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What are those features?

What is that 'UI'?

What kind of usability?
Aero Snap. The new superbar. Expandable start menu. The Office ribbon. Stable as a rock OS. Just to name a few.

I agree with Maflynn. Where as Vista was rather dire, Windows 7 beats Snow Leopard. Only by a fraction, which is why I'm still happy using Snow Leopard, but it is still better. Windows has matured considerably, whereas OS X still feels a little juvenile like XP does.
 
Aero Snap. The new superbar. Expandable start menu. The Office ribbon. Stable as a rock OS. Just to name a few.

I agree with Maflynn. Where as Vista was rather dire, Windows 7 beats Snow Leopard. Only by a fraction, which is why I'm still happy using Snow Leopard, but it is still better. Windows has matured considerably, whereas OS X still feels a little juvenile like XP does.

Really Aero Snap? A feature?
Superbar is good but the dock provides a similar capability but through expose. No big deal here. Use hyperdock if you need the same experience.
So office ribbon is a nice UI element? Well, would have guessed withyour post history. The ribbons look awful, complicate user interface and experience; they are just a bad idea.
Stable as a rock. Yaa I know.

Still no features, usability to tout here.

OS X already came with a ton of features in the first place. Tiger was such a great OS release who's features are yet to be found in Windows 8.
Leopard packed some of the great features and become one of the most advanced OS's.

Maybe in your opinion windows 7 is better than SL, but I don't think so. XP->Vista->W7 has definitely been on the upside but in terms of features and usability, its a big nono.

Thanks for the reply anyway.
 
Also Aero Peek,
control-tab and windows (command key?)-tab offer some cool ways to swap around active applications.

MS has done a lot of good work with the UI, in terms of polish and making it look very nice. Apple on the other hand still lacks a complete consistent look and feel. Just look at iTunes and the horizontal traffic lights.

Apple has a long history of implementing UI guidlines and then breaking them in their own apps. OSX itself exhibits this, though with SL, its gotten better.
 
Also Aero Peek,
control-tab and windows (command key?)-tab offer some cool ways to swap around active applications.

Aero Peek is cool.

MS has done a lot of good work with the UI, in terms of polish and making it look very nice. Apple on the other hand still lacks a complete consistent look and feel. Just look at iTunes and the horizontal traffic lights.

I don't understand. Microsoft has a more consistent UI than Mac OS X? What are you smoking mate? For everything Windows is better, so why do you use SL?
As for iTunes, it has got more UI changes than probably any other software on the planet. iTunes is one software that's tweaked and changed and basically used as a reference point. With every single version you see a tweaked UI. That's intentional and not by mistake.

As for consistent look of the Mac OS, consistent doesn't mean it has to be the same. With respect to FaceTime, the window is all black. That means it is inconsistent, right? No its not.

The sense of operation and understanding still remains the same; which points to consistency and usability.

Apple has a long history of implementing UI guidlines and then breaking them in their own apps. OSX itself exhibits this, though with SL, its gotten better.

As if UI guidelines are a hard and fast rule?
Apple has always been tweaking certain applications to test other UI's. Even I was corrected the other day when I pointed out that UI guidelines are dead. They are not dead; they are evolving. Take it as a constitution which is amended when required and from time to time.

The UI guidelines document are not hard and fast rules which cannot be edited or ignored. Twitter and other apps which out rightly ignore the guidelines were accepted, proving that Apple accepts consistency in understanding and operation rather than in visual appearance.
 
As an Apple user, I'm thrilled that I'm not afflicted with the need to put down Windows in order to boost my ego.

I never quite understood what made people do this. I'm buying my first Mac, some of my friends already have one, and I told them I was going to dual-boot Windows 7.

Their reaction? Fanboy outcries. Invalid arguments about Windows, and how it's "trash", while I'm absolutely sure that they haven't touched Windows since XP, or Vista. I can't stand people like that.
 
Anyone who says that is taking the mickey. As a mac user of over a decade I can say I'm quite happy that I can run Windows 7 on my mac.

People on both sides of the OS war (or the console war, or Pepsi/Coke war, or the Marvel/DC war, etc.) are either trolls or severely lacking in the "life" department.
 
Not a Windows thing, but after seeing GNOME 3, I thought it would be kind of nice to have a second dock showing all my spaces, especially since Spaces is becoming purely linear.
 
