18 Features Windows Should Have (but Doesn't)

[Saint_Michael 3]

I found this interesting article the other day and I was looking at the programs that were mentioned and I have to say that some of them I agree with and some I disagree with, and I try to explain what I like and don't like.

 

 

1. Expose

 

Available on: Mac

 

It's an elegantly simple idea, and it has been available on the Mac since 2003. When you want a clear view of all the application windows that are open at any one time, you just press F3, and a ittle feature called Expose arranges them all as thumbnails spread neatly across your screen. Click one, and it pops to the front while the rest snap back into position behind it.

 

With the release of Windows Vista, Microsoft deployed a feature called Flip3D that attempts to simplify window management in a slightly different way. Flip3D lets users flip through three-dimensional renderings of whatever windows are open on the desktop, but it doesn't offer nearly the same instantaneous visibility that Expose does.

 

Fortunately, a few downloads can add Expose-like thumbnails to your Windows machine. One little tool called iEx for Windows does the trick for free; but the installation is a little awkward, as you have to drag the downloaded files into the correct folders on your PC. A more refined program, TopDesk, installs automatically in XP and Vista--but it will set you back $20 after the 14-day free trial.

 

2. Virtual Workspaces

 

Available on: Linux, PC-BSD, Mac

 

Linux users have long enjoyed the freedom to keep large numbers of applications running simultaneously--without being overwhelmed by screen clutter--thanks to the power of virtual workspaces. In a typical Linux installation, at boot time four workspaces spring into existence automatically, signified by a little map on the control panel in the corner of the screen. As the user opens more programs, thumbnail icons of them appear in the workspace switcher, indicating which program windows are running in each workspace. To change workspaces, the user simply clicks the appropriate area on the workspace switcher or uses a keystroke combination such as Shift-Right Arrow to move between them.

 

With multiple workspaces comes the ability to organize the Linux desktop environment by task, by application type, by priority, or any other way you care to slice it. It's particularly handy for keeping a handful of applications out of sight and out of mind, without having to shut them down. For instance, I like to keep my messaging and communications apps in a separate workspace from my document-creation programs as a way of staying focused while I work.

 

Apple added this concept to OS X with the launch of Leopard in October 2007, although Leopard's Spaces feature lacks dynamic thumbnails (something its Linux forebears offer) in the Dock icon. To get workspaces on Windows, however, you'll have to do some downloading. XP users have an easy solution with the Microsoft Virtual Desktop Manager, a free download from Microsoft's PowerToys collection. For Vista, you must turn to one of several third-party utilities. My favorite among them is a freebie called Dexpot, which offers a wide variety of configuration options.

 

3. Back to My Mac

 

Available on: Mac

 

Nothing quite matches the feeling you get when you sit down at your office desk, boot up your PC, and realize that the most recent version of the document you've been working on is stranded 50 miles away on your home machine. If both of your computers were Macs running Leopard, you could use Back to My Mac (coupled with Apple's $99-per-year .Mac service) to fire up a connection to the remote computer, grab whatever files you need, and even navigate the other machine's desktop as if you were sitting right in front of it.

 

If either of your PCs are running Windows, however, all the .Mac accounts in the world won't help you. Instead, try GoToMyPC. At a base price of $20 per month ($180 per year) for one PC, this service ain't cheap. But it does give you unfettered access to your Windows computer from any Web browser.

In this group of features I would say that the first two really defeat the purpose in several ways, one each concept is completely different as the first one lines everything up in one window, while the other one creates a separate window altogether. So combining both features into one operating system is completely a waste of resources and space. However, if I were to chose I go with the first one just because you can minimize the program in a small thumbnail and be able to double click another program and be there instantly. As for the second one, I would think it would be treated as a loading screen and so you have to wait a few seconds for that virtual workspace to load up before you can do your work.

 

What is funny about this program is that I hear this all the time on sports radio, but my main concern is the security for this program, and the fact it seems that you need to have both computers running at the same time to use this, or maybe with this soft it lets you boot up the computer in some way, don't know how if you have the power off. As for a necessity for this piece of software, I would say depending on what you use your computer for and where your working determines if you need this at all.

