What feature on Windows you wish is on Lion?

[Joos24]

That's what is making OS X so featureless and dumbed down; Users that simply accept things that are half way done and apologize for Apple later.

Imagine my chagrin when I discovered the Cut 'n Paste was there only to find the "move" command wasn't in the context menu. Why is that? Who knows...

OS X featureless??? I have 2 separate answers for to address your post.
(1) As far as "features", let's not go there. OS X Snow Leopard and Lion have more features than Windows 7. In fact the most "missed" feature in regards to this thread is the only feature I ever read about most places on the web and that's the Aero Snap. Talk to me when Windows has Stacks, Spaces and whether you like Mission Control or not, it's quite a useful feature that's not found in Windows. Windows Flip 3D is useful......to Microsoft.
(2) So you're saying that OS X Lion is dumbed down? Doesn't that mean it's made to be simple and easy for the user? If so then why weren't you able to figure out that the MOVE feature was activated by pressing Option. Any Mac user that KNOWS his/her system will use the OPTION key and discover the hidden extras the system as to offer. Sorry if the "dumbed down" system wasn't easy enough for you to figure that out.
And before you label me an apologist, I'm not one, but you're complaining for the sake of. The feature is now there, does it HAVE to work like Windows?
I'm sure there are a few nice easy features on OS X that Windows users would like to see in W7 such as OS X's easy way of drag n drop installation. Just because it's easier and more elegant on OS X does that mean that Microsoft HAS to do it exactly as Apple does it? NO, and it doesn't mean Windows 7 is a lesser system because of that either.

that the x button actually closes the app.
the way apps instal and unistall are consistant in windows.

The red X button does "close" the app. It also "quits" the app depending on the app.
Yeah the way Windows installs and uninstalls apps is a consistent PITA especially in regards to the Registry. Apple should never implement that mistake.

 

[GermanyChris]

I am sorry, but I disagree with you. It is a stupid way of cutting and pasting files, but thanks for making me aware of it anyway. I don't understand why option has to be pressed, it seems bizarre.

It doesn't have to be pressed...

In Lion you can 3 finger drag it also..

 

[steve knight]

The red X button does "close" the app. It also "quits" the app depending on the app.
Yeah the way Windows installs and uninstalls apps is a consistent PITA especially in regards to the Registry. Apple should never implement that mistake.

it sometimes closes the app but most of the time it just minimizes it. it is inconsistent. it always closes the app in windows. I am not talking the registry I am talking how the apps install. clicking on the app will sometimes install it sometimes open up a dialog box sometimes need you to drop it in the app folder sometimes mount a drive on the desk and sometimes the app will just run and you have to put it in the apps folder manually. sometimes you can't find what the app is doing when you try to install it.

 

[Joos24]

it sometimes closes the app but most of the time it just minimizes it. it is inconsistent. it always closes the app in windows. I am not talking the registry I am talking how the apps install. clicking on the app will sometimes install it sometimes open up a dialog box sometimes need you to drop it in the app folder sometimes mount a drive on the desk and sometimes the app will just run and you have to put it in the apps folder manually. sometimes you can't find what the app is doing when you try to install it.

Sounds like you might be confused a bit here. The yellow button minimizes, not the red X. Also I think you're confusing "closing" with "quitting". Clicking the red x closes and/or quits depending on the app. I would love to run you through a course of how this works against how Windows works but I've done it way too many times for people who don't understand a document-based system (Mac) vs. an application-based system (Windows). Furthermore if people refuse to try and understand it and find the Mac OS too much of a hindrance for them then they are using the wrong system and should move full-time to an OS that best suits them.
Since this is a forum of opinion I will say this thread is sorta ridiculous, IMO. If people are so unhappy with the way Mac OS is designed and they keep touting what they miss in Windows then they should be using only Windows. They are not customer for Apple's system. Why complain and still use something that doesn't have what you need? Use the system that does.

You can Google search this if you will? Just know that it's very logical how it works and makes perfect sense. Once a person gets too "Windows centric" they will think the Windows way is "RIGHT" and the only right way.

