What do you like and dislike about Mac OS X?

[r0k]

pros
* sleep - fast
* boot - fast
* the dock
* time machine
* the menu bar - one menu on the screen at a time - great!
* terminal
* mag safe
* spotlight
* firewire
* 802.11n

cons
* time machine - runs all the time - never quits
* system updates frequently require reboots - unix systems should get rebooted about once every other century
* finder - can seem kind of weak at times
* del - (missing from macbook) i would rather have a delete key than an eject key
* size, cost and weight - i have an acer aspire one netbook running ubuntu. it has been my main road machine for some time and it is becoming my main machine

 

[sexyfoolxx]

pros
* sleep - fast
* boot - fast
* the dock
* time machine
* the menu bar - one menu on the screen at a time - great!
* terminal
* mag safe
* spotlight
* firewire
* 802.11n

cons
* time machine - runs all the time - never quits
* system updates frequently require reboots - unix systems should get rebooted about once every other century
* finder - can seem kind of weak at times
* del - (missing from macbook) i would rather have a delete key than an eject key
* size, cost and weight - i have an acer aspire one netbook running ubuntu. it has been my main road machine for some time and it is becoming my main machine

if you're referring to the way windows deletes it's fn + delete

 

[zync]

if you're referring to the way windows deletes it's fn + delete

I've also just found out that you can Opt+Del to delete the previous word. That could come in handy.

 

[IJ Reilly]

holding command while i drag does not invoke cut on my machine.

i wish i could just hit command X.

There's a reason why OSX doesn't do this. If you cut in a word processor, what happens to the cut text? If you cut a file in Windows, what happens to the cut file? The behaviors of cutting under these two examples is very inconsistent. Apple avoids this kind of kludgy operation.

I think you may be just used to the crappy mouse acceleration. It's a known problem in the OS actually. Try some third party drivers like SteerMouse or USB Overdrive and you'll be amazed how more fluid the mouse movement becomes. The best implementation seems to be on MS mice, ironically. They have their own drivers with their own mouse acceleration.

No, it isn't a "known problem" -- Windows and the MacOS have always employed different methods. Neither is right or wrong.

Yeah you can turn the font antialiasing off to a degree, but even the different options don't IMO have the clarity of Windows fonts with Cleartype. This is just a difference between what they aim for: MS went for readability over accurate font representation (fonts crushed into pixel grid) while Apple decided to have accurately drawn fonts at the expense of readability on screen. It's not a huge issue to me because I'm used to it.

Again, different methods chosen for technical reasons.

 

[zync]

I vastly prefer Mac OS X font rendering. In my opinion it is highly superior to ClearType. I think ClearType makes fonts blurry and colorful where there should be no color. Without it, it's blocky. And when you're talking large sizes, my god the difference is immense.

Some people say the same thing of Mac OS X font rendering. To that I say, you're probably not a designer. As for readability, Mac OS X wins that one too as far as I'm concerned. When I switched from XP to OS X, I had fewer headaches.

 

[Mad Mac]

There's a reason why OSX doesn't do this. If you cut in a word processor, what happens to the cut text?

It places the cut text into the clipboard, ready for pasting.

If you cut a file in Windows, what happens to the cut file?

It puts the cut file into the clipboard, ready for pasting.

The behaviors of cutting under these two examples is very inconsistent. Apple avoids this kind of kludgy operation.

There is nothing kludgy at all as I've shown above. It makes perfect sense.

I can move files quickly with ONE Windows Explorer window open. CTRL X a file/folder/whatever, easily navigate to a different folder/drive/whatever and CTRL V to paste. It couldn't be simpler.

In OS X, I have to have 2 windows open and drag files from one window to another while holding down command. Or if I want to do it in one window I have to click and hold the file, hover over another folder in the tree, wait until it highlights, hit spacebar while still holding the file, hit command while still holding the file, then release. Now THAT'S kludgy.

 

[Chirone]

zync, you can do that in windows as well

'cept it's ctrl+backspace

for mac option + arrow to skip whole words
cmd + home to go to the font of the line
cmd + end to go to the end of the line
option + backspace to delete a whole word forwards
option + delete to delete whole word after the cursor
cmd + backspace to delete whole line before cursor
not sure about deleting a whole line after the cursor
there are equivalents on windows

also on mac
home to get to the top of the page
end to get the end

tbh, i like window's home and end keys better
home to get to the start of the line
end to get to the end of the line
ctrl + home to go to the top of the page
ctrl + end to go to the end
as a developer i go to the start and end of lines more often than i need to go to the top and bottom of a page


also, more useful shortcuts:
double click to select a whole word
click and drag a word to 'cut and paste'
click and drag and hold down option to 'copy and paste'
much much faster than cmd + c/cmd + x and cmd + v when your hand is already on the mouse and you only need to move stuff without scrolling
again windows has an equivlance

also, for some BIZZARE reason (i haven't worked out when you'd need this, but i'm sure there's a point in time you'd probably want to do this)
if you hold down option and click and drag you can select vertically

i keep doing it because mac is a little slower on starting the click and drag than windows

time saving shortcuts ftw

 

[zync]

time saving shortcuts ftw

I figured there was an equivalent since you could select words with ctrl.

