OSNews

There are only certain apps I want to remain open when I close the last window. On Windows, those apps generally have an option to do so. This is how OS X should do it as well. Or even a system-wide preference for people like you would be fine.

Yup, for those apps, hit cmd-w. Here's your option right there. However, you will note that OS X didn't also take away your ability to quit with cmd-q. Instead of arbitrarily defaulting to either hiding or quitting depending on the application (bad for consistency), you have to *choose* what you want to do. I'd rather choose than have the app as me "Are you sure you want to quit?" or "I have been minimised to the notification area. To quit, right click on my icon and select quit".

I prefer consistency. In OS X, I know that clicking on the "x" will *always* close but not quit the application. In windows, clicking the "x" on the contact list of an IM application will generally hide the application, but not quit it. However, clicking the "x" on a "normal" applicaiton will quit it.

However, the inconsistency doesn't really bother me in Windows. One learns after a while which application insists of going to the notification area and which one will actually quit. I am just pointing out that OS X was in fact more consistent in this regard.

Absolutely agree. mIRC and iTunes, for example, both minimize to the system tray when you hit the minimize button, but exit when you hit the close button. MSN Messenger minimizes to the taskbar when you click the [-] and to the system tray when you hit the [x]. SpeedSwitchXP, a useful applet to have on a laptop since XP's CPU throttling seems to be brain-dead, has a very confusing system, there are close and minimize to tray BUTTONS, and also the close/minimize window buttons. I can never figure this out. Aaaah.



I love the fact that you can hide running applications by cmd+h, sure you can do this on some applications (thanks Opera!) under Windows, but it’s not as convenient or consistent as on a Mac.


Then again, that’s the probably the biggest reason to use a Mac, convenience and consistency.

Actually, the apps that DO stay open let you know, or at least ASK you first. So it's not inconsistent really.

What if I don't want to use a key shortcut? What if I want to be able to throw my mouse to the top right and click the X (presuming the app is maximized)? Why not make it possible at least?

Consistency is not as important as what the user expects. If an app lets the user know what it's doing, then consistency isn't as relevant.

At least in windows when an application does this, it puts itself in the "systray" instead of being hidden completely until you open a menu.

I prefer consistency. In OS X, I know that clicking on the "x" will *always* close but not quit the application. In windows, clicking the "x" on the contact list of an IM application will generally hide the application, but not quit it. However, clicking the "x" on a "normal" applicaiton will quit it.

Actually, OS X is not as consistent as you think. Utility applications like Software Update and System Preference will quit once you close the window. However, multidocument applications will remain open when you close the last window.