Year 12, Unit 2, Task 4, M1

	Windows XP	Mac OS
Machine and peripheral management	The peripheral management within a Windows XP (key board and mouse) are bought separately and you can change the setting on them depending on the speed that you would like them to work.	However, with the peripheral management for Macs, changing the setting on them wouldn’t be necessary as the hardware is made especially for the Mac. Also, it has to be the hardware from apple to get the best kind of result.
Security	Windows has the basic setting for security including user name accounts and passwords which ensure there isn’t any unauthorised access into the computer and the data inside.	The security on the Mac OS differs from that of the Windows. Mac devices heck downloads before they are downloaded to see if they are safe. Also, they block the ports that are a potential security risk to the computer.
File management	File management doesn’t run on all Windows programmes. The file management within a Windows computer is simple and sorts files depending on the size. It can also be customised to satisfy the user.	File management within Mac computers is also simple and easy to manage. Mac uses something called ‘finder’ which Windows computers do not have. With this, you can see all of the files on the hard drive (it is similar to internet explorer).
Device drivers	Windows has ‘device manager’ which lets the user of the control the device driver. The device drivers in windows were made to be easy and the quality worth it. Within windows, if all device drivers are updated then it will be able to work it and hand it better than if it wasn’t updated to full.	Mac has different device drivers within the computer. It can be controlled by their own programme including through Bluetooth and other plug in devices such as printers or scanners.
Ability to customise	Both Windows and Mac have many customisation tools within their systems. Both have a ‘control panel’ of which they can change different features on the computer such as icon sizes, colours etc. Windows also has ‘accessibility wizard’ which enables you to customise the computer for suit your hearing and vision.	Mac also has a wide range of customisation tools available. The Mac has different download tools that can make your Mac customised such as ‘mirage’ and ‘candy bar’. There are also programmes which enable you to customise other things in the computer such as the way things install on your computer.
Support for connectivity of portable media	Windows computers support different portable media which can be connected to the computer including USB, CD, Bluetooth and WIFI.	Mac computers are almost the same as Windows computers as they both are able to support mostly all portable media at the same quality.
Security	Windows XP has an anti-virus system within the program which protects the computer from viruses that occur from downloads etc. Compared to the Mac, Windows has a wider range of security.	The problems to do with security and Mac are usually viruses. There viruses are usually in the applications rather than the OS itself, however, the Mac does have security in other ways such as privacy within the computer; usernames and passwords.
Stability and reliability	The stability and reliability relies on the applications downloaded from the system/how they work. Windows has a lot of different type of applications and in fact more than the Mac which can cause more stability problems compared to the Mac.	The Mac is more stable than the Windows due to the way the hardware has been made for the computer; it is compact with each parts of the computer itself. The mac also has a clean code which makes it run faster with fewer crashes occurring in the system.
Ease of management	The format for the way in which Windows is managed is quite simple. However, comparing the Windows and Mac systems on the ease of management is difficult as it all depends on who is using it and what they are used to.	Macs ease of management is similar to Windows however it has a different layout, yet they are both fairly easy to use as they do share similar features.
Associated utilities	Windows has a wider ranges of utilities compared to the Mac (this doesn’t make it better!). The qualities of Windows utilities aren’t as high as Mac however they are still good.	For Mac, associated utilities have been created. This includes programmes such as path finder and also the dimmer on the Mac itself.

There are many ways in which both of these systems differ from the control panel, system tools, internet and system preferences etc. 

These are the control panels on a Mac OS and a Windows XP computer. They are both different from each other and this is evident from the screenshots above showing that the layout of the each are different. Also, on the Mac OS' control panel it is actually called 'System Preferences' and unlike the Windows XP, it has groups split up to fit the right group, For example, in personal is the desktop and account whereas in the internet and network is stuff relating to the internet. This is not the same with the control panel of a Windows XP computer

.

The systems tools for a Mac OS and Windows XP computer also differ. Mac OS computers do not have a system tools button unlike the Windows XP. Instead, with a Mac OS you normally just look through the documents to find the file you want or at the bottom of the computer is icons identifying the internet etc. The difference with the Windows XP computer is you have to press the 'Start' button or more commonly now the Windows logo button on the bottom left hand corner. This will then direct you to lots of different system tools including the internet, e-mail, Microsoft office etc. This on the other hand, with the Mac OS, is all placed on the home screen of the computer.

The internet on the two different computers are different. On the Mac OS you normally have Safari or Firefox where as on the Windows XP you either have Internet Explorer or Google Chrome. This is because these specific internet fits the computers needs. Safari or Firefox often comes with the Mac OS computer therefore there is no need to download Internet Explorer or Google Chrome to match the Windows XP computer. This is the same with the Windows XP.