"Adium is classier than any of the all-in-one clients on Windows (including Pidgin)."
Adium and Pidgin both use libpurple, the same IM backend. If you want to talk about design aesthetic differences between open source and the Mac ecosystem, it's probably the definitive example.
Re:Mac Versus PC Debate Has Never Been Clearer
by potatolicious on Thursday July 23, 2009 @05:04PM
(#720360)
That's my point precisely - Adium doesn't do anything that Pidgin cannot, but the UI between the two apps is worlds apart. IMHO it's the classic example of the failing of open source - too much functionality, no way for the layman to get to them.
Except the shiny icons and Aqua, i don't see much difference in UI between Pidgin and Adium. Correct me if i'm wrong but from what i see, Adium is just Pidgin "localized" for Mac.
Re:Mac Versus PC Debate Has Never Been Clearer
by skolor on Thursday July 23, 2009 @04:40PM
(#720317)
The problem (with UI) is not that Windows developers don't care about it, its that the barrier to entry is very low, and the potential rewards are very high when working with Windows. Because of the market share Windows has, when someone decides "You know, I'm going to make an App that does X", they're usually going to write it for Windows, simply because that's where the market is.
Not only that, but the people using Macs are largely using Macs because of the UI, so there is a much higher standard set for developers. In general, it seems, people using Macs have a much higher expectation for their Software, which means that the general crap that Windows developers put out would never fly on a Mac.
Hell, most people don't even know MS Office exists on the Mac.
In fact, after using a Mac for 3 years now I have to say that for a lot of day-to-day tasks, Mac apps beat Windows apps hands down. FTP? Use Cyberduck, it's infinitely superior to any free FTP client on Windows. IM? Adium is classier than any of the all-in-one clients on Windows (including Pidgin). I can go on...
The point is, whatever you used to do on Windows can all be done on a Mac (save for a few domain-specific things like drafting or gaming). And the difference is, Mac developers actually give a damn about UI, which is a lot more than can be said for most Windows apps.
P.S. Whoever decided that unlabeled, nondescript, 16x16 icons lined up in multiple rows at the top of the screen is good for usability needs a serious reality check.