I n a battle to the death, which would win, the longhorn or the tiger? The Detroit Free Pressis Mike Wendland attempts to elucidate the subject, or at least the software version of the subject, by contrasting Microsoftis next major operating system release, Longhorn, to Appleis next generation version of Mac OS X, Tiger.
Mr. Wendland starts his comparison by pointing out that Longhorn wonit be on store shelves until sometime in 2006, while Tigeris release is imminent. Despite the time discrepancy, however, such comparisons are likely to be common place, especially among people and companies that are considering major system upgrades.
In that light, Mr. Wendland discusses Longhornis planned improved portable battery performance, better data exchange between apps, a new desktop, improved navigation, and better security. For Tiger, he lists speed improvements, Spotlight, networking improvements, and new video features.
The biggest bonus for Apple, however, will be that Tiger will be firmly established in the marketplace long before Longhorn is actually released. In addition, he said, Longhornis biggest competition will be earlier versions of Windows.
"With around 5 percent of the personal computer marketplace," he concluded, "Apple has nowhere to go but up, and Tiger -- capitalizing on the companyis new hip status -- is going to generate a lot of buzz. Longhorn, meanwhile, will hit a marketplace already dominated by Windows. Microsoft is going to have to dig into its very deep pockets to convince people that itis worth the hassle."
You can find the full article, which offers a good comparison for Mr. Wendlandis mainstream audience, at the Detroit Free Press.