Functionality aside, I don't really like the look of the new dock. Next to Leopard's otherwise clean and simple interface, the dock is full of shadows, reflections and looks a bit gaudy. In screenshots it looks fine, but after spending a few months using it, it's become an eyesore. At least I can still hide it!
As far as stacks go, I really haven't found them all that useful. There's always room for improvement though.
I don't understand why Apple would remove hierarchical folder browsing from the Dock.
I don't care if Stacks or Spotlight are "better", folder browsing works for me, and allows me to see much more, and much more structured, information at a glance than either of those.
The thing is, it doesn't step on the toes of anything new, hold click or right/option click doesn't interfere with a single click for Stacks, so why remove that functionality?
Has Apple really become so obsessed with controlling the user experience that they must remove useful features that the user might stumble across?
It reminds me of the iMovie '08 stuff, wherein perfectly nice functionality was removed, apparently in service to a very monolithic idea about how everyone should use the app.
If "taking things out so as to prevent you from backsliding from the new hotness" is a trend, it's a terrible one. There's no pragmatic or UI consistency reason for Apple not to add features without subtracting features.
For instance, I notice that, despite all the new view options in the Finder, Apple didn't deem it necessary to take list view out. Doesn't seem to make the thing unworkable or conceptually confusing, does it?
Instead, the classic Mac OS used an icon in the top right to indicate the currently running app, which would drop down a menu of other running applications. This Application Menu also served as a way to select between running apps.
In OS 9, you could also tear off the application menu and make it display as a floating icon bar. You could also hide the names of the applications, make it display small or large icons, and have it oriented horizontally or vertically. This had the effect of creating something resembling a dock
Quote:
The main problem with QuickLaunch is that it competes with the TaskBar for the minimal space available; having a few QuickLaunch icons means you have even less room to display TaskBar bays for the currently open windows. Users who only ever open three windows won't see the problem, so XP Home leaves the QuickLaunch bar on. However, anyone who uses their PC to do more than browse the web will find the TaskBar nearly worthless even before cramping it up with a selection of QuickLaunch icons.
It's true that the Windows taskbar icons do not scale. But that does not mean that the Windows taskbar cannot be resized. Windows XP lets you increase the height of the taskbar so you can have multiple rows of icons or windows. The QuickLaunch bar can also be placed in its own row on top of the taskbar, allowing more room for QuickLaunch icons.
Quote:
The scrunched TaskBar bays can now popup a live preview of the Window they relate to (above), but this requires mousing over each TaskBar bay.
Isn't it true that the Mac OS X Dock does not show the names of any icons or open windows unless you mouse over them?
Quote:
the new task switcher in Tiger; it painted enlarged versions of the Dock's application icons in prominent view in the center of the screen when using Alt+Tab to jump between applications.
I think you mean Command+Tab.
Quote:
Anticipating Vista, the minimized windows in the Dock depict a scaled down version of their contents; a minimized playing movie will even continue to play in its way down into the Dock.
In Windows 3.1, you could minimize a movie window down to an icon, and the movie would continue to play as an icon.
It is not my intention to debate the superiority of the Windows taskbar vs. the Mac Dock, or the other way around. I am simply stating the facts. Just because this is a Mac oriented site and we are Mac users, it does not mean we need to post misinformation about Windows. Doing so only makes it harder for Mac users to be taken seriously.
I don't understand why Apple would remove hierarchical folder browsing from the Dock.
I don't care if Stacks or Spotlight are "better", folder browsing works for me, and allows me to see much more, and much more structured, information at a glance than either of those.
The thing is, it doesn't step on the toes of anything new, hold click or right/option click doesn't interfere with a single click for Stacks, so why remove that functionality?
Has Apple really become so obsessed with controlling the user experience that they must remove useful features that the user might stumble across?
It reminds me of the iMovie '08 stuff, wherein perfectly nice functionality was removed, apparently in service to a very monolithic idea about how everyone should use the app.
