Craig Knows Things

            It would seem in this modern day and age large companies would be able to think for themselves. However this is not the case. With the introduction of Microsofts Vista Operating System it is apparent Microsoft has been copying the cats the cats being the codenames for Apples very own operating systems.

            Apple’s current operating systems is OS 10.4 codenamed Tiger. There is also a major release on the horizon that is OS 10.5 codenamed Leopard. These operating systems at their core run off of an open source kernel called UNIX which make them a fairly bombproof operating system. Apple incorporates many core technologies into their systems. For example there is Spotlight an instant search feature. Also, Dashboard a quick way to access widgets which are objects that allow instant access to nearly any information. Apple also incorporates 3D designs in their Graphic User Interfaces that allow users to quickly see what they are doing. One of the useful features that Mac OS X has always had is that PDF is built into its core and many upon many images can be displayed at once with no slow down. Windows are always live whether they are minimized or not, even video. Video can continue to play even then minimized to the dock. With Expose a feature introduced over 3 years ago with the panther operating system it is possible to get a 3d view of all open windows at once and to easily manipulate them to find the window being looked for.

Microsft’s newest operating system is called Windows Vista, which takes many quos from that of its apple counterpart. Vista incorporates many new features over Microsoft’s previous operating system. One of these features is instant search built right into nearly every window. The Windows Sidebar, another vista innovation, brings real-time information like weather and news to the desktop in the form of gadgets. With Windows Aero a feature that very high-end computers may be able to use windows has an entirely new look and feel. With a glass border on every window you can see a smoky view of what is behind your window to give a sense of depth. Windows are now drawn dynamically and as a window is minimized it smoothly animates to the taskbar at the bottom of the screen. Once in the taskbar a live preview of what the window looks like can be seen, if the mouse is held over it for a long enough time. One last innovative feature of vista is a technology called Flip 3D. With Flip 3D it is possible to see all of your windows dynamically display in 3d on the desktop in a stacked view. Flip 3D makes it convenient to look through opened windows.

It would seem that many of Microsoft’s new feature and innovations match those that have been built into OSX for years. So then what makes them different? For starters Microsoft’s new operating system requires high-end computer to run many of the included features. OSX is able to run well on many Macs built within the last five years. It is even possible to install the OS on older Macs and still have reasonable performance. This shows that the core coding for the operating systems differ on many levels.

            In a world where originality and true innovation get unnoticed and any company with cat scratch fever can simply copy their competitors rather then striving for true innovation it makes one wonder why innovate at all. If every company were to copy every other company originality and true inventiveness will be lost. This could greatly impact everyone’s life. It is a good thing that companies such as apple ignore the copycats and strive to offer a more superior product at a quicker pace then it’s competitors.  

            Over the last thirty years a battle has been raging on in our homes. The battle is that between Windows and Mac personal computers. The windows operating system has found its way into the homes of many simply because of some good business decisions made early in it’s life, however the Mac revolution has come, he is fighting a loosing battle. There are countless reasons for why Macs are better then PCs we’re going to learn about a few in this essay. More and more people are buying Macs over PC’s and this is especially true for college students.

            The Princeton University newspaper reports that Princeton’s Mac marketshare has been rising dramatically, with 40 percent of students and faculty currently using a Mac as their personal computer. Also According to a separate Pioneer Press survey, Dartmouth is up to 55% freshman with Macs (up from 30% in 2005), University of Virginia with 20% of freshman with Macs (up from 17% in 2006), and Cornell with 21% dorm network users with a Mac (up from 5% between 2000-2002).

            Mac OS X takes all of its powerful functionality and wraps it in a remarkably beautiful user interface. The user interface is what you see when you sit in front of the computer. When apple acquired the technology that runs OS X they basically had a chance to build their user interface from scratch. Apple states that their user interface was, “Designed from the ground up to make computing virtually second nature, every visual element gives you important information about the activity status of your Mac.” Apple has accomplished this goal. 

            In Mac OS X every desktop is equipped with a Dock. The dock is a series of icons at the bottom of the screen each of which can animate and update. When clicked these icons open their corresponding application. The Dock also provides a place for windows to go when they are minimized. Because of the way the operating system is designed it can handle onscreen graphics and video with ease. When a window is minimized it will show a live preview of what is happening in that window. If a video is minimized to the dock it will continue to play in the dock. Each icon also dynamically and smoothly scales in size along with the Dock.  There is also a magnify effect, which allows users to shrink the Dock down to a small strip, but blow up icons to a larger size when they are moused-over and icons bounce to indicate that the application demands your attention. Users can also rearrange Dock items using drag-and-drop, dropping new items into it, and dragging unwanted items out. All of this makes the Dock highly customizable and information rich, despite being very simple and easy to use.

            Another innovation of Max OS X is a technology called Dashboard. Dashboard is the home of widgets. A widget is a mini-applications. Widgets let you quickly complete common tasks and also provide you with fast access to information. To access your widgets a user simply clicks the widget icon in the dock or presses f12 on their keyboard. The widgets zoom onto the screen as the desktop fades providing access to real-time weather, Dictionaries, a calculator, instant web searches and more. Dashboard disappears just as easily, which is very convenient for when you only need a widget for a few seconds. Get the information you need and nothing more.

            Amid the aforementioned features and design elements we can all see why Mac OS X is clearly a winner when it comes down to which operating system is better and easier to use. Whether you’re a college student, retired adult, child, or parent it is clear that a Mac is the right choice for you.