What OS X Could Learn From Windows
Okay.
Hard hat? Check.
Flak jacket? Check.
Flame proof vest? Check.
White flag? Check.
Deep breath? Check.
Windows has some features OS X could do with.
There, I said it. Nice and quick and up front. No beating around the bush. So what now? Duck!!!
Is it safe to come out yet? I’ve been burnt before daring to suggest this. But here I am again, sucker for punishment.
1) Compatible control keys. Switching between Mac and Windows this drives me nuts. I have to consciously think “command-C or control-C?” It shouldn’t have to be that way. And if you’re running RDC or VPC and copying and pasting between OS X and Windows!! Sheesh!
The problem isn’t the labeling, it’s the location of the keys used. I had to use a Windows PC today and I kept pressing Alt-C to copy. This is why it’s a problem. If it was simply a matter of labeling, no worries, mate. Apple - and the zealotry - need to concede that this battle is lost.
Implementing this would rock many people’s boats, so if Apple did make this change it’d have some serious domino affect on other keystrokes and applications that use them, but maybe it could be done with the switch to Intel, just to ease the pain slightly.
2) Save button on toolbars. I don’t think any of the Apple software ever gives you the option to include a Save button. Print button yes, Save button no. A little test - raise your hand if you save your work more often than you print it? Ah, so I’m not alone. Good. You can put your hands down. Thank you.
3) A multi button mouse. And you thought I’d say two. Why stop at two? Especially with things like Exposé, Dashboard and Spotlight. They’re just crying out for single click activation from a mouse. Ok. So this isn’t a Windows feature per sé, but still is needed.
4) Only show relevant file types in open and save dialogs. For those who like seeing every file that’s every existed in their Documents folder, give them a checkbox to show all files. But personally, if I am opening a Pages file, I don’t want to see all my iMovie, Excel, iDVD etc files. And OS X already knows which are which because non-related ones are greyed out.
5) Sort folders to top of directory listings I know that we don’t go folder mining as much since we got Spotlight, so I won’t labor on about this one.
6) More context sensitive help. I notice since I first raised this two years ago, more of it has crept into OS X. So I guess at least I can’t be flamed for this one!
Now why is it that I can list all the features I want Leopard to have and as long as none of them are from Windows, its cool? But dare suggest OS X needs a feature already in Windows and the world comes down on you. We can admit that OS X is not perfect, but not that Windows is better in some ways.
But Apple have admitted it in the past. Here’s just a couple of things I’ve seen Windows do that Apple has added:
- Command-tab switching
- Existing files selectable in Save dialog
Last week I suggested changes to the iPod and more people than not, disagreed. And I reckon this week it’ll be a lot worse. But if I added to this list “Change to Intel CPU’s"… two months ago I would have been burned at the stake. Now it seems we all think that change is logical. So before you get the flame thrower out remember, we know Apple make changes, they borrow from Windows and borrow from their 3rd party developers.
Also, I know I’m going to get flamed for this being a “tired old argument that has been done to death”. Sorry if you feel that way. just pretend I didn’t say these features already existed in Windows and that they are new and revolutionary. If we stop asking, Apple may think we don’t want them anymore. Microsoft copied so much from Mac OS, why can’t Apple do a little copying back?
And if you can take the heat, what would you like to see Apple borrow from Windows?
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This isn’t technically a “what OS X could learn from Windows” feature, but it’s something that Apple seriously needs to consider for Boot Camp:
A Mac hard drive reader driver for Vista/XP. I just bought MacDrive 7, and it changes the whole BC experience. I can now access ALL the drives on my system without having to worry about FAT32, NTSF, or MAC OS EXTENDED. This is mostly a shortcoming of Windows, but not everyone needs this; and it makes sense that BC users be able to access their Mac system drives or other drives when they are in Windows.
One Windows feature I would like to see in Mac OS X is read *and* write FTP access from the Finder.
Scott,
I couldn’t agree more. Plus, even the read ability of the Finder FTP piece is buggy at best. It should work like iDisk.
You got me there, Scott. I’ve very rarely used FTP via the Finder, and found it unreliable at best. So can’t comment on your feature request.
But it sounds like a good idea. I would also like Finder to shown an extended folder path of open folders in Icon view.
For example, if I have two folders open:
One on my system disk, /users/me/documents/school/illustration/assignment1
and one on my USB key
/school/illustration/assignment1
then both only display “assignment1” in the window title.
It’d be nice if OS X prefixed the title with the drive.
eg MyHDD:assignment1 and MyUSB:assignment1
That’s not perfect either, as I might have multiple assignment1 folders on a drive.
I know folks will say I should use one of the other views, but I like them even less. I use list view only when I need to view files in a different order.
My favorite view Finder doesn’t have. That is, the tree view.
In addition to the folder path, Chris, I think an address bar of some kind would be helpful for direct folder access. I realize that Go sort of works like this, but it would be nice to have it right in the open Finder window.
Again, it’d be a whole lot simpler for them if they just bought out Pathfinder (and added the tree view you’re talking about).
Great list! Maybe we’ll see some implemented in Leopard?
More resize handles, better language support, a true maximized mode, & as least windows as possible per application (I hate scattered interfaces - like that of Office 2004. Office 2008 is OK, though)…
Pressing shift with Caps Lock on produces lower case.
