Mac OS X is pretty. Windows is functional. Windows Vista was supposed to help bridge that gap. Microsoft threw an awful lot of eye candy into Windows Vista. Some of it is really useful. For example, you can hover your mouse over open programs in the taskbar and pull up live previews of those applications, even if there's video playing in one.

But Flip 3D, while attractive, is really just a complicated, resource-intensive version of Alt-tab. If anything, it makes it harder to find the application you're looking for, not easier. OS X, on the other hand, includes a task switching utility called Exposé that is both eye-catching and useful. It allows you to view all the running programs on your computer at once and easily shift between applications with a single click. No "flipping" required.

While there have been many attempts to replicate Exposé on Windows Machines, we have to say, we're particularly impressed with Switcher. The application is being developed by Microsoft employee Bao Nguyen in his free time. It's not an official Microsoft product, but it is a polished Exposé clone.

The video above was captured at 16 frames per second, making it difficult to truly show the beautiful transitions. But we tried to demonstrate some of the major features. You can choose from tile, grid, or dock views. You can dock windows to the top, bottom, left, or right of your screen. And you can switch programs using your mouse or keyboard. With the keyboard you can either hit the number of the program you want to bring to the foreground or use your arrow keys to select an application and then hit enter.

You can also adjust the transition times and choose whether or not to display the desktop.

The latest version of Switcher available from Nguyen's homepage is 1.2.1.1764, but there's also a direct download link for Switcher 2.0 beta. Switcher requires Windows Vista and the Aero interface. That means Windows Vista Home Basic users are out of luck.

[via techspot]