I use both also. At my desk, I currently have a Dell latitude and a Macbook pro running right now.
And there is no "winning". I think what you are objecting and characterizing as childish is my being vocal about non-sense such as Apple tax. How can that even exist in a free market?
Wuh? Are you sure you use a Mac?
Let me give some examples...
You say, "its no easier on one or the other to start software." What about Launchpad? Or the Dock?
Perhaps there is an equally easy way to view all your apps, pick the one you want and launch it in Windows 7 as Launchpad but I haven't yet figured it out. (I've had this laptop for maybe 4 years now.)
And what about App updates? I go to the App Store from my Mac to see if if there are app updates available. I am sure there is a Windows 7 equivalent. I haven't the foggiest idea what it is though. Maybe it is a user issue but I suspect the reason I haven't figured it out yet is, well, you know.
And I am sure there is some super easy, super intuitive incremental backup tool baked into Windows 7. I am positive of it. No clue what is. In a mac? Just plug in a USB drive and Mac walks you through it.
I am not going to say that Windows doesn't work or is not usable. Clearly that is not true. Nor am I going to say that Mac is for everyone. Clearly that is not true either. What I am willing to say is that those who prefer macs over windows do so because macs are easier to use. And you grant that presumption for a minute, then the notion of comparing an Apple computer to a Wintel computer is pointless because it marginalizes the value that "ease of use" offers.
I will concede this point. There are quite a few people who ogle the specs of a computer and even a cellphone and fixate on how many cores and clock speed and so on. Maybe what I should say is, I doubt more than 7 people here in Macrumors know what difference a Quad core snapdragon processor makes over the dual core A7 processor. But you know, Apple taxes you for that. iPhone costs the same or more than a Samsung even though the iPhone only gives you half the cores.
Well, I guess anyone can claim to know the difference.
Look, there are surely very good reasons to pick Windows over Mac. For example, there is no version of Visio that is ported to Mac. Or to genericize, there are some apps that are not even available on Macs.
Another might be that there are performance issues on Macs. I read somewhere that someone was getting much better performance from his Mac Pro when running windows on it. I guess the theory right now is the Windows drivers for the GPU are better Mac drivers.
Another reason is that general cost (not talking about Apple tax but overall cost of the solution). With Macs, you have to pay for things like display adapters and ethernet adapters whereas Windows machines tend to have things like an ethernet or a VGA port.
There are lots of good reasons to give as to why wintel machines are superior or at least equal to mac solutions. But "there is no difference between windows and os x" isn't one of them. And neither is Apple tax.
OK, you made me come inside from my beer in the sun (I should be mowing the lawn) I say that in a light hearted way.
I used the word childish in response to the manner that you attacked the other guy here. Not due to Apple tax, which I don't know anything of, as I am in New Zealand. The Apple Tax I know of is here, by way of the US$ and converted to NZ$, add GST, causes us kiwis to be paying a lot more, but that's not an issue.
In Windows you can add your chosen apps to the taskbar, make it bigger if you like, or click the Start Button to see the apps you pinned there. From my experience with both obviously not everything is the identical click number. For example I am used to right clicking IE or Safari on my Win 7 desktop to get the websites I pinned there, cannot do that in OSX. Small things, and again, I don't expect everything to be the same clicks away, win some lose some, no big deal
Updates. Win 7 will update the OS automatically if you set it to that. Programs, if there is an update will alert you, there is an update, do now or later, or such like
Backup In Windows, off course there is , far better than OSX! Geez.
No, there isn't, Kobalap, and good work Apple
I fond that both are easy to se, they are different. Extra clicks here or less, both ways. But to turn on, access software, access settings, there is little in it. The thing I see from both sides is that Mac users are configured to not like Windows and struggle (Generalisation, yes) Same for Win users. Win users say Im so used to this, and its different, but IMO it isn't that different at all if you take it on board. When I first went to OSX it was hard. As my brain had a different workflow. I downloaded a program, a dmg was on the desktop, installed it and two boxes popped up with an arrow. I dragged it (I intentionally went by the intuitive I was told and did not learn OSX first). Nothing happened, no message to say installed, no message to say a problem. Off course it was copied to the Application folder. Not intuitive at all, and I dont say that as a criticism, bit I wasnt used to that , just as Mac users on a PC are not used to that
CPU. Tks. re A7 and Snapdragon, well, with phones at least I have read many posts wher the Android user/Apple hater always conceded that iOS is smooth as silk. They use a custom SoC, designed by Apple for Apple, whereas the others use chip a or b or c etc. iPhone is a slower clock, but its optmised for THE software it runs. Re computers, many buy on price , or storage, etc but those with a wee bit of knowledge do want an i7, do want quad, although with a laptop we also want battery, do want SSD, etc, but I also concede many off course don't their loss. Apple isnt cheap, so best to sort out what you need as you dont really want to upgrade too soon
Intuitive, as mentioned and repeated by many I know here, o on forums, nothing is that intuitive. My first iPhone, a 4, wasn't. How do I do this, how do I do that. I feel the word intuitive is overused at times.
Performance. I dont know about Windows running on a MP, but I di knw that a Mac with exact specs to a Wintel will run slower. Thats not an OSX or Windows thing, Apple clearly has conservative timings on the board, that promotes stability. No issue really.
Adapters? Dont follow you there as apart from recently the ports seemed pretty similar. Now I get few on my just ordered rMBP Haswell, but thats ok, thats progress
Did I say "there is no difference between windows and os x"? If so, I concede. I meant that they look different but the same functions exist, maybe very similar, maybe a click more or less but similar. I just dont see a marked difference, over look and feel, but I prefer OSX due to easier integration, small things such as iMessage, no real need for AV, and my pet hate in Windows , that OSX installs most apps as stand alone, not deposited all over the place as does Windows. These and there are others dont really make Windows low productive as you implied.
At the end of the day, my main grief was cutting down the other guy, you shouldn't denegrate his post to "school stuff", and I shouldn't have mentioned the word childish.
Cheers
Tony, NZ, having one more beer in the sun, then mowing the lawn!!