Make Windows look like a Mac. . .

splinemodelsplinemodel
Posted:
in General Discussion edited January 2014
My company bought me a PC. Granted, I kind of needed one for various software use (Protel), but the suits we had to hire insisted that I do everything else on it too. It must have cost over 10000 for the full package -- of which the bulk of it is software -- and quite frankly, it won't hurt to have dual Xeons for the CAD I do. (Would have rather had Dual G5, but what can you do. . . it got sprung on me before I knew). I could mount a Galilean crusade, but I don't have the energy right now, and I spend most of my time in CAD programs with custom UI's, so it's not that big of a deal to me.



Anyway, I've seen stuff out there for Windows that makes a dock, similar to OS X. I've also seen the brushed metal window skin, and, if at all possible, what I really want is something to browse the file structure in column view. Is there a good place to find this stuff? Googling is a little inconsistent.



Of course, I'm buying a copy of VMWare behind their backs, and will end up running Linux on it (One thing I've learned: keep Windows away from any kind of network), but until then the problem of the moment needs to be fixed.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 7
    playmakerplaymaker Posts: 511member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Splinemodel

    My company bought me a PC. Granted, I kind of needed one for various software use (Protel), but the suits we had to hire insisted that I do everything else on it too. It must have cost over 10000 for the full package -- of which the bulk of it is software -- and quite frankly, it won't hurt to have dual Xeons for the CAD I do. (Would have rather had Dual G5, but what can you do. . . it got sprung on me before I knew). I could mount a Galilean crusade, but I don't have the energy right now, and I spend most of my time in CAD programs with custom UI's, so it's not that big of a deal to me.



    Anyway, I've seen stuff out there for Windows that makes a dock, similar to OS X. I've also seen the brushed metal window skin, and, if at all possible, what I really want is something to browse the file structure in column view. Is there a good place to find this stuff? Googling is a little inconsistent.



    Of course, I'm buying a copy of VMWare behind their backs, and will end up running Linux on it (One thing I've learned: keep Windows away from any kind of network), but until then the problem of the moment needs to be fixed.



    I have objectdock installed on my desktop P4 at the house (the machine that reminds me why I use a Mac) and it helps a bit. I too have to run a variety of PC only 3D applications and end up suffering as a result. There are a ton of things out there to help ease the experience of using a windows machine, but its like my good friend KT says "You can sugar-coat a turd but it still tastes like shit"
  • Reply 2 of 7
    splinemodelsplinemodel Posts: 7,311member
    The WORST part is that all of my CAD apps are on the Mac. I use FormZ almost entirely, and Electric Image for everything else. The only thing I need PC for is Protel, which is a circuit CAD program, and Protel isn't terribly demanding on hardware.



    The real reason why I'm using a PC is because my "boss" is a jerk. It's in quotes because startup companies are weird. Sort of like the whole concept about Steve Jobs getting fired from Apple. . . Stock vs. Rank. . eh.
  • Reply 3 of 7
    stoostoo Posts: 1,490member
    A dual Xeon PC might run PearPC well enough.
  • Reply 4 of 7
    madmax559madmax559 Posts: 596member
    make sure you use a 1 button mouse



  • Reply 5 of 7
    gongon Posts: 2,437member
    I find it's most effective not to fight the platform, but adapt to it and do things the way they are best done on that platform. I would especially keep away from mods that change visuals. Five years ago alternate window managers, etc. were very crash prone. Maybe not today though? Anything that is just a regular windowed program is fine. Also I think it's mostly just frustrating if you make the new environment act "almost" like the old. Since it's really not, you will run into differences all the time and even if you have no problem navigating around them, they are very irritating to the subconscious. OTOH if you don't try to make the system like the old, it'll be different enough that there is a clean mental separation between the two.



    Good luck with tinkering though.
  • Reply 6 of 7
    splinemodelsplinemodel Posts: 7,311member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Gon

    I find it's most effective not to fight the platform, but adapt to it and do things the way they are best done on that platform.



    Good luck with tinkering though.



    I know how to use Windows. I use windows all the time on the PC's in the lab. But it's so damn bad at handling multiple apps -- all with several windows open -- at once. The GUI is simply miserable. It's an (appropriately) windows-centric approach in a workplace that needs to be application-centric. Right now I have Safari, Mail, Photoshop, FormZ, and PowerPoint open, all with files I'm dealing with. On Windows, this gets ugly.



    So rather than adapt, I'd like to have a system that allows me to do my work without distraction and confusion.



    As for the one-button mouse, I use a multi-button mouse on my mac. It's very helpful to bind the buttons to special functions for CAD programs. Again, you see that I am focused more on productivity than presentation.
  • Reply 7 of 7
    a_greera_greer Posts: 4,594member
    Windows isnt that bad...look at the bright side, each and every blue screen is a bonus coffee break
Sign In or Register to comment.