Anyone who says that is taking the mickey. As a mac user of over a decade I can say I'm quite happy that I can run Windows 7 on my mac.

People on both sides of the OS war (or the console war, or Pepsi/Coke war, or the Marvel/DC war, etc.) are either trolls or severely lacking in the "life" department.

+1 I'd say.

Use winXP everyday; more than my mac.
Use win7 for beta-testing apps in the office.

Great OS's; I just wish MS do something in the usability department. Or may be I'm using it wrong.
 
Actually its the other way around. Windows 7 has leap frogged apple in terms of functionality, UI and usability.

Apple needs to play catch up by adding some features to OSX.
:eek:

Working with both Windows and Mac OS X every day for the last two decades you have no idea how utterly wrong this statement is.
 
I'd like to see Windows 8 use a Linux kernel underlying the GUI itself.. Microsoft could have some potential, but should not copy from Apple.

+1

I've been telling this to people for awhile now...if Microsoft *truly* wants a killer OS, then they're gonna have to do what Apple did a decade ago -

Leave the cruft, even if it breaks stuff for awhile, get RID of the registry (this was a good idea...coming from DOS, and being used in Windows 95), use a Linux or UNIX kernel as the base OS, and make applications self-contained, like Apple's are.

It may be copying, but they've copied everything ELSE, why not copy something that *might* have a shot at making the apps easier to install, and viruses harder to get in?

Besides, the apps were *almost* self-contained back in Windows 3.1 - anyone remember .ini files? If MS had let people keep those, there never would've been much use for a registry to begin with.
 
+1

I've been telling this to people for awhile now...if Microsoft *truly* wants a killer OS, then they're gonna have to do what Apple did a decade ago -

Leave the cruft, even if it breaks stuff for awhile, get RID of the registry (this was a good idea...coming from DOS, and being used in Windows 95), use a Linux or UNIX kernel as the base OS, and make applications self-contained, like Apple's are.

It may be copying, but they've copied everything ELSE, why not copy something that *might* have a shot at making the apps easier to install, and viruses harder to get in?

Besides, the apps were *almost* self-contained back in Windows 3.1 - anyone remember .ini files? If MS had let people keep those, there never would've been much use for a registry to begin with.

Do you really think MS will ever do that?
 
There is the objective and the subjective. Objectively, one might say - hey, W8 is stable, and functional, etc...

Subjectively, people like what they like...
 
Windows 8?!! :rolleyes: it's not even at Beta stage. More useless transparencies and now with extra fat Ribbon UI boobery. How exciting.

OS X Lion - if you're a Dev you shouldn't be talking about it...
 
Actually its the other way around. Windows 7 has leap frogged apple in terms of functionality, UI and usability.

Apple needs to play catch up by adding some features to OSX.
Functionality? You can't do absolutely anything with Windows out of the box without downloading extra software.

What can you do with your newly bought Windows PC?
Scan for viruses with a 30 day trial of Norton.
Notepad, Paint.

What can you do with your newly bought Mac?
iPhoto, iMovie, Garageband, iDVD, iWeb.

Even disregarding a new computer and just looking at a new OS (as iLife only comes with a Mac). You can't do mundane tasks like viewing a PDF (yes, coming in Windows 8, OS X had it since 2000). You can't have virtual desktops. Hell I remember Vista Home Basic and Business wouldn't even play a DVD without downloading extra stuff (not sure what the situation is with 7 there). Quick look, Stacks, Expose.

The only thing I can think of for Windows as far as functionality goes is the new Taskbar, shaking a window to minimise others and dragging two windows to each side of the screen to see them in unison.
 
Functionality? You can't do absolutely anything with Windows out of the box without downloading extra software.

What can you do with your newly bought Windows PC?
Scan for viruses with a 30 day trial of Norton.
Notepad, Paint.

What can you do with your newly bought Mac?
iPhoto, iMovie, Garageband, iDVD, iWeb.
That's not entirely true. When you buy a new mac you get iLife, with a new PC, you get office, windows live suite (ilife competitor), other apps including anti-virus. So you can't say that "ou can't do absolutely anything with Windows out of the box without downloading extra software."

You get the same or similar level of functionality when buying a new computer. Apple gives you iLife, PCs you get office, and other stuff.
 
