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Comments on: Vista Views: What Vista can learn from Leopard

Readers say what features from the Mac OS X update they'd like to see in the next version of Windows.

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"Spaces" exist for Windows
by frankwick August 9, 2006 11:56 AM PDT
If your graphics driver didn't included a utility, get the virtual desktop app from MS: http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/downloads/powertoys/xppowertoys.mspx

look for "virtual desktop manager"
Reply to this comment
No
by icfireball August 9, 2006 12:34 PM PDT
Virtual Desktop Manager
Manage up to four desktops from the Windows taskbar with this
PowerToy.

This refers to four desktops of different users I believe. Nice try
though.
View all 3 replies
In fact, this exists from NT4...
by alinconstantin August 9, 2006 2:57 PM PDT
I still remember playing with 3rd party Virtual Desktop application on Windows 95 (mimicing Unix at that time).

NT4 had natively support for multi-desktops, and there were tons of applications providing this functionality (if I remember correctly there was even a Microsoft-provided MFC sample demonstrating this).

I guess that Microsoft released a more "user friendly" version with PowerToys in XP (http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/downloads/powertoys/xppowertoys.mspx), but the feature was there for a long time. Don't take me for granted, look for yourself the applications at http://www.tucows.com/Windows/DesktopEnhancements/VirtualDesktop

Alin
View reply
No it doesn't
by ipv9 August 9, 2006 4:04 PM PDT
The VD power toy gives you separate desktops that all share the same taskbar. What good are 4 separate desktops when the task bar becomes just as cluttered as if the user continued to use a single desktop? Virtual Desktop also doesn't give the user the ability to send specific applications to different taskbars/desktops the same way Linux distros have been for at least 5 years now.
View all 2 replies
XP - Not
by dorianc/net August 9, 2006 5:02 PM PDT
This feature is not part of XP and it's not supported by MS.

and I bet it's not even close to Spaces.
VISTA Playing Catch Up
by kpkeller May 4, 2008 1:56 PM PDT
What's really interesting is that I when I purchased the original version of OS/2 Warp, IBM had the concept of "Shadows". Microsoft calls them shortcuts in Windows. What was nice about "Shadows" is that if you moved a file referenced by one or more "Shadows" or even deleted that file, the "Shadows" associated with it would be updated to reflect the new location of the file or deleted, respectively.

Think about it folks. OS/2 Warp did this back in the 90s and Windows still does not have this feature.
McLaws Makes Me Laugh!
by GatesOfHell August 9, 2006 11:59 AM PDT
And doesn't calling it "Vista 2.0" mean that they're copying
Vista 1.0?


No. It means they did one (and actually a lot more) better than
Vista.

But it doesn't surprise me that they couldn't get their joke
right; they couldn't even copy the Windows logo properly in the
keynote.


- Glad you watched Steve's keynote. Nice to see an OS that
actually exists, isn't it?

From what I can tell, there isn't anything in the new OS X
that I can't get in Vista, and then some. ... So I get all the
features and more, without the smug self-righteousness of the
pseudo-intellectual Mac zealotry.


Not quite true. These are all features you HOPE to get. You sure
don't have them in your hands right now.

What more could you ask for in an OS?

How about that it SHIP?

Robert McLaws is an IT consultant, community leader and
Vista
enthusiast. He has been running Vista enthusiast site
Longhornblogs.com since 2002.


And by all accounts will still be running it, waiting for Vista, into
2007. Do I hear 2008? 2009?
Reply to this comment
Vista Fanboys just sound so hollow ....
by MacGregory August 9, 2006 12:55 PM PDT
... to be a Windows evangelist is like being a a chef trying to tell
everyone how wonderful McDonald's dinner menu is ... All you
can say is that it is the most popular! So. McDonald's didn't
invent hamburgers, it just made the best investments and aimed
at the lowest common geek denominator with monopolistic
business practices and with 6 times the R&D (and for its size it
should have 10-times the R&D) of Apple it does less over longer
timelines.

To say MS didn't take the mouse and "windows" from the Mac,
and the Gadgets from Apple Widgets and Vista graphics from
OSX graphics is a sad lie. And Apple takes plenty of ideas from
others, but guess what they improve them and put them in an
OS. MS and Vista doesn't do that they take ideas from other
OS's and puts them in their OS. A difference too sophisticated
for Windowphiles to understand .... sad and hollow ....
View all 2 replies
McLaw is drinking Vista kool aid by the gallon...
by michaelrcorley August 9, 2006 4:53 PM PDT
Has yet to realize that the glass is empty.
Shipping
by djcaseley August 10, 2006 2:10 AM PDT
"How about that it SHIP", you say. Got a 10.5 release in your hands? No.

Tbh, I'd rather wait until it works than it be released. And I'd rather nice bunch of re-writes, a bunch of feature enhancements and some new features (even if not all that were envisaged) than a few extra features tacked onto a large price label, and called a new o/s.
View reply
One more choice quote...
by jimothyGator August 10, 2006 12:08 PM PDT
"So I get all the features and more, without the smug self-
righteousness of the pseudo-intellectual Mac zealotry."

Ah, but you get all the smug self-righeousness of Windows
zealots like Mr. McLaws.