 

4. Screen Sharing

 

 

Available on: Mac

 

When Mac OS X Leopard hit shelves last year, it came with a handy little upgrade in iChat (Apple's homespun AIM client) that lets two Leopard users share screens with each other on the fly.

 

Want to show your friend or colleague what you're looking at on your display? Just share your screen with them. Or ask them to share their screen with you. It's free. You get an exact view of everything they can see, as well as the ability to control their mouse pointer and click around as needed. It's a great way to fix your mother-in-law's computer without actually having to go visit her. (Not that you would mind, of course.)

 

Windows Meeting Space, built into Vista, offers similar functionality but only over a local network, so sharing your screen with a remote relative isn't an option. Fortunately, a Web tool called LiveLook allows you to share your screen in moments, no matter what operating system you or your remote pal happen to be running, and it doesn't require an IM session to launch. Just log in to LiveLook.net and click 'Show My Screen'. LiveLook will give you a unique session ID number to share with your friend. When they enter it at LiveLook.net, they'll immediately see your screen. After the 14-day free trial, LiveLook jumps to a hefty $40-per-month fee, or to a pay-as-you-go plan priced at 2.5 cents per minute.

 

5. Time Machine

 

 

Available on: Mac

 

Apple's Time Machine backup utility is one of the coolest new features in Leopard; with its help, backing up all of your files to an external drive is idiot-simple. Better yet, it lets you quickly recover an older version of any backed-up file, so you can undo all of your horrible, horrible mistakes.

 

Windows XP, and most versions of Windows Vista, have no such feature. Sure, they have a backup utility built in, but it's nowhere near as easy to work with as Time Machine is, and it will do nothing to help you track down lost versions of your important files. But three versions of Vista (Ultimate, Business, and Enterprise) do come with a utility called Shadow Copy, which lets you retrieve older versions of your files by right-clicking the file and choosing 'Restore previous versions' from the context menu.

 

What few people know is that cheaper versions of Vista (including Home Basic and Home Premium) do record the necessary data for Shadow Copy to work--they just don't give you access to that data. A free utility called Shadow Explorer can set that data free, letting you roll back to an earlier version of just about any file on your hard drive, without forcing you to buy an expensive OS upgrade you don't need.

 

6. ISO Burning

 

 

Available on: Mac, Linux, PC-BSD

 

Mac OS can do it. Linux can do it. PC-BSD and just about every other modern OS can do it. But for some reason, Windows can't burn an ISO disc image to CD without a little third-party help.

 

If you want to burn a CD image on occasion, but you don't want to buy premium disc-burning software, try Alex Feinman's free ISO Recorder. Available for XP and Vista, ISO Recorder adds disc-image burning to your context menu whenever you right-click on an ISO file. It's a lean, simple utility that does just what it's designed for and nothing more. ISO Recorder is available in 32-bit and 64-bit versions for Vista, and the Vista versions support DVD burning in addition to CD burning.

 

7. Stickies

 

 

Available on: Mac, Linux

 

There's no shortage of applications and Web sites waiting to help you sort through your to-do list--but for my money, nothing beats a good, old-fashioned sticky note for sheer visibility. Macs have long come with an application called Stickies that adds the functionality to your desktop, letting you stick notes anywhere, color-code the virtual paper, and set the fonts to your liking. Many Linux distributions come with a utility called TomBoy Notes, which takes the Stickies idea to the next level by integrating hyperlinking functions that make the notes great for brainstorming, too.

 

Technically speaking, Windows Vista now includes a similar feature in the form of the Notes gadget in the Windows Sidebar. This widget applet is a poor imitation of its Mac and Linux counterparts, however. For a sticky-note app that really pops, try Stickies for Windows. This simple, free, open-source program lets you customize your notes to your heart's content, and stick them anywhere on your desktop.

To start off with number 7 to simply state that is already taken with remote desktop and the fact msn messenger does this as well, granted I wouldn't mind other IM clients to have this as well, but then Microsoft will get into a hissy fit about it and junk like that. So all this feature is really doing is hooking up the IM client with added feature and so it isn't really necessary to have, and neither is paying $40 a month for it online either.

