Windows User Not Sold Yet.

[mistasopz]

Hey folks,

A while ago I convinced my parents to purchase a mac because they were basically computer illiterate. I won't go into deep detail about how the mac had to be replaced 3 times in the period of 6 months after the purchase because of a faulty logic board, faulty HD, and faulty design to dissipate heat but I just sat down to use it this weekend as I am house sitting and wanted to give my impressions.

First off, I would consider myself a windows power user. I use windows everyday in my work as an Electrical Engineer and at home. I grew up with DOS and Windows and my family used to have an old Apple II years and years ago.

Here is a quick list of some of the things that drove me crazy this weekend. Can I get around some of these issues?

1. The mighty mouse is God Awful slow at tracking. Even when you increase the speed in the configuration settings it is still very very slow. I read on a forum that you can type in a bunch of commands to the terminal to fix this but shouldn't it come standard into the operating system (10.5) without having to know all the UNIX commands?
2. What is the file structure? I spend 10 minutes trying to find where the Applications folder physically exists on the HD but I couldn't find it. I don't understand why there are files located all over the HD and not all in one localized folder. This makes uninstalling items a serious pain.
3. Why are all photos managed through iphoto? I was trying to use imovie to make a video but I always had to go through iphoto. It would never let me browse the HD for photos. Am I missing something?!
4. Dear lord there is no 'maximize' window button. If I press the "plus" sign on the window it just makes it slightly larger to read whatever is being presented. In the mean-time I have all these windows in the background that are distracting, I just want the window to take up the full screen. How can I do this?
5. I use the mouse gesture software strokeit on Windows all the time but the only equivalent I can see on the mac you have to pay money for... come to think of it... a lot of these little programs on the mac you have to pay for. Perhaps some will accuse me of being overly cheap but if it is offered in Windows for free then any ideas why there aren't a lot of programs like this offered on the mac for free?
6. I find the Doc extremely obtrusive and annoying. When trying to click buttons on the bottom of the screen it automatically pops up and I have to move my mouse around icons to try and click a button. Sometimes I would open garageband by accident and then everything would be loading up while I was trying frantically to stop it from doing so... In windows if you maximize a window it becomes flush with the taskbar at the bottom and you know the boundaries and where you can and can't click. Is there a way around this?
7. On the imovie that I was using all .bmp files that were scanned in with the Ken Burns effect turned a bright red. I had to convert all .bmp files to .jpg using iphoto then import them to imovie again. This was very frustrating.
8. Without typing in UNIX commands into the terminal, how can I see what processes are running at any given moment and how can I kill some of these processes?
9. Quicktime refuses to play anything for me in fullscreen unles I pay Apple money. What the heck is that all about?! Is fullscreen some sort of feature that you need to pay for on a mac? I don't get it, I've been using Windows for years and MS never charges money for such a feature... and even if they did I would be able to find about 6 other free programs that would play the videos in full screen for free with tonnes of free support.
10. Videoplay is terrible. Surfing websites and watching movies it seems you can't make the videos full screen, you can't search streaming video, and the play bar constantly stops moving even though the video is still playing.
11. I put in a blank CD and dragged some media to my desktop only to find out that it was just copying shortcuts after I ejected the CD. This also messed me up when I tried to burn a CD and found out that instead of burning the file that I wanted, it burned a shortcut. I can't trust this machine, I have to go to 'get info' on every file just to determine whether or not it is the actual file or a pointer to the file.

I know this list looks like I'm bashing Apple but I assure you it is not. If I can rectify most of these issues I'm having I will probably make the mac my next purchase. I did like a lot of things on the mac when I was working but that list is much longer and I just needed to resolve the above list to be happy with the operating experience.

Best Regards,

Mistasopz

[Kilamite]

You got too much time on your hands.

[aaronw1986]

1. Not sure, don't use a mighty mouse myself.
2. Things aren't located all over. They are in one place: HD/Users/username, and then everything is there.
3.Not quite sure what you mean, "trying to use imovie to make a video but I always had to go through iphoto".
4. Not sure if there is a way, I manually fix the size.
6.Don't have this issue...you can move the dock if you like.
7.You probably could've used Automator
8. Activity Monitor, which is in Application/Utilities
9. Use VLC, though I thought fullscreen was now available to everyone, are you using the latest version?
10. Not sure what you mean.
11.Did you actually click burn? There shouldn't be a reason for you to not, "trust this machine".

[Celeron]

I read through you entire post and it seems that most of your complaints are from you expecting Mac OS X to behave like Windows. Its a complete different OS with a lot of different ways of doing things, so its never going to be entirely the same. To address some of your questions:

1. I personally hate the Mighty Mouse. I don't use the one I got with my Mac Pro, I'm using a Logitech MX518 instead. Can't be of much help here.

