Windows 7 and Mac OS X 10.6 ‘Snow Leopard’ set for a showdown

David Flynn
14 May 2009, 2:08 AM

Things are looking surprisingly neck-and-neck as Apple and Microsoft race towards the OS finish line, but it might not even matter who gets there first...

Now that Apple and Microsoft are using their advertising campaigns to directly target one other, October 2009 could the stuff of dreams.

That’s the month when Microsoft is expected to launch Windows 7, approximately eight weeks after the widely-praised successor to Windows Vista hits the RTM milestone and is dispatched to PC buildings and DVD duplication centres.

October could also be the month when Apple releases OS X 10.6 ‘Snow Leopard’. The OS has already reached Beta 2 in late April and will make a limited public debut through a preview edition handed out to attendees at next month’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in San Francisco.

Apple has yet to name the date for OS X 10.6, although when Snow Leopard was announced at last year’s WWDC held on June 9th 2008, Steve Jobs said the software would ship “about a year” after. There’s certainly no doubt that it will be out well before Christmas. Apple could even release Snow Leopard from its cage in August-September.

But apart from bragging rights it really won’t matter if Apple or Microsoft is first to cross the finish line in this OS marathon.

The media are well aware that both of these next-gen operating systems are in the home stretch, so any mainstream coverage of one is likely to flag the imminent arrival of its competitor. Publications will relish the chance to run head-to-head comparisons of Windows 7 and OS X 10.6.

In turn, prospective buyers will quickly find themselves in a position to compare both operating systems and the new wave of hardware they’ll run on. And Apple and Microsoft will be quick to unleash a new salvo of advertising to show why their new OS is better.

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McBanjo (New user):

Showdown? Not a chance. Without a debate on the OS itself, Microsoft can't beat Apple's software pricing or family package deals. I would suggest people just save their Windows 7 money and put it towards their new Mac. I have no doubt you'll be thanking me for this advice down the track.

14 May 2009, 9:29 AM (2 years ago)report abuse Send to a friend

petert (Advanced Forumologist):

Quoting McBanjo:
Without a debate on the OS itself, Microsoft can't beat Apple's software pricing or family package deals

Good point. A five pack of OSX is current less than the cost of two OSX licences. One licence is about $150 and a five pack is something like $250. MS have a long way to go to reduce their prices that much! They really need to recognise that in many families, every person has a PC or laptop. There is no good reason for MS not to sell a more reasonably priced five-pack of W7 . . . except for its desire to grub out every possible dollar from every Windows user!

14 May 2009, 9:41 AM (2 years ago)report abuse Send to a friend

gankul (User):

Apple can offer that price for 1 good reason. Hardware.

To have osx, you would have needed to buy a Mac. So apple already has x amount of your money, so the upgrade is just a bonus to them.

14 May 2009, 9:55 AM (2 years ago)report abuse Send to a friend

Jarrod Spiga (User):

To be fair, the "five-pack" that you speak of is strictly for home use only, and provided that all five licenses are in use within the one home. Realistically, how many people would actually be using all 5 licenses in this bundle? Apple may as well sell it as a 20 system license.

You can get three license SKUs for Vista and I'm almost certain that you'll be able to get them for Windows 7. The OEM three-packs price in at just under what you'd get two OEM licenses for - not too dissimilar to Apple, although with two licenses less.

One argument that I have always heard in regards to MacOS X is that a new "point-release" comes out on average every 18 months (though 10.4 bucked this trend, not being superceded until 30 months had transpired). In general, Mac OS X users have upgraded as each release has gone public - or at least to every second release. Windows XP was available for an unusually long time in comparison before Vista was launched, and only a minority of systems have been upgraded from XP to Vista.

While Mac OS X does tend to cost less for each upgrade, a lot more of these upgrades have been released (though I think that if you've purchased every upgrade available at RRP since August 2001, you would have saved around $30 by using Mac OS X 10.1 throuth to 10.6 vs XP Home/Vista Home Premium/ERP for 7 Home Premium.

14 May 2009, 4:04 PM (2 years ago)report abuse Send to a friend

Hemma (New user):

Quoting McBanjo:
I have no doubt you'll be thanking me for this advice down the track.

Where do I send the molotov cocktail?

14 May 2009, 12:53 PM (2 years ago)report abuse Send to a friend

NetR@nger (New user):

When 7 releases,microsoft will sell more copies in a day than osx will in 2 years.

15 May 2009, 7:41 AM (2 years ago)report abuse Send to a friend

Raindog (User):

Quoting NetR@nger:
When 7 releases,microsoft will sell more copies in a day than osx will in 2 years.

There are more 100's and 1000's in a pack than there are King Prawns in a Kilo. Does anyone else wish to offer a random statistic?

15 May 2009, 9:01 AM (2 years ago)report abuse Send to a friend

Hemma (New user):

It's actually impossible imo to determine a winner in the form of a statistic. IMO OSX is closer to a firmware (which you still need to pay for) than it is an operating system....

15 May 2009, 9:27 AM (2 years ago)report abuse Send to a friend

Phil in NZ (New user):

Frankly the next version of OSX is as irrelevant to me as windows 7 is to McBanjo, unless of course Mr McBanjo dual boots or virtualises windows in some way... Generally speaking, windows 7 is a nice operating system relative to the previous Microsoft offering.

