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Maximum PC ISSN: 1522-A THING OR TWO ABOUT A THING OR TWO
ED WORDWaiting for
a Windows
Renaissance
WRITE TO WILL Please send comments, questions, and stuff
with caramel to [email protected]. Include your full name,
city of residence, and phone number with your correspondence.
Unfortunately, Will is unable to respond personally to all queries.READ THIS NOW!
I
’ve written about Apple’s OS X many times before, and it’s no secret that I’ve long
been impressed with Apple’s operating systems. This month, I reviewed the Mac-
Book Air, which gave me the opportunity to spend some quality time with Apple’s
latest OS, Leopard, and I had an epiphany: Windows users are in the same exact
position that Mac users were in 1999.
Think back to the turn of the century. Windows 2000 was fresh and new.
Power users were basking in the glow of a fully 32-bit operating system that
supported power-user tasks, playing games, and listening to MP3s. It was a
golden age for Windows users, with the promise of an even better
version of Windows on the horizon. On the other side of the
personal-computing fence, Apple folk were either strug-
gling with the laughably antiquated Mac OS 9 or deal-
ing with the not-ready-for-prime-time first release
of OS X, which lacked crucial features like a 2D-ac-
celerated desktop and native versions of popular
apps. If you bought a Mac in early 2000, you had to
choose between the old and busted OS 9 or the new
but premature OS X.
Today, PC purchasers are in a similar situation.
On one hand, we have XP. Windows XP isn’t quite as
old and busted as OS 9 was back then, but it still suf-
fers from security issues and doesn’t support the latest
and greatest technologies. Then there’s Windows Vista. While
Vista has definitely improved since launch, I don’t think many folks
would describe it as a worthy successor to XP—especially people who have to
act as tech support for friends and family.
Unfortunately, while Mac users could see the light at the end of the tunnel in
2000, Windows users are currently in limbo. As we went to press, we saw the fi rst
public demos of the next version of Windows—code-named Windows 7—and
we were underwhelmed. For the sake of our platform, I sincerely hope that Mi-
crosoft starts showing us a Windows 7 that will inspire PC users in the same way
that OS X inspired Mac users almost a decade ago.
On a completely unrelated note, I’d like to announce that Michael Brown
is leaving the confines of the Maximum PC offices so that he can scour the PC
universe as our Editor at Large. In his new role, Mike will cover a lot of the
hardware products he has always reviewed, as well as write about emerging
technologies and breaking news. I’m also pleased to announce that we’re add-
ing another face to the Maximum PC staff. Norman Chan, PC Gamer’s long-suf-
fering intern, has defected to Maximum PC to run our day-to-day web opera-
tions. Thanks Mike, and welcome Norm!- Notebook Battle
page 22 - GeForce GTX 280
page 54 - Create Your Own
Webcast page 64