Which do you prefer? (menu bar)

[dpaanlka]

Straightforward... curious what the majority of Mac users really prefer. Make your choice and tell us why!

I voted for the single Menu Bar of Mac OS. I find it gives less clutter, is more logical, and can be accessed more quickly (good point by psychofreak). I feel that there are just too many menus in Windows, especially when multiple windows are opened in a single program.

EDIT: This is a spin-off of this thread. You can find (heated) argument in favor of both cases there.

 

[72930]

On my Macbook, the screenspace saved is the biggest advantage, on iMacs I use the biggest advantage is being able to shoot the mouse as top-leftwards as possible and be in the menu, no precision needed. Its a perfect solution IMO

 

[dpaanlka]

the biggest advantage is being able to shoot the mouse as top-leftwards as possible and be in the menu, no precision needed

Golly, I never even though of that before! Excellent point...

 

[Chaszmyr]

This should be quite simple. You never need to use the menu bar for more than one window at a time, so why would you want to be able to see the menu bar for more than one window at a time?

Psycofreak made a good point too.

 

[mpw]

A bit too black and white for me, I've no real preference on location, but MS Windows menu bars are better to use in general so I went with that option. Ideally I'd like a hybrid.

 

[dpaanlka]

A bit too black and white for me, I've no real preference on location, but MS Windows menu bars are better to use in general so I went with that option. Ideally I'd like a hybrid.

What would a hybrid entail?

 

[mpw]

What would a hybrid entail?

Body of a lion, head and wings of an eagle like a griffin...

I'm fine with a single location à la OS X, but with the intuitiveness, ease of use, efficiency and consistency of MS Windows with regards to keyboard navigation/shortcuts.

 

[CalBoy]

the biggest advantage is being able to shoot the mouse as top-leftwards as possible and be in the menu, no precision needed. Its a perfect solution IMO

I agree with this. It's very nice to know that the Menu is at the top of the screen, no matter what app I'm running.

Overall, I like OS X menus better, which is why I voted for that option.

 

[motulist]

You left off a valid option - "no preference / depends on the application / other" And without that poll choice available your poll results will be highly skewed. Personally I see advantages and disadvantages to both ways. Overall I prefer the menu in the same place all the time if I had to pick one.

 

[dpaanlka]

You left off a valid option - "no preference / depends on the application." And without that poll choice available your poll results will be highly skewed.

Well this isn't an obliged poll - no preference people can just abstain, no? Either way, I think few people will have exactly a 50/50 split on preference here - most should lean one way or the other.

 

[motulist]

Well this isn't an obliged poll - no preference people can just abstain, no? Either way, I think few people will have exactly a 50/50 split on preference here - most should lean one way or the other.

But that's exactly the point, people with a valid alternative opinion that's not listed and will abstain from voting in the poll, which will give you a totally skewed view of people's opinions on the subject.

For instance, lets say that 90% of people don't have a preference on the subject, 8% are for menus at the top, and 2% are for menus in windows. But the results of this particular poll would show that 80% of people like menus at the top and 20% like them in windows, which is wildly inaccurate! If you want results to a poll that have any meaning, you have to include all of the most likely opinions that people might have.

 

[Sesshi]

I think it also depends on screen size as well. I work different / have different window setups (using third party tools on occasion) depending on what size screen I'm working on.

 

[Doctor Q]

On my Macbook, the screenspace saved is the biggest advantage, on iMacs I use the biggest advantage is being able to shoot the mouse as top-leftwards as possible and be in the menu, no precision needed. Its a perfect solution IMO

Not if you use hot corners, as I do. But you have that choice.

 

[colercoaster]

It took some getting used to, but I find that I enjoy using the fixed menu bar that OS X offers over the Windows alternative. Just another piece of 's ingenuity.

 

[richard.mac]

i voted for "Single location for all Menu Bars, dependent on active window", i like this because its always at the top and never changes and because of psychofreak's explanation.

but there's always weaknesses whether it be with Mac OS X's menu bar or windows/linux's menu placements.

The only weakness i see with the Mac's menu placement is if you have dual displays and you have an app say like mail on the second screen, you have to move the mouse over to the main screen to use the menus.

there are many weaknesses with having Menu Bar drawn in every window. you cannot use psychofreak's idea of not being able to shoot the mouse without precision. there are many different menus on every application which can be confusing to a new user (in Macs theres always one menu no matter what the application which is good for new users).

 

[psonice]

I vote for the mac version, but with a huge BUT. There's one massive issue I have with it - if you have more than one screen, any applications running on the second screen have their menu on the other screen. It's horrible. The menu bar should be repeated on each screen perhaps... not ideal, but better.

