My Mac OS X Review-or-The 11 things that annoy me in Tiger

[ctachme]

A while ago I started jotting down problems I had with the Finder, Spotlight etc... and as that list became more and more involved I decided to make a website (since I kinda enjoy making them, and they are so cheap to host) detailing all the problems I see with Mac OS X.

So I know this is somewhat of a self-promotional post, but it's not like I have anything to sell (there aren't even ads ). I honestly am just curious what people think about my ideas on the website.

Try to enjoy a little : FixOSX.org

 

[Balli]

It's a fantastic site that highlights some (if not most) of Mac OS X's faults. I don't agree with all of your qualms about the interface, but hey that's life.

Although I do hope you have sent a copy of the site's URL to Apple. (I'm sure Apple knows about most of the inconsistencies, but whether they choose to 'fix' them in Leopard only time will tell).

My biggest announces with Tiger's interface is with the Spotlight window. The only way to delete items off of it, is to drag them to the trash. Surely it would be easy for Apple to include a 'delete' option in the contextual menu when you right click an item?

 

[Agent69]

To me, Mac OS X has the following issues:

01. I am forced to install middleware (Safair, iChat, iCal, and iTunes) that I may not want.
02. Inconsistant user interfaces (Aqua, Metal, etc).
03. No option for a dedicated swap partition.
04. No option for customizing where user directories are created.
05. No command line tool dedicated to adding/removing users.
06. Finding by filenames doesn't work if Spotlight is turned off.
07. Spotlight searches as I type. I feel it should wait until I hit ENTER before searching.
08. There should be a Dock preference to turn off Dashboard.
09. Advanced users should be able to set umask in preferences.
10. Finder should be a Cocoa application.
12. Resource forks should be eliminated.
13. Mac OS X Installer cannot uninstall things, appearently.
14. A way to lock the size of the Dock would be nice.

 

[thegreatluke]

13. Mac OS X Installer cannot uninstall things, appearently.

Because there's an easier way (unless the app comes with an uninstaller):
1. Drag it to the trash.

True, a preference file stays put, but it's only a couple MB and doesn't do anything. Plus, if you reinstall the app later, all your preferences are still there. If you want to completely erase an app from the HD, you need to stop being so paranoid.

 

[Killyp]

It's pretty good and highlights a lot of the problems with OS X.

I completely disagree with the contextual menus thing though...

iTunes has the contextual menus it needs etc... can you imagine how irritating it would be to have "Convert to AAC" along with 10 billion other functions when all you clicked on was a file in Finder...

 

[pknz]

Your site highlights some good inconsistencies with the OS.

Well done, hopefully Apple will sort most of them out.

 

[Donz0r]

I think a lot of your complaints are VERY superficial. For example, the drop shadows of windows disappearing when you minimze them...are you serious?

Also, I don't understand what you mean when you talk about the Dashboard psuedo-widget which takes up room. There is a dashboard---wait...nevermind, i get it now. I just realized what you mean mid-typing, but I don't feel like deleting what I've already written.

maybe it's because I just switched and I like OS X so much better than XP that I don't notice anything wrong with it.

 

[thequicksilver]

Because there's an easier way (unless the app comes with an uninstaller):
1. Drag it to the trash.

True, a preference file stays put, but it's only a couple MB and doesn't do anything. Plus, if you reinstall the app later, all your preferences are still there. If you want to completely erase an app from the HD, you need to stop being so paranoid.

GarageBand, among others, disagrees heartily with your argument.

 

[Donz0r]

Oh, also, the site looks really great! (hopefully my last post didn't make me sound mean)

 

[ctachme]

GarageBand, among others, disagrees heartily with your argument.

No kidding! I've found the only way to relably uninstall iLife is to reformat your HD and reinstall the OS.

 

[ctachme]

I think a lot of your complaints are VERY superficial. For example, the drop shadows of windows disappearing when you minimze them...are you serious?

Sure I am. Apple apparently cares about things like dropshadows... or else they wouldn't have included them in the OS in the first place. As with most Apple products (think... computers) visual appearance and design are very important. That's one of the reasons we like OS X so much, I think, because it looks pretty good.

 

[brianus]

What about copy and paste? They seems like the most basic of actions, yet the Finder doesn't support them. I can't just copy a file or files from one folder to another. Sure, it copies the names of the files, but not the files themselves.

