Windows VS Mac

I think I am much closer to understanding the fundamental difference between working with a Mac and working with Windows.

For most things, they function in almost the same way. In most cases the differences are really only skin deep but I think I might have figured out a subtle yet fundamental design difference.

The design differences are in the taskbar, the menubars, the OSX dock. First I will describe each. In windows when you run a program, it will create itself a window with it's own menubar at the top and a button in the taskbar. When you start a program in OSX, a small light is turned on by the icon in the dock, no new button is created, a window is created, and the menubar at the top of the screen transforms into the programs menu bar. So what does this difference mean?

On a windows computer, when you open up alot of programs, you get alot of buttons on the taskbar, you get alot of windows floating around with a lot of menubars to click at. When alot of things are going on, alot of things are really apparent. In OSX when you have alot of programs going, you get a bunch of little indicator lights in the dock, alot of windows (however they cover each other), and a single menubar at the top. Things remain simpler in OSX.

What are the pros and cons of each system. I find that the clutter that is created in windows serves a purpose. If you have 10 programs open it is nearly unmanageable, and you need to close some. I think this is actually a fairly important way of telling the user that they can't run everything at the same time. All computers have a limit and shouldn't be running a ton of programs at the same time.

In OSX however, it is much easier to ignore everything else that is going on in the computer, if you do have a lot of things running, you can continue to concentrate well on the task at hand, however navigating to what you were doing before in other programs I find more difficult.

So on the windows side you might be being trained to manage your computer well, and on the apple side you are given more of a free reign to work as you please. I think it actually comes down to a personality issue at a certain point. Would you rather work at a giant desk with tons of room that you will need to clean up when you are finished (OSX), or would you rather work in a more confined space that requires continual management to keep it tidy(Windows).

Kyler