One of the best-publicised alternative
OSes is the MacOS. Theres a long rivalry between PC and Macintosh users. Both sides believe passionately in their OS, a fact which, in the past, has led t
One of the best-publicised alternative
OSes is the MacOS. Theres a long rivalry between PC and Macintosh users. Both sides believe passionately in their OS, a fact which, in the past, has led to outlandish claims from both sides. The truth is that both PCs and Apple Macs are powerful and capable computing platforms. Theres no reason for dismissing Apple Macs, and for many its a viable alternative. Figures show that Apples iBook has become the top-selling notebook in the US and that G4 PowerMacs admirably match their PC equivalents for performance.
Part of the Mac/PC rivalry stems from the fact that Apple was ahead of Microsoft and Bill Gates with the development of a GUI. The foundations of this were laid down at Xeroxs research centre in the early 1980s. Apple took this disparate research and used it to develop a complete working OS. When Bill Gates first saw the Mac in 1984, he was heard to comment This is what the future of computing looks like. Gates was so impressed with the GUI that he set about developing a rival of his own, hence the birth of Windows. But in spite of their similar appearance, there are many technical and practical differences.
One of the fundamental differences between the Mac and Windows OSes is the open accessibility of the Mac OSs system folder; installing and uninstalling software is a simple matter of dragging something onto the hard drive or into the trash. There are differences on the technical side too. The Windows OS, not surprisingly, is more in tune with Visual Basic than its Apple counterpart, making the Windows platform more popular with software developers. By comparison the Mac version is poorly written; the equivalent tasks being done with AppleScript or a number of other related technologies.
Having laid out some of the technical advantages of the MacOS, I think its time to dispel some popularly held myths surrounding the software platform. The most common is the argument that there isnt enough supporting software. Not so, in reality theres far more available than any one person could hope to try, and Apples rebirth over the last few years has wooed many developers back to the platform. Many applications, from games and education titles to business and science tools, are available in Mac and PC versions, despite being put on Windows-labelled shelves in shops.
Another myth is that Apple Macs cant compare to PCs in terms of performance or their compatibility with peripheral devices. Again this is largely unfounded; at the heart of todays Mac there lies a G3 or G4 processor. This is a true RISC (reduced instruction set chip) processor, which processes less data using fewer sets of instructions and in larger chunks than rival CPUs, going some way towards explaining why a 400MHz PowerPC-based Apple Mac can match or outrun a Pentium III running at higher speeds.
Its also believed that the relevant software drivers to support a range of peripheral devices arent available for the MacOS. Again thats largely a falsehood as most of todays Macs come equipped with USB ports and high-speed FireWire sockets. The G4 PowerMacs are also equipped with PCI and AGP sockets and have IDE66 and UltraSCSI connectors. Unlike other alternative OSes such as Linux (see below), peripheral manufacturers now generally design devices to be cross-platform for the PC and Mac.
Another criticism often levied at the MacOS by PC users is the fact that theres been little in the way of upgrades and new features over the past few years. Apple, on the other hand, has always argued that it lends stability to the platform. However, thats about to change with Apple preparing a major overhaul of the MacOS in the form of MacOS X (the X pronounced ten). The next-generation OS is founded on software developed by NeXT Computer, which promises to bring Unix-level power and stability to the Mac.
MacOS X has been with software developers for some time and has even been made public as part of an Open Source initiative. But until January 2000, the look and feel of the user interface has been kept quiet. Its now been unveiled and its true to Apples core strengths with an easily navigable and attractive GUI. So if youre a PC fanatic whos written off Apple, it could be time for a second look.
www.apple.com/macosx/