Windows Software Ugly, Boring & Uninspired

An anonymous reader writes "CPU magazine has written a very straight-to-the-point editorial on the lack of quality and innovation in software for the mainstream OS. They compare it to the Mac, which is found in a much different light. Where has all the innovation gone?" From the article: "There's too much coal and not enough diamonds within the sphere of downloads. The greatest pieces of software are plagued by unintelligent design, and very few rise to the level of ubiquity. Windows users don't have a strong sense of belonging; there's no user community rallying around the platform. We use the computer, certainly, or is the computer using us?"

Comments

Parent sounds like a Troll

[Schwarzchild]

Safari does indeed have tabbed browsing and pop up blocking. Not sure what you mean by ad blocking. Also the case for Orwellian design seems kind of weak to me. If you don't like it then don't buy it.

Re:Garbage

[nokilli]

First off, any widget that requires an internet connection isn't going to work when the connection is down.

Secondly, I guess I could have been clearer, but I'm talking about the browser together with the stock desk-accessories that ALL of these OS's have... calculator, notepad. And games too.

Want to know the 5-day forecast for the week? Well, of course your browser is already open, so you're not waiting for it to load. And of course you've already bookmarked the exact place where that forecast is available, so basically, you're clicking on a link.

So let me rephrase that...

Want to know the 5-day forcecast for the week? Click on a link.

Given that you're only loading the page for that one link, and not potentially dozens of pages like you are when activating Dashboard, it's much faster.

Re:Garbage

[itistoday]

What really is there that is superior to Windows (besides FreeBSD underneath)? And don't you dare say Spotlight... it's a resource pig too (and one it seems you can't turn off either, much like Dashboard.)

Sorry you took my comment as an insult, it wasn't meant to be. It's just that you really have very little clue of what OS X is.

1. FreeBSD underneath - You say this as if it's a tiny feature; more evidence you know very little about OS X, and FreeBSD. I have access to virtually all of the command line programs on most linux distros, even apt-get! Many linux programs are easily runnable along side OS X apps using X11. Simply put, the Terminal application in OS X blows the "Command Prompt" in windows away.
2. Intelligent filebrowsing with the finder. I was using list view in Windows Explorer the other day and renamed a file in it. I was shocked to discover it didn't automatically reposition itself in the list based on its new name. Quick and convenient file search is available in a search box in every finder window. You can easily force-quit the Finder without having to worry about OS X crashing.
3. Security. I don't have the link on me but it's been shown that OS X and other FreeBSD derivatives are the most secure operating systems on the planet. There was an article on slashdot a few months ago about this, but I'm too lazy to search for it. Windows security... heh, oxymoron.
4. iApps - Free. Buy a mac and get many aplpications for free (iMovie, iPhoto, iTunes, GarageBand, Mail, etc). If you've actually used these, you'll realize how great they are. They're not simply little toys, but they are real, near-professional quality applications that can do amazing things. Get a windows box, and you will have none of this (Windows Movie Maker, a poor rip off of iMovie, is so crappy it does not count).
5. Built in Java VM. It makes Java developers happy (like me).
6. Built in Python. It makes Python developers happy.
7. Intelligent file sharing with permissions; in windows you have to go through hell to get this working.
8. System Preferences application. This is similar to the Windows "Control Panels" folder, except it is so much better. Try getting windows to run an FTP server, or an HTTP server, or an SSH server, or... :-) All with two clicks! (Sharing -> click checkbox for the service of your choice). Easily protect yourself with a powerful firewall (even though you really don't need it, heh).
9. No viruses or spyware. 'nuff said.
10. Quartz Extreme - automatic hardware rendering for virtually all of the user interface.
11. Aqua. (not the ugly University colors of XP).
12. Spotlight. There, I said it.
13. NO REGISTRY! I've seen many a 3.4 Ghz P4 system cripled to the equivalent of a 300 mhz Celeron because their registry (an unbelievably stupid concept) was fscked.
14. Instead of the registry, OS X has an intelligent method of organizing users's preferences. They're all located in a... single folder.
15. Intelligent user organization scheme - Because OS X has real, actual unix permissions (unlike windows), it is by default very secure on a multiuser system, with excellent user home folder organization. There's a System Library folder where system prefs are located (protected by permissions), and a Library folder in each User's home directory. This makes moving from one system to another and backing up data really easy.

I could go on... but like I said in the other post, you should just learn more.

