[Insecure bone]

Apple listens to their users I believe, so If we generated a list of new features and such we would like to see in an upcoming upgrade to Mac OS 10.3, Apple might listen. Or I could take the good suggestions and condence it into a letter, and send it to Apple via email. Anyone have any features or updates they would like to see in 10.4? {based on the assumption they will make a 10.4} These are a list of features I would like to see:

-Ability to position the dock anywhere on the screen. Drag and drop? I dont know if this would be useful, but it would be cool.

-Animated desktop pictures. Screen transitions are good, but I would love it if Apple could create nature backgrounds that had leaves moving, water rippling...ect.

-A consistant interface. I think some will agree with me here. Instead of Aqua here/brushed metal there, there should be a consistant brushed metal UI throughout.

Those aren't large and amazing features, basically cosmetic.

[fizzlemynizzle]

one cool thing Sun demo'd in their 3D GUI is the ability to flip a window around and write a note on the back of it. It would eliminate the need for stickies. That would be cool to see in 10.4. Heavy XML integration into the GUI would blow the doors open to customization if Apple would release a RDK for it..

[Telusman]

No... there should be *as little* brushed metal as possible. I dont think many people care for it and i'd prefer to see the back of it except for extremely limited use. iTunes, etc.

I much prefer the smoothed out lines of Aqua on panther. Jag was a bit much to look at for an extended period because it was so busy, but the current UI is fairly calming enough to look at.

Brushed metal on the other hand, is crap... a lot of crap...

- Telusman

Originally posted by Insecure bone:
Apple listens to their users I believe, so If we generated a list of new features and such we would like to see in an upcoming upgrade to Mac OS 10.3, Apple might listen. Or I could take the good suggestions and condence it into a letter, and send it to Apple via email. Anyone have any features or updates they would like to see in 10.4? {based on the assumption they will make a 10.4} These are a list of features I would like to see:

-Ability to position the dock anywhere on the screen. Drag and drop? I dont know if this would be useful, but it would be cool.

-Animated desktop pictures. Screen transitions are good, but I would love it if Apple could create nature backgrounds that had leaves moving, water rippling...ect.

-A consistant interface. I think some will agree with me here. Instead of Aqua here/brushed metal there, there should be a consistant brushed metal UI throughout.

Those aren't large and amazing features, basically cosmetic.

[undotwa]

Could not apple compromise by mixing brushed elements with aqua but then allowing developers to pick their own texture to make things interesting (yet not making the interface difficult to master). That way, every window will behave the same way (except utility windows).

[Targon]

Change the SIZE of the System Font.

I want it to be like 10-11...its MUCH TOO BIG on my PowerBook!!!

I'd LOVE to be able to change the Font Type as well.... I like the Techno Font from Mac OS 9x...i want to see it for EVERYTHING!!!!

Mac OS 9x provided this!!!

Saved state. If i have 4 tabs in Safari open and a tune in Logic open an i need to log out i wanna save the state so that when i log back in the system has the same files /apps open.

I want a 'Shelf' in Finder Windows. NeXTSTEP had this.

I want the OPTION of LEFT HAND SIDED ScrollBars like NeXTSTEP!!!!

I want the same available Finder window View options to be customizable by me for the Standard Open/Save dialogs.

I want OS X to fsckin REMEMBER the view i set for folders. I want to set a custom view for NEW Finder windows, so that when i create a new folder and open it the fsckin thing use the fsckin VIEW I SET so i don't have to change it every god damned time...this piss's me to no ends.

I want Finder windows in both List and Column views to be shaded slightly different tones for every second file/folder row. Look at iTunes in the list of tunes u see a light blue row then white row going down.

Disk Utility needs a 'Rescan' function. Often i need to mount a FW disk after it was unmounted. If i could just rescan for new disks then mount the ones i need that would be much better than loggin out.

