[Hawaiian717]

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Except for the little tray in the right, it's not really for storing icons to your most used apps and documents the way OS X's Dock can do, though perhaps this has changed in Vista- I wouldn't know.

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The arrangement of the Windows taskbar hasn't changed since Windows 98 (I don't think 95 had the quick launch icons). From left to right, it's Start menu (Vista doesn't have the word "Start" anymore, just the Windows logo), quick launch icons, windows/programs, systray/notification icons, clock.

[mdawson]

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Except for the little tray in the right, it's not really for storing icons to your most used apps and documents the way OS X's Dock can do...

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That is only partially correct. The Taskbar cannot store inactive documents, but it has been able to store ones commonly used application icons since Windows 95. The feature is called Quick Launch, but it is not active by default. I have always used the feature, but a great many Windows users never bother to delve into the Taskbar settings to see what it is capable of doing beyond perhaps moving it to a different position on the screen or enabling/disabling hiding.
The vast majority of people using Windows, in my experience, never alter the Taskbar from its default setting. Ironically, despite Windows users long touting the ability to tweak the Windows UI, for the average user, Windows (mostly) counterintuitive way of doing things does not invite the non-techie user to explore its options.

[mdawson]

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From left to right, it's Start menu (Vista doesn't have the word "Start" anymore, just the Windows logo), quick launch icons, windows/programs, systray/notification icons, clock.

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While the Start Menu and System tray are locked into the left and right sides of the Taskbar, respectively, Quick Launch and the document area can either appear side-by-side or one above the other. Granted, altering the layout is not a simple task, but in a previous job I had the Quick Launch bar on a top row and the active documents bar underneath in the Taskbar.
While the Taskbar seems to be far more customizable for those that explore its options, I have grown to prefer the Dock. I now have the Taskbar on the computer in my lab set up in a more Dock-like fashion as opposed to the configuration I described above.

[OM_user]

Thanks for the clarification. I guess I'm one of these that never bothered to figure out how to tweak the Taskbar, for the rare times I've had to use a PC. Still, in general the task bar is not really like the Dock, which is kind of a launcher and task tracker combined into one.
We may criticize MS for not changing the basic functions of the task bar since Win'95, but Apple hasn't really done a whole lot with the Dock either since its intro in 10.0. I'd like to see some real improvements to it in Leopard. Perhaps its one of the "top secret" features Jobs talked about during WWDC. We can hope.

[mdawson]

True, but where the Taskbar has changed little in 11+ years, the Dock and OS X have only been around a little over 5 years. Secondly, Apple tends to err on the side of simplicity. There are several other 3rd-party developers that offer more customizable Docks for those that want such functionality. The one big downside for these products is that they are treated as applications by OS X and not a part of the UI as is the case with the Dock.
It would be nice if Apple offered some type of certification program for developers offering UI tweaks so that something like DragThing could work more fluidly with or replace the default Dock; that is, a program where Apple tests the product and certifies it safe for use by OS X users even though it modifies a system-level feature. In that way, third party solutions could modify the existing Dock to enhance its functionality and attain customer assurance because Apple has tested and certified the product. Secondly, these modified Docks would be respected by Finder and application windows just as the system Dock (typically) is, instead of as just another application window/palette, because it is the system Dock.
Of course, just as on the Windows side, most Mac users are content to use the Dock as is. I personally would like to see some more functionality in the Dock, but as the alternatives are not integrated like Action GoMac was in Mac OS 9, I find the alternatives to be no better than the current method of switching applications. But, as I stated earlier, Apple leans toward simplicity and will only incorporate new functionality into the Dock if they see a need for it.

[solipsism]

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Whats next: Sony trying to devise a laptop that looks like a Macbook?

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That was a joke, right?

[n8mac]

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Yes, it was in OS 9, or perhaps even in OS 8, but I don't recall. OS 8/9 is almost a distant memory for me now, but if I recall correctly, It only worked when you tore away the application menu into its own floating palette.

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Yes, it was definitely in 9 as I am using it right now. It is independent of the 'application switcher'. The application switcher was torn off the right menu and only used with the mouse to switch between apps. I don't think that command-tab existed under OS 8.
One thing that OS 9 didn't have that was later put into OS 10 was switching between windows in a single app using the keyboard.

[deasys]

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I don't think that command-tab existed under OS 8.

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Command-tab application switching was first implememnted in Mac OS 8.5 in October 1998.
Getting Started with Mac OS 8.5

[bastion]

Honestly, this shouldn't surprise anyone. Well, at least the copy part. But, as you say, with Vista being in development for so long, Microsoft should be ashamed of themselves for not putting out something better. One has to wonder what the heck those MS developers have been doing all this time.
Chasing dead ends. There were a fair number of features planned for Vista that apparently proved too challenging to get into the release. Some of them are still on the long range plan.

[jmincey]

"Some of them are still on the long range plan."
What do you suppose Microsoft's idea of "long range" could be?

[bastion]

Potentially several years but it depends on the specific item. Last I heard, for example, the new FS for Vista was still a planned release. But it's now going to be an add-on and oh-by-the-way supported on some versions of Windows pre-Vista (which wasn't part of the original announced plan).