 

[617660]

Highlight the doc/file to be Cut N Pasted. Command V...or.... Right click (or two finger tap) to contextual menu. Choose COPY. Then go to the area in Finder you want to paste to. Right Click again and you can either choose to PASTE or if you hold down OPTION choose "Move Item Here".
This way is done better than in Windows. It's BS when people say it's cumbersome because they don't understand the benefit of it.
In Lion you can choose to Copy N Paste or Cut N Paste all in one sequence. This is great if you (like myself) like to paste the same document in several different files and connected external hard drives for backup. Then at the end I can still choose to move the document entirely from where it started.

In Windows you can only either Copy N Paste or Cut N Paste and it requires separate sequences. Lion holds the file for either copying or cutting in one sequence.
I don't mean to come across as being mean but how do people upgrade to an new OS and not check the list of new features? Apple explicitly mentions this as a new feature of Lion.

I think it depends on how you use the computer. I rarely find myself the need to paste a file over several different locations.

And as you would agree, the "Cut" option should be there without a key shortcut regardless of your preferred usage.

 

[Joos24]

I think it depends on how you use the computer. I rarely find myself the need to paste a file over several different locations.

That's you. I do it for redundancy on important docs. Everybody has different needs. There are people that rarely find themselves ever needing to cut n paste anything and find it an unnecessary feature.

And as you would agree, the "Cut" option should be there without a key shortcut.

I didn't agree that there should be a "Cut" option, I said I didn't understand why Apple didn't implement the MOVE option within the same contextual menu...I then added that it doesn't bother me and I won't cry over it. Please don't put words in my mouth.

 

[steve knight]

If people are so unhappy with the way Mac OS is designed and they keep touting what they miss in Windows then they should be using only Windows. They are not customer for Apple's system. Why complain and still use something that doesn't have what you need? Use the system that does.

You can Google search this if you will? Just know that it's very logical how it works and makes perfect sense. Once a person gets too "Windows centric" they will think the Windows way is "RIGHT" and the only right way.

So if there is something I don't like about a mac I should just dump it right? so I take it there is nothing you don't like in a mac?
after googling it people that have used mac a long time don't always like how the x button works.
guess what I complain about windows too so I am what supposed to drop all computers because there are things I don't like about them?
ok another gripe I can't eject a cd from my external plextor drive. the external eject button does not work for most types of discs the eject key won't work and most of the time I have to hit the eject button in iTunes to get a disc out. Now tell me how great this feature is on a mac. How I should just like it because apple desided it is the way it should be.

 

[617660]

That's you. I do it for redundancy on important docs. Everybody has different needs. There are people that rarely find themselves ever needing to cut n paste anything and find it an unnecessary feature.

I didn't agree that there should be a "Cut" option, I said I didn't understand why Apple didn't implement the MOVE option within the same contextual menu...I then added that it doesn't bother me and I won't cry over it. Please don't put words in my mouth.

Sorry if I offended you. But I "did" say it depends on how you use the computer. So of course I was speaking of myself.

I know there is a difference but Copy N Move is essentially the same as Cut N Paste in Windows. So when I said "Cut" I mean "Move", or whatever term Apple decides to use.

"...I then added that it doesn't bother me and I won't cry over it."

But nobody ever accuse you of crying...

 

[Joos24]

So if there is something I don't like about a mac I should just dump it right? so I take it there is nothing you don't like in a mac?
after googling it people that have used mac a long time don't always like how the x button works.
guess what I complain about windows too so I am what supposed to drop all computers because there are things I don't like about them?
ok another gripe I can't eject a cd from my external plextor drive. the external eject button does not work for most types of discs the eject key won't work and most of the time I have to hit the eject button in iTunes to get a disc out. Now tell me how great this feature is on a mac. How I should just like it because apple desided it is the way it should be.

You're seemingly trying to work this argument to make it appear that it's just about what you don't like in a Mac. You're conveniently going off base. I never once said that if you don't like Mac then dump it. This thread is about features in Windows they wish were in OS X. You as well as some others have said why they prefer the Windows-way over what OS X has and features that you feel Apple should've put in OS X that Windows has.
I'm saying is if you want Windows features, use only Windows.

You can complain about a system all you want to, that doesn't mean you should dump it, but this thread is gathering up people who seemingly want the Mac OS to be...."WINDOWS".