Re:Garbage

[nokilli]

1. FreeBSD underneath - You say this as if it's a tiny feature; more evidence you know very little about OS X, and FreeBSD

No, I included expressly because I think it's a big feature. Yet again you insist that I somehow know very little about OS X and FreeBSD? I think that to make such a baseless remark demonstrates that it is you who knows very little about computers in general. Very little.

2. Intelligent filebrowsing with the finder.

The Steve Capps' Finder delivered with the original 128K Mac *still* blows away today's Finder in terms of elegance, responsiveness and overall usability. Moreover, I see no difference between today's Finder and WIndows Explorer, except for this odd example you give us which really has nothing to do with anything. BTW, I've never had the need for force-quit Windows Explorer. You really want to call that a feature?

3. Security.

We were talking about GUI's, otherwise I'd give you that one.

4. iApps - Free.

Talking about GUI's, remember? And there is a lot of shit you can get for free on Windows. I will admit though that the free DVD Player is nice.

5. Built in Java VM.

That has no end of bugs to it. No thanks.

6. Built in Python.

That I have to download again and reinstall anyways to get it working with GNU readline. Again, no thanks.

7. Intelligent file sharing with permissions; in windows you have to go through hell to get this working.

Eh? I've found exactly the opposite IFF we're talking about networking the same machines. Different machines, all platforms have quirks, even Samba under Linux.

8. System Preferences application... Try getting windows to run an FTP server, or an HTTP server, or an SSH server, or... :-) All with two clicks!

Click on Services. Click on the Service you want to start. Done.

9. No viruses or spyware.

Already mentioned this, and it still isn't GUI-related.

10. Quartz Extreme

When I need fast graphics rendering, it's when I play games (ohmigod, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bring up the GAMES you can play on Windows and not on Mac, whatever was I thinking? :) )

11. Aqua.

Is getting rather old by now. Personally I think GNOME looks the best of all of them, but then, I am a minimalist. Plus, GNOME let's me make any window fullscreen. Steve Jobs will die before allowing that to happen under Aqua.

12. Spotlight.

You know it's funny, I saved this message of yours to disk, and I'm STILL hearing the disk grind away in the background.

13. NO REGISTRY

NetInfo. ooops. (and you say I don't know what I'm talking about?)

14. Instead of the registry, OS X has an intelligent method of organizing users's preferences. They're all located in a... single folder.

If only that were the case. Besides, many of the preferences you're describing are located in a single folder on Windows here too. I'd call this a tie.

15. Intelligent user organization scheme - Because OS X has real, actual unix permissions

I prefer *nix over Windows in this regard too, but it's a preference only, one that derives from FreeBSD (remember, when you said I don't understand OS X?), and one that ultimately is of little consequence to the end-user in any event, who is simply happy to find their file in the folder where they left it the previous day.

I could go on... but like I said in the other post, you should just learn more.

I'm sure you could, but as we've seen, you haven't really addressed the subject of the thread. You've offered no example of where Mac OS X outshines Windows

Re:Just wait, it'll come to Linux too.

[St. Arbirix]

It simply takes a more developed skill set to write apps for MAC and *nix.

I'm sure I don't know what you mean. Have you even heard of Xcode? It's like Visual Basic, except it's free, a little more intuitive (to me, at least), and it can import make files like they were project files.

Re:Garbage

[wavedeform]

Widgets take up very little memory and all of the default ones take up 0% of the CPU most of the time (check with top if you don't believe me). You've got something else going on there if you say it's sluggish.

Actually, in my experience Widgets take a fair amount of memory. Each Widget seems to take around 150 Meg ov VM, and use several Megs of real memory. They also seem to leak real memory. This is after about four days:
Real Mem Virt Mem NAME
27.33 MB 159.59 MB Weather DashboardClient
11.51 MB 144.20 MB Stickies DashboardClient
10.85 MB 147.11 MB Oblique DashboardClient
9.13 MB 154.76 MB Unit Converter DashboardClient
9.11 MB 144.05 MB Calendar DashboardClient
8.79 MB 151.12 MB Dictionary DashboardClient
8.65 MB 144.61 MB World Clock DashboardClient
6.20 MB 126.45 MB Calculator DashboardClient

This adds up to about 90 Meg of real memory, and over a gig of virtual memory, for about eight widgets. Desk accessories the world over are hanging their head in shame.