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Tim O'Reilly: I am really starting to hate Mac OS X.

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Re: Tim O'Reilly: I am really starting to hate Mac OS X.

#421

Post by hollerith »

jodrellblank wrote: post #406
hollerith wrote: post #224

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Then came the rise of the laptop and it does hold again. So Lion gained fullscreen. So your argument is that Lion's fullscreen is a response to these newfangled laptop things?

Basically, yes. More specifically, they could have responded to Windows's fullscreen button years ago, or consumer griping years ago, I think it most likely that they saw iPad as a success in terms of doing one fullscreen thing at a time, and they built an OS X version 'for' the 11 and 13" MacBook Air with fullscreen. I.e. I don't think they made fullscreen primarily for imac, mac pro, or 17" mbp users, or to copy wi…

Upvoted for not taking offense at my snark :)

Re: Tim O'Reilly: I am really starting to hate Mac OS X.

#422

Post by barend »

binbasti wrote: post #223
saint-loup wrote: post #174

I'm quite happy with Mac OS X, but there's one thing that really annoys me: keyboard shortcuts. There's (almost) always one for what I want to do, but it's often to complicated for the frequency of the task. For instance, checking emails in mail.app is shift+command+N. Or changing the presentation mode in iTunes or Preview is alt+command+[3-6]. Because of my Azerty keyboard, it's actually shift+alt+command+[3-6]. Isn…

Actually OS X is pretty consistent with keyboard shortcuts compared to other OSes. It's even one of my favorite things about it. That said, the checking mails example is a bad one, and moreover it used to be the usual cmd-shift-R and they only introduced the odd new one in Lion. Edit: sorry, misread your comment. But mine is still valid. Because of the many keyboard shortcuts for the OS UI, it's only natural that you…

Funny, one of my complaints about OSX compared to Windows is the (IMO) lackluster implementation of keyboard shortcuts. Perhaps I just don't see it, if so please enlighten me, but OSX's key bindings feel random and inconsistent to me. To elaborate:

On Windows the Windows-key is the modifier key for global operating system functions, things like lock screen (win-l), explorer (win-e) and projector mode (win-p). Save for legacy bindings like CTRL-ESC, no global functions tie to the other modifier keys. The CTRL and ALT modifiers are therefore free to bind to functions of the currently active application. Some of these follow standard conventions, like ALT-F4, CTRL-S. Aside from these, any application is free to implement a keyboard scheme (and e.g. exploit symmetry) without clashing with the operating system.

Contrast this to OSX where there appears to be no designated key for global functions. A "naked" F11 triggers Expose, Ctrl-F2 puts focus in the menu bar, Cmd-space pops up Spotlight, leaving just Opt as unbound. Like in Windows, there are some conventions like CTRL-comma. There is no global key to open a Finder window, although Spotlight alleviates much of the pain.

With no standard key for global functions, the potential for key clashes is always there. Software that targets just OSX can avoid these, but cross-platform applications that originated elsewhere are quite often prohibited from using the same set of key bindings in every platform.

Finally, OSX lacks a key binding for the context menu (i.e. the equivalent of SHIFT-F10 or the dedicated key on Windows systems) and mnemonic keys (the underlined characters in menu items; OSX wants you to type the caption of the desired menu item). The lack of mnemonic keys invalidates all my muscle memory in Eclipse, I really miss them.

Re: Tim O'Reilly: I am really starting to hate Mac OS X.

#424

Post by jodrellblank »

vegai wrote: post #49
ConstantineXVI wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Your time and stress are not unlimited resources (and therefore not "free"). Being able to buy a Linux system that's guaranteed to work (and continue to) out of the box on certain hardware (or better yet, come pre-installed on that certain hardware) would be worth a fair amount of money to many people.

But... nobody can guarantee that. Have you never used paid software? I mean sure, I can take your money. I can promise you things. So what? And why the hell was I downmodded for asking a legit question? Is this place falling into reddit land?

I mean sure, I can take your money. I can promise you things. So what?

What do you mean so what? People can always go back on their contracts, does that mean nobody should do anything ever?

If you're promising to support, say, Ubuntu 11.10 on a Blah Blah GX23921r3i laptop, then the 'so what' means that if I can't get wireless working, I'll contact your support and you will, because you've promised that hardware and that OS can work and that you know how to make it do so. It means I can trust X hardware and software to make a usable combination without having to gamble that I hit a compatible X driver or Y setting on my own, or put up with a laptop which can't wake from sleep, or whatever.

And why the hell was I downmodded for asking a legit question? Is this place falling into reddit land?

No whinging about downvotes - it could be someone on a mobile device misclicking for all we know.

Re: Tim O'Reilly: I am really starting to hate Mac OS X.

#425

Post by davidcann »

mturmon wrote: post #358
lurker14 wrote: post #118

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is a distinction between "doable" and "usable". I should switch to Terminal every time I want to toggle hidden file visibility? Or write a service to install on my Finder toolbar. (I did this, because I'm not Joe Sixpack, but it's still annoying. If I wanted to write my own UI, I wouldn't have gone out and bought one.)