If "taking things out so as to prevent you from backsliding from the new hotness" is a trend, it's a terrible one. There's no pragmatic or UI consistency reason for Apple not to add features without subtracting features.
For instance, I notice that, despite all the new view options in the Finder, Apple didn't deem it necessary to take list view out. Doesn't seem to make the thing unworkable or conceptually confusing, does it?
Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away. -- Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
The NeXT Dock was an App Icon Manager. The active apps were clear by the change in the icon. To auto-hide and make key/order front any and all but the app you wanted you cmd-double-click a docked icon and all other app windows were hidden.
It was a very well-defined and functional mini-dock.
To quickly access parts of a system you want visible was simply done by putting a file folder icon/app icon or file on the Shelf within Workspace Manager, whose shelf could be re-sizeable.
First of all, to all those people complaining about stacks: my guess is that you can still put folders into the dock that behave like they do in Tiger. I've seen some screenshots with folders in the dock.
Secondly, I don't know if anyone else is thinking about this, but can you "stack" smart folders? If so, this is the killer app for me. I hate the idea of dynamic folders. Folders are for storage and organization, not search and workflow. Stacks, on the other hand, seem to fit the idea perfectly, both graphically and practically. It's not a container - it's a quick reference for vital files that you use often (Applications) or that update often (Downloads). I'll be using Stacks to display smart folders, if nothing else.
The black triangle denoting running applications has been replaced with a more subtle indicator which looks like a glowing blue LED. It's nearly invisible unless you look for it, at which point it is quite obvious.
I'm looking forward to the new dock. I think it'll be easier on the eyes exactly because it's 3D. As some of the screenshots in this article make clear, to me at least, a hard 2D interface is a bit awkward and too 'in your face', if you get my drift.
I'm still trusting Apple when it comes to UI, but I sometimes wonder if the designers continue to study human interfaces and applying internal standards as much as they appeared to do in the past. Some of 10.4 has some glaring inconsistencies and omissions. Leopard will be a test of their UI leadership.
On a side note, I've found that the biggest problem the switchers in my company have is adjusting to the dock. Some still don't get it. After that they have the most trouble with the difference between closing and quiting a program.
First of all, to all those people complaining about stacks: my guess is that you can still put folders into the dock that behave like they do in Tiger. I've seen some screenshots with folders in the dock.
Secondly, I don't know if anyone else is thinking about this, but can you "stack" smart folders? If so, this is the killer app for me. I hate the idea of dynamic folders. Folders are for storage and organization, not search and workflow. Stacks, on the other hand, seem to fit the idea perfectly, both graphically and practically. It's not a container - it's a quick reference for vital files that you use often (Applications) or that update often (Downloads). I'll be using Stacks to display smart folders, if nothing else.
To me Stacks makes for an intuitive Meta-hierarchy system. I haven't checked but I'd imagine one could create a MetaFolder List of Symlinks and put them into a Stack and plop it onto the dock. From there one could span through their custom stack of folders. You could design them however you wanted.
In Windows 3.1, you could minimize a movie window down to an icon, and the movie would continue to play as an icon.
Pics or it didn't happen.
As much as I like working with Windows 3.1, well into the '95 (and even the '98) days, there was never so glorious a hack as to get a movie to play in a minimized icon for several reasons:
Icons in Windows 3.1 were 16 Color. Not 16-bit, 16 color. Any given smiley in this forum uses more colors then that.
Most of the machines Windows 3.1 ran on could barely play movies. I remember low res movies on my 25Mhz 486 SX, but they were barely bigger then an icon to begin with.
I don't have any experience with the Windows 3.1 API, but I have a feeling the minimized icon was the same as the application icon (I'd be happy if someone proved me wrong)
That would have been a huge feature to subsequently remove from future versions of WIndows, only to have to add a completely new paradigm in Vista to get working again.