2. This is a Unix box, the file structure is like Unix. Applications is a folder in the root of the file system. /Applications if you want to get specific. Typically applications are installed here. To "uninstall" them, just drop it to the trash. There shouldn't be files "all over" unless someone specifically put them there.

3. Photos are managed through iPhoto for simplicity. If you choose to use iPhoto, you have to use it to manage all of your photos. It keeps everything organized in its own way. Mucking around in the iPhoto library is a recipe for disaster. iPhoto happens to integrate nicely in iMovie and other apps as well.

4. This is a common complaint from people who are used to Windows. If there's no purpose in making the window full screen that + button won't do it. Its more of a "size to fit" button than a maximize button. If you're distracted by the windows in the background select "Hide Others" from the application menu of the app you are using.

5. Don't use any gesture software, can't help you there.

6. Not sure what you mean by your dock problem? Sounds like maybe you have magnify set to a very high value? That would make the icons pop up like you describe. Try setting it lower, or set the dock to auto-hide.

7. Never tried to use a .bmp in iMovie, sorry.

8. You can use "Activity Monitor" located in /Applications/Utilities.

9. You aren't using the newest version of Quicktime. The latest one allows you to do fullscreen without paying for Quicktime Pro. Doing the software updates will fix this.

10. Not sure about this one, what video sites aren't working for you?

11. Are you talking about an audio cd?

[theman]

I know what you mean. I just switched to mac about a month ago and I experienced a lot of the same issues. But after a while, I got used to it, and now when I have to use a windows computer, it just seems like it sucks! weird.

Ok

1. another non user of the mighty mouse. i think it kind of sucks. i mostly use the trackpad on my MBP but also have a logitech mx700 mouse that's pretty sweet. no tracking issues at all. however, on thing you could try is downloading a program called Steermouse. It has some detailed tracking settings that may fix your problem there.

2. I know what you are talking about here. It is just confusing because when you open Finder, it defaults to your home folder (HD/Users/Username). To get to applications, just click on "Macintosh HD" in the sidebar and applications is right there. (and remember, the sidebar is just shortcuts to places. you can drag things there.) oh yeah, and about uninstalling, if you really want to make sure all the files of a program are gone (not just dragging it out of the applications folder because some programs install stuff elsewhere) download AppCleaner its a great little program. Just drag the app into it and it searches for stuff left behind.

3. I was skeptical about using iPhoto at first mostly because I feared condensing all my family memories into a single file that could only be opened by 1 program, but decided to go for it. (still have a backup of all the original files though) I now kind of like the ease with which you can see your files, unlike just going through explorer like I did in windows. I actually experimented with Google's Picasa which is very very similar to iPhoto when I was on windows and didn't like it. Now that I'm a mac user, I kind of do. Anyway, It loads everything into the iPhoto library which is a .pkg file. If you right click on it, you can view the contents and open your original files. I don't really think this is a very good idea though. I don't exactly know what you are doing with iMovie, and I don't do any movie stuff so I can't help you there.

4. Ok, the green button was weird at first. For some programs it doesn't really work right, but for most, like finder, and many other apps, it just expands it to the size required to remove scroll bars (if possible). I like of like this. But sometimes I do just want a bigger screen, especially for web browsing, so I just drag it out, and it stays that way as default.

5. don't use mouse gesture stuff. One thing i really like though is using corners. I have expose (show all windows) set to the bottom right corner, dashboard set to bottom left, and show desktop set to top right. I really like it, and it impresses my windows friends. :)

6. Ok, you either have magnification on, or you have "auto hide the dock" on. Go to system prefs>dock and experiment with all the settings. Personally, I like the dock to be on the left side, fairly small, and with no magnification and not hidden. If you hide the dock, it will pop up over your window which is annoying. I like it on the side because I have a 15" widescreen and I can't lose so much vertical space. Also, the left side is just closer to everything (like the menubar, and the 3 window buttons, and everything else at the top of application windows). The bottom of the screen is a very insignifcant place, so why should my dock be there? I now really like the dock after getting used to it. Much better than the windows taskbar, imo.

7. no clue. sorry.

8. use activity monitor. here's a tip, only keep some apps in the dock, and for other things like activity monitor, disk utility, or other apps you use rarely, just go up to spotlight (at the very rightmost side of the menubar) and type the name of the program (or just the first few letters) and press enter. easy.

9. not sure... I second using VLC though. I always got pissed off at Quicktime with windows, and now i still do a little bit. I used VLC with windows, and I am still using it with Mac. great program. it'll play virtually anything.

10. also not sure...

11. not sure what you are talking about with dragging items to your desktop. i don't understand. are you trying to burn a CD or take data off of a CD? you need to explain that a little better.


Hopefully that helped. as a recent windows power user, I know how it feels. but after a while mac OS X just seems so much better. everything seems like its so much better thought out and put together. a lot of things in windows just looks like its stuck in or thrown on in the last minute. mac OS is truly enjoyable to use.