Care to elaborate? I copy and paste files from one folder to another constantly in the Finder. Dragging from one volume to another copies by default, while for folders on the same volume, you can drag and drop while holding down the Option key. Or, you can do a command-C/command-V with the files. Or if you feel like wearing out your mouse-hand you can always use the Edit menu. What on earth are you talking about?

And what's this about copying filenames?

 

[celebrian23]

The main point I agree with you is that there's all these commands a normal user wouldn't intutively know. If not for this forum I would have never found out that command+esc gets you into front row.

 

[brianus]

Lastly is icon view. I love this view because it offers previews of files. Well actually, it doesn't. Even PDF's, which could be previewed with Spotlight, do not show their contents. Icon view also can offer some useful metadata. However, it could do much better. Apple's (unchangeable) grid is large enough that it could fit much more metadata, like date and filesize.

This drives me crazy. Not only because Windows, despite all its shortcomings and complete lack of an integrated search database like Spotlight, has had document previews in Icon View for 5 years!!! You'd think an OS touted as being better for "creative professionals" would easily best Windows in this area, but nope. That Spotlight implements some form of this feature but the regular Finder doesn't is bizarre. I also think they could stand to decrease the space between icons to make it easier to view folders full of images as though they were contact sheets. Users could then increase icon size without reducing too much the number of icons that could fit in a Finder window.

 

[Tinhead]

Excellent!

Couldn't have written it better myself, Tiger indeed feels like one step forward and two back in regard to UI and consistency. I'm hoping 10.5 will fix most of these irregularities, but I'm not holding by breath.

It's extremely annoying that Apple puts so much effort into bringing great new tech for OS X users, yet fails to get the basics right. I wish they had done their homework with 10.0, now the inconsistencies drag along with each revision of OS X. Someone needs to be hired for supervising the GUI and usability of software on a system-wide level, instead of Steve just picking whatever he likes the most this morning. Not saying that he actually does, but it sure seems like it from time to time.

Still, I've chosen OS X because it sucks the least

 

[farqueue]

To me, Mac OS X has the following issues:

01. I am forced to install middleware (Safair, iChat, iCal, and iTunes) that I may not want.
02. Inconsistant user interfaces (Aqua, Metal, etc).
03. No option for a dedicated swap partition.
04. No option for customizing where user directories are created.
05. No command line tool dedicated to adding/removing users.
06. Finding by filenames doesn't work if Spotlight is turned off.
07. Spotlight searches as I type. I feel it should wait until I hit ENTER before searching.
08. There should be a Dock preference to turn off Dashboard.
09. Advanced users should be able to set umask in preferences.
10. Finder should be a Cocoa application.
12. Resource forks should be eliminated.
13. Mac OS X Installer cannot uninstall things, appearently.
14. A way to lock the size of the Dock would be nice.

i think yu need to goe beck to schoole and learn how to spells.

 

[ctachme]

Care to elaborate? I copy and paste files from one folder to another constantly in the Finder. Dragging from one volume to another copies by default, while for folders on the same volume, you can drag and drop while holding down the Option key. Or, you can do a command-C/command-V with the files. Or if you feel like wearing out your mouse-hand you can always use the Edit menu. What on earth are you talking about?

And what's this about copying filenames?

That was a mistake on my part. I meant to say cut and paste. I'm not sure what I was talking about with the filenames though

 

[Virtualball]

I really like your site but I disagree with the system butons and the toolbaar widgets.

 

[dpaanlka]

I disagree with almost the entire thing. These are all "problems" that need "fixing" in the eyes of Windows users, but Macintosh old timers may see these as worthless additions for the sake of pandering to Windows users.

And aside from the above, some are just plain ridiculous. Expose somehow magically tearing all your Safari tabs apart, then putting them back together? And for what purpose, the tabs are there to begin with why would you even need to do that. Who in their right mind would switch between tabs like that when all you have to do is click.

 

[ctachme]

I disagree with almost the entire thing. These are all "problems" that need "fixing" in the eyes of Windows users, but Macintosh old timers may see these as worthless additions for the sake of pandering to Windows users.

What precisely would be necessary to be called a Mac old-timer? I've been using Mac OS since 7.5.1. Oh, I'm sure there are many others that have been using it longer, but I certainly feel like it's been long enough to have a pretty good idea of the deficiencies and the advantageous of Mac software.

