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Windows7 - This would make a perfect Mac & PC Ad

Denholm

Denholm

macrumors member
Original poster
Nov 28, 2008
57
0
SA, Australia
I played with Windows7 on a spare PC and one thing that struck me (as hard as a brick to the back of the head) is the new Windows7 'Superbar' or taskbar.

It takes so many ideas from the OS X Dock :eek: such a prime example of Redmond running out of ideas and then enviously making their own version of the dock.

I can see it now, 'PC' dressed like 'Mac', but still managing to look cheap.
 
Um I like OSX and dislike Windows as much as the next guy on this forum but isn't that basically how the vast majority of advances happen, by taking older ideas and changing them slightly in order to (hopefully) improve upon them?

True innovations are generally few and far between- not every new product can be built from the ground up.

I haven't used Windows 7, only seen it briefly, but if it is that similar think about as a nod of the head to the fact that Apple did a good job with OSX and the dock.
 
comictimes said:
I haven't used Windows 7, only seen it briefly, but if it is that similar think about as a nod of the head to the fact that Apple did a good job with OSX and the dock.
Click to expand...

That's a very interesting thought, thanks for that. It really made me rethink how I thought about about the subject. Interestingly, Microsoft also has added the idea of an automatically changing wallpaper - every set time interval.
 
The Windows 7 dock... not for me.
I have Vista and 7 on my computer.
On my Vista partition I have rocketdock and I love it (especially with the OS X Leopard skin), but the "dock" on 7 is just ridiculous, I hate the fact that it groups the icons and they're so damn big.
 
Denholm said:
;) You meant 'Dock'...
Click to expand...

No, I think he got it right the first time.;)
[/QUOTE]
Good read, just finishing off page 1. From my experience the Windows7 taskbar feels clumsy and ridgid. Anyway, it just feels odd because having two different ways on the same menu bar to start programs is just bad design in my book.[/QUOTE]

+1

One of the many reasons I prefer the OS X dock, I just couldn't figure out how to put it in words.
 
Denholm said:
I played with Windows7 on a spare PC and one thing that struck me (as hard as a brick to the back of the head) is the new Windows7 'Superbar' or taskbar.

It takes so many ideas from the OS X Dock :eek: such a prime example of Redmond running out of ideas and then enviously making their own version of the dock.

I can see it now, 'PC' dressed like 'Mac', but still managing to look cheap.
Click to expand...

Except that Windows 1 had a similar taskbar.:rolleyes:
 
iParis said:
One of the many reasons I prefer the OS X dock, I just couldn't figure out how to put it in words.
Click to expand...

Thanks :cool:
I'm a recent switcher and I actually quit the Windows7 Beta (that was by invite only) after seeing the way Windows7 was panning out. Plus I have been using an iMac for a few months and find that I can face my old Windows computer less and less.
 
Denholm said:
Thanks :cool:
I'm a recent switcher and I actually quit the Windows7 Beta (that was by invite only) after seeing the way Windows7 was panning out. Plus I have been using an iMac for a few months and find that I can face my old Windows computer less and less.
Click to expand...

Lol. I suppose that's a good thing.
Unfortunately I'm stuck a PC until the upgrade the Mac Mini.
So this is as far as I can get to OS X in the mean time.
I'm also using an Apple Keyboard and Might Mouse. :p
 
iParis said:
Lol. I suppose that's a good thing.
Unfortunately I'm stuck a PC until the upgrade the Mac Mini.
So this is as far as I can get to OS X in the mean time.
I'm also using an Apple Keyboard and Might Mouse. :p
Click to expand...

:cool: You're getting there! Cool.
Actually, I've considered ordering an Apple keyboard and Mighty Mouse for my PC - just for fun.
 
Denholm said:
:cool: You're getting there! Cool.
Actually, I've considered ordering an Apple keyboard and Mighty Mouse for my PC - just for fun.
Click to expand...

Yep. They works way better than the stock keyboard and mouse. I call it... PC OS X Vista

You see that dock I have? It's called rocketdock and I even like that one way better than the Windows 7 thing (I don't know whether to call it a dock or a taskbar).
 
Denholm said:
That's a very interesting thought, thanks for that. It really made me rethink how I thought about about the subject. Interestingly, Microsoft also has added the idea of an automatically changing wallpaper - every set time interval.
Click to expand...


Sorry, but I don't think that's "innovative", not even for the company that did it first.

MS made the OS taskbar popular, and the Dock is just a better version of that. I don't really think MS is copying anybody by redesigning their taskbar, although they probably did look at Apple's dock and realize that there was far greater potential. Same with Apple's dock. I don't like it either, although it was always better than the taskbar on Windows 95 and beyond.

This time, I think the taskbar in Windows 7 really has a lot of potential, perhaps to be even better than OS X dock.
 
Abstract said:
This time, I think the taskbar in Windows 7 really has a lot of potential, perhaps to be even better than OS X dock.
Click to expand...

