"As I acknowledge the problem with one drug, I'm only attempting to replace it with another. I'm learning how Apple can help temper my dependency on Windows. But I won't ever be able to escape Windows entirely. It's ubiquitous. No matter when, or how much I turn back to Mac, I'll always be a recovering Windows user."

Posted by: John S. Rhodes on November 25, 2002 12:04 AM

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Forgot to mention in my posting above that Stop Design is pretty cool. Visit the site!

Posted by: John S. Rhodes on November 25, 2002 12:16 AM

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I only skimmed the article, but it is interesting to see an article where someone admits to swapping technologies for reasons of stability/functionality. It is worth remembering that excellent design and usability cannot compensate for poor stability or functionality or a product that doesn't fulfill a real need.

Sherlock

Posted by: sherlock_yoda on November 25, 2002 04:35 AM

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I found this interesting:

"Put XP beside OS X, and purely based on the visuals, I'd pick the former any day, especially considering smaller screens."

As someone who's seen the default visuals of both, I'd pick the latter any day. When XP was first installed on my work PC, I thought the default theme was very overbearing. I very much prefer the cool and subtle feel of OSX over XP.

Posted by: Joshua Kaufman on November 25, 2002 09:21 AM

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This guy will be attacked and villified by Mac fanatics.

Posted by: mcw on November 25, 2002 09:36 AM

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Windows 2000 has a simple, reserved look that doesn't get in the way; OS X is glossy and slick; XP has the worst of both worlds. In places it's a tacky imitation of OS X ("Fisher Price" is the term I hear used most), but then there's a load of Windows 2000 mixed in. It's a mess.

Posted by: Matt Round on November 25, 2002 09:45 AM

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I like OSX for the most part. I have spent a lot of time getting used to the dock. It's a freakish copy of the Windows taskbar, which I hate. I still keep going up to the place where the program menu used to be. I dislike that I can't windowshade anything. I refused to even switch until they brought back the apple menu. But, the stability convinced me to go OSX native. That, and the small harddrive on my computer.

I miss the days when my Mac truly was cute and the OS was much better than anything around. But, I still prefer color handling on the Mac over the PC any day of the week, and the ways that a careful consideration of HCI makes the Mac an overall better experience. As Windows comes closer and closer to the Mac OS, most of the major differences start to disappear, and it is with these "behind the scenes" attributes that we have to identify.

Posted by: Lydia on November 25, 2002 03:36 PM

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I don't wanna go too off topic, but you could use windowShadeX (you will have full windowshade) and look for ASM (for the application switcher-like menu)

Francis

Posted by: Francis Bouchard on November 25, 2002 09:24 PM

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Oo, thanks Francis! I'll check that out.

Posted by: Lydia on November 26, 2002 01:17 PM

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the ways that a careful consideration of HCI makes the Mac an overall better experience

I agree that the Mac is an overall better experience, but I'm wondering about the careful consideration of HCI part. I had heard that Apple abandoned most of their HCI research in the 90's. Does anyone have any current info on this?

Posted by: Joshua Kaufman on November 26, 2002 07:26 PM

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