Hands0n
27th October 2007, 09:28 PM
How much do you really want to stay on Windows? An interesting question if you really do not have to. That is the subject of this thread and I'd welcome discussion about this in a non-zealous manner :) For sure, when Operating Systems are discussed it can get as heated as any other religious or political debate. I've had less upset caused by telling someone their wife was ugly than when I've dared to comment that Windows has had its day :D I digress.
Returning to the topic and my opening question, it is worth looking at what the cost of purchase of these operating systems is these days. A quick trawl around the Internet has the following to offer. Before anyone says, yes I know the Windows prices can be bettered, but it is not by much and not in any way significant to make the difference.
Version Price Difference
Apple OS X Leopard Retail Family Pack (5 Licences) £129.00
Windows Vista Home Basic Edition £179.99 £50.99
Windows Vista Home Premium Edition £219.99 £90.99
Windows Vista Business Edition £289.99 £160.99
Windows Vista Ultimate Edition £369.99 £240.99
When looking at the above, please bear in mind that I am showing a worst case scenario - the Mac OS X Leopard is a 5-licence price - all of the Windows licencing is for a single installation. Like for like the price differential widens very significantly.
How much is this difference in price really worth for what is ostensibly a reasonably well matched pair of OS. Like for like, each OS has its particular merits but the spread of practical applications "out of the box" is close, very close. What one wins on the other scores in another area.
So has Windows time come? Even with record Mac sales it is far too early to tell whether or not this is true. I am of the mind that OS X can match and even trounce Windows over a period of a few more years. But it is a tough challenge for Apple and one that they may not be able to meet with a closed architecture (OS and Hardware is not licenced anywhere outside of Apple).
I believe that Home and Small Business use will start to make the first significant inroads into Microsoft territory. Corporate or Enterprise use will come along later, perhaps. But Windows has that one particular Ace card up its sleeve, namely Office. Like it or hate it, Microsoft Office is near ubiquitous worldwide for general productivity. Other products that Microsoft has tried to get into, such as CRM, are not as good as the incumbent competition - and it often shows. But with Office Microsoft had the stage to itself, and it has capitalised on that position very well. Office is the target that Apple has to address, for if it fails to do so then OS X and its successors will forever be in the shadows of Windows.
So what should Apple do? If I were to be having a quiet word in Steve Jobs' ear I would be strongly suggesting that he grab hold of a copy of Open Office. With the right will and motivation Apple's expert developers could turn Open Office (iOffice anyone?) into MS Office's nemesis, and I believe they could even overturn Office's prime position. But left to their own devices, the Open Office and Neo Office developers cannot hope to succeed where Microsoft has with its Office product.
To close this off then and allow someone to get a word in edgeways - I think OS X Leopard is the way forward and I have staked my colours on it. But I have also used Parallels to keep a Windows XP service available to me because I simply cannot 100% eschew Windows.
What I can do, however, is stay away from Vista. Can you?
Returning to the topic and my opening question, it is worth looking at what the cost of purchase of these operating systems is these days. A quick trawl around the Internet has the following to offer. Before anyone says, yes I know the Windows prices can be bettered, but it is not by much and not in any way significant to make the difference.
Version Price Difference
Apple OS X Leopard Retail Family Pack (5 Licences) £129.00
Windows Vista Home Basic Edition £179.99 £50.99
Windows Vista Home Premium Edition £219.99 £90.99
Windows Vista Business Edition £289.99 £160.99
Windows Vista Ultimate Edition £369.99 £240.99
When looking at the above, please bear in mind that I am showing a worst case scenario - the Mac OS X Leopard is a 5-licence price - all of the Windows licencing is for a single installation. Like for like the price differential widens very significantly.
How much is this difference in price really worth for what is ostensibly a reasonably well matched pair of OS. Like for like, each OS has its particular merits but the spread of practical applications "out of the box" is close, very close. What one wins on the other scores in another area.
So has Windows time come? Even with record Mac sales it is far too early to tell whether or not this is true. I am of the mind that OS X can match and even trounce Windows over a period of a few more years. But it is a tough challenge for Apple and one that they may not be able to meet with a closed architecture (OS and Hardware is not licenced anywhere outside of Apple).
I believe that Home and Small Business use will start to make the first significant inroads into Microsoft territory. Corporate or Enterprise use will come along later, perhaps. But Windows has that one particular Ace card up its sleeve, namely Office. Like it or hate it, Microsoft Office is near ubiquitous worldwide for general productivity. Other products that Microsoft has tried to get into, such as CRM, are not as good as the incumbent competition - and it often shows. But with Office Microsoft had the stage to itself, and it has capitalised on that position very well. Office is the target that Apple has to address, for if it fails to do so then OS X and its successors will forever be in the shadows of Windows.
So what should Apple do? If I were to be having a quiet word in Steve Jobs' ear I would be strongly suggesting that he grab hold of a copy of Open Office. With the right will and motivation Apple's expert developers could turn Open Office (iOffice anyone?) into MS Office's nemesis, and I believe they could even overturn Office's prime position. But left to their own devices, the Open Office and Neo Office developers cannot hope to succeed where Microsoft has with its Office product.
To close this off then and allow someone to get a word in edgeways - I think OS X Leopard is the way forward and I have staked my colours on it. But I have also used Parallels to keep a Windows XP service available to me because I simply cannot 100% eschew Windows.
What I can do, however, is stay away from Vista. Can you?