Aqua vs Aero

hehe. Last night I did some checking around for the specifications for Windows Vista. Apperently all I need is another stick of RAM to get it up to 1 GB. I was kind of worried that the video card I was using (FX 5200) wouldn't be good enough to the the coveted AERO glass effects. See, the thing is this, Microsoft has designed the entire "Aero Glass" thing in such a way where it relies heavily on the hardware. I mean you can't run the glass effects with anything less than a ATI Radeon 9250.I thought I might have to upgrade to another graphics chip to get AERO to run however, it doesn't appear I have to do that. All I have to do is run down to Robotnik or some other dealer and get myself a stick of RAM. This brings up a good point in the Apple vs. Microsoft debate. For one thing, Apple has designed OS X in such as way that the very impressive graphics transitions rely more on the Core Technology ( Audio, Image, and in Leopard Animation.)  instead of relying so heavily on the hardware side of things. This is known as Aqua (it hides all the UNIX ugliness.) Take for example the Mac Mini. It has an integrated GPU, which I find extremely annoying. It's an Intel GMA 950, which subtracts 64 MB of RAM for the graphics processor. With such a low amount of resources to work with, I'd say that the Mac Mini does a pretty good job doing what's is supposed to with the graphics transitions and such within OS X. On the other hand with Microsoft, there is no way in hell your going to run AERO glass on an integrated GPU. See Microsoft designed Vista in such a way that rely's heavily on the hardware side of things. Unlike  in Mac OS X  where you can run  the fancy graphics transitions on a  integrated GPU it's impossible to do that with Windows.  The technology built into OS X makes it possible. It's the same thing with Open XGL and Compiz. You can run really cool effects using hardware.
    And here's something else that's interesting. Apparently the core's in the Mac Mini's are not soldered into the socket so it is possible to upgrade then, as many people have done.
Anyway,  I have to be getting to school in a little while, so I'll blog when I get home tonight, providing I don't have a mountain of homework.