[entrox]

A versioned file-system. Come on, this is ancient technology and it still isn't in any modern OS either because they adopted the truly brain-dead UNIX file-system or because of general suckiness (you know who you are). Genera had it, VMS had it, Multics had it and I'm sure a lot of other systems had it also.

For those of you not familiar with older machines, such a file-system basically makes a new version of a file whenever something changes (save, delete, move etc.) and you can periodically expunge old versions to regain space. This is invaluable when you see that you made a mistake sometime in the past and you would like to 'rewind'. It would be so awesome if I could tell the finder "show me this directory how it was one week ago" for example. You could combine versions with the 'stacks' idea that was floating around (every version is an element in this stack). One would gain the advantages of a version control system like CVS or Perforce transparently for everything you do. Every developer worth his salt will tell you that a VCS is a good thing!

Disk-space is cheap and you could be able to disable the versioning for specific files/directories for those of you working on 4GiB files. This could be wonderfully combined with some kind of database-backed file-system and thus breaking free of the moronic UNIX design of the 70s. But I'm pretty sure nothing whatsoever will be done in this direction. Instead, we'll get new eye-candy and other useless features. One can dream, right?

[moonmonkey]

Multiple desktops via expose
Proper Meta data in finder including file ratings, smart folders (like smart playlists)
Folder/Hard drive/Trash icons updated
Clock option on login screen
Multi session burning in finder
Smart folders (ie. iTunes smart playlist) in finder.
Updated Brushed metal theme.
Multiple undos in finder/Undelete feature
A bezel notification/alert system

[3R1C]

1. Customizeable Finder column view background color.
2. A Preview Pane plugin system: ie, I could write a preview pane plugin for mp3's that when an mp3 is selected in column view, ALL the tags are shown including the album art.

[CIA]

Lot's o' clean 64 bit code packed in for the G5 owners...

[Richard Edgar]

For those of you not familiar with older machines, such a file-system basically makes a new version of a file whenever something changes (save, delete, move etc.) and you can periodically expunge old versions to regain space

While I agree that something like this would be good, I don't think I'd do it quite like that. For example, some files (e.g. simulation output dumps) really shouldn't be under version control. If I've zapped them, it's because I know they're wrong - and regenerating them won't be hard anyway.

I'd like something like CVS's working copy/repository, but sytem wide. And each application should supply its own version of diff for its files. Otherwise, even with modern hard drives, storing multiple copies of Photoshop images is going to fill things up. Of course, forcing application developers to supply such a 'diff' is another matter. There would also be possible multiple-user security issues (of the kind that CVS dodges by ignoring - this is, of course, the UNIX philosphy).

However, I can see this coming crashing down on the user interface. I've known people who have been convinced that their machine has lost files, simply because the 'Open' dialog box didn't show the file (because someone else had used the machine in the meantime). How do you (the general 'you') intend explaining versioning, check outs and commits to someone like that?

[NeXTLoop]

1. I'd like to see an implementation of "Piles", similar to the demos we all saw some time ago.

2. I'd like to see something similar to Sun's 3D gui.

3. Please, Please, PLEASE settle on some kind of interface uniformity. Parts of the system are brushed metal, some are aqua. Just pick a nice, subdued interface and stick with. Stop mixing it up so much.

[koffinkanser]

The ability to access contextual menus, system wide, by clicking and holding.

This way, users can either get a two-button mouse, ctrl-click, or hold the button down (like we already do with the dock)

Like spring-loaded folders, this can be turned on and off, and the delay time can be set to individual preference as well.

This way, Apple can keep the one-button mouse, which, honestly, rocks. It's simple and uncomplicated.

At the same time, the functionality of a two-button mouse can be available as well! And given that there is an option to turn it off and configure it to each user's liking, there's no reason for any complaints, i.e. "Why does the menu pop up everytime i try to drag the icon!?!"

[Sven G]

In addition to some of the excellent points above, I'd particularly like built-in and completely seamless Virtual PC/Bochs+++ (rootless) and X11 integrations, also with built-in Metapackage.org (essentially, Fink + DarwinPorts) support - and, of course, many other things...

