Operating system user interfaces have gone a very long way since 1985.

Since then, we've seen advances in the Microsoft and Macintosh worlds, but also in open source software, like Ubuntu.

It seems everyone is out to make their experience as stylish and sleek as possible, especially that in today's age the average user will spend at least 3 hours a day in front of a screen.

Naturally, operating system designs have converged and taken their own forms. They all have their basic functionality, like windows and mouses (mice?), but it is clear which operating system a user is on just by looking at the screen.

There are some people out there who are trying to change that. For example, PunkSoftware has developed a product called RocketDock.

If you look at the "about" section of their software, you can read the following:

"RocketDock is developed by an Apple fanboy and fangirl on OS X. Consider it a peace offering from he Mac community to you. Together we can end OS persecution :)"

RocketDock mimics the OS X dock for windows and does a fantastic job at doing it. You can customize a lot about the dock, quality of icons, opaque settings and zoom options (and duration). In addition, positioning on each edge including 'where' on the edge you'd like the dock is a great add on. Also, you can style the dock with a Theme, and there are many to choose from upon installation.

Using the doc for me is a nice change. I think I really grew tired of the windows task bar. One of the biggest reasons I use this product is because it reduces the amount of clutter. Believe it or not, I have zero (0) shortcuts or applications on my desktop.

Dock load time is configurable, but even on the fastest setting it does a great rendering job and feels exactly like the Mac's dock. Adding items on the doc is as simple as adding them to your Quick Launch in Windows - just drag and drop. You can also choose the type of icon to display for the dock shortcut (there are some already provided in the installation).

So instead of paying a few hundred dollars more to get that dock feel, you can get it right on your PC. I'm not saying its the only difference between the 2 operating systems... of course there are tons of differences between them. I used a Macbook Pro for about a year and reliability is much higher on it than my Dell running XP. Perhaps this would be the first step in introducing yourself to a Mac if you ever wondered what owning a dock would be like.

At first, I decided to leave the icon that took me to the settings because I was changing the dock around until I got comfortable. Then I realized that you could right click on the dock and change them directly, including locking items.

All in all, this is a really nice lightweight application you can use if you can't quite afford a Mac but also can't afford to go task bar crazy :) 

For a complete look-and-feel change log in Windows, check this out!

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