The Right Operating System for You
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Windows Vista SightingsWindows Vista does deliver improvements in security (though you'll still need a third-party firewall unless you're up for some complex configuration tasks), plus several improved utilities and new features. It's the look, though, that makes Windows Vista a desirable upgrade for most people. Windows Vista's Aero environment displays windows, icons, and other desktop elements with more colors, shading, and shadowing, as well as--for the first time--transparency. Buttons glow like red or blue LEDs when you hover over them. Translucent window frames, menus, and title bars remind you of other applications buried a layer or two deep, and the Flip 3D task switcher is clearly inspired by Apple's Exposé, which displays cleverly arranged thumbnails of all your running applications.
Cribbing more directly from Apple, the gadget-populated Windows Sidebar is a variation on OS X's Dashboard widgets. However, the redesigned Media Player, Control Panel, mail, and photo previewing interfaces are evidence that many of Windows Vista's changes are only skin deep. Drilling down through a new menu structure often reveals the very same dialog boxes that were present in Windows XP.
Gamers should eventually see great dividends by switching to Windows Vista. DirectX 10 promises to accelerate games eightfold, and it won't be available under Windows XP. And Vista's Windows Presentation Foundation makes it easier for software developers to produce graphics-hardware-accelerated applications.
Windows Vista's many innovations come at a cost, however. Recent PC World Test Center trials demonstrated that although Windows Vista performs just fine on the Microsoft-recommended hardware, Windows XP runs the same applications significantly faster (see "Lab Tests: Windows Vista's Fast If You Have the Hardware"). So unless you can tolerate a downgrade in performance, you may want to upgrade your PC right along with your operating system. Nevertheless, on a reasonably equipped machine, Windows Vista provides fast search results for files, documents, e-mail messages, and Web sites.
Hello, PC? I'm MacOr maybe you're ready for an even bigger switch. The simple, clean lines of MacBooks and Mac Pro desktops hint that using a computer could be straightforward--easy, even. Mac OS X offers the same promise. Although Apple's operating system and Windows generally let you do all the same kinds of things, the Mac interface just seems to have fewer layers, levels, and cryptic settings.
It's nearly enough to make a 20-year Windows user jump ship. But that's not necessary, of course. Apple's Boot Camp allows Intel-based Macs to boot Windows and other x86 operating systems, such as Linux. Now, both übergeeks and regular folks who enjoy OS X's simplicity but still need to run applications in Windows XP, Windows Vista, or Linux can run all of these operating systems on one computer.
Apple still won't allow OS X to run on non-Mac systems, making Apple hardware the only way to run all OSs on one machine. And with the addition of inexpensive or free virtualization software from Parallels and VMWare, Macs can run those operating systems simultaneously. Parallels' software even provides a unique, somewhat eerie feature, "Coherence," that runs virtualized Windows applications side by side with OS X programs. Parallels got a bit of a jump on VMWare, whose first OS X product, code-named Fusion, is due this summer. At press time, both companies were working to add 3D acceleration to their products, which could finally make serious gaming on a virtualized OS a reality.
But the big Mac OS news arrives this spring when Apple releases OS X 10.5, aka Leopard. The update promises a modest but desirable collection of new features, including Time Machine, a new automatic backup system that lets let you flip back and forth through previous versions of your files. Leopard also adds support for stationery and an integrated to-do list in Mail; an expansion of the Spotlight search tool to locate files on other Macs on your network; an Exposé-like virtual desktop feature called Spaces; and some as-yet-unannounced (killer, we hope) features.
Linux: Last but Not LeastDistributions like the increasingly popular Ubuntu are going a long way to change Linux's reputation for being difficult and complex to install and configure. Ubuntu's bootable DesktopCD lets you see how you'll like Linux (and a bit about how Linux will like your PC) without installing anything to the hard disk. A few more clicks will make room for Ubuntu and set it up on your hard drive, alongside Windows. (See "Windows and Ubuntu on One PC" for more.) Once the OS is in place, a couple of simple applications let you choose from and install hundreds of free programs, including productivity, multimedia, and development tools.
Another popular distribution, Novell's OpenSuSE, provides configuration utilities and libraries of applications that are nearly as easy to navigate as Ubuntu's. Both Linux distributions deliver frequent bug fixes and automatic updates.
And visually-minded Linux fans can choose from dozens of user interfaces, chief among them KDE and Gnome. Both interfaces are evolving steadily, borrowing good ideas from each other and from Apple and Microsoft as well.
With its minimal hardware requirements and solid security, Linux can serve as a bulletproof primary OS. And with painless dual-booting and virtualization options, including several free and open-source apps and the kernel-based Xen software, you can easily try out the latest in Linux without having to give up your current operating system.
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