[jeff k]

I just notice something about Snow Leopard coming from Tiger.
When reboot the external hardrives used to jump all around and them settle down is some chaotic fashion.
Now they don't move at all. is this the OS or maybe I have some new setting I made?

[CharlesS]

That was actually a Leopard improvement, assuming you're talking about the icons on the desktop.

[jeff k]

Charles, yes icons on desktop, what did the do to achieve it, and why did it take them so long to do it!

BTW, one total downside I'm experience:

With all previous OS, I would drag my hard drives with my icons into the dock and they stuck.
Now I drag them to dock and they are become genereic icons there. anything I can do?
It just worthless having four hardrives in dock -- all with your icon stripped and looking generic.
Now, they are all now just blue folders except one hard drive which has the hard drive icon, very strange. Do you notice this issue too?

[CharlesS]

Right click on the Dock tile, and choose Display as: Folder.

[jeff k]

Charles, thanks! man that was killing me. Can I make a default for that to display as folder?

[CharlesS]

Don't think so, unfortunately. You have to set it for each individual item.

Another annoying default that you fortunately can change, however: Finder -> Preferences -> Advanced -> "When Performing a Search." Makes the search field in Finder windows oh so much nicer when you set that to either of the other two options from the default.

[jeff k]

Charles,
the default for that is to search this Mac, isn't that the best of the three?

I'm so used to doing command option spacebar for bringing up spotlight.

There is not advantage to using the tiny little search field in finder windows is there? is just brings up spotlight right?

[Cold Warrior]

the advantage is seen when changing it to Search this Folder, and you happen to be in that folder looking for something.

[CharlesS]

Yeah, there's already the magnifying class icon in the upper right (and the ⌘-space shortcut) for searching your whole computer, which makes that the least useful option for the Finder window search bar IMO. Of course, if you actually like the finder toolbar for searching the whole Mac, then that is of course your choice.

[jeff k]

Ah, that's excellent!
You know for the last five years it's baffled me why when I would use that little search window occasionally and it would not just search the folder?
Why doesn't Apple make that the default??
Isn't it common sense if you are in a folder you are probably going to use that window to search something in that folder? thanks guys.

[CharlesS]

Beats the heck out of me. I agree with you 100%. The folder window search field should search the folder, and the magnifying glass icon in the upper right is for searching the whole computer. But that's the way it is. At least we've got the option to change that now - in Leopard we were stuck with it always searching the whole computer, and there was nothing we could do about it.

[jeff k]

Charles, thanks, this always puzzled me completey -- I could never understand it and hence I never, ever, ever used that little window search in finder windows. And I did not know it was a recent change. thanks.