Wow! A major article about the evolution of the dock and no mention of At Ease or Simple Finder? Maybe that's for an upcoming article on new Parental Controls, but it's a major omission not to at least mention them (since that's really all they are: icon launchers).
The new Dock is the kind of confusing over-done look that is stopping people from adopting Vista.
But it's ok because Spotlight is vastly improved and can actually be used as an app launcher. Also the icon snap-to-grid and cleanup features are much better so you can have a bunch of shortcuts on your desktop and hide the Dock, and it will keep the shortcuts looking reasonably tidy.
The most important dock feature that I need is still missing: the ability to turn the stupid thing OFF. The thing is useless eye candy. I never liked it from day one, and after all these years, the more I use it, the more I hate it. I just want to be able to completely disable it so that it never even accidentally appears, and move all of it's functionality back into the Apple menu where it belongs.
Under the hood system enhancements have been great under OS X, but functionality and productivity are still several step behind OS 9. Stop going for the wow factor, and start thinking about usability. Get rid of the Dock, and give me back a real Apple Menu, tabbed folders, and Window Shade. And no, not with third party haxies that my IT guy isn't going to install on the workstations anyway.
Quote:
Originally Posted by nagromme
OS X's Dock does show ALL running apps, even hidden ones. Always.
No it doesn't. Launch Activity Monitor and look at all the other apps running that do not show up in the dock. This function in the task bar is one thing that Windows definitely does do better than Mac OS X. Every process shows up as it starts in the task bar. I'm not a fan of Windows at all (or the task bar in particular), but if you have to have a dock-like thingy, Windows task bar beats OS X's dock hands down. Task bar still sucks, just not as hard as the dock.
The most important dock feature that I need is still missing: the ability to turn the stupid thing OFF. The thing is useless eye candy. I never liked it from day one, and after all these years, the more I use it, the more I hate it. I just want to be able to completely disable it so that it never even accidentally appears, and move all of it's functionality back into the Apple menu where it belongs.
Under the hood system enhancements have been great under OS X, but functionality and productivity are still several step behind OS 9. Stop going for the wow factor, and start thinking about usability. Get rid of the Dock, and give me back a real Apple Menu, tabbed folders, and Window Shade. And no, not with third party haxies that my IT guy isn't going to install on the workstations anyway.
No it doesn't. Launch Activity Monitor and look at all the other apps running that do not show up in the dock. This function in the task bar is one thing that Windows definitely does do better than Mac OS X. Every process shows up as it starts in the task bar. I'm not a fan of Windows at all (or the task bar in particular), but if you have to have a dock-like thingy, Windows task bar beats OS X's dock hands down. Task bar still sucks, just not as hard as the dock.
I think you are mistaken, too. If you open the Task Manager in Windows you will see several processes running that are not shown in the taskbar at all. For example: svchost.exe, winlogon.exe, iPodService.exe, etc...
I don't claim the Mac OS X dock shows all running processes, but neither does the Windows taskbar
First of all, to all those people complaining about stacks: my guess is that you can still put folders into the dock that behave like they do in Tiger. I've seen some screenshots with folders in the dock.
Nope. They've completely removed this functionality including the ability to do hierarchical folder browsing. For users that used this often, stacks are a step backwards.
Stacks works well for folders with a limited amount of stuff in them but when you have plenty of items, it becomes a mess with truncated names, requires a bit more time to find what you want, and might require additional clicks if it isn't displayed in the grid (if there are too many items that cannot be displayed in the initial view, you have to click an arrow in the lower right corner which opens a Finder window for the folder; it doesn't simply display the rest of those items in the stacks grid display).
The following is a folder of old apps and subfolders dragged into the dock to illustrate.
From feedback sent to engineering (as a bug report), it has been flagged as a known issue. No response came back to enhancement requests to allow optional behavior in the old way which is promising that this might be eventually addressed. As to whether they will do this by the time Leopard is released, it seems highly unlikely and who knows how long it will take. I sent enhancement requests for list view row shading and icon grid spacing back during the Jaguar, Panther, and Tiger seeds and these are finally reimplemented in Leopard.