 

Hands down I rather have this over system restore any day, of course it brings to question how viruses and malware work against this feature. Since it would seem that if you get rid of the bad stuff and need to roll back it would most likely reappear again, but of course I don't hear to many reports on Mac attacks so I guess you would need to see this on a Windows environment and see how it handles. As for system restore it sucks as it takes up a lot of hard drive space, and makes getting rid of viruses and malware harder if you don't disable it when you clean your computer.

 

As for the other two programs think it is a waste of feature space, no real practice purpose for average users, and with the online applications that do these reminders for you and stuff I don't see the point of wasting about 20-30MB of hard drive space.

 

 

8. Podcast Capture

 

Available on: Mac

 

Another great feature introduced with Apple's Leopard operating system is Podcast Capture, a utility designed to make podcasting a quick, simple affair--that is, if you also happen to have access to a Mac OS X server running the more robust Podcast Producer software. It's a cool idea, but even Apple's execution hardly serves the needs of the common podcaster, since almost nobody has access to a Mac OS X server. Still, all new Macs come with Garage Band preinstalled, which does an excellent job of creating podcasts using the Mac's built-in hardware.

Audacity; click to view full-size image.

 

Fortunately, you can add fast, easy podcast creation to your Windows PC (or your Mac, for that matter) with Audacity. This free application lets you record your own audio, edit and splice additional sound clips into your podcast, and tweak the quality settings so you can strike the perfect balance between audio fidelity and file size. When you're done recording your podcast in Audacity, use EasyPodcast to fill in the metadata that will make your podcast easy to find in the vast sea of podcasts on the Net.

 

9. Software Repositories

 

 

Available on: Linux, PC-BSD

 

In a perfect world, you'd never have to leave your chair to find great software for your PC. You'd just pop open a magic software-finding utility and click a few options, and then any application you needed would install itself instantly. That perfect world already exists in Linux, which has long offered software repositories as an easy way for users to find and install new programs.

 

In Ubuntu, for instance, a utility called Synaptic Package Manager lets you browse through large online software libraries (called repositories) to locate and install applications and utilities as required. Select one and mark it for installation, and it will automatically install when you click Apply. It will even automatically grab any other files that its installation depends on, without requiring you to do any extra work.

 

Linux distributors can do this because nearly all of the software in their repositories is free and open-source; they seldom have to worry about license restrictions hindering their efforts. In the Windows world, however, things are more complicated. A melange of licensing types, ranging from freeware to shareware to trialware and even a little open-source, makes it difficult for anyone to build a reliable software library with the click-it-and-get-it functionality that Linux users take for granted. Until someone builds a massive library of self-installing Windows applications, we'll have to depend on sites such as Download.com, Tucows, and, of course, PC World's Downloads library.

 

10. Desktop Cube

 

Available on: Linux, PC-BSD

 

Some of our favorite OS features aren't so much practical as eye-poppingly cool. Take Linux's Compiz Desktop Effects, for example. We wouldn't say that turning your desktop workspaces into a rotating cube, painting fire across your screen, and making raindrops fall onto your desktop have a lot of mission-critical business value. But that doesn't mean we don't love these features.

 

With the release of Ubuntu 7.10 Gutsy Gibbon in October 2007, Desktop Effects became a standard feature in Ubuntu. Now any Ubuntu users with a supported graphics card can spin their cubes, wobble their windows, and unleash lots of other eye candy.

 

Jealous Windows users demanded similar features, and Otaku Software responded. But the Windows version is more modest. Otaku Software's DeskSpace lets you turn your desktop into a four-workspace cube like the one offered in Linux. You can adjust the transparency levels, rotation speed, and mirroring effects, and you can even drag application windows from one side of the cube to another. But that's about the extent of DeskSpace's power. And unlike Compiz, which is free, DeskSpace will set you back $20 after the initial 14-day trial.

 

11. Application Dock

 

Available on: Mac

 

The centerpiece of every Mac desktop is a little utility called the Dock. It's like a launchpad for your most commonly used applications, and you can customize it to hold as many--or as few--programs as you like. Unlike Windows' Start Menu and Taskbar, the Dock is a sleek, uncluttered space where you can quickly access your applications with a single click.