The new mac pros support something like 6 30" monitors - can you imagine having to move the mouse all the way across that each time you need the menu?!

 

[Mitthrawnuruodo]

I prefer the Mac way.

Cannot argue with Fitt's law.

Not if you use hot corners, as I do. But you have that choice.

That's why I only have hot corners enabled in the top right (where Spotlight "lives", which when I want to evoke I do by cmd-space) and bottom left (where basically 'nothing' is).

The top left is for the (Apple) menu and bottom right is for the (hidden) Dock, placed at the End position using TinkerTool.

 

[davidjearly]

I think the OS X has a clear winner here. I much prefer it over Windows.

However, it is a very valid point (and one I am disappointed that Apple hasn't rectified in the OS), that in dual display setups, this would get highly annoying.

 

[richard.mac]

I think the OS X has a clear winner here. I much prefer it over Windows.

However, it is a very valid point (and one I am disappointed that Apple hasn't rectified in the OS), that in dual display setups, this would get highly annoying.

this is how i feel. however if Apple was able to patent Maya's idea of a floating menu bar this would solve the problem. Apple would probably never do this though.

ive just noticed dpaanlka doesnt have a 1984 style avatar... OMG conspiracy theory!!!11

 

[exspes]

this is how i feel. however if Apple was able to patent Maya's idea of a floating menu bar this would solve the problem. Apple would probably never do this though.

I haven't used maya - can you elaborate on this floating menu bar please?

 

[decksnap]

The impact on dual-monitor users is probably not a big one.

Many people who are skilled enough to need/use two monitors don't use the menubar at all anyway, as they can do everything with key commands.

In my case, the only apps I ever really go to the menu bar for (and rarely) are maybe fireworks, flash, photoshop... But I always have my canvas on the main screen anyway, with my pallettes on the secondary. It's natural for me to have apps that are of lesser complexity and impportance on the secondary screen anyway, like mail, itunes, finder etc. For these I don't need the menubar.

Lastly, and maybe a minor point, the mouse acceleration is OS X allows me to get from the right side of one screen to the left side of the other, accurately, by moving the mouse about a half inch. So it's not so difficlt as it would be with standard windows acceleration.

 

[SthrnCmfrtr]

I generally think the universal menubar is the best approach. It sucks for users with multiple screens (I'm occasionally one), but any solution that comes to mind creates larger compromises.

(WTF is this "ala"? Do you mean "à la"?)

 

[iCeFuSiOn]

I prefer the Mac OS menu bar compared to having menu bars at the top of every window.

 

[Neutral Gamer]

Windows Vista FTW?!

Wow, I appear to be in the minority here as someone who prefers the Windows style of menu bar. I can understand if you're all using MacBooks or something (are you?) as their resolution is pretty low and you can very quickly move the mouse to the menu bar.

But what about the rest of us, not just those with multiple monitors, but those of us who have a 1920x1200 display like on the 24" iMac, 23" ACD or 17" Hi-Res MBP? Or even worse those who use the 2560x1600 30" ACD! Let's say you've got the Calculator application open and it's at the bottom right corner of the screen. Then you feel like doing some conversions (e.g. currency, weight etc.). You have to go all the way to the top left of the screen to access the menu option while at the same having to keep moving your eyes/head down to see the application window. On a large monitor this gets extremely annoying!

I understand certain applications, where they take a lot of screen space up, can make do with a unified menu bar. But for applications with smaller windows, it just doesn't make any sense. I find having a toolbar a godsend in these cases. BUT the problem with the toolbar is that it takes up precious screen space and some of the toolbars and icons are way too big in my opinion and look pretty ugly actually (Xcode comes to mind) - like I'm using a Linux program or something! So I end up having the toolbar closed resulting in windows looking so much sleeker but at the expense of having to move my mouse more! Argh.

No, I think the best idea, as some people have said, is a compromise. Believe it or not, I think Windows Vista (shock horror! ) has the best implementation. If you notice for a lot of Microsoft programs the menu bar is hidden by default now and all you have to do is press Alt to bring it back. If you don't like it then you can simply choose to have it on all the time. The important thing is that the user gets the choice depending on what application they're using.

 

[DaveF]

On my Macbook, the screenspace saved is the biggest advantage, on iMacs I use the biggest advantage is being able to shoot the mouse as top-leftwards as possible and be in the menu, no precision needed. Its a perfect solution IMO

What screen space is saved for you? A menu is going to be on screen for an application. It will either be at the top of the screen or in the application window. But it's there regardless and it takes the same amount of real estate. One doesn't save space over the other.

On my MBP, I'm now accustomed to and prefer the fixed Mac menu. The consistency of location tends to feel easier than the Windows window-centric menu.

But I find both easy to use. I don't think it's a big deal either way.