Leopard vs. Vista: feature chart showdown
There's no doubt, Vista and Leopard are both extremely advanced, feature rich consumer operating systems. But way back in January when Vista launched knew we had little choice but pit the two in a head to head chartngraph Thunderdome competition. We know we're not even going to be able to stop the epic fanboy arguments about break out over this one, so we just ask that you try to keep it fair. Leopard vs. Vista: it's on.
NOTE: This chart is only for out of box features, and does not take into account 3rd party software. We realize that with a few choice apps this chart would look completely different -- but that's not what we're after here.
Green indicates a category with more and/or better features, and generally a better user experience.
Red indicates that a category not quite up to snuff. Either it doesn't yet exist in the OS or it just sucks more than the alternative.
† (dagger) indicates a category we think are too subjective or not similar enough to judge. These do not have any clear winner.
‡ (double dagger) indicates a category that is in many ways subjective, but that we feel one category is still ahead. Your own tastes may vary.
Notes help out with a little background, where appropriate.
Leopard | Vista | Comments / notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
Accessibility | Integrated Braille input / output, voice synthesis, high contrast interface, etc. | Voice synthesis, high contrast interface, etc. | ||
Fancy file browsing | Cover Flow, Quick Look | Preview pane, extra large icon view | ||
Find windows | Exposé | Flip 3D | ||
Indexed search † | Spotlight | Instant Search, Search Folders | ||
Shell / window environment † | Aqua ("Illuminous" / unified) | Aero ("Glass") | ||
Tablet and touchscreen | Nope | Yep | We know Apple has Ink, but that doesn't exactly make your Mac a tablet computer | |
Virtual desktops | Spaces | Nope | ||
Backup | Time Machine | Backup and Restore Center, ShadowCopy, Previous Versions | Whereas Time Machine may be easier to use than Windows Backup and Restore Center, Vista does feature all the same (if not more) backup features | |
Browser † | Safari 3 | Internet Explorer 7 | What can we say, we like Opera! | |
Calendar | iCal | Windows Calendar | ||
Collaboration | Screen sharing from Finder or iChat | Windows Meeting Space | This one's hard to call; Apple has better ease of use, but Windows Meeting Space is more powerful -- so both win | |
Contacts | Address Book | Windows Contacts | ||
Email ‡ | Mail.app | Windows Mail | ||
File manager | Upgraded Finder | Upgraded Explorer | The new finder is great, no doubt, but it lacks the raw power of Explorer | |
Faxing and scanning | CUPS + location aware printing | Windows Fax and Scan | It's arguable that Windows may have more powerful printing capabilities, but OS X is far better at printer plug-and-play | |
Legacy app support † | Rosetta | WOW64 (32-bit emulation in 64-bit Windows) | More info on WOW64 here | |
IM | iChat | Windows Live Messenger | Whether or not you like iChat, you can't deny it supports more protocols. | |
Preview files | Quick Look | Preview pane | ||
RSS / feed reader | In Safari and Mail.app | In IE7 | ||
Speech recognition | Yep | Yep | ||
Text editing | TextEdit | WordPad | Apple included Word 2007 and OpenDocument support in the new TextEdit -- WordPad still doesn't support Word 2007 | |
Transfer | Mac Migration assistant, Back to My Mac (with .Mac) | Windows Easy Transfer | We might have tied this one despite Back to My Mac, but WET just doesn't work very well. | |
Video calling | Yep | Yep | ||
Widgets † | Dashboard* | Windows Sidebar | *Now with .Mac sync and Dashcode | |
Media interface | Front Row | Media Center (only in Home Premium or Ultimate Edition) | ||
Media hardware support | Apple TV | Media Center Extenders, Xbox 360 | Yeah, the Apple TV's good and all, but MCEs and Xbox 360 have a lot of features that ATV just doesn't have (HDTV streaming, video downloads, etc.) | |
Record TV | Nope | Yep | ||
NTSC and ATSC tuners | Nope | Yep | ||
CableCARD / DCT tuners | Nope | Yep (x4) | ||
DVD authoring † | iDVD | DVD Maker | ||
DVD playback (out of the box) | Yep (DVD Player) | Some versions of Vista (but not all) | ||
HD disc playback (out of the box) | Nope | Nope | Macs can play DVD Studio Pro authored HD DVDs, but we're not really counting that | |
