31 January 2007
Vista Innovations Displayed in OS X
There's a video on YouTube demonstrating the Mac OS X desktop using the commentary from a Vista presentation on the innovativeness of Vista.
I would not put this as an argument for switching for a Mac or Windows, but it does prove a point with the amount of comments going around about the innovations of Vista and the implications that it cannot be done with another OS.
The 'glass' feature of Vista is the first feature to be displayed in the video with a standard OS X desktop. I will not that this is also supported by the KDE desktop in Linux.
The live preview in Vista is also in OS X including videos currently being played when the mouse is brought over the task bar. The alt+tab idea in Vista of being able to see all the applications as they are running is also shown in OS X. The applications separate so that no application is on top of any other and users can choose the application from there.
The Vista sidebar is also displayed in OS X, but rather than being only a space along the right of the screen, the small applications can be put anywhere the user chooses on the desktop. The prototype that is said to be built by Fox sports displaying sports scores and information is exactly shown on OS X. Linux as well has this feature in KDE and GNOME with the user being able to write their own as well. In Linux it functions exactly as it is shown in the video.
In OS X there is a button near the top of the screen that allows you to type the name of the application you are looking for and it will list all of the applications that match. Vista is described to have this functionality within the Start menu. KDE in Linux has it in the K Menu. In KDE this feature eliminates all of the 'folders' in the menu that do not contain data on your search so you will be able to find the program even easier the next time you want to use it. Searching through documents for specific data in files is also shown in OS X from a content search exactly as is described in the speech. The same feature in Linux is in Beagle or Konqueror.
The description of parental controls in Vista is similar with a built in parental controls that can limit Internet access as well as any other application.
iPhoto within OS X functions like the photo gallery in Vista showing all of the images as thumbnails and allowing the user to change the size of the thumbnails. Searching is possible by date, keyword, and tags. The edit functions are also a part of iPhoto. Many options are possible but only cropping an image is displayed in the video. The feature to later restore the original (at any time after doing the action) is also demonstrated with OS X. The slide show feature is also demonstrated. Throughout the process no moving video is demonstrated although themes are shown. This exact same functionality is available in Linux with the F-Spot picture viewer.
The only innovation in Vista is that it has never been seen before in the Windows OS, but OS X has had these features for at least 3 years and KDE has had all of them since at least KDE 3.4 with some beginning in version 3.1.
I would not put this as an argument for switching for a Mac or Windows, but it does prove a point with the amount of comments going around about the innovations of Vista and the implications that it cannot be done with another OS.
The 'glass' feature of Vista is the first feature to be displayed in the video with a standard OS X desktop. I will not that this is also supported by the KDE desktop in Linux.
The live preview in Vista is also in OS X including videos currently being played when the mouse is brought over the task bar. The alt+tab idea in Vista of being able to see all the applications as they are running is also shown in OS X. The applications separate so that no application is on top of any other and users can choose the application from there.
The Vista sidebar is also displayed in OS X, but rather than being only a space along the right of the screen, the small applications can be put anywhere the user chooses on the desktop. The prototype that is said to be built by Fox sports displaying sports scores and information is exactly shown on OS X. Linux as well has this feature in KDE and GNOME with the user being able to write their own as well. In Linux it functions exactly as it is shown in the video.
In OS X there is a button near the top of the screen that allows you to type the name of the application you are looking for and it will list all of the applications that match. Vista is described to have this functionality within the Start menu. KDE in Linux has it in the K Menu. In KDE this feature eliminates all of the 'folders' in the menu that do not contain data on your search so you will be able to find the program even easier the next time you want to use it. Searching through documents for specific data in files is also shown in OS X from a content search exactly as is described in the speech. The same feature in Linux is in Beagle or Konqueror.
The description of parental controls in Vista is similar with a built in parental controls that can limit Internet access as well as any other application.
iPhoto within OS X functions like the photo gallery in Vista showing all of the images as thumbnails and allowing the user to change the size of the thumbnails. Searching is possible by date, keyword, and tags. The edit functions are also a part of iPhoto. Many options are possible but only cropping an image is displayed in the video. The feature to later restore the original (at any time after doing the action) is also demonstrated with OS X. The slide show feature is also demonstrated. Throughout the process no moving video is demonstrated although themes are shown. This exact same functionality is available in Linux with the F-Spot picture viewer.
The only innovation in Vista is that it has never been seen before in the Windows OS, but OS X has had these features for at least 3 years and KDE has had all of them since at least KDE 3.4 with some beginning in version 3.1.
Labels: linux, Mac, microsoft, os, OS X, vista, windows
