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What I DON'T Miss About Windows

goinskiing

goinskiing

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jun 25, 2008
914
11
Meridian, ID
So, as a newer Mac convert (2 months now :D), I've compiled a list of things that I do NOT miss about Windows (but have to deal with at work). Just to get started:

1. Windows Update (buggy most of the time)
2. Internet Explorer 6, 7 (not fun to use, crashes often)
3. Anti-Virus Software
4. Registry Editor
5. Windows Installer/Uninstaller
6. Start Menu

Feel free to add to the list.
 
The Taskbar. Sure, it works, but it's nowhere near as elegant as the Dock. The biggest problem with it is the way it deals with lack of space, or lack thereof of a satisfactory way of solving the problem. The Dock solves this well, by showing only the icons, and not showing multiple windows of a program if a program has multiple windows open.
 
System tray. How it takes forever for Windows to start up after the System tray loads in. Especially after you've owned the computer for a while - like 6 months.
 
bsod.gif



What I do miss is MSPaint :p
 
I don't miss the start menu, as someone mentioned above. The dock is way more elegant but takes up a little bit more room. But I'm not complaining, the windows GUI looks like it was cobbled together from mismatched parts. The Mac UI is much more seamless with everything flowing smoothly together. I hated the update thing too. took forever whereas software update takes under 1 min.

One feature I did like about windows was the eye candy of Vista, although that got boring after awhile.
 
swiftaw said:
I just set up a hot corner.
Click to expand...

I ended up writing an AppleScript! :rolleyes:

My systray was really bad, loaded with dozens of icons... now though, it's all on the right-hand side of my menubar. Just as bad, I suppose. :eek:


One thing that I definitely do not miss from Windows is Wireless Networking configuration. After using AirPort/Network Preferences to under Leopard, configuring Wifi on Vista is just a nightmare.
 
One thing that I definitely do not miss from Windows is Wireless Networking configuration. After using AirPort/Network Preferences to under Leopard, configuring Wifi on Vista is just a nightmare.
Click to expand...

Amen to that.... man what a freaking breeze it was to setup the Mac wireless. I can't believe I didn't do it earlier.

This is before windows xp, but does anybody remember IRQ conflicts..... yikes.

1. Windows Update (buggy most of the time)
Click to expand...

I actually like Windows Update..... wasn't to bad in my experience.
 
The start menu on my work pc double-freezes. It freezes for 20-30 seconds when I first click it. Then it freezes for another 20-30 seconds when I try to open "all programs". So I installed launchy. It's not exactly spotlight but it makes windows more bearable.

Things I don't miss:

DLLs
Regedit
Start Menu
Freezes
Standby - mac: from click to black screen < 5 seconds - windows: from click to black screen > 30 seconds
IE
LookOUT! (oh, I mean Outlook)
ActiveStink (oh, I mean activesync)
Are you sure?
Yes, No, Cancel
Modal dialog boxes - can't be minimized, resized or closed until Windows is good and damn ready to listen to your insignificant little clicks
Plug and Pray - can't be disabled - different state on every boot up - it's like popping quarters in a slot machine to see if I can get any work done today
Viruses
Adware
Spyware
Norton Antivirus
McCaffee Antivirus
Task Manager
Network settings - especially wifi
defragment
zone alarm
windows scripting host
windows media player
windows genuine
Add remove programs
Windows Messenger
Safe Mode
Microsoft - the company - dealing with them on the web, by email and on the phone.
Master Browser - (the mystical process of refreshing lists of visible network resources)
DOS ( I actually don't mind Darwin as much as I mind cmd)
PS2 Mice - cannot be hot plugged
IRQ Hunts - an older problem but a real horror story
Drivers
Win Printers - those $50 windows-only printers with lousy drivers
The Task Bar - cluttered and unprotected
The Desktop - cluttered and unprotected
msconfig

Is my list too long? Sorry :eek:
 
the wireless network manager..

and the blue screen of death that appears every time you open a program.

r0k- you pretty much hit the nail on the head..
 
r0k said:
The start menu on my work pc double-freezes. It freezes for 20-30 seconds when I first click it. Then it freezes for another 20-30 seconds when I try to open "all programs". So I installed launchy. It's not exactly spotlight but it makes windows more bearable.

