of you morons who worry about how much more powerful an xbox is or how much more windows can do never actually do anything with it. so zip your pants up and close your mouths. a computer (or game console) is just a freaking computer, not the end of the world. enjoy it for what you actually do with it.

"BOTH Microsoft and Apple innovate, as well as many other companies" Let's visit the MICROSOFT HALL OF INNOVATION: http://www.vcnet.com/bms/departments/innovation.shtml

I think the real innovators are third partys. Because, the feature that Apple and MS add to their OS, first has appeared in third partys.

Q: How many microsoft software engineers does it take to change a lightbulb? A: None. Microsoft already declared darkness a standard

Hey,flat-earth society!!! Stop your moaning and just be happy with what you have. I love my Mac more than my PC, not because I'm a fanatic but because it has proved to be a genuinely more stable and powerful OS. My friends are happy with their PCs, and so be it. It does what they want it to do. Fine. As for the gamecube... you ***!! Check out Resident Evil 4 and tell me again how good (*bad*) Halo is.

I think one thing that has not been mentioned here is the fact thet Microsoft is Apples's largest software supplier, and that Apple owes its exsistance to Microsoft. I mean come on, even Bill Gates has an iPod. Another thing most people forget is, that Microsoft and Apple differ quite substantially, in the sense that, Microsoft is only a software company that caters for a diverse array of markets, and Apple, well, their different. Each company have different missions, and sometimes their ideas interrelate, influence, and maby even complement each other. The main piont im trying to get accross here is that, the two companies cant be feaily compared. A fair comparison can only be acheived if Microsoft was based on the same business model as Apple. I would really love to see what would happen if Microsoft was to release an operating system for the PowerPC architecture, or what would happen if Apple was to release an OS X for the IA x86/32/64 platform.

Microsoft has said many things about Windows... many features too... TOO BAD TIGER HAS THEM FIRST. You snooze you loose. 5th major release in 4 years. Revolutionary technology and features... please, don't complain.

Just wondering.... if OS-X is sooo much better, why do you have to keep bragging about it all over this forum? why not just SHUT UP and USE IT? and BTW... WHY IS MR. GATES SO MUCH RICHER THAN MR. JOBBS, IF MR. GATE'S SOFTWARE IS SO MUCH CRAPIER?? I guess next you'll say he's hipnotyzing people, and tricking them into buying his lesser software... give it up boys... Microsoft is Microsoft 'cause it's better at what it does... sorry... not better. the BEST. with the current difusion of broadband, why hasn't linux taken over? why is Windows still the most broadly used all over the freggen planet? here's a hint: Buy a PC; LEARN to set it up; it's actually configurable, not all tightened up like OSx; LEARN to take advantage of it. and remember: microsoft wasn't build out of crap and garbage on some fat loser's garage. cheers to u. dewd12321@yahoo.com.au

Like many others well said before me, comparing MAC OS X with WINDOWS or any other OS is pointless. I have been a computer user for 20 years now and I think that everything related to computers in general is amazing, either thats software or hardware. I felt as much exited when i first installed MAC OS X Tiger as when I did WIN XP a few years ago or experiment with LINUX. I am sure I will get exited when i will upgrade to longhorn. You know why? Because its something new and its evolution, it will make you wanna explore more. You must understand that any kind of software has something to offer in the development of technology. Run back and think how we did things 20 years ago and how we work now. For those that insist on debating about this OS or the other I must say that every OS has its own different philosophy and cannot be compared one to another. For example if you like the way things are done in OS X you work with OS X. Same with WIN XP or LINUX. Plus Apple philosophy and design is totally different than PC and Windows. If you want to run OS X you must buy a Mac. If you want Windows you should buy a PC. All those pointless comparisons would actually have a point if you could run both OS on the same hardware. But again like I said, it depends how you want your computer to look like, or how you prefer to work with an OS. If you are one of those that like to build their own computer and upgrade its hardware every chance they get, PC and windows is oneway. On the other hand if you want something that looks fancy on your desk and prefer the OS X you get an iMac... and so on. So its up to every person to decide whats best for him or its company. For example you can't convince a designer that works with photoshop and is used to do that the past 10 years, the Mac way, that running photoshop on Windows is much better or easier. The conclusion for me is that if you like what you do and the way you do it with your PC or Mac, don't bother to compare any more.

"Don't be too hard on mac people, Tiger (and OSX in general) offers a lot of Apple innovations: 1) File / folder encryption 2) Fast User Switching 3) Real multitasking and memory protection 4) index search 5) Dashboard 6) transparency, shadows and window animations 7) iChat 8) "Search folders"... No, wait. Actaully all of these were innovated by soneone else. 1 was already in Win2000, 2 was in XP, 3 was in NT 3.1 over 10 years ago, 4 was in Windows NT in 1996, 5 was stolen from Konfubulator, 6 was stolen from WindowBlinds and WindowFX (shareware programs for OS/2 and Win9x), 7 has all most all of it's new features taken from MSN Messenger and 8 was stolen from OutLook 2003. Paul already made an excellent summary about the "200 new features"...I guess in LongHorn MS can just redraw all the old icons, those should make up 300-400 "new features" in Apple vocabulary!! And let's not forget how Apple made the first and most powerful "64-bit workstation" (years after Alpha and Opteron)... Oh well, don't let facts affect the RDF." hey retard for #6, windowblinds tried to copy off of mac, and 2was in panther too, and ichat has been around here for a while now get it into your head: MAC ROCKS WINDOWS SUCKS!!!!! Face it, Linux is even beeter than windows

use Linux is way better. I installed it this weekend and will never go back.