Need Advice!

[polejam]

Hi, I'm thinking of buying a Mac, but was looking for some advice before I bought anything. I have a question; What are the main differences in the GUIs used by Mac OS, Windows and Linux? What kind of features do they have in common?

Thanks for anyone that can help me out and is it possible to get the data in a comparison table? So I can print it out and bring it with me when browsing/purvchasing in an easy to read form.

Thanks Guys!

[symphonix]

The GUIs have a lot in common between the three operating systems. Icons, pull-down menus, and directory/folder structure represented as little folders of icons on screen are all ideas that were made popular by Apple before being widely adopted.

The first noticable difference between Apple and Windows GUIs is that Apple always keeps its program menus on the very top of the screen, whereas Windows attaches them to the program window, below the title bar. This is an advantage to Apple, in my view, since it means its easier to "hit the target" with a mouse. You just push your mouse all the way up and you can't actually go *past* the menus on a Mac, while you can go past the menus on Windows, which means you can be a lot faster and sloppier on the mouse and still get results.

The next difference is that Apple's programs are arranged into a Dock, which is far superior to the Windows task-bar or even the KDE or Gnome docks. It can be arranged (unlike windows) so you can put programs into an order that makes sense to you. It keeps one icon for each application running, as opposed to each window. Windows does this only if there are a certain number of apps running. It allows one click to bring all the windows for an app to the foreground. Windows requires each one to be clicked individually. Finally, it allows applications to be minimised to an image of the application itself - so if you minimise a photo or a project you are working on, it becomes a tiny image of that project in the dock.

The next major difference with Apple's GUI compared to the others is that the windows do not occupy all the screen. Each application takes up only as much space as it needs.

Finally, Apple's Mac OS X has quite a few incredible GUI elements that make both Windows and Linux based GUIs look fifteen years out of date. Expose lets you view all the windows on the screen at one time, at the click of a button, and zoom instantly to the one you want. Dashboard lets you store mini application windows that you can call up and dismiss when you need them, which is great for calculators, unit convertors, translaters, reference books, news, weather and so on. Spotlight lets you search your computer for files, emails, appointments and so on instantly, with results the second you type the keyword, while Windows and Linux search systems both can take 5-10 minutes to search all your files. Automator and AppleScript lets you setup your computer to automatically do particular tasks and take care of repetitive operations - there never was a faster way to convert 250 photos to black and white and scale them down to put onto a webpage.

I've always found the Mac's GUI to be the most complete and well designed I have ever used - and I use Windows and Linux systems at work 40 hours a week. I highly recommend you have a look at the demo movies on Apple's site, or better yet try one out for yourself. I switched my home/personal computers to Macs back in 2000 and have never looked back.