| Leopard | Vista | Comments / notes |
| UI |
Accessibility
|
Integrated Braille input / output, voice synthesis, high contrast interface, etc.
|
Voice synthesis, high contrast interface, etc. |
|
| Fancy file browsing |
Cover Flow, Quick Look
|
Preview pane, extra large icon view |
|
| Find windows |
Exposé
|
Flip 3D |
|
| Indexed search † |
Spotlight
|
Instant Search, Search Folders |
|
| Shell / window environment † |
Aqua ("Illuminous" / unified) |
Aero ("Glass") |
|
| Tablet and touchscreen |
Nope
|
Yep |
We know Apple has Ink, but that doesn't exactly make your Mac a tablet computer
|
| Virtual desktops |
Spaces |
Nope |
|
| Software |
Backup
|
Time Machine
|
Backup and Restore Center, ShadowCopy, Previous Versions
|
Whereas Time Machine may be easier to use than Windows Backup and Restore Center, Vista does feature all the same (if not more) backup features |
| Browser † |
Safari 3
|
Internet Explorer 7
|
What can we say, we like Opera! |
| Calendar |
iCal |
Windows Calendar |
|
| Collaboration |
Screen sharing from Finder or iChat
|
Windows Meeting Space |
This one's hard to call; Apple has better ease of use, but Windows Meeting Space is more powerful -- so both win
|
| Contacts |
Address Book
|
Windows Contacts |
|
| Email ‡ |
Mail.app
|
Windows Mail
|
|
File manager
|
Upgraded Finder
|
Upgraded Explorer |
The new finder is great, no doubt, but it lacks the raw power of Explorer |
| Faxing and scanning |
CUPS + location aware printing
|
Windows Fax and Scan |
It's arguable that Windows may have more powerful printing capabilities, but OS X is far better at printer plug-and-play |
| Legacy app support † |
Rosetta |
WOW64 (32-bit emulation in 64-bit Windows) |
More info on WOW64 here
|
| IM |
iChat |
Windows Live Messenger |
Whether or not you like iChat, you can't deny it supports more protocols.
|
| Preview files |
Quick Look |
Preview pane |
|
| RSS / feed reader |
In Safari and Mail.app |
In IE7 |
|
| Speech recognition |
Yep |
Yep |
|
| Text editing |
TextEdit |
WordPad |
Apple included Word 2007 and OpenDocument support in the new TextEdit -- WordPad still doesn't support Word 2007 |
| Transfer |
Mac Migration assistant, Back to My Mac (with .Mac)
|
Windows Easy Transfer |
We might have tied this one despite Back to My Mac, but WET just doesn't work very well. |
| Video calling |
Yep |
Yep |
|
| Widgets † |
Dashboard*
|
Windows Sidebar
|
*Now with .Mac sync and Dashcode |
| Media |
| Media interface |
Front Row
|
Media Center (only in Home Premium or Ultimate Edition)
|
|
Media hardware support
|
Apple TV
|
Media Center Extenders, Xbox 360
|
Yeah, the Apple TV's good and all, but MCEs and Xbox 360 have a lot of features that ATV just doesn't have (HDTV streaming, video downloads, etc.) |
| Record TV |
Nope |
Yep |
|
|
NTSC and ATSC tuners
|
Nope
|
Yep |
|
CableCARD / DCT tuners
|
Nope |
Yep (x4)
|
|
| DVD authoring † |
iDVD
|
DVD Maker |
|
| DVD playback (out of the box) |
Yep (DVD Player)
|
Some versions of Vista (but not all)
|
More info on Vista DVD playback. |
| HD disc playback (out of the box) |
Nope |
Nope |
Macs can play DVD Studio Pro authored HD DVDs, but we're not really counting that |
| Media player † |
iTunes, Quicktime |
Windows Media Player 11 |
|
| Photos ‡ |
iPhoto |
Windows Photo Gallery |
|
| Stereo Bluetooth (A2DP) |
Yep |
Nope* |
*Vista CAN support A2DP, but only via 3rd party drivers |
Video editing
|
iMovie
|
Windows Movie Maker (with HD) |
|
System tools
|
Activation
|
Nope
|
Windows Activation
|
