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OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion Developer Preview vs. Windows 8 Consumer Preview
- Thread starter skaertus
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I've tried Windows 8 CP and I have mixed feelings about the Metro UI. It looks like an amazing interface for tablets, but I found it just awkward to use in my desktop with a mouse and a keyboard...
How is OS X ML boot time? I was quite impressed by Windows 8, which boots in under 10 seconds... there is even a video on YouTube of Windows 8 booting in just 2 seconds... wow!
How is OS X ML boot time? I was quite impressed by Windows 8, which boots in under 10 seconds... there is even a video on YouTube of Windows 8 booting in just 2 seconds... wow!
I installed W8CP for one day, I couldn't get past the Metro UI on a desktop, it was just clunky. I agree, with tablets or a touch screen, it will be pretty nice.
I haven't used ML yet, but a 2 second boot time sounds pretty unrealistic. That sounds more like a time resuming from sleep. You also have to watch it with MS, they pulled that crap with XP where the desktop would load before services, so it would appear to boot faster.
Actually the comparison is completely avoidable. They are two totally different platforms. I doubt this is news to anyone.
However I'm sure that those who love to bash windows will be eager to post here.
I installed W8CP for one day, I couldn't get past the Metro UI on a desktop, it was just clunky. I agree, with tablets or a touch screen, it will be pretty nice.
I haven't used ML yet, but a 2 second boot time sounds pretty unrealistic. That sounds more like a time resuming from sleep. You also have to watch it with MS, they pulled that crap with XP where the desktop would load before services, so it would appear to boot faster.
Look at this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xc_PXEpq5ic
I am quite impressed.
But I can't stand the Metro UI on the desktop. What is the purpose of having a 22" screen if I am not able to put two windows side by side on the new Metro UI? It's great for tablets to have the web page occupying the whole screen. But for desktops?
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I don't think that the two OSes are comparable from a "who's the better upgrade" standpoint. Windows 8 is a quantum leap for Microsoft. OS X Mountain Lion is relatively minor step forward for Apple. I think that Windows 8 is great; it runs smoothly, it feels fresh, and I think that it'll blow consumers away. I think that Mountain Lion is nice; it'll definitely appeal to iOS users, it's got some cool new features that Lion lacks, but I doubt many Mac users will even care about this upgrade. The readers of this website are pretty much the only Mac users who give the slightest hoot about the changes that Mountain Lion brings. All in all, Mountain Lion and W8 are both great OSes, they're just not comparable in terms of which is the best upgrade. I see the switch from Windows 7 to Windows 8 as the same kind of leap as from SL to Lion.
I can't shake the feeling of wanting a touch screen when I use Windows 8... Maybe I'm just being stuck in old ways, but I don't like Windows 8 one bit. Windows 7 is great though.
I've done the comparison before, but for me ML is to Lion what Windows 7 was to Vista.
I've done the comparison before, but for me ML is to Lion what Windows 7 was to Vista.
Boot time-ouch! Do you use your Mac to reboot the OS 10000 times a day, or what? Some people have really the wrong obsession.
I don't even begin to understand why the interface, clearly adjusted for tablets and the like (like consoles that is navigated with controllers etc), would be a smart solution for a personal computer. :/
The impression I have is that both Apple and Microsoft are trying to push a similar interface across a whole line of products - smartphones, tablets, laptops and desktops. To do this, they are forcing an interface which is appropriate for smartphones and tablets to laptops and desktops. And it just doesn't fit. Why does the interface has to be the same?
I have mixed feelings about the Launchpad in Lion and the Mac AppStore. Although they may be useful, I am not sure whether they represent the best approach. It's just a rip-off from the iOS and it feels unnecessary. Mountain Lion will further close the gap: I was not impressed by any of the announced features. Messages? Notification Center? Reminders? Notes? Game Center? Is Apple kidding? Will I buy a 27" quad-core iMac so it has the very same features as my iPhone? I don't want my Mac to be a big iPhone.