 

Now you can add a simple application dock to your Windows PC with Stardock's ObjectDock. ObjectDock sits atop your Windows Taskbar and behaves just as the Mac's Dock does, complete with a magnify effect that enlarges icons as you hover over them. It can also hide your Windows Taskbar from view, giving your system the same sleek look that Mac users love. The standard version is free, but a $20 Plus version adds more animations, tabbed docks, the ability to have more than one dock on the screen, and other options.

With group #8 is waste of space, #9 will have to many problems with software vendors, #10 would be a resource hog, but that is were it ends as #11 is a must have, I downloaded RocketDock and it pretty much cancels out the need for a start menu and excessive use of the short cuts. Since everything I commonly used is right there on my screen I just have to click it once and I am there, and I don't have to worry about clicking this or that to get a program running. Also with RocketDock it is very customizable and I would recommend that if you want to save yourself a few clicks and install this program.

 

12. Automated Screen Shots

 

Available on: Mac

Better Screenshots; click to view full-size image.

 

Taking screen shots in Windows has never been as easy as it should be. Sure, it starts out simple enough: You press the Print Screen key, and the current view instantly copies to the Clipboard. Where it goes from there, however, is another matter entirely. It's up to you to open up Paint or another image editor, paste the captured screen into the app window, and then save it. What a pain.

 

On the Mac, however, things are easier. When you press Command-Shift-3, an image of the entire screen view instantly saves to your desktop. Press Command-Shift-4, and the mouse pointer turns into a set of crosshairs that you can drag over the area you want to capture. You can grab as much, or as little, of the screen as you like.

 

You can improve Windows' screen-grabbing prowess with a $15 utility called Better Screenshots. Better Screenshots lets you assign any hot-key to capture whole screens, partial screens, and even full-motion on-screen actions. It then automatically saves them to any folder you wish, in a format of your choosing.

13. Multitouch Trackpad Gestures

 

Available on: Mac

 

Beginning with the new generation of MacBooks, all Apple notebooks now support at least some multitouch trackpad gestures. You can use two fingers to do cool things such as scroll up and down, resize objects on the screen, swipe your way through Cover Flow menus, and more. Some Macs can do more than others, but all now recognize two fingers on the trackpad in one way or another.

 

Apple accomplishes this, of course, because it makes its own hardware. Microsoft, on the other hand, makes only software. However, some PC notebook vendors, such as AsusTek, are beginning to ship their notebooks with multitouch trackpads and the drivers required to make them work. We'd like to see multitouch become standard on all Windows laptops over time--with support for multitouch gestures built directly into Windows--but for now it's something you'll have to keep an eye out for with every laptop purchase.

14. Cover Flow

Cover Flow; click to view full-size image.

 

Available on: Mac

 

We all absorb information in different ways, and some of us do better at handling visual information. That's the main appeal of Apple's Cover Flow, which lets Mac OS X users browse through their folders, files, music, and other data visually. By sliding the scroll bar or tapping the arrow keys on the keyboard, you can flip through your files one at a time, viewing each object as a large, helpful thumbnail, rather than seeing everything as a mess of small, obscure icons.

 

Vista has made strides in improving the Windows Explorer interface, but Windows has yet to integrate anything as dynamic as Cover Flow. With a free utility called Harmony, though, you can add Cover Flow-like browsing to Windows. Harmony works only with iTunes-generated cover art, and it doesn't integrate into Windows Explorer. Nevertheless, it's a simple, free way to add a little Cover Flow-style action to your Windows Media Player experience.

 

With number twelve I see its usefulness as I can vouch for the need to print scree, open photoshop, paste, crop, save and upload. So I wouldn't mind seeing this as a feature, especially if you get these memory errors or having problem with software or the hardware itself. I can't really base opinion on number thirteen just because I would have to see it in action, and I won't be getting a Mac any time soon. I could see the benefits in this feature especially for multi-taskers, but like I mention I would have to see it in action. #14 seems another one of those resource hogs and a giant application dock mixed with a picture viewer.

 

15. Pre-Installed Web Server

 

Available in: Mac, Linux, PC-BSD

 

Not everyone needs to host a Web site on their own PC. But some people do, whether it be their personal blog or just a few pages they wish to share on their internal network. And when people do set up a Web page on their computer, they usually choose Linux or Mac OS X for the job, because some versions of Windows don't come with a built-in Web server.

