Shouldn't a Mac be easy to use?

[Flames0910]

Originally Posted by Yeah_Baby

Whenever I have to use a PC, I really miss Expose. Sure I can Alt-Tab, but it's annoying now.

yea, and no two finger scrolling drives me up the wall.

drag and drop installation is kinda nice too

[FanIn80]

The one thing I'll hand to MS is that Snap thing. Man, is it ever nice.

It still doesn't make up for the Registry, but it's definitely a step in the right direction. It's probably the only Windows element I can think of that I wish Apple would incorporate.

[Hack&Lube]

My problem into getting into a new OS is that I always have to make it totally "mine" first before I can enjoy it and that usually involves heavy modification of layout, basic features, addons, changing the way I interact with my files, having certain on screen displays of stuff I want to keep monitoring, etc. so that usually takes a month of messing around while not really know what I am doing. I can't stand using anything using the default interface.

[sclitheroe]

Originally Posted by Hack&Lube

My problem into getting into a new OS is that I always have to make it totally "mine" first before I can enjoy it and that usually involves heavy modification of layout, basic features, addons, changing the way I interact with my files, having certain on screen displays of stuff I want to keep monitoring, etc. so that usually takes a month of messing around while not really know what I am doing. I can't stand using anything using the default interface.

I'm the complete opposite. Vanilla desktop configs are the win for me, because on any given day I'll interact with my own machine, 4-5 server desktops, and numerous desktops. It's not worth the mental hurdles to sit down at a machine and have to fight the muscle memory required to be productive. It gets fatiguing, like driving a rental car where nothing is quite where you expect it or works quite like you are used to. So I stick with the config I know will be common to 90% of the machines I touch - start bar/dock on the bottom, no auto-hide, IE or Safari, etc.

That's why I recommended earlier in this thread not changing keyboard bindings - its short term gain, for what will eventually become painful when your machine operates totally different from everybody else's.

I do have a core set of workflow apps I'd be lost without on my own machine (eg. Omnifocus, Notational Velocity, certain widgets, etc), but otherwise vanilla suits me fine.

[Russic]

Originally Posted by FanIn80

The one thing I'll hand to MS is that Snap thing. Man, is it ever nice.

It still doesn't make up for the Registry, but it's definitely a step in the right direction. It's probably the only Windows element I can think of that I wish Apple would incorporate.

I like that feature a lot more when it's called Cinch Costs $7 but it really is a great feature on the PC and I'm happy somebody emulated it.

http://www.irradiatedsoftware.com/cinch/

[FanIn80]

Originally Posted by Russic

I like that feature a lot more when it's called Cinch Costs $7 but it really is a great feature on the PC and I'm happy somebody emulated it.

http://www.irradiatedsoftware.com/cinch/

Haha, I knew it.

Very subtle, MS... very subtle.

[Flames0910]

does anybody here use quicksilver? Apparently its killer, but I've never taken the time to set it up to my liking.


another thing I don't get is the fascination with the dock on the side of the screen. pisses me off to no end when I use other people's macs. i've pressed them for a good reason why it should go there instead and they always stumble over that...personally i think its just the hip thing to do lol.

[FanIn80]

Originally Posted by Flames0910

does anybody here use quicksilver? Apparently its killer, but I've never taken the time to set it up to my liking.


another thing I don't get is the fascination with the dock on the side of the screen. pisses me off to no end when I use other people's macs. i've pressed them for a good reason why it should go there instead and they always stumble over that...personally i think its just the hip thing to do lol.

Really? I don't even use the Dock anymore (other than for Stacks). I put it on the side of the screen and hide it so I have max real estate on my screen. I don't know what other people do, but I put there on my own accord.

Spotlight + Exposé > Dock.

[Flames0910]

Originally Posted by FanIn80

Really? I don't even use the Dock anymore (other than for Stacks). I put it on the side of the screen and hide it so I have max real estate on my screen. I don't know what other people do, but I put there on my own accord.

Spotlight + Exposé > Dock.

i use those tonnes too. but like having the dock there for a few commonly used applications. it also helps when I let somebody else use my computer so that I don't have to babysit them, lol.

what about quicksilver though???

[FanIn80]

Wait a minute... people let other people use their computers? Isn't that how viruses are transmitted?

Quicksilver: I haven't really found anything wanting about vanilla Spotlight. I get that it does a lot of cool stuff, but the time spent (setup) vs time saved (usage) just doesn't seem to be where it needs to be for me.

[Flames0910]

Originally Posted by FanIn80

Quicksilver: I haven't really found anything wanting about vanilla Spotlight. I get that it does a lot of cool stuff, but the time spent (setup) vs time saved (usage) just doesn't seem to be where it needs to be for me.

These are my thoughts too. But everybody (on the Internet, not in real life) seems to say how its such a killer app

[llama64]

Originally Posted by FanIn80

Wait a minute... people let other people use their computers? Isn't that how viruses are transmitted?

Quicksilver: I haven't really found anything wanting about vanilla Spotlight. I get that it does a lot of cool stuff, but the time spent (setup) vs time saved (usage) just doesn't seem to be where it needs to be for me.

Quicksilver Uses:
- it's faster then spotlight
- you can navigate any catalog on your system using a hierarchical drill down
- you can exclude files/catalogs in simple way (while letting them be search-able in spotlight)

My approach is to use Quicksilver as my application launcher while Spotlight functions as my general file search. I rebound Quicksilver to CMD + Space (<shift> CMD + Space for Spotlight).

[ZedMan]

Originally Posted by Flames0910

does anybody here use quicksilver? Apparently its killer, but I've never taken the time to set it up to my liking.


another thing I don't get is the fascination with the dock on the side of the screen. pisses me off to no end when I use other people's macs. i've pressed them for a good reason why it should go there instead and they always stumble over that...personally i think its just the hip thing to do lol.

Simple, width > height -> dock on left. I also use the full height of the
screen more often than the full width.