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The May issue of Popular Mechanics arrived this week with an interesting feature comparing Macs and Windows PCs, in desktops and notebook categories. The magazine assessed system performance by measuring how quickly the computers booted up, shut down, and installed and launched common programs. It assessed overall user experience with a panel of testers representing a range of computer experience.

Here's the twist: Macs might have a reputation for superior usability, but that's not the main reason they won out, according to the magazine. The entire article is worth checking out, but here's the conclusion:

Mac: In both the laptop and desktop showdowns, Apple's computers were the winners. Oddly, the big difference didn't come in our user ratings, where we expected the famously friendly Mac interface to shine. Our respondents liked the look and feel of both operating systems but had a slight preference toward OS X. In our speed trials, however, Leopard OS trounced Vista in all-important tasks such as boot-up, shutdown and program-launch times. We even tested Vista on the Macs using Apple's platform-switching Boot Camp software -- and found that both Apple computers ran Vista faster than our PCs did.

PC: Simply put, Vista proved to be a more sluggish operating system than Leopard. Our PCs installed some software faster, but in general they were slower in our time trials. Plus, both PCs showed weaker performance on third-party benchmarks than the Macs. Our biggest surprise, however, was that PCs were not the relative bargains we expected them to be. The Asus M51sr costs the same as a MacBook, while the Gateway One actually costs $300 more than an iMac. That means for the price of the Gateway you could buy an iMac, boost its hard drive to match the Gateway's, purchase a copy of Vista to boot--and still save $100.

In other words, with Windows Vista, Microsoft appears to have succeeded in improving the operating system's on-screen appeal to users -- the digital eye candy. But the article confirms the general perception that Windows Vista isn't doing as well on the fundamental tasks that, after all, are the reason an operating system exists in the first place.

The article is also starting to get attention elsewhere. Related links:

Web Worker Daily: Mac vs. PC speed: It doesn't matter.
Cult of Mac: Mac trounces PC in Pop Mechanics Head-to-Head.
Michael Parekh: On the new PC vs. Mac reality.