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What do you like and dislike about Mac OS X?

im not that fond of tiling. it changes the window size of everything!! thats really annoying.
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The magic of it and many many other features mentioned in this topic (like cutting files, changing cursors, restoring files from the trash, maximizing windows, etc.) is the fact you don't actually have to use it if you don't want to!

I wouldn't even mind if it was all disabled by default and I had to go through some trouble to enable it (like digging through system preferences or changing plist properties in the console). The only thing I hate is someone telling me that it's wrong and that I shouldn't have the chance to do it the way I like.
 
Matek said:
The magic of it and many many other features mentioned in this topic (like cutting files, changing cursors, restoring files from the trash etc.) is the fact you don't actually have to use it if you don't want to. Nobody is forcing you.

I wouldn't even mind if I had to go through some trouble to enable it (like digging through system preferences or changing plist properties in the console). The only thing I hate is someone telling me that it's wrong and that I shouldn't have the chance to do it the way I like.
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haha im aware of that, and im sorry i replied so selfishly, i just woke up after 5 hrs sleep for the 4th day in a row and im a bit short tempered. :rolleyes: :mad:

tiling - to me - is a good feature to use when you have 1 to 3 windows open. if you have the 10 to 30 windows that i have open at the same time it becomes basically unusable. i cannot justify why i would want to resize my windows to tiny tiny pixels when i have pre-set the size to my liking.

i guess that i should say that i do not use the full size of the screen - many windows users cannot understand this because it isnt a normal thing to do. most people just hit the 'maximise' button and off they go, where as i make it about 70% or so of the screen size.

whats your justification, if i may ask.?

p.s. dual monitors ftw
 
haha im aware of that, and im sorry i replied so selfishly, i just woke up after 5 hrs sleep for the 4th day in a row and im a bit short tempered.
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Np m8 ;)

tiling - to me - is a good feature to use when you have 1 to 3 windows open. if you have the 10 to 30 windows that i have open at the same time it becomes basically unusable. i cannot justify why i would want to resize my windows to tiny tiny pixels when i have pre-set the size to my liking.
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You are absolutely correct, I think most people who mentioned had the situation with just a couple of windows in mind. It's pointless with loads of them.

i guess that i should say that i do not use the full size of the screen - many windows users cannot understand this because it isnt a normal thing to do. most people just hit the 'maximise' button and off they go, where as i make it about 70% or so of the screen size.

whats your justification, if i may ask.?
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Usually the fact I don't want to be bothered with anything else that may be active or simply displayed in the back when I'm not multitasking, but just focusing on a single task.
 
Matek said:
Np m8 ;)

You are absolutely correct, I think most people who mentioned had the situation with just a couple of windows in mind. It's pointless with loads of them.
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very true. im a fairly heavy user i guess in that regard. overnight i closed the windows i didnt need and still had 10 tabs and 6 other random program windows open - tiling wouldnt be very effective for me i dont think ;)

Usually the fact I don't want to be bothered with anything else that may be active or simply displayed in the back when I'm not multitasking, but just focusing on a single task.
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ahh great point. i can see where that would be quite useful, say reading from a pdf and writing information from it in a word processor. that would be a very easy way to split the window in half for single screen users. lucky i hate two screens :p

thanks for 'tiling' my view on this technique hehe :p
 
I (would) find tiling to be extremely useful when coding. For programs with multiple files(source and header, etc.), it is extremely useful to see two/three files at once, and I would love a feature that resized windows to all fit comfortably on the screen.
 
zync said:
The pdf support is one of my favorite features—right down to "printing" to a web receipts folder.

As for exposé, you must have either have an insane amount of windows open, or a tiny screen. I'm working on a 24" screen and never have that problem. I would like it to be a little less random, but I'm not sure how they'd do that other than assigning a location by "depth" or in order the window was opened. That method is a slippery slope to feature bloat, but it would be nice to have an option to decide how it tiles. At least it's consistent unless you change the number or placement of windows.
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what is this pdf support and print to web receipts folder?
 
