Windows tester 'mac-bashing'
http://www.winsupersite.com/reviews/...4051_04_ue.asp
Here's some highlights you might enjoy:
(Some interesting facts are in BOLD)
(My comments are in ITALICS)
You can read the rest (Don't kill the messenger! I just wanted to show you someone whos obviously been paid to say that)
Here's some highlights you might enjoy:
(Some interesting facts are in BOLD)
(My comments are in ITALICS)
Quote:
How many times have you been in a store or bank and been told "the computers are going slow today," and accepted that excuse with an air of resignation? How many times has your Windows 9x-based PC frozen up on you and forced you to hard reset the machine to get it back? How many times has something inexplicably gone wrong with a computer, even though that action was just working perfectly a moment before? The utter unreliability of computers has been a problem Microsoft certainly has contributed to, but much of it also has to do with the wide and impossibly complex range of PCs out there, each with its own unique hardware set up and buggy drivers. As the OS vendor of choice, of course, Microsoft has a bit more responsibility and need to fix these issues than any other company as well. Fortunately, they're working on it.
[SNIP]
Compare this to Mac OS X, an operating system Apple has been trying to get off the ground (WTF?!) for several years. Because it was based on entirely incompatible technologies to its previous OS products, Apple needed time to bring that OS up to speed with Windows, and the company wisely chose to focus on core technologies and features in its first few releases. In late 2003, Apple released Mac OS X 10.3 ("Panther"), the fourth OS X version and arguably the first that's suitable for mainstream use. With about 10 million users, Mac OS X is hardly in the same league as Windows, which boasts several hundred million active users. But Panther is a modern OS using proven UNIX technology, and it's aimed a consumers, technical users, and creative types, so it's a good comparison.
How does Apple market Panther? Apple pushes technology above all, technology like its new Finder, the Expose anti-clutter tool, the iChat AV instant messaging application, the (admittedly excellent) iApps, and the derivative Fast User Switching feature. In each case, Apple touts the superiority of its technology, with Windows the usually unnamed recipient of the many child-like barbs you'll find on the company's Web site. But there's absolutely no user experience in OS X. Instead, Apple's OS provides just a classic graphical user interface, with no friendly utilities or tools to guide you through various processes. It's a desktop OS, plain and simple, and no amount of graphics technology can change that simple truth. You pretty much have to know what you're doing to use OS X. Otherwise, you'll just find yourself endlessly mousing around. To a beginner, it's almost as unfriendly as a command prompt.
Now look at how Microsoft markets Windows XP. You'll quickly notice that Microsoft's message is less about technologies and more about what the company calls "experiences." That's because Windows XP actually addresses core usage scenarios, or what we might call the user experience. So Microsoft's slogan for the current Windows generation is "Do Amazing Things: With Windows XP, Yes You Can." (Um, no, you can't) XP experiences include such things as Music & Video, Games, Digital Photography, and Home Movies. The company also touts XP's task-based, visual design, and the top ten reasons XP is superior to previous Windows versions. While there are still technologies and applications behind these experiences, of course, Microsoft has thought through how users will interact with the system and provided hooks in the OS to aid users along the way. It's this attention to detail that makes XP a solution for the masses, while Mac OS X is very much for the technical elite. (Yea, because the 'elite' dont want to bother with crap)
How many times have you been in a store or bank and been told "the computers are going slow today," and accepted that excuse with an air of resignation? How many times has your Windows 9x-based PC frozen up on you and forced you to hard reset the machine to get it back? How many times has something inexplicably gone wrong with a computer, even though that action was just working perfectly a moment before? The utter unreliability of computers has been a problem Microsoft certainly has contributed to, but much of it also has to do with the wide and impossibly complex range of PCs out there, each with its own unique hardware set up and buggy drivers. As the OS vendor of choice, of course, Microsoft has a bit more responsibility and need to fix these issues than any other company as well. Fortunately, they're working on it.
[SNIP]
Compare this to Mac OS X, an operating system Apple has been trying to get off the ground (WTF?!) for several years. Because it was based on entirely incompatible technologies to its previous OS products, Apple needed time to bring that OS up to speed with Windows, and the company wisely chose to focus on core technologies and features in its first few releases. In late 2003, Apple released Mac OS X 10.3 ("Panther"), the fourth OS X version and arguably the first that's suitable for mainstream use. With about 10 million users, Mac OS X is hardly in the same league as Windows, which boasts several hundred million active users. But Panther is a modern OS using proven UNIX technology, and it's aimed a consumers, technical users, and creative types, so it's a good comparison.
