AnandTech describes their experience with Mac OS X and the Mac platform, Part II.
A month with a Mac, Part II
About The Author
Eugenia Loli
Ex-programmer, ex-editor in chief at OSNews.com, now a visual artist/filmmaker.
Follow me on Twitter @EugeniaLoli
why would some one want to try out a Mac II 😛
I actually learnt something new with that article. I didn’t realise you could stick the Applications folder on the dock. Much faster for opening apps now without having to stick them all on the dock
Yay.
I’m really not a “power user” yet when it comes to Mac OS X, so it’s nice to get some usage tips occasionally. Especially keyboard shortcuts, and other ways to get things done quickly.
I’d also like to know what people use that “Folder Actions” thing for. I imagine you can get it to run some Apple script thing when you add a file to it or something. Might be nice to have a folder called “Archive” where dragging stuff to it zips it up and asks for a name for the archive (or has a default like [Folder name].zip).
Folder Actions is great if you want to run an AppleScript on every file that arrives into a folder. One use might be to fire a script to use PhotoShop to resize images to 1024×768, apply colour correction and save as compressed jpegs.
Or you can do just about anything. Ideal for workflow management.
In the office, you could use it for distributing documents – if the document has “Leave Application” in the title, send it to HR; if it has “Overtime request”, send it to the workforce planners; etc.
Maybe use it for email archiving, or saving clippings from web pages…
In Tiger, the process of writing AppleScripts will largely be simplified through a GUI – the Automator. Have a look at Apple’s site for some ideas.
I can see why you thought that. The title is “A Month with a Mac II”.
Speaking of the Mac II, My first experience with a color macintosh was a Mac IIci. Man, that was a looong time ago. Good machine at the time though.
I really enjoyed this article. There is one thing that really bugs me with OS X though, and I wish it had a better solution. I can’t burn multi-session CD’s on my combo drive. I usually use the same CD for a while until I fill it up, and I can’t do that with the Mac unless I buy Toast or some other product.
Does anyone have a suggestion on how to enable multi-session burning, of have a good experience with a free app?
Very complete and objective review.
You can burn multi-session CDs in Panther:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=160588
you can burn multisession in disk utility on jaguar as well
A year ago I had to do some testing of a web app on Mac versions of the popular browsers. After a week or so I started to get used to it. Going back to my windows box was always a negative experience. All the messiness, overactive prompts, and what have you in the windows world started to really show. It was like downgrading from a La-Z-boy recliner to a rock.
A bought a Dual 1.8GHz G5 PowerPC not long after. I still have to use Windows for my work as there are lots of apps that aren’t on Mac OSX yet but overall the PowerPC is turned on 5x more often than the Windows box.
If people were wondering why a Mac is a good computer to buy, it’s because it is a no-hassles machine. Everything is pretty much where you’d expect it and most of the apps have the same look and feel so once you learn one you know most of them.
And with the mac-mini being so cheap even those who can only afford entry-level systems can enjoy the OS that many professionals already do.
You could also have a look at Firestarter FX.
Thanks for the suggestions. I realize now that it was because I was trying to burn an ISO disk (which doesn’t allow them). I’ll have to go and take a look at Firestarter FX.
Great article, talking about the real-world of using a machine instead of benchmarks that only mean something to people who need every cycle from the CPU/GPU.
In this article and in the first, this man actually understands that it’s about the experience using the platform. It’s also abundantly clear that he enjoys using his Mac
.
I don’t follow him on the Mouse/Keyboard argument. I’ve been using a Mac for a decade, it feels quite natural to me. The only thing I like about a Wintel mouse is the scroll wheel which I admit does have its strong points. But it’s my choice to have one or not. If I buy one today, I only need to plug it in and work with it. Fully supported by OS X.
A 12″ iBook works for me. The only thing I want to do with it is to write [and transfer the files, of course]. Doesn’t take massive power/requirements. Cheap machine too.
This is an error on the author’s part:
“Unlike the Windows command prompt, Terminal actually interfaces quite well with the rest of OS X. For example, if you have a file, drag it into an open Terminal window and the entire path to that file will be copied into the window for you. It actually makes interacting with the file system from the command prompt quite easy.”
This works just fine under Windows XP.
“OS X provides an interesting feature – simply drag any file into the save dialog box and the dialog box will go automatically to the location of that file. I find it especially useful in Photoshop when doing image work for AnandTech articles.”
I remember being able to do that on the amiga years ago, then I moved to windows and tried it there… I “misplaced” a few files that way
A very useful feature.
Also, you CAN drag files onto a command prompt on windows, I do it all the time. Most peopole don’t know that, in fact I’ve heard many a “Oooh, I didn’t know you could do that”. People just don’t try things out.