Microsoft is doing the same, and perhaps even worse. Windows 8 seems to merge two different products which just won't fit. There are two different Internet Explorers, for instance - one for the traditional desktop and the other for the Metro UI. And Metro UI is Windows Phone for desktops... why on Earth should I want a full-screen weather app on my desktop? Am I supposed to buy a 27" screen for that or what? It looks fine on the Windows Phone, but on a desktop? And why can't I have several windows opened side by side? Where are multi-tasking, multi-threading and all those concepts which Microsoft used to announce as big features of Windows back in 1995?
I'm Apple and Microsoft, what am I supposed to do? To throw my desktop into the trash and buy an iPad as my main computer? I want a real OS for desktops. A smartphone is not a computer and it is not supposed to be. Two different things. Why does the OS has to be (or at least look) the same?
I have mixed feelings about the Launchpad in Lion and the Mac AppStore. Although they may be useful, I am not sure whether they represent the best approach. It's just a rip-off from the iOS and it feels unnecessary. Mountain Lion will further close the gap: I was not impressed by any of the announced features. Messages? Notification Center? Reminders? Notes? Game Center? Is Apple kidding? Will I buy a 27" quad-core iMac so it has the very same features as my iPhone? I don't want my Mac to be a big iPhone.
Microsoft is doing the same, and perhaps even worse. Windows 8 seems to merge two different products which just won't fit. There are two different Internet Explorers, for instance - one for the traditional desktop and the other for the Metro UI. And Metro UI is Windows Phone for desktops... why on Earth should I want a full-screen weather app on my desktop? Am I supposed to buy a 27" screen for that or what? It looks fine on the Windows Phone, but on a desktop? And why can't I have several windows opened side by side? Where are multi-tasking, multi-threading and all those concepts which Microsoft used to announce as big features of Windows back in 1995?
I'm Apple and Microsoft, what am I supposed to do? To throw my desktop into the trash and buy an iPad as my main computer? I want a real OS for desktops. A smartphone is not a computer and it is not supposed to be. Two different things. Why does the OS has to be (or at least look) the same?
Whilst composing an answer to this, I was surprised to find that I was basically only saying one thing: "I like it because it's so accessible and painless".
The Launchpad? Accessible (to get to, pinching) and painless access to the apps. AppStore? Accessible and it's easy to browse apps, you can find things you didn't know you were looking for. Kind of like going to IKEA. But that's pretty much the whole point, I guess
Messages? When I had a Nokia, I used the "text through computer" function in their software all the time. I like being able to have text conversions without having to keep fiddling with the phone. The notification center is great, two finger swipe from the side gives me a nice overview of things to do, not having to open Mail to see if the new mails were spam or not...ML is not iOS, but to me ML has facilitated my life by integrating OS X and iOS into each other a bit more. There is still a lot of work to do before I will think it's okay, but I think they've succeeding in integrating the two operating systems whilst still keeping them separate.
I bought a 13" core i5 air with that promise. I bought my first Mac last year, partially because of the direction Apple took with Lion. I've really enjoyed the overlap that you are mocking. We all have tasks to do, and there are often times a few ways to do them.
Whilst composing an answer to this, I was surprised to find that I was basically only saying one thing: "I like it because it's so accessible and painless".
The Launchpad? Accessible (to get to, pinching) and painless access to the apps. AppStore? Accessible and it's easy to browse apps, you can find things you didn't know you were looking for. Kind of like going to IKEA. But that's pretty much the whole point, I guess
ML is not iOS, but to me ML has facilitated my life by integrating OS X and iOS into each other a bit more. There is still a lot of work to do before I will think it's okay, but I think they've succeeding in integrating the two operating systems whilst still keeping them separate.
I'm OK with the Launchpad and the AppStore. I even think they are useful, although I also think that Apple was trapped in mimicking the concepts used in iOS while it could (perhaps) have developed a better and more OSX-like solution. I also think that there should be integration between iOS and OSX. I'm not against exchanging messages between the iPhone and the Mac.
The thing is, ML seems to be reduced to a rip-off of features from iOS. Integration with Messages and with Twitter are announced as some of the main features of ML. Game Center? Microsoft didn't announce XBOX Live or whatever as one of the main features of Windows 7 or 8. These are all niceties, but they should not be the bulk of innovation of an OS.
