Tiger or Vista for laptops

Latptop Magazine is the latest to publish a shootout between Mac OS X 10.4 (Tiger) and Windows Vista, this time as it relates to use on portable computers. Using a black MacBook and an HP Pavillion laptop, the article compares the operating systems on Interface, Search, Media, Peripherals, Performance, Security, Networking and more. In its "overall verdict" conclusion, the magazine declares Mac OS X 10.4 the winner, stating "although Vista is pushing the envelope with some of its features, it's still unproven in several key areas and could use snappier performance. Until that happens, we'll stick with OS X Tiger."

In particular, Mac OS X 10.4 scored points in the areas of interface and security. The article says that while Vista's Aero interface is aesthetically pleasing, it amounts to little more than a quick paint-job that does not fully conceal the inadequacies in ease-of-use relative to Mac OS X 10.4. "We're not huge fans of the 'stacked' rotating view, which doesn't let you view the full content of a window until your rotate it to the front of the batch; it isn't quite as functional as Tiger's Exposé.

While noting that Tiger is not impervious to security breaches, the magazine rightly declares that -- based on track record -- there is no more secure desktop operating system than Mac OS X in existence.

Finally, the piece looks at some "secret weapons" offered by each OS, including Boot Camp and Parallels for Mac OS X Tiger and Vista's "SuperFetch," which prioritizes the programs you're currently using over background tasks.

by MacNN Staff