Things I don't miss:

DLLs
Regedit
Start Menu
Freezes
Standby - mac: from click to black screen < 5 seconds - windows: from click to black screen > 30 seconds
IE
LookOUT! (oh, I mean Outlook)
ActiveStink (oh, I mean activesync)
Are you sure?
Yes, No, Cancel
Modal dialog boxes - can't be minimized, resized or closed until Windows is good and damn ready to listen to your insignificant little clicks
Plug and Pray - can't be disabled - different state on every boot up - it's like popping quarters in a slot machine to see if I can get any work done today
Viruses
Adware
Spyware
Norton Antivirus
McCaffee Antivirus
Task Manager
Network settings - especially wifi
defragment
zone alarm
windows scripting host
windows media player
windows genuine
Add remove programs
Windows Messenger
Safe Mode
Microsoft - the company - dealing with them on the web, by email and on the phone.
Master Browser - (the mystical process of refreshing lists of visible network resources)
DOS ( I actually don't mind Darwin as much as I mind cmd)
PS2 Mice - cannot be hot plugged
IRQ Hunts - an older problem but a real horror story
Drivers
Win Printers - those $50 windows-only printers with lousy drivers
The Task Bar - cluttered and unprotected
The Desktop - cluttered and unprotected
msconfig

Is my list too long? Sorry :eek:
Click to expand...

Nice list.
That has everything I could think of.
 
Installing Drivers was my biggest beef.

I have to use Windows at work, and am forced to use IE7. I mean, it's not THAT bad. As a browser user who doesn't need extensions or plugins, it's pretty simple to use. I only use IE7 at work, to browse these forums though.

Only thing that is somewhat frustrating, is if I leave IE7 open, and go home. I come back the next day and trying to switch tabs that are still open from the day before is extremely slow and choppy. Not a big fan.


Hmm..what else don't I miss..?

A website asking me to install directX.

Antivirus programs.

MSN, ie. Hotmail...still use the MSN network, but with Adium and Gmail

Installation Wizard
Installations that ask to put shortcuts up the ying-yang. On the desktop, in the start menu, etc...


Windows Media Player...lol

O, and a Calculator that can't do currency conversions. <3 calculator.app
 
I don't like the fact it feels like you're using an OS from back in the day. It doesn't feel modern.

MS also don't 'get it'. The world has moved on, but they're stuck with a time warp of an OS. But they think it's marvellous. They need to think out of the box and get back to basics.

Security is a headache as well. I want an OS that just sits there, never gets malware and never bothers me with any security stuff. Everything is a marketing gimmick - 'Windows Defender' for example. I don't want to know. It should just not get malware in the first place, without any add ons. It's just a sticking plaster, but instead of it being hidden and skin coloured, it's like a blue chef's plaster!
 
Must say that rOk's list sums it up pretty well to a large extent, and I echo everything written there. My own personal intense dislikes included spam, spyware, adware, viruses (and I had bought the most robust anti-spam, anti-virus package I could lay hands on when with Windows) freezes, crashes, general slowness and sluggishness and the dreaded deep blue screen. Cheers.
 
reboot - installed software requires reboot - os x software update requires frequent reboots but your machine is put back where you left it... (weekly is frequent these days :) )
boot time - way too slow
shutdown time - way too slow, (just like standby time which was already mentioned above)
DRM- music DRM, software DRM, OS DRM, Almost Everybody has DRM...

MacOS: Almost Ever Ready :cool:
Windows: Almost Never Ready :mad:

TIME...

The main thing Windows stole from me was my TIME!

Oops... I almost forgot a really big one...
Lotus Notes The only software written so badly it's a crime against humanity. I wonder if we could prosecute these guys at the Hague? But fear not! iNotes is coming to an iPhone near you (yuck).
 
Daveoc64 said:
I don't like the idea of that.

I just have to make do with the widget.
Click to expand...

Why not enable 'Fast user switching'? Like I mentioned?
With it enabled, just click on the icon in the menu bar and choose "Login Screen" and lock the screen (log out without quiting any open application)

But if you really want a hotkey to lock the screen there's the following option.

First download MacLoc which is actually nothing more than a script that triggers OSX's built-in 'Fast user switching' with a click of the mouse (if you put the program icon in the Dock that is).
But we want a shortkey.
Download Spark
Assign a short key to MacLoc with this app.
Spark has to run continually in order to keep the shortkey, but the CPU is a mere 0,01%

I have F19 set to lock the screen.
 
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