And I honestly don't see how the suggestions either "pander to windows users" or are "worthless." Does consistency in the OS UI pander to windows users? Of course not... they have even less consistency in their OS! Nor is it worthless, it would greatly ease the user experience. Or a Finder that actually works? Us old mac users had that, once, long ago. Today's Finder is riddled with so many flaws and problems that I do not understand how you can be content with the way that it is now.

And aside from the above, some are just plain ridiculous. Expose somehow magically tearing all your Safari tabs apart, then putting them back together? And for what purpose, the tabs are there to begin with why would you even need to do that. Who in their right mind would switch between tabs like that when all you have to do is click.

Each tab is rightfully it's own window. I should be able to view thumbnails of the windows that are hidden in tabs as easily as I can those windows which are not hidden. Also, have you ever heard of Fitt's law? It states that the easiest targets to hit on the screen are the corners. If I have hot-corners turned on it's actually easier to use Exposé to access a tab then to "just click", if that tab is in a window that is not in the foreground (because in order to "just click" I would first have to switch to that window, and then find the tab and click on it.) And what's so "magical" about tabs tearing apart? Your windows "magically" fly apart as it is!

 

[Soulstorm]

To me, OS X Tiger's faults are the inconcistency between the different UI's (metal, aqua) and some bugs. That's all.

But you have to admit, guys, that it is a pretty neat system. It provides all functions that I could ask, and also, with the introduction of spotlight, which has replaced many hours of searching my HD, I feel that I finally have the system Apple wanted to give us from the introduction of the first version of OS X.

That said, I should mention that I KNOW that Finder could become better. MUCH better. The link I am about to give you, is written in 2001, but some thinks apply for today's Finder as well. The codebase hasn't changed, but the responsiveness is greatly improved over previews versions. Anyway, I think you will find this interesting....

http://lists.apple.com/archives/mpw-dev/2001/May/msg00166.html

 

[ctachme]

To me, OS X Tiger's faults are the inconcistency between the different UI's (metal, aqua) and some bugs. That's all.

But you have to admit, guys, that it is a pretty neat system. It provides all functions that I could ask, and also, with the introduction of spotlight, which has replaced many hours of searching my HD, I feel that I finally have the system Apple wanted to give us from the introduction of the first version of OS X.

That said, I should mention that I KNOW that Finder could become better. MUCH better. The link I am about to give you, is written in 2001, but some thinks apply for today's Finder as well. The codebase hasn't changed, but the responsiveness is greatly improved over previews versions. Anyway, I think you will find this interesting....

http://lists.apple.com/archives/mpw-dev/2001/May/msg00166.html

It's horribly scary how the finder is still essentially the same underlying app that they are reffering to there. We have so many new technologies, it's really amazing how bad the finder is.

And it still is a pretty neat system, it just has some flaws.

 

[mark88]

Developers are left hanging regarding interface elements.

Now you have a situation where they are trying to either re-create Apples graphics or create their own, and the result is an OS with a whole mess of differently styled buttons and widgets.

The dark plastic style of iLife 06 isn't made available at all, that's just one example.

 

[dpaanlka]

Developers are left hanging regarding interface elements.

Now you have a situation where they are trying to either re-create Apples graphics or create their own, and the result is an OS with a whole mess of differently styled buttons and widgets.

The dark plastic style of iLife 06 isn't made available at all, that's just one example.

Doesn't that only apper in iPhoto and Aperture, which happen to be two similar Photo apps from the same company?

Each tab is rightfully it's own window. I should be able to view thumbnails of the windows that are hidden in tabs as easily as I can those windows which are not hidden. Also, have you ever heard of Fitt's law? It states that the easiest targets to hit on the screen are the corners. If I have hot-corners turned on it's actually easier to use Exposé to access a tab then to "just click", if that tab is in a window that is not in the foreground (because in order to "just click" I would first have to switch to that window, and then find the tab and click on it.) And what's so "magical" about tabs tearing apart? Your windows "magically" fly apart as it is!

Because all the tabs share one titlebar and main overall window. If they were to fly apart, to make it look nice it would have to suddenly give all the tabs their own window, or you would just have 5 or 6 "pages" with no border, and then one with a window border. That doesn't make any sense.

 

[njmac]

Under the input menu, you say

Why then go to such lengths, and then spoil it with a colourful flag? In order to get the flag out of my menubar I switched to Dvorak. An imperfect solution, but at least my menubar has just one colour.

Why not just uncheck the bottom box (show input menu in menu bar), and your flag goes away.