And what was that garbage about needing Office for spam
protection and calendaring? You don't need that on Mac, and
haven't for some time. If anything, that sounds like praise for
the Mac.
Glad you enjoyed it!
by LonghornBlogs August 12, 2006 12:27 AM PDT
Um, hate to tell you this, but I have those features now. Ince to see an OS that actually exists? News flash: Vista is out. Microsoft deposits builds frequently to testers. These features are in the product, which is RTMing this year. It will probably be out before Leopard.

Thanks tho, I appreciate you proving my point.

-Robert McLaws
LonghornBlogs.com
confused
by frankwick May 4, 2008 1:57 PM PDT
I don't understand your 'shipping' jabs. The new OSX is not available yet either. MS has released frequent builds of Vista to the public and private testers. Each build has gotten significantly tighter and more stable -- especially after beta 2. The core OS is working and people are using it as their everyday OS now.

I'm not a MS lover, but I don't despise them either. Your hatred is making you ignorant.
View reply
Two points
by Thrudheim August 9, 2006 12:08 PM PDT
First, Robert McLaws may not be a "smug self-righteous
pseudo-intellectual Mac zealot" but he sounds an awful lot like a
"smug self-righteous pseudo-intellectual Windows zealot." Is
that supposed to be better somehow?

And, though he surely knows this, calling it Vista 2.0 does not
mean Apple is copying Vista 1.0. The idea is that Tiger is
already Vista 1.0 and Leopard is the next step.

Second, Wallace Wang is not correct about Time Machine
requring a second hard disk. Apple's web site says that in
prefernces you choose the drive or *volume* to back up to. You
can choose a disk partition in other words, perhaps even a disk
image that is located on the same partition (i.e. a virtual
volume). So, we at least have external disk, disk partition, and
server as possible backup locations.

That said, we are talking about backups here. A second drive is
clearly preferable. It may seem "technically superior" to have it
all on one drive, but nobody who has a hard drive fail will think
that.
Reply to this comment
Agreed
by wakko701 August 9, 2006 1:03 PM PDT
Actually, for a backup solution, it would be much more advisable to have the backup on a secondary drive. That way if the primary drive fails, it also doesn't take your backups with you. This is a backup solution as it was explained at the keynote, and all good backups should never reside on the same drive as your original data.
I agree with David Price!
by ronjay August 9, 2006 12:17 PM PDT
"Long-term answer, which I have been saying for YEARS: Bill,
take some of your billions, buy the best and brightest
programmers in the world, and make a brand-spanking-new OS
absolutely positively from scratch. No DOS, no Windows, no
xNIX, no backwards compatibility; start completely over and do
it right. Kids, can you say "21st century?" "

I'm by no means a Windows fan, but I believe competition is
imperative to the survivability and great feature offerings of
MacOS X. I want the Mac, Apple, and the MacOS to survive and
prosper until I am 110 and can no longer see the screen. For
that to happen, Apple needs to constantly have something with
which to compete, in order to keep raising the bar, back and
forth. Apple borrows sometimes from Windows, Windows
sometimes from Mac, and both from others.

Windows does NOT need to go away...they need to get better.
Re-write the whole thing, like D. Price said, from scratch, just
like Apple did with OS X.
Reply to this comment
Windows Server 2003
by frankwick August 9, 2006 1:21 PM PDT
As I understand it, Windows Server 2003 was a rewrite of most of the core components. They didn't create any new pardigms or concepts for an end-user, but the kernel protection modes are new, the memory model is different, etc... Windows Server 2003 is the MOST STABLE OS I have ever used. It is fast, secure, and very reliable. I've used a lot of Linix distros and I ahted this at the time, 2003 blew them away.

If Vista is truly built on the server 2003 code, then the core will be a great product.
Windows Server 2003
by frankwick August 9, 2006 1:22 PM PDT
As I understand it, Windows Server 2003 was a rewrite of most of the core components. They didn't create any new pardigms or concepts for an end-user, but the kernel protection modes are new, the memory model is different, etc... Windows Server 2003 is the MOST STABLE OS I have ever used. It is fast, secure, and very reliable. I've used a lot of Linix distros and I ahted this at the time, 2003 blew them away.

If Vista is truly built on the server 2003 code, then the core will be a great product.

As far as backwards compatability, that is a huge selling point. It will always be there.
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agreed
by CeeAyy August 12, 2006 9:09 AM PDT
Considering all the nonsense that gets posted on this site, I
agree with this post completely. I am a huge Mac OS fan, but
that's not why I dislike XP. It just sux at the moment. I would
honestly like a version of XP that nobody has to make excuses
for. I will have windows software at work for a long time to come
and I would at least like a system that I didn't hate using. I would
buy both for use at home if I liked both. I know that's not exactly
Ronjay's point, but I agree that competition is good. Right now I
see Apple as working harder (or smarter) because they are the
"underdog" so to speak. Would they work as hard if they had the
perceived lead? Actually, we might find out in the near future...
But that's what they did
by iceykola August 31, 2006 1:48 PM PDT
Microsoft did rebuild the entire OS from the bottom up. It is Microsofts first OS built entirely from the ground up under their "Safe Computing Initiative" that was started when XP was released.

