What do you like and dislike about Mac OS X?

[mason.kramer]

Finder & Cocoa gripes mostly:
1) Inability to resize windows from each edge
2) Finder is not keyboard accessible
3) The cocoa Browse... widget positively sucks to find a path
4) Folder drag'n'drop overwrites folder contents
5) Spring loaded folders is a poor, poor substitute for multi-pane browsing when it comes to copying & moving files
6) SMB sharing bugs that prevent Leopard from enumerating the list of responding NetBIOS hosts in the finder's side pane
7) No finder cut'n'paste (please, spare me the pointless arguments about why this is actually a good thing)
8) Finder is a mongroloid gross between a spatial and a hierarchical browser and most of the gripes from this 9 year old article are still relevant today
9) Leopard has custom ACL's that prevent me from deleting my Music/ and Pictures/ folders by default (so for instance, i can't symlink them in from an automounted drive without researching an arcane terminal command to modify them). If they're going to be applied to my files, I need to be able to change them from Finder.
10) Time Machine chokes when it tries restore a folder whose contents have some of these custom ACLs, like your ~/Preferences/Mail folder
11) Time Machine restores necessitate Spotlight Re-indexing
12) Finder won't show you hidden files. This completely misses the point of hidden files: the point was always to reduce clutter for day - to - day use of ls, not to quarantine parts of the system from the user.
13) Support should be dropped for OS 9 file flags, like the hidden flag
14) .DS_Store WTF?
15) ditto resource fork BS
16) The defaults command has an ugly syntax and it doesn't tab-autocomplete the name of your plist or tab-suggest the editable plist entries
17) Undocumented/unsupported functionality that should be supported, like automounting SMB shares for Time Machine

---
Don't get me wrong, I'm still a big fan of this OS. I just refuse to pretend it's perfect.

 

[DoFoT9]

Finder & Cocoa gripes
1) Inability to resize windows from each edge
2) Finder is not keyboard accessible
3) The cocoa Browse... widget positively sucks to find a path
4) Folder drag'n'drop overwrites folder contents
5) Spring loaded folders is a poor, poor substitute for multi-pane browsing when it comes to copying & moving files
6) SMB sharing bugs that prevent Leopard from enumerating the list of responding NetBIOS hosts in the finder's side pane
7) No finder cut'n'paste (please, spare me the pointless arguments about why this is actually a good thing)
8) Finder is a mongroloid gross between a spatial and a hierarchical browser and most of the gripes from this 9 year old article are still relevant today
9) Leopard has custom ACL's that prevent me from deleting my Music/ and Pictures/ folders by default (so for instance, i can't symlink them in from an automounted drive without researching an arcane terminal command to modify them). If they're going to be applied to my files, I need to be able to change them from Finder.
10) Time Machine chokes when it tries restore a folder whose contents have some of these custom ACLs, like your ~/Preferences/Mail folder
11) Time Machine restores necessitate Spotlight Re-indexing
12) Finder won't show you hidden files. This completely misses the point of hidden files: the point was always to reduce clutter for day - to - day use of ls, not to quarantine parts of the system from the user.
13) Support should be dropped for OS 9 file flags, like the hidden flag
14) .DS_Store WTF?
15) ditto resource fork BS

explain the bolded.

1. keyboard accessible huh?? you can use the keyboard to do anything in the finder, you just have to know how to!

12. yes it will. you just have to know how

14. used to remember where items are positions/what items are stored in each folder.

 

[mason.kramer]

explain the bolded.

1. keyboard accessible huh?? you can use the keyboard to do anything in the finder, you just have to know how to!

My friend, I wrote the book on keyboard shortcuts and there is a lot to be desired. For instance, there's no way to focus the sidepane with the keyboard, much less FAYT it. (Same goes for iTunes). This barely scratches the surface. One day I'll do a whole writeup.

12. yes it will. you just have to know how

I once knew some defaults write command to show these files. However, you have to turn it on and off from the terminal this way each time. (I don't want to see them all the time, that's the point of a hidden file). It's far easier for me to just load up the terminal and ls -A for those few times when I need to look at my hidden files. This is for me and most users the same as if it did not exist. It should be a checkbox in preferences. Edit: better yet a hotkey

14. used to remember where items are positions/what items are stored in each folder.

I know what they're for, but it's a bad way to handle this issue. It plays havoc with syncing software/rsync scripts and generally plays badly with cross FS file operations. Anyway, it's not like Finder actually remembers my view preferences, even with the damn things. The WTF is not "what are they?" but What the F Were They Thinking?

 

[lordthistle]

Some that popped out in my mind.

