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You are here: MacNN Forums > Software - Troubleshooting and Discussion > macOS > Tiger: Most Underrated/Overrated features?

Tiger: Most Underrated/Overrated features?
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surferboy
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Apr 30, 2005, 02:32 PM
 
OK, I've played with my new install of Tiger on and off since last night. So far, I have clearly identified my personal "Most Underrated Feature": The RSS Visualizer screensaver. I absolutely love this feature. You can choose which RSS feed to watch. While the news tidbits are flashing, you have an option to hit a button and read more on the subject by connecting to the internet. The graphics are nice on this visualizer as well. So far, this is by far my "Most Underrated Feature". That said, I think spotlight is absolutely revolutionary. But, with its hype, it does not fit the definition of "Underrated".

Overrated: not sure- I'll have to play a little more and get back on that one.

Go ahead and list your opinions on the most Under and Overrated features....
     
MartiNZ
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Apr 30, 2005, 04:56 PM
 
Underrated, and a bit underdocumented as well: the slideshow from images folder feature. It's a really nice one, and much better than the other options (open images in Preview, upsize icons to 128x128, add to iPhoto library) in many cases. Plus the ability to show heaps of images like that in an expos� fashion, is really cool.

I think dashboard is maybe a bit overrated, although I do like how it has already produced a lot of 3rd-party innovation .

Having a dictionary and thesaurus built in is very nice.

The fact that windows can no longer be expanded to go under the dock is just great - even QuickTime, Word and Excel obey this - great for those who always have it on the screen .
     
OreoCookie
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Apr 30, 2005, 05:06 PM
 
Being able to print in envelopes
many changes under the hood that nobody sees, but that'll be really important in the future (near future?)

n: interface mess
n: what useful is a dictionary that's limited to only one language
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Deimos
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Apr 30, 2005, 05:12 PM
 
Slideshow has to be one of the most underrated features in Tiger. Surprised they aren't pushing this much more.

I hope more dictionaries become available, too.
     
Stradlater
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Apr 30, 2005, 05:20 PM
 
I don't think the dictionary is overrated. Oxford-based dictionary built-in? Much nicer than dictionary.com. And by the looks of it, the dictionary is plugin-based, so it leaves open the option for more to be added.
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beverson
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Apr 30, 2005, 05:54 PM
 
This one's pretty small, but the addition of an "Open at Login" selection in an application's Dock menu. You can toggle login items on and off right from the Dock -- no need for a trip to System Preferences, unless it's for a background app. Very cool.
( Last edited by beverson; Apr 30, 2005 at 05:55 PM. Reason: typo)
     
beverson
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Apr 30, 2005, 05:56 PM
 
Another small one: addition of Energy Saver presets to the battery menu for portables. Saves you another trip to System Preferences. Killer.
     
analogika
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Apr 30, 2005, 06:02 PM
 
Another vote for the RSS screensaver.

That one so totally blew me away - and it blows away every customer I show it to. Especially hitting a number key to go directly to that article.


The slideshow-from-just-about-anywhere feature rocks too. It even works from within Mail, when you receive photo attachments - there, it even includes the option to add them directly to iPhoto...
     
Luca Rescigno
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Apr 30, 2005, 06:03 PM
 
Overrated: Automator. I tried playing with it yesterday and while I did get a general feel for how it works, it's extremely limited. It has no branching logic at all, and if you want it to move things into a folder you have to select which folder in the workflow as you create it. So while it can create new folders as part of a workflow, any folder you actually refer to as part of the workflow must already exist when programming it.

Underrated: Command-control-D while the mouse pointer is touching a word gives you an instant definition. I saw this mentioned once and it is really, really cool!

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kman42
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Apr 30, 2005, 06:05 PM
 
Well, it's a corollary to the dictionary, but I think the most underrated feature is ctrl-opt-D. Sheer genius.
     
Geobunny
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Apr 30, 2005, 06:13 PM
 
Originally Posted by OreoCookie
what use is a dictionary that's limited to only one language
...and the American version of English at that!
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Luca Rescigno
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Apr 30, 2005, 06:15 PM
 
Wait, is it ctrl-opt-D or ctrl-cmd-D? I know cmd-opt-D is to show/hide the Dock, but I'm not at my Mac right now to see which it is.