DoFoT9 said:
basically, you can turn any webpage into a pdf by going::

File>Print>PDF>which setting you feel like (save, open etc)

very handy.
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Thanks, that was exactly what I was talking about, though I forgot I had even mentioned it! :D
 
Only had a Mac for two weeks now so this list could contain stuff in the "Why doesn't it do it like ..." category.

Pros
Time Machine - simply great. Set it up and it just works.

Spotlight - wasn't sure about this but another thread talked about "activity monitor" and I couldn't find it in the apps directory then remembered Spotlight and got to it straight away.

Smart Folders (and mailboxes) - love em. but then they appeal to the organizational geek in me. Obviously just saved Spotlight searches but very useful.

So-so
The afore mentioned having to go down to the bottom right corner to resize a window. A bit of a pain but I can live with it since once I've got the apps at the size I want I don't tend to resize that much.

Expose - occasionally useful but not something that makes me wonder how I've done without it.

Spaces - I use Linux at work so comfortable with the concept but like the implementation especially being able to assign programs to particular screens.

Having the menu for programs at the top of the screen rather than attached to the program itself. Just one of those Mac/Windows differences I suppose. Plus remembering to Cmd+Q to shut the program rather than just shutting the window.

Cons
Finder - This is so clunky compared to pretty well anything on Windows or Linux. It's the main program on any Mac so it should be good, but it ain't. Surely it's time for an update - if this was the main effort in Snow Leopard then that would be worth an immediate upgrade for me.
 
Things I Dislike:

  1. I don't like the short key for tabbing through tabs in Safari.
  2. I would like the Finder to have an "Up one level" button to go one directory higher
  3. Finder to have a button or short key toggle hidden files

That's about it. I really can't think of anything else. I just absolutely adore OSX.
 
scan said:
  1. I don't like the short key for tabbing through tabs in Safari.
    [*]I would like the Finder to have an "Up one level" button to go one directory higher
  2. Finder to have a button or short key toggle hidden files

That's about it. I really can't think of anything else. I just absolutely adore OSX.
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hold :apple: + UPARROW
 
scan said:
ARG! I just googled it and was about to edit my post and say I found it! :D

But I would still like a button
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Why do you need a button for it? It's an easy shortcut and cuts down on clutter.

Dunmail said:
Spotlight - wasn't sure about this but another thread talked about "activity monitor" and I couldn't find it in the apps directory then remembered Spotlight and got to it straight away.
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For future reference it's in Applications > Utilities along with some other useful stuff.
 
zync said:
Why do you need a button for it? It's an easy shortcut and cuts down on clutter.



For future reference it's in Applications > Utilities along with some other useful stuff.
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Visually helpful and useful if you're already using the mouse.
 
scan said:
Visually helpful and useful if you're already using the mouse.
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I suppose, but I'd still like it clean.

Though there technically is one that I forgot about. Cmd click on the title of a Finder window. It'll not only show the next directory up but all of them back to the root of the drive—technically the computer itself (for accessing other HDs and network connections).

Dunmail said:
Ta. As much as anything, it's finding where things are on a new system.
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True. It's a good idea to root around in applications and the utilities folder, but don't change anything until you know what it does.

Oh, one more helpful tidbit that you probably already know: the command key (sadly no longer the Apple key on newer keyboards) is almost exactly like control and option is almost exactly like alt. If there's a shortcut on the PC side, it probably exists on the Mac side. Also, you can add a shortcut for any menu item in any application via System Prefs > Keyboard > Keyboard Shortcuts.

I hope that helps.
 
zync said:
Why do you need a button for it? It's an easy shortcut and cuts down on clutter.
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I think this is one of my biggest beefs with Windows: It's all there, but it requires hitting alt-something while you're doing a lot of mousework, or you need to hit something with the mouse when you're in the middle of keyboarding. Apple, generally, seems to understand user workflow better.

Of course, there's an irony here that I'm using a flaw in OS X to knock Windows. Guilty as charged.

::)

mt
 
I like pretty much everything.


I wish spaces could have different wallpapers, that would be nice. Often times I have "work" spaces for documents that id just like to see a plain background. Other times I have "play" spaces with random-randomness!
 