I've used most of those and I like them. I think I've seen the vertical selection as well. I have no idea what it's for. Maybe if you hide a message in the first character of every line of a body of text like the Simpsons did in the episode where Homer's mom returns.

 

[zync]

By the way, COSE eventually became SUS which is what The Open Group uses in testing. The Open Group and the IEEE got together and then created The Austin Group to cement POSIX and SUS. So I'd go with SUS.

It places the cut text into the clipboard, ready for pasting.


It puts the cut file into the clipboard, ready for pasting.


There is nothing kludgy at all as I've shown above. It makes perfect sense.

Yeah, until you cut a file, then cut text. You paste the text. What happens to the file?

In Windows the file is no longer cut. But why?

 

[IJ Reilly]

There is nothing kludgy at all as I've shown above. It makes perfect sense.

Not really. In the example of the word processor, the text is removed from the place where you cut it. In the case of the file, it remains in the location where it was cut until it is pasted. This is the inconsistency.

In OS X, I have to have 2 windows open and drag files from one window to another while holding down command. Or if I want to do it in one window I have to click and hold the file, hover over another folder in the tree, wait until it highlights, hit spacebar while still holding the file, hit command while still holding the file, then release. Now THAT'S kludgy.

You don't have to hold down the command key, except in the specific case where you want to move a file between volumes without copying. As for your procedure for moving a file within a window, none of this is necessary so I don't know why you think it is. I've never even heard of this spacebar-command key maneuver. I just drag and drop the file.

 

[wrldwzrd89]

What I like about Mac OS X:

• Extremely well-organized preferences system
• The OS saves and restores window positions automatically for MOST applications - fixing them automatically if they become invalid for whatever reason
• Optimized for multi-tasking, which fits with my style of working

... and what I do NOT like about Mac OS X:

• Windows can only be resized from the lower-right corner
• Windows minimized to the Dock don't indicate that they need attention, or come to the front automatically (best if this was a preference) if one attempts to activate such a window from someplace besides the Dock
• In Spotlight, there's no way, without resorting to the Terminal, to find stuff in the various OS and hidden folders

 

[Mad Mac]

Yeah, until you cut a file, then cut text. You paste the text. What happens to the file?

In Windows the file is no longer cut. But why?

First off, why would I cut a file, then go cut text? I would paste the file and finish what I was doing with the file and then move on. If I changed my mind about the file that's been cut, I'd just hit the escape key which would restore the cut and then move on to the text. Simple as that.

Not really. In the example of the word processor, the text is removed from the place where you cut it. In the case of the file, it remains in the location where it was cut until it is pasted. This is the inconsistency.

That's not entirely correct. Like I said, the file is moved to the clipboard. That's a fact. And it's consistent.

You don't have to hold down the command key, except in the specific case where you want to move a file between volumes without copying.

We're talking about moving (which is a poor man's cutting). Not copying. You HAVE to hold down the command key to move/cut.

As for your procedure for moving a file within a window, none of this is necessary so I don't know why you think it is.

Yes it is. Tell me how to move around in different directories in one Finder window while holding down (dragging) a file?

In Windows, I can cut a file, then move to where I want to paste it. In OS X, I have to open up the directories where I want to commmand drag the file before I drag them. That's kludgy. Or I have to copy/paste, then go back and delete the original file. That's kludgy.

I've never even heard of this spacebar-command key maneuver. I just drag and drop the file.

You can't just drag and drop if the folders are in a totally different location that you have to maneuver to.

 

[zync]

You cut the file and have to go to the bathroom and then forget.

It doesn't matter why. It matters that it's possible. They have to program for such possibilities.

 

[Mal]

First off, why would I cut a file, then go cut text? I would paste the file and finish what I was doing with the file and then move on. If I changed my mind about the file that's been cut, I'd just hit the escape key which would restore the cut and then move on to the text. Simple as that.

That's not entirely correct. Like I said, the file is moved to the clipboard. That's a fact. And it's consistent.

We're talking about moving (which is a poor man's cutting). Not copying. You HAVE to hold down the command key to move/cut.


Yes it is. Tell me how to move around in different directories in one Finder window while holding down (dragging) a file?

In Windows, I can cut a file, then move to where I want to paste it. In OS X, I have to open up the directories where I want to commmand drag the file before I drag them. That's kludgy. Or I have to copy/paste, then go back and delete the original file. That's kludgy.

You can't just drag and drop if the folders are in a totally different location that you have to maneuver to.

Umm, as he said, if you're not dragging to another volume (or from somewhere you don't have write permission to, which shouldn't be the case), you CAN just drag and drop. I do it hundreds of times a day. No command key needed, no spacebar needed.

jW

 

[IJ Reilly]

Umm, as he said, if you're not dragging to another volume (or from somewhere you don't have write permission to, which shouldn't be the case), you CAN just drag and drop. I do it hundreds of times a day. No command key needed, no spacebar needed.

jW

Exactly.

As for Windows file cut and paste, I don't have a Windows box around any longer but my recollection is that Windows preserves the cut file in its original location until it is pasted elsewhere. So it's really more like a copy, paste and auto-delete function. Can someone verify?

