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Put Desktop Icons on left of screen?
- Thread starter isleofjib
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like the HD icon... from the finder go to view - view options or hit command J and uncheck the snap to grid
You click and drag them to the left of the screen.
which works until you arrange them and then they all move back over to the right.
also, when a new file is put on the desktop, it wants to go on the right side.@ puckhead193, snap to grid is unchecked.
is there a way to change the default side to left?
which works until you arrange them and then they all move back over to the right.
@ puckhead193, snap to grid is unchecked.
is there a way to change the default side to left?
I remember when my friend got a MBP to replace his old pc, he wanted to do this too. I did some research for him, and found that this is not possible
.
After some poking around and a quick google, I don't think this is possible either. I remember hearing once about an application that can do this, but I do not remember exatly.
It is a strange feature for apple and microsoft to leave out of their operating systems for sure.
Took me a while to get used to icons appearing on the right side of the screen, but I prefer it that way now.
It is more accessible in some sense - I have my web browser filling the left side of the screen and leaving a gap at the right side so I can still access my main icons.
My desktop is cluttered with icons though; left side has all my shortcuts and program folders (like Bit Torrent downloads) while the right side has my HD, Document, Pictures, Music etc folders.
It is more accessible in some sense - I have my web browser filling the left side of the screen and leaving a gap at the right side so I can still access my main icons.
My desktop is cluttered with icons though; left side has all my shortcuts and program folders (like Bit Torrent downloads) while the right side has my HD, Document, Pictures, Music etc folders.
I wanted it more discrete and I found that I liked it on the right at the bottom, real close to where I have the dock at the bottom. I never really click on it and I find it weird that it has to be there (is there a way to just get it off the desktop?) but I thought it looked nice at the bottom. Except it went back up to the top every time I restarted. I eventually stopped moving it there.
You might want to tidy things up. Having your desktop overrun with pretty graphics will slow down performance a tad on both OS X and Windows as the Desktop has to redraw all of these constantly.
Apple assumes we don't want a Windows-esc desktop.
I think I'm turning Japanese, I think I'm turning Japanese, I really think so.
The differences are noticable on a G3, but no way on a G4 and up.
The icons are on the right hand side for a good reason, although this only applies for people who read left->right text (so doesn't work for Chinese and Japanese people). As with a piece of art or book, your eyes read the screen from left to right. This means there are several advantages to placing the icons on the right.
1. When looking at a blank desktop, you take in information from the far left, where your wallpaper begins to the right where the icons are. If you pass the icons before seeing the wallpaper, you lose interest subconsciously. Every time you look at your desktop in OS X, you are actually admiring the wallpaper without realising, because your eyes scan this part of the screen naturally.
2. When managing windows on the desktop, your natural instinct should be to arrange them on the left. When writing a letter, you align the letters to the left hand side of the paper. The natural instinct is to arrange windows in the same way. The icons are then on the right, meaning you have access to the files on your desktop at the same time as being able to get around the windows on the left.
3. It's different to Windows, which is good.
Apple idiot machines
Being different to windows is all that apple appear to care about! This seems to be the one guiding principle that they followed when designing this nasty OS. Its a shame because instead of solely trying to make it different, the real question they should have been asking themselves is: "How can we make this better?"
As a happy linux user/developer (and windows gamer) I am sickened by all apples "enhancements" to the windows experience. I would never use another one of these poser boxes again if i wasnt forced to at work
Being different to windows is all that apple appear to care about! This seems to be the one guiding principle that they followed when designing this nasty OS. Its a shame because instead of solely trying to make it different, the real question they should have been asking themselves is: "How can we make this better?"
As a happy linux user/developer (and windows gamer) I am sickened by all apples "enhancements" to the windows experience. I would never use another one of these poser boxes again if i wasnt forced to at work
Wait! I though it was Windows catching up to the Macintosh's graphical interface. Can anyone still remember DOS?
Being different to windows is all that apple appear to care about! This seems to be the one guiding principle that they followed when designing this nasty OS. Its a shame because instead of solely trying to make it different, the real question they should have been asking themselves is: "How can we make this better?"
