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Diatribe said:
• integration of Backup into the OS
That would be a nice feature. There's a free backup program called SilverKeeper from LaCie that does a really good job of backing up your files. It's simple to use and only creates finder accessible backups.
 
Lacero said:
That would be a nice feature. There's a free backup program called SilverKeeper from LaCie that does a really good job of backing up your files. It's simple to use and only creates finder accessible backups.

Yep, that is pretty neat, there is also SuperDuper but I really think an OS should come with a Backup program.
 
I think I speak for everyone with my request for the return of the happy mac!

Other features:
- OCR Spotlight
- multiple docks
- ability to run .EXE apps without booting up in windows (a la Classic or Rosetta) on intel macs
- better speech recognition and text-to-speech support including dictation
- virtual whiteboard for iChat
- MSN and Yahoo messanger support for iChat
- browse for and download dashboard widgets from within dashboard
- 3D chatrooms for iChat
- disk defragmentation uutility
- desktop level widgets
 
Virtual whiteboards is a useless feature. No one ever uses it. And if they do, people tend to just scribble on it. Mplayer on windows had this feature. No one ever used it.
 
I prefer the Virtual PC implementation where you can run Windows programs in their own little window. And if you get infected with a virus, you could always revert to a previous state.
 
A few of the changes I would like to see on Leopard (or by the time it comes out):

- iChat - multi-service simultaneous logins, along with the MSN and Yahoo support
- Dock - multiple docks, as well as, dividers, and have applications minimize to their dock positions when they generally only use one window.
- Finder - more steamlined, and speedier with better live updating of file and directory information; added path integration and an optional address bar; better integration of Spotlight; and adopting the Tiger Mail look for Finder
- Safari - fixes to the engine, so all pages look as they should (its only specific pages that don't look right, and its very few of them scattered about); even more streamlined and faster; customizable toolbar; better managing/updating of plugins
- QuickTime - more codecs or at least updates to older codecs
- iTunes - allow for syncing of entire libraries between specific accounts on different computers on a home network
- Virtual PC - better integration with OS X (this should not be too much trouble since they are moving to x86 architecture and assuming that Microsoft and Apple can play nicely :rolleyes: )
- Address Book - change the look to that of Tiger Mail, so it looks better together along side Mail
- Sherlock - do something with it, anything to make it more useful again. I still use it for movie times and movie info, but thats mostly it. It hasn't seen a big (much needed) update for a while, and it seems like Dashboard is taking over its territory, because for just about everything on Sherlock, there exists a Dashboard widget that can take its place, and in some cases, be better than going through Sherlock.
- Backup - make it built-in with OS X
- iWork - come preinstalled with OS X on all Macs (with better word processing on Pages, along with a heck of alot better .doc support and importing/exporting to .doc)
 
I want to see Apple start moving away from the antiquated HFS(+) and start moving towards something more robust like Reiser4. There's only so much you can do with a file system designed for the original Mac in 84. Taking on Spotlight indexing, Stuffit, and FileVault just serve to make the system heavier than neccesary. I've heard rumors of Leopard having a metadata based browsing experience like Longhorn 5048 but I'm not thrilled to see it on top of HFS+. Spotlight and FileVault show numerous problems due to their HFS+ underpinnings.

Microsoft's Windows Server Program Manager already said that Longhorn will have system restore, document history and versioning, shadow copy, and a bunch of other things integrated directly into NTFS6. Now we hear that Longhorn will use RSS natively and WinFS will be the underpinnings of Exchange, Sharepoint, Active Directory, and the user data store in Longhorn SP1.
Recently, numerous patents were given to Microsoft for WinFS so you can read all about what exactly WinFS will do. It's kind of scary to look at the amount of power that WinFS enables in the system. It's far beyond anything on the desktop today.
 
