Given I use all three operating systems (XP, Linux and MacOSX [both tiger and leopard for that matter on different partitions]), I guess I'm not so sensitive to OS-Centric quibbles.
I use all three and I want Windows to work like Windows, OS X like OS X, and Linux like Linux. The house has a kitchen and a bathroom, but that wouldn't stop me being phased if someone decided to install a toilet in the middle of the kitchen floor.
Frankly, I hated Apple's keyboard that came with this PowerMac so I bought a Logitech one
I quite like Apple's white keyboard that came with this machine, but I wanted a Bluetooth one and I got a Belkin...
and swapped the command key to CTRL on it (seeing as how everything that uses CTRL in Windows OR Linux uses CMD in OSX...a case of Apple holding on to non-standards just to be difficult
...but I have things mapped so it's like the layout of an Apple keyboard, and ignore the labels on the keys (which I don't look at anyway). Notice how we could each choose what we preferred, but only one of us invented a `standard' just because two common OSs use a different label for a key with a particular role.
(i.e. not a crappy Apple one that is either missing the numeric keypad or has flat keys that remind me of a cross between a speak'n'spell and an ATARI 400 keyPADboard. Don't even get me going on that stupid Mighty Mouse design.
i've not tried the flatboard long enough to judge. The Mighty Mouse is a travesty of ergonomics. But Windows, Mac or Linux box, it's nice how we can all choose which keyboard to use.
I guess what I'm getting at is Firefox REALLY not fitting into OSX or is more like OSX isn't fitting in with everyone else out there (i.e. Windows, Linux, BSD, etc.)
If OS X was like everything else then it wouldn't be OS X, and there'd be no point in buying a Mac over any other machine. Total homogeneity is not an aim or a desire; if you want something that embraces everything else and knocks it down to lowest common denominator, stick with pure POSIX or .NET or something.
Apple doing non-standard things (Appletalk, Nubus, pushing Firewire in lieu of USB 2.0 when it first came out instead of including both, etc.)
Are you using the word `standard' to mean `more common, therefore correct'? Shouldn't we all be on Windows, then? Anyway, in which year did PCs commonly have USB hardware but Macs did not? What do you find technically superior about USB over Firewire that makes you annoyed that Apple favoured the latter? Don't forget that you're talking USB 1.x era, widening the gap even further.
which only ever happens in the first place because Apple wants you to buy THEIR hardware
Are you arguing that businesses shouldn't want you to buy their stuff? What was the last year Apple used ADB rather than USB? In what way is PS/2 / AT more `standard' than ADB?
finally realized one button doesn't cut it (i.e. they were wrong all along about it) but to try and cover the fact up
Looked at another way, they moved to NeXTstep, which assumes two buttons. Did Apple ever disable all the third party two button ADB mice on the market, or is this like all other issues so far raised where the only problem seems to be that you don't like the Apple default choice
even when users have alternatives?
they HIDE the second button on their mice even today. It works well enough to make some PC users think they STILL use one button.
The whole UI is still usable with one button. The Mac is traditionally more about clicking and dragging, Windows about selecting and adjusting. But don't let this stop you doing what I did and getting an $n$-button mouse.
Well, then there's the absolutely ABSURD use of only ONE button on their laptops even today
Yes. Agreed. Though an appropriate two finger press on the trackpad works as a right click, it's not as precise, and makes complex movements harder. You've listed a huge heap of problems with Apple 15 years ago, and now one problem with Apple today.
identical to Safari for those that need that for some reason.
If drivers in one country are used to driving on the left, don't suddenly build roads in their country where they have to drive on the right. Unless, perhaps, you're building roads exclusively for foreign visitors, in which case you should expect the natives to object.
I mean Apple USED to depend on Internet Explorer so how between then and now everyone thinks Apple = Safari is beyond me, especially given how awful Safari was a couple of years ago compared to today.
Did you try Firefox 2.0 to see how awful it was one month ago? Mac-oriented web browsers have improved, and Safari has improved. Did you try Netscape Navigator 4.72 back when IE was king on the Mac?
the biggest difference between Safari and Firefox is that if I don't like Firefox's default interface, I CAN do something about it.
Skinning is not by a long stretch the same as changing the interface. An interface is as much about how functionality is exposed. And no Firefox skins match the smooth integration of Safari with Leopard's theme. If I have the choice between a million differently polished number twos and one tasty cake... well, at least it'd be more varied than the average general election.
Now, if you want to argue that OS X
as a whole needs official theming support, I'd completely agree. Black on dark grey is not very legible.
you don't see die-hard Mac fans complaining how awful Safari looks on Windows
A die-hard Mac fan probably won't even look at Safari for Windows to know, nor care. But yes, Safari looks very out of place on Windows, and I see it as more a helper for iPhone developers, teaser for potential switchers and relief for some Mac users who must use Windows. I can't see Apple seriously thinking they're going to gain a good proportion of Windows browser share.
A fundamental distinction between Windows and Mac users is that a large proportion of Mac users tend to be there by choice. They
like the way Mac designers think, and saying "you have the choice to be very different or only slightly different from the Mac!" isn't helpful. Many Mac users pay attention to detail, so saying "stop fussing about a few cosmetic/rendering errors!" is like saying "stop fussing about the scratches I made on the your new car door!" You might not mind the look of your car after it's been keyed, but many people do.
's have, I'm going to pull out MY old standby argument against Windows:
