Microsoft’s next-gen Windows vs. Apple’s next-gen Mac OS X

The year 2012 will bring a head-to-head match up between two giants: Microsoft and Apple. Microsoft is going to introduce next generation Windows 8 while Apple has made public its next generation Mac OS X Lion. The new OS versions emphasizes more on tablets but Apple is trying hard to get two versions ahead from where it is with its current OS used in tablets. There is a rumor that Microsoft will launch its own tablets embedded with Windows 8 by the end of 2012. The company is yet to confirm this news.

Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple says 'in the future, the traditional computers will vanish and mobile devices such as iPad will dominate.' In such a scenario, the competition between Windows 8 and Mac OS X Lion will increase by the day. So, in order to give up a look into what is about to unfold, we have detailed a few competitive feature wherein we have put the two next-gen operating systems to square off with each other.

• Apps discovery, Installation and Maintenance

Windows 8: The Windows Application Mall is a development like App Store, from where users can download various applications required. Apart from downloading the applications, it will also provide the self-contained app packages, which will bridge the gap between today’s desktop apps and the apps created for windows phones.

Mac OS X Lion: The systems with the new operating system will have a built in app store from where users can download applications and share other operations. With one click, you can expand the apps to full screen and you can cycle through the new windows by swiping the track pad. App store will also take care of updates available for the applications.

Winner: Mac OS X Lion

• Simpler, touch friendly controls

Windows 8: The new operating system from Microsoft comes with a smooth process and a new touch-switch operation. Windows 8 will completely support touchscreen.

Mac OS X Lion: The track pad now supports new gesture controls like page and image zoom and full-screen swiping. Lion will not let the user to use the screen as an input device instead; it will rely on touch pad that will support multi-touch gestures. You will be able to call up Mission Control, tap to zoom and switch between full screen apps.

Winner: Windows 8

• Resolution

Windows 8: The OS will use both new immersive UI and the traditional UI based on resolution dependent bitmap graphics. So, the built in controls will be the best.

MAC OS X Lion: Lion uses bitmaps, but also provides graphical interface, which is impossible in Windows.

Winner: Mac OS X Lion

• Seamless full screen for all apps

Windows 8: The new operating system from Microsoft works on JavaScript and HTML giving the applications a new look and feel with its touch friendly title interface. Unlike the traditional start menu and desktop, new windows features a set of titles, which when clicked or touched opens the application. You can see many tiles with notifications and up to date information on the desktop. It provides optimized touch web browsing with Internet Explorer 10.

Mac OS X Lion: The traditional display of the top menu in Mac is not included in Lion any more, which will let any program display on the entire screen. However, the problem starts here, because none of the third party apps will support this feature, as it is new. On the other hand, Windows is providing the feature from a long time with a shortcut key.

Winner: Windows 8

• Ergonomics

Windows 8: The OS works with the touch pad as well as with the mouse and keyboard. All the features that were available in the windows 7, will be present in the new version as well. It will be compatible with all the software and peripherals.

Mac OS X Lion: A new feature called “Mission Control” comes with the new OS, through which you can see and navigate everything on your Mac. According to Apple, it is easy to use and learn but a normal user cannot use Dashboard, Expose, and Spaces. For each of the function you have to use a specific gesture, which makes it difficult to learn instantly.

Winner: Windows 8

The Verdict

There are similarities between the architecture of windows 8 and Mac OS X Lion. It is possible that Windows 8 will be the same old windows on the desktop with a touch skin overlay, which works very well for few applications. Moreover, maybe there will not be much difference between the Windows and tablet OS. The reason is, while Apple scales up its iOS mobile platform for the iPad’s larger touchscreen, Microsoft is planning to install the same OS in tablets as desktops and laptops. However, it is still too early to conclude as to who will win the race to grasp a bigger chunk in the market.