7on said:
You do know that this would bring to OSX driver problems. I.E. I couldn't even begin to count how many problem were caused by needing driver updates in Windows. And Linux isn't as compatible with as many hardware as Windows.

i'm commenting off-topic, so sue me :D

you know, that might not be a problem at all. the problem with windows and its hardware support is that regular user can install drivers far too easily, potentially screwing up everything. with osx there is no automated driver installation wizard but you will have to know what you do if you really must install one.

now if apple just don't provide the end user the easy way to screw up the system, everything is fine. currently hardware vendors communicate with apple and then after testing the drivers apple includes them in next minor upgrade. there are only working drivers installed and everything works fine. if end user installs something by itself and screws the system, he can blame himself for it.

one step further... if apple indeed allowed osx to be installed "anywhere" and still controlled the way drivers are installed, they can actually be the quality control instance that selects what hardware works with osx and what doesn't - and if some hardware company wants to get its hardware apple-compatible, they just need to write proper drivers and not anything crappy and hazardous that windows is full of.

apple systems have stability and apple cannot afford to lose it. the big threat is not allowing more hardware to use osx, but it is the BAD SOFTWARE that can kill even the best user experience. apple needs to control software, not hardware.
 
neonart said:
They'd have to sell WAY MORE than 10 times more OS licenses.

"sales of Macintosh computers still brought in $3.1 billion in revenue in the first six months of its fiscal year. In contrast, during that time period, Apple garnered just $251 million from sales of software."

Would you risk 46% of your income for the possibility of increasing LESS than 4% of that income?

you know, "ten times more licenses" would mean $2.51 billion more totalling $2.762 billion for software, which is only about 10% less than the hardware revenue today. and even if apple did open its operating system to other hardware vendors, do you think that they themselves suddenly stop manufacturing their precious hardware? even if they sold 90% less than today, they would still break even with the software revenues, and i strongly believe that their hardware sales would only get a good boost if osx was more widely known than now.

the question is not about risking hardware sales. apple hardware is NOT that much more expensive than any other QUALITY pc hardware. have you ever compared ibm thinkpads to apple powerbooks? price-wise they are equal, but quality-wise apple's are a little better. allow osx to run on thinkpads and the next hardware that thinkpad user buys is from apple for sure.
 
mkrishnan said:
It would be neat if apps that only ever really have one window (like iSync, iCal, iTunes, etc) could minimize not into a separate position on the dock, but into the position of their launch icon.
Yeah, that would be a cool addition. But I think it would be even better if they had a little number icon like the Mail app icon has to indicate how many windows you have minimized under the application. This could be used regardless of how many windows you have open in an application.
 
JFreak said:
allow osx to run on thinkpads and the next hardware that thinkpad user buys is from apple for sure.
This is what I was trying to say in the beginning I'm glad somebody elaborated on the concept. Thanks.

Apple will win with both hardware and software sales in the end if they make their Mac OS X operating system software widespread.

Also I never thought about it before (so thanks for bringing it up) I also agree with you when you say make OS X avalible to all hardware but only if Apple approves of the drivers first. That is one of the coolest solutions for OS X hardware I've heard in a while!
 
ksz said:
Imitation:

From Windows: Hibernate

yes! Hibernate was a life saver back on my PC. if i was working on something i could just hibernate it, slap the laptop back into my bag, travel home (1.5 hours) turn it back on and get right back to where i started.

one could argue that the beautiful battery life on Apples portables would allow it to sleep and everything to be OK. but the computer is still on.
 
Dashboard & Desktops

I think dashboard is great, but mine has already got clogged up, what I would like to see is the possibility to have multiple dashboards.

Another possible one is multiple desktops without changing user. This way I could keep everything work related in one place, and switch to home stuff without loging in to another user account.

Other possibilties include better bluetoothe software. While the current software is good, It would be great if I could browse and download text messages from my phone. There are ways of doing it, but it is complicated and the end result is poor.

Another possibility is built in virus protection software.
 
GodBless said:
I know about this feature, but I like path integration that is selectable so that it can be copied and pasted in various locations for linking files to one another, finding a specific location on the hard drive fast and many other things. Cmd+click is good for some things and an address bar would be good for other things.

This is irrelevant in OSX, because afaik, the system doesn't rely on paths to find files. Example: save a file in your Documents folder, move that file to the desktop, and then try and open the file using the "Open Recent" option under the File menu. The file opens! In Windows, if you move the file, you're screwed, because the system points to the file's location, not the file itself.

Finding a specific location on the hard drive? Well...spotlight and spotlight-esque derivatives are soon going to change the way data is organized, so this could potentially be a total non-issue.
 
