LAUNCHING YOUR PRECIOUS APPS AND VIEWING NOTIFICATIONS The operating system has a welcoming feel and is fairly easy to learn even for computer ‘newbies’. Recently OSX has added the Launchpad with its Lion version of its OS. With Launchpad you have an easy launcher for all your favorite apps. It takes applications that are condensed into icons, with numbers giving you a bird’s eye view of any notifications on apps that need your attention. This is just part of the new iOS-like features that have made their way recently into OSX. Launchpad is a welcome addition and really does add to the ease of use. On the other side of the fence, we have Metro. Metro is the new Start Menu replacement for Windows 8. It offers cutting edge apps and live tiles that update with notifications. The notifications process is presented much more smoothly in Windows 8 then in Launchpad. For now Mac OS has Metro beat on apps (since Windows Market has yet to launch) but this could certainly change quickly. SEARCH The search in Mac OS is very easy to use, but Windows 8 offers the same functionality and more. The newest member of Windows divides results up into apps, settings, and files. It can even extend its search for an item beyond your PC to Facebook, Twitter, or even other nearby locales such as shops. GESTURE RECOGNITION The gestures in OSX are well-thought out and easy to use. When it comes to touchpad gestures it seems that Lion might be ahead of the game a little. At the same time, Windows 8 goes beyond touch gestures with a great full-touch experience onscreen and throughout. While OSX made a few changes to support a more touch-friendly environment, Windows pulled all the punches to make a truly tablet/touch worthy operating system that still works just fine with traditional keyboard/mouse interfaces as well. Overall, Mac fans won’t throw away their Macbooks anytime soon for Windows 8. Windows 8 will never be the same as Mac OS, but this is a good thing. Windows 8 offers a very touch-centric experience that is sleek, attractive, and highly compatible with current and future hardware. For now a direct comparison of every feature just is out of the question- at least until Windows 8 Beta comes out. What we are seeing is that at every corner Windows 8 is at least matching what Lion can already do, and with Metro it seems to be pushing the envelope and hopefully surpassing anything we can experience in Mac OS. For some people Windows 8 is just the best choice thanks to legacy needs and a wider selection of hardware choices. What do you think about Windows 8 versus OSX Lion? Will the new Windows experience equal or surpass Mac OS? Share your thoughts below!]]>