The Yellow Pages widget is very useful, but I wish I could have it show me a Google map instead of Mapquest.

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Geobunny
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Apr 30, 2005, 06:19 PM
 
cmd-opt-d for show/hide dock, ctrl-cmd-d for dictionary definition (how did someone find that by the way?!)
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analogika
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Apr 30, 2005, 06:26 PM
 
Originally Posted by Luca Rescigno
Overrated: Automator. I tried playing with it yesterday and while I did get a general feel for how it works, it's extremely limited. It has no branching logic at all, and if you want it to move things into a folder you have to select which folder in the workflow as you create it. So while it can create new folders as part of a workflow, any folder you actually refer to as part of the workflow must already exist when programming it.
This is not true.

Check the options in each step.

You can tell it to ask you for a save or source location at every step you wish.

Also, automator plug-ins for Photoshop are already appearing, and IIRC, at least one major software vendor has today pledged that all future versions will be fully Automator-scriptable.
     
real
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Apr 30, 2005, 06:54 PM
 
Originally Posted by analogika
This is not true.

Check the options in each step.

You can tell it to ask you for a save or source location at every step you wish.

Also, automator plug-ins for Photoshop are already appearing, and IIRC, at least one major software vendor has today pledged that all future versions will be fully Automator-scriptable.

PUNK BEAT ME TO IT.

I did get the same feeling that Apple made automator sound(to me) that useing Automator would be easier, more well intuitive. But once you get the hang of it it rocks.

real
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Luca Rescigno
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Apr 30, 2005, 06:56 PM
 
Dang, I knew I should have used it more before talking about it. Oh well, I will use it some more and see if I can get all that stuff to work.

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surferboy  (op)
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Apr 30, 2005, 07:19 PM
 
cmd-control-d is truly incredible. Read about it here first. Still not sure about overrated, but on the surface, I'd say automator. I'll judge better once I've played with it more.
     
nonhuman
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Apr 30, 2005, 07:20 PM
 
Overrated: Dashboard. If you could set it so that the widgets were always visible over your desktop it might be worthwhile. If the interface wasn't confusing as hell (my dad, a life-long Mac user, couldn't figure it out) it might be worthwhile. As it is, I don't want to have to do anything special to see them. Also, being able to turn it off would be nice too.
     
analogika
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Apr 30, 2005, 07:24 PM
 
set the Dashboard key shortcut to "-" and remove it from the active corners.

No more Dashboard.

For me, Dashboard is *exactly* what I needed.
     
nonhuman
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Apr 30, 2005, 07:36 PM
 
Originally Posted by analogika
set the Dashboard key shortcut to "-" and remove it from the active corners.

No more Dashboard.

For me, Dashboard is *exactly* what I needed.
That's not turning it off, that's just making it so that I can't access it... But it looks like it's just the widgets that take any resources, so I turned them all off.
     
TETENAL
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Apr 30, 2005, 07:45 PM
 
I hate RSS!
     
analogika
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Apr 30, 2005, 07:49 PM
 
Originally Posted by nonhuman
That's not turning it off, that's just making it so that I can't access it... But it looks like it's just the widgets that take any resources, so I turned them all off.
Not one of my widgets use any CPU whatsoever when I don't actually have Dashboard showing.

And that's on a 400 MHz G3.
     
cybergoober
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Apr 30, 2005, 07:59 PM
 
Originally Posted by Geobunny
cmd-opt-d for show/hide dock, ctrl-cmd-d for dictionary definition (how did someone find that by the way?!)
It is listed under Keyboard Shortcuts in the Keyboard & Mouse System Preferences pane...

That's how I found it.
     
CharlesS
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Apr 30, 2005, 08:05 PM
 
Originally Posted by analogika
Not one of my widgets use any CPU whatsoever when I don't actually have Dashboard showing.

And that's on a 400 MHz G3.
What's more, if I don't use Dashboard for a sufficient amount of time, the widgets seem to "go to sleep" in that the next time I invoke Dashboard, the widgets are blank until they've had a second to "wake up."