[Roy Hobbs]

Just stay with Windows.

[IJ Reilly]

The handling of CD burning in OSX does leave something to be desired. I believe the current method comes from changes implemented in Tiger, which shows the contents of unburned CDs as aliases. This is counterintuitive, but only if you bother to look at the burn folder, and then only of you notice that the files are represented as aliases. Still, it does work.

[Coolnat2004]

I think that any operating system has a certain "break-in" period for a new user. You are used to the Windows way of doing things, and since several of these interface things are different, you don't anticipate them and thus, get frustrated.

I think that after a few weeks, you will get used to it. I personally think that Mac OS X has a wonderful interface that works much better than Windows (after being a power Windows user as well, mind you - I even had two displays for Windows!)

[IJ Reilly]

3. I was skeptical about using iPhoto at first mostly because I feared condensing all my family memories into a single file that could only be opened by 1 program, but decided to go for it.

This isn't correct -- iPhoto doesn't do this. All of your jpeg images can be found in user/Pictures/iPhoto Library/Originals, organized in folders by year and roll. Edited images found are in the same directory, in the Modified folder.

[bocomo]

the cd burning thing can throw you off a bit at first but it's not all that different than windows. two part process, copying files to burn folder, then burning to disc. on the mac, once you drag the files to the cd, then just drag the cd to the eject button which will turn into a little nulear symbol and the files will be burnt onto the cd

i hate the mighty mouse and use a logitech mx1000 and love it

i was a bit frustrated at first after i switched but now that i'm used to my mac, i actually don't like using my pc anymore

hope it works out for you

[Blubbert]

There are several solutions for your mouse gesture stuff. I use two programs for mouse gestures in parallel, because i find it simpler than creating extremely complex gestures. Your first option is the xGestures program, which for $5 is really not expensive at all, considering all the functionality you get. I have been using it for almost two years now, and i have no complaints whatsoever. Another option is that you download quicksilver, and install the abracadabra plugin. This mouse gesture plugin is capable of triggering just about any action quicksilver can perform. Its not as good as xGestures, IMO, because the gestures do not follow a simple down right or left up pattern, you have to draw them yourself and then repeat the same with the mouse... It works fine for the simpler square gestures, but circles are hit or miss at best. Another option is called cocoa gestures. I have no idea how that program works, but i think it only operates in apps written in cocoa.
Paying $5 for xGestures was probably the best investment i made since i bought software for this mac. It has become an integral part of my interaction with the computer.

[janitorC7]

This isn't correct -- iPhoto doesn't do this. All of your jpeg images can be found in user/Pictures/iPhoto Library/Originals, organized in folders by year and roll. Edited images found are in the same directory, in the Modified folder.

yea, granted the library database cannot be opened, but the picture can, they are in the iPhoto Library Folder

[Hmac]

I use a Logitech 518. Never could warm up to the Apple mouse.

As for the rest of it, you're just complaining about how things are different than what you're used to. I'm a long time Windows "power user" too, but I expected that things would be different. Many things about OSX are better, many are not. Either works well once you get used to it...on balance OSX is better IMHO because it's faster and far more stable. Most of your complaints are based on your lack of knowledge about the OS. I never use iPhoto, for example...didn't take me long to figure that one out. I have Quicktime and WMP plugins, plus Flip4Mac. Video isn't a problem. I don't understand you CD burning complaints...I've not found it to be a problem. However, I like Toast better than either Windows of OSX burning paradigms. The dock...? How could anybody complain about the dock unless they were ignorant about how to change it? Far more useful and customizable than the Windows equivalent.

Come back and complain to us once you have as much experience with OSX as you do with Windows. Then you can judge them on an even footing. As it stands, you can't say that Windows is better, you can only say that you like it better. Your questions above do make me wonder if your parents computer really did have a hardware problem.

[mduser63]

Yeah, these are all common for new switchers (myself included). Fortunately, they're almost all based on misunderstanding or expecting OS X to behave like Windows. They've been addressed pretty well, but I'll throw in some more information:

1. You're probably getting tripped up by the Mac's acceleration curve. Windows feels much faster because it doesn't have acceleration. On a Mac, if you move the mouse slowly, the pointer not only moves slowly, it moves less distance on the screen for a given distance on the mousepad. It means you can get really fine precision for small movements, but still "fling" the cursor across the screen when you need to. A lot of people used to Windows complain that the mouse is too slow. I personally get frustrated because Windows mice feel too fast. Some people never get used to it, and there are utilities to get rid of the acceleration curve.

2. I've heard this one a lot, and frankly it baffles me. OS X has such a simpler file structure than Windows that I just can't figure this one out. Applications are self contained in /Applications except for the completely harmless XML preferences files which are kept in /Library/Preferences and ~/Library/Preferences. Anything users specific is in /Users/yourusername/. The OS itself is in /System. Compare this to Windows where stuff really does get scattered all over and installers/uninstallers are necessary for everything, not to mention the POS that is the registry.

3. You can use iPhoto or not use it, it's up to you. iPhoto (as with many Apple apps) is designed by default to take care of the details for you. Some people prefer to organize their files in Explorer/Finder. I don't understand this myself, but I know some people like to do it. iPhoto has an option in the Advanced tab of Preferences to select whether or not you want iPhoto to "copy items to the iPhoto library" when importing. If you uncheck that, you can import photos into iPhoto and it will leave them where they are without organizing them. When you edit files in iPhoto it will store the edited files in the library, but your original files will continue to remain untouched. Worth noting that you can drag and drop photos from iPhoto into a Finder window or the desktop to copy files out of your iPhoto library.

4. This one has been explained. The green plus button is not a maximize button, it's a zoom button. Many of us would throw a fit if Apple changed it to work the way Windows does. You can command-option-click on a program's Dock icon to hide all other apps. The same thing can be accomplished by pressing option-command-H or selecting Hide Others from the Application menu.

5. I don't really know this as I don't use mouse gesture software. It may be true that the proportion of small software for the Mac that's free compared to not-free is smaller than on Windows. My experience has been that Mac software is also higher quality on average. As a developer my impression is that Mac users in general are more willing to pay for their software which has the benefit of attracting developers who work hard on their software, but has the downside of making releasing a free app less necessary/appealing.

6. Make sure you don't have magnification turned on. It's a flashy eye-candy feature, but it really annoys me. You can set it on or off in the Dock section of System Preferences (System Preferences is in your Applications/Utilities folder). Also you may like to use auto hide.

7. Have no idea here. Sounds like a bug or corrupt .bmp files.

8. Activity Monitor in your Applications/Utilities folder. The closest Windows equivalent would be the Task Manager. You can also select Force Quit from the Apple menu to get a list of running apps and Force Quit them if need be. Activity Monitor will allow you to view, quit and force quit all running processes, not just apps.

9. Agree with you here, and this was the case for a long time. However, the newest version of QuickTime has full screen playback for free. Choose Software Update from the Apple menu to get it.

10. Need to be more specific. What kind of streaming video? What websites? I have no problem with streaming video on my Mac, but if you're using Microsoft Windows Media Player for Mac, that could be the problem. It's a terrible piece of software. Google Flip4Mac (even MS recommends this now) instead.

11. I agree this can be confusing. When you drag files to a disk, what you're actually doing is creating aliases in a folder. The files are not burned immediately. They are burned when you click Burn or drag the disk to the trash (which will change into a burn icon as you're dragging). The aliases are so you don't have to wait for the OS to make a complete copy of all the files before burning the disk, saving time and hard drive space. Before OS X 10.4 Tiger, this is how things worked and it was annoying. I do think Apple could make it more clear what's going on.

Hope this clears things up for you. As long as you don't try to force the Mac to be the same as a Windows machine, I think you, like most of us who switched from Windows, will find that the Mac offers a vastly superior experience for both beginners and power users alike.

[johny5]

subject line says it all "Yet".

[xUKHCx]

6. I find the Doc extremely obtrusive and annoying.

Be careful what you say about the Doc

http://www.criticalgamers.com/archives/pictures/DocBrownB.6.14.06.jpg

[Killyp]

Quick answers:

1) Get a different mouse. The Mighty Mouse sucks completely. Sorry!

2) All Applications are either stored in the Applications folder directly in your hard drive, or in the /Users/*username*/Applications folder, depending on whether they're shared for all users or only available to you (most apps are set up for all users). Any folder called 'Library' is for settings, and the System folder is as it says, for the system. Nothing to see in there...

3) It's honestly better to let iTunes and iPhoto handle ALL your files for you. Don't try and do it yourself, the computer is better. For getting photos and music into iMovie, you just pick them up in iPhoto or iTunes and move them into iMovie.

4) The Maxmimize button in Windows does nothing other than seriously slow down productivity. Can't see the desktop (which is where you work with files) and you can't see the windows behind. I think of this as like working with an A4 sized document on your desk, or working with a document which covers the whole desk so you can't get to anything underneath.

5) Not sure, I find Spotlight and the keyboard shortcuts do anything mouse-gestures in Windows used to do for me years ago.

6) Don't treat screen edges as barriers (most Windows users seem to do this). Generally your mouse will be at the top of the screen where most functions happen, I only ever need to go near the bottom of the screen for the Dock or resizing windows with the corner handles. You'll get used to it :)

7) Not sure, as above, either a bug or a fault with your BMP files.

8) Activity Monitor

9) Should do, Apple added this functionality a while back, thank god. One of the silliest choices Apple ever made IMO.

10) Not sure, I've found OS X's video capabilities to be much better than those of Windows.

11) To burn to a CD, create a new burn folder (Finder menu > New burn folder), and stick files inside it. When you're done, get the folder open and click the 'burn' button at the top of the Finder window.


Things are different to Windows, but once you've got the hang of it you'll never look back.

[theman]

3) It's honestly better to let iTunes and iPhoto handle ALL your files for you. Don't try and do it yourself, the computer is better. For getting photos and music into iMovie, you just pick them up in iPhoto or iTunes and move them into iMovie.


I don't use iTunes to manage my files because half of them are either .flac files or don't have any album info stored in them so they just get mangled in a mess. I kept my original organization of the files, but still do use the iTunes program to browse. It would just be impossble to find some songs if I let itunes put my files in the itunes folder. Total mess. For example for ACDC, it would split up into AC DC, ACDC, AC/DC, AC\DC, AC-DC.

Most of my music is from ripped cd's. And most of it was done way back in the day... so it's not so well done. but i'm not paying for it again. it's well organized, and that's how i like it.

[Killyp]

I don't use iTunes to manage my files because half of them are either .flac files or don't have any album info stored in them so they just get mangled in a mess. I kept my original organization of the files, but still do use the iTunes program to browse. It would just be impossble to find some songs if I let itunes put my files in the itunes folder. Total mess. For example for ACDC, it would split up into AC DC, ACDC, AC/DC, AC\DC, AC-DC.

Most of my music is from ripped cd's. And most of it was done way back in the day... so it's not so well done. but i'm not paying for it again. it's well organized, and that's how i like it.

Fair enough. But as far as iPhoto goes, it really knows what it's doing.

Also, avoid using BMPs, PNGs offer exactly the same image with much smaller file sizes. I don't know if this was a one off or whatever, but maybe you have millions of the things. I used to store all my pics as BMPs back in the days of Windows, complete waste of time...

[Enigmur]

As a very recent Windows to Mac user myself, I do understand your complaints.

It basically comes down to being a different OS. I think things are handled much better in OSX than Windows XP. I consider myself a pretty advanced user of Windows XP, I work at an IT company and it’s all we use – I’ve come to know it and be able to fix it.
This is a hard thing to grasp when you become advanced at something – you move to something different and obviously you are going to get annoyed that things arent exactly the same.
Trying to find certain things is hard in OSX just because its different from windows.
If I were a Mac user moving to XP, I wouldn’t have any idea what I was doing. Think about how hard it is to find certain things which should be easy, you need to do a lot of digging in both operating systems until you know what is where.
I think shortcuts are more important to know in OSX, keyboard commands are almost essential so you don’t have to control everything thru the control bar.

Overall, I do think OSX is tidier to use than XP. I can give anyone my Macbook and they can figure out straight away how to find programs, and do certain things. XP has a bigger learning curve and a bigger maintenance curve.
I could install OSX and give someone a computer, and basically leave them to just use it – which is what computers should be for.
Whereas if I set someone up an XP computer, I’ll have to show them about virus scanners, updating, spyware control, defragging, how to install programs cleanly and together – how to un-install them properly ect. Otherwise in 6 months the PC is almost useless.
90% of home user’s PC’s we get in are due to the fact XP is hard to maintain, unless you understand how easily it gets filled and clogged with crap, and how to keep it running cleanly.

I am by no means a Mac fanatic, I use my Windows machine for a lot, and my Mac for a lot – both have their pro’s and con’s.
It’s just a matter of learning.

[Topher15]

I don't use iTunes to manage my files because half of them are either .flac files or don't have any album info stored in them so they just get mangled in a mess. I kept my original organization of the files, but still do use the iTunes program to browse. It would just be impossble to find some songs if I let itunes put my files in the itunes folder. Total mess. For example for ACDC, it would split up into AC DC, ACDC, AC/DC, AC\DC, AC-DC.

Most of my music is from ripped cd's. And most of it was done way back in the day... so it's not so well done. but i'm not paying for it again. it's well organized, and that's how i like it.
Not to derail this thread, but why don't you just change the file names so they are consistent? In iTunes select all the ACDC tracks, right click to Get Info and change them all to a consistent artist name. It should change the files as well.

[ksmith80209]

1. The mighty mouse is God Awful slow at tracking. Even when you increase the speed in the configuration settings it is still very very slow. I read on a forum that you can type in a bunch of commands to the terminal to fix this but shouldn't it come standard into the operating system (10.5) without having to know all the UNIX commands?


Speeding up the mouse is pretty easy. Just go to terminal, type or paste "defaults write -g com.apple.mouse.scaling 5" (no quotes) and exit. That's it.

As an ex-Windows user, I'll gladly except this minor inconvenience in lieu of having to constantly update virus, anti-spam, and firewall software and deal with all that junk slowing my machine to a crawl...

[snickelfritz]

Hey folks,

A while ago I convinced my parents to purchase a mac because they were basically computer illiterate. I won't go into deep detail about how the mac had to be replaced 3 times in the period of 6 months after the purchase because of a faulty logic board, faulty HD, and faulty design to dissipate heat but I just sat down to use it this weekend as I am house sitting and wanted to give my impressions.

First off, I would consider myself a windows power user. I use windows everyday in my work as an Electrical Engineer and at home. I grew up with DOS and Windows and my family used to have an old Apple II years and years ago.

Here is a quick list of some of the things that drove me crazy this weekend. Can I get around some of these issues?

1. The mighty mouse is God Awful slow at tracking. Even when you increase the speed in the configuration settings it is still very very slow. I read on a forum that you can type in a bunch of commands to the terminal to fix this but shouldn't it come standard into the operating system (10.5) without having to know all the UNIX commands?

This is a common complaint from Windows users.

2. What is the file structure? I spend 10 minutes trying to find where the Applications folder physically exists on the HD but I couldn't find it. I don't understand why there are files located all over the HD and not all in one localized folder. This makes uninstalling items a serious pain.

Finding the Applications folder (or any file or directory) is as simple as typing "applications" into the Finder window search field. The path will be listed at the bottom of the Finder window.

3. Why are all photos managed through iphoto? I was trying to use imovie to make a video but I always had to go through iphoto. It would never let me browse the HD for photos. Am I missing something?!

They do not have to be managed by iPhoto.

4. Dear lord there is no 'maximize' window button. If I press the "plus" sign on the window it just makes it slightly larger to read whatever is being presented. In the mean-time I have all these windows in the background that are distracting, I just want the window to take up the full screen. How can I do this?

Maximize to full screen is a Windows paradigm; it has never existed in the MacOS. "Maximise" on the Mac means to enlarge the window to accommodate the content.

5. I use the mouse gesture software strokeit on Windows all the time but the only equivalent I can see on the mac you have to pay money for... come to think of it... a lot of these little programs on the mac you have to pay for. Perhaps some will accuse me of being overly cheap but if it is offered in Windows for free then any ideas why there aren't a lot of programs like this offered on the mac for free?

I suspect a lot of users would like this functionality to be included with OSX.

6. I find the Doc extremely obtrusive and annoying. When trying to click buttons on the bottom of the screen it automatically pops up and I have to move my mouse around icons to try and click a button. Sometimes I would open garageband by accident and then everything would be loading up while I was trying frantically to stop it from doing so... In windows if you maximize a window it becomes flush with the taskbar at the bottom and you know the boundaries and where you can and can't click. Is there a way around this?

I agree; the Dock is a minefield and should be moved to a layer, similar to the Dashboard. Out of the way until you need it.
Turn off magnification, and place the Dock along the left or right edge of the screen.

7. On the imovie that I was using all .bmp files that were scanned in with the Ken Burns effect turned a bright red. I had to convert all .bmp files to .jpg using iphoto then import them to imovie again. This was very frustrating.

You can quickly and easily copy and batch-convert your image files to jpeg using an Automator workflow.
This is a non-issue.

8. Without typing in UNIX commands into the terminal, how can I see what processes are running at any given moment and how can I kill some of these processes?

Command-Option-Escape

9. Quicktime refuses to play anything for me in fullscreen unles I pay Apple money. What the heck is that all about?! Is fullscreen some sort of feature that you need to pay for on a mac? I don't get it, I've been using Windows for years and MS never charges money for such a feature... and even if they did I would be able to find about 6 other free programs that would play the videos in full screen for free with tonnes of free support.

The latest version of Quicktime allows fullscreen playback on unlicensed installations.

10. Videoplay is terrible. Surfing websites and watching movies it seems you can't make the videos full screen, you can't search streaming video, and the play bar constantly stops moving even though the video is still playing.

Post a link to an example.

11. I put in a blank CD and dragged some media to my desktop only to find out that it was just copying shortcuts after I ejected the CD. This also messed me up when I tried to burn a CD and found out that instead of burning the file that I wanted, it burned a shortcut. I can't trust this machine, I have to go to 'get info' on every file just to determine whether or not it is the actual file or a pointer to the file.

Drag files to a Burn folder for creating a CD or DVD.
You can save the burn folder for subsequent copies if desired.
This does not create new copies of the material; only references to it.

I know this list looks like I'm bashing Apple but I assure you it is not. If I can rectify most of these issues I'm having I will probably make the mac my next purchase. I did like a lot of things on the mac when I was working but that list is much longer and I just needed to resolve the above list to be happy with the operating experience.

Best Regards,

Mistasopz

Most of the problems listed above are just differences between Windows and Mac; they are not in and of themselves "problems", but rather are the result of expecting OSX to conform to a set of Microsoft Windows standards that were established after the introduction of MacOS standards.

