/Awesome-OS-Tweaks

How to make Mac behave like Windows, vice versa.

Awesome OS Tweaks

Here's a definitive list of software that I use often for the best of both worlds.

To make Mac work more like Windows

Keyboard and Input:

  • Karabiner: Reconfigure key combos to match Windows, e.g. hold Win for LaunchPad, Ctrl+Shift+Esc for Activity Monitor, swap Command and Control keys. (Or if you're really committed, use a keycap puller to swap the two keys on your MacBook like I do.)
  • BetterTouchTool: Custom gestures, etc for Mac.
  • Synergy / Sharemouse / Barrier: Use the same keyboard and mouse across a PC and a Mac.
  • PasteNow / Paste: Clipboard history for Mac.
  • Unlox: Unlock a Mac using a fingerprint sensor... on your iDevice. Also adds Win+L to lock computer.

Taskbar and Dock:

Menu Bar:

  • Bartender: Hide Mac Menu Bar icons like the Windows System Tray.
  • iStat Menus: Show system stats on Menu Bar.
  • BitBar: Show anything on Menu Bar.

Alt+Tab:

Window Management:

Widgets:

  • Übersicht: Place widgets on desktop.
  • Todeska: Place widgets from Notifications Center on desktop.

Productivity Software:

  • Microsoft OneDrive: Superior to iCloud.
  • Microsoft Edge: Superior to Safari and Chrome. Also Edge Dev now supports tab sync, which is awesome.
  • Microsoft Visual Studio Code: Much better text editor than Textedit.
  • Microsoft To-Do: Better than Reminders app.
  • Microsoft OneNote: Amazing.
  • Microsoft Outlook: Superior to Mail app on Mac. Superior to Mail app on Windows, too.
  • Microsoft Office for Mac: Obviously.
  • Microsoft Remote Desktop
  • Microsoft!!!
  • NTFS for Mac: Read and write to a shared NTFS drive.
  • Reflector: Cast your phone screen to Mac or Windows through AirPlay, Google Cast, or Miracast, similar to the Connect app on Windows.

Screen Savers:

  • Aerial screensaver for Mac: Port of the screensaver seen on AppleTV.

Misc:

  • Mousecape: Invert the mouse cursor or customize it to match Windows.
  • ColorSlurp: Copy color of a pixel, similar to the color picker PowerToy.
  • MacForge: A store with dozens more customizations for Mac. (Note: System Integrity Protection must be disabled.)
  • Notifica: Align notifications at the bottom right corner like Windows.
  • Flashlight: Add plugins to Spotlight search.

To make Windows work more like Mac

Keyboard and Trackpad:

  • AutoHotKey: Reconfigure some key combos to make it easier to memorize, e.g. Win+Space -> Win+Q for Search
  • PureText: Allows pasting as plain text using Ctrl+Shift+V
  • Multiplicity / Synergy / Sharemouse / Barrier: Use the same keyboard and mouse for multiple machines. The latter two works on both Mac and PC. (Thanks /u/tencents123!)
  • GestureSign: Custom gestures for your trackpad or touch screen.

File Explorer Management:

Taskbar tweaks:

  • TaskbarX: Center Windows Taskbar like the Dock.
  • T-Clock Redux: Change the layout and font of the Windows Taskbar clock.
  • StartIsBack: Change the Start Button logo. Or use an older Start Menu if you prefer (I love my Live Tiles).
  • ObjectDock: Replace the Taskbar with a Dock, if that's your thing. (I don't use it because I like the taskbar.)
  • SmartTaskbar: Hides taskbar automatically when a window is maximized like Mac's fullscreen mode.* System Tray stuff:
  • Twinkle Tray: Easily adjust screen brightness like Control Center
  • Caffeinated: Keep screen always on.
  • EarTrumpet: A more granular per-device and per-app volume control.
  • Modern Flyouts: New look for volume control, Caps/Num Lock indicators, airplane mode, and more.

Widgets:

Theming:

Command Line:

  • Windows Terminal: Finally something that works like Mac Terminal.
  • WinGet / Chocolatey: Command Line based app installer like Brew. (Also Winstall.app for GUI.)
  • WSL (Windows Subsystem for Linux): Allows you to magically use and install Linux commands (e.g. curl, ruby, wpm, docker) with a Linux virtual machine on Windows.

Screen Savers:

  • Lively: Lightweight animated wallpaper, alternative to Wallpaper Engine.
  • Aerial screensaver for Windows: Port of the screensaver seen on AppleTV.

Misc:

  • PantherBar: Contextual menus for any highlightable words in a window, e.g. double click on a word and search dictionary.
  • iCloud and iTunes for Windows: Do you really have to torture yourself?

Specifically for Windows installed on a Mac with Boot Camp:

Some of these software are not free. If you can, please support the developers for their efforts to make your life slightly better, especially during this economy!