That's not entirely true. When you buy a new mac you get iLife, with a new PC, you get office, windows live suite (ilife competitor), other apps including anti-virus. So you can't say that "ou can't do absolutely anything with Windows out of the box without downloading extra software."

You get the same or similar level of functionality when buying a new computer. Apple gives you iLife, PCs you get office, and other stuff.

You get trials. Not actual copies, unless you pay for the license.

There is a big difference there.
 
You get trials. Not actual copies, unless you pay for the license.

There is a big difference there.

For the anti-virus, yes, for office no you get the complete version, as well as MS live.

Depending on where you buy, you actually can get more "full" versions of applications then you do with a mac. I'm not knocking apple or iLife, they're great apps, but you cannot say that a new PC is unusable until you download a lot of apps and such. Dell, HP, etc all come with office and/or other apps. Yeah there's crapware installed and I won't dispute that, but you also get full version apps
 
For the anti-virus, yes, for office no you get the complete version, as well as MS live.

Depending on where you buy, you actually can get more "full" versions of applications then you do with a mac. I'm not knocking apple or iLife, they're great apps, but you cannot say that a new PC is unusable until you download a lot of apps and such. Dell, HP, etc all come with office and/or other apps. Yeah there's crapware installed and I won't dispute that, but you also get full version apps

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows7/products/features

I don't think so. Really office for free?
 
For the anti-virus, yes, for office no you get the complete version, as well as MS live.

Depending on where you buy, you actually can get more "full" versions of applications then you do with a mac. I'm not knocking apple or iLife, they're great apps, but you cannot say that a new PC is unusable until you download a lot of apps and such. Dell, HP, etc all come with office and/or other apps. Yeah there's crapware installed and I won't dispute that, but you also get full version apps

I want to compile my PERL app and run a full fledged SLTK software that I have coded for Si-Testchip verficiation.

All I need to do is copy/paste my software and it runs.

Can it on windows? NO.

You seem to be in a different world when you claim that windows PC's have the same 'it just works' attitude. No they do not.

From drivers to miniature downloads, you need a lot.

I have used assembled computers, factory pre-loaded PC's and other laptops.
Right now, I have a w7 laptop from tell which my company got for more than a 1000 pounds -> It just doesn't work. There's too much to fix, too much to find, too much to suffer. Should I fix my computer OR should I worry about my testchip releases?

You are missing some very important points and you act as if you are unaware of the complexities one has to deal with windows PCs.
 
Do you really think MS will ever do that?

As stupid as they are, probably not. They're happy with having the most market share, why should they bother changing anything?

But, when it's as easy to get a virus as downloading a banner ad from a website that you visit ( sometimes even legitimate ones) using IE with ActiveX enabled, then *maybe* a stronger security model is called for.

These days, if you're running Windows and don't have at least a good antivirus, antispyware and (can't hurt) firewall, you're almost assured of getting infected somehow. I see it all the time at work - we have people coming in paying hundreds to have us remove viruses and to install a new antivirus program, because they didn't know the old one expired.

If Microsoft was smart, they'd even *consider* doing this - I hate to say it, but look at Mac users - even though we're not immune to potential viruses in the future, how long has OS X been around, and how much malware is out there to infect it? Maybe 5-10 programs? UNIX just has that stronger security model...
 
Also Aero Peek,
control-tab and windows (command key?)-tab offer some cool ways to swap around active applications.
Aero Peek is definitely one of my favorite features in W7. However I still find Exposé/Spaces to suit my workflow better. I think Aero Snap though, is only a feature because of many apps and users desire to run full screen all the time.

The price of office is built into the price of the computer, just as the price of iLife is built into the price of a mac - standard accounting practice. You're really not getting iLife for free just like you're not getting office for free.

Picking a random PC from Best Buy. I see:

Software package included
With Microsoft Office Starter 2010 (product key card required for activation; sold separately).

I think it's hard to compare that to iLife. (I realize Office Starter 2010 can do some limited stuff, but it's designed to upsell you on one of the other packages.)

B
 
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The price of office is built into the price of the computer, just as the price of iLife is built into the price of a mac - standard accounting practice. You're really not getting iLife for free just like you're not getting office for free.
Maybe some computers come with Office as a promotional deal, and if they do, that's up to the OEM, not Microsoft. Nonetheless, I've not seen any PC come with more than a 30 day trial of Office.
 
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