Ten things I hate about Windows and love about my Mac

Section: Apple, Software + Apps, iLife, iWork, Third-Party, Productivity, Utilities, Mac + Computers, Software, Operating Systems, Leopard, OS-X, Tiger, Windows, Originals

This is part two of a series. Read Part One here.

What I Hate About Windows

1) The Taskbar - Windows users will crow on and on about the taskbar’s superiority, but it is crap. It has no one purpose, rather it is a poorly implemented strip that serves as the main control point for the computer. The place where this becomes the biggest issue is if you hide it. You may just want more screen space, or to just hide the start menu, but you have no choice. Everything goes. Your list of programs, your minimized windows, system notifications, everything, is gone. Which brings me to my next gripe. Why would all my windows be displayed in huge buttons? I can understand it if my minimized windows were, but the maximized windows are already there. No need to have them in the taskbar. The argument is that its easy switching between windows, but I don’t find it easy to try to decipher between three Internet explorer windows, or three any windows. In the taskbar they all look the same and that doesn’t speed up the workflow at all.

2) Just Do It!! - Windows needs coaxing to do everything. Setting up a home network is hell in Windows. Even connecting to an unencrypted wireless connection requires the user to tell it to half the time. Mac OS X detects everything and makes it easy. Windows couldn’t be more different.

3) Install and Uninstall - The best thing, and perhaps most confusing about OS X to a Windows convert is the fact that installing and application is usually just drag and drop. On Windows, it’s a whole affair. Installers usually get the job done, but they leave little trails all over the system. Once you’ve installed software, rest assured it will never be fully gone. Uninstalling an application on Windows looks easy. Simply open the Add/Remove Program window, and click “Change/Remove” (a button cryptic enough in and of itself- why would you label a button two different things?) Half of the time the software can’t fully be removed. Th other half of the time, it appears to work, but if you know where to look, you will still find remnants, and sometimes rather large remnants, of the program.

4) Bloat - Windows in and of itself is a bloated piece of software, but what I’m talking about here is with peripherals that you might purchase. 95% of the time, when you purchase a printer, scanner, even speakers, keyboards, and mice, it comes with its own software that you have to install. Though this happens on occasions with Mac OS X, most of the time you can plus it in and go. The operating system takes care of it for you.

5) Viruses - Nuff said. It’s not entirely Windows’ fault that there are so many viruses written for it, but it’s a big side effect of Windows.

What I Love About The Mac

1) iLife - Every new Mac comes with some version of iLife. It blows Windows Movie Maker out of the water. iMovie is a phenomenal video editor, and if you’re an iMovie pro, you can actually get some advanced stuff going. I found that I had to trick Windows Movie Maker into doing most of the stuff I needed.

2) Out of the Box - Continuing in the same thread, I love that right out of the box, you can start doing stuff on a Mac. You’ve got a camera, mic, cha software, browser, video editor, photo organizer, music organizer, mail program, a basic word processor, and so much more. On Windows? Calculator, Clock, Internet Explorer, and a plain text editor.

3) Menu Bar and Dock - I love the dock, for the same reasons I hate the taskbar. It serves one purpose (for the most part:) to hold your applications. If you hide it, you still have access to the vitals like clock, menu items, and menus. Which brings me to the menu bar, which is superior to window -embedded menus in every way.  It’s all about Fitts’ Law, which has to do with the fact that the menu bar on OS X is infinitely many pixels tall. Basically, if you throw your mouse to the top of the screen, you can’t miss it. By contrast, a menu in Windows could be anywhere on your screen, and it’s likely there are multiples on the same menu in different windows. Kinda confusing.

4) Self Contained Applications - Most applications for Mac OS X come in one little bundle. It is entirely self contained, can be moved around without worry of losing program files, and it doesn’t leave a trail when it’s uninstalled. Perhaps uninstall isn’t the right word. All you do is drag to the trash, after all.

5) Productivity - It’s tools like QuickLook, Exposé, and Spaces that make Mac OS X. With QuickLook, I can easily and quickly see a file without opening it’s application. With Exposé, it is so easy to see all my windows (and it beats the snot out of the taskbar in Windows.) Spaces is nothing new, but it is seamlessly integrated into OS X, and thats really what makes OS X a better experience: the integration.

What gripes do you have with Windows? What do you love about OS X? How about the other way around? Sound off below! The best answers will go into a final part in these series of your submitted likes and dislikes.

Full Story » | Written by Adam Fisher-Cox for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »