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the dock...adios!
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fisherKing
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Jul 22, 2009, 08:56 AM
 
i've been using os x since 10.2 came out. the one big thing i dislike about it (in 10.5 now, btw) is the dock; it wastes screen space (i'm on a 13" macbook); so i finally abandoned it.

am using "dock gone" to lock it away (i hit command-option-control-D to show or hide it). works great, no problems, and easy to use. i never really need to see the dock again LOL.

i have several programs always open (ie mail, safari, ical, etc); i put alias for my other important main apps (5 of them) on the desktop. anything else i need is in the Apps folder, easy to get to (cmmnd-shift-A).

so i now have my apps all fullscreen, and love not having the dock pop up all the time.

just mentioning!
"At first, there was Nothing. Then Nothing inverted itself and became Something.
And that is what you all are: inverted Nothings...with potential" (Sun Ra)
     
msuper69
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Jul 22, 2009, 10:04 AM
 
I have the Dock on auto-hide.

It's only there when I want it.

Same effect - no 3rd party hacks.
     
fisherKing  (op)
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Jul 22, 2009, 11:00 AM
 
Originally Posted by msuper69 View Post
I have the Dock on auto-hide.

It's only there when I want it.

Same effect - no 3rd party hacks.
only, at least on my 13" screen, the dock will popup if i'm over on the right, or the bottom, working (obviously wherever my dock is).

having full screen workspace and NO dock popping up is great!
"At first, there was Nothing. Then Nothing inverted itself and became Something.
And that is what you all are: inverted Nothings...with potential" (Sun Ra)
     
lpkmckenna
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Jul 22, 2009, 11:04 AM
 
I switch back and forth between hiding and keeping at the bottom. I think today I'll go back to keeping it at the bottom.

I would totally prefer it if Apple would merge the Dock and Menu Bar. Oh well.
     
Dakar V
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Jul 22, 2009, 11:15 AM
 
The Dock still loves you, even if you don't love it.
     
Salty
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Jul 24, 2009, 11:13 AM
 
I find the dock really useful, even if I don't always use it. I imagine command TAB must be very useful for you
     
richwig83
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Jul 24, 2009, 11:34 AM
 
Running certain apps full screen is actually a huge waste of screen space.. depends what your doing i suppose! :-)
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colourfastt
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Jul 24, 2009, 02:56 PM
 
Originally Posted by richwig83 View Post
Running certain apps full screen is actually a huge waste of screen space.. depends what your doing i suppose! :-)
Full-screen is a switchers way of working.
     
Salty
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Jul 24, 2009, 03:35 PM
 
I tend to run Safari a lot of the time, and Adium. Adium window tends to fall behind whatever I'm working with, I don't feel a need to have it full screen since half the time I keep reading what I was reading when I'm in a chat with someone while I'm not writing and they're not talking. iTunes typically has a closed window as does Mail and most other apps I'm running. When I'm in Photoshop I run that as full screen in it's own space, as well as Illustrator, or iWeb. I think Spaces is a lot better of a way to run things full screen, so they're the only thing you're doing but not full screen. I actually work with a second monitor for my MacBook, so I'm also often watching TV shows on my MacBook's display while I draw on my samsung monitor or something.
     
richwig83
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Jul 24, 2009, 04:05 PM
 
Originally Posted by colourfastt View Post
Full-screen is a switchers way of working.
True.. my old man still does it.... bugs the hell out of me!
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fisherKing  (op)
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Jul 24, 2009, 05:48 PM
 
some funny comments. working in logic, or safari, or photoshop, indesign, etc...it's great having a fullscreen.
not sure why it's a switcher thing; why shouldn't the fullscreen be usable?

command tab used to be my best friend, now a three-finger swipe does it; love that! and don't miss the dock at all...
"At first, there was Nothing. Then Nothing inverted itself and became Something.
And that is what you all are: inverted Nothings...with potential" (Sun Ra)
     
shifuimam
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Jul 24, 2009, 06:12 PM
 
Originally Posted by fisherKing View Post
not sure why it's a switcher thing; why shouldn't the fullscreen be usable?
A good number of Mac users wholly believe that fullscreen/maximized windows is a universally bad or "broken" way of using applications on a computer. Why this myth has propagated so thoroughly is beyond me.

At any rate, I make my dock super tiny (but not so tiny I can't see the icons clearly), use TinkerToy to shove it to the left so that my icons are in muscle-memory locations, and turn off magnification. It works pretty well for me, especially since on my PowerMac G4 I've got enough icons that the dock is almost the width of my display, even at a small size.
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0157988944
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Jul 24, 2009, 06:17 PM
 
logic, photoshop etc make sense full screen. Safari doesn't, at least for me. When I'm browsing, I'm usually chatting too and want to see the other chat windows.
     
richwig83
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Jul 24, 2009, 07:45 PM
 
It makes no sence to run Safari fullscreen... if you goto CNN.com - Breaking News, U.S., World, Weather, Entertainment & Video News for example, an reduce the width of the window until the point that the horizontal scroll bar appears! Any bigger than that is a waste of screen space! I can see why running logic full screen helps... but most people who use logic (that ive seen) put the dock on the left hand side to maximize height!
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fisherKing  (op)
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Jul 24, 2009, 08:08 PM
 