As a past Windows 7 Beta Tester I can say that it has potential but overall it's a clumsy implementation. There are lots of Beta Testers in the Microsoft forums that think just the same and other's who quite honestly detest it. But some, I admit, do like it. Good luck to them. Not my cuppa though.
 
és: said:
I despise it.
Click to expand...

I agree. And from my perspective, being IT worker I know how many calls and confusion the smallest change makes; let alone a big change like the 'Superbar' which seems to not have been fully thought out or well implemented.
Baggie of pain and tears, that's how I see it.
 
From my first few hours using it, I like it a lot more than the OS X dock. If there is one thing on my Mac I would change it would be my Dock. I find that once you have more than a single window of any application it becomes really clumsy and unintuitive to use(switching from one instance of an app to another is handled incredibly badly imo).

**EDIT** I am aware of the Command+` function to swap between windows, but it doesn't work in every piece of software.

So the Windows 7 implementation looks a lot like the Dock I WISH I had on OS X(for anyone wondering, I am using my mac rather than my Vista machine atm, not a fanboi just opinionated).

Not sure though why people make such a fuss that any particular OS looks a lot like another, there is a reason, its because it is the most logical way to set things up. Nobody complains that pencils are all designed the same way, why should anyone care about software?
 
No1451 said:
Not sure though why people make such a fuss that any particular OS looks a lot like another, there is a reason, its because it is the most logical way to set things up. Nobody complains that pencils are all designed the same way, why should anyone care about software?
Click to expand...

Because it's a damn pencil.
People are upset that Apple is being coppied because microsoft is basically like, "hey Macs are gaining more market share so lets start to copy some of the features like the dock, only change it a little bit so some people can't say we're copying."
And here's my theory as to what Microsoft said when they put Windows 7 on the table, "Ok everyone, our current OS (Vista) sucks so lets make a version that doesn't take up as much hardware and isn't glitchy. Then we will add in some crappy new features, steal a few from OS X, and viola! We have a new operating system."
And yes, I am a fanboy but I've thought about this and it's very logical.
 
aross99 said:
Here is an interesting article that tells how the WIndows 7 dick is similar to and also different from the OS X Dock:

http://arstechnica.com/articles/paedia/dock-and-windows-7-taskbar.ars
Click to expand...

Just read that two days ago.. It was interesting I thought. Windows still can't get it right!

Windows = Each window is the application.
Macintosh = Each window is a document.

I could never put my finger on the difference before..

Denholm said:
Good read, just finishing off page 1. From my experience the Windows7 taskbar feels clumsy and ridgid. Anyway, it just feels odd because having two different ways on the same menu bar to start programs is just bad design in my book.
Click to expand...
I agree with that sentiment. The Windows taskbar has always been a point of confusion for me (the behaviour changes radically if you open up too many programs? What if I want two document in separate windows?)

iParis said:
Because it's a damn penicil.
Click to expand...
*must refrain from witty comeback*
 
iParis said:
Because it's a damn penicil.
People are upset that Apple is being coppied because microsoft is basically like, "hey Macs are gaining more market share so lets start to copy some of the features like the dock, only change it a little bit so some people can't say we're copying."
And here's my theory as to what Microsoft said when they put Windows 7 on the table, "Ok everyone, our current OS (Vista) sucks so lets make a version that doesn't take up as much hardware and isn't glitchy. Then we will add in some crappy new features, steal a few from OS X, and viola! We have a new operating system."
And yes, I am a fanboy but I've thought about this and it's very logical.
Click to expand...

Clearly you haven't as the similarities between the two are superficial at best. Collapsing multiple instances of an application into 1 slot in the Taskbar is not new, it has been an option for quite a while now, XP does it, Vista does it, Windows 7 just does it better(I kept it off because until now the implementations have been absolutely terrible).

I am sorry, but basically what you are saying is that because its similar to the Dock Microsoft should be ashamed. There is nothing wrong with adopting a GUI element that WORKS BETTER, and just because it appears derivative of the OS X implementation, it does not mean that they have done a good job, and perhaps even improved on what Apple did.

Since I don't want a flame war, feel free to PM me and we will take this somewhere private so I can tell you(in incredibly impolite terms) just what I think of your "logic".


@Melrose - Yeah it is strange behaviour isn't it? Thats why I am excited for the new Taskbar, it feels like the Dock and Taskbar mashed together to reach the middle ground.
 
Melrose said:
I agree with that sentiment. The Windows taskbar has always been a point of confusion for me (the behaviour changes radically if you open up too many programs? What if I want two document in separate windows?)
Click to expand...

In versions of Windows before Vista you can choose to group similar windows, although whether or not that is enabled it will group them when there are too many of a kind of a window (i.e; IE, FireFox, Explorer).
In seven it is automatically set to group similar windows and if you disable it, it looks really stupid and takes up too much room because for some reason MS decided to make the icons really big in 7.
 
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