What We Want to See in Leopard

[GodBless]

Leopard is about 1.5 years away and many of us know what we want to see in it that is lacking in Tiger. I'm not saying Tiger is bad because it is great but Leopard could make OS X better in countless ways. This thread is for you to tell us what you want to see in Leopard.

I think that we should separate what the next Mac OS X release should offer in 3 categories updates, imitation and innovation because they are what makes an operating system update.

Updates are basically a reconstruction of buggy and/or outdated pieces of OS X. (Usually this is done by going from a 1.0 version to a 2.0 version.)

Imitation is features that are new to OS X but exist as third party software add-ons or are part of another operating system. (A Tiger example is how Dashboard paralleled Konfabultor.)

Innovation is basically new features; the things that we never saw before in OS X or anywhere else. (A Tiger example is the cmd+ctrl+d dictionary look-up feature.)

Here are a few things that I want to see in Leopard (not necessarily in order):

Updates:
- Printing - Speed and convenience of changing printing options.
- Finder - Thumbnail viewing speed and auto updating file information (such as the number of files in a folder).
- Dashboard - Desktop level widget option and transparency controls.

Imitation:
- From Windows and Linux - Make Finder have path integration and give it an address bar.
- From Linux - Feature that allows a window to always be the foremost no matter what window is clicked on.
- From Windows - Networking ease without the Samba garbage.
- From Windows - Ease of file hiding and advanced folder options.
- From Windows - Hardware support for countless devices (this will get more switchers).
- From Windows and Linux - Make OS X installable on any computer.
- From Windows - Numerous Longhorn features.

Innovation:
- Make it possible to cmd+tab through windows and applications at the same time. (I will post a screenshot of my solution for this later in this thread if I have time.)
- A new file system that makes everything work as it should (Spotlight, no more .DS_Store files, etc.).
- Making picture icons bigger than others when browsing them with finder or even when hovering over them with the mouse.

I have a list of things that I want to see in Leopard but I want others to respond so I can see if I am missing anything that I didn't consider and so that I can have something to look forward to that obviously will be included in Leopard that I somehow missed. We can each benefit from each other's views. Maybe we can piece together what Apple will focus on with Leopard before Apple first privately or publicly announces Leopard features.

 

[7on]

- From Windows and Linux - Make OS X installable on any computer.

You do know that this would bring to OSX driver problems. I.E. I couldn't even begin to count how many problem were caused by needing driver updates in Windows. And Linux isn't as compatible with as many hardware as Windows. Not only that but OSX doesn't make Apple that much money. OSX is currently $120 and I bet most of that goes to paying the salaries of the people who work on it. Not only that but OSX lacks any sort of activation currently. Opening it up to all computers would mean a higher pricetag (to offset the loss of cash generated by fewer hardware sales). And we'd prolly have to go to serial numbers and product activation like Windows. Apple making OSX installable on any computer would be like Dell stopping their computer manufacturing and just become a reseller of Windows.

I want to see on Leopard,
• Resolution independent display
• Streamline the OS
• Better networking
• Get rid of the Printer Setup Utility and fully integrate Printer setup into System Preferences.
• Stop naggging me about .Mac when installing the OS
• Allow me to setup the computer without entering address inforamtion /9I do know about cmd+q, but that leaves the shortuser as admin - cmd-q should bring up a window and let you put in your shortname and password)
• iTunes setup should default to what the user wants, not stuff like "Take me to the music store" over "take me to my Library."
• iChat not to give you a popup everytime you loose internet (hopefully in a 10.4.x update)
• A way to record what files an installer is installing - and give up an app that will remove said files.

 

[GodBless]

Here is the example I made and promised for window switching via cmd+`:

 

[GodBless]

You do know that this would bring to OSX driver problems.

Yes I do know about these problems. All solutions have some kinks to work out but overall Apple will make 10 times more money if they sell their OS to 10 times the people.

A good solution is for Apple to sell OS X to Dell and other PC manufactures and make it possible to run on computers built from scratch.

If Apple wants to get itself out their then it needs to be available on all hardware.

3rd party hardware is the way to go for OS X market share. Without 3rd party hardware support OS X market share will never reach its potential.

 

[Flying Llama]

My opinions...

[SNIP]

Updates:
- Printing - Speed and convenience of changing printing options.
- Finder - Thumbnail viewing speed and auto updating file information (such as the number of files in a folder). <-- I believe this exists in Tiger...
- Dashboard - Desktop level widget option and transparency controls. <--- Apple wants to keep Dashboard REALLY simple, I doubt this will happen.

Imitation:
- From Windows and Linux - Make Finder have path integration and give it an address bar. <--- Please no...
- From Linux - Feature that allows a window to always be the foremost no matter what window is clicked on. <--- This can be done in WindowshadeX, and I love it!
- From Windows - Networking ease without the Samba garbage.
- From Windows - Ease of file hiding and advanced folder options. <--- Again, Apple wants to keep everything really simple...
- From Windows - Hardware support for countless devices (this will get more switchers). <--- This will depend on the manufacturer, and there will be problems...
- From Windows and Linux - Make OS X installable on any computer. <--- No way, Apple makes money through hardware and already said that they will put a chip in their computers to not allow this.
- From Windows - Numerous Longhorn features. <--- Hey, they copied us, we already have their features.