I've been following some of the stories that came out after Microsoft took Vista to the Black Hat Security Convention and challenged everyone there to find security flaws with Vista. Of course there were a bunch found, but even the hackers were impressed with the efforts MSFT took to ensure security in this OS. And all the security holes found there were patched.

They even were so nice as to delivery security updates to Beta 2 users using Windows Update since it was available to the public and MANY people started switching to Vista Beta 2 as their main OS. Microsoft said it will support the Betas and Release Candidates with security updates until the Retail Release is available. Then (of course) they will stop supporting the evaluation versions.

Microsoft has definately stepped up. And I applaude their efforts.
The Imperfect Perception
by icfireball August 9, 2006 12:32 PM PDT
Most people who use windows - both techies and consumers
have an imperfect perception as to what a Mac is and what it
does. You'd be suprised in fact how very wrong these people
can be. Many Windows users might look at Time Machine and
say, "System Restore does this" or "Windows Server 2003 does
this". Not true. System Restore restores the SYSTEM (and only
the system). This means that no deleted or changed documents
are restored. Just Applications and Windows. Windows Server
2003 it not a consumer product so therefore it is pointless to
compare it to Apple's Leopard. In addition, the backup method
in Windows Server 2003 is not graceful or easy to use at all. It is
the way that Apple is implementing Time Machine that makes it
special.

With Expose, Dashboard, and Spotlight - most Windows users
wouldn't realise how useful they are, because they don't use
Macs. I have my mighty mouse side buttons set to Expose, and
it is perfect for switching applications in an instant. Dashboard
skips a few steps in opening up a browser and navigating to a
website, and spotlight is a great application launcher as well as a
way to find files. Only does Vista get any of these features.

This just scratches the surface of why Mac OS X is superior to
Windows. The little things about Mac OS X are just as important
as the big things. Not to mention that Mac OS X is beautiful.

I would guarantee that if all consumers used a Mac for one
month, at least 7 out of 10 would refuse to switch back after
that month.

And also, seriously Windows fan boys -- stop grasping at straws
making lame arguments. For example, someone said, "If
Leopard is Windows Vista 2.0, then Apple is copying Vista".
Common. Thats the biggest line of BS I've heard all day. That
logic is totally screwing. Seeing as Vista 2.0 is not out -- or
even being developed yet, there is nothing to copy. By saying
that Leopard is Vista 2.0, you are making the implication that
Leopard will have the features that Vista 2.0 will have - and
since Leopard would come first - Microsoft is therefore effectivly
copying Leopard.
Reply to this comment
Imperfect Perception, indeed
by August 9, 2006 1:53 PM PDT
If there's one thing I have observed, it is that most Mac users have an emotional attachment to their computer. I don't consider myself a Windows fan. I consider myself a Windows user. An OS is a tool, not a way of life or a status symbol. I have seen Apple steal 3rd-party apps like Dashboard and Microsoft features like Fast User Switching. I have seen Microsoft steal ideas from Apple. So what? That's what competitors do.

In the end, when I sit down at a Mac, I get a spartan operating system (albeit with nice eye candy) running on way-too-expensive hardware that I can't even repair myself. And don't tell me the hardware is more reliable, because 2/3 of the iMac people I know have had their machine break down. On the other hand, I can build my own PC for half the price. It is fast, serviceable and far more upgradeable. Since I choose the components, it is reliable and rarely breaks down. When it does, I don't have to ship the machine off with all my data on it for two weeks and twiddle my thumbs. Since I put Windows on it, I can run about 32 trillion different software apps, and customize the heck out of EVERYTHING. No spartan UI and control panels. Oh, and I can play games without jumping through hoops, too.

I don't worship my computer, I use it. It's a tool. It's an entertainment device. That's it.

So, quite frankly, no matter how good Leopard is compared to Vista, I just don't care. Until I can run OS X on my home-built hotrod, I will continue to not care.
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Bravo...
by michaelrcorley August 9, 2006 4:55 PM PDT
well put.
I've seen the Windows --> Mac Switchers
by HuggerMugger August 12, 2006 2:39 AM PDT
A few years ago, I deployed about a dozen Macs, replacing PCs
which ALWAYS needed fixing - they got exploited even when
endlessly "patched" and were nothing but trouble. These were
year-old Dells and such. Those initial dozen Mac users were
quite upset with me when I forced them to take the new
machines and swore we'd go out of business if we had to use
these stupid toys. The torches and pitchforks came out.

All it took was some training and some attention:

"Where's the My Documents folder???"
"Um, ok, lets make a folder called My Documents"
"Now what do I do with THAT???"
"Um, well, you could drag your documents into it..."

Within a few weeks, you just didn't hear from them any more. I
had to check on them to make sure they were ok. We weren't
fixing their machines every other day, either. Within six months
they were quietly THANKING me for giving them Macs - really
sneaking in and thanking me so nobody else knew they "got it".
Little did they know everyone else "got it", too. By that time,
there were about 30 Macs deployed.

