The worst thing about Windows

I’m using a lot of Windows lately, via VMware Fusion … recently installing both Vista and XP. It’s for work, and it’s for certain apps that need to be tested on a PC.

The most annoying thing I’ve found so far – besides the way Windows is always mothering me to death me with little messages, asking me if I’m really, totally, quite absolutely sure I want to do something – is that fact that there are no visual cues that an application is launching.

You double-click an app … and nothing happens! Or so you think. Actually, it is launching (usually). But it’s entirely invisible until it appears, fully loaded, on your desktop. In the meantime, of course, you’ve double-clicked it a couple more times … and more of the same open like jack-in-the-boxes.

Annoying!

Mac OS X tells you an app is launching. First by changing the icon background color, and most importantly, by bouncing the icon in the dock until it is fully launched. Plus, if you double-click the app again by mistake, OS X is smart enough to not launch the same app twice.

Now that makes sense.

. . .
. . .

I’m sure this is in actual fact not the most annoying thing about Windows. But it is the most annoying thing right now for me.

      

2 CommentsLeave a comment

  • I love my Mac (I’m writing this from my work PC, though) BUT I have to push back a little. If you download a program from the net on Leopard, you get the same amount of ‘are you sure?’ messages in addition to having to type your password in to enable the program.

    The worst part of this non-sense is that it impedes usability for the exception, not the typical use of the product. Very, very frustrating.

  • Right, Douglas.

    Note, though, that I’m not talking about downloading an app and installing it. I expect some warnings for that.

    I’m just talking about starting apps here.