Mac OSX vs Windows Vista…why they must complicate my life
So my husband would tell you that we are hands down, a Mac household. Since he owns a software company (Semanteme, Inc.) that is solely focused on creating applications for the Mac and iPhone, that leaves us pretty much with a huge spend at the Apple store and more than 5 different Mac’s (Powerbooks, Macbooks, Dual Core Desktops etc. at any one time to work on at home. Now turn left. I work at Microsoft and since 2002 my real estate business required the use of Windows in order to run proprietary real estate software that just wouldn’t work on the Mac. Therefore, I’ve always had a PC laptop running whatever the newest version of Windows was (currently XP because it doesn’t have the gusto for Vista) and I’ve run both Windows XP and Mac OSX on my Powerbook since the emergence of the Intel chip on the Mac. So while my husband gets to live in his own happy bliss with his complete immersion of Mac OSX and Apple hardware, I feel like I’m forced to live a dual life and while complicated, I wouldn’t give it up.
In my world, life on a Mac and life on a PC are two totally different experiences but I get to manage both on a daily basis and sometimes it is tiring. I know, I know, Apple is trying to gain market share in the business market and Microsoft has been trying to garner the multi-media and creative experience that Apple does so well. However, from my perspective the two companies are just driving me crazy.
Hands down, Microsoft wins in the business software arena for integration, holistic monitoring and addressing the complete needs of a business and the infrastructure. The way that Microsoft has really taken every facet of an organization, created a software solution and integrated it so that it works together in essentially one space is amazing. I’m talking about things like how Outlook and Exchange interfaces with Groove and OneNote amongst other things that is so essential to business users. I think Microsoft’s strong point is this holistic approach to business. Of course, working at Microsoft I have first hand experience in how really great their business approach is for managing business technology.
On the other hand, when I get home and I want to write emails, design websites, manage pictures and do some creative work I turn to my Mac with a sigh of relief. There is something about the simplicity of a Mac, the beauty of the interface that just calms and inspires me when working creatively. I know the operating system is stable, I won’t have to restart my machine and that things will just generally work the way I expect them to. It’s a nice feeling to know you don’t have to worry about the actual applications or the operating system, you can just focus on what you are working on.
I have to admit, that I do like the experience of Mac OSX better than working with Windows Vista but the lack of Mac applications really hinders my complete commitment to the Mac. On the Windows side of things, I want to see Microsoft improve the stability of Windows Vista because the experience with Windows just doesn’t map to the higher quality of their apps. The user doesn’t want to waste time managing their OS or figuring out why it’s crashed again, they just want to work.
Maybe the solution for both Apple and Microsoft is a new operating system altogether… Madows anyone? Till then, I’ll be a die-hard dual life gal.