Within a year, we had replaced 47 PCs with Macs and some
people had already bought a Mac for home. Now, almost three
years after starting this, we have 64 Mac replacements for PCs,
nearly zero trouble from them and MOST of these people have
REPLACED THEIR HOME PCs WITH MACS. I'm talking real hard
core former Windows bigots who now overwhelmingly prefer the
Mac and drop kicked their Windows machines, including XP
machines.

Within the last two weeks, the dominoes are falling faster -
we've had no fewer than six NEW Mac switchers in the company
(out of 85 people) on top of the ones that switched already and
more are planning on doing the same.

They didn't drink the Kool-Aid, they just used the machine and
had that "aha" moment. It takes a few weeks to really let it sink
in. Until everyone has actually lived with a Mac, you've got no
grounds to critique it. Vicarious experience or reading other
people's vicarious experience doesn't count.
Spaces and Virtual Desktops
by dragonbite August 9, 2006 12:43 PM PDT
Linux has had the multiple desktops for a while now, but Mac makes it look "sexier". I look forward to seeing some of the gee-whiz stuff in Spaces trickle down to the Linux desktop environment.

I wonder if Spaces includes the ability to anchor an item so it shows up in all the virtual desktops (like an IM chat window while you keep working on other things).

Doees Spaces handle only 4? I know with Linux's desktop environments you can choose (1 .. 10? 12? 15? +++?).

Personally I love using the virtual desktops and that's one feature I would LOVE for Windows to have.
Reply to this comment
it does
by frankwick August 9, 2006 1:08 PM PDT
XP does have virtual desktops. It was 'released' soon after XP shipped in 2001 as a free add on. Just install the power toy. Simple.
Powertoy - Virtual Desktop Manager
by larryheier August 9, 2006 2:03 PM PDT
Microsoft offers this support via a Powertoy for some time - http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/downloads/powertoys/xppowertoys.mspx
View reply
The Taskbar: Redefined
by boolean22 August 9, 2006 1:25 PM PDT
Use the taskbar to group task-related windows in one button and restore/minimize them at the same time. That'd do for the Spaces. You can set a bunch of apps on one taskbar button and then Flip(tm) to the set of your desire. It would be like Grouping is now, but with any kind of windows involved, (e.g. not only explorer windows)
Reply to this comment
Interesting comment...
by MTGrizzly August 9, 2006 1:34 PM PDT
Yeah, you could do all that... Or, get OSX and do it without all
the hassle.

This is one thing that bugs me about Windows. It seems the
Windows community is dependent upon "add ons" to get
anything done. Microsoft supplies the basic OS, but to get it to
do anything, you have to go out and download half a dozen
other things and install them, hoping they will work.

OSX is complete and works... What more could ask?

Oh, could someone please port that stupid pinball game from XP
to Mac? I am driving myself to distraction switching my OS's
back and forth, so I can play that thing... Worse than solitaire...
LOL
youre proving the point
by biggstuu August 9, 2006 1:57 PM PDT
you can illuminate a room by either :

a. flipping a light switch

or

b. constructing a rube goldberg device that puts 17 layers of complexity into a simple movement - its probably really cool to watch the hamster spin in the hamster wheel that powers the choo choo train that runs on the track that hits the egg that rolls down the tube that hits the barbie doll that kicks the beachball that bounces onto the scale that...(you get the point).

this is why people love the Apple experience, it takes the labor out of work, it takes tasks that are otherwise complex and simplifies them, want to update an ipod, plug it in, itunes auto launches and if you use smart lists, auto updates your song selections, unplug and you are done, total time, 2-3 mins and you didnt push any buttons on the keyboard, at all.

MS should take a similiar approach to their apps, make it easy to just get things done. most folks dont need 50 ways to make text bold, when just one will do. Elegance and simplicity wins over kludge every time.
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Mac Users vs Windows Users
by zmagaw August 9, 2006 1:40 PM PDT
I think the comments above about Time machine and System restore shows the difference in points of references for users of Macs and users of Windows...
Windows Users state that Time machine offers nothing more than system restore... time machine is for the work you do on your computer not just your system settings and configuration files... which i find interesting... it seems windows users do a lot of system settings and configuration changes where Mac users are worried about changing things they have worked on back to previous versions...
Reply to this comment
Right
by servoxs August 9, 2006 3:07 PM PDT
My Windows Machine requires endless updates, patches and protection.
My Mac stays on for months without a glitch. It's not the OS Mac users worry about.
View reply
Wrong comparison
by bluvg August 9, 2006 3:15 PM PDT
Time Machine is better compared against Previous Versions (Vista) or Volume Shadow Copy (available in XP/2003). System Restore-- appropriately enough--restores the system, not files. The error here is by the lack of awareness/knowledge of the Windows commentators, or perhaps of Microsoft's marketing--they didn't make a big deal of it.

For users of Novell networks, incidentally, this feature was available even long before it was on Windows.
Fanboy, fanboy, fanboy...
by Sculptor of Rhythm August 9, 2006 1:55 PM PDT
The one thing that the representation of both camps being displayed here doesn't lack is the kind of "smug, selfrighteous, pseudo-intellectual zealotry" which people on one side of the fence seem bent on lobbing at those on the other.

