Wednesday, May 20, 2009

I am a switcher

Time to confess.
OSX is my OS of choice.
I am fed up with windows that say (not responding) in the title bar. Microsoft Entourage supports multiple Exchange accounts and it works like a dream and fast, unlike Outlook.
When I close the lid of my MacBook Air it is asleep, when I lift the lid it is awake. No waiting, no messing around. Last month I spent 4 weeks on the road and I never rebooted my MacBook Air once.
I now have a second machine (Mac Book Pro) running Windows Vista 32 bit (the only platform supported for Surface dev) that I use for Windows dev and I hate having to use it. It feels like some prehistoric slowed down museum artifact.
If I had XAML dev tools on OSX I would probably give up with Windows altogether.
If Microsoft wants to win back customers like me it needs to:
  1. Make Windows feel more responsive. Yes I have tried Win7 RC and no I am not happy, it is still slower than OSX (IMO)
  2. Make Office run better on Windows than it does on OSX, IMO Office is currently better (faster, easier to use, more functional) on OSX than on Windows
  3. Ensure Windows remembers the different monitors I have connected my machine to as a second monitor and restore the settings last used with that monitor.
  4. Always, without fail, find an external monitor or projector and allow me to project to it without messing around for 15 mins in preferences and settings.
  5. Ship a rich suite of applications (iLife) on Windows that work well with each other and do 80% of what a consumer wants to do with music, photos, email, and calendar.
Windows 7 feels like a big leap forward from Vista, for me it is not enough (yet).

1 comment:

Cristian said...

Too bad you don't like windows 7 but it's nice that alternatives exist.

If you want use a projector or extra monitor then Windows 7 Supports [Win]+P (for presenting) that is a real easy to switch.

If you use multiple monitors then you should check that there not all found as "Plug and Play monitor" Because then Windows can't differentiate between them I use a screen and a projector and has'nt had any problems.

Microsoft has had consumer tools for quite some time named "Windows Live Essentials" with email,chat,photo,movie,blogging.. you find it at http://download.live.com.

I can also recommend that you look at office 2010 that is refreshingly nice and fast. (IMO)

Maybe it will help you get a better experience with your Windows installation also...