[rlpb]

If you want branches side by side in git, just clone your repository. Or am I missing something?

The one catch is that the "upstream" repository will be the local one you cloned from, rather than your original upstream. git-clone could easily have a switch for that, though.

[ubernostrum]

Notice that I've never said "git can't do this". I've been talking in terms of the conventions recommended by each tool's community. In the case of git, that's not separate clones for branches...