Walt Mossberg: OS X no longer “much better” than Windows

In an online review yesterday of Windows 7, Walt Mossberg makes a surprising–or not so surprising admission: that it’s “no longer true…that Apple’s Mac OS X operating system is much better than Windows.”

Mossberg still gives the Mac OS a “slight edge,” but he does believe that Apple has their work cut out for them in part because of “better previews and navigation right from the taskbar, easier organization of open windows on the desktop and touch-screen capabilities.”

Notice that? Touch capabilities. Yep, Windows 7’s Smooth Touch gets the nod.

Later in the review he goes into further detail:

Touch: Some of the same kinds of multitouch gestures made popular on the iPhone are now built into Windows 7. But these features won’t likely become popular for a while because to get the most out of them, a computer needs a special type of touch screen that goes beyond most of the ones existing now. I tested this on one such laptop, a Lenovo, and was able to move windows around, to resize and flip through photos, and more.

He doesn’t sound like he tried touch within IE, but then again I’m not sure if the Lenovo he used really supported multi-touch or not. He doesn’t quite make it clear. Multi-touch is, after all, a necessity for a great Windows 7 Touch experience.

He also didn’t mention the Math Input Panel. I guess that makes sense. It’s more for students. Mossberg is more mass-market minded than that I guess.

Anyway, congratulations to the Windows 7 team for getting a near-equal billing to OS X from Walt Mossberg.