RichardFASmith said:
I think dashboard is great, but mine has already got clogged up, what I would like to see is the possibility to have multiple dashboards.

Another possible one is multiple desktops without changing user. This way I could keep everything work related in one place, and switch to home stuff without loging in to another user account.

Other possibilties include better bluetoothe software. While the current software is good, It would be great if I could browse and download text messages from my phone. There are ways of doing it, but it is complicated and the end result is poor.

Another possibility is built in virus protection software.

There are programs you can download that give you multiple desktops, cant think of the names off hand, i'm sure you can find them on google

Whats wrong with BluePhoneElite?

Why would you need virus protection software?
 
slooksterPSV said:
Ability to set processor usage by one program with % levels, not like how Windoze does it, but by like 1%, automatic, etc,
I like this but also I'd like the ability to restrict network processes to a certain % for a certain process under certain condition. For example, let's say I'm doing a few big downloads using Safari, Unison, or Software Update. If there's no other network activity, then use 100% of the pipe for them. But, if I'm running World of Warcraft, always give WoW at least 75% and give it priority. I've gotten killed in WoW before because something like the ESPN baseball scoreboard page picks a bad time to autorefresh in the background.
 
GodBless said:
Good point.

Apple computer sales are going up anyway so hopefully Mac OS X market share is going up too. Obviously making OS X able to run on 3rd party hardware would make the market share skyrocket but who said that Apple computer sales would go down? Apple will still get computer sales because it makes some of the best hardware.

Nope, it's not. Latest reports put the Mac's market share at 1.8%. And I don't think it's so obvious that licensing OS X will cause the Mac's marketshare to skyrocket. That just doesn't make sense. Microsoft still rules the world, and I don't think offering Dell computers with OS X preinstalled is going to change that.
 
Onizuka said:
As for making OS X for all computers...NO. Just...NO.

And I really REALLY couldn't agree more. That's part of what makes the Mac a Mac. It's the whole package. It's the air-tight integration of great hardware and equally great software that makes the Mac so freakin cool.
 
• Ditch the Dock; it's a virtual minefield at the edge of every running application.
Instead, it should be moved to a Dashboard-like layer, and be more configurable.

• Replace the Finder with a more streamlined and consistent file manager based on "Smart Folders". UI controls, actions, navigation etc... could be moved to a slide-out drawer rather than requiring a switch to the metal UI.

• Replace the dark metal/shiny white plastic UI skins and system menubar with a consistent and simple light gray "matte aluminum". (similar to current application title bars)

• Enable multipage PDF export in Preview.
 
snickelfritz said:
• Ditch the Dock; it's a virtual minefield at the edge of every running application.
Instead, it should be moved to a Dashboard-like layer, and be more configurable.
I'll disagree with you on the dock ditching. It's far more efficient at its tasks than say, the windows taskbar which comprises the features of both OS X's Menubar and the Dock all in one. The taskbar is very inefficient. The Dock is far better at its tasks.
snickelfritz said:
• Replace the dark metal/shiny white plastic UI skins and system menubar with a consistent and simple light gray "matte aluminum". (similar to current application title bars)
And I'll give you 1/2 credit for the interface continuity. ;) I agree, there should be something that is continuous, but the currend di(tri?)chotomy doesn't really bother me. But what you've suggested isn't a bad idea.
 
aquajet said:
Nope, it's not. Latest reports put the Mac's market share at 1.8%. And I don't think it's so obvious that licensing OS X will cause the Mac's marketshare to skyrocket. That just doesn't make sense. Microsoft still rules the world, and I don't think offering Dell computers with OS X preinstalled is going to change that.

Apple's *market share* isn't growing, but their sales *are* going up. You can see here. Their sales are up both in a number of units shipped sense, and in revenue / profit on Macs. The reason this doesn't necessarily translate to huge market share growth is that the overall market is also growing, and the revenue numbers are affected by higher unit prices for Macs than most competitors....

As for Dell offering MacOS...I am not really for it either. But the share of Windows sales that are OEM is a very large one. If Dell were to start selling a substantial number of MacOS computers, it would definitely cause a market share shift, and over time, a computers-in-use shift as well (although that would be much, much slower).
 
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