To answer your question, there are some things about the Mac that I don't care for, but do I want any features from Windows implemented into Lion? NO. If I want Windows I'll run Windows. What's the point of crying about what the competition has, just use the competition's system.

I left Windows because I liked what the Mac OS has to offer. If I still preferred the Windows-way I would've stayed on Windows and others should too which is why this thread is sorta ridiculous. If you notice my posts, they've been in response to things people are saying OS X doesn't have and I'm trying to offer information to straighten out the misinformation which leads to FUD for new Mac users.

Also I never once said anyone should like the way Apple does it. At this point you're now just adding things that annoy you about the system. The thread is about features in Windows you would like in OS X.

Again, you never answered my question, if you prefer the Windows-way, why not just use the Windows system only, you have a choice.

 

[thundersteele]

You can Google search this if you will? Just know that it's very logical how it works and makes perfect sense. Once a person gets too "Windows centric" they will think the Windows way is "RIGHT" and the only right way.

Not everyone comes from the windows world. According to wikipedia, Apple introduced cut/copy/paste into the PC world:

Apple Computer widely popularized the computer-based cut-and-paste paradigm through the Lisa (1981) and Macintosh (1984) operating systems and applications. Apple mapped the functionalities to key-combinations consisting of the Command key (a special modifier key) held down while typing the letters X (for cut), C (for copy), and V (for paste), choosing a handful of keyboard sequences to control basic editing operations.

I'm still undecided on the "close the document, not the application" thing, four years after switching over from linux.
However, quitting an application is probably an outdated concept from the time when you could only run one task at a time. Nowadays quitting and restarting an application might consume more time and resources than just letting it "sleep" or something like that. Most apps for iOS and Android have no "quit" function - you just return to the home screen and select something else to do. Given that those small phones with minimal amounts of RAM and slow processors are pretty fast and responsive most of the time, maybe this is the way to go also for PC operating systems.

When did Apple OS switch from being application based to document based?

 

[Joos24]

When did Apple OS switch from being application based to document based?

When they moved from OS 9 to OS X back in 2000. It's actually been document-based since OS X public beta with system-wide PDF support.

 

[roadbloc]

It doesn't have to be pressed...

In Lion you can 3 finger drag it also..

I think you misunderstood. Option is another word for the ALT key on a Mac. It has to be pressed for the 'Move Items Here' option to appear in Finder (God knows why).

I tried the three finger drag once. Found that I couldn't drag things far enough without one of my three fingers moving off my trackpad and the file/window being dropped somewhere different than I intended. I'll stick to clicking and dragging.

 

[GermanyChris]

I think you misunderstood. Option is another word for the ALT key on a Mac. It has to be pressed for the 'Move Items Here' option to appear in Finder (God knows why).

I tried the three finger drag once. Found that I couldn't drag things far enough without one of my three fingers moving off my trackpad and the file/window being dropped somewhere different than I intended. I'll stick to clicking and dragging.

3 finger drag is cut and paste...

you can copy and paste, and you can cut and paste..you don't need the option key for any of it..

 

[roadbloc]

3 finger drag is cut and paste...

you can copy and paste, and you can cut and paste..you don't need the option key for any of it..

You mean dragging a file from one Finder window to another works just like cut and paste? That was your point?

Thanks Captain Obvious.

 

[Gomff]

"Save as".

 

[KnightWRX]

I am sorry, but I disagree with you. It is a stupid way of cutting and pasting files

It's basically the same as Windows with 1 extra modifier.

Cmd-C
Cmd-Alt-V (Cut and paste) or Cmd-V (copy and paste).

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that the x button actually closes the app.

Doesn't make sense unless your app uses a single window. In a multiple document application, Windows are documents, the application can have more than 1. Why would the X close the app ?

The Mac does this very well, Windows had to go and invent the crud that is MDI to fix this broken concept.

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after googling it people that have used mac a long time don't always like how the x button works.

And I don't like the X button on Windows. Too easy to just press it by mistake. And in MDI applications, it's even worse. Which X do I want ? There's 2! There's Document X and there's Application X.

cmd-Q closes the application on Mac. The X closes the document. For non-document based applications, the X also closes the application (as there is no reason to have it around without a window). Quite simple.