Pros.
- Applications do not map onto open windows.
- Software tools included in the default installation.
- Clean software libraries (that usually translate into reliable applications)
- The Dock.
- Few system updates.

Cons.
- Too few system updates. Fundamental updates are not released in reasonable time (graphics drivers, freeze-related bugs, ...)
- Basic functionalities are not customizable (e.g., sleep mode, password protection after specific events, ...)
- The menu bar location when using multiple monitors
- The keyboard cannot be easily used for basic tasks (e.g., dialog windows, lock screen, etc)
- The finder: something's wrong with it.
- The Dock needs more functionalities.
- Expose needs to be improved: for example, very often safari windows end up in a single row...
thistle

 

[r.j.s]

- The keyboard cannot be easily used for basic tasks (e.g., dialog windows, lock screen, etc)

Have you turned on Full Keyboard Access?

For lock screen, you should be able to set a custom KB shortcut.

 

[lordthistle]

Have you turned on Full Keyboard Access?

For lock screen, you should be able to set a custom KB shortcut.

By turning on "full keyboard access", I end up navigating through tons of controls on other applications, for example in safari. There's a KB shortcut to toggle between keyboard modes, but still it's not as immediate as having such possibility as "built-in".

I was not able to set a KB shortcut for lock screen and, as far as I know, it is not possible without installing 3rd party apps running in background. By using the KB I can go to the keychain item on the menubar and lock the screen. But I wish I could set a simple keystroke to do it.

thistle

 

[r.j.s]

Try this:

Keychain Access holds the key. You can use this application (in your Applications/Utilities folder) to quickly activate your screen saver from the menubar and require a password to turn it off—even if the Security pane option isn’t enabled. Open Keychain Access and then go to Keychain Access: Preferences. Click on the General tab and select the Show Status in Menu Bar option. A small lock icon will appear in your menu bar. Close the Preferences window and quit Keychain Access. Now click the lock icon in your menubar and choose Lock Screen to start your screen saver. You can even define a keyboard shortcut for the Keychain Access Lock Screen menu. First make sure the Lock Screen icon is the leftmost of your Apple-provided menubar icons. Hold down the Command key and drag the lock icon to the left edge of your existing icons, then drop the icon. This step is necessary to make this trick work. Now open System Preferences, and click on the Keyboard & Mouse pane. Click the Keyboard Shortcuts tab, and then click the plus sign to add a shortcut. Leave the pop-up menu set to All Applications, enter Lock Screen for the Menu Title, and then define a keyboard shortcut to use:

Here I’ve defined Shift-Control-F8 as my lock screen shortcut; this may seem an odd combo, but here’s why—since this is a keyboard shortcut for a menubar icon, it only works when that area of the menubar is active (“has focus”). Luckily, one of OS X’s pre-defined keyboard shortcuts is Control-F8, which moves the focus to the status menu area of the menubar, where the lock icon appears. When you hit Control-F8, the leftmost menubar status item will activate; that’s why this trick only works with the lock icon in the leftmost position. And since Control-F8 is the status menu activation key, I assigned a very similar keystroke for the Lock Screen function. So to lock the screen, hit Control-F8, and then Shift-Control-F8. Presto, the screen saver will activate! Note that this may not work for everyone, depending on what other menu extras you have installed. You should always be able to hit Control-F8 and use the arrow keys, however, which is almost as easy and still mouse-less.

 

[lordthistle]

Try this:
Keychain Access holds the key. [...]

Thank you for the tip. As I operate now is very similar to what you suggested: I press ctrl+f8, the first item is keychain, then arrow down and enter. The combo you suggested is nice, but I am using the "new" function keys so I actually press cmd+fn+f8 for accessing keychain. Adding another key and pressing again everything is more or less similar to down+enter.

Considering the general elegance of the apple software, I really do not understand the way they remapped the function keys on the new behaviour that includes expose, dashboard & Co. I tried and use the function keys as "standard function keys", mapping the "new" function key layout onto the old one. But I did not find any info on remapping brightness, keyboard backlit and the other controls. I would add the "function" key management as a cons of Mac OS.

thistle

 

[tshort]

Pro: Very unixy

Cons: Not unixy enough

I agree... It's a pain to use Fink, when you should simply be able to download an open-source package and just compile it...