Things that ROCK:

- Spaces: A HUGE advantage on a laptop with a small screen... less important on a desktop with a high-res display and I'm guessing almost completely unnecessary with a multi-monitor setup
- Migration Assistant: I recently re-installed OSX on my MacBook Air and I was truly stunned at how seamlessly my settings and apps and everything I could think of was transferred over from my Mac Pro. The amount of time this saves is absolutely enormous!
- The Dock: Is light years better than the task bar and start menu. In fact, I used ObjectDock on Vista which is a Dock clone for Windows before I switched to the Mac.
- MobileMe & Sync: I know a lot of people endured major teething pains with this and I was not one of the early adopters so my view is not jaded by this, but the integration of MobileMe with OSX and the Apple Apps is absolutely killer! There is absolutely nothing on Windows that can touch this! If you have two computers it's a dream. I only wish they would extend this to sync iTunes and iPhoto libraries.
- Shareware: In general, i've found the freeware and shareware for OSX to be light-years better than the crap available for Windows. For whatever reason, OSX developers seem to take a lot more pride in their work and turn out stuff that works well, is intuitive, and does not use some abortion of a UI implementation. Teleport is absolutely stunning in execution and utility when you have a desktop and laptop! iPhoto Library Manager is another well executed tool. There are many others.

Things that SUCK:

- The Finder: Sadly, this is perhaps one of the most important functions of an OS and OSX fails miserably at it. I'm so frustrated with trying to keep my folders and files neatly organized in a grid of icons that always displays cleanly and getting finder windows to open similar twice in a row... Finder simply doesn't want to remember it's last window size. It doesn't display any information about a file upon clicking it or mousing over it. It has a terrible memory with mounting shares... Despite being on 24/7, my Windows server and my Time Capsule shares are never automounted when my Mac Pro comes out of sleep... I have to use "Go to Server" constantly for the former and connect to the latter. It's just horrid. I need to find a good finder replacement or this will drive me nuts.
- Mail: Seems stuck in the 90's... What's with the message list on top and the preview on the bottom... that was a Eudora feature in 1995. While you can download a plugin such as widemail, none of the one's I've tried work seamlessly. Outlook is vastly superior in almost every respect... sadly Entourage is not it's equal on the Mac either.
- Trash: As a power user I insist on having the capability to delete something without temporarily sending it to the trash! I'm not retarded. Treat me like an adult.
- Nonsensical keyboard shortcuts: My most often used keyboard shortcuts on Windows were Control-C, Control-X, and Control-V (copy, cut, paste). It's ok that it's now Command-C, etc. but does anyone besides me find the placement of the Command key awkward for this? Also, what's with Option-Command-Eject to put a computer to sleep? Almost every Windows keyboard now has a dedicated sleep key... I would use that 10x more often than a dedicated eject key. (I admit though that Windows isn't much better with it's Control-Alt-Delete hold-over from DOS).

Things the jury is still out on:

- Single menu bar for all apps: I see how this saves screen real-estate but it can be a long ways away from a window you are working on... however, the drop down menus are not that relevant for routine, often used tasks that are commonly implemented in button bars now.
- UI in general: It was elegant, clean looking, and often mimicked in Windows when it first debuted but is looking dull and dated now compared to the increasingly glassy look of Windows. At any rate, I'm less about flash and more about practical so it's ok but doesn't provide any wow factor.
- Dashboard: It seems like a reasonably good implementation... better than the Vista sidebar... but I never really use either of them.
 
VirtualRain said:
- Nonsensical keyboard shortcuts: My most often used keyboard shortcuts on Windows were Control-C, Control-X, and Control-V (copy, cut, paste). It's ok that it's now Command-C, etc. but does anyone besides me find the placement of the Command key awkward for this?
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Nope. I like using my thumb much better than my pinky to hit the modifiers. I have long fingers so it's easier to curl my thumb under than squeezing my pinky in. Plus, that way I can leave my thumb on command while I'm working and hit any other key on the keyboard.

Maybe you're used to the pinky version and like it?
 
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