As a happy linux user/developer (and windows gamer) I am sickened by all apples "enhancements" to the windows experience. I would never use another one of these poser boxes again if i wasnt forced to at work
Nasty OS? Can you be more clear on what is nasty about it?
It isn't about being different. The icons are on the right so they are not obscured by the pull down menus, which happen to be on the left.
Can you please provide evidence that Apple has merely modified the "Windows experience?"
Typically people back things up with facts, unless of course your statements are actually apart of your opinion, in which case they are meaningless to anyone else. If you are going to provide evidence of your claims you should append an "IMO." Or better yet, just run along to your gaming box.
Being different to windows is all that apple appear to care about! This seems to be the one guiding principle that they followed when designing this nasty OS. Its a shame because instead of solely trying to make it different, the real question they should have been asking themselves is: "How can we make this better?"
As a happy linux user/developer (and windows gamer) I am sickened by all apples "enhancements" to the windows experience. I would never use another one of these poser boxes again if i wasnt forced to at work
Change isn't always better, but it isn't always worse either. Can you blame a company that wants their products to stand out for wanting that? Its goal is to sell copies of OS X. Linux doesn't have to be sold, so is doesn't have to stand out.
Being different to windows is all that apple appear to care about! This seems to be the one guiding principle that they followed when designing this nasty OS. Its a shame because instead of solely trying to make it different, the real question they should have been asking themselves is: "How can we make this better?"
As a happy linux user/developer (and windows gamer) I am sickened by all apples "enhancements" to the windows experience. I would never use another one of these poser boxes again if i wasnt forced to at work
Apple was using a GUI first, if you care to remember. Apple has always had the drive icons and Trash icons on the right. Their GUI philosophy says that is where they should go. Microsoft chose the left instead. Did they do this to be different or because they thought it was better?
Apple makes changes to the GUI to be better. What you think is better and what they think is better is not always going to be the same. But their GUI philosophy is quite different than Microsoft's.
S-
@ herbertmunch
Are you new to the OS world..???
Ever since Mac OS had a GUI (way back in the early 80's) the drive icons have been on the right and the trash bottom right.
And as sidewinder mentioned it is part of the GUI philosophy... all part of Apple Human Interface Guidelines
When that nasty Windows 95 came along Microsoft had to put the HD and trash icons on the left, so not to look too obvious in copying the Mac OS.
Are you new to the OS world..???
Ever since Mac OS had a GUI (way back in the early 80's) the drive icons have been on the right and the trash bottom right.
And as sidewinder mentioned it is part of the GUI philosophy... all part of Apple Human Interface Guidelines
When that nasty Windows 95 came along Microsoft had to put the HD and trash icons on the left, so not to look too obvious in copying the Mac OS.
@ herbertmunch
Are you new to the OS world..???
Ever since Mac OS had a GUI (way back in the early 80's) the drive icons have been on the right and the trash bottom right.
And as sidewinder mentioned it is part of the GUI philosophy... all part of Apple Human Interface Guidelines
When that nasty Windows 95 came along Microsoft had to put the HD and trash icons on the left, so not to look too obvious in copying the Mac OS.
ooohhh handbags at dawn!
Nope not new to the OS world. just finally being forced to interact with the nasty³ poser² mac OS.
My first memories of mac involve a windows 3.1 like interface, which as you all rightly say micro$oft stole. The difference was the horrific background textures that polluted every single UI button on macos. What were they thinking???? Mentalism in action. what was that you were saying sidewinder? "Apple makes changes to the GUI to be better." I think not
.Another key difference which annoyed with the early macintosh: The dolphin friendly mouse
! I am a human with more than a single flipper to operate my trusty 5 button mouse. Apple appear to have finally got off their high horse and agreed with windows on this one! hilarious methinks! Even then they had to be different and come up with a poor quality mouse that had two buttons but could still be sold to dolphins under the premise that it only had one button.My current problem is
s blatant stupidity about only supplying american keyboards which feature less keys! I live in the UK and do not appreciate s ignorant policy of one size fits all. I quite like my @ and my " where they are thank you very much .Then there's the recent move over to Intel x86 64 processors! Finally Apple have admitted that PC hardware is better!