Operating systems tend to shape user thinking and priorities with regard to organization and processes, and as a result users have to "unlearn" some of this if they wish to function efficiently in another environment.
By "unlearn" I mean that they will simply have to approach the new environment with a completely open mind, free from biases and expectations.

It's really no different than learning to drive a new car.

[AlexisV]

6. I find the Doc extremely obtrusive and annoying. When trying to click buttons on the bottom of the screen it automatically pops up and I have to move my mouse around icons to try and click a button.

LOL - you're describing how it's meant to work. Not quite sure why you're having difficulty.

Use the dock for launching programs and switching between open apps. You'll notice you can have tens of programs open, whereas Windows can have about 5 windows open before the taskbar runs out of space.

I agree; the Dock is a minefield and should be moved to a layer, similar to the Dashboard. Out of the way until you need it.
Minefield? The dock is the single best thing about OS X!!!

[psonice]

I can't be arsed to read the whole thread, but a few quick answers:
1. The mighty mouse is God Awful slow at tracking.

It's a bad mouse in general I think. Buy a new one ;)

2. What is the file structure? I spend 10 minutes trying to find where the Applications folder physically exists on the HD but I couldn't find it. I don't understand why there are files located all over the HD and not all in one localized folder. This makes uninstalling items a serious pain.

The file structure is a bit wierd. In the finder, it's actually pretty nice - apps all go in /Applications, user files go in /Users/(your account), the OS is in /System, and app support files of various kinds (like preference settings) go in /Library or (your account)/Library. Uninstalling is usually as simple as dragging the app from the Applications folder to the bin. (The icon you see for the app actually holds ALL of the app's files by the way - try right click -> show package contents).

The bad part comes when you use the terminal - you then get 'the rest' of the file system, which is UNIX based. The standard stuff is still there though.

3. Why are all photos managed through iphoto? I was trying to use imovie to make a video but I always had to go through iphoto. It would never let me browse the HD for photos. Am I missing something?!

I guess iphoto is set as the default on that system. You can always open a finder window, and drag the pics into imovie (osx supports drag and drop a LOT more than windows - it's always worth giving it a go)

4. Dear lord there is no 'maximize' window button.

This is technically a 'feature' - rather than filling the screen and wasting space, it resizes to fit whatever is in the window. It's great in theory, but I miss a proper maximise button too. I'd say though that it works 'better' than the maximise button 50% of the time, so it's not really better or worse overall.

6. I find the Doc extremely obtrusive and annoying.

Turn off magnification and hiding, so it just sits there. I move it to the right of the screen too, so it's out of the way more.

8. Without typing in UNIX commands into the terminal, how can I see what processes are running at any given moment and how can I kill some of these processes?

Activity viewer. Just type that into spotlight to save messing around - infact spotlight is a good way to launch any app if you're a power user. Command + space bar to open spotlight :)

9. Quicktime refuses to play anything for me in fullscreen unles

Update it - they added free fullscreen a while back. And yes, making fullscreen playback a paid for feature was insane.

10. Videoplay is terrible.

Updating quicktime should help with some issues, sounds like others are down to slow internet speed. Quicktime won't let you play fullscreen from a browser window though I think.

[Eric Piercey]

Minefield? The dock is the single best thing about OS X!!!

I agree, the dock can be a pain when one isn't used to it, i.e. using someone elses Mac. I also agree it's an awesome part of the OS. It's really just a matter of setting the preferences to taste. Once you're used to your own settings the dock is wonderful, and there are a lot of different options. You can scale it super tiny with big magnification, hide it, etc. I use the bottom of the screen, scale it small, and hide it.

F11 (Expose') is the equivalent of windows+M for me to instantly see the desktop.

I use both OS's from 4-16 hours a day. (XP not Vista) I think they're both great OS's. I prefer OSX if I have to choose. It's just way cooler and there's no getting around it and that's not me falling victim to marketing hype. I get far more work done on a Mac because my focus is on the work not the computer. But in it's defense MS is the way to go in an Enterprise environment with AD and exchange. Cheaper and solid.

For the individual on a home network, OSX definitely. For a design firm with under 100 boxes, I'd go with OSX for sure. But when you're talking pure business apps, email, spreadsheets, word processing, Windows XPPro is still top dog, especially as you scale up.

[Cloudane]

My take...

1. (Mouse tracking) Hmm not sure, seems ok here. That said I don't like other people's setups when the pointer goes hurtling to the other side of the screen if you so much as breathe on the mouse :) As for the mouse itself... yeah I'm not 100% convinced yet, it's a bit tedious that you have to lift your left finger in order to right-click (especially if you play games which use a combination of right+left to do things). Also the wired version is uber-sensitive on the side buttons (wireless you have to give it a good squeeze). You can use any USB or standard Bluetooth mouse though.