How does Apple market Panther? Apple pushes technology above all, technology like its new Finder, the Expose anti-clutter tool, the iChat AV instant messaging application, the (admittedly excellent) iApps, and the derivative Fast User Switching feature. In each case, Apple touts the superiority of its technology, with Windows the usually unnamed recipient of the many child-like barbs you'll find on the company's Web site. But there's absolutely no user experience in OS X. Instead, Apple's OS provides just a classic graphical user interface, with no friendly utilities or tools to guide you through various processes. It's a desktop OS, plain and simple, and no amount of graphics technology can change that simple truth. You pretty much have to know what you're doing to use OS X. Otherwise, you'll just find yourself endlessly mousing around. To a beginner, it's almost as unfriendly as a command prompt.
Now look at how Microsoft markets Windows XP. You'll quickly notice that Microsoft's message is less about technologies and more about what the company calls "experiences." That's because Windows XP actually addresses core usage scenarios, or what we might call the user experience. So Microsoft's slogan for the current Windows generation is "Do Amazing Things: With Windows XP, Yes You Can." (Um, no, you can't) XP experiences include such things as Music & Video, Games, Digital Photography, and Home Movies. The company also touts XP's task-based, visual design, and the top ten reasons XP is superior to previous Windows versions. While there are still technologies and applications behind these experiences, of course, Microsoft has thought through how users will interact with the system and provided hooks in the OS to aid users along the way. It's this attention to detail that makes XP a solution for the masses, while Mac OS X is very much for the technical elite. (Yea, because the 'elite' dont want to bother with crap)
You can read the rest (Don't kill the messenger! I just wanted to show you someone whos obviously been paid to say that)
Comments
Also his comment about the lack of "friendly utilities or tools to guide you through various processes" is absurd. It seems to me that in Windows you have to have those "wizards" because the fscking thing can be configured a million different ways. OS 10 does have some set up tools that each app may run you through. It also makes use of more global settings so that each app does not need to ask you a bunch of questions just to get it working.
Obviously the guy doesn't know what he's writing about.
As cheesy as a lot of windows help stuff is, it works(for a vast majority of the computiung populace) when you first install windows there is a pop-up icon that points to the start menu "click here to begin" it doesn't get much more user friendly than that.
sure, adjusting preferences, control panels, customization, organization...etc. is a chore in windows, but the actual, 'do this to get this result' 'computing for dummies' approach is there, and it works.
more often than not, when I help people out with OS X, it's silly stuff like "how do I remove something I don't want from the dock" or "how do I get to XXXX preference" or "how do I change my buddy icon in iChat?"
and more often than not, when I show them how they say "wow, that was really easy, I feel kind of silly for not thinking of that"
but the thing is, they don't think like that because they have been thinking windows their whole lives.
If Linux was the most user-efficient and powerful OS out there, and the main distros were trying to get people to switch, I would feel like I was staring at the matrix code if you sat me down in front of it, that's just the way things are, but given some time, I may very well come to really like it.
A friend of mine told me the other day, while we were discussing User interfaces and stuff, that he "feels at home when he sees the windows XP UI" "all that blue makes him feel comfortable"
what does apple have in that respect? cold and rough aluminum?
/non sensical ramblings
summary, While that article is pretty dumb, it does make a good point, windows and MacOS are two different beasts, switching from either one would likely be equally difficult.
Originally posted by torifile
Is that what they call all that shit that constantly flies up in my face when I'm using an XP box? User Experiences? And here I thought they were just annoying dialog boxes that just got in my way...
And don't forget the joyful, heart-warming user experience of "Clippy" popping up to aid you in your time of need, or the little puppy dog there to assist you with your file searches.
Can't wait for Longhorn. When Clippy pops up, Clippy Jr. will pop up next to Clippy asking you "Is this the first time you've spoken to Clippy?", and then, before you can answer, a sliding window will squeeze your workspace aside, and present a series of "helpful" links that you can click on to "Learn more about..." Clippy and Clippy Jr., a link to the Clippy Customization Wizard (allows you to change the appearance of Clippy in a Mr. Potatohead-ish sort of a way), a link that offers you a tour of Windows features, etc., none of which you can click on until you've responded to the overlay dialog that's just popped up asking you if you'd like to sign up for a .NET Passport, followed by the dialog that you also must respond to before continuing, asking you if you wouldn't like to sign up for an free 30-day trial of MSN.
when you first install windows there is a pop-up icon that points to the start menu "click here to begin" it doesn't get much more user friendly than that.
There are a number of products that take this approach, but do it in a repetitive, persistent and distracting manner. What is learner-friendly is not necessarily user-friendly, unless all users are learners. As people develop a schema for a given category of software, tools intended exclusively to guide beginners become clutter.
An optional tour of the operating system, like the one that was included with Macs in the days of yore would probably go some ways toward getting learners oriented without bogging down everyone else.
