I read it again. It must have been the 100th time. I know I shouldn’t get so annoyed, but what can I say, I must be right at all costs. (at least that’s what my therapist tells me, or told me till I realized she was wrong and fired her)
The offense in question? “Windows 7’s taskbar looks like it copied OS X’s dock.” Now I am not one to talk bad about people for being stupid, I know that it takes all kinds of people to make a world, but follow my logic for a moment here.
Do these two things look alike?
I don’t think so, but let’s make sure, I know this stuff can be very confusing…
How about these?
I am pretty sure there is only one of those I am drooling over.
Let’s try one more…
So from a pure aesthetic perspective, it’s a variable sized glossy translucent shelf that holds icons that launch applications or folders, while Windows 7’s taskbar is a single sized, full width bar, flat and transparent, which holds icons (which it identifies as open by jewelling with a square instead of a small glowing light beneath it.) As if visual wasn’t enough differentiation, it’s quite a bit different functionally. I took a close look at it on my PC and Mac, side by side, and created this quick grid to compare features and characteristics:
|
Feature/Characteristic |
Windows Task Bar | OS X Dock |
|
Full Width of Display |
X | |
|
Integrated Status |
X | |
|
Application Sensitive Context Menus |
X | |
|
Integrated Search |
X | |
|
Application Menu |
X | |
|
Hide Capability |
X | X |
|
Application Launching |
X | X |
|
Application Window Preview |
X | |
|
Multi-Document Preview |
X | |
|
Pin Any Folder |
X | |
|
Server Connectivity |
X | |
|
Trash Integration |
X | |
|
Stack View |
X | |
|
Magnification |
X |
That’s 14 dimensions of measurement and only two of them are shared. Come on, that’s 14% functional symmetry! If you ask me, they are about the same as Peanut Buttery & Jelly sandwiches and Tuna Loaf. I prefer the PB&J.
One last thing to mention, this is Windows 98’s taskbar
Does it look more like this?
or this?
Yea, I thought so too, so who copied who?
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Actually i think the win7 taskbar is closer to the original NeXT dock. they still are different, but especially since i dock the bar vertically i occasionally get some deja vu. definitely different though.
Good to see a point by point comparison, but the Dock does offer some application menu support/application sensitive context (see iTunes).
You could argue that application status is included (a dot for open, bouncing for notifications)
Fill width – well almost (OSX Dock is resizable. Could be counted as a plus)
And you could argue a semi-application menu if you drag the Applications folder to the dock.
Just a few thoughts from a cross-platform user. I wouldn’t mind the window preview in OSX tho.
In all honesty, who cares if they are similar in appearance and function. There are only so many ways to display apps for launching or that are active.
Actually you have Application window preview in the OS x bar. Do this: Open up a few windows in safari, not just tabs, but windows. Then click and hold on the Safari icon in the task bar. You get something similar to the windows 7 bar application preview. This was added in either 10.5 or 10.6 i cannot remember.
If your application is a movie player like quicktime and you have multiple movies up and playing the application preview will continue to play all the movies just like Win7′s bar.
As for application status you could also include that OS X supports dynamic icons for displaying counts like Mail’s number of unread messages, NetNewsWire’s unread count, etc…
Also don’t forgot just dragging a folder like Documents or Downloads to the doc gives you quick access to the item inside w/o browsing or opening a finder (explorer) window.
I like Win7′s task bar as well. I think it offers somethings that the OS X doesn’t and visa versa. The OS X doc also used to show download status. Safari used to have a bar below it that showed the download status when downloading a file if you looked at the bar, but that must have been removed with Leopard i think, when the bar went more 3D.
I just love it when Mac users go : If you do this, squint your eye, turn your head around, hop on one foot and stick out your tongue… it does the same thing as something else…
I have a Mac Pro… everything is a workaround for an OSX it seems… I’ll just settle for a CMD – L to lock my screen…
Man, you can’t say that Win7 “super taskbar” isn’t at least inspired in the OS X dock.
Microsoft has a history of copying things from Apple. Oh, and don’t use Gates’ phrase to justify the Win7 “inspiration”: “Every car has a steering wheel. Can you tell that one copied the other?”
Best Regards
Microsoft doesn’t copy Apple any more than Apple copies Microsoft. Anyone who thinks one copies the other is a noob who hasn’t been around computers long enough to know the difference.