 

[dmmcintyre3]

I just love that I can leave an application open when there is no window open for that app. I also love that there is only 3 versions of Mac OS X Server unlimited client Mac OS X Server 10 client and Mac OS X Client verses about 20 of Windows

 

[mason.kramer]

Pro: Very unixy

Cons: Not unixy enough

I'm pretty sure that word doesn't meant what you think it means. A UNIX system is a system that complies with the Single UNIX specification. This means two things: it is POSIX compliant, and it provides a certified implementation of the ISO C library. Mac OS X since Leopard is a fully certified UNIX operating system. It is in fact, not "unixy"; it is simply UNIX. This is in contrast to linux, which is not. Their C library is Glibc, which is not ISO C, though I've never run into a difference when trying to compile C code against the others' library.

The main difference is actually money. You have to pay the holders of the UNIX trademark for them to test your system for UNIX compliance.

I think your gripe should probably be revised to "it's not Linux/some other POSIX compliant operating system with which I am personally familiar". Or if it's some specific feature that you miss (like debian's package management, for instance), that would be a more sensible gripe and I'd probably agree with you.

 

[VTECaddict]

some gripes i have discovered:

-no copy/cut and paste in finder. drag and drop works most of the time, but sometimes if you need to copy or move something from one folder to another, its easier to cut and paste vs navigating to source folder, open new finder window, navigating to destination folder, arrange folders side by side, drag and drop.

-no universal uninstaller. yes, apps are mostly self contained and you can just trash the .app folder, but many also create files in the system and library folders. AppCleaner does a good job, but we shouldnt have to rely on a third party app for something like this.

-no easy way to specify regular Sleep vs Safe Sleep (ie Hibernate). i want to hibernate when i know it might be several hours before i need to use my MBP. i want to sleep when i will need it again soon (eg. going to my next class), or when its plugged in since battery isnt an issue. i have it set to hibernate when on battery and sleep when on AC, but its still not optimal.

-plugging (more specifically unplugging) USB devices wake up the computer from sleep. i put the computer to sleep at night, but the next day i might need to take it with me. unplugging everything then wakes it up and i have to wait for it to sleep again.

-switching GPU on unibody pros. hopefully this gets fixed in snow leopard, its pretty ridiculous. on top of on the fly switching without having to log out, it should switch automatically when on AC vs battery.

-folders in finder. i was used to it in windows, but it definitely made a lot more sense IMO. folders always on top of the list is just easier. i think i saw a post on here before that said it best: you're either looking for a folder, or you're not. so mixing the folders in with everything else in alphabet view and even arranging by kind just makes it feel more cluttered.

thats all i can think of right now. overall, i'm more than happy with the switch from windows.

 

[BenEndeem]

some gripes i have discovered:

-no copy/cut and paste in finder. drag and drop works most of the time, but sometimes if you need to copy or move something from one folder to another, its easier to cut and paste vs navigating to source folder, open new finder window, navigating to destination folder, arrange folders side by side, drag and drop.

There is... Hope that helps and I've not got the wrong end of the stick.


Pros:

-Very stable system, much more so than my experience with XP Home and Vista Home and a reasonable amount more than XP Pro and Vista Ultimate.
-OS is relatively cheap and comes in one main, non-server version. A family pack of Leopard costs just £126 compared to a single user pack of Vista Home Premium which costs £166.
-Macs can now run Windows, giving you the best of both worlds.
-Plenty of applications available for most of my computing needs.
-Easy to create highly secure password protected files.
-Pleasant UI.
-Updates are simple enough to install.

Cons:

-Finder is still weaker than Windows Explorer.
-Any problems seem to feel worse when you get used to the stability.
-Some drivers, such as those for my HP printer can cause the aforementioned.

 

[VTECaddict]

There is... Hope that helps and I've not got the wrong end of the stick.

hrmm, so there is a copy function, but no cut function. better, but still flawed.

 

[nout72]

Thank you for the tip. As I operate now is very similar to what you suggested: I press ctrl+f8, the first item is keychain, then arrow down and enter. The combo you suggested is nice, but I am using the "new" function keys so I actually press cmd+fn+f8 for accessing keychain. Adding another key and pressing again everything is more or less similar to down+enter.

Another way of locking the screen is with Fast User Switching.
I have set this to Ctrl Alt Delete, just like Windows does.
(On my PC at work I use this key combo to lock the screen all the time, so I find it comfortable to use it at home as well)

How did I do this? (if you want to know that is )
I installed Spark, a light-weight app that runs in the background (not to worry, the CPU usage is close to zero) which lets you choose shortcuts/keys for any app.

Now, Fast User Switching in OSX isn't exactly an application.
In order to make it an application you can use MacLoc, it is just a script that runs Fast User Switching by opening it in the Dock or simply open it by making a shortcut with Spark.