Like dragging a file onto an open application that is minimised on windows using the “spring-loaded”‘ness of the task bar buttons to bring that app/explorer window to front.
I’d very much like a Mac. My bank balance strongly objects to any new computer at the momnent
Right, on WinXP you can drag a file to another folder or app, with the folder or app coming into normal view, if the folder or app is minimized, but visible on the taskbar.
For getting scroll wheel like functionality on the touchpad of the iBook/Powerbook, you can download the nifty utility called Sidetrack. Just search MacUpdate or VersionTracker. It’s a very good shareware app and works even if you don’t register (you get a pop-up occasionally, but it isn’t frequent enough to be annoying).
After using spatial Nautilus, I find Finder cumbersome to use. The article was good, however, it was, in my opinion, unnecessarily winded, verbose and long.
For getting scroll wheel like functionality on the touchpad of the iBook/Powerbook, you can download the nifty utility called Sidetrack. Just search MacUpdate or VersionTracker. It’s a very good shareware app and works even if you don’t register (you get a pop-up occasionally, but it isn’t frequent enough to be annoying).
Sidetrack is very cool. You can also do things like bind taps on the corners of the mouse pad to things like Expose.
Fundamentally, though, there should really be a multi-button option for Macs.
I first thought the Finder was pretty cumbersome as well, but then I since figured out almost how to work with it completely using the keyboard. Along with column view and springloaded folders, it’s very fast to work with now.
About springloaded folders, he didn’t mention that you can press the space bar to immediately open a springloaded folder. Speeds up operation tremendously.
There are multi-button options for Macs, unless maybe you mean a multi-button mouse that comes with a Mac. (Not really clear to me.) OSX plays very, very well with multi-button mice/trackballs/etc.
You can have Finder act like Nautilus’ spatial thingy.
1) Finder –> Preferences:
Enable the “Always open new folders in a new window” option.
Deselect the “Open new windows in column view” option.
2) Hit Command-1 to view the directory as Icons.
3) Click on the little roundy wide button in the top right hand corner of Finder (just above the search box) to get rid of the side bar and all the other fancy schmancy stuff
That should be it from what I’ve heard of descriptions of how Nautilus works anyway. I personally love the column view. I’ve tried working the Nautilus way but it was too annoying.
this read makes me see some of the benifits of the mac enviroment. but buying a stationary just to gain the benifits is out of the question (even for the new mini). a laptop however may be interesting as they live in a slightly diffrent enviroment. i can see the useability of the finder in that you can navigate useing the arrow keys. and feedback from the dock is allso nice (alltho a similar effect could be gained by allowing for a loadbar overlay on task buttons in say windows).
these articles do more for the mac then any number for fanboy posts that only proclaim the mac as the best there is without giving any indication about why. facts please, straight up, without ice, lemon slices or tiny umbrellas.
I got forced to buy a keyboard and mouse for my powermac g5, as the e-bay seller didn’t include one. I’m glad…I got a logitech setup, and the 2 button mouse with scrollwheel if far more productive, and I’ve even found that I punch the buttons on the multi-media keyboard…(never thought I would use more than 104 keys…but I do).
thanks for the tip on dragging files to the command shell….wow, I never knew it did that, and its very useful, I’m no a windows xp computer at the moment, but it worked like a charm!
Naturally, the more one uses a software application, the less peculiar its operations will become. This no different with Finder. I guess my point is that I feel Nautilus is more intuitive and less complex of both programs. Of course, I am not absolving Nautilus of any weaknesses.
You can drag a file in XP to the command prompt. You can drag a file in OS X to a terminal window.
What you can’t do in XP is drag the CONTENTS of a file into the command prompt. You can’t even cut & paste to the command prompt.
In OS X, you can simply highlight the set of text from a file, webpage, Word doc, etc… click & drag that text and it will appear in the terminal.
It is a nice feature if you want to quickly copy a command line statement to the terminal.
-Fuji
slow down man!
“You can’t even cut & paste to the command prompt.”
If you don’t know something one way or the other don’t take a position.
You are wrong.
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/home/using/productdoc/en/default…
“Open Command Prompt
Right-click the title bar of the command prompt window, and then click Properties.
On the Options tab, under Edit Options, select the QuickEdit Mode check box if it isn’t already selected, and then click OK.
In the Apply Properties To Shortcut dialog box, click either of the following:
Apply properties to current window only to use QuickEdit mode in the current window.
Modify shortcut that started this window to apply QuickEdit mode every time you start the MS-DOS-based program.
Click OK.”
ok… I will say this again…
Apple does not ship a multi button mouse so that developers have to make all the functions of their applications accessible via a single button mouse action. most people do not use the right mouse button (if you ever worked office support you would know this as well) so if apple shipped a multi button mouse with their systems developers would know that users had another mouse button to work with and would begin putting commands that can only be reached via the right button into their programs…. that is bad design.
the best thing I think you might expect from apple is for a no mouse option because that could be used by people who have a mac mouse already as well as those who do not want the mac mouse at all.
“Open Command Prompt
Right-click the title bar of the command prompt window, and then click Properties.
On the Options tab, under Edit Options, select the QuickEdit Mode check box if it isn’t already selected, and then click OK.
In the Apply Properties To Shortcut dialog box, click either of the following:
Apply properties to current window only to use QuickEdit mode in the current window.
Modify shortcut that started this window to apply QuickEdit mode every time you start the MS-DOS-based program.
Click OK.”
Yeah – first you have to know that the feature exists, then you have to go through this rigamarole to activate it, and then it is still extremely cumbersome to use – even if you compare it just to other XP applications.
After using a ThinkPad, it is painfully obvious the PowerBook is severly limited with only 1 button.
Thinkpad has 2 buttons + Scroll, and it works so much better.
I would love the powerbook to get at least one more button.
I can see why you would want to use it, but I’ve become used to Finder in the mean time. The first acquaintance with this in Jaguar was a bit of a swallow but now it’s just… there.
I agree that one of the arguments in the article is that the OS is not in the way. This is the slices of lemon that we should not mention, but it’s really nice.
Here’s a real argument. Open the Program Files folder in Windows for the first time. You’re going to read some goop about the fact that these files shouldn’t be tampered with and are you really sure you want to see them?
No, I open folders because I think it’s a crime for Microsoft to go through all the trouble of putting them there and then not to use them. Of course I want to open a folder and see its contents. What’s the next step, the “pretty please with a cherry on top” button?
Search for a file. You have to read the screen to find out all the gazillion options you can try out. I just want to enter what I’m looking for. What Windows does with that I care not one wet slap about.
And then that dog. In the Pro version. A dog in a search functionality?! I need to be entertained when I’m looking for a file? [yes, I know you can turn it off, the point is it should not be there in the first place].
Windows versus Apple difference: dog sniffing its butt versus removing an app from the Dock. You can have the dog perform tricks versus a brief puff of smoke and it’s gone. It’s not important, it’s not in the way.
Expose: snap, now you see all your windows, snap, now you don’t [yes, it gets choppy if you have 50 windows open – sweet spot for me seems to be at 30 odd windows]. I find myself hitting those three function keys all the time. It’s there when I need it, and it’s only there when I need it.
I’d love a test drive with Nautilus to get a good feel for it. I’m sure it’s a nice feature. But Nautilus is but one aspect of the system while OS X does so much more for you.
I’m spoiled. Whatever Apple wants for Tiger, that’s what it gets.
And when I’ve forked over all that delicious money you guys get all worked up over, I don’t want to see it. Until I need it.
Learning how to control click on the powerbook is trivial. Once you’ve conditioned yourself for it, it really doesn’t impede your workflow in any way. In fact, I’ve plugged two button mice into my powerbook and I often forget they’re there because it’s faster for me to control click from the keyboard and trackpad.
Y’all have a habit of turning molehills into mountains.
Now, I will admit that option dragging and option+apple dragging is a pain, but how often are you dragging aliases about or drag and dropping copies (I find that if I drag to the correct location and then hit the combo works just fine)?
… I love using my Microsoft Intellimouse on my 12″ powerbook (mapping one of the side buttons to trigger expose rocks!!), but when I forget the mouse, theres still always options to right click with the one button touch pad – use “ctrl” + click. I’ve gotten used to just leaving my thumb on command button, and then my index finder sits on the tab making it easy to command tab through the applications iM working on (like in windows) and still be able to right click on things without my Intellimouse.
… not to mention command clicking on links in safari opens a new tab (if u have it set to use tabbed browsing).
When I am wrong, I will admit it. I was wrong on the cut and paste.
Thank you for the info. After all this time, I never new that was an option.
Although it is not as slick as OS X, it still is pretty damn helpful.
Hey, every once in a while, you get something good out of these OS X/XP debates.
-Fuji
Sorry about the typo,
“After all this time, I never new that was an option.”
That should read knew, not new.
-Fuji
dude… hit the control key and click… the laptop keyboard is small enough that it makes this maneuver simple and unobtrusive.
For the powerbook, try this application. It allows you to map the trackpad with right-click, left-click and scroll function. Might just be what the doctor ordered.
http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/20854
I can’t believe the one button thing is that big of a deal to some people, when you can go buy any two button USB or bluetooth mouse and have it work just fine. Oh well, to each their own.
//I can’t believe the one button thing is that big of a deal to some people, when you can go buy any two button USB or bluetooth mouse …//
The point of contention is that Apple only ships *one* button mice with their systems.