[entrox]

Originally posted by Richard Edgar:
While I agree that something like this would be good, I don't think I'd do it quite like that. For example, some files (e.g. simulation output dumps) really shouldn't be under version control. If I've zapped them, it's because I know they're wrong - and regenerating them won't be hard anyway.

As I said, one could toggle this on a per-file or per-directory level. A simple check-box saying "Keep a history" in the Get Info panel would suffice.

I'd like something like CVS's working copy/repository, but sytem wide. And each application should supply its own version of diff for its files. Otherwise, even with modern hard drives, storing multiple copies of Photoshop images is going to fill things up. Of course, forcing application developers to supply such a 'diff' is another matter.

This could be a nice option to reduce space usage. From what I can tell, the newest Photoshop has a built-in versioning system for its files. Talk about reinventing the wheel! Apple could provide an API, which allows the application to supply a delta if it wishes to do so and just save the whole file otherwise.

However, I can see this coming crashing down on the user interface. I've known people who have been convinced that their machine has lost files, simply because the 'Open' dialog box didn't show the file (because someone else had used the machine in the meantime). How do you (the general 'you') intend explaining versioning, check outs and commits to someone like that?

You don't, since there are no checkouts or commits in a versioning file-system. It's all transparent: whenever you save your changes, a new version is made and whenever you open a document you get the newest version, unless you specify a point in the past (e.g. "two days ago" or "revision 24"). The amount of versions kept is adjustable, so you can keep only a handful for bigger or a lot for smaller documents.

This is nothing new. It has been done in the past and nearly every (more expensive) system besides UNIX had a FS like this. Emacs, which started on such a system, can emulate the behaviour by simply making a new file with an appended number. That's pretty clumsy of course, but it's the only way short of using an external VCS to do something like this.

At times like this, I'm convinced that UNIX did more damage to computing than it did good with its "worse is better" or "simpler is better than correct" attitude.

[xe0]

Originally posted by Telusman:
No... there should be *as little* brushed metal as possible. I dont think many people care for it and i'd prefer to see the back of it except for extremely limited use. iTunes, etc.

Brushed metal on the other hand, is crap... a lot of crap...

- Telusman

wow thats harsh dude!

Im sure you know this, but I'll mention it in all the same.
As we are all individuals, we all have individual preferences.

We know that some people, including yourself prefer the Aqua theme throughout, while some people like Insecure bone, find a Brushed metal theme throughout preferable.

That being the case, it would be very cool if 10.4 supported themeing, and had both Aqua and Brushed Metal included within the OS as a choice

The things I would like to see in 10.4


-Icon Preview for illustrator, pdf, eps, and html documents within the Finder.

-Save dialogue boxes should be fully editable. (like standard Finder windows)

-More window animations to choose from- like breaking glass when you hit the close box!

-As someone has already mentioned; implementation of similar technology used by Sun 'project Looking Glass'

-Spring loaded / drag and drop finder icon in the dock

-the + or zoom widget should consistently maximize the window to full screen, and be dock and top bar aware (example- windows xp)

-Consistent Networking

-Tab browsing of some sort within Finder

-More native games built into the OS. (apart from Chess: aka Tetris, a card game of some sort, pinball, checkers, retro 2d game etc)


-And of corse official theme support, including Aqua, Brushed metal and a polished NeXTSTEP UI.

[pat++]

I want an OS which works. Panther has introduced so many bugs/regressions that it's a pain to use. I want Apple to focus on QA and not rush to release their OS.

I want an Aqua Finder back. BM sucks. I want files to appear on the desktop instantly without needing to click on the Desktop to get it updated. I don't want the icons in the Finder to change randomly. I want to be able to connect to windows shares, I want a network browser which works, I don't want the Finder to lock up when you forget to disconnect from a network drive, and I wouldn't mind getting more speed.

Hopefully we'll get all this before 10.4... but I'm starting to doubt...

