[Macworld]

Post your comments for Snow Leopard versus Windows 7 here

[rab777hp]

I have to say, windows 7 has +excellent+ window management, the windows+tab vs alt+tab, and the aero peek thing, all useful.

[pcharles]

rab777hp, on 26 August 2009 - 05:23 PM, said:

I have to say, windows 7 has +excellent+ window management, the windows+tab vs alt+tab, and the aero peek thing, all useful.

I played around with the Windows 7 preview and have to say that it is shaping up to be a superb operating system. I am really looking forward to running it alongside Snow Leopard on my Macbook.

[bradword]

Windows 7 is looking very nice. I have been running the RC for a while now. I also have been running Snow Leopard since WWDC. I have to say, I like aeropeek much better than click expose. Windows 7 is very stable except for an ongoing nvidia blue screen issue that has been there since Vista. All in all, both are GREAT updates. (Thank you for exchange in mail/ical/ab)

[sporks]

I guess it's just me, but the idea that the Finder and Windows explorer are similar made me gag.

One is a file browser. The other is some weird bastard offspring between a web browser and a file browser.

One lets you park things in a side bar and across the top, while the other doesn't. One is annoying as heck to use for any length of time. The other isn't.

And the reason Windows uses Libraries is because it vomits stuff all over your hard drive. You never know where your data is going to wind up. Libraries is like the Start Menu. A workaround kludge for an architectural deficiency.

In about three months, people will realize that Windows is still just as annoying to use as it always has been.

[dtnick]

sporks, on 26 August 2009 - 06:16 PM, said:

"I guess it's just me, but the idea that the Finder and Windows explorer are similar made me gag."

Author here... Finder is still more polished overall IMO (spring-loaded folders FTW!), but as far as the basic UI goes, FInder and Explorer do share much in common.

Quote

One is a file browser. The other is some weird bastard offspring between a web browser and a file browser.

Explorer in Vista and Win 7 is less web-browseresque than that in XP and earlier.

Quote

And the reason Windows uses Libraries is because it vomits stuff all over your hard drive. You never know where your data is going to wind up. Libraries is like the Start Menu. A workaround kludge for an architectural deficiency.

As far as I could tell, libraries, at least by default, only pull from the My <insert file type here> folder and the public folder e.g. the Pictures library pull from "My Pictures" and "Public Pictures." I think it's more so to pull together related content (you can make your own libraries pulling together files from any folder), not to make up for some architectural flaw.
.

--Nick
PCW Assistant Editor

[davebarnes]

{snark}Snow Leopard is crap and not worth the money.

cf. http://www.winsupers...snowleopard.asp {/snark}

[k9flipflop]

even leopard never crashed for me

windows 7 crashed in less than 4 hours usage twice, same old same old

[palane]

Hello, Mr. Thurott...

BB

[veggiedude]

Quick Access - pinning folders in the Windows 7 task bar. We can also pin favourite folders or apps at the top of and Finder Window. It was introduced in Panther I believe, and i use it all the time for quick access.

[AldoraWorld]

I use Win 7 at work and though it's admittedly better than the dreadful Vista, here are my top two gripes:

The dock preview thing drives me crazy. Every frikkin' time I hover over the app icon I have to see all the windows open.

And if there are multiple windows, I cannot click on the app icon—I have to click on the window to bring it up.

I am really beginning to loathe that "feature".

My second gripe is I really, really despise Aero peak at this point (I liked it at first, just like I liked the dock preview).

Whenever I alt-tab through apps the screen keeps changing. I thought it was cool at first and now it drives me crazy.

[dtnick]

@veggiedude: True, though the taskbar pinning serves a slightly different purpose (or at least it's more akin to dragging a file or folder to the Dock for quick access).

@AldoraWorld: The one taskbar gripe I have is that it doesn't behave enough like a Mac. I'd like to be able to click the taskbar button and have all windows to an app come to the front.

--Nick
Assistant Editor, PC World

[webraider]

OMG... The revier said there is nothing that directly competes with Libraries on the Mac... Hello!!!! It's called Places.
the only difference is Places is customizable, Libraries isn't. But that's exactly what Libraries are.. Places.

[dtnick]

@webraider: Not quite. The folders listed in the sidebar's Places section are merely folders. A library is not a folder. Microsoft describes libraries as follows in Windows 7's help system:

"In some ways, a library is similar to a folder...However, unlike a folder, a library gathers files that are stored in several different locations. This is a subtle but important difference. Libraries don't actually store your items. They monitor folders that contain your items, and let you access and arrange them in different ways."