Innovation:
- Make it possible to cmd+tab through windows and applications at the same time. (I will post a screenshot of my solution for this later in this thread if I have time.) <--- Sorry to be so pessimistic, but this would really complicate things, and exposé is already good for this...
- A new file system that makes everything work as it should (Spotlight, no more .DS_Store files, etc.). <--- So every single person would have to reformat their drives? I don't think so, but it would be nice...
- Making picture icons bigger than others when browsing them with finder or even when hovering over them with the mouse. <--- Now this would be nice, and I think Gnome and KDE highlight their icons when you hover over them, I love that too!

[SNIP]

llama

 

[GodBless]

- Make it possible to cmd+tab through windows and applications at the same time. (I will post a screenshot of my solution for this later in this thread if I have time.) <--- Sorry to be so pessimistic, but this would really complicate things, and exposé is already good for this...

Cmd+tab does a great job of switching applications and is better than exposé as far as I am concerned; so why not have a way for switching documents within an Application with an onscreen viewer? I'd like that a lot. Cmd+` works well but I would like an onscreen display for it too. Checkout my post above with a visual example of this.

- From Linux - Feature that allows a window to always be the foremost no matter what window is clicked on. <--- This can be done in WindowshadeX, and I love it!

Sweet! I didn't know that there was 3rd party software that did this or I'd have been using it long ago. Thanks for telling me about it!

 

[neonart]

WILL NOT HAPPEN.

Yes I do know about these problems. All solutions have some kinks to work out but overall Apple will make 10 times more money if they sell their OS to 10 times the people.

A good solution is for Apple to sell OS X to Dell and other PC manufactures and make it possible to run on computers built from scratch.

If Apple wants to get itself out their then it needs to be available on all hardware.

3rd party hardware is the way to go for OS X market share. Without 3rd party hardware support OS X market share will never reach its potential.

They'd have to sell WAY MORE than 10 times more OS licenses.

From THIS ARTICLE:

"...Apple has no plans to sell a version of Mac OS for non-Apple computers, nor does it plan to sell or support Windows on Apple machines, company representatives have said.
The company has good reasons to take such a stance, analysts say. The most notable is its reliance on computer sales. Even with iPod sales booming, sales of Macintosh computers still brought in $3.1 billion in revenue, or 46% of Apple's total sales, in the first six months of its fiscal year. In contrast, during that time period, Apple garnered just $251 million, or less than 4% of its total revenue, from sales of [ALL]software, including its Mac OS."

Would you risk 46% of your income for the possibility of increasing LESS than 4% of that income? Seriously.

I'd love for this dream to also be true so I can build a $500 newegg.com monster Mac, but I realize it could destroy my favorite computer company.

We have to stay in the realm of reality.

 

[Mitthrawnuruodo]

Just hit F10 (or whatever you've set to enable Exposé: Application windows), and then hit cmd-tab... Good enough for me...

 

[GodBless]

Would you risk 46% of your income for the possibility of increasing LESS than 4% of that income?

Good point.

Apple computer sales are going up anyway so hopefully Mac OS X market share is going up too. Obviously making OS X able to run on 3rd party hardware would make the market share skyrocket but who said that Apple computer sales would go down? Apple will still get computer sales because it makes some of the best hardware.

 

[neonart]

Good point.

Apple computer sales are going up anyway so hopefully Mac OS X market share is going up too. Obviously making OS X able to run on 3rd party hardware would make the market share skyrocket but who said that Apple computer sales would go down? Apple will still get computer sales because it makes some of the best hardware.

Yes some, but money talks. If you can have an Athlon 64 for $669 and plop OSX on it, why buy a G5, or even a Mini? Imagine all the people going to Wal-Mart and buying that $300 complete system they sell and putting OSX on it. After a couple of months when the super crappy hardware starts giving problems then they say "the Mac OS sucks".

Tight integration of the software and the hardware is what has made the Mac OS such a great platform for so many years. And Mac sales is the bread and butter of Apple Computer. Giving those two things up is not logical.

 

[Lacero]

- From Windows and Linux - Make Finder have path integration and give it an address bar.

Tiger already has a better implementation. It's called Command clicking on the title bar. That gives you a drop down list of your folder hierarchy.

 

[yg17]

OSX on any PC: never gonna happen. Apple is a hardware company, they make their money by selling computers. If someone buys a $400 eMachines computer, then buys a copy of OSX (lets forget the fact the Mini is cheaper than $400+OSX for a second), Apple won't make nearly as much money as they would if said person buys an iMac for $1500. The hardware is the cake, OSX is the icing ontop of that.