I, for one, would like to see some decent debate (a concept notably different in its execution, as compared to "argument") between people who A) actually know what they're talking about, and B) can supress the childish urge to follow every half-witted point with an inflated-ego-driven insult.

You may well find that "zealots" on the other side or actually willing to listen to what you have to say if you can avoid labelling them with cliches like "fanboy"...
Reply to this comment
Agreed
by dewalt25 August 10, 2006 12:10 PM PDT
I could care less about either product. I recently switched to an ubuntu desktop, and I myself am an MCSE. Like I tell everyone, both have their strengths and weaknesses. The only way the apple market share will increase is if they license the OS, something they will NOT do. They're not looking to increase it.

The way I see it:
Apple has a better home product
MS has a better corp suite of products.
Linux is free and can do everything good, just not better.
System Restore and Shadow Copy
by Machiavellian79 August 9, 2006 2:18 PM PDT
First, People that use Macs need to get their facts straight about certain features before making themselves look stupid.

System Restore is not only for system files but your any thing you want Windows to make a backup of so you can retore it if you make a mistake.

In Vista System Restore is expaned to include Shadow Copies which is a versing type system already included in Windows Server 2003 that allow you backup any files, folders or applications that change on your system. System also allows you to store you backup copies on any media that Vista can access (CD/DVD-ROM, Internal/External Harddrive/ another PC using either Network/USB/IEE 1394

As you can see, Shadow copy is quite the backup beast and is superior to Leopard Time Machine. \

Personally I find Time Machine to actually be more of a pain then a feature. Graphical stuff like Time Machine can be fun for the first time but when you happen to save over hours of work by mistake with something you did not want, the last thing you care about is a Stary backgroup why you try to find the version of your work before the save. You want something that is easy, guick and get you up and running without much fuss. Having some flippable graphical whiz bang feature is not it. Being able to simple right click on your document select the previous version before the same and get back to work sounds a lot cleaner and a much better approach.

Just because you can make something pretty doesn't mean you should. This actually may be a lesson that Apple learn from MS.
Reply to this comment
Here is what I find funny
by cashaww August 9, 2006 2:35 PM PDT
The system restore, Windows, works in the Server version, and not
the desktop, if I understand you correctly. You have not used Time
Machine, so it is safe to say the preview shown, may not be the
final version, and either way, you have not used it, and you may not
be aware of all it's capabilities. Am I correct?
View all 2 replies
Good Point but...
by da_bombdiggidy August 9, 2006 2:37 PM PDT
One thing your forgetting is the always on deal. Time machine is constantly updating out of the box. All those things you mention about it can do this and it can do that are great but only if people do it. Time Machine is just doing it. It makes me laugh when people like yourself, obviously technical cause you know Windows Server, look past the tons of non-tech users who never back up, who are affraid to change settings. I'm not saying Macs are great for non-tech users but they don't need to worry about a lot of tech things beyond the world of viruses, spywares, and hackers. This features on Windows is not prevalent to most every day users.
View reply
How does Volume Shadow Copy recover deleted files?
by vitaboy August 9, 2006 2:52 PM PDT
"Being able to simple right click on your document select the
previous version before the same and get back to work sounds a
lot cleaner and a much better approach."

So what happens when the file you want to recover is deleted
and there is nothing to right-click on? Do you have to then go
through a convoluted process to recover that file? Why do you
have one interface for restoring previous versions and another
interface to restore deleted files?

Too little emphasis is placed on actual usability. A lot of what
makes Time Machine such a nice concept is that it's infinitely
more usable and the Windows implementation. In terms of a
metaphore, too, it just makes darn sense.

This is a lesson that so called makers of "iPod killers" have yet to
learn from iPod + iTunes with their geeky devices sprouting
flimsy buttons on all surfaces and programs with hidden nested
windows and menus. It is, in fact, all about the interface!
View reply
Ease of restore
by samkass August 9, 2006 5:56 PM PDT
Actually, Time Machine seems like it's vastly "easy, quick, and
get you up and running" compared to the Windows feature.
Firstly, you don't need to leave your open app. With iPhoto
open, you can click on Time Machine and go back in time
WITHIN IPHOTO... no other UI is necessary. And while scrolled
back in time, the UI is fully functional for browsing, so you can
click around all your data in the past inside iPhoto.

Secondly, you can run queries in time... you can, say, open
Address Book, search for "Rose", find nothing... so click on Time
Machine, then automatically zip back in time to a point where
Time Machine finds a result for your query. Then bring JUST
THAT ONE RECORD from Address Book from the past to the
present. So it's not just about files, it's about an API for
application to access individual data from the past.

Last, a scrollbar and a zoom compared to a calendar and a
wizard... obviously I'd rather scroll through a document than
click the down arrow 100 times, and I think the same will be true
of the two restore features.

Besides that, Time Machine is almost completely auto-
configuring and automatic usage. Plugin, turn on, and forget
about it (until something goes wrong, and stuff is "just there".)