Which is ridiculous, considering the premium price on most of their boxen.
I never use the default mouse that comes with the PC I’m using…I replace with the MS Intellimouse Optical with scroll and 5 buttons. I use the same mouse and software on XP and Panther…works great for me, so it’s not a useful point of contention for some of us.
The easiest damn way in the world to troll on the OSNews site is to post yet another comment about the one button mouse to an Article about Mac OS X.
It is a sure fire way to ensure the discussion gets nowhere really, really fast.
“Which is ridiculous, considering the premium price on most of their boxen.”
Its a philosophical choice, not financial. Multi button support is there if you want it, but its not required. Simple really.
The author was right when he mentioned that the latch on the lid was a weak point on the Apple Laptop. The iBooks have the same type of latching mechanism, and I’d call it the weak link of the hardware. The first time I dropped my G-3 iBook on the floor, the latching mechanism broke.
Funny thing is, that’s the ONLY thing that broke. I put that little 12″ iBook through hell for the next 3 years — the only other thing that broke was the phone line jack that a demon-child 10-year old pulled out by the roots. I used it on drill rigs, in the desert, underground, on the bus, at home. I carried it in a backpack almost every day from home to work.
I ended up giving it to my college student daughter this past Christmas — still working like a charm. I’d already replaced it with a G-4 iBook, and the love affair continues. (As does the abuse)
Mac is just a ripoff. The only way to bring prices down is to organize a mass refusal to buy their products while at the same time sending a massive amount of letter saying that you are willing to buy product X at a lower price. Since they are a monopoly, they can charge as much as their customers are willing to pay.
I play with a Mac almost everyday at school. I am not impress. Expose is cool, some of the animations of OS X are cool. The iCandy looks good (I don’t like brushed metal skinned apps though). However, it is still a ripoff, which I refuse to buy. I’d go for the IBM notebooks and SanDisk MP3 Players over Shuffle.
“I’d go for the IBM notebooks and SanDisk MP3 Players over Shuffle.”
Too bad IBM no longer makes notebooks. 😉
I’m speaking, of course, of IBM’s sale of the entire PC operation to a Chinese firm a couple of weeks ago. It’s interesting to note that IBM was unable to make a single penny of profit for the past three years (despite having a much bigger marketshare than Apple). But…but…I thought marketshare was absolutely key to having a viable business!
Hey Spooky why don’t you get a job instead of playing with Macs all day in a lab. At your age I was able to buy a 6100,7200 and a SuperMac. None were cheap but I worked and saved. PCs and Macs don’t cost much these days and if you think they do you must either not have a job or be severely underemployed.
“I play with a Mac almost everyday at school”
The operative word in that statement is “play”. If you actually work with it for awhile, you’d appreciate how OS X enhances your workflow and productivity. And Apple is a monopoly? How dare they! Same for Dell! How cheeky of them to only make Dell machines! The horror! Oh, I forget, you’d rather buy an IBM notebook so you can use Windows, the flagship product of that benevolent non-monopolistic company from Redmond.
“I am not impress.”
I am not impress with your logic.
As for the tired old argument about the one-button mouse, give it a rest. OS X doesn’t need two buttons, and as you get used to the Mac way of doing things, you’ll appreciate that you don’t really need two buttons to work, and that the consistent behavior of the interface was very, very well thought out. When it comes to the interface, not the look (though that’s something I love), but the interaction, I’ll take a Mac over any other platform. As nice as I consider the hardware, it’s OS X that keeps me using it. The Mac evolved to use only one button, and as the consistent keyboard shortcuts are there to gently remind you of menu commands, as you get more familiar with the system you’ll find yourself using keyboard commands more frequently. I use a PowerBook, and with trackpad click-and-drag enabled, I don’t even use the button, much to the amazement of my PC using friends. I can’t stand to take my hands off the keyboard when I’m working, and since all the modifier keys I need are right at my fingertips anyway, multi-button mice, and mice in general, are like alien artifacts to me. The scrollwheel now, that’s something that I’ll concede is more useful. Not necessary, but more useful.
There are multi-button options for Macs, unless maybe you mean a multi-button mouse that comes with a Mac.
Yes, I do. An external mouse isn’t a very good solution for a laptop. Then there’s the principle of paying a great deal of money for machine – with one of the main selling points being its aesthetic appeal – and having to go out and buy *more* hardware afterwards to get a decent user experience.
Apple does not ship a multi button mouse so that developers have to make all the functions of their applications accessible via a single button mouse action.
Not only is this a cop-out, it’s a load of bollocks.
most people do not use the right mouse button (if you ever worked office support you would know this as well) so if apple shipped a multi button mouse with their systems developers would know that users had another mouse button to work with and would begin putting commands that can only be reached via the right button into their programs…. that is bad design.
