In the latest part of our experiment to see whether Windows 7 can convert a hardened Mac user, Chris Brennan debates the perennial question of fashion over function

As a Mac user I’m aware that one of the criticisms often levelled at those of us who use Apple computers is that we’re merely interested in how things look. For some I suppose it’s true, but when I sit in a coffee shop using my Mac it’s not because I want women to swoon at my stylish good-looking computer and men to be envious of my unibody – it’s because my broadband has broken.

That said, Apple is clearly a design driven organisation and this sometimes leads to compromises that don’t seem to make sense, non-removable batteries being a case in point. The same is true of its interfaces, with Apple often trying to marry utility with good looks. As I mentioned the other day, I’ve been to a few Steve Jobs keynotes and a couple of things stand out for me. He says beautiful, simple and powerful an awful lot, and while pie chart segments look nice, they don’t necessarily reflect the figures they represent.

Looks are hardly the be all and end all, but in my opinion Mac OS X has been a more cared-for system on the appearance front than XP ever was. Windows 7 however has really brought the Windows OS into the present day. I suppose the reality is that Vista was the really big leap in ‘look and feel’ and 7 is more a refinement of that process, but clearly a lot of thought has gone into the interface.

The live previews from the task bar are well thought out and the more refined start menu just looks a whole lot more appealing. The windows explorer interface is also much better looking than it used to be. I like the way that windows fall backwards and fade out when you close them. Perhaps this is my superficial, fashion-victim Mac user bubbling to the surface, but I do think that the way an interface looks is important.

No doubt, some of you couldn’t care less what the interface looks like as long as it gets the job done and I’m fine with that. However, the market isn’t made up of just one type of user and for some it’s about good looks as much as it is about what it does.

Of course, if it looks good but doesn’t work that’s just pointless, so before you go accusing Mac users of being all style over substance, remember they do actually use their computers as more than jewellery – you can have both stylish looks and performance.

With Windows 7 Microsoft seems to have married a well-designed interface to a solid and useable platform and that, perhaps is what was the problem with Vista: it looked nice, but didn’t work all that well.

Click here to read the rest of Chris Brennan’s blog on converting from Mac to Windows 7