Are Mac users trained to 'quit apps' ?

[ecrispy]

I learned on OSX an app doesn't close when you close the window, you have to quit it. Seems like very strange behavior - e.g. I closed Safari but can cmd-tab to it, nothing shows up on screen except a change in the menu bar.

I can only conclude that all Mac users must learn to do this naturally? I see no reason to keep an app alive - if it needs to so something in the background, it should be a system service.

Does OSX not close the app so it can be launched quicker next time? That's what caching is supposed to do, otherwise it just consumes resources. AFAIK no other OS does this - Windows or Linux.

 

[mfram]

*shrug* It's just the way most document-based Mac apps work (like Safari). But not all apps works that way. For example if you close the System Preferences windows, then the app stops.

It's all up to the developer of the particular app whether the app closes if you close the last window or not.

It's not that big of a deal on newer versions of Mac OS anyway. If an app is hanging out in the background, the system could automatically close it if memory gets tight. And the "App Nap" feature in Mavericks will possibly compress the App's memory if it stays in the background long enough.

 

[chabig]

It's just not a big deal. For the most part, Apple would prefer you interact with documents, not applications. When you close the last document in an app, you can just move on and do whatever it is you want to do. The next time you open a document that belongs to that app, it'll open quicker.

 

[verwon]

Apple optimizes, stuff can stay open and you still get amazing performance....Same on the iPhone, iPad and etc.

I've got an old PPC Mac mini that still runs great, I only upgraded because of crashes on some newer websites that I need to use for business.

 

[old-wiz]

I almost always close with command-Q except for apps that only have a single window like System Preferences. I learned it long ago and don't even think about it.

 

[MisterMe]

I learned on OSX an app doesn't close when you close the window, you have to quit it. Seems like very strange behavior - e.g. I closed Safari but can cmd-tab to it, nothing shows up on screen except a change in the menu bar.

I can only conclude that all Mac users must learn to do this naturally? I see no reason to keep an app alive - if it needs to so something in the background, it should be a system service.

Does OSX not close the app so it can be launched quicker next time? That's what caching is supposed to do, otherwise it just consumes resources. AFAIK no other OS does this - Windows or Linux.

Quitting applications is an artifact of a bygone era. Recent versions of OS X discourage the practice. Apple's current design does not enforce this design to the extent that its defunct OpenDoc did. OpenDoc editors did not have a Quit command. iOS does not have Quit command. One should not be surprised if Apple eliminated the Quit command in a future version of OS X. That said, I prefer having a Quit command. I suppose that I am getting old and set in my ways.

 

[satcomer]

Old habits die hard. Remember that when you grow older.

 

[Dave Braine]

It's all up to the developer of the particular app whether the app closes if you close the last window or not.

Not necessarily so. In general, Apple applications that can only have a single window open; e.g., iPhoto, iMovie, Sys Prefs, Contacts etc, will quit when you close the open window. Others, that can have multiple windows, remain running.