It is rather difficult to write a comparative study about these two „companies“. Even when exploring the internet for necessary information about them, one may see that it is easier to find some about Microsoft – that is basically mentioned everywhere – than about the Macintosh one.
The competition, if one may call it this way, begun in the 80s and at the beginning of 90s years. There existed many platforms in that time and after some time one begun to be dominant – PC platform. Almost every user nowadays uses it. Along with this platform survived just one small – Macintosh.
To start with, I would like to mention that Microsoft, as such, is cheaper, while Macintosh is according to me more friendly-user and use mainly graphical icons. But this fact probably counts mainly to us, “tasteful” girls… Between most common facts is that more people use Microsoft computers than Macintosh, I mean in everyday life. Microsoft is more versatile than Macintosh is. It is general accepted truth that Microsoft released more software than Macintosh did and surfing the net you will probably find just the same. After clicking to some web sites offering software downloads, there is always twice, or three times more software for Microsoft than there has ever been for Macintosh. The situation is similar even with hardware. Microsoft is acceptable almost everywhere and there is more than one company that offers hardware for Microsoft and thus those companies are competing with each other and a result is the best quality and price, while Macintosh has exclusive rights to do so. Just recently I have read in Profit about Macintosh computers. It concerns their hardware and many opinions on it. Macintosh is using the processors made by Motorola. But just because Motorola is a producer mainly for mobile phones, their main interest and competing market is that of mobile phones and not the one for Macintosh. So when it concerns development they are developing mainly for mobile phones and computers are put aside. Nowadays Macintosh is thinking about using ordinary PC platform. There are some people that are happy with this fact. Mainly because some Macintosh users use the programs of Microsoft, such as the perfect Word, Excel and PowerPoint that are the basic parts of our business and even private lives. But I will get to this point later. Macintosh’s operating systems are less compatible.

Even that Microsoft needs more information for its processing it is still faster than those of Macintosh. And the next point, I suppose that pretty important, is that Macintosh can use just one action at time while Microsoft is capable of running more of them. Concerning the software, Macintosh is not possible to run older versions than are the actual one. And well, with Macintosh one must think of the program he wants to use. It means that for pictures one must open program for pictures and for the text one must open text programs. I really appreciate the possibility of Microsoft to use all in one, otherwise I would be driven crazy by computer long time ago. Mainly because of this point it is said that Microsoft has 90% of market while Macintosh around 2%. Now I feel as a critic of Macintosh, but it is not so. I put these points above from the point of basic user as I am. But as I have read in many articles before, Macintosh has just small proportion of market, but on the other hand steady one. It means that Macintosh are maybe difficult to operate, better said they are specific, but they are used in specific professional areas as well, such as graphical engineering, music and other where one needs to feel every detail. Not that this is not possible with Microsoft, just that Macintosh are better suited for it. When I was thinking about the purchase of new computer I have not even think of Macintosh, the main reason is probably that I was “introduced” to Microsoft ones…. And that they are probably cheaper and all my friends use them. And the second one… well I do not know a lot about Macintosh at all. I remember that it was just one year ago that I have heard of Macintosh for the first time. It was just one year ago, when I signed up to the class about information technology in general…. And there it was, Macintosh…. I would like to start more to the point. So…
Concerning Microsoft’s software – Windows XP, it was officially released on the 24th of October2001 in New York’s theatre Mariot Marquiz.
When comparing this software to its forerunners, Microsoft finally left its conservative design and system. Mainly it decided to get the attention of young people. Secondly this system is built on the Windows NT/2000 platform, and is supposed to stop falling of operating system. And as third they include a help for multimedia programs.
One could think that Macintosh and Microsoft are rivals and their relations are just about competition.

It is not always so… Nowadays even Microsoft offers software that has the “image” of Microsoft’s Office, but is fully acceptable by Macintosh as well. I am talking about
Microsoft Office v. X for Mac

It offers full compatibility and integration with Mac operating system. Many Macintosh users claim that with present technical possibilities it is easier than ever to exchange information between Macintosh computers and Windows based computers.
“Office 98, Office 2001, and Office v. X for Mac — as well as Office 97, Office 2000, and Office XP for Windows — all use a consistent file format. This means that a file created by using any of these versions of Office will open in any other version with no special conversion. If you are using a version of Office for the Mac, you can even automatically add the correct file extension when you save the file so that it can be opened by using a Windows version of Office.”1
Each of the Office v. X programs has features of a new Aqua user interface that's completely in step with Mac OS X. It does not touch the basic part of the software – means Office package as Word, Excel etc. They provide a connection with developing Entourage X – through it one can efficiently send email messages and it provides connections directly to Microsoft, Hotmail and Mac web sites that one can efficiently use.
Speculations about Macintosh that were recently released:

According to the weekly magazine PROFIT No. 41 – The founder and the director of Macintosh organization concede that the future version of Macintosh will be able to run on the processors from Intel as well – inside of Macintosh will run Pentiums. Analytic Andrew Neff supposes that the change will take place within 2 to 4 years. He gives 80% possibility of its happening. Some of the analytics are critical about this change. Macintosh is ahead of Microsoft mainly because of its PowerPC processors, that is made by Motorola. But Motorola is, as it seems to be, the main problem. Motorola is mainly developing processors for mobile phones and thus is sometimes forgetting computers. The redactor of weekly magazine “The deal” Andrew Sasaki said that it is possible to use alternatives from both suppliers. There are of course other opinions about it. The redactor of weekly magazine “Business Week” Charles Haddad thinks that the Mac would lose its unique. At the present moment they are fully controlling the software as well as the hardware parts of computer. While Microsoft has many producers for its components and thus one program may perfectly works on one computer and breaks down on the other.

Macintosh till this moment does not have such problems. And it is his card he can play with. In the case Macintosh would use Intel processor it would have to face direct danger from the competition of Microsoft. The other opinion is that of users. Nowadays people use simultaneous programs for Macintosh that simulates the Microsoft´s Office. It works perfectly but it slows down a speed of Macintosh and in the case there would be processor from Intel the Office would run faster. The third opinion will probably be those of programmers that would have to change configurations of programs…. In any case just future will show how this friendly competitive relation ship will end. 2.

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Microsoft’s platform vs. Macintosh