English Original: Think different: Design with Windows
Recently, Ted Goas, a well-known foreign tech blogger who is also a designer and developer, published an article on The Next Web criticizing the design philosophy of the Windows operating system.
The original content is as follows:
I am a designer, and I spend most of my time on the Windows system. So, I do have something to say about the Windows system. Before I express my dissatisfaction with Windows, let me first tell you how Windows has reached this point in my heart.
In fact, I personally really like the software under the Mac system platform. They have an intrinsic beauty, just like the Mac system itself — elegant, clear, subtle shadows and lighting effects, as well as smooth transitions. Additionally, for Chrome OS, I think it's pretty good too. I believe that making users feel joy in using the system is fundamental for any operating system, and all software developers should build third-party applications based on this foundation.
Frankly speaking, Windows does not perform well in this regard. It’s just a simple accumulation. All windows have the same structure, and there are no ways to manage these windows at all. Designers can easily develop a sense of aversion towards the Windows system because it is not designed with the ultimate goal of pleasing users. The Windows system is merely a means for Microsoft to expand its user base, without truly considering the perspective of the user. The aesthetics that Mac OS X possesses, Windows lacks entirely, even in terms of browsers.
Unless our users are very experienced "old hands" in computers, otherwise, for beginners just starting out with computers, the Windows system is almost unbearable. How many people, after purchasing a computer pre-installed with Windows from a retail store, ask the sales staff to help them configure the computer and place shortcuts for various commonly used applications on the desktop? Without help, consumers who have never touched a computer before would be completely unable to handle it themselves.
When we switch our computers to the latest Retina MacBook Pro running OS X, both the development environment and daily usage improve significantly. Among my peers, most developers and designers use OS X as their daily development environment. If we were still using the Windows environment like we did in the past, things such as icon fonts, scrollbars, window maximize/minimize buttons, and web fonts would be difficult to recognize during the development process.
Similarly, Jon Tan, another developer, once said: "Designing and developing in a Windows environment has become the biggest obstacle facing developers."
Out of personal habit, I like to directly close Windows in the process manager. You need to know that doing so in a Windows environment is inappropriate, but there are no side effects in the Mac platform. On the other hand, whether it's designing, writing code, or even coding CSS for older versions of IE, Windows seems to lack real-time font prompts. When I test CSS3 and HTML5 code in different browser environments, including JavaScript, I encounter the same problem. I admit that I spend more time on Internet Explorer, testing font stacking, size, contrast, and other contents to understand the differences in rendering engines between Windows and other platforms in terms of design and coding.
However, when I shift to the Mac platform for these tasks, all the problems disappear, which makes the Windows system look even worse in comparison. Typically, the reason why Macs are so popular among developers and designers owes much to Apple's focus on design.
Perhaps Windows is still the world's most widely used operating system, but that doesn't mean it's the best. Whether for developers or regular users, Windows needs to thoroughly improve itself and change its approach. Because although I have many complaints about Windows, it is still indispensable in our lives.