Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Snow Leopard copies Windows 7?
- Thread starter mattrgee
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Uhm, he's right about the Finder. It sucks. Windows Explorer sucks also, but Finder sucks even more. He makes a few good points, and this is one of them... really a no-brainer. Finder is dreadful, both as visualizer and as mover of folders. That said, 90% of his review is rubbish... he's clearly biased against Apple.
I just wish Apple fans could be objective. It's not like there's nothing that windows is better at. File system management is one area where OS X is worse.
I so wish Apple would scrap it and start from scratch.
Why is it a more impressive upgrade?
I'm not trying to be awkward, i'm asking sincerely.
I'm going to assume you're sincere. I don't think there's any denying Windows 7 is a bigger release overall especially for end-users than Snow Leopard.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Features_new_to_Windows_7
Why is it a more impressive upgrade?
I'm not trying to be awkward, i'm asking sincerely.
Not an awkward question at all.
The Vista -> 7 path is much more "impacting" for users. 7 addresses a ton of issues with Vista, such as poor performance, high requirements, and bad compatibility. Granted, 7 is based on the same kernel as Vista, but the hardware support is (or should be) much better this time around.
Since Snow Leopard is basically a refresh of Leopard, adding some performance improvements here and there, as well as laying the groundwork for future stuff, it doesn't have much in the way of forward-facing changes. Windows 7 does the background improvements as well as the forward-facing stuff.
A lot has been retooled in the UI. While I still prefer the layout of the classic look, the categorization of elements is more logical than in Vista. The taskbar has almost been completely redone. Vista always felt like XP with a new skin and more problems. 7 really does feel like a new version of the OS.
I don't want this to get into a big discussion of Windows 7, and frankly, I'm not the guy for it, so I'll cut it there. I will say that while Snow Leopard is our operating system of choice, that doesn't mean we can't get excited about new features in a rival OS. New features means more competition means more new features means new stuff means better operating systems means happy customers. Competition is a good thing.
I for one can tell you why Apple fanboys are the way they are (being that I have been one from the moment I open my brand new LC3 box back in the EARLY '90s.)
It comes done to all the years of snide comments from PC users. Apples aren't "serious" computers, they are going to go out of business, nobody writes apps for the Mac, etc. It's been a long hard pill to swallow, and some of us are a little bitter. So now that more PCers are making the switch, we are having a tendency to have that "we-told-ya-so" mentality.
I hope this helps explain it, and please bare with us!
"it's not obvious how you can add often-needed locations to it, for example, while doing so is easy in Windows."
Really? Dragging and dropping a folder isn't intuitive?! REALLY?!
I tell you, the way Windows users minds "work" is just not right. I wonder if they write commands to their bread when they want to move it to the toaster.
Really? Dragging and dropping a folder isn't intuitive?! REALLY?!
I tell you, the way Windows users minds "work" is just not right. I wonder if they write commands to their bread when they want to move it to the toaster.
Listen, let's not dignify this noob's "review," he clearly doesn't have an open enough mind to take on the concept of drag and drop so we can expect he doesn't grasp a lot of things.
The mook probably UPDATED to Snow Leopard and had his HDD removed from his desktop when using Leopard by changing his Finder settings...what a mook.
The mook probably UPDATED to Snow Leopard and had his HDD removed from his desktop when using Leopard by changing his Finder settings...what a mook.
Thurrott's podcast with Leo Laporte has made him into an anti-Mac campaigner. They will even mention on the show sometimes about how Leo had to coach Thurrott in the early episodes of the show because Paul was too mellow for a show that was designed to be a conversation between a Mac fan and a Windows fan.
Lately, Thurrot's turning into another John C Dvorak. Dvorak's the tech equivalent of Bill O'Reilly. He'll say anything to generate controversy. He'll make up "facts" to support his case. He'll take some one-off edge case, create a bizarre generalization from it, and claim that the world is coming to an end because of it.