Media player † | iTunes, Quicktime | Windows Media Player 11 | ||
Photos ‡ | iPhoto | Windows Photo Gallery | ||
Stereo Bluetooth (A2DP) | Yep | Nope* | *Vista CAN support A2DP, but only via 3rd party drivers | |
Video editing | iMovie | Windows Movie Maker (with HD) | ||
Activation | Nope | Windows Activation | ||
Automation (user) | Automator (with UI recording), AppleScript | Nope | ||
Data detection | Address, phone number, etc. | Nope | ||
Remote desktop (host) | Yep (VNC and X) | Available only in Business and Ultimate | ||
Screen capture | Integrated | Snipping Tool application | ||
System registry | Nope | Unfortunately | ||
To-dos (tasks) | Yep (from Mail, iCal, etc.) | Yep (From Windows Calendar) | ||
IPv6 | Yep | Yep | ||
Networking tools | Network Setup Assistant, Finder with AutoFS, Bonjour | Network Center (Network Explorer, Map, Setup, Awareness, Projector), DLNA | Both provide tools for different networking needs, and we feel both are strong for different uses | |
Self-tuning TCP | Yep | Yep | ||
Wireless | WiFi with WPA 2 support | WiFi with WPA 2 support | Vista shows signal strength indicators for its available network list, why the hell can't Leopard? (OS X does organize available networks by signal strength, though.) | |
Antivirus | Nope | Nope | ||
Encrypted, signed email | Yep | Yep | ||
Email filtering | Spam filter for Mail.app | Junk and phishing filters in Windows Mail | ||
Parental controls | Time quotas, usage schedules, granular application permissions, log viewer, remote access | Windows Family Safety Settings: time quotas, usage schedules, log viewer, some app permissions, and ESRB game support | ||
Library randomization | Yep | Yep | ||
Malware | Downloaded app tagging, signed applications, sandboxed apps | Windows Defender and Malicious Software Removal Tool, signed applications, | ||
Smart Card support | Yep | Yep | ||
VPN | PPTP and L2TP over IPSec | PPTP and L2TP over IPSec | ||
Graphics core | OpenGL, Core Animation | DirectX 10 | ||
Game network | None | Xbox Live Anywhere | ||
Architecture | 32 and 64-bit support | 32 and 64-bit support* | Windows in 64-bit may require different drivers to function properly, many of which haven't yet been ported; Leopard supports 64-bit transparently with no differences in drivers or software | |
Auto-defrag | Yep | Yep | ||
Auxiliary display | Nope | SideShow | ||
Drive encryption | FileVault with AES256 support | EFS and Vista BitLocker | While we're sure neither will be easily cracked, Apple gets extra points for using AES256 | |
Drive partitioning | BootCamp | Disk Management | Both work well, but Apple supports moving files between partitions | |
Multiple OS support | Yep | Yep | ||
Network projector | Nope | Yep | ||
Network storage | AirPort disk | Windows Home Server | ||
Optimization | The usual multitasking | Windows SuperFetch and Windows ReadyDrive | ||
Sync (device) | iSync | Windows Mobile Device Center | ||
Sync (network) | Nope* | Windows Sync Center | *We're not counting .Mac sync, this is more about machine to machine | |
Usage profiling | Location awareness (network, power, printing) | Mobility Center (network profiles, sync, battery / power, etc.) | ||
USB caching | Nope | Windows ReadyBoost | ||
Domain support | Active Domain, Workgroup Manager, External Accounts* | Active Domain (Vista Business, Enterprise, Ultimate only) | *New feature that allows your system account / home directory to be stored on an encrypted USB drive | |
Integrated web server † | Apache | IIS (Vista Business, Enterprise, Ultimate) | ||
Presentation mode | Nope | Yep (Vista Business, Enterprise, Ultimate) | ||
Upgradeable to different version † | N/A | Windows Upgrade Anytime |
Final score
Leopard: 46
Vista: 41
So, did we forget anything? Let us know, this chart ain't static, and we'll be updating as necessary. (And don't say Ubuntu / Linux / BSD -- we'll save that for another time.)
Updated: Yeah, we've been reading the comments and have made some updates to the chart (as we said we would!). Vista's search and preview panes definitely deserve more recognition, which is now reflected. A2DP in Vista, however, is only via 3rd party drivers, so we're not counting that as an out of box thing. And yes, we know, iLife isn't included in Leopard, but it IS bundled with all Macs, so it's fair game.
