Windows 7 or Snow Leopard: which is better value for money?

Friday, November 13th, 2009

In the latest part of our bid to convert a Mac user to Windows 7, Chris Brennan explores the ever thorny issue of pricing

I’m nearing the end of my month with Windows 7 and so I’d thought it would be a good idea to have a look at the pricing structure. If I’m going to invest it’s probably best to know just how much I’m going to have to spend on this OS.

The laptop I was supplied with came with Windows 7 Ultimate, but having listened to the PC Pro podcast on the subject I’m under the impression that Home Premium will be more than sufficient.

It’s a bit odd as a Mac user to have the choice of operating system as the Mac OS comes in just two flavours: Standard and Server. If I step back to Home Premium from Ultimate am I likely to see any difference whatsoever? No, not at all seems to be the general consensus which begs the question why does Microsoft put that doubt in  my mind?

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Is Microsoft listening too hard to customers?

Wednesday, November 11th, 2009

In the latest part of our bid to convert a Mac user to Windows 7, Chris Brennan compares the adverts of Microsoft and Apple and draws some interesting conclusions

The current Windows 7 advertising campaign can’t fail to have grabbed your attention. Essentially, Microsoft is saying that you, the user, designed this latest incarnation of the world’s most popular operating system. They listened to what you wanted and put it in Windows 7.

Does that mean you were responsible for Vista too I wonder? Could an advertising campaign convince me to switch?

The I’m a PC campaign was launched in 2008 in response to the I’m a Mac advertising campaign, which believe it or not started way back in 2006. I have never liked the I’m a Mac campaign as at its heart is a childish message: you’re not me and I’m better than you so ner.

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Microsoft still unsure of Windows 7 success?

Tuesday, November 10th, 2009

There are a few signs here at TechEd that Microsoft wasn’t quite as sure about the runaway success of Windows 7 as its fanboys (me included).

In planning the layout of the show stalls in the exhibition halls, Microsoft has ensured plenty of space to gently introduce skeptics to its new hot product. You can wander up and furtle about with example machines, and if you stand there too long a Nice Person will come up and ask if you’ve seen this or that cool feature. I thought I was being even ruder than usual by brushing them off – then some Russian delegates popped up beside me and showed me how to do that brush-off thing properly.

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Why all the fuss over Windows Explorer?

Monday, November 9th, 2009

In the latest part of our bid to convert a Mac user to Windows 7, Chris Brennan compares Finder to Explorer and wonders what all the fuss is about

The Finder on the Mac seems much maligned by many Windows users and I have to admit I’m not sure why. Since using Windows 7 I’ve found the methods of storing and finding files much the same. The Finder and Explorer windows look strikingly similar and can be viewed in much the same way.

After using the Windows Explorer I’m not really convinced it’s necessarily better than the Finder, but as I’ve already said that may well be because I’m more used to the Mac way of doing things. I have to admit that the smart folders of OSX are a much better solution than libraries in Windows 7. Unless I’m missing something (and there’s a rather large chance I am) they’re not as flexible.

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Where are the killer apps for Windows?

Friday, November 6th, 2009

In the latest part of our bid to convert a Mac user to Windows 7, Chris Brennan wonders where all the brilliant Windows-only apps are hiding?

One of the things you need as a Mac user is patience. Patience with PC users who think you’re an idiot. Patience with IT help desks that don’t know anything about Macs, despite claims they support them. Patience with software developers who don’t have Mac versions of their products.

Actually, that last one isn’t true, as despite the numerous and seemingly never-ending claims that the Mac doesn’t have the necessary applications, I’m still to find a Windows application that can’t be matched on the Mac.

On my Mac I use Microsoft Office with Adobe Photoshop. I have Skype, Firefox, TweetDeck and iTunes, and this PC I’m working on now is capable of running all of those applications too. So, I’m wondering what are all these applications that the PC has that my Mac doesn’t? It’s supposed to be one of the major benefits to having a PC, isn’t it? Plenty of people in the comments on this blogs have cited it as a reason they use PCs over Macs.

