So I have to preface this with the fact that I am a long time linux user who bought a macbook pro to run linux on, fell in love with osx and am happily working with osx on a daily basis instead of linux. (I now access linux on a seperate host when i need it.) I have to say the macbook pro has made me an apple convert, which my wife found difficult to believe. It will be macs for me from here on out. my kids as well.
Over the years one of the reasons I used to cite for why "all things apple" were bad was that apple refused to move away from the one button mouse for the longest time. It was, in my opinion, a very stubborn thing to do. At what point would holding a key down while clicking not ring a bell for the User Experience guys that it was time to give up the ghost on the one button mouse?
The MBP (see already talking like an apple guy) still comes with a trackpad with one button. Granted the two finger click is very elegant, but how about the right click and drag? At any rate, it appears that the mouse button debate is over with the mighty mouse and that nifty little trackball scroll wheel. I assume at some point in the future the macbook trackpad will offer the right click button as well.
So I would like to address a second item that i have frequently found fault with, and even now as a new mac convert, I am not getting used to. the menu at the top of the screen. what is the deal with this thing? Is it stubborness that makes this menu persist? It makes more sense to have the menu on the top of the associated window doesnt it?
UNIX has done this since the beginning with just about every window manager. Windows obviously does it, yet the mac for all its user experience wonder, clings to this archaic layout for the menu. I don't get it. From a distance to click perspective you will always be closer to the menu in the window you are working in rather than going to the top of the desktop. additionally, having the top menu on the desktop be context sensitive to an application is confusing. If i was using the finder menu, and i clicked on firefox, or any other app. suddenly the menu dissappears. I think it is counter intuitive to click back on the finder window to get the finder menu to appear again.
Now before anyone flames me for this, it is a genuine curiosity. What is the attachment to the context menu at the top of the window all about? Can someone explain the benefit to me? The only thing i could come up with is screen real estate. that may have been important back in the low res monitor days, but today, I would think it no longer applies. Is there a chance that apple would one day allow a user to configure this menu layout so that attaching it to a window is optional? I assume it is a differentiator for OSX, but it is not a good one. You could have a permanent system toolbar at the top of the screen if you always wanted the system menu there?
Puzzled
sligo
Over the years one of the reasons I used to cite for why "all things apple" were bad was that apple refused to move away from the one button mouse for the longest time. It was, in my opinion, a very stubborn thing to do. At what point would holding a key down while clicking not ring a bell for the User Experience guys that it was time to give up the ghost on the one button mouse?
The MBP (see already talking like an apple guy) still comes with a trackpad with one button. Granted the two finger click is very elegant, but how about the right click and drag? At any rate, it appears that the mouse button debate is over with the mighty mouse and that nifty little trackball scroll wheel. I assume at some point in the future the macbook trackpad will offer the right click button as well.
So I would like to address a second item that i have frequently found fault with, and even now as a new mac convert, I am not getting used to. the menu at the top of the screen. what is the deal with this thing? Is it stubborness that makes this menu persist? It makes more sense to have the menu on the top of the associated window doesnt it?
UNIX has done this since the beginning with just about every window manager. Windows obviously does it, yet the mac for all its user experience wonder, clings to this archaic layout for the menu. I don't get it. From a distance to click perspective you will always be closer to the menu in the window you are working in rather than going to the top of the desktop. additionally, having the top menu on the desktop be context sensitive to an application is confusing. If i was using the finder menu, and i clicked on firefox, or any other app. suddenly the menu dissappears. I think it is counter intuitive to click back on the finder window to get the finder menu to appear again.
Now before anyone flames me for this, it is a genuine curiosity. What is the attachment to the context menu at the top of the window all about? Can someone explain the benefit to me? The only thing i could come up with is screen real estate. that may have been important back in the low res monitor days, but today, I would think it no longer applies. Is there a chance that apple would one day allow a user to configure this menu layout so that attaching it to a window is optional? I assume it is a differentiator for OSX, but it is not a good one. You could have a permanent system toolbar at the top of the screen if you always wanted the system menu there?
Puzzled
sligo