So, I'm pretty sure they're not doing anything when the Dashboard isn't visible.

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nonhuman
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Apr 30, 2005, 08:19 PM
 
Originally Posted by surferboy
cmd-control-d is truly incredible. Read about it here first. Still not sure about overrated, but on the surface, I'd say automator. I'll judge better once I've played with it more.
Holy crap, that is awesome.
     
michaelb
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Apr 30, 2005, 09:42 PM
 
Originally Posted by surferboy
cmd-control-d is truly incredible.
Agreed, I'd vote for this too.

Just in case people don't know what you're talking about:

in a Cocoa based app such as Safari which you might be using right now, point to a word with the mouse cursor and press ctrl-cmd-D.

A little panel will pop up with a dictionary definition of the word.
     
sodamnregistered2
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Apr 30, 2005, 10:16 PM
 
The dictionary features are very cool, but...

The Dictionary is overrated because it does not help you find words you can't spell. That's the number 1 reason I'll still be hitting up dictionary.com.
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Spliff
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Apr 30, 2005, 11:47 PM
 
Dashboard is overrated. And it's a freakin' memory pig.
     
Hi I'm Ben
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Apr 30, 2005, 11:54 PM
 
Originally Posted by sodamnregistered2
The dictionary features are very cool, but...

The Dictionary is overrated because it does not help you find words you can't spell. That's the number 1 reason I'll still be hitting up dictionary.com.
?
     
jyunderwood
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May 1, 2005, 01:26 AM
 
underratted for me would also be the mouse pointer/dictionary key command but I have a hard time getting it work on pdf files. on one it worked on all others it hasn't. overratted would be dashboard. there is some usefullness to it but I feel it takes the same amount of time and effort to use apps or a webpage for a purpose

also I wish the RSS screensaver could harvest or whatever on it's own instead of needing safari. I like netnewswire and don't plan on using safari for rss but I have to keep some there for them to show up in the screen saver options.
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sodamnregistered2
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May 1, 2005, 03:54 AM
 
Originally Posted by Hi I'm Ben
?
Sweet.

I was not misspelling the words correctly.

Ok, dictionary is gonna get some use.
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workerbee
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May 1, 2005, 05:57 AM
 
Originally Posted by nonhuman
Overrated: Dashboard. (snip) Also, being able to turn it off would be nice too.
True, true.
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Deimos
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May 1, 2005, 06:52 AM
 
Another underrated one, but more of a sub-feature to Dictionary. Lookup "wtf" in Dictionary.
     
WJMoore
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May 1, 2005, 07:45 AM
 
Another underrated one, but more of a sub-feature to Dictionary. Lookup "wtf" in Dictionary.
Nice, how long until someone kicks up a stink about that coz their kid found it?

The Yellow Pages widget is very useful, but I wish I could have it show me a Google map instead of Mapquest.
See this hint: http://www.macosxhints.com/article.p...50424065456133

Overrated: Dashboard. If you could set it so that the widgets were always visible over your desktop it might be worthwhile.
I believe they call that Konfabulator...
     
analogika
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May 1, 2005, 08:12 AM
 
Originally Posted by WJMoore
Nice, how long until someone kicks up a stink about that coz their kid found it?
Let's outlaw dictionaries.

They corrupt minds.


Edit:
Dr Johnson was asked by a lady: �Dr, why did you include dirty words in your dictionary?�
The great lexicographer replied: �Madam, you were looking for them.�
     
mjarski15
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May 1, 2005, 08:15 AM
 
Originally Posted by nonhuman
Overrated: Dashboard. If you could set it so that the widgets were always visible over your desktop it might be worthwhile.
This thread explains how to do what you want.
http://forums.macnn.com/showthread.php?t=254261
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nonhuman
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May 1, 2005, 12:09 PM
 
Originally Posted by mjarski15
This thread explains how to do what you want.
http://forums.macnn.com/showthread.php?t=254261
Yeah, I found that. Thanks.
     
foobars
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May 1, 2005, 02:50 PM
 
Originally Posted by nonhuman
Overrated: Dashboard. If you could set it so that the widgets were always visible over your desktop it might be worthwhile. If the interface wasn't confusing as hell (my dad, a life-long Mac user, couldn't figure it out) it might be worthwhile. As it is, I don't want to have to do anything special to see them. Also, being able to turn it off would be nice too.
1) Go to Dashboard
2) Select a widget from the new widget tray DO NOT LET GO
3) Hit the Dashboard hotkey
4) Let go

This is probally a bug, not a feature

And:

Hit command-R while hovering over widgets
     
coldfusion1970
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May 1, 2005, 02:51 PM
 
Originally Posted by analogika
Another vote for the RSS screensaver.