GRR! Why isn't there an option to shut it up?!!?!?!?!
Originally posted by shetline
Can't wait for Longhorn. When Clippy pops up, Clippy Jr. will pop up next to Clippy asking you "Is this the first time you've spoken to Clippy?", and then, before you can answer, a sliding window will squeeze your workspace aside, and present a series of "helpful" links that you can click on to "Learn more about..." Clippy and Clippy Jr., a link to the Clippy Customization Wizard (allows you to change the appearance of Clippy in a Mr. Potatohead-ish sort of a way), a link that offers you a tour of Windows features, etc., none of which you can click on until you've responded to the overlay dialog that's just popped up asking you if you'd like to sign up for a .NET Passport, followed by the dialog that you also must respond to before continuing, asking you if you wouldn't like to sign up for an free 30-day trial of MSN.
shetline, that was absolutely CLASSIC.
I usually find if you tell people to just start messing around they get the hang of things very quickly.
Originally posted by torifile
Is that what they call all that shit that constantly flies up in my face when I'm using an XP box? User Experiences? And here I thought they were just annoying dialog boxes that just got in my way...
Yea like everytime you log into a new box at work you have to set up the printer again.
"I'm not really scared to mess around because *even though I know it'll fsck itself right up*, I have system restore..."
System Restore is a kludge to get around the fact that the system is fragile as hades. If you do it right in the first place, you don't need a frickin' band-aid.
Originally posted by psgamer0921
I'm really not scared to do anything with XP since I have system restore, but I hate it anyways
System Restore is crap. Not everything is deemed damaging by Windows so it doesn't set restore points for those things. That is when you get hosed. Some of the things that aren't deemed damaging actually damage your system and you can't revert to a state prior to that so you are screwed.
BTW...that article is stupid. I have converted a lot of people and most of them after 15 mins get the hang of it.
And System Restore isn't a band aid, it's a tourniquet.
I find that often people ask questions like, "how do I remove something from the dock?" because they have been trained by windows to wait for some stupid "helper" or because windows makes them afraid to just mess around with their computer.
See also "how do I uninstall programs?"
The article's main claim about "user experiences" is that only Microsoft have a holistic approach to user experience... Favourite quote from the article: "And virtually none of it is available now."
There are a lot of things from System 7 that still need to be added. Guides are one thing sorely missing. Apple's new focus on "Help" at their site and the Help Center is the "Search" method. That is fine if you already know what you're looking for and are at least partially familiar with your query. However, in the way of tutorials, OS X falls on its face. XP wins hands down. This is sad. And unusual for Apple and should get fixed in 10.4 or 10.5. All apps that ship with OS X would do well to have Guides or tutorials, they wouldn't take too much to make and go far to teach new users. And ummmmm shipping OS X with a freakin' manual like Pogue's The Missing Manual would be nice, as well as some Guides. Guides were nice because they had a lot of system access and circles things on screen and were very well thought out (click here to learn more about "xyz.")
Or they could have some helpful stuff like this and down below:
http://www.somethingawful.com/insert...bonzibuddy.jpg
And don't forget the joyful, heart-warming user experience of "Clippy" popping up to aid you in your time of need, or the little puppy dog there to assist you with your file searches.
hehe, did you see this
http://www.somethingawful.com/insert...rst_JerSpi.jpg
This is also quite awful, courtesy somethingawful.com:
http://www.somethingawful.com/insert..._backalley.jpg
I just love this whole section: http://www.somethingawful.com/articles.php?a=443&p=1
[edit by Brad: never directly link images to SomethingAwful.com]
they were extremely helpful and explained EVERYTHING on the screen.
EVERY interface had a balloon pop up when it was active telling you what it did and how it was used... where did this feature go?!?
Also I do miss Guides like in the Classic OS. I thought they were excellent. Developers complained like mad about making them for their own software, but I think the developers should put their best foot forward to users. Apple could meet them halfway and develop some means, an app or something, to make the guides more easy to generate. Really, it's possible with some Quartz magic, scripting and the current HTML-based help system: you can currently open stuff, go to certain places and settings from the help system where there are links. All you would really have to do is be able to highlight and circle specific things in windows and dialogs, and the rest seems pretty easy. The hardest part is just developing a query/search system to base the walk-throughs on.
No wizards though! It's a crutch and cripples a user's learning and command over their computer and data. That's why assistants in the Mac OS are fine by me: they for what are usually one-time-only procedures, they do a lot of automated stuff to help.
Humorous if slightly off-topic anecdote: I actually went through some Windows wizard a couple of days ago, and the first step was to confirm, using a radio button selection where there was only one selection offered, that it was the wizard you were going to be using!
LOL sorry about that extra work Brad, I guess in retrospect censoring somethingawful makes sense!