Maunderlust

A little less than a year ago I switched from Windows to [tag]Mac[/tag]. I find that with [tag]OSX[/tag] I find myself looking forward to the joy of working with my computer, rather than dreading the million little headaches and hangups I might have to deal with to get basic things done.

I knew going in that I would enjoy using the Mac more. But, what I wasn’t expecting were the million little things in OSX that sounded gimmicky at first, but actually make a huge difference in your user experience. I still use Windows at work, and it drives me crazy that I don’t have these features.

1. [tag]Spotlight[/tag] / Quicksilver: I don’t like having to deal with file management. I love the fact that on OSX I can let the computer worry about computer things, like where to store information, and I can access that information just by typing one word.
2. No Viruses or Malware: On Windows, the internet is a terrifying minefield. Every website and file is a potential enemy looking to gunk up my computer with spyware and viruses. To combat these foes, I need things like ZoneAlarm and various spyware sweepers. On OS X, the internet is a garden paradise free from predators and worry.
3. F9, F10, & F11 (Exposé): At first I thought [tag]Exposé[/tag] was just one of those neat visual tricks, like the genie effect, with no real practical value. But I was totally wrong. Being able to layout all of your windows, tab through them, or slide them all off the desktop is absolutely essential to working in a multi-window environment. In fact, it’s completely insane to try and work without it. This, more than anything, drives me crazy at work.
4. [tag]Preview[/tag]: On the PC, I have a few different programs that I use for browsing various image file formats, other programs I use for viewing PDFs and documents, and still others for viewing different types of media. It’s not uncommon to have a file open (slowly) in the wrong program when all I wanted to do is get a quick sense of what’s in it. On OS X, it’s easy to preview pretty much every file type imaginable straight from the OS.
5. Mounting and Ejecting stuff: Windows has a secret icon in the taskbar tray that lets you know when you’ve connected a USB device (like an iPod). If you just unplug the device without clicking on the secret icon and navigating through multiple screens of USB gibberish, you get, at a minimum, a stern admonition. At most, all of your data is destroyed. On OS X you need to eject these devices too. But they appear as icons on the desktop that look like the thing they are. When it’s time to eject, you drag them to “eject”. If you want to use them, you don’t have to dig down into “My Computer”. you just click on them.
   Well… Of course you do. That’s how it should work.

If you’ve been following Vista development, you probably know that Microsoft is incorporating similar features into Vista (Okay, not the Virus / Malware free one). I know a lot of long time Mac users are a bit peeved with Microsoft for stealing these ideas from OS X. But, as someone who has to use Windows to make a living, I look forward to seeing these good ideas on as many platforms as possible.