 

In Windows Vista Home Premium, Business, Enterprise, and Ultimate, you can install Microsoft's Internet Information Services. From the Control Panel, click Programs and Features, then choose "Turn Windows features on and off" from the left pane. In the Features list, check Internet Information Services and make sure Web Management Tools and World Wide Web Services are also checked.

 

If you're running Windows XP Home or Vista Home Basic, however, you'll have to download and install Apache HTTP Server. Once installed, Apache lets you host Web pages, complete with SSL encryption, from a folder on your Windows PC.

16. POSIX Compliance

Cygwin; click to view full-size image.

 

Available on: BeOS, Mac, Linux, PC-BSD

 

Outside of the Windows desktop, much of the world's software is written to conform to a Unix-based standard called POSIX. And any operating system that complies with the POSIX standard can run most software written for Unix, including the dizzying array of free, open-source software written for Linux. Linux and PC-BSD are inherently POSIX-compliant. The Mac is, too, because it's built on BSD. Even the defunct BeOS supported POSIX standards. But Windows does not.

 

While users of Vista Enterprise and Ultimate editions can in theory add a Microsoft version of POSIX compliance known as "Subsystem for Unix-based Applications" to their PCs, our experiences with this feature yielded more frustration than fruit. A better way to add POSIX to any XP or Vista installation is to run Cygwin. This free Linux emulator installs in seconds, and it supports a variety of popular Linux-based programs that have been rebuilt specifically to run with Cygwin. It also functions as a Linux command prompt, allowing you to run Linux command-line utilities in Windows. Though Cygwin won't give you full support for all Linux software on your Windows PC, it will open the door to some basic Linux features.

17. Standardized Menu Ribbon

Menu ribbon; click to view full-size image.

 

Available on: Mac

 

Navigating through application menus in Windows can be a crapshoot, because Windows lacks a unified menu ribbon for all its applications. In Mac OS X, application menus are completely standardized. Nearly all Mac programs have the same ribbon of menus running across the top of the screen, consisting of the Apple menu (which is roughly equivalent to the Windows Start menu) followed by the Application menu options. Because this interface is standard across all major Mac applications, users always know where to look for certain important controls.

 

Since Mac programs are designed with such a menu ribbon in mind and Windows programs aren't, there's no perfect way to add this feature to Windows. But with Stardock's ObjectBar you can come pretty close. ObjectBar is a skinning utility for the Windows Start menu and Taskbar. Once installed, ObjectBar's MacPC skin will turn your Windows Taskbar into a Mac-style menu ribbon. It even duplicates the menus of most Windows applications, so you can control them from the top of the screen as you would in Mac OS X. (The menus will still be available within your apps, too, however.) ObjectBar currently works only for XP, but a Vista version of is expected soon.

18. Single-File Applications

Single-file applications; click to view full-size image.

 

Available on: Mac

 

Nowhere is Microsoft's reputation for bloat more visible than in the Add/Remove Programs control panel. The very existence of this tool is a sure sign that Windows applications have become too large and unwieldy for many users. On the Mac, however, few programs consist of more than one file. And removing a Mac application usually consists of nothing more than dragging that program to the trash.

 

To attain the same level of simplicity on a Windows PC, you'd have to try running portable applications (see Scott Dunn's article "Carry a PC in Your Pocket"). Of course, doing so would force you to sacrifice some of the robust features you might prefer in your favorite Windows programs, so we don't recommend it. Unless Microsoft takes a radical turn in designing the next version of Windows, you can expect Windows software to become more complicated, not less.

With number fifteen, XAMPP, need I say more?No opinion on 16, and I see complications with number 17 especially with the software companies and lets not forget everyone hated it in Office 2007 or at least how that ribbon was used. As for 18 I would say if someone could create a software that doesn't require 2000 files to run, Adobe software, then installation will be quick and there wouldn't be so many security problems, office software. However, everyone programs differently and so I highly doubt you will get a universal agreement on doing that. Of course now if you purchase a thumb drive you can now do use certain programs without the need to install them which I find convenient, to extent, but I find it impractical, for me at least, to plug it in, wait for the software to load, download the software into the USB drive and then run it.