So live application UIs, non-file-based data retrieval with live
queries, a "scrollbar" interface, and instant configuration are all
ways in which Time Machine is far beyond what Windows is
bringing, and why it will probably end up being far more
relevant to your average mac user than the "similar" feature is to
a Windows user.
Graphics?
by xienxien2001 August 9, 2006 2:23 PM PDT
Apple graphics are a joke. I've tried playing Call of Duty 2 and Counter Strike Source on a PowerMac G5 with a ATI Radeon X800 XT. Seeing how much lag and how poor the image quality shows how the components within a Mac can't work together to give you speed and power. Sure a new OS is coming out, but if the components don't work together as a whole, then it's useless.
Reply to this comment
Counter Strike Source on a G5???
by bitesizepankakes August 10, 2006 3:11 AM PDT
Okay, if you're gonna come here and lie about your experiences,
at least research your lie first. Have you ever even SEEN a G5.
Number 1, Counter Strike Source has not even been ported to
Mac OS X, so if you WERE playing it, you were playing it in Virtual
PC, emulating an intel chipset, and graphics card.... the fact it
even ran at all is testament to just how powerful a machine it
would be... but seriously, has NOTHING to do with how well the
apple components work together.

And 2, you're right, CoD 2 is marginally slower on a Mac than it
would be on a similarly equipped PC, but considering it was
ported from windows code, with a lot of windows optimisations,
this is to be expected. If it had been written for mac, and ported
to windows, you would see the same thing in reverse. If you
want to know how well mac components work together, buy a
new intel based mac, and install windows on it, it will be without
doubt one of the fastest computers you've ever used.

Plus, when people speak about Graphics in this sense, they were
talking about the graphics subsets, the way the OS Displays
everything on screen. Aqua, which has been in mac OS X for
many years now, and microsoft's new "innovation" Aero, which
more or less catches up with it.
View reply
I have to agree with...
by Heebee Jeebies August 9, 2006 2:32 PM PDT
David Price. It is time for Microsoft to stop building shanty towns on rotted out, cockroach infested, termite eaten foundations. It is time for Microsoft to start over with a new OS completely new from the ground up. DOS is dead, most of the current Windows is dead. It it time to put it in its grave, its starting to smell.

But, Microsoft will never do this since they can't even get what they have out the door in the same decade they start it in.

Microsoft is pathetic when it comes to its upgrades, even Office 2007 has three different interfaces. One for Word, Excel, etc. One for Publisher and another for Outlook. What they couldn't just pick one.

But, then Apple is also pathetic. They are a bigger monopoly than Microsoft, they just don't have as many customers so the government does't care. The control the OS, the hardware and in the case of iPod they control all of that plus the file format and DRM so it doesn't work with other products without having to jump through hoops.

Face it the computer industry as a whole sucks. Intel and AMD... hey people how about a whole new hardware platform? Why do we still have to worry about IRQ's and DMA's? Because they like Microsoft keep building junk on top of rotten foundations. You would think they were cows the way they all like to milk things.

Robert
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VISTA Still Playing Catch Up
by kpkeller August 9, 2006 2:42 PM PDT
What's really interesting is that I when I purchased the original version of OS/2 Warp, IBM had the concept of "Shadows". Microsoft calls them shortcuts in Windows. What was nice about "Shadows" is that if you moved a file referenced by one or more "Shadows" or even deleted that file, the "Shadows" associated with it would be updated to reflect the new location of the file or deleted, respectively.
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Hassle free computing
by servoxs August 9, 2006 2:58 PM PDT
I work both on Apple machines and Windows machines. On my Apple I work without interruption. My Windows laptop has been tied up for the last 20 minutes updating (from MS) because of dire warnings from many sources. BTW, my last update was last week.
And still, after all that, I keep anything a real value off the Windows' laptop. I don't trust the os one bit.
In contrast, Mac OS X has never hiccuped in two years. The fact that everything on OS X is easier with eye candy is?well, icing.
If MS could have 1/2 that record they'd be really making progress.
s
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Leopard effect: Desktop Linux is dead!
by pdude August 9, 2006 2:59 PM PDT
Vista won't be affected by Mac OSX - but I am worried about the desktop Linux.
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Having used both...
by Zymurgist August 11, 2006 10:25 AM PDT
Desktop Linux is still developing faster than
Vista. Resolution independence of the UI has
advanced faster. Now we have the 3D hardware
accelerated desktop environment (prior to Vista
launch), which have already evolved beyond
Vista's capabilities, and the two most popular
desktop environments already supercede Vista's
functionality (pluggable virtual filesystems,
file type handling, network protocol support,
etc).

From the user-facing standpoint, there's very
little in Vista that's fundamentally new -- and
nothing that doesn't exist in Linux already.
Desktop search - done. New explorer - mimics
Konqueror but without KIO-like functionality;
explorer search, done. Scalable icons - done. UI
that uses hardware accelerated graphics - done,
Linux version has far more feature/effects than
current Vista Beta. Taskbar thumbnails - done.
Flip and Flip 3D - done (functionality is the
same though the presentation differs).

From the UI standpoint, Vista is playing
catch-up in many ways.

The value of Vista is in the improved security
(which remains to be proven -- hacks already
exist for it), and things like the file
versioning (which is done per VMS, and for which
there's a Linux equivalent though tricky to set
up).

