Is this Windows feature available on a Mac?

The equivalent feature on a Mac would be Events in iPhoto. You can skim your mouse over the event to see each picture within that event in the thumbnail.

 

It can all be done right in the Finder.

Coverflow view would be the nicest, but you can also enable "Show Icon Preview" in the window's View Options. With that enabled, the icon will show a preview in all view modes. Try enabling icon preview, then switch to Icon View. You can also change the background color (open "view options" for that window).

Here are a couple of examples. the left is Icon View (preview enabled); the right is CoverFlow (also preview enabled).

 

Sadly the feature you are asking for isn't available in OS X.

 

I second this. It CAN be done on OS X...

"Show Icon Preview" spoken to above should already be automatically enabled unless you switched it off.
"Cover Flow" and "Icon View" are 2 ways of viewing your files (the other options being as a "list" or a "columun") You can change between ways of ways of view files through the View menu at the top of the screen, or my computer also has 4 little icons on the top left of any finder window where you can switch between them.
I'm not sure how gr8tfly enlarged the icons in "Icon View", but in "Cover Flow" if you just make the window bigger and drag down the bar separating the previews and icon names, the pictures will be def big enough to preview.

http://www.apple.com/macosx/features/finder.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vPgxoGMaaR0 <-- this is pretty good

 

In the View Options, you can adjust how large the icon is. I have "Icon size" set to 128 x 128 (up from the default of 32 x 32). I also changed the color of the background for just that one window.

 

QuickLook - go into the folder, select all files, then press space to enter quick look
http://www.apple.com/macosx/features/quicklook.html

 

And, it does full screen slide shows and/or indexes.

 

i think none of those add picture previews to actual FOLDER icon?

 

Sorry for asking, by why would you need that exactly when you have so many other options for seeing your files without even opening them?

Anyway, there is a free program you can download called CocoThumb that is supposed to be able to create thumbnails although I've never tried it.
http://www.stalkingwolf.net/software/cocothumbx/

other potential programs:
http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/25926
http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/19673
http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/32518
http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/25647

(Use version tracker to find downloadable applications that will do almost anything macs can't already do naturally)

 

Is there a reason you want to avoid iPhoto? Having your photos in iPhoto is where Apple applications expect them to be. Including Open/Save dialog boxes and Inspector Panels in various apps.

 

So, you're talking about panning the mouse over a folder to preview its contents? Like an event in iPhoto. I think I see where you're going.

The only other option in the Finder that can do this "on-the-fly" might be Coverflow. With the folder in List view, open the folder(s) with the hierarchical view (select all the folders, then "shift-right arrow"). Coverflow will now show the contents of all folders in the "flow" view. You can enlarge an individual image with QuickLook (hit "space").

Sorry I missed the "folder" part - I didn't associate it with iPhoto's "skimming" ability. But, I agree with BaldiMac - iPhoto is a great app, especially '09. It launches very fast, and if you use it often, just leave it open in a Space.

 

I would love this feature as well! I've got 100's of folders and it's quite time comsuming looking for that specific folder when there's no thumbnail preview. I hope that we will see this feature in Snow Leopard.

 

You can create multiple libraries in iPhoto and store them on external drives. Just hold down option when you launch iPhoto. There are also several utilities to manage multiple libraries.

iPhoto Library Manager
iPhoto Buddy

 

What, apart from that Export function it has?

 

You can leave the photos in place when you import them into iPhoto.

If you do have iPhoto copy the photos into the library, the original photos are stored inside the package by year and then by event. Modified photos are stored separately in the same way.

Nothing is preventing you from moving to a different system in the future.

 

Or dragging them to wherever you want them?

 

Maybe he means no easy way to delete them? I have wondered about this myself. When I delete a picture it is not moved to the trash, it just disappears, but I think there is a way to restore them? So are they ever really gone?

P.S. Did any of my versiontracker apps prove helpful?

 

OS X does not have thumbnail feature for photos. Quite unfortunate actually hopefully Snow Leopard fixes this.

And no iPhoto is not a good substitute at all. It's a pretty bloated program and having your entire "picture library" stored inside what seems to be an album software, doesn't exactly work right.

They simply need to put this feature into Snow Leopard's finder. I can imagine lots of ways to make it Apple-fied and much better than Window's implementations

 

Yes. OS X doe haves photo thumbnails in Finder.

Bloated? I suppose different people have different definitions. It starts fast and sticks to its primary purpose of managing photos. I don't see the bloat.

Photos are stored within standard folders inside of a Package in a logical way.

Huh? The Apple-fied way to manage photos is with iPhoto or Aperture.