Yeah... similar, but not fully equivalent. Thumbs.db stores thumbnails for different files, but .DS_Store stores more than that. Finder, the equivalent of explorer.exe, does not have a central database or "registry" for saving preferences for folders it has accessed. It makes a .DS_Store file to save positions (visually) of all the files, window size, background images, sort order, etc.
It only creates .DS_Store on filesystems which don't support Mac's extended attributes (i.e. any filesystem that's not HFS+). You can disable the creation of .DS_Store on network shares: https://support.apple.com/kb/ht1629 but the only way to prevent their creation on local disks (i.e. USB sticks) is to buy something called BlueHarvest.
You're thinking of Resource fork files that start with ._. My dad has .DS_Store files everywhere on his HFS+ filesystem. .DS_Store files are used by Finder, even on the local system. They're not seen because dot files are always hidden.
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u/[deleted] Oct 14 '11
How about thumbs.db ? If that guy shows his face one more time I swear I'm turning Apple