What is Apple doing apart from taking features of iOS and putting them on OSX? What about an improved file system to replace HFS+? Performance improvements (multi-threading, boot times, etc.)? Or embrace OpenCL even further to let developers (finally) release software supporting it? Better power management for extending battery life?
An OS is about these things. Not Twitter integration. Pfff...
Rip-off? For the 157th time, iOS and OS X share a common UNIX codebase. As for LaunchPad, it is not my cup of tea so I ignore it until I use it to ensure that certain applications have been installed. LaunchPad has never ever impeded my use of my Mac in any way.
As an interface, this veteran Mac user remembers a similar albeit less functional UI back in the day. Apple offered a button-based interface for novices that was very popular on its Performa/Centris lines of Macs and available on all others. I cannot recall the name of this interface but Easy Start comes to mind.
It was called 'At Ease'. Just trying to refresh your memory, but you where close.
Hugh
The more I use Windows 8 CP, the more disappointed I get. There are two disconnected environments. And Metro UI seems very limited. I can't let several windows opened all at once. I can't use it to copy files. I can't even see or preview my files on it. Very, very limited indeed. It's great for a touch-screen device that you may use on-the-go, such as a tablet or a smartphone. But it doesn't fit desktops and laptops. What does Microsoft has on its mind?
yeah but hipster kids and soccer moms want twitter. Oh, and no one need a 17" macbook pro or mac pro...
Btw, can anyone who's thrilled with launchpad tell me how on earth am I going to tell apart ten folders with app miniaturizations other than by reading the small print under each one and/or remembering their placement? (Can anyone here cross their heart and tell me they can tell apart folders in launchpad or ios by simply looking at the different miniaturizations each one contains and visually remembering to tell apart folders that way?)Probably the same way I can tell apart a monochromatic sidebar where all custom icon folders now revert to a blue generic one. How great that apple in the process of making os x look like ios because the marketing dept. said so has lost most of its good ui sense.
Most people don't move around their folders very often, and won't have excessive amounts of apps that they use seldom enough to forget which folder it's in, or where the folder is located in case the text can't be made clear enough for you. I'm guessing poor eyesight is a problem, given the Finder icon argument? Don't really know too much about the possibilities of making OS X more accessible in these circumstances.
Another solution is using new screens instead of folders. Just grab an app and drag it to the side - a new screen will be created.
On my iPhone, I know which folder is located where and don't need to read the labels to know which folder contains which type of apps. In OS X, I don't use folders in launchpad and I have no problems with the Finder icons not being color coded.
Being able to bring back the colorful icons is something Apple should consider, because I'm under the impression that quite a lot of people miss them. But I'm not really sure how you mean launchpad should be changed in order to make it clearer. Care to elaborate?
I don't care about launchpad, I 've not used it from day 1, and I don't see a purpose for it, if others find it helpful great. I was just pointing out, that miniaturized apps in folders can't be told apart from one another and one has to remember their position. It's good that you do, you probably have a younger brain with less worries in real life than I do, but on my idevices I can never remember their placement from the third screen onwards and I 've searched high and lo in the jailbreak community to be able to put a custom folder icon on top of the miniaturized one.
If apple would issue me a nice fat check I would also care to tell them how to improve launchpad btw, but simply because currently it borrows one (not so good) idea in terms of ui from ios doesn't make it good.
If apple would issue me a nice fat check I would also care to tell them how to improve launchpad btw, but simply because currently it borrows one (not so good) idea in terms of ui from ios doesn't make it good.
Oooops I 'd missed that bit. No you guessed wrong, it's not my poor eyesight, it's your poor judgment. Folders have always had colour and shape cues as in apple's sidebar because people can visually remember much quicker than reading (don't take my word for it, go to ANY basic brain science research). Folders that all look alike based on miniaturization of their contents is simply a bad idea in terms of ui, that's why I said can someone cross their heart and tell me they have clear VISUAL memory of one over the other folder in ios? I don't think anyone can, but thanks for the condescension about my eyesight because every ui from apple is just simply mana from heaven and can't be contested.
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i admire your energy and strength to constantly rant about os x future.
well, one can only hope...