"Save as".

What about it ?



Sounds to me a lot of the people who want "Windows" features in OS X just can't be bothered to learn something different. Try it sometimes, you might even discover you like it. Why do all threads in this forum have to be about bickering and whining ?

 

[mainstay]

the ability to change the font size, either for specific elements like title bar items, or globally, like Windows 125 dpi.

how many of your customers bought a 27" iMac thinking they would like to see things nice and big only to discover that the text is FREAKING tiny?

Yes, you can adjust the resolution, but this is not the same.

 

[kolax]

Windows handles multiple monitors better than OS X. Particularly, if you have say monitor A and monitor B, and monitor A has the Dock and menu bar, while monitor B has an application running, you have to keep going from Monitor B to monitor A in order to access the menu bar for that application.

Installing applications generally on Windows is more intuitive. You click on the installer, and ignorantly keep clicking till there's no more clicking needed. While some OS X applications come with installers, the ones that require you to drag the application to the applications folder isn't so intuitive. It may seem obvious to us, but the amount of people I know who aren't very great with technology have their desktops littered with .dmg files and have never actually copied the application to their Mac. The Mac App Store is making it more intuitive though, but not much on it yet.

 

[maflynn]

What about it ?

View attachment 318219

Sounds to me a lot of the people who want "Windows" features in OS X just can't be bothered to learn something different. Try it sometimes, you might even discover you like it. Why do all threads in this forum have to be about bickering and whining ?

Quite the opposite. "Save As" is going away as more apps are released for Lion. Just look at pixelmator or apple's apps. No more "Save As" Additionally MS has stated it will update office to make it more Lion compliant (or compatible - not sure). That may mean for office apps, it will lose "Save As"

 

[Gomff]

What about it ?

View attachment 318219

Sounds to me a lot of the people who want "Windows" features in OS X just can't be bothered to learn something different. Try it sometimes, you might even discover you like it. Why do all threads in this forum have to be about bickering and whining ?

Please.....Who do you think you're kidding here? Can you direct me to where "Save As" is located in apps that use versions?

Programs in Lion that support versions have turned file management into a car crash, which the vast majority of professional Lion users wouldn't touch if they had the choice.

LOL at all the usual suspects desperately defending obviously badly thought out "New" features in Lion....Reminds me of abused spouses swearing blind their partners are all sweetness and light, whilst sporting a fat lip.

 

[mainstay]

If in doubt, use a car analogy.

OMG - that is possibly the funniest signature I've read in ages.

Almost every last one of my analogies hinge on the automobile. Nice!


and agreed on the comment that professional requirements are different than a home user. I have no idea how we are going to properly handle file management once our office insist on going mac.

 

[alexcottrill]

'Aero snap' is undoubtedly the feature that I miss the most from Windows 7. I know there may be third-party utilities to enable this is OSX but it would be nice to have it incorporated into the operating system.

 

[Krazy Bill]

'Aero snap' is undoubtedly the feature that I miss the most from Windows 7. I know there may be third-party utilities to enable this is OSX but it would be nice to have it incorporated into the operating system.

The 3rd party utilities are fine for this and that's probably as good as it will ever get. I can't see Apple encroaching on a Windows attribute like this. (If not for the pending patent suit then just out of sheer stubborn "nose-in-the-air" pride which Apple exhibits at times).

 

[blackburn]

Windows Explorer. Or even better gnome 2 file manager.

 

[KnightWRX]

Quite the opposite. "Save As" is going away as more apps are released for Lion. Just look at pixelmator or apple's apps. No more "Save As" Additionally MS has stated it will update office to make it more Lion compliant (or compatible - not sure). That may mean for office apps, it will lose "Save As"

That's a choice of the developer. Apple provides the option, the developers don't have to use versions.

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Please.....Who do you think you're kidding here? Can you direct me to where "Save As" is located in apps that use versions?

It's the "Duplicate" option in your screenshot. That's it. That's what it is now. If you don't like it, ask your vendor to make versions support optional and restore "Save As". Lion doesn't force use of versions nor remove the "Save As" option.