Quote:
Secondly, I don't know if anyone else is thinking about this, but can you "stack" smart folders?
Did a quick try and it doesn't work as a stack when dragged to the Dock.
Nope. They've completely removed this functionality including the ability to do hierarchical folder browsing. For users that used this often, stacks are a step backwards.
That would really suck. I like Stacks better than hierarchical folders, but I'd like having BOTH best of all! Spacebar spring-loading of Dock folders (which I believe has been added to Leopard) goes a long way towards acheiving the same end, but it's still not the same.
My question is, if they've removed this functionality, then why do screenshots still show folders in the Dock?
Quote:
Originally Posted by bsenka
No it doesn't. Launch Activity Monitor and look at all the other apps running that do not show up in the dock. This function in the task bar is one thing that Windows definitely does do better than Mac OS X. Every process shows up as it starts in the task bar. I'm not a fan of Windows at all (or the task bar in particular), but if you have to have a dock-like thingy, Windows task bar beats OS X's dock hands down. Task bar still sucks, just not as hard as the dock.
If you mean that the OS X Dock doesn't show the dozens of background processes and system tasks - things that don't even HAVE windows and don't connect to the GUI at all - then thank goodness the Dock does NOT show those! They aren't what I call apps anyway, and when you need to see them (which 99% of people never will), there's a great Activity Viewer built into OS X that will search and show them in multiple useful ways.
And the Windows Taskbar does NOT show all background processes and non-GUI system tasks either. Unless you have made some change I have not, in which case I shudder to think of your cluttered Taskbar
Nope. They've completely removed this functionality including the ability to do hierarchical folder browsing. For users that used this often, stacks are a step backwards.
Stacks works well for folders with a limited amount of stuff in them but when you have plenty of items, it becomes a mess with truncated names, requires a bit more time to find what you want, and might require additional clicks if it isn't displayed in the grid (if there are too many items that cannot be displayed in the initial view, you have to click an arrow in the lower right corner which opens a Finder window for the folder; it doesn't simply display the rest of those items in the stacks grid display).
The following is a folder of old apps and subfolders dragged into the dock to illustrate.
From feedback sent to engineering (as a bug report), it has been flagged as a known issue. No response came back to enhancement requests to allow optional behavior in the old way which is promising that this might be eventually addressed. As to whether they will do this by the time Leopard is released, it seems highly unlikely and who knows how long it will take. I sent enhancement requests for list view row shading and icon grid spacing back during the Jaguar, Panther, and Tiger seeds and these are finally reimplemented in Leopard.
Did a quick try and it doesn't work as a stack when dragged to the Dock.
No matter how pretty the UI design, butt-ugly 3rd party icons really cheapens the effect.
Comments
As far as stacks go, I really haven't found them all that useful. There's always room for improvement though.
Think of what would happen, if Apple would replace the Tabs in Safari with a Dock-like bar?! The Taskbar in Windows is like a Tabbar for the OS.
Yes. Look up OmniWeb. Great internet browser for OS X.
I don't care if Stacks or Spotlight are "better", folder browsing works for me, and allows me to see much more, and much more structured, information at a glance than either of those.
The thing is, it doesn't step on the toes of anything new, hold click or right/option click doesn't interfere with a single click for Stacks, so why remove that functionality?
Has Apple really become so obsessed with controlling the user experience that they must remove useful features that the user might stumble across?
It reminds me of the iMovie '08 stuff, wherein perfectly nice functionality was removed, apparently in service to a very monolithic idea about how everyone should use the app.
If "taking things out so as to prevent you from backsliding from the new hotness" is a trend, it's a terrible one. There's no pragmatic or UI consistency reason for Apple not to add features without subtracting features.
