Operating Systems: Mac X vs. Windows 7

This report provides a detailed comparison of Apple Mac OS X and Windows 7 operating systems. It outlines the purpose and key features of each, highlighting similarities and differences in their user interfaces (Dock vs. Taskbar, Launchpad vs. Start Menu), application support, gaming capabilities, web browsers (Safari vs. Internet Explorer), and media players (iTunes vs. Windows Media Player). The report analyzes the advantages and disadvantages of each feature set, concluding with an assessment of the overall user experience and suitability for different tasks. The analysis is presented in a clear and structured manner, making it easy for readers to understand the strengths and weaknesses of each operating system.

Gladys Nzita-Mak P2 & M1 Unit 2
What is an operating system?
An operating system is a program that allows you to run other programs and applications on your
computer. An operating system is used to manage files and documents on your computer, performs
tasks like taking input from your mouse or keyboard and outputting onto your screen, and be able to
control peripherals like a printer or scanner connected to your computer.
Examples of operating systems are Linux, DOS, MAC and UNIX. They all do the same job; they allow
you to access programs and manage your files.
Apple Mac X
The purpose of Mac X is that it is made to be more user-friendly and well security protected. Mac OS
also allows users to run tasks simply, and has an easy simple interface.
Apple Mac X has plenty of features like great applications (like Safari, iTunes, calendar), multiple
display which allows you to be more flexible whilst working on an apple Mac, finder tabs which help
to be organised whilst on a Mac and so with finder tabs you can have separate tabs for example
music, work or images. Another feature is that it allows you to see notifications that you can view
from applications or email messages. Also the Apple Mac X is also good for the use of gaming.
Windows 7
the purpose of Windows 7 is to offer the user a fast and reliable operating system. Windows 7 has a
fast boot up, good performance that includes sleep and resume and keeps your computer connected
to wireless networks which makes your PC ready to use, fast USB detection, and has better memory
use. Windows 7 is very flexible for the user to be able to run any software that is windows
compatible. It allows programs that were able to run on windows Vista and XP to be used on
windows 7. Windows 7 is made to be more organised (this is very useful for businesses) as it has its
section of “libraries” which help users organise their files easier.
Windows 7 features a new easy and organised start menu, along with a task bar which allows users
to pin and access their favourite programs and applications easier. Windows 7 also has an XP mode
which allows XP programs to work that would not usually work on windows 7. Windows 7 also has
jump lists to quickly access favourite songs, images, websites and documents. Another feature is
windows search; it allows users to search for anything on the PC instantly. Gaming using Windows 7
is really good. Also Windows touch is a feature that if you have touch screen, it is best because you
wouldn’t need to use a keyboard as much.
Common and different features
Mac X Windows 7
Dock Taskbar
Launchpad Start menu
Apps Apps
Used for gaming Used for gaming
Safari Internet Explorer
iTunes Windows Media Player

Gladys Nzita-Mak P2 & M1 Unit 2
Although similar, In the Apple Mac X, instead of a Taskbar as Windows 7 has, it has a “Dock” that
user can use for selecting their most used or favourite applications to open up and use. The
advantages of using the dock are that you can be able to drag any application from the Launchpad
onto the dock, making those applications more accessible, you can access folders quicker, you can
even store favourite URLs on the dock making them more accessible as they will load up directly
onto that page once clicked. Disadvantages would be that the dock tends to disappear quite often
making this tool quite annoying. The “taskbar” used in Windows 7 is a similar feature to Apple Mac
X’s dock. It is used to pin and select a users most used or favourite applications they commonly use.
Advantages are that it is quick and accessible, easy to use and with the task bar you can pin your
favourite programs, move icons around, icons preview clearly, and when you hover over it shows a
thumbnail of what the icon contains. It also allows you to see multiple thumbnails of all the
programs you are running. The only disadvantage is that the taskbar can load some programs a bit
slow once clicked. Out of the two, using Mac X’s dock is more of a greater deal as it acts in a more
user-friendly way as it enables users to locate and access applications well.
In Windows 7 a “Start menu” is the gateway for accessing programs, folders and settings, providing
a list of selections for the user to choose from. Advantages of the start menu would be that you can
open programs, it has organised folders of all applications and programs making anything easy to
find. It also has a search tool for users to quickly search up what they want to find in the start menu.
It also contains the Shutdown, sleep, and log off functions. Disadvantages can be that it can load up
slowly at times, whereas the “Launchpad” is used similarly to the start menu, but mainly used for
finding and accessing applications/programs. The up side to having a Launchpad is that you can
access all of your programs and applications, but a down side would be that if you only want to view
programs and applications, it will show every single application, including uninstallers too.
Both Mac X and Windows 7 contain applications for users to download and use, but for Windows 7
it is limited as applications such as Facebook and Twitter can only be accessed through web
browsers, whereas on the apple store you can be able to purchase and download plenty applications
for all uses. Also they are both efficiently used for computer gaming as they both provide quality
graphics for games, but in this case, Windows 7 would be a better system to play and enjoy games
on, as it provides a better variety of games to download (unlike Mac X) along with being able to use
it on a great amount of RAM and processor.
The web browser that comes with the Apple Mac X is Safari. Safari is a good browser as it is used on
full screen, has a simple layout and simple navigation as well as delivering speedy results and being
easy to use as it is user friendly, and only has one disadvantage which is that the web browser is only
and mainly used for Apple products. Internet Explorer is a user friendly browser that has great
speed, it supports HTML5, loads images well and has improved JavaScript. Sadly there are quite
some disadvantages to the internet explorer browser which include not being secure well, it is prone
to viruses and is targeted by hackers, doesn’t support as much add-ons, and it can be slow at times
the more you tend to use this browser.

Gladys Nzita-Mak P2 & M1 Unit 2
When it comes to being able to play music, iTunes allows you to be able to purchase music and
videos from their store, play music, keep you organised by creating playlists, mix CDs and burn CDs.
Disadvantages of iTunes would be that is has low performance as it slows up a computer whilst
running, it has some format restrictions as it mostly only offers to play MP3 or M4A formats, and if
you are to delete a file by accident, you would be permitted to purchase it again, whereas with
Windows Media Player, it is able to play a great deal of formats such as MP3, M4A, MP4,
WMA,WMV. It has a library that users are able to listen to their music, create playlists and organise
their media files. Burning, Ripping and Mixing CDs can all be done in Windows Media Player, and is
able to browse and purchase music from the store and. Disadvantages would be that sometimes it
could take long to open up and at times it can take quite a while to load a media file when playing it
from a chosen folder, it also may freeze often, and when it comes to playback, the shuffle button
tends to not play every song in the playlist.