I broke down and got a brand new Apple MacBook Pro (April 2010 version)!  For those that know me, this is a big deal.  I am a big Microsoft fan.  However, my roots are entirely Apple though.  Everything from the Apple IIc and IIe all the way through the early Macintosh lines such as the IIfx, Quadra, and Power Macs.  This is something of a return to my roots as well as a discovery of what else is out there.  So my initial impression is mixed!  I have friends all over that swear by Apple computers.  Personally I think they are missing out when it comes to Windows 7 and other computers from Dell, HP, Lenovo, etc.  This post will hopefully give everyone a fair comparison of features.

Feature #1 – Command-Tab

The normal window switching that most Mac users do is Command-Tab.  This is supposed to be analogous to Alt-Tab in Windows.  Unfortunately these two features are not even close to being the same.  Command-Tab on the Mac switches between applications versus Alt-Tab in Windows switches between open windows across all applications.  I don’t see the value in Command-Tab when you cannot cycle to the windows within an application.  When using Command-Tab, application windows don’t even show themselves if they are minimized.

Feature #2 – Power Management

What know profiles?  Windows has extensive Power Management capabilities and even includes the ability to have multiple power profiles.  So for me there is the at work profile, on an airplane profile, and sitting on the couch with my laptop watching TV profile.  There is no such thing on the Mac.

Feature #3 – Exposé

Exposé, Exposé, Exposé!  That is all I have heard for years about the Mac OS X. Well Mr. Exposé, why is it that you show the application I want as the smallest one on the screen?  I would be happy if you would fix the 3-4 times a day where you flake out on me in this manner.

Feature #4 – Home, End, Page Down, Page Up, Backspace

These keys do not exist.  What the heck?

Feature #5 – Right Click Button and Scroll Wheel

Yet more things that Windows users expect, but do not exist on the Mac.

Feature #6 – Maximize Button Behavior

There is a so called maximize button on windows within the Mac OS.  As most sane people would expect, maximize should take the current window and adjusts its position and size so that it becomes fullscreen.  Unfortunately it doesn’t always do this.

Feature #7 – Multi-Monitor Support and Application Menu Bar

I cannot believe that this feature has not been fixed yet.  The fact that the Application Menu Bar stays with the monitor and not the application itself says to me that Apple isn’t thinking properly on this one.

Feature #8- Aero Snap

One of my favorite features in Windows 7 is the new Aero Snap feature.  To bad, that isn’t in the Mac OS.