17 Apr 09 XWindows Dock: New Kid on the Dock

Windows and Mac have always been on the two opposite sides of the digital divide, but thankfully there are some tiny software packages that are working towards bridging this divide by making the appearance of windows look as good as the appearance of Mac. Basic architecture of the platforms cannot be altered much but attempts are being made to at least make our Windows look like their Mac. Along with different kinds of docking applications like, Rocket dock, circle dock, RK Launcher, and object dock etc., there are some tiny applications like, winflip, YzShadow, DExposeE, etc., in the league to provide the Windows users with the cool features that Mac users flaunt.

Bridging the visual divide between Windows and Mac, the new kid on the block is XWindows Dock that has some additional cool features like adding galleries, inbuilt stacking features, which originally was missing from other dock applications. XWindows dock application can stand firm on its claim of being a full-featured OSX dock clone.

XWindows dock comes loaded with eye catching features like icon reflections, scrollable galleries, and skin-able appearances. The visual appearance of XWindows is fully customizable; you can change the opacity, spacing, icon size, speed, reflections, shadows, blur, zoom level, transparency, and transition etc. In short, you can customize the entire look and feel of XWindows dock that too with a greater precision. This dock application provides native support to PNG icons as well.

There is one small feature, which you will find missing. Unlike other dock applications, you cannot just drag and drop your favourite software to create a shortcut in this dock, you will have to navigate through the menu bar and search the executable applications that you want to run. There is one more feature that I find missing is the capability to hide the task bar as we can do with RKLauncher. Personally, I am big fan of this feature, which is missing from almost all free dock applications except RK Launcher.

In my test, I found XWindows dock to be very sluggish in response. In my view, this dock has nothing new to offer. Indeed, the built-in stacking feature is a good addition, but this cannot be enough, at least, for me to leave the dock applications that I am currently using. Personally, I prefer RK launcher and Rocket dock over others. This new application is completely free, so you can give it a shot and decide for yourself.

Tags: Basic Architecture, Different Kinds, Digital Divide, Executable Applications, Favourite Software, Kid On The Block, Mac Users, Menu Bar, New Kid On The Block, Object Dock, Png Icons, Reflections, Rklauncher, Rocket Launcher, Software Packages, Task Bar, Tiny Applications, Tiny Software, Visual Appearance, Windows Users

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15 Apr 09 The OS War: Mac, Windows or Linux

Windows and Mac have always been on the two opposite sides of the digital divide. Mac users always consider themselves superior to the windows users, and their claim is well-supported by the robust architecture provided by Macintosh system (both in terms of software and hardware). Over the years, Mac with its ardent followers has become a cult, so, whoever feels or wants to portray him or her as creative or innovative joins Mac community (not all Mac users are pseudo, but quite many are). Windows on the other hand provides a whole range of applications to keep you busy and entertained. There are problems with windows, and I am sure there must be problems with Mac as well, but in my view the problems on Mac or even Linux (the geeky cousin of the two) is not very highlighted because the user base of these two combined is nothing in comparison to the users of Windows OS (Operating Systems), hence there are more fault finders for windows then there are for any other OS.

There is a third major challenger in this OS War, and this challenger is not one entity rather it’s a family, Linux Family. The problem of Linux is Linux itself. It is an open source operating system that effectively means anyone can take Linux Kernels, make the tweaking and build a customized version of it. Sounds fascinating, isn’t it? It is this fascination that is going against Linux. There is no one Linux, rather there is a huge army of various Linux Operating Systems around. The last estimation suggests the presence of close to 100 Linux Distributions in the market. (Read List of Linux distributions and Comparison of Linux distributions on Wikipedia to get the complete list of Linux distributions).

These different distributions are different operating systems in their own rights, so despite having the most robust architecture Linux has failed to catch the fancy of average home user. People are not sure which one to go for and which Linux is the Linux he or she wants. There are number of things that are stopping the growth of Linux Operating system, and they are:

1. User’s perception of Linux being hard to use: This is a common deterrent. The average user who hardly knows to make his or her way around windows finds Linux to be made for aliens or geeks.

2. Fear of being beginner: More than 90 percent of the world population has grown with Windows and Microsoft Office packages around, so word processor (Word), spreadsheet maker (Excel), or presentation maker (PowerPoint) got the power of default. The user cannot even think of working on any other office packages. They fear they will have to relearn everything from scratch. This fear immobilizes them. Users of other software packages like, Photoshop, Acrobat also have the similar feelings.

3. Linux doesn’t come bundled in: Unlike Windows Linux seldom comes bundled in with a new PC. This works against Linux.

Linux has the most secure, failsafe and robust architecture, and Mac, indeed, is the coolest looking personal computers around, but it is the Windows that got the largest share of pie, perhaps because windows got the power of default working in its favour, or may be because the range of applications available for the platform? The relationship between application and operating system is an interesting one. It tells the same old chicken and egg story. Which one should come first?

Tags: Challenger, Estimation, Fascination, Fault Finders, Followers, Linux Distributions, Linux Kernels, Linux Mac, Linux Operating Systems, Linux Windows, Mac Community, Mac Users, Mac Windows, Macintosh System, Open Source Operating System, Os War, Robust Architecture, Wikipedia, Windows Os, Windows Users

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17 Apr 09 XWindows Dock: New Kid on the Dock

15 Apr 09 The OS War: Mac, Windows or Linux

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