True, you first have to download two apps, but these are installed easily, safe and will use few to none recources/CPU.

 

[Andreios]

I love OSX, out of all the operating systems I use it is my favorite. There are too many pros for me to list and I only have a few minor gripes.

The main pros for me are: a powerful command line, Automator, Spaces, the ability to create expanding disk images that can also be encrypted and the overall UI.

The cons are quite minor for me: no cut and paste, no way to restore files to their original location from Trash (this is coming in Snow Leopard), I would like to have the little info box that you get on Windows Explorer when you hover over a file or folder and I also don't like how you switch GPU's without logging out on the unibody MBP.

 

[zync]

I also don't like how you switch GPU's without logging out on the unibody MBP.

Out of curiosity, why would you rather log out to switch GPUs? I don't have a new MBP so I haven't done it and thus have no frame of reference on the process. I just don't see why one would rather log out than being able to change it while being logged in.

 

[TuffLuffJimmy]

Out of curiosity, why would you rather log out to switch GPUs? I don't have a new MBP so I haven't done it and thus have no frame of reference on the process. I just don't see why one would rather log out than being able to change it while being logged in.

I think that was a typo. They meant that they don't like that they have to log out to change GPU's. Maybe in the next OS update or Snow Leopard this will be addressed.

 

[zync]

I think that was a typo. They meant that they don't like that they have to log out to change GPU's. Maybe in the next OS update or Snow Leopard this will be addressed.

Ah thanks. This post confused me:

-switching GPU on unibody pros. hopefully this gets fixed in snow leopard, its pretty ridiculous. on top of on the fly switching without having to log out, it should switch automatically when on AC vs battery.

Between the two, I thought it could switch without logging out. I had a feeling it was a typo—and I thought I remembered reading something about logging out to switch GPUs—but I wasn't positive.

 

[KingYaba]

I'd like to be able to create a .zip file that's password protected. I know I can use Disk Utility but I'd rather just zip a file and apply a password. It would be much easier.

 

[Doctor Q]

I'd like to be able to create a .zip file that's password protected. I know I can use Disk Utility but I'd rather just zip a file and apply a password. It would be much easier.

I use Exces (shareware software) for that. It would be even nicer if that function was integrated into Mac OS X.

 

[KingYaba]

Cool, thanks.

 

[Chirone]

Exposé is both one of my favorite and least liked features of OSX. In concept it's great, but the method quickly breaks down when you have many windows open. The tiling is random and the window thumbnails too small to tell one from another. Nice idea, needs more work.

i just hate expose
it's ok when you have only a few windows open, and when the window you want to change to is ages away from an alt tab
but tbh, i usually alt tab between the last two windows most often, and you can't do that in a mac if the two windows belong to the same app.
it's really annoying, esp since the windows keep changing placement when you switch to a third window. Even with two 17" monitors it's still unfavourable

i hate the one button thing, ok it was fixed to three buttons, but seriously, i plugged in my 5 button mouse and the back and forward buttons did the whole expose thing. UGH. ok might have been solved if i get the driver, but i'd prefer it to just work

the whole lack of text edit navigation thing gets to me too.
in windows you can just hold down ctrl and hit the arrow keys and it moves the cursor over whole words. In a mac, outside of xcode it just makes the speakers beep. Sooooo annoying having to keep pushing the arrow keys to get the cursor to where it's meant to be or having to take your hand off the keyboard to get to the mouse. Both methods take sooooo long compared to just hitting to two keys

The lack of click drag copying between windows is a pain in the ass. In windows you can just pick up a file, alt tab between windows and drop the file in the folder now with focus.

one thing i really don't like is the lack of a task manager equivalent where you can actually kill a thread
today a program crashed and it wouldn't force quit
neither by right clicking it on the dock or through the activity manager
i told the mac to restart, but it never did
i hit the power button on the mac and it shut off, but when i pushed it again it woke up in the same state... so i think i just put it to sleep
so i just pulled the plug and it solved everything


also... i hate not being able to change the default save location for firefox. There's no option to tell it to default to somewhere else... so my desktop gets all filled with trash

oh yeah, and also i hate how when you double click a zip file it just unzips it and you don't get the option to see the unzipped folder, and that you can't just look inside the zip file... what if it's so damn big it takes forever to unzip and you find that what you want isn't even in there? it's a pain in the ass... most certainly it's fixable

i hate how grab doesn't let to change the file type the screen shot gets saved as

i hate how you can't change the file type that you save something as in most apps

i hate how each window's menus are at the top of the screen instead of being attached to the window itself. I keep clicking on windows behind by accident every so often and then i have to find it again amongst the hundreds of windows i have open.

i hate the lack of keyboard shortcuts
command + delete is fine to put something into the trash, but what if i want to get rid of it completely right there and then?

i hate how you can't just delete certain files in the trash.



i do however like how when you have two monitors you don't need a third party app to allow for different backgrounds on both monitors

that's about all i like about macs...

also, i hate xcode, motion, and finder

oh and the lack of up-to-date zbrush (although i think zbrush 3.12 is out for mac now...)