It’s extremely rare to find applications with commands *only* on context menus, even in the Windows world where context menus have been around for ~10 years now and developers’ lack of attention to the platform’s UI guidelines are legendary.
It’s somewhat common on Linux but, well, that’s just Linux for you
.
I don’t want Apple to ship every Mac with a multibutton mouse – the *real* reason this is done (so novices don’t get confused between left and right clicks) is reasonable justification. All I want is a multibutton *option*.
the best thing I think you might expect from apple is for a no mouse option because that could be used by people who have a mac mouse already as well as those who do not want the mac mouse at all.
Still not much help for laptops, is it ?
Here’s a real argument. Open the Program Files folder in Windows for the first time. You’re going to read some goop about the fact that these files shouldn’t be tampered with and are you really sure you want to see them?
No, I open folders because I think it’s a crime for Microsoft to go through all the trouble of putting them there and then not to use them. Of course I want to open a folder and see its contents. What’s the next step, the “pretty please with a cherry on top” button?
Do you prefer the method Apple uses in OS X, where whole swathes of system files and directories are simply hidden from view in the GUI altogether with no indication they even exist ?
Just askin’, because usually when Microsoft hide stuff away they get blasted for ‘taking over my computer’ and similar rubbish.
Search for a file. You have to read the screen to find out all the gazillion options you can try out.
No, you don’t. All you have to do is type in part of the filename into the first text box and hit “Search”.
I just want to enter what I’m looking for. What Windows does with that I care not one wet slap about.
And then that dog. In the Pro version. A dog in a search functionality?! I need to be entertained when I’m looking for a file? [yes, I know you can turn it off, the point is it should not be there in the first place].
You’d be surprised how many people – particularly novices – like that dog. Many of them like the Office Assistants as well (which is the same technology as the dog).
Expose: snap, now you see all your windows, snap, now you don’t [yes, it gets choppy if you have 50 windows open – sweet spot for me seems to be at 30 odd windows]. I find myself hitting those three function keys all the time. It’s there when I need it, and it’s only there when I need it.
It works a _lot_ better if you bind it to a mouse button.
Learning how to control click on the powerbook is trivial. Once you’ve conditioned yourself for it, it really doesn’t impede your workflow in any way. In fact, I’ve plugged two button mice into my powerbook and I often forget they’re there because it’s faster for me to control click from the keyboard and trackpad.
This is on thing Anand touched on but IMHO didn’t make enough of. The Powerbook’s (and iBook’s) keyboard layout could be better. The position of the Fn and Control keys are a huge PITA, because the Fn key is where one is used to instinctively reaching for the Control key (Many PC notebooks suffer this same flaw). So, when you’re using the unix side of things a lot, as I do, and am constantly using Control+[something] keys it’s *extremely* frustrating. Then there’s the Control+Click to get a right click, but since I use sidetrack to make a mousepad tap a right click, I notice it less.
The other aspect of the PB’s keyboard that needs to be improved is the lack of dedicated Page Up/Down and Delete/Insert keys. It’s justified in the 12″, where space is tight, but on the 15″ and 17″ they should be there (hell, the 17″ should have a dedicated number pad).
The point of contention is that Apple only ships *one* button mice with their systems.
Okay I can understand the argument about “just replace the mouse” on the desktop systems. That’s what I did when I bought my Cube. That’s what I’m going to do when I get my Mini as soon as Tiger ships preinstalled (for $120 I can wait a few months). However when I consider getting an Apple laptop the situation is different. I want two buttons on my track pad. I live for the second button and having to do some control-key dance or what have you seems silly to me. When I get another laptop for personal use it will probably be an Apple one. However I’ll be buying it despite this glaring deficiency in the trackpad. Please, please, please will Apple allow two buttons to be build to order 🙂
“It’s justified in the 12″, where space is tight, but on the 15″ and 17″ they should be there (hell, the 17″ should have a dedicated number pad).”
I thought so, too, until I looked at the 17″ PC notebooks that come with a dedicated number pad. The reason why I think Apple hasn’t done it also is because the addition of the number pad shift the QWERTY keys entirely to the left. It’s not exactly balanced when your left hand rests right along side the edge while your right hand has all this space. It might not be a thing that concerns the PC manufacturers (“more keys are better”) but it sounds like it’s just the thing that would be off-putting to Apple industrial engineers (as well as Jobs himself).
I don’t want Apple to ship every Mac with a multibutton mouse – the *real* reason this is done (so novices don’t get confused between left and right clicks) is reasonable justification. All I want is a multibutton *option*.
I was pretty much getting your point until I read this. Isn’t the multibutton mouse already an option? Get your own multi button mouse.