[-Q-]

^
|
|

What pat++ said. Networking is still too flaky and I'm sick of having to click on a desktop to view files I've copied/downloaded.

[MindFad]

PLEASE! IT'S ALL I WANT!

[bergy]

Print Center Suggestions

I would like the print centre to come up every time i printed or some other type of print dialogue so that I could monitor the printing and kill printing if i wanted to. I don't want to go looking for it.

I would like a simpler interface in the print centre.
How about 2 boxes .. One Resume printing and the other stop printing ..
The start jobs stop jobs in one box is confusing.

Also, hire the guy from Vuescan so we can all get our scanners to work once and for all.

[webcookie]

More colour options besides Aqua and Graphite! Orange, green, pink, purple.. please! I love colour. There should also be an all brushed metal "theme". I'm one of those few people who actually likes brushed metal. I know there are programs to put themes into X.. it'd just be nice if they were there by default in the OS.

[SupahCoolX]

Originally posted by fizzlemynizzle:
one cool thing Sun demo'd in their 3D GUI is the ability to flip a window around and write a note on the back of it.

No way! A slide out drawer for notes (like iCal) is MUCH more useful since you can see both the content and your notes at the same time.

Anyway, some of my wishes off the top of my head:
-More consistent UI
-Spring loaded folders in Dock
-Fix the mixed-up icons bug in Panther!
-Continue to improve performance
-A killer new feature or two (like Expos� was in Panther)
-Take away the boxes that appear around selected icons (or at least make it an option)

[Dale Sorel]

What do you want in 10.4?

World peas

[gunnar]

I'd really like a magical global UI widget slider. Through one slider control you could change the size of the text, menu bar height, icon size and dock size. It would all scale simultaneously. Expose pretty much does this already, why not have a permanent setting available for us with varying screen sizes. Ever try using OS X on an iBook - ouch.

[fibroptikl]

I want a feature preventing people from asking what they want in 10.5

[nickm]

multiple remote graphical logins

[moonmonkey]

Originally posted by gunnar:
I'd really like a magical global UI widget slider. Through one slider control you could change the size of the text, menu bar height, icon size and dock size. It would all scale simultaneously. Expose pretty much does this already, why not have a permanent setting available for us with varying screen sizes. Ever try using OS X on an iBook - ouch.

Virtual resolutions, there is a threat about this somwhere.
It would be amazing.

[moonmonkey]

Originally posted by SupahCoolX:
head:
-Spring loaded folders in Dock
-Take away the boxes that appear around selected icons (or at least make it an option)

I dont think they will ever spring load the dock, if they were going to they would have done it already.
The dock needs some more work though.

We need the boxes to appear around selected icons, so we know which icon is selected. Darkening it doesn't work very well, what if the icon is black?

[moonmonkey]

Originally posted by koffinkanser:
The ability to access contextual menus, system wide, by clicking and holding.

Agreed, this is needed, there used to be a utility in OS 9 for doing this. Does anyone know if there is an equivalent for 10.3.

[Richard Edgar]

You don't, since there are no checkouts or commits in a versioning file-system. It's all transparent: whenever you save your changes, a new version is made and whenever you open a document you get the newest version, unless you specify a point in the past (e.g. "two days ago" or "revision 24"). The amount of versions kept is adjustable, so you can keep only a handful for bigger or a lot for smaller documents

No thanks.... I distrust computers, and subscribe to the "Save early, save often" philosophy. I usually save after every little change, or if I pause for thought. Having the machine version each save would result in a lot of useless versions - and with a fixed (albeit adjustable) number of kept versions, that's potentially going to wipe out the milestones that I do want.

At times like this, I'm convinced that UNIX did more damage to computing than it did good with its "worse is better" or "simpler is better than correct" attitude

That I can agree with.

[Thain Esh Kelch]

Remove that s*** metal from the Finder! Or at least make it an option! *Grrr*

Originally posted by moonmonkey:
-Multiple desktops via expose
-Proper Meta data in finder including file ratings, smart folders (like smart playlists)
-Folder/Hard drive/Trash icons updated
-Clock option on login screen
-Multi session burning in finder
-Smart folders (ie. iTunes smart playlist) in finder.

Originally posted by koffinkanser:
-The ability to access contextual menus, system wide, by clicking and holding.

Originally posted by xe0:

-Icon Preview for illustrator, pdf, eps, and html documents within the Finder.
-Save dialogue boxes should be fully editable. (like standard Finder windows)(This was actually quite a cool idea!)
-the + or zoom widget should consistently maximize the window to full screen, and be dock and top bar aware (example- windows xp)
-Consistent Networking
-More native games built into the OS. (apart from Chess: aka Tetris, a card game of some sort, pinball, checkers, retro 2d game etc)

Originally posted by SupahCoolX:
-More consistent UI
-Spring loaded folders in Dock
-Continue to improve performance

Originally posted by Insecure bone:
-Ability to position the dock anywhere on the screen. Drag and drop? I dont know if this would be useful, but it would be cool.
-Animated desktop pictures. Screen transitions are good, but I would love it if Apple could create nature backgrounds that had leaves moving, water rippling...ect.

What they said.

Originally posted by pat++:
I want an OS which works. Panther has introduced so many bugs/regressions that it's a pain to use. I want Apple to focus on QA and not rush to release their OS.

I want an Aqua Finder back. BM sucks. I want files to appear on the desktop instantly without needing to click on the Desktop to get it updated. I don't want the icons in the Finder to change randomly. I want to be able to connect to windows shares, I want a network browser which works, I don't want the Finder to lock up when you forget to disconnect from a network drive, and I wouldn't mind getting more speed.

Hopefully we'll get all this before 10.4... but I'm starting to doubt...

And what he said. This is my highest priority.

[mishap]

Home on the iPod....and i'll fork over 129

[spiky_dog]

many fewer app crashes in Mail, iChat AV, and Safari

[sniffer]

-Spell checking for the rest of us. OS X's spell checker only supports thirteen languages.
-Spell check services, so we can spell check any standard text box in any app.
-Consistent GUI. The mix between brushed metal, metal like widgets and pure aqua is a tad schizophrenic IMHO.
-Live update in Finder folders and on the desktop. I.e. no need to click the desktop to see newest addition of files added.
-sFTP and being enable to write to FTP shares in Finder. Duh..
-Improve SMB support.

Yup..

[Gankdawg]

Originally posted by fibroptikl:
I want a feature preventing people from asking what they want in 10.5

[pcurtner]

Well I'd like this a lot sooner than 10.4..

iSync should have an option to activate Bluetooth power only when needed to synch with a device (ie my phone).

Us laptop users get kinda nutty about wasting battery life. We're so crazy like that!

-pwc

[birdman]

Not only does SMB sharing need work, but so does (of all things) AppleShare. For example, at work, we have an XServe that allows both OS 9 Macs and Windows PCs to access the shared files on the XServe. From my OS 10.3 PowerBook, if I simply double-click on Network from the main Finder window, it navigates the server as though I were a Windows machine. But, I need to log in with my assigned name and password in order to access certain files, but it doesn't as me for one the way OS 9 does from the Chooser or Network Browser. I have to Go... Connect to Server... and type in afp://XServe to force it to ask for my password.

Actually, now that I think about it, even attempting to access my PC's shared files at home was a hassle to set up. Rarely, if ever, can I use the Network icon from the main Finder window; I always end up typing it in the Connect to Server window. Maybe that's because my PC uses Windows 98?

Also, in Windows 98, changing one's workgroup was simple. In OS X, I have to use Directory Services, which I only found out by searching Google for answers.

Both OS X and Windows XP have the blessing of being incredibly stable, especially compared to their predecessors... but why did they take away simple, intuitive file sharing? Sharing files and creating login names was so easy in OS 8 and 9; in OS X, you have to create them as separate login names for your entire computer, complete with their own Home folders. I just want them to be able to access my shared folder from their own Mac, not log into my computer! Is that too much to ask?