I don't know why Apple dosnt allow a visualization for OSX for windows users? One thing I am sure of is that if Microsoft developed "boot camp" for Windows users to run OSX, Apple would get its lawyers out en mass....

14 May 2009, 9:40 AM (2 years ago)report abuse Send to a friend

gankul (User):

the reason why the lawyaers would come out and why there is no legal softeware to do it, is its illegal to run OSX on non mac hardware. Hence why Hackintoshs are illegal even if you own OSx.

Windows does ot have that restriction.

How else do you think Apple could get enough funding for developement? without hardware sales, they would have died a long time ago.

(though now they do have ipdo, and so forth to help with costs.)

14 May 2009, 9:53 AM (2 years ago)report abuse Send to a friend

agami (New user):

What they need to do is get the development teams of both 10.6 an 7 in the same auditorium, then in the background make some anonymous inflammatory remarks on behalf of each side "Windows 7 is really only 6.1!" "Snow Leopard? Running out of cool cat names?!" Start some pushing and shoving, maybe through in some "yo mama" comments then stand back and enjoy the spectacle.

GEEK FIGHT!!!

14 May 2009, 10:57 AM (2 years ago)report abuse Send to a friend

djsflynn (APC staff):

Now you're talking, Agami. I'm thinking a packed auditorium, thumping loud music, flashing lights and fireworks - a real WWF-inspired "Extreme OS smackdown!!!"

14 May 2009, 11:06 AM (2 years ago)report abuse Send to a friend

Raindog (User):

Quoting djsflynn:
a real WWF-inspired "Extreme OS smackdown

Then why does the thought of such an encounter sound so like a match up between the cast of "Queer eye for the straight guy" and rejects from "Ch-7's Gladiators" casting? Yes sadness does take many forms!

14 May 2009, 4:56 PM (2 years ago)report abuse Send to a friend

Halcon (Advanced member):

Its early to call this a showdown, when both monopolist companies make it available it software for sale then I suggest APC to print a cover with people fighting each other to represent the OS war, use your imagination, try to make it awesome.
As for the licence I see Microsoft is not interested in giving more flexibility to the user, its after the money.
Now, I hope this topic will not become a warfare of words for PC and Mac diehards, we are talking about the case scenario for October this year.
It must be seen to take the last word later.

14 May 2009, 10:59 AM (2 years ago)report abuse Send to a friend

TV Bis (New user):

Quoting Halcon:
As for the licence I see Microsoft is not interested in giving more flexibility to the user, its after the money.

Any company who has the numbers will always push the limit as far as costs go. Apple would do exactly the same if the shoe was on the other foot. Business is business no matter how good or sincere the company makes it self out to be!

14 May 2009, 11:34 AM (2 years ago)report abuse Send to a friend

stevjosco (User):

"And Apple and Microsoft will be quick to unleash a new salvo of advertising to show why their new OS is better."

I'm an Apple user but I really do hope Apple don't continue with the PC bashing I'm-a-Mac ads and really do show why their OS is better... Mac owners already know Mac OS X is better but those ads don't show any of what makes it better than Windows.

14 May 2009, 11:09 AM (2 years ago)report abuse Send to a friend

Dan Warne (Regular user):

One thing to say in Microsoft's favour: Windows 7 will no doubt be released with a LOT less bugs than OS X 10.6 will be. OS X 10.4.0 and 10.5.0 were absolutely bug-laden releases -- it usually takes Apple four or five point releases before they get the OS running right. Which is very annoying if you are a compulsive early adopter like me ;-)

14 May 2009, 11:12 AM (2 years ago)report abuse Send to a friend

Halcon (Advanced member):

Quoting Dan Warne:
One thing to say in Microsoft's favour: Windows 7 will no doubt be released with a LOT less bugs than OS X 10.6

I don't care about if Microsoft iron out some bugs of code in the next incarnation as Windows 7, what is of real concern is the way that it will be sold, several variants instead of one product.
WGA is not dead yet is renamed WAT, and the licence model is completely unacceptable, Microsoft is living in the past, not accepting the reality of the 21st century.
Something is smelling a rat, that's for sure!

14 May 2009, 1:46 PM (2 years ago)report abuse Send to a friend

TV Bis (New user):

Quoting Halcon:
Microsoft is living in the past, not accepting the reality of the 21st century.

What is the reality of the 21st century? Pure billions of dollars into research and development and then sell it for peanuts? To me Microsoft is doing it the right way, different versions to cater for various scenarios of users. I agree it is not fool proof and could be a tad cheaper but to go along the MAC line of here is the software and you will use it whether you like it or not doesn’t sit right with me.

14 May 2009, 2:06 PM (2 years ago)report abuse Send to a friend

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Windows 7 and Mac OS X 10.6 ‘Snow Leopard’ set for a showdown

Things are looking surprisingly neck-and-neck as Apple and Microsoft race towards the OS finish line, but it might not even matter who gets there first...

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McBanjo (New user):

petert (Advanced Forumologist):

gankul (User):

Jarrod Spiga (User):

Hemma (New user):

NetR@nger (New user):

Raindog (User):

Hemma (New user):

Phil in NZ (New user):

gankul (User):

agami (New user):

djsflynn (APC staff):

Raindog (User):

Halcon (Advanced member):

TV Bis (New user):

stevjosco (User):

Dan Warne (Regular user):

Halcon (Advanced member):

TV Bis (New user):

Michael J (User):

Halcon (Advanced member):

DFTBA (New user):