If you mean Apple should offer it on their Apple Store order page, would you buy a mouse from Apple? Or would you buy a mouse elsewhere and get a better deal?
I posted this response on another thread when drsmithy accidentally posted in the wrong place, so I’ll say it again here.
Apple ships a 1 button mouse so that it’s the lowest common denominator for UI designers to work with. Offering an option of a 2nd button defeats the purpose. End of story. Do you think other companies starting shipping 2 button mice by default because of it’s added features? Of course not. They did it because Apple patented the single button mouse. Xerox’s GUI required 5 buttons.
I was pretty much getting your point until I read this. Isn’t the multibutton mouse already an option?
NOT ON A GODDAMN POWERBOOK OR IBOOK IT ISN’T.
Added to that, is the issue of an *expensive* computer, with a substantial component of its attraction being aesthetic appeal, not having an extremely popular and often requested option as part of the package. I want an *Apple* multibutton mouse that matches my PowerMac or iMac.
If you mean Apple should offer it on their Apple Store order page, would you buy a mouse from Apple? Or would you buy a mouse elsewhere and get a better deal?
The standard mouse should be *replaceable* with an *Apple* multibutton mouse as a BTO option. Powerbooks and iBooks should have a multibutton trackpad option.
Apple ships a 1 button mouse so that it’s the lowest common denominator for UI designers to work with.
No, it offers it to reduce end user confusion. It’s got nothing to do with UI designers, who are already directed not to introduce multibutton features by the UI guidelines.
I don’t know where this idea of the single-button mouse being to “pressure” developers into keeping their UI design appropriately accessible has come from. The popularity of aftermarket multibutton mouse – particularly with advanced users like developers – not to mention the ctrl-click emulation destroys any logic behind this argument. Similarly with arguments about keeping the input “simple” – the presence of numerous pointless Fx keys along the top of the keyboard, in addition to Mac developer’s fascination with hiding functionality behind [ctrl]-[option]-[cmd]-[shift]-click vulcan-nerve-pinch “shortcuts” strongly suggests UI simplicity isn’t a highly-regarded limitation.
Offering an option of a 2nd button defeats the purpose.
Not true at all. *Replacing* the single-button mouse “defeats the purpose”.
Do you think other companies starting shipping 2 button mice by default because of it’s added features? Of course not. They did it because Apple patented the single button mouse. Xerox’s GUI required 5 buttons.
Somehow I doubt such a patent would stand up in court, even with today’s screwed-up patents. Simple fact is multibutton mice were already popular elsewhere and provided more functionality.
“No, it offers it to reduce end user confusion. It’s got nothing to do with UI designers, who are already directed not to introduce multibutton features by the UI guidelines.”
Blah. Think that through one more time. UI designers are directed to stick to single button interfaces, but if the end users don’t by default have 1 button, why stick to outdated guidelines? End users not being confused is a result.
“I don’t know where this idea of the single-button mouse being to “pressure” developers into keeping their UI design appropriately accessible has come from.”
Not pressuring, pretty much forcing.
“The popularity of aftermarket multibutton mouse – particularly with advanced users like developers – not to mention the ctrl-click emulation destroys any logic behind this argument.”
Not when you consider how many people know about control clicking, and how many people actually buy after market mice. Hint – it’s not many.
“Similarly with arguments about keeping the input “simple” – the presence of numerous pointless Fx keys along the top of the keyboard, in addition to Mac developer’s fascination with hiding functionality behind [ctrl]-[option]-[cmd]-[shift]-click vulcan-nerve-pinch “shortcuts” strongly suggests UI simplicity isn’t a highly-regarded limitation.”
Every single one of those key commands can be accessed via a single mouse button. They are all on screen, and obvious.
“Not true at all. *Replacing* the single-button mouse “defeats the purpose”.”
The simple act of offering makes the single button mouse one of two defaults, not THE default.
“Somehow I doubt such a patent would stand up in court, even with today’s screwed-up patents.”
Certainly not today, but 2 button mice are the standard for Windows based PCs today, so why go against that if you are selling Windows?
“Simple fact is multibutton mice were already popular elsewhere and provided more functionality.”
Where were they already more popular? Who else was offering a popular GUI? Certainly not MS. Not IBM either. I brought up the Xerox mouse having 5 buttons because Apple majoring simplified the GUI concept. Other upcoming competitors were trying to do the same, and couldn’t. Guess why.
In case some of you people haven’t noticed, Apple doesn’t ship the Mini with a mouse or a keyboard so you are no longer LOCKED into having a one button mouse not that it ever stopped thousands of people to do creative things on the Mac.
Another argument is if you take 10 average Joe PC users I am willing to be bet that 4-5 will not even know that the right click has a function on the PC. Thats been my experience. I am talking average joe user not Quake Boy.
