geekhack
geekhack Community => Other Geeky Stuff => Topic started by: fohat.digs on Fri, 10 October 2014, 19:29:14
-
My wife works in publishing for a larger company, and about a decade ago their department switched from Windows to Apple. She used a desktop and a laptop and became very accustomed to it. She bought her last laptop when it went off-lease and it is her personal laptop now, a MacBook Pro a few years old, running Snow Leopard I think.
This week, the company brought everyone back to Windows because they did not want to support a second OS. They got her a mid-high-end Dell laptop with a monitor, keyboard, and mouse as a desktop replacement.
She has been whining constantly for several days now, mostly about how "uncooperative" "slow" "unintuitive" and "ugly" everything is.
I have never touched anything Apple since a short stint with a IIe in the mid-1980s so I can't even offer suggestions.
Are there any simple and/or free "skins" or overlays to help her feel more at home until she gets used to Windows again?
Thanks
-
There's plenty of dock-emulating apps out there
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_dock_applications
You can mod her uxtheme.dll (a simple file replacement) and change her visual style to something like
http://mrmyasdf.deviantart.com/art/Mac-OS-X-Marble-Visual-Style-For-Windows-7-292407415
or
http://raymonvisual.deviantart.com/art/mLion7-for-windows7-updated2-293668765
-
http://www.windowsxlive.net/yosemite-transformation-pack/
-
The complaints she listed I usually say to my wife when I have to use her macbook pro. :))
There are skins you can get or even a launch dock so it is similar to mac. But I noticed those sometime slow things down too.
Here is one of many.
http://www.redmondpie.com/how-to-get-ios-7-theme-on-windows-8-and-windows-7/ (http://www.redmondpie.com/how-to-get-ios-7-theme-on-windows-8-and-windows-7/)
-
Nothing you can do. "Uncooperative" "slow" "unintuitive" and "ugly" is just the way it is.
Or switch to Linux? :p
-
I have machines running Windows, Linux, and Mac OS X. To me, OS X is the most counterintuitive of the three. It really just comes down to which software applications you run to be the deciding factor in which is better suited for your needs.
Is she using Windows 8? The Metro interface is great for tablet users, but really sucks as a desktop metaphor. I have been testing the new Windows 10 Technical Preview, and I have to say, I am impressed. I never thought I would want to upgrade from Win 7, but this has made me rethink that position.
My personal favorite desktop OS is Xubuntu. I use it at home most of the time, meaning when I don't need to use some software application that is Windows-only.
-
If she has to change OS because of work it would make more sense for her to just get used to windows, would it not?
People hate change, it wouldn't matter what they changed the OS to having to learn how to use something you took for granted before its going to be frustrating.
-
Problem for Mac users is that they're used to having their hands held constantly, Windows is not great at that. And that's not a dig at Mac users, more of a dig at the OS design in general.
-
Problem for Mac users is that they're used to having their hands held constantly, Windows is not great at that. And that's not a dig at Mac users, more of a dig at the OS design in general.
Care to explain how Mac OS X hand holds? I've been using both OS X (since 10.1) and Windows (since 3.11) and can't really say either hand holds more than the other. Mac OS X is more intuitive for so many reasons (no registry!!!), but at the end of the day when I want to get my particular brand of work done, I use whatever version of Windows is applicable.
Mac OS X is way, way better for me for day-to-day stuff.
But to the OP's point, no amount of work will make Windows more tolerable for a Mac lifer. She'll either get used to it or complain. Constantly.
-
Linux!!!!
-
Linux!!!!
A new version of Ubuntu with docky installed would probably feel more at home for her after using osx, would also solve the slow and unresponsive issues. Depending on the components of the dell, a hackintosh may also be possible.
-
Depending on the components of the dell, a hackintosh may also be possible.
ugh... I spent a good two weeks trying to get my old XPS laptop to boot OSX while I was at uni... got as far as the blue screen before the login promt before it would fall-over... super infuriating
-
Depending on the components of the dell, a hackintosh may also be possible.
ugh... I spent a good two weeks trying to get my old XPS laptop to boot OSX while I was at uni... got as far as the blue screen before the login promt before it would fall-over... super infuriating
It can be a hassle, but with enough googling you can find fairly detailed compatibility list for components, after that it's just setting up your install usb and configuring bios. It's like installing any bsd the first time around, break it and repeat till you get it right, lol.
-
Thanks, guys.
I gave my wife some of your suggestions, and she spent several hours on Google researching OSX "skins" and whatnot.
Her conclusion was that "they all just looked too dodgy" so she was not going to mess with it.
Does anybody here have personal, long-term experience using one on Windows 7 without drama?
Otherwise, she will probably just want to complain indefinitely.
-
The visual styles utilize the windows theming engine, so long-term use isn't really an issue. You just have to mod the uxtheme.dll to bypass microsoft's anti-third-party theme "protection." I've been using modified visual styles since XP, and can attest that they cause no issues. If you have an issue with taking ownership of the dlls and replacing them, there's an all-in-one uxtheme patcher that will do it for you with the click of a button.
The additional things, like docks, have been around for quite a long while too, so I'd assume many of them are stable as well.
-
Otherwise, she will probably just want to complain indefinitely.
As she should. What kind of company won’t let their professional staff choose their own tools? Bleh.
You should get her a non-floss-modded Model F to use as an external keyboard at the office until they relent and let her use a Mac again.
-
You should get her a non-floss-modded Model F to use as an external keyboard at the office
Yeah, right.
