The fundamental distinction between OS X and Windows is that, in general, windows on Mac OS X represent documents on Windows, they represent applications. Much of the material in this section will be remedial for the majority of readers, but it pays to cover it anyway, since it lays an important foundation for the rest of the article. In order to fully appreciate the differences between the Taskbar and Dock, we first have to understand the basic premises on which Windows and OS X are built.

The Windows UI isn't turning into the Mac OS X UI-not yet, at least. Closer examination, however, reveals that there's a long way to go before anyone should worry that Microsoft is slavishly following Apple. On a superficial level, the similarity is obvious both Dock and Taskbar are rows of large icons used for application launching and switching. Even among Mac users, the new Taskbar is unlikely to be universally appreciated, as many feel that the Dock is deeply flawed. Windows 7's new Taskbar has drawn many comparisons to Mac OS X's Dock, and many of them negative, with the overwhelming concern that Windows is becoming too Mac-like.

Word document in mac dock