For instance, I notice that, despite all the new view options in the Finder, Apple didn't deem it necessary to take list view out. Doesn't seem to make the thing unworkable or conceptually confusing, does it?
Instead, the classic Mac OS used an icon in the top right to indicate the currently running app, which would drop down a menu of other running applications. This Application Menu also served as a way to select between running apps.
In OS 9, you could also tear off the application menu and make it display as a floating icon bar. You could also hide the names of the applications, make it display small or large icons, and have it oriented horizontally or vertically. This had the effect of creating something resembling a dock
The main problem with QuickLaunch is that it competes with the TaskBar for the minimal space available; having a few QuickLaunch icons means you have even less room to display TaskBar bays for the currently open windows. Users who only ever open three windows won't see the problem, so XP Home leaves the QuickLaunch bar on. However, anyone who uses their PC to do more than browse the web will find the TaskBar nearly worthless even before cramping it up with a selection of QuickLaunch icons.
It's true that the Windows taskbar icons do not scale. But that does not mean that the Windows taskbar cannot be resized. Windows XP lets you increase the height of the taskbar so you can have multiple rows of icons or windows. The QuickLaunch bar can also be placed in its own row on top of the taskbar, allowing more room for QuickLaunch icons.
The scrunched TaskBar bays can now popup a live preview of the Window they relate to (above), but this requires mousing over each TaskBar bay.
Isn't it true that the Mac OS X Dock does not show the names of any icons or open windows unless you mouse over them?
the new task switcher in Tiger; it painted enlarged versions of the Dock's application icons in prominent view in the center of the screen when using Alt+Tab to jump between applications.
I think you mean Command+Tab.
Anticipating Vista, the minimized windows in the Dock depict a scaled down version of their contents; a minimized playing movie will even continue to play in its way down into the Dock.
In Windows 3.1, you could minimize a movie window down to an icon, and the movie would continue to play as an icon.
It is not my intention to debate the superiority of the Windows taskbar vs. the Mac Dock, or the other way around. I am simply stating the facts. Just because this is a Mac oriented site and we are Mac users, it does not mean we need to post misinformation about Windows. Doing so only makes it harder for Mac users to be taken seriously.
I don't understand why Apple would remove hierarchical folder browsing from the Dock.
I don't care if Stacks or Spotlight are "better", folder browsing works for me, and allows me to see much more, and much more structured, information at a glance than either of those.
The thing is, it doesn't step on the toes of anything new, hold click or right/option click doesn't interfere with a single click for Stacks, so why remove that functionality?
Has Apple really become so obsessed with controlling the user experience that they must remove useful features that the user might stumble across?
It reminds me of the iMovie '08 stuff, wherein perfectly nice functionality was removed, apparently in service to a very monolithic idea about how everyone should use the app.
If "taking things out so as to prevent you from backsliding from the new hotness" is a trend, it's a terrible one. There's no pragmatic or UI consistency reason for Apple not to add features without subtracting features.
For instance, I notice that, despite all the new view options in the Finder, Apple didn't deem it necessary to take list view out. Doesn't seem to make the thing unworkable or conceptually confusing, does it?
Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away. -- Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
It was a very well-defined and functional mini-dock.
To quickly access parts of a system you want visible was simply done by putting a file folder icon/app icon or file on the Shelf within Workspace Manager, whose shelf could be re-sizeable.
Secondly, I don't know if anyone else is thinking about this, but can you "stack" smart folders? If so, this is the killer app for me. I hate the idea of dynamic folders. Folders are for storage and organization, not search and workflow. Stacks, on the other hand, seem to fit the idea perfectly, both graphically and practically. It's not a container - it's a quick reference for vital files that you use often (Applications) or that update often (Downloads). I'll be using Stacks to display smart folders, if nothing else.
The black triangle denoting running applications has been replaced with a more subtle indicator which looks like a glowing blue LED. It's nearly invisible unless you look for it, at which point it is quite obvious.