Dvorak is unlistenable and unreadable. Thurrott is well down the path to that same sad end.
Lately, Thurrot's turning into another John C Dvorak. Dvorak's the tech equivalent of Bill O'Reilly. He'll say anything to generate controversy. He'll make up "facts" to support his case. He'll take some one-off edge case, create a bizarre generalization from it, and claim that the world is coming to an end because of it.
Dvorak is unlistenable and unreadable. Thurrott is well down the path to that same sad end.
Apple has admitted they "imitated" Windows' fast user switching feature. They just made it better, but still they copied the idea. But okay, look at how much MS has copied
Well, Dock Expose is a pretty obvious copy of the way Win7's new Taskbar works and it came around after the positive response to Win7's new features. I wouldn't be surprised if Apple took the idea from Win7. Using good ideas from competing products is a good thing IMO, it makes the user experience better.
Finder does suck but seriously, figuring out the drag&drop to sidebar was one of the first things I did when I tried it the first time. It's certainly a lot more intuitive than the way libraries are created in Win7.
It would've been nice to see more user interface improvements in SL, but as it is OSX doesn't really have a huge need for them, does it? Windows on the other hand was long overdue for a UI overhaul.
Apple now gives the option for you to turn off the hard drive icon on the desktop and have a completely blank desktop.
Do yourself a favor and stay off a Windows biased site that gives a review of a Mac product.
Then he should also do the opposite; stay off Mac sites which give biased reviews of PC/phone/MP3 products.
Paul's different nowadays
Seriously, I used to read reviews and previews from Paul's supersite back in the days of being a windows user, and I can clearly say with confidence that he's changed a lot and has become very cynical of all things Apple in the last couple of years. Before he used to be very balanced while keeping it clean. Nowadays its almost as if he's *trying* to find fault where there lies none (not saying OS X is perfect btw), and flat out conjuring up false notions regarding the public perception of Mac OS and Apple in general. It's almost as if his paychecks from M$ have suddenly gone through the roof and he has to compensate for totally rash and narrow-minded pro Windows reviews.
I actually read the OP article a while back, and just gave up on him altogether . I find it funny how he claims SL is a mere service pack and Apple is charging $30 for it yet postulates claims that make it seem as if Win 7 is somehow a complete change from Vista, when in reality it is no more of a service pack to Vista (albeit a very good one I might add) than Snow Leopard is to Leopard, and fails to mention that the upgrade price from Vista Ultimate to 7 Ultimate is $220, which is $190 more expensive than Leopard's "service pack".
What's more is that I've noticed he provides much less statistical evidence of his reviews than he did a couple of years ago. In any case I think its safe to assume that his reviews are now ignorable due to their inherent bias. There is nothing wrong with being pro Microsoft and Windows, its just you have to know how to bring out the better sides of aspects/features that Windows has over OS X as opposed to writing with sly remarks every other sentence or two. Anyone with even a slight insight into the inner workings of Snow Leopard will realize that Apple did a pretty good job of *future* proofing the OS, and making the transition to 100% 64bit for the end user (yes, we're still not there yet...by default) as smooth as possible.
If you want a thorough and super in-depth review of Snow Leopard's fluff features and serious under the hood technologies, I suggest reading John Siracusa's Snow Leopard review from Ars Technica. That was some of the best writing I have ever seen. Thurrott is as useless and biased on Windows as the mindless idiots from MacDaily News are to OS X. Both of them are becoming increasingly irrelevant to intelligent readers as time goes on.
Seriously, I used to read reviews and previews from Paul's supersite back in the days of being a windows user, and I can clearly say with confidence that he's changed a lot and has become very cynical of all things Apple in the last couple of years. Before he used to be very balanced while keeping it clean. Nowadays its almost as if he's *trying* to find fault where there lies none (not saying OS X is perfect btw), and flat out conjuring up false notions regarding the public perception of Mac OS and Apple in general. It's almost as if his paychecks from M$ have suddenly gone through the roof and he has to compensate for totally rash and narrow-minded pro Windows reviews.