Also, when I connect to my Mac from the PC's Network Neighborhood, all I can get is my Home folder, no CDs or external drives. OS X doesn't ask *which* files I want to share; in OS 9, it was a simple matter of using the Get Info window and setting the Sharing options. Yet if I connect to my Mac from another Mac with OS 9, it allows me to select either the home folder or any volumes (hard drive, external, etc.).

On the whole, I'm pleased with Panther, but sharing files and accessing network volumes from various flavors of Macs and PCs is still a big pain in the ass.

My other beef with OS X, I don't know if it can really be fixed, since it's more of a Unix thing. On the aforementioned XServe at work, if I work on something on my PowerBook (using OS X) and create a new file or folder, it will be assigned the owner name and permissions of the PowerBook. That means no one else but me can access those files/folders now. But the whole point of having this server is so multiple people can access and open and save the same files. Using an OS 9 Mac, it's no problem because the server itself assigns the permissions, but numerous times my boss will try to open something and be told he doesn't have permission to open the file. Then I have to go back, Get Info, and assure it that, yes indeed, Everyone can both read AND write! (I particularly love when the XServe won't even let me change permissions on its own hard drive, because my PowerBook is the "owner" of the file I created. Give me a break.)

-birdman

[Grrr]

PLEASE stop moaning about brushed metal. I'm sick of hearing people whine about it, when It REALLY isn't such a big deal. Get over it.

[pcurtner]

I second the vote for a clean 64-bit kernal and Finder compile. Make those G5s fly.

Also the need for better previews of media files: it is absurd that OS X still hasn't caught on with on-the-fly previews of images. See the excellent shareware app DropBatchIconMaker for a good example of how fast this could be done (and to add icon previews folder by folder or file by file).

Change the size and COLOR of the system font. Big complaint from many OS 9 switchers is the white font, drop shadows or no. Not that I expect Apple to ever yield any control over their GUI.

A Dock preference to have it hide INTELLIGENTLY, such as only when certain apps are in the foreground.

Oh, and could we please get some slightly betterr frame rates in Halo? ;-]

-p

[chabig]

I bet Apple is already well under way to completing 10.4. If we want to play this feature game, I think we're talking 10.5, not 10.4, which should already have its feature set pretty well defined.

Chris

[Thain Esh Kelch]

Originally posted by Grrr:
PLEASE stop moaning about brushed metal. I'm sick of hearing people whine about it, when It REALLY isn't such a big deal. Get over it.

Well... It IS a big deal! Ive been here since 6.0, and in my opinion, BM in Finder is one of the worst UI steps Apple has ever made!

Originally posted by pcurtner:
I second the vote for a clean 64-bit kernal and Finder compile. Make those G5s fly.

Making the kernel af Finder 64-bit probably wont give you a speed boost that you can feel... People really overestimate the power of 64 bit...

[axlepin]

Originally posted by fizzlemynizzle:
one cool thing Sun demo'd in their 3D GUI is the ability to flip a window around and write a note on the back of it. It would eliminate the need for stickies.

OK, wait a minute...would this ACTUALLY be a benefit, or would it just LOOK cool?!?

Let's say you have a note ABOUT the stuff in said window? would it make sense to have a note on the back of the thing you're trying to look at just bcs you get a cool 3D whooshie thing happening?

This is similar to the idea behind many websites in that the Web is supposed to be a "Now" medium, yet, when you get to many sites, you have to sit thru some "cool-looking" Flash animation that does nothing to help you get what you're looking for.

And on the subject of things that just look cool, I can live with brushed metal or spinstripes, or 3D contoured, shaped and lickable windows and GUI, but how about something that's done with just plain good taste in mind, and user comfort?