 

[Tosser]

i just hate expose
it's ok when you have only a few windows open, and when the window you want to change to is ages away from an alt tab
but tbh, i usually alt tab between the last two windows most often, and you can't do that in a mac if the two windows belong to the same app.

Yes you can. On my (danish) keyboard I hold down CMD and click "<" (next to the left shift-button) and it will go through the windows in an app.

the whole lack of text edit navigation thing gets to me too.
in windows you can just hold down ctrl and hit the arrow keys and it moves the cursor over whole words. In a mac, outside of xcode it just makes the speakers beep. Sooooo annoying having to keep pushing the arrow keys to get the cursor to where it's meant to be or having to take your hand off the keyboard to get to the mouse. Both methods take sooooo long compared to just hitting to two keys

You hold down "Alt" (or option if your prefer to name the key that) and then use the arrow keys.

The lack of click drag copying between windows is a pain in the ass. In windows you can just pick up a file, alt tab between windows and drop the file in the folder now with focus.

I can do that with CMD+tab while holding, say, a clipping. You can also just drag it to the app in the dock. In finder, if you have spring folders, you can do it there, and if you don't, you press space and the folder will open.

also... i hate not being able to change the default save location for firefox. There's no option to tell it to default to somewhere else... so my desktop gets all filled with trash

CMD+"," then click "general" and you'll notice an area titled "downloads – choose another folder than "Desktop".

i hate how grab doesn't let to change the file type the screen shot gets saved as

Download Onyx.

i hate how you can't change the file type that you save something as in most apps

Of course you can. It's called "Save as" and in most apps the short cut is CMD+Shift+S.

i hate how each window's menus are at the top of the screen instead of being attached to the window itself. I keep clicking on windows behind by accident every so often and then i have to find it again amongst the hundreds of windows i have open.

I prefer the real estate gained.

i hate the lack of keyboard shortcuts

At least learn what there are before you cry about the lack of them. Further, you can roll your own, you know.

command + delete is fine to put something into the trash, but what if i want to get rid of it completely right there and then?

i hate how you can't just delete certain files in the trash.

Force empty trash. Unless of course you're talking about, say, disk images you have mounted.

i do however like how when you have two monitors you don't need a third party app to allow for different backgrounds on both monitors

that's about all i like about macs...

Man, i hope you didn't buy one, then

With all that said, though, I'm switching to a nice Thinkpad

 

[spinnerlys]

Chirone, do you even have a Mac?

Expose can also only show you the windows of the application you're in.

Regarding the mouse: you could set it differently in Expose and Spaces or use USB Overdrive.

Selecting whole words in a text editing application: Option/Alt + Cmd + Arrow Keys.

Force quitting an application: if the Activity Monitor doesn't work, you can use the Terminal and use the kill command with the appropriate Process ID (PID) seen in Activity Monitor - kill 7616.

Saving files in Firefox: Firefox > Preferences (Cmd + ,) > Main > Downloads > Save Files to > Choose...

Viewing zip files might be a pain in the arse, but there is a QuickLook plugin available and even a Terminal command: unzip -l xxxxxxx.zip

Grab - you're right on this point.

File extension during Save Dialog - what do you mean by this especially, I mean, can you give us an example.

The Menu Bar on top is the thing I like about Mac OS, I always wished I had in Windows, when I was still using it. Less clutter, but that is more like a preference.

There are plenty of keyboard shortcuts for Mac OS X, you just have to look for them, you can even setup your own under System Preferences > Keyboard & Mouse > Keyboard Shortcuts.

Deleting certain files in trash - that's true, but I only encounter it once or twice a month, and a restart seems to solve the problem.


I must be bored to try to counter your points, but what the hell.


What I don't like, is how an optical medium sometimes can't be ejected simply by pressing the eject key or the symbol in Finder. That's sometimes a pain in the asymmetric photons.

I like however how easy it is to setup a network connection, wireless or by cable, as I just wanted to do the same in Vista, and it wasn't possibly by air, only by cable.
I also like how all the preferences are sitting in one app, as Vista spread everything across its System Control - even the display configurations are spread.