|
| Automation (user) |
Automator (with UI recording), AppleScript |
Nope |
|
| Data detection |
Address, phone number, etc. |
Nope |
|
Remote desktop (host)
|
Yep (VNC and X)
|
Available only in Business and Ultimate |
|
| Screen capture |
Integrated |
Snipping Tool application
|
|
| System registry |
Nope |
Unfortunately |
|
| To-dos (tasks) |
Yep (from Mail, iCal, etc.) |
Yep (From Windows Calendar) |
|
| Networking and connectivity |
IPv6
|
Yep
|
Yep
|
|
| Networking tools |
Network Setup Assistant, Finder with AutoFS, Bonjour |
Network Center (Network Explorer, Map, Setup, Awareness, Projector), DLNA |
Both provide tools for different networking needs, and we feel both are strong for different uses
|
Self-tuning TCP
|
Yep |
Yep |
|
| Wireless |
WiFi with WPA 2 support |
WiFi with WPA 2 support |
Vista shows signal strength indicators for its available network list, why the hell can't Leopard? (OS X does organize available networks by signal strength, though.)
|
| Security |
| Antivirus |
Nope |
Nope |
|
| Encrypted, signed email |
Yep |
Yep |
|
| Email filtering |
Spam filter for Mail.app
|
Junk and phishing filters in Windows Mail |
|
| Parental controls |
Time quotas, usage schedules, granular application permissions, log viewer, remote access
|
Windows Family Safety Settings, time quotas, usage schedules, some app permissions, and ESRB game support |
|
| Library randomization |
Yep |
Yep |
|
| Malware |
Downloaded app tagging, signed applications, sandboxed apps
|
Windows Defender and Malicious Software Removal Tool, signed applications,
|
|
| Smart Card support |
Yep |
Yep |
|
| VPN |
PPTP and L2TP over IPSec |
PPTP and L2TP over IPSec |
|
| Gaming |
Graphics core
|
OpenGL, Core Animation |
DirectX 10 |
|
Game network
|
None
|
Xbox Live Anywhere |
|
| Performance and hardware |
| Architecture |
32 and 64-bit support |
32 and 64-bit support* |
Windows in 64-bit may require different drivers to function properly, many of which haven't yet been ported; Leopard supports 64-bit transparently with no differences in drivers or software |
| Auto-defrag |
Yep |
Yep |
|
| Auxiliary display |
Nope |
SideShow |
|
| Drive encryption |
FileVault with AES256 support
|
EFS and Vista BitLocker |
While we're sure neither will be easily cracked, Apple gets extra points for using AES256 |
| Drive partitioning |
BootCamp |
Disk Management |
Both work well, but Apple supports moving files between partitions
|
| Multiple OS support |
Yep |
Yep |
|
| Network projector |
Nope |
Yep |
|
| Network storage |
AirPort disk |
Windows Home Server |
|
| Optimization |
The usual multitasking |
Windows SuperFetch and Windows ReadyDrive |
|
| Sync (device) |
iSync
|
Windows Mobile Device Center |
|
| Sync (network) |
Nope*
|
Windows Sync Center |
*We're not counting .Mac sync, this is more about machine to machine |
| Usage profiling |
Location awareness (network, power, printing)
|
Mobility Center (network profiles, sync, battery / power, etc.)
|
|
| USB caching |
Nope |
Windows ReadyBoost |
|
| Business |
| Domain support |
Workgroup Manager, External Accounts*
|
Active Domain (Vista Business, Enterprise, Ultimate only) |
*New feature that allows your system account / home directory to be stored on an encrypted USB drive |
| Integrated web server † |
Apache
|
IIS (Vista Business, Enterprise, Ultimate)
|
|
| Presentation mode |
Nope |
Yep (Vista Business, Enterprise, Ultimate) |
|
| Other |
| Upgradeable to different version † |
N/A |
Windows Upgrade Anytime |
|