The best keyboard in the universe is whatever the latest and most expensive Apple sells with flat keys and scissor switches.
Having said that, she is a magazine editor and types thousands of words, every day, so her opinions cannot be dismissed.
-
You should get her a non-floss-modded Model F to use as an external keyboard at the office [...]
Yeah, right. The best keyboard in the universe is whatever the latest and most expensive Apple sells with flat keys and scissor switches. Having said that, she is a magazine editor and types thousands of words, every day, so her opinions cannot be dismissed.
Tell her to do it for the cause: if she drives enough colleagues batty with the sound, maybe she’ll get to use a Mac again. Also, svelte looking Apple keyboards definitely don’t match the brutalist/soviet/prison style of Windows; a Model F is much more appropriate. Using an Apple keyboard with a windows laptop is sort of like wearing socks with sandals.
Also, you never know... after a few days/weeks/months trying out the Model F, maybe she’ll come around.
But seriously, they are taking the Macs away from magazine editors now? What is the world coming to?
-
Depending on the components of the dell, a hackintosh may also be possible.
ugh... I spent a good two weeks trying to get my old XPS laptop to boot OSX while I was at uni... got as far as the blue screen before the login promt before it would fall-over... super infuriating
It can be a hassle, but with enough googling you can find fairly detailed compatibility list for components, after that it's just setting up your install usb and configuring bios. It's like installing any bsd the first time around, break it and repeat till you get it right, lol.
Yeah I did this maybe 5 years ago?? Idk uni was a blur but my laptop was compatible and everything but I couldn't get the bios set up right and it wouldn't boot properly. Ended up with like 5-6 dvd's of different versions and diff builds of OSX
-
ha... women..
-
http://www.stardock.com/products/objectdock/index.asp#objectdock
I have no personal experience of this, but their products are usually pretty stable.
-
http://www.stardock.com/products/objectdock/index.asp#objectdock
I have no personal experience of this, but their products are usually pretty stable.
They're stable NOWWW.. when that stuff came out.. lol... I had 2gb of memory, that was alot at the time.. still ran out.
-
Depending on the components of the dell, a hackintosh may also be possible.
ugh... I spent a good two weeks trying to get my old XPS laptop to boot OSX while I was at uni... got as far as the blue screen before the login promt before it would fall-over... super infuriating
It can be a hassle, but with enough googling you can find fairly detailed compatibility list for components, after that it's just setting up your install usb and configuring bios. It's like installing any bsd the first time around, break it and repeat till you get it right, lol.
Yeah I did this maybe 5 years ago?? Idk uni was a blur but my laptop was compatible and everything but I couldn't get the bios set up right and it wouldn't boot properly. Ended up with like 5-6 dvd's of different versions and diff builds of OSX
Back in the day, if I wanted a challenge I would try to get Linux or BSD running on regular PC hardware. I'd pore over compatibility lists, maybe swap out the WiFi card in my laptop. These days if I want a challenge I'd probably try to get OS X running on regular PC hardware. Running Linux is just so mainstream now :p
-
DON'T SWITCH TO APPLE
APPLE IS STUPID
WINDOWS IS SMART
SWITCH BACK TO WINDOWS AND BE SMART
-
DON'T SWITCH TO APPLE
APPLE IS STUPID
WINDOWS IS SMART
SWITCH BACK TO WINDOWS AND BE SMART
this conclusion is airtight
-
DON'T SWITCH TO APPLE
APPLE IS STUPID
WINDOWS IS SMART
SWITCH BACK TO WINDOWS AND BE SMART
Actually OP's wife switched from Apple back to Windows already.
-
DON'T SWITCH TO APPLE
APPLE IS STUPID
WINDOWS IS SMART
SWITCH BACK TO WINDOWS AND BE SMART
Actually OP's wife switched from Apple back to Windows already.
He's a troll he dsnt bother to read threads... c'mon ;)
-
Linux!!!!
A new version of Ubuntu with docky installed would probably feel more at home for her after using osx, would also solve the slow and unresponsive issues. Depending on the components of the dell, a hackintosh may also be possible.
I use Elementary OS Linux on my older laptop... it looks very much like OS X. People often think I have a hackintosh as a result.
As for OP, I've used the lot of Windows, OS X, and a few flavours of Linux, fairly extensively. Long-term, I like Windows 7 quite a bit. I'm not fond of 8 yet, but Microsoft seems to have a trend of every second iteration being solid.
The only thing is that I find I have to keep it pretty clean. I don't bog it down with all kinds of stuff running in the background, and I tend to reinstall fresh (or reimage the work machine) when it starts to get gummed up. I only use the Microsoft Defender / Security Essentials.
I'm thinking that if she finds her computer slow, she might have a 5400 RPM hard drive with a heavy encryption. My work laptops are like that and despite being powerful machines, the hard drive (and the encryption/antivirus/spyware) reduces them to a crawl. If this were my only experience with Windows 7, I'd probably dislike it too.
I've also found OS X is not without its faults. The silly "maximize" behaviour aside, I've had to completely fresh install the OS on our late 2013 Macbook Air when it was only a couple of months old. Once was the keychain got totally buggered up from changing an account password, and it was impossible to repair.
-
http://www.stardock.com/products/objectdock/index.asp#objectdock
I have no personal experience of this, but their products are usually pretty stable.
Stardock is one option. While I've never used their Object Dock, I've used Windows Blinds on countless occasions going back several years.
Using Windows Blinds with something like this: http://www.wincustomize.com/explore/windowblinds/7780/
...and perhaps that will be more comfortable for her.