 

[Edot]

• Windows minimized to the Dock don't indicate that they need attention, or come to the front automatically (best if this was a preference) if one attempts to activate such a window from someplace besides the Dock

This is the most annoying thing about Windows. IE constantly coming to the front when it loads a page, or wants attention. I am working in the application I want right now, notify me, but don't butt in, take over, and stop my control of the application I was working in. Terrible "feature" of Windows.

 

[zync]

As for Windows file cut and paste, I don't have a Windows box around any longer but my recollection is that Windows preserves the cut file in its original location until it is pasted elsewhere. So it's really more like a copy, paste and auto-delete function. Can someone verify?

That's what I'm saying. It actually grays out like it's going to be moved or destroyed, but if you do something else, it restores. It doesn't move until you past it, so yes, it is more like copy then auto delete.

If you do the same with text, it is gone. If you copy something else, that text is gone and you're SOL.

And that's the discrepancy I'm trying to illustrate. It's the same discrepancy you're rightly calling kludgy.

Granted, I wish it existed because I understand it. But I'm sure some user out there won't and then they'll complain about it. Personally I don't really mind the extra Cmd+n to open a new window to drag the file to. No matter what you have to navigate to where you're going to put it. Usually I need to do work in both directories anyway.

This is the most annoying thing about Windows. IE constantly coming to the front when it loads a page, or wants attention. I am working in the application I want right now, notify me, but don't butt in, take over, and stop my control of the application I was working in. Terrible "feature" of Windows.

Yep. I never paid much attention to that when I switched, but I recall that the feeling of not being annoyed was nice.

 

[IJ Reilly]

No matter what you have to navigate to where you're going to put it.

Right. This is the main reason why I don't find the cutting and pasting of files to be a very desirable feature, in addition to the fact that a different handling of the cut and paste function has to be introduced for it to not be dangerous. This is how Microsoft operates -- they introduce a feature which is inherently risky, then invent a safety net, even though this creates differing implementations of a core OS function.

Apple certainly hasn't got everything right, especially in the Finder, but I do prefer their overall philosophy of maintaining a consistent approach to basic functions.

 

[Doctor Q]

A tiny little Mac OS X Finder feature I appreciate: having the Trash turn into an eject symbol when I drag a volume. When I was doing Mac training in the good ol' days before Mac OS X, I found it hard to convince people that dragging their disk to the Trash would eject it, not erase it.

 

[zync]

A tiny little Mac OS X Finder feature I appreciate: having the Trash turn into an eject symbol when I drag a volume. When I was doing Mac training in the good ol' days before Mac OS X, I found it hard to convince people that dragging their disk to the Trash would eject it, not erase it.

I remember one of my professors trying to explain that to some students back in the OS9 days. It was pretty funny.

Every time I did that in OS 9 I was still afraid, even though I knew how it worked.

 

[Chirone]

such is a famous story of such BAD use of metaphor in HCI

i remember mentioning this in a presentation about metaphors used in computers

you say it was changed just as OSX came? geez... so in 9 iterations of the OS they never changed it despite it's sillyness... guess they didn't think it was a high priority, but really, it seems like it wouldn't have taken over a day to change it to the way it is now

 

[zync]

such is a famous story of such BAD use of metaphor in HCI

i remember mentioning this in a presentation about metaphors used in computers

you say it was changed just as OSX came? geez... so in 9 iterations of the OS they never changed it despite it's sillyness... guess they didn't think it was a high priority, but really, it seems like it wouldn't have taken over a day to change it to the way it is now

I never used the older OSs, well as a kid I did, but the only things that would have been ejectable back then were CDs and hard disks. It might have had a different metaphor then. I don't remember.

 

[IJ Reilly]

Yeah, that I remember, but did it stay a trash can when you ejected media?

If you're asking whether the icon changed when it was used to eject a disc, the answer is no.

 

[Mad Mac]

CTRL Z will UNDO any screwup with cut 'n paste in Windows (within reason; you can't go back and undo something done last week).

• Cut a file, go to the bathroom, forget and cut a different file? Windows will "uncut" the prior file. Non issue.

• Cut a file, paste it somewhere and decide you want it back in its original location? CTRL Z will put it back.

• Cut a paragraph, then accidentally cut another paragraph? CTRL Z will undo the cuts, giving you back your paragraphs.

• Cut a file, then go and cut a paragraph right after? Windows will "uncut" the file

So there you have it. Even a person with short-term memory issues and/or bladder control problems will be able to survive with Windows cut 'n paste.


Now for all the people saying you can just drag 'n drop in OS X:
Go ahead and open a folder and drag its contents onto your desktop. Did OS X make copies or did it actually move the contents?

Copy does not equal Move.

So unless you want the hassle of going back in the original folder and deleting its contents, you have to use command+drag to move files. Neither are as efficient and elegant as using cut 'n paste.

 

[Acorn]

i only have one real beef. if i only have 1 window that is left open on a particular application and i click its x. i want it to close down everything. both the window and its parent. there is nothing else open, why keep the window alive. just for another abnoxios key combo to close it. that is redundent.