You can't count out the Linux Desktop based on
Vista as Vista merely implements a subset of the
feature commonly available for the Linux
desktop. Microsoft's big advantage in that area
is familiarity -- people are used to the Windows
way.
Spaces in Windows
by joeearl August 9, 2006 3:06 PM PDT
Windows XP already has a powertoy which emulates spaces - it is available on the Microsoft download website, called Desktop Switcher Powertoy. Although it lacks the finer features of Spaces, the fact that Microsoft has already attempted to emulate it makes it quite likely that Vista will feature functionality like Spaces
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Spaced
by servoxs August 9, 2006 3:11 PM PDT
I've bought 3 Windows laptops in 2 years and the only "space" they occupy in on my storage shelf.
I've completely switched to Mac OS X because I don't have time to diagnose and repair endlessly.
S
virtual desktop powertoy
by raulmot August 9, 2006 6:14 PM PDT
the MS virtual desktop powertoy has been out for a couple of years, so there's no way it's emulating Spaces.
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Only males have opinions?
by J.G. August 9, 2006 4:33 PM PDT
I guess the staff at CNET doesn't know any women.

I think that McLaws' comment wins the booby prize:

"He has been running Vista enthusiast site Longhornblogs.com
since 2002."

Waiting all those years and he still doesn't get it.
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Does McLaw even have a MAC?
by michaelrcorley August 9, 2006 4:51 PM PDT
Only power users of both MAC and Windows XP/Vista are really qualified to make comments on this topic don't you think?
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CNET Sucks... Microsoft Sucks
by michaelrcorley August 9, 2006 4:47 PM PDT
First comment... people should only be picking favorites (MS or Apple) if they are power users with both platforms.

Let's look at the two different approaches...

Microsoft continusouly introduces new products long before they are ready, takes too long to get them out the door, has armies of testers yet still releases products littered with defects, provides inadequate product support and delivers little to zero innovation. The company is a joke, has a monopoly but it will eventually end without a significant paradigm shift in its approach. People tolerate Microsoft because there are not accepted better options on the market. When better options exist, people will defect. A large number of users are moving to Mac OS and I would guess that most of these users will never return to Windows and will motivate others to switch.

Apple keep its products a secret and most recently has released products ahead or on-time. Because they make the hardware, there is better OS integration and the products are more reliable. Product support is very good. Steve Jobs is most concerned with controlling the user experience. Mac OS will increasingly become a better option for users.

I use my Windows desktop for gaming only. And user a PowerBook for work and I find that my laptop running Tiger co-exists on my Microsoft/Exchange network at the office better than my prior ThinkPad running Windows XP. It boots up quicker, shuts down quicker, manages power better, never crashes, does not require me to log into my network domain until I actually accessing something in the domain, and Microsoft Entourage allows me to access my Exchange server data using our Outlook Web Access as opposed to an IP address therefore when remote I do not need to VPN into my works network to be productive with my email and calendar, etc.

While I agree the Leopard's enhancements might not be too compelling, I suspect that Tiger will be a much better product than Vista and that home and corporate users will be very very slow to upgrade.
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Numbers count
by CyclopsRooster August 9, 2006 11:49 PM PDT
Everybody talks about how great the Apple OS is, but nobody uses it. Why is that? Because Microsoft makes things for the masses. It's much harder to do and they have done it to a level nobody else has. Mac designs for a niche audience, Microsoft designs for the world. They don't suck, they excel, wake up Michael! If Windows sucks so bad, do your gaming on the Mac, oh, wait you can't because the Mac actually sucks!
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Right...Vista Right...
by dorianc/net August 9, 2006 4:56 PM PDT
Ok Robert, so "Previous Version" is the only back-up software in
the world? Did MS create Back-ups? I don't think so. The point
here is that MS has that feature and NO ONE uses it. If you saw
the presentation, that was the point made. Of the 26% that
actually do ANY sort of backing-up, only 4% actually do a real
back-up. So Time Machine is about getting people to USE it
because it's simplicity. The Copy stuff is about all the other
features that MS DID actually copy like Aqua and Witgets. Did
you know that there was a form of widgets back in OS7? But it's
now when Apple decided to implement it in OSX?

Who said they need to implement their logo right? Hell I didn't
notice what your talking about, but i got the point he was
making, even with his screwed up French accent...

You wouldn't get the same stuff that comes with a mac even if
you got 10 PCs. What are you talking about? Do you get built in
1st Class Video conferencing where you can actually control
some elses computer while you look at them? I don't think so, do
you get iMovie? iPhoto, a built in Dictionary that is SYSTEM WIDE?
an Application like Preview where you can save almost any file to
ANY file format? A system that is built on PDF? Should I go on
and on and on, wake up dude, we use Macs because it actually
makes things possible for us instead of spending our time
troubleshooting or getting interupted by some ridiculous pop up
window from the SYSTEM telling me this or that... Who needs
that?? I sure dont'... Hell, I can remember setting up a machine
for a friend, we finished with all the license bull and what do we
get at startup? A freaking sales pitch of some who knows what?
I mean what is that all about? We spend our $$ on a machine
and now it's trying to sell me some bull like a cheap sales man?

