OS X - Apple's Fix-It List

[MacVault]

1) File System - Looks like ZFS is the future - this sounds great!

2) GUI - I hope the rumors are true about a new UI in Leopard! This is very much needed.

3) Network File System - Should Apple just fix the bugs or adopt an entirely new network file system?

4) Kernel - I read a lot about how "bad" the OS X Darwin/Mach micro kernel is. Is it really a bad kernel or is it all just FUD? And if it is bad 1) what kernel should Apple use (Solaris, perhaps?), 2) should they reinvent the wheel and make it from scratch, 3) how dificult is it to give OS X a kernel-transplant?

5) What other major things need to be fixed in OS X to bring it up to perfection? What else is it lacking compared to the high-performance enterprise-ness it needs to compete with Linux / Windows in the enterprise world??? Is OS X riddled with problems, or does the above list pretty much cover it???

 

[Twenty1]

not a whole lot...

I think for the average consumer, OS X is pretty rock solid. Apple's ability to add new, unique ways of using a computer (Expose, the upcoming Spaces, etc) is what's most important to me.

I'm not much of a techie or coder, I just want my system to work and be enjoyable. I'm stick on windows all day at work and enjoy being on a non-window's system at home.

 

[BoyBach]

I think for the average consumer, OS X is pretty rock solid. Apple's ability to add new, unique ways of using a computer (Expose, the upcoming Spaces, etc) is what's most important to me.

I'm not much of a techie or coder, I just want my system to work and be enjoyable. I'm stick on windows all day at work and enjoy being on a non-window's system at home.

I agree!

File systems and Kernels? Blah!

I just want it to work, be easy to use and look good.

 

[MacVault]

I think for the average consumer, OS X is pretty rock solid. Apple's ability to add new, unique ways of using a computer (Expose, the upcoming Spaces, etc) is what's most important to me.

I'm not much of a techie or coder, I just want my system to work and be enjoyable. I'm stick on windows all day at work and enjoy being on a non-window's system at home.

Yes, the consumers are set with OS X. But my interest in my original post was more as OS X relates to the high-performance enterprise aspects. As in kernel, file system, network protocols, etc. I hate it when I mention using OS X in our data center at work and my co-worker names off all these shortcoming about OS X and how this or that isn't optimized or fast enough to even begin to touch a Windows 2003 Server or Linux system.

 

[MacSyn]

Better input methods for foreign languages. OS X is just not "worldly" enough if compared with Microsoft Windows. I hope OS X will have better input methods in Leopard.

 

[mkrishnan]

Better input methods for foreign languages. OS X is just not "worldly" enough if compared with Microsoft Windows. I hope OS X will have better input methods in Leopard.

Are there specific languages? It's been a while since I used IMEs in XP, but my impression in general has been that OS X offers a better selection of phonetic input schemes and so on....

Macvault, you can hardly blame people for bringing up end user / consumer issues when your infrastructure-centric list of things you want to see included a new GUI....

As for me, at the low level, I'm not that particular about things I want to see beyond things already clearly in the pipeline. Res-indep UI is the one I'm most excited about.

At a high level, lots of tiny things, but I'm generally happy. I'd like to eventually see Spotlight segue into a broader system for file management that isn't as tightly bound to a physical folder/file system.... like a meshing of a project management approach with files that are allowed to be related to multiple projects / tasks.

 

[MacVault]

I guess I'm asking the wrong forum. I should post the original post on a non-mac IT site

 

[swingerofbirch]

One thing that needs to be fixed is to unify what happens when you click on an App's icon in the dock that already has open windows which have been minimized.

In Safari, it brings the foremost window to active status. If all the windows are minimized, it maximizes the most recently minimized.

However, look at an app like Keynote. If you have it open and a presentation minimized, and click on the icon in the dock for Keynote it will open a dialog box to create a new document.

Here is another bug I have sent to Apple already and posted here before, but still exists:

Open textedit.
Create several documents and type some gibberish in each one.
Go to Menu textedit --> Quit Textedit
At next dialog hit Review changes
At first open document hit save
LEAVE the next dialog that asks you where to save alone
Now go to file--> new
Notice the new window is missing the normal options at the top of the window
Type some gibberish in this document
Now close this document by hitting the red button (or command W if you want to do it exactly like I did)
Notice NO SAVE DIALOG APPEARS!
The file just closes!!!!!

 

[savar]

1) I doubt ZFS is the default for installs though -- at least not in 10.5. Unless....this is how they plan on making Time Machine work? In that case they get time machine "for free" once ZFS is done.

2) GUI? meh. They'll mess it up later on in a .1 release.

3) NFS - not sure what you're referring to here. My experience on OS X is that all the networking is slow, but I think that's more of a problem with the...

4) Kernel! This is going to be a big improvement in 10.5. I'm not a kernel expert (or even intermediate) by any means, but the increase granularity of kernel locking (aka funnels) will improve throughput considerably for file and network I/O.

5) I kinda wish they would replace Terminal.app with an application more like PuTTy, but that's a very small wish.

 

[MatthewCobb]

the increase granularity of kernel locking (aka funnels) will improve throughput considerably

I *love* it when you talk dirty, Savar

 

[MacVault]

While details of the GUI and things like terminal.app vs Putty are worth discussing, my intention for this thread is more for infrastructural or underlying fixes, changes and additional technologies needed in the guts of OS X. It would be nice to stay on topic as much as possible.

 

[sg1]

Two GUI-related fix-its that I'd most like to see (sorry if slightly OT, MacVault)

1. I have some apps that open windows which occupy the full height of the screen, and this places their resize handles behind my dock area.. To make re-sizing the windows easier, place a handle at each corner of the window, rather than just the bottom-right.

