In general, I pretty much agree with Engadget's Leopard vs. Vista Showdown. I think they've done a great job in detailing the feature lists in both operating systems.

Here are a few places where I disagree, or might like to clarify.

And, as we all know, simple features do not make something great.

Indexed Search / File Manager:  These are listed seperately, and I guess, if you primarily work in Windows you don't find this so strange. In Mac OS X Leopard, Indexed Search (called Spotlight, by Apple) is built right into every Finder window. This makes search faster and easier no matter "where" you are at. This is by far one of the best features of Apple's file manager.

Furthermore, now that we can easily compare Apples to Oranges, hardware-wise, between Apple computers and PCs we can see that Finder is blazing fast on even hardware that might be considered outdated. When it comes down to pure usability, I think the Finder wins hands down. Yes, Explorer is slow on a 3Ghz PC with 2GB of RAM. Why?

Two points for Leopard, then, and subtract one point for Windows. I don't know what "raw power" Engadget sees in Explorer.

Tablet and touchscreen: I'm not sure why this is listed, as most PCs, or Macs don't ship with touchscreen screens. Those that do have this feature enabled. Microsoft doesn't ship a touchscreen device by default, unless you include their "Smart" phones, and even then you can compare these directly to Apple's iPhone, which also includes a touchscreen. On the other hand, third-parties do provide touchscreen computers running both Windows Vista and Mac OS X Leopard.

The ModBook, at OtherWorldComputing.com. I'm sure you can do a simple Google search, and find examples of third-party Windows tablet / touchscreen computers.

Neither wins here. 

Media interface: I'm not sure why Windows wins this one, as Front Row is included with all copies of Leopard, but Media Center is only included with two different versions of Vista. In my opinion, Windows should score a loss in any category where "one of the many versions" doesn't include some feature. Another point for Leopard, minus one for Vista.

DVD Playback (out of the box): Leopard and Vista both "win" this one, even though DVD playback is only included with two versions of Vista... the same two versions that come with Media Center, incidentally. So if you got a laptop with Windows Vista Business, you aren't watching DVDs, or using media center unless you "upgrade" to Vista Ultimate. And then you still don't get a remote control. Again, subtract a point for Vista.

Remote desktop (host): Why do Leopard and Vista both "win" again" Not all Vista versions come with this feature. One more strike against Vista.

Wireless: Engadget makes a big deal out of the fact that Leopard doesn't show the signal strength, but then points out that the networks are ordered by signal strength. Duh! Pick the top one, you are done! When connecting wirelessly, you shouldn't be just connecting to random unsecured wireless networks anyway. Didn't your mom tell you that?

I'll still give Vista the win here, unless Leopard starts supporting WPA2 soon. 

Antivirus: With over 10,000 viruses released for Windows (per year!!) this should count as a huge loss for Vista. But we'll only subtract one point, to be nice.

Graphics core: Why does Vista win this category? Is DirectX 10 "better" than OpenGL and Core Animation? Not necessarily, it's just a heavily marketed brand name. Even if most games don't have DX 10 support, yet. You might as well say Leopard loses because it's not named Windows. That's just silly.

Does Vista win because it has more games? Well then I hope Mac OS X never gets compared to the Playstation2, 'cause then for sure it'll get it's butt kicked! Subtract one point from Windows, since neither graphics technology is actually "better" than the other. Besides, Windows XP still supports far more games than Vista. If you are a hardcore gamer then you are probably still running XP.

Architecture: Engadget states "Windows in 64-bit may require different drivers to function properly, many of which haven't yet been ported; Leopard supports 64-bit transparently with no differences in drivers or software" -- but then they award both Leopard and Vista the win for this catefory. Should be a loss for Windows, here, as well.

Auxiliary display: Wow. No, Leopard doesn't support a proprietary "display" type, like "SideShow". On the plus side, you can pretty much hook any VGA monitor made in the last, oh, 20 years into your Mac and have it perform admirably. That aside, I don't know why someone couldn't make a simple USB LCD display to double-sided sticky-tape to your MacBook, but would you really want it? If we add this "feature" can we add the Blue Screen of Death as a feature? I mean, Leopard doesn't support that, does it? This is, in my opinion, a "feature" looking for a home. I'll let Vista keep it's point here, though, as Leopard doesn't support SideShow.

Multiple OS support: Again, why do both operating systems win this category? Windows doesn't "support" multiple operating systems any more than Mac OS X does. That's a function of hardware. Of course, with Bootcamp built-in, Leopard will even move your Apple partition out of the way for an alternative OS, including Windows. Apple even provides drivers for Windows. I don't think you'll see Microsoft providing Linux drivers any time soon. This should count as a loss for Windows. Subtract one point.

Upgradeable to different version: I'm glad neither operating system won this category, although I still think it should be Leopard, since there is only one version. No upgrades necessary! You get the best of everything in one version, for $129.00.

So, according to my new tally, Leopard (46 original) +3 = 49 points, Vista (41 original) -8 = 33.

49 to 33 is a much bigger spread than 46-41, wouldn't you agree?

Comments welcome!