This may have been done before, but I always thought it was a fairly productive thread in hopes Apple will read it and incorporate lacking features into the OS. Not that there are that many, of course. But there are still some things on Windows we'd like to see on macs...
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Things we've always liked about windows yet never admitted it
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The only thing I really prefer on MS Windows really has nothing to do with the OS itself. I like that basically everything is designed to be compatible with the OS, so as long as your hardware is relatively recent then you'll be able to run everything on your computer.
When I was living at home... I really missed getting the blue screen of death and having to explain to my family they couldn't use the computer because it was "broken." Also miss having to call Dell and talk with the man or woman with a terribly thick accent I could barely understand.... sometimes just barely getting the computer to run again 
i completely agree. ever since the early days of windows, you pressed the alt key to guide through all the menus with the keyboard. it doesn't bother me so much, though. but i do remember back in the day one feature apple took forever to incorporate, the sticky click (don't know what it's really called). before, you had to click and hold to navigate through the windows. yuck!
The built in print function in XP is very nice -the ability to print a sheet of 4x6s, 5x7, an 8x10, etc.. Is there an option like this in OS X that I don't know of?
That's really the only good thing I can think of at the moment.
That's really the only good thing I can think of at the moment.
No, I'm serious.
I've always prefered the MS Windows way of keyboard shortcuts (accelerator keys?) So much easier than Apple's way. I can't remember shortcuts key combo's in OSX, but in Windows I can get any option in any menu without having to remember any special individual combo, just the concept, so much more productive and user friendly.
If you have full keyboard access enabled in your system prefs, just click control-F2 to do the same on the Mac. Control-F3 keyboard navigates your dock too.
As a recent switcher, I feel the keyboard shortcuts, but I have two others that can definitely irk me sometimes, though I'd never go back:
1. Customization: This one is definitely a mixed bag, but sometimes you can tweak Windows in a way you can't (or can't easily) on a Mac. Vice versa is also true as well, but sometimes I think that Apple sacrifices customizability for user interface, which is great, but that 1% of the time you need that ridiculous feature, it can be frustrating.
2. Incorporate rather than replace: Although there are probably some good arguments for the Mac way here, I prefer that when I drag and drop a folder somewhere, and a folder with the same name exists there, that things are added/incorporated, and only replaced when there are file conflicts. Instead, you get utter folder replacement, which can be extremely destructive. Not a big pet peeve, but I do like the Windows folder copy/move better.
3. My biggest pet peeve (drumroll): right-click dragging. I think it's because I'm a power right-clicker, but I love right-click dragging, allowing me to choose whether a file/folder should get copied, moved, etc. The Mac OS guesses right most of the time, but I like that control.
1. Customization: This one is definitely a mixed bag, but sometimes you can tweak Windows in a way you can't (or can't easily) on a Mac. Vice versa is also true as well, but sometimes I think that Apple sacrifices customizability for user interface, which is great, but that 1% of the time you need that ridiculous feature, it can be frustrating.
2. Incorporate rather than replace: Although there are probably some good arguments for the Mac way here, I prefer that when I drag and drop a folder somewhere, and a folder with the same name exists there, that things are added/incorporated, and only replaced when there are file conflicts. Instead, you get utter folder replacement, which can be extremely destructive. Not a big pet peeve, but I do like the Windows folder copy/move better.
3. My biggest pet peeve (drumroll): right-click dragging. I think it's because I'm a power right-clicker, but I love right-click dragging, allowing me to choose whether a file/folder should get copied, moved, etc. The Mac OS guesses right most of the time, but I like that control.
Just use the keyboard modifier keys. Drag and drop holding the option key does a copy, drop holding option+apple creates aliases.
So many choices to run the system on. oh, and as yellow pointed out, the yearly reinstalls, it like you're getting a new computer!
oh, and as yellow pointed out, the yearly reinstalls, it like you're getting a new computer! Pale imitation.
That's the beauty I can teach you it now, even you, in under a min.