I love this functionality - Apple should implement it immediately. I can’t see any downsides.
Here’s a feature of Vista that OS X has needed FOREVER. It’s inexcusable how crappy the OS X copy/replace function is, and Vista now makes it look even more lame.
When you try to copy/replace in Vista you get this:
Note the icon, dates, and details, letting you know the file size and when each item was last modified. You also get the option of either replacing, keeping both files, or neither.
Here’s OS X:
Now that’s just pathetic.
You know, since I mentioned this thread in a more recent discussion following the recent FTFF article on AM, I decided to reread the comments, paying particular attention to the back and forth between Beeblebrox and Scott over Cut/Paste Move and Copy. In that long back and forth over potential data loss, I’m surprised no one ever mentioned the fact that when you move files across volumes (between two separate disks, between two separate partitions, across a network, etc.) what the operating system actually does is a copy and then a delete. (If moving files leave it on the same partition, the file is essentially renamed in the file system.) To prevent data loss, in a cross-volume move most operating systems will check to make sure the copy portion of the operation was completely successful before deleting the originals. If a network connection goes down during a move/cut&paste;/call-it-whatever-you-want utilizing it, the original files do not get deleted as Scott speculated. The only major exception to that was Mac OS X 10.5.0, which that bug was discovered after the OS had been released for a week or so.
As to Point #1: I wouldn’t worry about it much. With more and more non-mainstream and open source utilities & applications being ported over to the Mac platform, the migration from Alt-C to Logo-C is already prevalent.
Why, with common use of NeoOffice and Firefox it’s gotten to the point that I feel using Alt-C is just an alien concept. And I’m only using the G4 Powerbook, not the Intel Macs that can run Windows.
I would also suggest:
• A managed development environment similar to the .NET Framework in Windows, a great development community and support site (like MSDN), exposed API’s, and free (competent) development tools (like Visual Studio Express). I have been a developer on Windows for years and ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT. It’s so easy, yet so powerful and EVERYTHING WORKS! I hate to admit it, but the Mac family of operating systems is really good, but they could be so much better if anyone could easily write and distribute software for them. I know it is certainly possible to write software for a Mac, but it isn’t easy and there aren’t many good, free development tools. Apple could go so much farther with this, too. They could add support for the iPod and the iPhone families of products, so applications written for this hypothetical framework could be quickly ported to other platforms. Development tools (and servers) are probably the things that Microsoft is best at – and they don’t try very hard to make money at it. Anyone can download a copy of Visual Studio Express (for free) and start writing software for Windows or the web. Microsoft also makes several add-ons to Visual Studio like the XNA Framework (free - for writing games), with it, I can put together a full 3D game (even for the Xbox) in just a few days, and “Robotics Studio” (free), which allows a developer to write software for any embedded, robotic device from a simple microcontroller, to a Lego Mindstorms Robot, to a KUKA (big, orange robotic arms for manufacturing) robot. I would consider “switching” if I knew that I could use development tools on a Mac that are as good as those that are available on Windows.
• In a way, this goes with my first point: more free software. Most users don’t get excited about development tools, but they do about free stuff. Stereotypically, Microsoft doesn’t release very much free software. In reality, most of Microsoft’s products are free. Before you freak out, think about it: if you have a genuine copy of Windows, you can get thousands of add-ons that do everything from help you to customize your PC to help you write your own software. I can go to Microsoft’s website right now and download a tool that will help me to adjust the ClearType settings on my computer so I can view text better of Remote Desktop, which is also free. I can give an eight-year-old a copy of Visual Studio Express and then point them at a site (designed for kids) on MSDN which will teach them everything about writing software in Visual C#, C++, or VB with helpful videos and simple examples. I can also download a beta of almost every Microsoft product in development: from Windows Server 2008 to Vista SP1 (Service Pack 1) RC1 (Release Candidate 1). I think part of the reason Leopard is having so many problems is that users weren’t able to test the software before it was released.
• My final suggestion involves hardware. Apple makes great hardware (save for the stupid one-button mouse that is built into their laptops), but not everyone wants to buy Apple hardware. I wouldn’t mind having OS X on a second partition on my computer, but Apple has dictated that users must use their software with their proprietary hardware. I may be an exception to the mainstream, but I don’t really like the design of Apple’s laptops, but I LOVE my HP tc4400. The tablet functionality KICKS ASS, it’s light (without being too small), and I kinda like the boxy-ness. It would be great to be able to put OS X on it (alongside Windows), but, unfortunately, I can’t. I can put a quadrillion different flavors of Linux and every x86 edition on Windows on it, but I can’t put OS X on it. Granted: most of the instability in Windows comes from its support of virtually all computing hardware that is made. I can buy a Windows computer from thousands of different manufacturers, or I can build my own. Hell, my GPS runs Windows CE 5, my Phone runs Windows Mobile 6, and my TV runs Windows Vista. If I wanted to (I don’t, by the way), I could solider every component onto custom breadboards to build my computer; Microsoft’s response: go ahead, just makes sure your copy of Windows is genuine, Apple’s response: CEASE AND DESIST.
ReZact, what’s wrong with the FREE developer tools that come FREE with every Mac, and FREE with every copy of OS X that most Mac developers use?
It’s called Xcode. Check it out http://developer.apple.com/tools/xcode/newinxcode23.html