Not only that, what makes OSX so stable and great is Apple can optimize it for a small set of possible hardware configurations. If they open it up for any PC, they have an infinite of hardware setups to work with, which can really make things difficult and OSX won't be nearly as good as it is. If they did that, yes, Leopard would still have some neat features, but they're no good if the OS crashes every time you try to use them.

 

[GodBless]

Tiger already has a better implementation. It's called Command clicking on the title bar. That gives you a drop down list of your folder hierarchy.

I know about this feature, but I like path integration that is selectable so that it can be copied and pasted in various locations for linking files to one another, finding a specific location on the hard drive fast and many other things. Cmd+click is good for some things and an address bar would be good for other things.

 

[snowdog]

Just give me a consistent gui and I'll be happy

 

[After G]

I want Apple to get rid of the "you have lost internet connection" dialog whenever you unplug your ethernet, or your wi-fi goes dead, or your modem hangs up. Only hassle me when I have real networking problems.

I want more to "Graphite" than just a color change in window buttons, the apple, and the highlight. I want a no-nonsense, no eye-candy Apple-like interface (and no, I don't like skins).

I don't how OS X has a wizard for network. I hated them in Windows, and I hate them now.

I want less GPU dependence. Mac GPUs haven't been great in the non-desktop lines. If you need another chip in there to do the heavy lifting for the graphics subsystem, why don't you just fab it and build it yourself, Apple?

OK, done complaining.

 

[GodBless]

Just give me a consistent gui and I'll be happy

I disagree with people on this topic. Variety a good thing. One type of GUI is good for one thing and another type of GUI is good for another thing. Also once your eye sees one type of GUI over and over again (for example everyone has seen the consistent Windows GUI) it gets board. I like visual variety as long as most of GUI the aspects are the same in function.

 

[stridey]

I disagree with people on this topic. Variety a good thing. One type of GUI is good for one thing and another type of GUI is good for another thing. Also once your eye sees one type of GUI over and over again (for example everyone has seen the consistent Windows GUI) it gets board. I like visual variety as long as most of GUI the aspects are the same in function.

Well, consistancy and variety are not mutually exclusive. For instance, when Aqua and Brushed Metal were introduced, they were consistant. That is, there were specific guidelines as to when each look was appropriate. Unfortunately, Apple buggered that up by completely failing to follow their own rules, and compounded the problem further by introductin the unified toolbar without any logic or justification whatsoever. So while I agree that variety is good, I also long for a consistant GUI.

 

[Sweetfeld28]

I disagree with people on this topic. Variety a good thing. One type of GUI is good for one thing and another type of GUI is good for another thing. Also once your eye sees one type of GUI over and over again (for example everyone has seen the consistent Windows GUI) it gets board. I like visual variety as long as most of GUI the aspects are the same in function.

i totally agree. i always thought that it would be nice if apple could incorperated some sort of over all themes for everthing in the GUI, like the had in OS 9. now, i know i could possibly download 3rd party themes, but apples designs always so much better in my opinion.

i just think that it would be cool to be able to have a variety of themes, or colors to use for stuff like the aqua bar that you see when loading/downloading/installing stuff (the blue bar you see when your computer boots up in OS X.

 

[eva01]

I would like to see Preview be as good as it was in Panther :/

many things annoy me about it under Tiger

 

[GodBless]

I would like to see Preview be as good as it was in Panther :/

many things annoy me about it under Tiger

I thought it was a lot better in Tiger. Full screen finally has a keyboard shortcut and it has a built-in slide show option. There are other cool additions too.

 

[ksz]

Imitation:

From Windows: Hibernate

 

[stridey]

Imitation:

From Windows: Hibernate

Dear lord, please no.

 

[mxpiazza]

better handling, options, and connectivity for fast user switching and multiple logged on users... one thing xp does right.

 

[dornoforpyros]

I refuse to buy leapord. I'm waiting for liger!

 

[slooksterPSV]

Dock - be able to add dividers like the one that separates the apps from the trash, not fake icon ones
Add more docks - be able to add more docks to the left and right of the screen. Sometimes I would like another one to put different things. 1 for apps, 1 for docs I'm working on/stuff I'm working on

I don't think n e thing needs to be done with networking, its perfect in my opinion, windows has the problems.

Options for locking out file(s)/folder(s) by securing just that file/folder with AES-128 bit compression, and password for anywhere in the OS.
Ability to set processor usage by one program with % levels, not like how Windoze does it, but by like 1%, automatic, etc, but also, be able to set it by how the processor reacts such as this:
When CPU is inactive
When CPU is a little active
When CPU is active
When CPU is very active
etc. then have a % of how much processor usage it should take up in that time frame. Thats how I want to explain it.

I think this would be a cool feature and a unique one, but have pictures/files in a hierchy where when you open this program it shows it like this:
200x (a project)
-family dvds
--Wedding
--Party
-programming
--C
---Halo 3
----main.c
----func.h
but you can configure it however you want for what files etc.

Those are just my idea's.