Windows 7 is a graphical user interface (GUI) based operating system. Windows 7 GUI is very easy to use as it has the windows icon in the corner all the time which gives the user access to virtually the entire computer, as all the user had to do was type in what they were searching for. Windows 7 GUI is more simpler to navigate than Mac OS X’s just because windows was around way before Mac and not much has changed up to the point of windows 8 so people are much more used to windows than Mac. The command line prompt (CLI) in windows 7 hasn’t changed much compared to previous versions of word. It is still very easy to access by just clicking on the windows icon and typing “cmd”. Command line has numerous amounts of useful commands that can be entered to perform multitudinous amounts of useful functions and processes, but windows CMD doesn’t allow the user to access much of the operating systems capabilities.
Mac OS X is also a graphical user interface based operating system. It has a task bar down at the bottom of the screen where many applications and programs can be stored for quick access. This toolbar can be customised by the user to contain the programs, applications and utilities that the user wants for quick access. It is similar to the windows icon on a windows PC but it does not have as much functionality and cannot access as much. Mac’s GUI is relatively similar to use compared to windows as there are lots of buttons and colourful designs of programs to click on. The command line of Mac OS X is different to Windows, to access it the user must click on finder, which is the equivalent to the search bar when the windows icon is clicked, and search for “Terminal” which is Mac OS X’s command line. The advantage with Terminal is that it can access much more of the operating systems capabilities compared to Windows command line.
Windows 7 manages its computer resources with a pre-installed utility called “Task Manager” which can be accessed by searching for it when the windows button is clicked. Task Manager manages the amount of programs open at that time and allocates how much memory and processing power each program should have. With task manager programs can be closed if they are not responding and programs that are open or running in the background will display how much of the computers resources they are using.
Mac OS X has a similar program to task manager in windows, on mac it’s called “Activity Monitor” and it can perform the same functions as task manager by quitting processes and displaying how much processing power each program is using. In the activity monitor there is a feature called “Inspect” which gives more detailed info about the application that is running, this is very similar to windows task manager when a program or application is clicked on, it brings up more details about that specific program. The main advantage to activity monitor is that it shows the user what is going on without it actually being an open window, when right clicked on its icon when in the dock it can show information about the CPU, memory usage, disk activity and network usage quickly and display that information so that the user knows how their Mac is handling its resources.
Windows has a decent security system installed but it does not have a UNIX core. When windows is logged into from a personal account there is a verification process that has to be undergone before the user is able to access the computer and any data stored on it. Just like a Mac, windows also comes with a firewall installed. Utilities, for example, anti-virus software can be downloaded and installed to protect the computer from Trojans, viruses, worms and more. If a user is an administrator, they can decide the security settings of the computer and forbid any other user from changing those security settings unless they have permission from the administrator. Windows also lets users put parental controls on certain accounts to prevent children from accessing restricted sites. This is a feature that is exclusive to windows and cannot be performed on a Mac.
Mac OS X boasts a UNIX core which means that is has possibly the greatest security compared to window operating system. The UNIX core makes it extremely difficult to install malware such as viruses. Mac OS X’s OS also has a firewall that comes pre-built, which prevents anyone attempting to access the system. Like most PC’s, the Mac has to have some form of verification before retrieving and sharing data. The big advantage to having a Mac is that since it has UNIX core the system can be programed to be very secure and extremely hard to access without permission, this feature is not found in windows and is why Mac has better security than Windows.
File management is similar on Windows 7 and Mac OS X. both operating systems permit the user to order and structure files how they want and to delete and share whatever content the user wants. Windows 7 comes with an archive where all special folders are kept. This archive incorporates and shows files that are kept in diverse places. Windows 7 also has an file explorer extension that lets users control their files.
Mac OS X lets users drag and place files wherever they like and save files to any location also. Mac OS X has the same customisability when it comes to file management.
Mac OS X has a different way to handling file management compared to windows, to assist the user in locating their files and data quicker, they can utilise the finder and spotlight instead of having to search through folders of files, this is another advantage to Mac as it is much quicker to type the name of the file rather than trying to find it in lots of different folders.
Windows 7 OS has total control when it comes to device drivers there are many applications which are used to control specific device drivers, such as device manager in windows. This application displays all device drivers and gives the user the ability to update, disable, reinstall and perform many other commands to each driver.
Mac OS X also offers the same services as windows 7 with device drivers, except Mac will only work with devices that are designed by apple and will struggle to communicate and function with drivers that are not certified by Apple. On a Mac to manage device drivers it is much harder as it only supports the mouse, keyboard, printers and scanners and trackpad if the Mac has one. You cannot access a device driver menu unless a device is plugged into the Mac.
Windows is highly capability of support with portable devices such as USB drives, flash memory HDD drives. Windows 7 comes with preinstalled drivers that exchange data with numerous different forms of portable devices. The advantage with windows is that it supports more devices than Mac.
Mac OS X comes with support for very common forms of portable devices but only if there is a matching device driver with the Mac. Mac OS X supports nearly all types of, USB devices and flash memory devices.
Windows 7 has pre-installed utilities, for example, a firewall, disk defragmenter and file compression tool. Additional utilities can be installed and purchased to help enhance the performance of the operating system.
Mac OS X comes with lots of utilities that can help enhance the performance of the Mac.
For example, disk utility, Terminal and reset password to name a few. Other utilities can be installed and purchased from certain sellers of Apple products and software.