Blah. Think that through one more time. UI designers are directed to stick to single button interfaces, but if the end users don’t by default have 1 button, why stick to outdated guidelines? End users not being confused is a result.
No, end users not be confused is the objective – an objective that was laid down 20-odd years ago when Apple decided to use a mouse with one button. That was the stated objective then and it hasn’t changed.
Regardless of whether or not users have multiple buttons, they can still access the context menu.
Not pressuring, pretty much forcing.
Not at all. Context menus are still easily accessible and certainly no less discoverable than the myriad meta-clicks Mac developers like to use. There is no “force” here. Multiple buttons are a *convenience* feature.
Not when you consider how many people know about control clicking, and how many people actually buy after market mice. Hint – it’s not many.
I believe it’s actually quite a lot. I seem to recall a survey done by one of the Mac magazines a year or two back pegged something like 3/4 of their readers as having purchased an after-market multibutton mouse. Naturally, the more advanced the users (hint: like developers) the more likely they were to have a multibutton mouse.
Every single one of those key commands can be accessed via a single mouse button. They are all on screen, and obvious.
Actually quite a lot of them are not only not obvious, but also very poorly documented. Not to mention everything in a context menu can also be accessed via the regular menus.
The simple act of offering makes the single button mouse one of two defaults, not THE default.
By definition, there can only be one default.
Certainly not today, but 2 button mice are the standard for Windows based PCs today, so why go against that if you are selling Windows?
Not quite sure I see your point.
Where were they already more popular? Who else was offering a popular GUI? Certainly not MS. Not IBM either. I brought up the Xerox mouse having 5 buttons because Apple majoring simplified the GUI concept. Other upcoming competitors were trying to do the same, and couldn’t. Guess why.
Not everyone was trying to build a computer for novices. Some people were just trying to build computers with powerful GUI interfaces. Multibutton mouse were standard – and well used – on platforms like the Amiga and Atari, for example.
These GUIs all appeared around the same time, so I mis-spoke when I said “earlier”.
Apple using a single mouse button has *nothing* to do with “pressuring” developers, because there is no functionality that only multiple buttons exposes. If developers want to ignore the UI guidelines, they will – and no level of “default hardware” will change that. It’s done purely so users don’t get confused between a “click” and a “right click”. That was the justification before the Mac was even released (and there even *were* developers) and it remains the justification now.
In case some of you people haven’t noticed, Apple doesn’t ship the Mini with a mouse or a keyboard so you are no longer LOCKED into having a one button mouse not that it ever stopped thousands of people to do creative things on the Mac.
Another argument is if you take 10 average Joe PC users I am willing to be bet that 4-5 will not even know that the right click has a function on the PC. Thats been my experience. I am talking average joe user not Quake Boy.
Given how much effort you put into beating the hell out of that straw man, you must *really* hate him.
When I bought my iBook just over a year ago, I bought a 2 button mouse with it ’cause I thought that I’d definitely need more than one button. Now I’m totally used to the way Macs work. It does take a while. It took me about a month to get used to it and maybe a month or so more to feel completely at home with it. Macs really are pretty different to use compared to PCs.
Anyway, my point is that I never use the mouse anymore. I always use my laptop on a desk either at home or in a computer lab in college but with a Mac, one button is enough. I hardly ever Ctrl-click and when I do, it’s not much of a strain at all.
I really don’t get this one button argument. It’s such a non-issue. I mean, if you really feel that you can’t live without a 2+ button mouse then buy one! You can pick one up for as little as €15 in Ireland so it’s probably even cheaper in the US. Why would you let such a little thing get in the way of buying a computer?
Do you prefer the method Apple uses in OS X, where whole swathes of system files and directories are simply hidden from view in the GUI altogether with no indication they even exist ?
Just askin’, because usually when Microsoft hide stuff away they get blasted for ‘taking over my computer’ and similar rubbish.
My failure to communicate. With OS X, as with Windows, you can have hidden files in folders. With OS X, as with Windows, you can choose to show these files and folders, or not.
I am specifically talking about that first opening of the Program Folders folder [and there are others], when you see a line which states “to see the contents of this folder, click here” [words to that effect, depends on which edition you use]. This is a different category than the hidden files and folders you refer to. And it’s just plain dumb to have that there. I KNOW I need to be there, I KNOW what I’m looking for and what I’m doing there, I really do want to see the contents of the folder.
I actually like to see all the files and folders in any given folder [and not just the contents of the system32 or the libraries folder et al], but I can see the logic of not showing all of them in folders the user is going to access on a regular basis: it adds clutter to a folder and it may inspire some users to delete files they’re “sure I didn’t put that there” and bollix up the works. I can live with that because it’s a usability consideration that’s implemented for a really good reason [when Microsoft does something right, I really am not too proud to admit it you know]. The crowd that lurks around this board can be trusted to be smart enough, but I know that Joey WhatsThatStuffDoingHere is just going to ruin everything.