Tone down all the WHITE, man! if you have a 17" monitor, that's like 2 square feet of major white light energy blasting out, and it's fatiguing. How about some softer greys or grey greens or an OPTION for those of us who don't need a candy-coated interface?

axle

[Insecure bone]

I think brushed metal is a step backwards for apple. It reminds me of a somewhat updated Apple Platinum that was consistant in Mac OS 8-9. When I was first looking at pictures of Mac OS X in a Macworld mag, I was so blown away! It looked futuristic, thank goodness, no more gawdy metallic windows. Plus they were translucent. But now it seems that has been eliminated, and Apple has taken a step backwards. Why? Now we dont get the translucent finder, or the beautiful stripes running through the title bar. I dont mind the striped being gone in the regular aqua themed windows, but I still miss the stripes. Now it seems, the only reminisance of the stripes we have are along top the screen on the menu bar. *sigh*...and I definetly hope Apple is not going to adopt a brushed wood appearance. I was hoping they would go toward the nice shiny ICE flavoured GUI.

[Nostromo]

Apple listens to it's users? Really? Not that I've noticed.

1. Fix that damn horrible 10.3 network browser. Now. We've tried every fix in the book (and in Apple's KB files) and our students STILL can't browse the Windows domains. Browsing in 10.3 is WORSE than in 10.2.

2. A 2 button scrollwheel mouse OR allow us to un-bundle the Fischer-Price/Sesame Street one button mouse and substitute a Logitech 2 button scrollwheel mouse. This is the main thing that turns people OFF when sitting at a Mac for the first time. They expect 2 buttons, OS X has built-in support for 2 buttons, and anyone who can't fathom 2 buttons probably shouldn't be using a computer in the first place.

I can't tell you how many people I've seen sit down at a Mac, then say "Ewwwww" as they dropped the mouse like the flaming turd that it is, then they moved over to a Windows machine in another part of the lab.

Too bad Apple wasted the Bluetooth mouse on another Telletubbies/Nerf mouse.

It's sad that the first step in setting up a Mac has to be "throw mouse in garbage and spend MORE money on a useable mouse." It gives ammo to the "Macs are an added expense" folks.

3. Start calling the pointlessly-named "Command" key the "Apple" key, dammit. When trying to teach new Mac users (i.e. people I'm trying to convert from Windows) it would be nice if that key actually made some sense. Command? Where does it say command? What's the symbol for command? Apple key, please.

4. Start doing some REAL advertising.

Every time Steve promises "we're going to get serious with our ads, just you watch", all we get are stupid, limp-wristed crap like the guy getting blown through the wall. Wow. That really tells me how a Mac can help me get my work done easier.

Oh, and it would help if Apple actually RAN the ads more than once every other day. I see those stupid Dell interns about 10 times a day...I can't remember the last time I saw the Apple ad. Seeing how seldom they actually run the one commercial they have, you'd think it would stick out, but when your advertising has all the bite of a toothless old man, don't expect people to recall anything about your product. Pathetic.

Tell me this makes sense: Dell = shitty, cheap, off-the-shelf crap, but great advertising. Apple = best hardware/software, but totally ineffective advertising. Ask anyone on the street who the "Dell dude" is, or if they've heard of the "Dell interns", and almost everyone will tell you. Mention Apple, and they'll say "who?"

You've got 4 BILLION DOLLARS in the bank! Stick a crowbar in your wallet and do some REAL advertising. You know, The kind people actually SEE and that makes them want to buy your product. This isn't rocket science.

5. Bring back Apple-N in the Finder to mean "New Folder". Nobody, except stick up the ass pedants ("Well, you know, Apple-N creates a new document, and technically, a new document for the Finder is a window...") care about the crap "new document" theory. Once again, a simple, useable command gets flushed down the toilet for.....what? How does Apple-Shift-N make more sense? It doesn't.

6. Bring back HyperCard. Sorry Apple, AppleScript studio is NOT as easy to learn as HyperTalk was. So many non-computer folk loved HyperCard. Now you have to be a programmer to even understand the damn tutorial in AppleScript Studio. What a waste.

