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System settings, individual configuration and user-friendliness
Most users are more or less satisfied with the settings as they are out of the box. However, many want to add a personal touch to their OS. As such, it is relevant to examine how easy it is and how many options the OS provides for individual configuration.
Snow Leopard system preferences are split into five categories like Personal, Hardware, Internet and Wireless, System and Others. That makes it extremely easy to find exactly what you are looking for, and at the same time there is a search function in the right corner that can dig into these categories to quickly find the setting you wish to change. When you click on an icon, you will be presented to the options for changing settings, which is nice and simple.
Windows 7 on the other hand has 7 major categories and many sub-categories. In many ways it is a jungle for most users, especially those who do not have years of Windows experience. There is no shared user interface for the different categories, and anyone can get lost in the sub-categories.
Windows 7 does have an advantage here though, in that you have many more options and can configure much more extensively. It can take hours to for example dive into Windows network settings to find the numbers you are looking for, but it has a lot more information than Snow Leopard, which on the other hand presents the necessary information to users lightning-fast with but a simple click.
It is impossible to say who wins in this category, but there is probably a reason Apple is gaining on the retail market. I can honestly say that I would give a first-time computer user a Snow Leopard rather than Windows 7 system. The user-friendliness is much greater, but hardcore users will lack options for individual configuration.
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in Hardware & Accessories by nyk001, 08-05-10 12:46