That one so totally blew me away - and it blows away every customer I show it to. Especially hitting a number key to go directly to that article.


The slideshow-from-just-about-anywhere feature rocks too. It even works from within Mail, when you receive photo attachments - there, it even includes the option to add them directly to iPhoto...
I wish it had the option to change the background colour (like MacWatch3d) as that blue haze gives me a headache. All i want is a black background with white text.
     
nonhuman
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May 1, 2005, 02:58 PM
 
Originally Posted by foobars
1) Go to Dashboard
2) Select a widget from the new widget tray DO NOT LET GO
3) Hit the Dashboard hotkey
4) Let go

This is probally a bug, not a feature

And:

Hit command-R while hovering over widgets
Then hit F12 two more times and it goes away. It is a feature, but not one that was intended to make it into the release.
     
JohnnyFive
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May 1, 2005, 03:06 PM
 
Originally Posted by coldfusion1970
I wish it had the option to change the background colour (like MacWatch3d) as that blue haze gives me a headache. All i want is a black background with white text.
RSS Screensaver is truly underrated. However, I couldn't find a way to add custom feeds. Is there any way this could be done?
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coldfusion1970
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May 1, 2005, 03:13 PM
 
Originally Posted by JohnnyFive
RSS Screensaver is truly underrated. However, I couldn't find a way to add custom feeds. Is there any way this could be done?
You have to add them through Safari.
Bookmark any RSS feed in Safari and its available in the RSS screensaver.
     
Randman
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May 1, 2005, 03:15 PM
 
macosxhints had some hints on using Quartz Composer to change the color.

I think Safari 2.0 is one of the best things so far (along with Spotlight). It's very fast, even better than 1.3. The rss is a nice touch as well. Very understated but cool and I haven't even mentioned the private browsing yet.

Automator is certainly cool but I haven't done much with it so far.

This is a computer-generated message and needs no signature.
     
analogika
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May 1, 2005, 03:47 PM
 
Originally Posted by coldfusion1970
I wish it had the option to change the background colour (like MacWatch3d) as that blue haze gives me a headache. All i want is a black background with white text.
Heh. The blue works perfectly here in Germany, since one of our primary newssources - and my site of choice - is www.tagesschau.de .

     
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May 1, 2005, 04:27 PM
 
the most underrated feature for me is the way boosted airport reception!!! i used to only get 2-3 bars on my PB maximum, now I haven't dropped below full reception.
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real
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May 1, 2005, 04:53 PM
 
IS the Slide show from the finder only with G4 and up doesn't seem to work with a ibook G3. The Option is there in the menu but doesn't do the show. Anyone!
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Geobunny
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May 1, 2005, 05:03 PM
 
Originally Posted by foobars
1) Go to Dashboard
Hit command-R while hovering over widgets
Heh, how wonderfully pointless!
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jedifunk
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May 1, 2005, 05:04 PM
 
i cant seem to get the ctrl+cmd+d definition thingy to work. tried it in safari, preview, and mail, and nothing. i went into the sys prefs & looked @ keyboard shortcuts and its set to ^+cmd+d, so whats the deal? getting frustrated cuz i would use that feature quite a bit if it worked.
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MrForgetable
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May 1, 2005, 05:06 PM
 
you have to launch dictionary
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real
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May 1, 2005, 05:08 PM
 
Nevermind Got it to work, needed a little repair permissions.


As for the dictionary thing sometimes the cursor needs to be in the right place.
With some loud music + a friend to chat nearby you can get alot done. - but jezz, I'd avoid it if I had the choice---- If only real people came with Alpha Channels.......:)
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