In windows you're sat happily working on a document typing away and not molesting your mouse at all.
Suddenly you want to add a row in a table. (At this point in Mac your hand leaves the keyboard grabs the mouse, moves across the screen to click the menu drops down and you mouse down to 'insert row', put the mouse back and return hand to keyboard.) In Windows you leave your hands on the keyboard, hit 'alt' the appropriate letter in each menu is now underscored hit that letter the menu drops down and each option has one letter underscored, hit that letter done. So much quicker.
All you need to remember is that the alt key will underscore the appropriate letter. One universal concept, and far fewer keystrokes than OSX.
Ctrl-F2 highlights the menu, and then you can use arrow keys to jump around to whatever you want. You do have to remember Ctrl-F2 though ...
The letter shortcuts work sort of, but a lot of the menus have the same beginning letters ... good thing typing out the letters works ... actually pretty handy. It's nice to be able to get to menus without mousing. In Safari, "Hi" gets History and "He" gets Help.
I would imagine most people like OS X more, because of how the keyboard shortcuts are standardized in OS X. Command-Q to quit, Command-W to close window - none of this Alt+F4, Ctrl-W mixed up business. I can understand where you're coming from though ...
How is that so different than the Mac way? You hit control-F2 (which you could reassign to whatever you'd like) arrow left or right to the menu item you want pulled down, then type the letter(s) of the item you'd like to select. How is the MS Windows method much different?
You just have to type letters until the point of differentiation. For instance, in Safari's menu you have an item for "report bugs to apple" and "reset safari." If you hit "r" it goes to the first item that starts with "r," which is report, but if you want to get to reset you just type "res" and "reset safari" gets selected.
I figured that out ... mpw has a valid point with one letter per menu, but I find the OS X way smarter; instead of having to type t for History because Help already took the letter H for example.
I don't really feel like I miss anything on Windows ... if all my apps moved to Mac OS X I wouldn't even run Windows.
As for the incorporate feature mentioned earlier ... I like the Mac OS X behavior because I often add things to a folder, and then find I have an old copy of that folder somewhere. The problem is half-fixed with a replacement warning dialog, but i can see where the "merge" behavior would be more useful.
I don't really feel like I miss anything on Windows ... if all my apps moved to Mac OS X I wouldn't even run Windows.
As for the incorporate feature mentioned earlier ... I like the Mac OS X behavior because I often add things to a folder, and then find I have an old copy of that folder somewhere. The problem is half-fixed with a replacement warning dialog, but i can see where the "merge" behavior would be more useful.
To get to 'Acknowledgments' under the 'Help' menu:
OSX = 'fn+ctrl+F2' '→' '→' '→' '→' '→' '→' '→' '→' '↓' '↓' '↓' '↵'
or 'fn+ctrl+F2' 'H' '↓' '↓' '↓' '↵' *
MS Windows = 'Alt' 'H' 'A'
Windows saves 12 keystrokes over the first Apples option and with no key combos!
*I just tried this method and typing I gives the Safari menu H gives the Help menu, hit H again for history, but I can't get it to the Edit or View menus at all
The one thing that currently annoys me about mac OSX over windows is the lack of file paths in the finder window, seriously, I have having to click the folder dropdown just to find where I am, this is a serious problem since sometimes I have to work with folders with identical names.
That and I find the GUI to be all over the place. I'm using UNO, but occasionally I get the mac os 9 style stopwatch, and every application wants to use their own style of loading indicator. I feel windows has more graphical unity, although I'm probably so used to it that I don't have to nick-pick.
That and I find the GUI to be all over the place. I'm using UNO, but occasionally I get the mac os 9 style stopwatch, and every application wants to use their own style of loading indicator. I feel windows has more graphical unity, although I'm probably so used to it that I don't have to nick-pick.
Too messy, I just really want to be able to look and see the entire path on one line, kind of like what spotlight does, it just needs to be expanded and on every finder window. I'm seriously surprised they didn't think of this