I now have the unfortunate task of having to develop software for iphone/ipod touch at work
ObjectiveC. What a load of utter rubbish s chosen programming language is, not to mention its lousy documentation (which doesnt even come close to the standard of microsofts sometimes lacking developer documentation).Finally not allowing dynamically linked libraries on iphone/touch os! Oh the pig ignorant greedy fools.
One thing that makes me laugh is that objective c now supports dot notation for accessing properties! WhyTF didnt they just do away with the horrendously clumsy square bracket message passing that they adopted from SmallTalk.
Do away with it I say, get rid in favour of the far more elegant aforementioned technique.
Deary me.
It seems to me that there are indeed some true cases consisting of a few people with a valid reason to use a mac, i.e music production etc, but only in cases where the hardware/software is only made for mac.
Id say the majority of the other mac users are merely poorly informed about what to expect from their computer/os or are primarily concerned with the
maciontosh trendy poser qualities. Just for you calderone, you might as well mentally surround my entire post in a IMO block! But dont worry, I dont particulary care what you think either.
My only hope is that some good will come of this post, and that it might provide a moments solace to those poor poor developers among us, who like me are being forced to use a mac against their better judgement
Well, Microsoft's changes to Windows Explorer introduced with Vista were a massive step back in productivity, at least for me.herbertmunch said:what was that you were saying sidewinder? "Apple makes changes to the GUI to be better." I think not
Mac OS was designed to be simple to use. To that end, they hid less important functions in contextual menus for those who needed to access them. It is Microsoft who made everything require right-clicks to get at the most basic of functionality.herbertmunch said:Another key difference which annoyed with the early macintosh: The dolphin friendly mouse
Then ask for a British English keyboard when you buy your next Mac or next keyboard. They exist and they work.herbertmunch said:My current problem is
Technically, Windows computers and Apple Mac computers are all PCs; they are Personal Computers. The reasons for Apple moving to x86 processors are well-documented, and stem from their chip provider's inability to release powerful enough chips. If you were running a business, would it make sense to stick with something that was hurting your business?herbertmunch said:
Apple had been building versions of Mac OS X to run on x86 chips as far back as the Public Beta, so it was an insurance policy that paid off. If they hadn't been forward-looking they'd have been stuck with a very short development cycle in which to port an entire OS to a different chip architecture.
Do tell us which company you work for and we'll be sure not to buy any of your iPhone apps. We wouldn't want you to get stressed any more than necessaryherbertmunch said:I now have the unfortunate task of having to develop software for iphone/ipod touch at work
Because OS X is based upon NeXTSTEP which itself uses Obj-C. Since the iPhone OS is a cut-down version of OS X, it makes perfect sense to use Obj-C.herbertmunch said:
Why? There are 100,000 apps on the App Store now. I don't see anyone being held back in developing for the iPhone just because of Obj-C. I didn't know Obj-C a year ago, but I've developed a few apps for the iPhone in very short time. They may not be the best, but I'm certainly not whinging about how it would be so much nicer to use a different programming language.herbertmunch said:
I doubt that's true. That's more like your own opinion than anything based in fact. There's a good reason a lot of people are switching to the Mac, but NOT switching back to Windows. My friend's parents and family all use Macs now after I introduced them to them. They have no desire to use Windows, and if they needed to, they could use VMWare's Fusion or Parallels and do away with not being able to use a USB port because of a hardware conflict in the Device Manager, etc. The last time I used my Windows XP install in Fusion it said it needed activating but it didn't because when I clicked to activate it it said it was already activated, then logged me out. I had to hack the registry using steps on Microsoft's website so I could log into my own legally paid-for copy of Windows. That's the sort of crap you get with Windows.herbertmunch said:Id say the majority of the other mac users are merely poorly informed about what to expect from their computer/os or are primarily concerned with the
Change jobs then?herbertmunch said:My only hope is that some good will come of this post, and that it might provide a moments solace to those poor poor developers among us, who like me are being forced to use a mac against their better judgement