I actually read the OP article a while back, and just gave up on him altogether . I find it funny how he claims SL is a mere service pack and Apple is charging $30 for it yet postulates claims that make it seem as if Win 7 is somehow a complete change from Vista, when in reality it is no more of a service pack to Vista (albeit a very good one I might add) than Snow Leopard is to Leopard, and fails to mention that the upgrade price from Vista Ultimate to 7 Ultimate is $220, which is $190 more expensive than Leopard's "service pack".
What's more is that I've noticed he provides much less statistical evidence of his reviews than he did a couple of years ago. In any case I think its safe to assume that his reviews are now ignorable due to their inherent bias. There is nothing wrong with being pro Microsoft and Windows, its just you have to know how to bring out the better sides of aspects/features that Windows has over OS X as opposed to writing with sly remarks every other sentence or two. Anyone with even a slight insight into the inner workings of Snow Leopard will realize that Apple did a pretty good job of *future* proofing the OS, and making the transition to 100% 64bit for the end user (yes, we're still not there yet...by default) as smooth as possible.
If you want a thorough and super in-depth review of Snow Leopard's fluff features and serious under the hood technologies, I suggest reading John Siracusa's Snow Leopard review from Ars Technica. That was some of the best writing I have ever seen. Thurrott is as useless and biased on Windows as the mindless idiots from MacDaily News are to OS X. Both of them are becoming increasingly irrelevant to intelligent readers as time goes on.
Microsoft has Windows fanboys also. Actually, I would say they are worse than Mac fanboys. Why? Go read any comment section on a site like Engadget when they show an Apple product. What do the comments resort to? Name calling of Apple customers, saying we overpaid for crappy systems, and that we are all drinking kool-aid. Really? That is Windows fanboys. Apple fans may like their products a lot but a vast majority of the name calling, misinformation about Apple hardware, and stereotypes come from the Windows camp.
Note: I was a Windows user until 2007.
When you find a UI that works, why change everything? Explain that to me? Non-technical users don't want a new UI thrown at them every 2 years, but instead would prefer the same (or very similar) look of an already functional OS with under the hood improvements. Case in point: Windows XP. The look of Windows XP has been generally the same since 2001. It is now 2009, and guess what? People STILL use Windows XP, they have figured out the way it works and the way it looks.
Install Windows 7 on a 8 year Windows XP non-technical users system and its like throwing them into the deep end with a brick chained to their foot. Its completely changed, and they will NOT like it. I have witnessed this first hand. If it ain't broke (Leopard UI), don't fix it.
This reminds me of the stupid rumors about matte backed iPhones a while back. People wanted a new look for their iPhone ONLY because they wanted something that didn't look the same and not because of functionality. Never mind that the current design is already perfectly functional. Nah, screw that, "MATTE FOR THE iPHONE!!!! Y?? ITS DIFFERENT!?!!" Technical people want something new to look at and figure out, but that isn't always the best solution for a company.
I'm no fanboy (far from it), but ignorance really gets my back up; this review seems to be written to attract attention. I refrain from reacting to reviews like this, because that's exactly what the author wants, and - you're quite right - it makes the Apple community look daft.
Walt Mossberg's review was hardly glowing, yet it was honest and well researched... that I respect.
That whole 'who stole/copied what from whom' stuff has been going around since Steve and Bill visited Bell Labs in the 70's....
I have read the review and honestly, I think he is right in most of his comments. Apart from mistakes like the finder thing and the price for the Tiger version, the general tone of "most users won't notice absolutely any difference and even their computers are not able to take advantage of the new features" is esentially right. Whether you consider that a Service Pack or a full OS, it's just an opinion.
Anyone who looks at it that way should try to read the Ars Technica review which will do a pretty damn comprehensive job of dispelling the entire 'service pack' myth of Snow Leopard.