I really love the Finder Quick Look option using the space key, so you can have a quick pick without using a pane.
Apart from that, Windows Explorer is definitely above the Finder that has been stalling for years now...
The space key preview was the one I meant, not the little box in a column to the right. Windows Explorer does not preview like Preview.
I don't have access to a Macbook right now, can you elaborate how that works? Do you basically select a file, press space, and a preview comes up over the screen or something?
FWIW the Windows Explorer preview is much improved compared to what it used to be - it's not a little box, it's the entire right side of the Windows Explorer window. There's ample space to actually read a PDF, you have pagination controls, you can read spreadsheets, etc. I wasn't sure it even still existed until this thread, so thanks for that. :)
Finder lets you highlight a file then by pressing space it will show images in 100% size, play movies of certain file types, show PDFs in 100% size and let you scroll through them. It basically pops up a window much like a jQuery lightbox plugin overlay. In columns view you can also see something similar to the windows explorer preview.
View -> Preview Pane.
Adds a pane in Windows Explorer that shows a preview of the file. I believe it was on by default back in the XP days, but since then it's just defaulted off.
EDIT: Huh. I knew it was there, but I never turned it on. It...actually looks pretty awesome. You can read an entire PDF in the preview pane.