2. I also run dual-screen, and find it odd having to move the mouse to a different screen to access the menu-bar for something like a safari window.. would be nice if the menu bar could be switched to a "dynamic" mode so it appeared on whatever screen had the active window.

 

[killmoms]

5) I kinda wish they would replace Terminal.app with an application more like PuTTy, but that's a very small wish.

Yes, I too wish they would replace the bash shell interface with a secure shell client. Because that makes any sense at all.

 

[adiosk8]

1)

5) I kinda wish they would replace Terminal.app with an application more like PuTTy, but that's a very small wish.

the only difference between putty and terminal is that in putty you can load a saved address...other then that...all of the same features are in Terminal.

 

[swingerofbirch]

Two GUI-related fix-its that I'd most like to see (sorry if slightly OT, MacVault)


2. I also run dual-screen, and find it odd having to move the mouse to a different screen to access the menu-bar for something like a safari window.. would be nice if the menu bar could be switched to a "dynamic" mode so it appeared on whatever screen had the active window.

Also, if there were a way when running something full screen, like a QuickTime movie to be able to pick which screen it runs full screen on, or by default run it on the one where the movie window is. On my setup it always plays on the computer's screen (my iMac) and not on the VGA monitor I have attached for spanned image.

 

[bousozoku]

The kernel is one of the slowest.

Hopefully, enhancements in 10.5 will bring it up to being just merely slow, while keeping its flexibility in loading and unloading kernel extensions on the fly.

I still believe that it's a better, more robust kernel than Linux is using but for anyone to think that the kernel is fast would be nonsense. For quite a long time, it has been evident that Avie Tevanian was proud to have seen his Carnegie-Mellon University project (Mach) stay alive but I think he was also part of the foot dragging to modernise it. Now that he's gone, it should go more smoothly and quickly.

 

[Scottyk9]

Also, if there were a way when running something full screen, like a QuickTime movie to be able to pick which screen it runs full screen on, or by default run it on the one where the movie window is. On my setup it always plays on the computer's screen (my iMac) and not on the VGA monitor I have attached for spanned image.

Quicktime > preferences > full screen, click on which screen you want it to play on

 

[yellow]

I think #2 is already evident in the style that the current iTunes uses.

Just please please please please please please please PLEASE un-f*ck the Finder!

 

[MacVault]

I think #2 is already evident in the style that the current iTunes uses.

Just please please please please please please please PLEASE un-f*ck the Finder!

Though this thread wasn't meant to turn into a UI discussion, I have to say a huge AMEN to the above comment. Currently the finder is f*ck3d. We need the UI to not only become unified but to become unified in a great-looking-UI way. I.e. I don't want every window to have the same old blue bubbly scroll bars - I WANT EVERY WINDOW TO HAVE ***BRAND NEW SCROLL BARS***!

Like yellow said above: PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE un-f*ck the Finder/UI!!!!

 

[SC68Cal]

1) 5) I kinda wish they would replace Terminal.app with an application more like PuTTy, but that's a very small wish.

Unless I'm mistaken, PuTTy is just an SSH client. Have you ever used Terminal? Do you know what it is?

 

[FrankBlack]

I'm afraid I'm easy to please. I'll settle for a built-in printer test page. (i.e. Select your printer, then pick "print a test page" from a menu) Windows has it, the Mac does not. Apple could come up with a printer test page that rocks.

 

[maxrobertson]

Two GUI-related fix-its that I'd most like to see (sorry if slightly OT, MacVault)

1. I have some apps that open windows which occupy the full height of the screen, and this places their resize handles behind my dock area.. To make re-sizing the windows easier, place a handle at each corner of the window, rather than just the bottom-right.

2. I also run dual-screen, and find it odd having to move the mouse to a different screen to access the menu-bar for something like a safari window.. would be nice if the menu bar could be switched to a "dynamic" mode so it appeared on whatever screen had the active window.

1. I think it would be good if the placed a resize on the left as well as the right, but on the top left and right? No way, that would really mess it up.

2. That's a good idea. I don't use more than one screen, but I've always thought it would be annoying to have to go to an entirely different screen to use the menubar.

Also, I really hope they update the interface. It doesn't have to be extremely dramatic, but I'm just not a huge fan of metal or gradients. I always thought glass windows would look great, but now that Windows has them, they might want to thin of something even cooler.

 

[disconap]

Also, if there were a way when running something full screen, like a QuickTime movie to be able to pick which screen it runs full screen on, or by default run it on the one where the movie window is. On my setup it always plays on the computer's screen (my iMac) and not on the VGA monitor I have attached for spanned image.

You can open the file and then use command+shift+f and you will be asked where you want to play it.

 

[NaMo4184]

Though this thread wasn't meant to turn into a UI discussion, I have to say a huge AMEN to the above comment. Currently the finder is f*ck3d. We need the UI to not only become unified but to become unified in a great-looking-UI way. I.e. I don't want every window to have the same old blue bubbly scroll bars - I WANT EVERY WINDOW TO HAVE ***BRAND NEW SCROLL BARS***!

Like yellow said above: PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE un-f*ck the Finder/UI!!!!

The UI is the best out there, but it can be better with a little TLC. I want to see stricter consistence between the way windows close, the menues and etc...

As for Mach, if it is the thing holding back performance and it isn't a big deal to get rid of it, the to hell with it. Maybe that's why Avie left. They killed his pet project.

 

[iancapable]

Unless I'm mistaken, PuTTy is just an SSH client. Have you ever used Terminal? Do you know what it is?

At the end of the day a command line is a command line... Terminal serves it's purpose and is better than the equivalent in windows. However as a *nix user I would prefer to have colours (I think that's what he was trying to get at) as putty displays console colours when logged into a remote machine.