2. (File structure) I don't quite know what you mean by things being scattered... I personally think it's a very logical structure. There are no drive letters (they're listed as devices in the Finder sidebar), but if you go into the command line you can reference other devices or partitions through /Volumes/NameOfVolume. The boot volume is /.

/Applications - apps go here (like a tidy version of Program Files)
/Library - system-wide settings go here (like a sane version of HKLM)
/System - the Mac OS X system goes here (like \Windows)
/Users - user directories go in here (like \Documents and settings)
/Users/Shared - anything you want to share between users
/Users/fred - your home
/Users/fred/Desktop - your desktop icons
/Users/fred/Documents, Pictures, Movies etc - self explanatory
/Users/Library - user settings (like a sane version of HKCU)

Applications are in /Applications but you rarely have to worry about the physical structure of the file system. They're in Applications :) If you lose it from the Finder sidebar, you can always drag it back on by going to "Macintosh HD" and then drag it back on. Technically speaking I think you can put applications anywhere and run them, but to be tidy most people stick to the Applications folder.

Uninstalling actually couldn't be easier (unlike Windows where you have to rely on an uninstaller to undo all the mess, and they're not infallible especially if they're made by Norton). I think you're probably just expecting it to have shoved a bunch of files in a "Program Files" type area and an icon under Applications (as if it was equivalent to the Start Menu) - an easy assumption to make coming from Windows, but not true.

The icons in the Applications folder aren't just icons/shortcuts, they're actual packages containing the full application and libraries etc, so to "uninstall" you drag the icon into the trash. The icon *is* the application. If you want to be really thorough, you can also delete its settings/preferences from /Users/Fred/Library (and /Library if applicable) but they take up so little room there's not much point.

From the command line, each application package is seen as a virtual directory, think a bit like zip folders in Windows, only back to front (you see just the package in the GUI, but in the command line you see its contents). For example Applications/Widget in the GUI becomes /Applications/Widget.app/Contents/(various files) in the command line. You can also see the various hidden bits and bobs that you don't need to know about even as a power user, including the UNIX based /usr /bin and all that.

Note: If you want to see package contents in the GUI, you can do so - right-click and "view contents".


3. (iPhoto) You don't *have* to use it. I do because it's incredibly tidy, and even as a bit of a "power user" who has an SLR and takes RAW files it's pretty much seamless (though I'd still use proper RAW tools when things need tweaking properly). I'd be shocked if you can't browse the HDD for images from iMovie... maybe you're just missing something (sorry I don't use it)

4. (Maximize button) - yeah tell me about it, that drove me nuts at first. There isn't one, not ever, nowhere. You have to stretch it out yourself. However I'm now working on a 20" iMac and IMO a maximized app on this size of display would look a bit silly. I even stopped maximizing things on my PC when I switched to a 19" screen. I do think there's a big market here for a UI hack - extra button or something - that fades everything else into darkness and lets your eyes concentrate on one window (think like Yahoo Widgets on the PC, which can act a bit like Dashboard but puts a nice solid texture in the background so all you see are your widgets)

5. (Mouse gestures and freeware) Not sure on the mouse gestures, sorry. I agree with your point about software, the Mac is very much a shareware culture (like the Amiga was), and it does get a little expensive paying $10 here and $30 there all the time (it adds up) to get the kind of utilities and control you take for granted on Windows, or are used to getting for free on that platform. There's simply less competition for the starving hobbyist developers, so there's no getting around feeding them ;)

However take a look at www.freemacware.com, there is a decent selection of freeware there.

6. (The dock)... take a look at its preferences. I have mine more or less default (magnification off... neat effect but horrible for usability), and shrunk a bit. If you're on Leopard, have a dig around the forum for that hint about getting the 2D dock back, as that gives you a clear boundary again instead of the new sticky-uppy 3D arrangement, which admittedly does get you guessing a bit. On this massive screen, I don't actually let the windows take up maximum real estate (see the bit about maximizing) so it doesn't bother me.

7. (iMovie/BMPs) not sure sorry.

8. (Process viewing) bring up Spotlight and type in "Activity Monitor". Voila. I think it's under Applications/Utilities somewhere if you want to point and click for it (I've almost never used the application icons since Spotlight was introduced)

9. (Quicktime fullscreen) - Yeah that was blatant greed by Apple (as is their attempt to hijack media download links in Safari with it, and force you to buy Pro to download the file instead of playing it embedded). Thankfully full screen is no longer a Pro feature - upgrade to the latest version and enjoy fullscreen for free :) As for media links, use Firefox.

10. (Video playing) Not had any issues here. As others have suggested give VLC a shot.

11. (Burning files) not sure why it'd only burn shortcuts, that's weird. I'd probably use Toast, which is the equivalent of Nero. Of course, it's more software to pay for :)

A lot of it is getting used to the Apple Way. It's very much "Our way or the Highway" when it comes to Apple, but that has its advantages in terms of consistency as well as the disadvantages such as lack of flexibility.