[ View this article at AppleInsider.com ]
[ Digg this story ]
How obvious is "quite obvious"? I have a vision difficulty that makes seeing color
differences difficult. Is this "LED" there all the time and just glows when the App is active?
RPM
I'm still trusting Apple when it comes to UI, but I sometimes wonder if the designers continue to study human interfaces and applying internal standards as much as they appeared to do in the past. Some of 10.4 has some glaring inconsistencies and omissions. Leopard will be a test of their UI leadership.
On a side note, I've found that the biggest problem the switchers in my company have is adjusting to the dock. Some still don't get it. After that they have the most trouble with the difference between closing and quiting a program.
First of all, to all those people complaining about stacks: my guess is that you can still put folders into the dock that behave like they do in Tiger. I've seen some screenshots with folders in the dock.
Secondly, I don't know if anyone else is thinking about this, but can you "stack" smart folders? If so, this is the killer app for me. I hate the idea of dynamic folders. Folders are for storage and organization, not search and workflow. Stacks, on the other hand, seem to fit the idea perfectly, both graphically and practically. It's not a container - it's a quick reference for vital files that you use often (Applications) or that update often (Downloads). I'll be using Stacks to display smart folders, if nothing else.
To me Stacks makes for an intuitive Meta-hierarchy system. I haven't checked but I'd imagine one could create a MetaFolder List of Symlinks and put them into a Stack and plop it onto the dock. From there one could span through their custom stack of folders. You could design them however you wanted.
In Windows 3.1, you could minimize a movie window down to an icon, and the movie would continue to play as an icon.
Pics or it didn't happen.
As much as I like working with Windows 3.1, well into the '95 (and even the '98) days, there was never so glorious a hack as to get a movie to play in a minimized icon for several reasons:
But it's ok because Spotlight is vastly improved and can actually be used as an app launcher. Also the icon snap-to-grid and cleanup features are much better so you can have a bunch of shortcuts on your desktop and hide the Dock, and it will keep the shortcuts looking reasonably tidy.
Under the hood system enhancements have been great under OS X, but functionality and productivity are still several step behind OS 9. Stop going for the wow factor, and start thinking about usability. Get rid of the Dock, and give me back a real Apple Menu, tabbed folders, and Window Shade. And no, not with third party haxies that my IT guy isn't going to install on the workstations anyway.
OS X's Dock does show ALL running apps, even hidden ones. Always.
No it doesn't. Launch Activity Monitor and look at all the other apps running that do not show up in the dock. This function in the task bar is one thing that Windows definitely does do better than Mac OS X. Every process shows up as it starts in the task bar. I'm not a fan of Windows at all (or the task bar in particular), but if you have to have a dock-like thingy, Windows task bar beats OS X's dock hands down. Task bar still sucks, just not as hard as the dock.
The most important dock feature that I need is still missing: the ability to turn the stupid thing OFF. The thing is useless eye candy. I never liked it from day one, and after all these years, the more I use it, the more I hate it. I just want to be able to completely disable it so that it never even accidentally appears, and move all of it's functionality back into the Apple menu where it belongs.
Under the hood system enhancements have been great under OS X, but functionality and productivity are still several step behind OS 9. Stop going for the wow factor, and start thinking about usability. Get rid of the Dock, and give me back a real Apple Menu, tabbed folders, and Window Shade. And no, not with third party haxies that my IT guy isn't going to install on the workstations anyway.
No it doesn't. Launch Activity Monitor and look at all the other apps running that do not show up in the dock. This function in the task bar is one thing that Windows definitely does do better than Mac OS X. Every process shows up as it starts in the task bar. I'm not a fan of Windows at all (or the task bar in particular), but if you have to have a dock-like thingy, Windows task bar beats OS X's dock hands down. Task bar still sucks, just not as hard as the dock.
I think you are mistaken, too. If you open the Task Manager in Windows you will see several processes running that are not shown in the taskbar at all. For example: svchost.exe, winlogon.exe, iPodService.exe, etc...