 

Overall there are features I wouldn't mind and there are some I don't see using myself, but if I can uninstall them in some way then add all the features you want, but if you make the OS bloated like Vista then really why even bother selling a crappy product everyone will hate.

 

 

Source

[galexcd 0]

I did agree with the first two groups of ideas, but the further down I got the more I disagreed with that. The first two groups had great useful ideas, but as I go down they start getting less useful and more just pretty graphics that waste computer resources. Especially things like coverflow and desktop cube are just pointless. Yes I think they look really cool, and I use them when booted into mac and linux, but Microsoft already had enough problems getting some of the minor GUI enhancements in vista. I would be scared to use a computer running an operating system made by Microsoft with all of these features.

[electriic ink 1]

I get the impression this article is taking the mick:

 

Taking screen shots in Windows has never been as easy as it should be. Sure, it starts out simple enough: You press the Print Screen key, and the current view instantly copies to the Clipboard. Where it goes from there, however, is another matter entirely. It's up to you to open up Paint or another image editor, paste the captured screen into the app window, and then save it. What a pain.

[/br]Such a common problem don't you think? Mac's solution is, naturally, amazingly practical:

 

When you press Command-Shift-3, an image of the entire screen view instantly saves to your desktop.

I just have to press three buttons at the same time and then minimise all my programs and then double-click to open the screenshot I just took!

 

With Windows, it's so much easier. Simply [PrtSc], Windows-R, Type mspaint and then Ctrl+V. Simple.

 

Honestly, if anyone could provide me with anything the least bit better about a Mac, I might consider going all the way up to London and actually buying one.

[kobra500 1]

What? This is an outrage!!! Windows doesnt have hundreds of pointless features ill hardly ever use , Im going to pay extortionate prices for an unupgradable mac and its poorly coded software!!! Screw Pc's and windows im getting a mac

[truefusion 3]

I just have to press three buttons at the same time and then minimise all my programs and then double-click to open the screenshot I just took!

 

With Windows, it's so much easier. Simply [PrtSc], Windows-R, Type mspaint and then Ctrl+V. Simple.

 

Honestly, if anyone could provide me with anything the least bit better about a Mac, I might consider going all the way up to London and actually buying one.

! I believe you've just done yourself a favor and provided yourself with an argument to go up to London and get yourself one. You complained about three buttons, then go on to show how many buttons you have to press just for Windows. All the buttons you say one has to press for Windows equals 12, and that's excluding saving the image.

[KansukeKojima 0]

One last function that windows really, really needs to become cool:The ability to not suck..... lol.... Anyways... those features are actually pretty cool... I rather like the auto screenshot one... pain in the rectum to have to open up paint...

[electriic ink 1]

I rather like the auto screenshot one... pain in the rectum to have to open up paint...

The thing is is that it really isn't. Just have to press a few more keys on your keyboard.

If these are the 18 most annoying things about Windows then it's a pretty good OS. I mean, you criticise it for not having a pre-installed web-server. Come on. What is the likelihood of Joe Blogs needing to do that? If you do, though, just download the 4MB installer from Apache.

As I said, this article is a piss-take...

[kobra500 1]

One last function that windows really, really needs to become cool:
The ability to not suck..... lol....


Anyways... those features are actually pretty cool... I rather like the auto screenshot one... pain in the rectum to have to open up paint...

Really I was going to say the same thing about macs infact any creation by Apple excluding the IPOD

[FLaKes 0]

What? This is an outrage!!! Windows doesnt have hundreds of pointless features ill hardly ever use ohmy.gif, Im going to pay extortionate prices for an unupgradable mac and its poorly coded software!!! Screw Pc's and windows im getting a mac

hahahahaha, I think this is really funny. A couple of weeks ago a friend who brags about his mac a lot needed to print screen..... he didnt know how to.. I didnt either. I told him to google it and it took him a looong time, but in the end he found out how. I guess this just prooves that all those enhancements are worthless unless people actually read the manual or the internet to find out about them.

Windows.... well, I guess I can say it works fine if you tune it... Im not even going to mention vista... I dont really think its worth it. You can have a much faster pc for much less money than a mac. Its stability will depend on the hardware you use. The golden rule is always to remember that you get what you pay for (yes that also includes these little features that windows is missing)...