If you’ve been a Windows user through most
of your life, you’d probably have an entire desktop filled with icons and
folders – something like this.
Mac users on the other hand have a
different story. Unlike Windows users, their
desktops are usually organized and free of clutter. And this is not because Mac
users have OCD or something, but rather it’s because of a very handy component
of Mac OS that helps them be organized – the Mac OS dock.
Windows tried to imitate this feature with
the Windows 7 Superbar but it doesn’t offer the same functionality and effect.
Luckily, there are applications available on the internet that does the same
job on Microsoft’s operating system. Here are three of the most popular
software that you can choose from.
Rocketdock. Rocketdock is the only software in this bunch that can be fully
downloaded for free. But it is no less powerful than the rest of the other
products that we’ll be featuring in this post. For starters, it does offer the
basic functionality that the Mac OS dock has. This includes:
- Ability to minimized windows to the dock
- Real-time window preview in Windows Vista and Seven
- Simple Drag-and-drop interface
- Running application indicators
- Add fly-out menus
- Support for PNG and ICO icons
- Auto-hide and popup on mouse over
Aside from the features already stated,
rocketdock also feature positioning and layering options, docklet support,
Unicode compliance, a fully customizable UI and support for multiple languages.
Object
dock. Stardock’s
object dock comes in two versions; a free version and a plus version that costs
around $19.95. The free version offers the basic features you would want to
find in a dock such as an easy drag-and-drop UI, indicators for running
applications, ability to minimize windows to the dock, skinnable backgrounds
& icons and support for docklets.
But if you decide to go and pay $20 for the
plus version, you’ll get to experience additional features such as having
tabbed docks, having multiple docks on your screen at once, system tray
support, folder-view tabs and the ability to recolor the dock on the fly.
Nexus
Dock. Just like the Object dock, Winstep’s Nexus
dock is offered in two versions; a free version and an ultimate version that
costs $24.95. The free version comes with the following features:
- Ability to display running applications on the dock with task grouping, filtering and icon customization options
- Blur-behind and colorization of dock backgrounds
- Multi-monitor support
- Live icon and background reflection and animation
- Support for dock modules
The ultimate version of the Nexus dock has
additional features compared to the free version. These include the following:
- Ability to customize the system tray with high-res icons
- Ability to add multiple docks on the screen at one
- Add subdocks (similar to fly-out menus in object dock)
- Duplicate, delete and disable/enable existing docks
- One click theme switch with special themes tab on the shelf
- Tabbed docks
And there you have it. Although these applications
are just copies of the original Mac OS dock, they do function very similar to
the original. So if you’re a windows user who have always wanted that nice
looking dock only found on Mac OS, then pick one or more of these three
software and you’re good to go.