I don't claim the Mac OS X dock shows all running processes, but neither does the Windows taskbar
First of all, to all those people complaining about stacks: my guess is that you can still put folders into the dock that behave like they do in Tiger. I've seen some screenshots with folders in the dock.
Nope. They've completely removed this functionality including the ability to do hierarchical folder browsing. For users that used this often, stacks are a step backwards.
Stacks works well for folders with a limited amount of stuff in them but when you have plenty of items, it becomes a mess with truncated names, requires a bit more time to find what you want, and might require additional clicks if it isn't displayed in the grid (if there are too many items that cannot be displayed in the initial view, you have to click an arrow in the lower right corner which opens a Finder window for the folder; it doesn't simply display the rest of those items in the stacks grid display).
The following is a folder of old apps and subfolders dragged into the dock to illustrate.
From feedback sent to engineering (as a bug report), it has been flagged as a known issue. No response came back to enhancement requests to allow optional behavior in the old way which is promising that this might be eventually addressed. As to whether they will do this by the time Leopard is released, it seems highly unlikely and who knows how long it will take. I sent enhancement requests for list view row shading and icon grid spacing back during the Jaguar, Panther, and Tiger seeds and these are finally reimplemented in Leopard.
Secondly, I don't know if anyone else is thinking about this, but can you "stack" smart folders?
Did a quick try and it doesn't work as a stack when dragged to the Dock.
Nope. They've completely removed this functionality including the ability to do hierarchical folder browsing. For users that used this often, stacks are a step backwards.
That would really suck. I like Stacks better than hierarchical folders, but I'd like having BOTH best of all! Spacebar spring-loading of Dock folders (which I believe has been added to Leopard) goes a long way towards acheiving the same end, but it's still not the same.
My question is, if they've removed this functionality, then why do screenshots still show folders in the Dock?
No it doesn't. Launch Activity Monitor and look at all the other apps running that do not show up in the dock. This function in the task bar is one thing that Windows definitely does do better than Mac OS X. Every process shows up as it starts in the task bar. I'm not a fan of Windows at all (or the task bar in particular), but if you have to have a dock-like thingy, Windows task bar beats OS X's dock hands down. Task bar still sucks, just not as hard as the dock.
If you mean that the OS X Dock doesn't show the dozens of background processes and system tasks - things that don't even HAVE windows and don't connect to the GUI at all - then thank goodness the Dock does NOT show those! They aren't what I call apps anyway, and when you need to see them (which 99% of people never will), there's a great Activity Viewer built into OS X that will search and show them in multiple useful ways.
And the Windows Taskbar does NOT show all background processes and non-GUI system tasks either. Unless you have made some change I have not, in which case I shudder to think of your cluttered Taskbar
Nope. They've completely removed this functionality including the ability to do hierarchical folder browsing. For users that used this often, stacks are a step backwards.
Stacks works well for folders with a limited amount of stuff in them but when you have plenty of items, it becomes a mess with truncated names, requires a bit more time to find what you want, and might require additional clicks if it isn't displayed in the grid (if there are too many items that cannot be displayed in the initial view, you have to click an arrow in the lower right corner which opens a Finder window for the folder; it doesn't simply display the rest of those items in the stacks grid display).
The following is a folder of old apps and subfolders dragged into the dock to illustrate.
From feedback sent to engineering (as a bug report), it has been flagged as a known issue. No response came back to enhancement requests to allow optional behavior in the old way which is promising that this might be eventually addressed. As to whether they will do this by the time Leopard is released, it seems highly unlikely and who knows how long it will take. I sent enhancement requests for list view row shading and icon grid spacing back during the Jaguar, Panther, and Tiger seeds and these are finally reimplemented in Leopard.
Did a quick try and it doesn't work as a stack when dragged to the Dock.
No matter how pretty the UI design, butt-ugly 3rd party icons really cheapens the effect.