The search functionality I don’t agree on. If all you have to do is start typing [which is how it should work, I agree], why confuse Gladys NoviceUser with all sorts of options and settings if it doesn’t make a difference in the first place?
I can see where Janice SWEETMOTHEROFGODIT’SACOMPUTER!! would need her hand held, but the butt-sniffing dog is also in the Pro version. I talked to my BOFH about that and he managed to teach me some new vocabulary describing his most intimate feelings about this wonderful, caring feature =).
It don’t want it there, I’m working with an operating system, not a nursery school. And if you really do want me to calm down and be soothed, I want an 18+ version, where I get to see a continuing slide show of the Playboy catalog 1955 to the present day [with auto updates and full-magnification on demand] because cartoons don’t work for me and I genuinely love women. I’m absolutely convinced one of you fun-seekers would find his own take on that in about 3.25 nanoseconds.
I haven’t tried Expose with the mouse [only one button
] but I can see where you’re going with that and indeed, that could be useful. I wouldn’t use a multi-mouse for context menus because Ctrl-click does that for me if I need it. The single button is not a fad, they think about that kind of stuff in Cupertino. If it really had been an impediment when using the computer, you can bet that the millions of Apple customers that have been working with that mouse would have said something about it by now, they’re not exactly shy that way.
I never read the opposite argument: if Apple can control their system with one mouse button, why does everybody else need 2 or more?
“I haven’t tried Expose with the mouse [only one button
] but I can see where you’re going with that and indeed, that could be useful.”
Just set it to work with screen corners instead of keys or mouse clicks. Then you can slide around to use it. Side note – most people don’t seem to know this, but option clicking the desktop hides all running apps except for the Finder.
The search functionality I don’t agree on. If all you have to do is start typing [which is how it should work, I agree], why confuse Gladys NoviceUser with all sorts of options and settings if it doesn’t make a difference in the first place?
Because she mightn’t be a novice user forever, and some of those options are actually useful (and fairly simple to grok).
I can see where Janice SWEETMOTHEROFGODIT’SACOMPUTER!! would need her hand held, but the butt-sniffing dog is also in the Pro version.
The “Pro” version is just the one that’s meant to be used in corporate networks. Corporate networks are just as full of novices and ignoramuses as homes.
It don’t want it there, I’m working with an operating system, not a nursery school.
So turn it off. This seems to be a difficult concept for many expert users to grasp, but the reason software like Windows and OS X ship in “novice” mode is because experts know how to turn novice functionality *off* but novices don’t know how to turn novice functionality *on*. You optimise for the common case – most users are ignorant.
I wouldn’t use a multi-mouse for context menus because Ctrl-click does that for me if I need it.
You should try it. Much quicker, easier and more efficient.
The single button is not a fad, they think about that kind of stuff in Cupertino.
Sometimes I wonder why I bother writing half the stuff I do, because it seems to no-one ever actually *reads* it, they just *assume* I’ve said what they think I’m going to say and run with that.
I’ve already said – numerous times – that I think the single mouse button is quite justified as a tool for reducing end user confusion. I have no problem with the single-button mouse remaining the default. All I want is a BTO option – particularly for the laptops – for a multibutton mouse.
If it really had been an impediment when using the computer, you can bet that the millions of Apple customers that have been working with that mouse would have said something about it by now, they’re not exactly shy that way.
Most Apple zealots think the sun shines out of Steve’s arse and rarely question _anything_ Apple does, they merely accept (and proceed to advocate) it as the best course of action “because that’s what Apple did”. When it comes to Apple fans, whatever critical thinking skills they might have had are permanently disabled (the typical arguments that spring up from them whenever “one button mouse” is mentioned are but one example).
Having said that, an aftermarket multibutton mouse is almost certainly the single most popular aftermarket purchase for Mac systems, with the possible exception of additional RAM. Most Mac users I’ve ever known have purchased one, and this is going back _many_ years to the MacOS 8.x and earlier days.
The single button mouse is not an impediment, in that you can still use MacOS quite happily with it, but a multibutton mouse makes using the system a *lot* more efficient and productive (which is why most professionals, whose time is more valuable, use them).
I never read the opposite argument: if Apple can control their system with one mouse button, why does everybody else need 2 or more?
They don’t (well, they don’t when developers follow the UI guidelines) – as I’ve also said numerous times before, multiple buttons are a *shortcut* feature, just like all those meta- and function-keys on the keyboard. You can quite happily use Windows without ever touching the right mouse buttons (again, assumung developers are following the UI guidelines) – but it’s far more efficient and productive to take advantage of the shortcut functions it offers.