My cousin has a Tablet, Jesus, what a pile of junk. It is slow as
melaces and I can't figure out what's the point of the entire
machine... Those hinges are going to pop like popcorn... and
for what? to flip the damn thin over? and at a cost of over $2K!

So you use your XBox as a digital tuner? Hum, that's an option.
But I don't think I need to spend $500 for that. Apple ships with
Front Row, I think that's all I need on my intertainment system
with 1.5 Terrabite, a TIVO and OSX. H264 Rocks and that's all.
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Developer Keynote doesn't make it mainstream
by Machiavellian79 August 9, 2006 6:32 PM PDT
You have to remember that "Previous Version" is a Feature of Vista and MS New Windows Backup. Just like Time Machine it will be turned on by default (which I do not like but that?s just me). Even though the functionality is within Windows Server 2003 this is not a mainstream OS. The Functionality is also in XP but not to the level of Vista. MS is pushing this as a feature in Vista unlike XP. This is why MS has designed their new Windows Backup around Shadow Copy to make it consumer ready. Actually if you go to MS web site you can see that Windows Backup is pretty beefy and provides the novice as well as the advance user plenty of options for their backups that make this feature a Godsend.

Apple is doing nothing new or are they providing a great piece of functionality that does not exist in Vista. Some people will like the Graphical look to doing backups but after the graphical polish wears thin, when you delete, modify a file and want the original, you will want a quick, simple and fast way to get your file back. The Time Machine does not do this, its way to much Fluff for something that should be as easy as creating your document.

I know Apple lovers always fee that MS sees Apple in their rear view mirror but to be honest the biggest threat that MS is looking at is the web and the innovations that are happening there, next its Linux then Apple.

The thing you fail to realize is that while most people continue to talk about Apple innovations then suddenly get amnesia that someone already innovated it first. The wise man can see that Apple can steal just as good as MS, the only difference is that MS users understand that those features were created somewhere else while Apple users feel like those Ideals came from Apple.

Look, the Wiget ideal predates to Windows for Workgroups when I used GEODesk so no, Apple was not the first to implement the tech and they definitely not the innovators of it now.

You speak about front row which is a good product but then again, you can get a Media Center Dell for 700 that includes a TV Tuner that you can hook up to your TV and record all of your shows for free (No TIVO subscription required). In Vista, you will get CableCard support so that now you can hook up your Cable or Satellite to your TV and get High Def shows for free including the 480P digital ones as well.. You can do everything that TIVO can do and if you want you can upgrade your card to the Nvidia dual High Def card and record two shows at once while you watch a 3rd.

With Apple, You get Front Row and if it doesn't do what you want, you are basically LOCKED. On the PC if you do not want MS stuff, you can install Linux, run MythTV (which is a beast in more ways then one) and get so much TV/Movie goodness you will think that your Mac with front row was living in the dark ages. But that?s another story for another day.

I think you feel that I dislike Macs which is very wrong. I just see them for the tools they are.
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HAHAHA
by Mephux August 9, 2006 5:51 PM PDT
Watch the keynote idiot... Look and the time between os releases....
Vista is a copy.. A waste of time and a worthless gesture of
innovative thinking.

Like they said in the keynote. "If you can't innovate, you imitate.
However, its never are good as the original."
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Does Adding someone else innovation now means you innovated it
by Machiavellian79 August 9, 2006 6:39 PM PDT
I just want to be clear about what you are saying because if we are to say the things that are in OSX are innovated by Apple, I think you better dig a little deeper before your colors show.

For every copied feature you can name that is in Vista that every Apple fanboy not smart enough to do their own research, I can also show you where Apple has did the same with either Vista or XP features or some other companie feature that they are now calling their Own innovation.

Now only that, I believe I can show two new features in Vista to every one feature in OSX that is not in OSX but probably will and be announced as a big feature in the next release.
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I dont know where you get your dillusions...
by yikes31 August 10, 2006 6:35 AM PDT
C'mon
surely you dont really believe that VISTA is innovative?
well perhaps you do.
It seems that some people find it necessary to defend a principle
to the death for the reason that they are tied into it.
Is it innovative to sell the security to your operating system,
pretty much as an add on feature? I thnk thats pretty funny. Like
buying a house with no doors, and then saying that you can get
the secure version for an extra $999. On top of which, when the
security vendors come to redmond to talk about what they
know, microsoft reserves the right to take their knowledge and
incorporate it into their product.
Really innovative. Thats smart marketing. And then, to top off
everything, they offer the product at a fraction of the price of the
other security vendors. What do you think will happen to that
price when the other vendors find that it is no longer profitable
and you have only one security option: price rises - and no other
companise to do the security work for you.
As far as Apple stealing from the open source community is
concerned, you could accuse them of taking the whole OS from
the open source community, but much of what makes os X what
it is, is what makes it different from the BSD that it was based
on.
Linux based much of their OS on UNIX. In fact Linus Torvalds
wanted to create his own version of UNIX. Loads of the Linux
features come directly from UNIX. So many of the GUIs that run
on LINUX are based on other GUIs - Ones based on windows and
others based on the MAC os. So dont throw accusations arround
that the corporate world steals from the poor 'ripped off' open
source world. The only one you would be deluding is yourself.
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