Oh yeah, and before you mention it: I DID send these suggestions to Apple's feedback page.

I'm really holding my breath. (not)

[Ken Masters]

The ability to use any CD-RW or DVD-r

and work with the iApps.

Currently only a selected few can, and i think that sux,

people use to be able to hack the authoring device files to get them to work, but now apple specifically encrypted it so that we can't use our cheap rewriters.

There is a difference between not supporting something and specifically disabling support for things.

[ryaxnb]

Originally posted by undotwa:
Could not apple compromise by mixing brushed elements with aqua but then allowing developers to pick their own texture to make things interesting (yet not making the interface difficult to master). That way, every window will behave the same way (except utility windows).

They already do that.

[ryaxnb]

1. Ability to put both Quicktime (those water dripping, etc. ideas) movies and Quicktime VR movies, allowing for 360 or 480 panoramas. And, of course, they should include a variety of interesting panoramas to put on the desktop.
2. An option so that replaced files (that is, files that got replaced with another file) get put in the Trash, thus being easily recoverable.

[ryaxnb]

Originally posted by koffinkanser:
The ability to access contextual menus, system wide, by clicking and holding.

This way, users can either get a two-button mouse, ctrl-click, or hold the button down (like we already do with the dock)

Like spring-loaded folders, this can be turned on and off, and the delay time can be set to individual preference as well.

This way, Apple can keep the one-button mouse, which, honestly, rocks. It's simple and uncomplicated.

At the same time, the functionality of a two-button mouse can be available as well! And given that there is an option to turn it off and configure it to each user's liking, there's no reason for any complaints, i.e. "Why does the menu pop up everytime i try to drag the icon!?!"

Yes! A lot of the other suggestions are great too.

[ryaxnb]

2. A 2 button scrollwheel mouse OR allow us to un-bundle the Fischer-Price/Sesame Street one button mouse and substitute a Logitech 2 button scrollwheel mouse. This is the main thing that turns people OFF when sitting at a Mac for the first time. They expect 2 buttons, OS X has built-in support for 2 buttons, and anyone who can't fathom 2 buttons probably shouldn't be using a computer in the first place.

Hey, I like one-button mice.
And even fairly experienced computer users hit the wrong button. And on notebooks, one button is great.

It's sad that the first step in setting up a Mac has to be "throw mouse in garbage and spend MORE money on a useable mouse."

Ah, now one button mice aren't usable? Hello? They're more usable then two button mice.

3. Start calling the pointlessly-named "Command" key the "Apple" key, dammit. When trying to teach new Mac users (i.e. people I'm trying to convert from Windows) it would be nice if that key actually made some sense. Command? Where does it say command? What's the symbol for command? Apple key, please.

They tried that on the Apple II. And what is intuitive about the "apple" key? Command is a great name because it tells what the Command key does - give the computer commands.

Tell me this makes sense: Dell = shitty, cheap, off-the-shelf crap, but great advertising. Apple = best hardware/software, but totally ineffective advertising. Ask anyone on the street who the "Dell dude" is, or if they've heard of the "Dell interns", and almost everyone will tell you. Mention Apple, and they'll say "who?"

Ask anyone on the street who the Dell Dude is, and they'll say "some idiot making horrible ads who got arrested." Ask anyone on the street who Apple is and they'll say "Don't they make those incredible iPods?"

, useable command gets flushed down the toilet for.....what? How does Apple-Shift-N make more sense? It doesn't.

It does because Command+N means new finder window. That is a perfectly reasonable command.

[redJag]

Originally posted by ryaxnb:
They tried that on the Apple II. And what is intuitive about the "apple" key? Command is a great name because it tells what the Command key does - give the computer commands.

Personally, I like the term Command MUCH better. The Apple key is the unintuitive term. However, many older Apple users that I have to support don't have a clue what I mean when I say the Command key. Some even call it the clover key.

[Insecure bone]

I call it the function key