Originally Posted by richwig83 View Post
It makes no sence to run Safari fullscreen... if you goto CNN.com - Breaking News, U.S., World, Weather, Entertainment & Video News for example, an reduce the width of the window until the point that the horizontal scroll bar appears! Any bigger than that is a waste of screen space! I can see why running logic full screen helps... but most people who use logic (that ive seen) put the dock on the left hand side to maximize height!
i never understand why ANYONE (at least on a 13" macbook, but 15" etc too) would not appreciate the fullscreen...the space the dock uses, and the space at the sides (or on top & bottom if dock is on the side) serves little fuction.

anyway, on this macbook, fullscreen safari is great, as is logic etc.

whatever works! just sharing my own experience...
"At first, there was Nothing. Then Nothing inverted itself and became Something.
And that is what you all are: inverted Nothings...with potential" (Sun Ra)
     
mdc
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Jul 25, 2009, 12:32 AM
 
Originally Posted by richwig83 View Post
True.. my old man still does it.... bugs the hell out of me!
I have a client with a 30" Cinema Display that uses everything maximize. His columns in Mail are a few inches wide with 90% of it being white space. It kills me.

On topic though. I'm on a 13" and I hide the Dock to the bottom of the screen.
@fisherKing What happens to the stuff that is built into the Dock. I'm pretty sure Dashboard is? Not sure about Expose. Do those still work?
     
B Gallagher
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Jul 25, 2009, 01:04 AM
 
I use Firefox and GarageBand in full-screen (with the dock). Everything else (Mail, Address Book, etc) it just seems a waste of space to have in full screen.
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OreoCookie
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Jul 25, 2009, 08:37 AM
 
Originally Posted by fisherKing View Post
anyway, on this macbook, fullscreen safari is great, as is logic etc.

whatever works! just sharing my own experience...
I didn't even use fullscreen browsers on the 800x600 pixels^2 my PowerBook G3 had. There are a few apps that really benefit from being run in fullscreen mode, but a browser isn't really one of them.

I also don't get why the Dock's autohide feature isn't good enough for saving space? That's what I do and I can use the whole screen if I want to (e. g. for Aperture), but still have easy access to the Dock.
I don't suffer from insanity, I enjoy every minute of it.
     
fisherKing  (op)
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Jul 25, 2009, 09:11 AM
 
Originally Posted by mdc View Post
I have a client with a 30" Cinema Display that uses everything maximize. His columns in Mail are a few inches wide with 90% of it being white space. It kills me.

On topic though. I'm on a 13" and I hide the Dock to the bottom of the screen.
@fisherKing What happens to the stuff that is built into the Dock. I'm pretty sure Dashboard is? Not sure about Expose. Do those still work?
expose seems fine; if i lock or unlock the dock, dashboard needs to reload. if i leave the dock off all the time (which i do), dashboard is fine.

you can try dock gone, see if it's worth it...

again, fullscreen safari on a 13" screen is great, but i wouldn't need it on, say, a 20" imac.
and logic RULES fullscreen...
"At first, there was Nothing. Then Nothing inverted itself and became Something.
And that is what you all are: inverted Nothings...with potential" (Sun Ra)
     
DCJ001
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Jul 25, 2009, 01:59 PM
 
Originally Posted by mdc View Post
On topic though. I'm on a 13" and I hide the Dock to the bottom of the screen.
@fisherKing What happens to the stuff that is built into the Dock. I'm pretty sure Dashboard is? Not sure about Expose. Do those still work?
I use a 13" MacBook with some apps, like Safari, in full screen. I use Exposé and Dashboard, but with keyboard commands (F15 - F19). It makes more sense, to me, than using Dock icons for Exposé and Dashboard.
     
mdc
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Jul 25, 2009, 02:12 PM
 
DCJ001, sorry, I meant what happens to the actual Expose and Dashboard apps since, unless I'm mistaken, they need the Dock application to be running for them to work. Do they still work if the Dock isn't running?

edit:
I just downloaded Dock Gone and tried it for myself. Expose and Dashboard still work.
I still prefer just hiding the Dock.
     
DCJ001
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Jul 25, 2009, 03:16 PM
 
Originally Posted by mdc View Post
DCJ001, sorry, I meant what happens to the actual Expose and Dashboard apps since, unless I'm mistaken, they need the Dock application to be running for them to work. Do they still work if the Dock isn't running?

edit:
I just downloaded Dock Gone and tried it for myself. Expose and Dashboard still work.
I still prefer just hiding the Dock.
Me too. I rarely take my mouse to the bottom of my display, unless I'm choosing a dock application or an app in one of the fifteen folders in my dock. That's right - fifteen folders; each of which contains aliases for applications that have been categorized within the names of the folders - Internet, Photo, Music, Office, Google, Calculators, etc. It's my way of customizing my dock for efficiency. So Dock Gone wouldn't be good for me.
     
   
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