Someone wrote a little app that toggles it, but honestly, if you care that much about it to ask, just leave the hidden files visible all the time. I've found it to be the path of least confusion.

This widget works great for show/hide hidden files:

http://www.apple.com/downloads/dashboard/developer/hiddenfil...

Re: Tim O'Reilly: I am really starting to hate Mac OS X.

#426

Post by notJim »

sjs wrote: post #278
megamark16 wrote: post #39

I came from a windows background, tinkered with Linux for a few years on and off, and when I started my current job I was given a Macbook Pro. After a few months of using it I as so frustrated, and found myself spending more and more time in my Ubuntu virtual machine, that when they were ordering new MBPs for the design team I offered to give mine up to a designer and buy a ThinkPad, thus saving the company over $1,0…

If you asked a friend or searched Google instead of writing your problems here perhaps you would have found the solutions. You took time to learn how to use Linux and the shell, why not take some time to learn how to use OS X as well before complaining that it doesn't do what you want? It does do most of the things you mentioned, and when it doesn't it's by design. Resizing from any side: Legitimate complaint. Fixed…

FYI, Terminal.app has an option to make Option work as the meta key, it's under Keyboard. Also, C-w deletes words.

You can also hold option and click to move within the line, although unfortunately this doesn't work if you have Option assigned as the meta key.

Re: Tim O'Reilly: I am really starting to hate Mac OS X.

#427

Post by Shazback »

ugh wrote: post #127
fiblye wrote: post #116

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Save as" is usually used when you want to save it as a different file somewhere else, and most people have cmd-shift-s ingrained in their mind. This no longer exists and there's no excuse. Autosaving doesn't even do the same job.

I don’t think you understand. This is about paradigm shifts. Here is how it used to work: You open this old document because you want to create a new one and use the old one as a template. You either Save as right away or (much more likely) you edit for a bit and do a Save as at some later point. If you do this with auto save you are fucked. (Well, not really. There is now Versions, so starting with Lion this is fina…

Here's my work flow when I'm writing a long document: - Create/open "Master copy". - Regularly Save/enable Autosave. - When I have completed a chapter/segment, or before for lunch/supper, I Save and Save As on my backup HDD with a time-stamp/chapter number.

Like this I have one copy that I can edit and is always up to date on my main HDD and I have a whole record of copies on my backup HDDs. If I want to see how I edited chapter 3 whilst I was writing chapter 6 (they're related in the plot) I can.

I can't imagine this being something unknown of in the use of other applications. A franchisee that tracks various performance metrics each hour/day on a rolling database (month/year) sends a copy at regular intervals to the franchise owner/manager so that general franchise performance can be evaluated will have the same problem.

I can see how Duplicate -> Save is "only one click more", but the one-click solution worked well. If the "paradigm shift" is related to auto-saves, why not simply have the auto-saves create a new hidden file by default. Either the changes are saved (cue overwriting of the opened file), or the changes are saved as. If the user exits without saving, the hidden file can be marked for auto-delete in X days/hours, making erroneous exits recoverable. If there's a crash/loss of power, the hidden file is prompted for recovery at the program's next start.

Re: Tim O'Reilly: I am really starting to hate Mac OS X.

#428

Post by rbanffy »

dhughes wrote: post #311
X-Istence wrote: post #197

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How do you want them to fit a number keypad on a laptop? Fn + Delete does what you want.

The speakers (on a 17" Macbook Pro) could be relocated, they're not much use where they are when I type since my hands block the sound partially anyway why not move then and expand the keyboard? No, pressing the Delete key makes the cursor go back a space. On Linux and Windows Delete pulls the text in from the right towards the cursor deleting it. I know Apple Macs are different but it seems odd why they wouldn't kee…

A numeric keyboard could, in theory, fit on a 17" MBP, but that would make the computer ugly. If you are fine with that, you can get something from HP or Sony for substantially less than a MPB.

Re: Tim O'Reilly: I am really starting to hate Mac OS X.

#429

Post by hollerith »

webspiderus wrote: post #263
cpeterso wrote: post #199

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thanks for the tip! I didn't know about RightZoom. Here are some little known Mac utilities I like: * MutableCode's Breakaway let's you configure separate audio volumes (including silence) for with and without headphones. * Stereopsis' Flux adjusts your display's color temperature to match the type of lighting in your room (e.g. daylight, halogen, fluorescent) to avoid the blindly blue glare in a dark room.

F.lux is actually available for all platforms! I've been using it on Windows for a while, one of my favorite small utilities.

Well, not iOS yet.

Re: Tim O'Reilly: I am really starting to hate Mac OS X.

#430

Post by throwaway64 »

philwelch wrote: post #376
kitsune_ wrote: post #343

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thunderbolt doesn't "obviate" the need for slots. Do you have 10k plus invested in pro audio or video gear that requires pci-e? All those guys are going to switch to Windows...

There are PCI-E enclosures that connect to Thunderbolt: http://www.magma.com/thunderbolt.asp

>If you are a PCIe adapter manufacturer and want to make your product compatible with Express Box 3T, please contact Marketing(at)Magma.com to join our Partner Program or Join our Interest List and let us know that you're a developer.

And how many PCIe card makers have patched their drivers to work with this thing?

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