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Why Windows 7 has forced me to worry about security

Wednesday, November 4th, 2009

In the latest part of our experiment to convert a Mac user to Windows 7, Chris Brennan hits a security roadblock.

I’ve had my first major concern with Windows 7, and it all stems from a news story that appeared  on this very site yesterday. Apparently, Windows 7 is susceptible to eight out of ten new viruses. This is something I rarely have to worry about on the Mac. No one is likely to write a virus that affects only 4% of the computing world.

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t claim that bad things can’t happen to a Mac.  It’s just not a major worry. I have the firewall turned on and I don’t open suspect attachments from people I don’t know, but that’s as far as it goes. So the news that even the latest and greatest Microsoft OS is still at risk from hackers leaves me a little uneasy.

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How Dixons is (under)selling Windows 7

Monday, November 2nd, 2009

If you’ve been into a Dixons Group shop lately (i.e. PC World or Currys Digital), you’ll have seen the place festooned with posters and displays declaring that the arrival of Windows 7 means it’s “time for a new PC”.

From a marketing point of view, it’s an obvious message for Dixons to be pushing. But in reality, as we all know, one of the great merits of Windows 7 is that most of us don’t need a new PC to run it. I use it happily on an old Advent laptop with 1GB of RAM and a Pentium Dual-Core processor; David Bayon runs it on his Atom-powered Samsung NC10 netbook. If there was ever an edition of Windows that didn’t mean “time for a new PC”, this is it.

With Microsoft getting so much right in Windows 7, it’s a disappointment to see it permitting (perhaps even supporting) such a misleading marketing slogan. And I think it’s a mistake. In the coming years Windows is going to be increasingly threatened from multiple directions — by a buoyant Apple, by emergent operating systems such as Chrome OS and by cloud-based mobile computing. Surely as the battle grows Microsoft will want its best foot forward, in the shape of a satisfied user base. The last thing it will want is to be weighed down by still-lingering resentments over Vista.

Yet this slogan seems designed to deliver precisely that outcome. Dissatisfied customers won’t appreciate being told they must write off their old PC to escape their unsatisfactory OS. Many who can’t afford a new PC will stick with Vista and remain disgruntled with it. And those who know the truth – that any machine that runs Vista will run Windows 7 better – will resent Microsoft’s apparent collusion in an attempt to get them to waste money on an unnecessary new PC.

Do I like Windows 7 because it’s so like a Mac?

Monday, November 2nd, 2009

In the latest part of our experiment to see whether Windows 7 can convert a hardened Mac user, Chris Brennan gets a sudden feeling of déjà vu.

I think it’s fair to say that although Apple is good at marketing it hasn’t always been the case. But since Steve Jobs’ return in the 1990s, the marketing team has lifted the company from also-ran to master brand.

Microsoft’s marketing team hasn’t fared so well, with a spate of bad decisions and u-turns that have made it easy for the Mac faithful to point and laugh. Bill Gates and that Seinfeld bloke? Really? A Family Guy special? Dangerous. Windows 7 launch parties? Even if it is a joke there’s a chance it’ll backfire and you’ll end up looking stupid. Oh, it did.

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No Windows 7 drivers turn Dell M1330 into a doorstop

Monday, November 2nd, 2009

At last year’s PDC (Professional Developers Conference), Microsoft handed out shiny new laptops preloaded with the then-new build of Windows 7 to the press corps. It ensured that no-one would get hung-up on installation issues, because each machine was ready to go. Plus it gave the press a machine each to try the various beta builds as it progressed.

I confess that mine stayed in its bag, because I preferred to test both in virtual machines and on my own known hardware. But over the weekend, I was tempted to unpack the laptop and try it with final Windows 7 code.

The laptop is pretty decent — a Dell XPS M1330 with a big battery, 4GB of ram and a decent hard disk. Quite a good workhorse, I think you would agree.

So this morning, in went the Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit DVD. Naturally, I decided to wipe the hard disk and start again from scratch. Once the install was done, there was a bunch of things to download from the Microsoft website via the Windows Update service.

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Is Windows 7 good looking enough to sway an Apple fan?

Friday, October 30th, 2009

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.

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