[clarkgoble]

Well we've all played with 10.2 and probably loaded 10.2.1. So what major features are still missing?

I'd say that while networking has improved, it still needs work, especially hooking up to Windows printers. I don't mind that integrated FTP doesn't work since I tend to use the command line for that.

The Finder is night and day above the 10.1 Finder (IMO). Indeed that's finally what made me decide to go out and get a new G4 for home instead of a PC. However one thing I wish is that "unknown" extensions don't get simply labelled "document." Right now when I sort by type so as to easily select all files of a certain extension it won't work because all sorts of different extensions get the same "type." Very frustrating.

Everyone mentions better "comments" or "labels" support, and I'd second that, although it isn't a big deal.

I'd definitely like to have better metadata and perhaps something like a filter you can apply to the current view in the Finder. (i.e. display only .c, .cpp, and .h files)

For Mail I'd really wish that HTML mail had more features, such as indentation using the blockquote tag. That's really annoying as I was used to quoting using that sort of indentation. (I hate blue bars to the left of text) I also wish that you could resize the drawer with the list of mailboxes. I use short names and small icons, but it won't let me resize it accordingly.

[Adam Betts]

Why the F do people still want metadata when Steve Jobs and every Apple staffs said "NO, you will not be getting it anytime no matter how high the demand are."

I like the new way better than metadata, that's for sure

[KaptainKaya]

I agree about the metadata thingy. I would like to see tabbed folders return, but I'm not demanding them. Maybe along the sides of the screen would be cool.

[Brass]

Originally posted by Adam Betts:
Why the F do people still want metadata when Steve Jobs and every Apple staffs said "NO, you will not be getting it anytime no matter how high the demand are."

I like the new way better than metadata, that's for sure

Huh? You cannot have a file system without metadata... it just wouldn't work!

There's lot's of Metadata used by Mac OS X at the moment. 3 different types of date/time stamps, ownership and permissions, file names, file types, etc, etc, etc.

Yes, File names ARE metadata, and so are file types, even if they are stored as part of the file name.

When did anyone at Apple ever say they would not be using metadata in OS X? That's absurd.

In fact, it looks as though Apple are currently investigating ways to use file type metadata better in OS X, as the current system is so badly flawed, and terribly limitted.

Even if Apple had said that, why on earth would that change what people want? We're not all brainwashed by Apple... we don't base our desires on what they say we should be happy with!

[Terri]

Some kind of Labels are a really big one for me.

The Open/Save dialogs are really lacking. You can't view by date, can't type a letter to go to. I would really like to turn off column view. I really like the Open/Save dialogs of System 9.

Tabbed folders would be nice. Actually being able to split the dock up would work well. I already use Windowshade and Fruit menu so right now I'm really just using the dock for an application switcher along with ASM. If I could split the dock up then I could use it for tabbed folders, at least if they put spring loaded folders in it.

More themes. I want a neutral gray one, something like the platinum color of System 9.

Some way to move windows besides the title bar. I'm not sure I want borders like in System 9, but a key combo or something. I've already had to deal with stuck windows that I couldn't move because I couldn't get to the title bar, just like before System 8 days.

A recent servers menu like back in System 9. Also I should be able to select the recent docs, folders, and apps menu and let go so that a window opens up with the alias in it. Like the way it works in System 9.

Feedback when I have a folder or app open in the Finder. Feedback on scroll thumbs. Feedback when I have selected a folder in the menu bar. Again just like it works under System 9.

I'm sure that I could think of more things. I agree that 10.2 is a major improvement.

[milhous]

All I want is a stripped-down implementation of Aqua as an option. There's no reason why a system should work so hard to activate pull down menues and menu transparency and then for the menu to fade away in a nice manner. Wireframe resizes also should be implement as an option for the simple reason that real-time resizes at this time are just not nice and is in a sense counter-productive especially for pros.

After booting back into OS 9 for the first time in two months, I just love the fact that the menus and the interface activate without hesitation. The interface is quick and lean and doesn't act like it's under duress like X.

I'm sure this could be implemented for next to nothing. It would be really nice to integrate the traditional look and feel of OS 9 for those users who do not need that much eye candy like professionals who require instant GUI gratification.

[Deal]

Did anybody notice, in pre Jag X, you could get info on a folder, and then click another folder without having to re-get info and the get info box would show you the data of the next folder.

In Jag, you have to re-get info for every folder you want.

Now they both have advantages. If you need to compare a bunch of folders with get info side by side, Jag is better. But if you want to brows accross several folders (or apple click multiple folder) you could watch the info change on the fly. This was great in Pre-Jag.

I would really like a preference somewhere to toggle that on and off.

WIshfull thinking I'm sure. Most people could care less. But for some admin pushing lots of data around, it made my life easier before they changed it.

[gorgonzola]

Originally posted by Deal:
Did anybody notice, in pre Jag X, you could get info on a folder, and then click another folder without having to re-get info and the get info box would show you the data of the next folder.

In Jag, you have to re-get info for every folder you want.

Now they both have advantages. If you need to compare a bunch of folders with get info side by side, Jag is better. But if you want to brows accross several folders (or apple click multiple folder) you could watch the info change on the fly. This was great in Pre-Jag.

I would really like a preference somewhere to toggle that on and off.

WIshfull thinking I'm sure. Most people could care less. But for some admin pushing lots of data around, it made my life easier before they changed it.

They actually do have both. Cmd-I does the old-school Get Info (multiple windows) and Cmd-Opt-I (single window inspector) does that thing you're looking for. You have to hit cmd-opt instead of cmd, but hey, at least it's there.

[passmaster16]

Above all, I would just like to see the performance of the GUI improved. 10.2 was a good start but it can be faster. Or at least what one of the previous posters mentioned, at the very least give the user the option to go to a leaner version. Or give the user more flexiblity to turn off certain effects that slow down the GUI.

[OverclockedHomoSapien]

These aren't the only changes I'd make to OS X, but I'd like to see the following improvements to Open/save dialogues:

�Save the view from last time.

�Scrollwheel support.

�Adjustable collumns....the view should be the same as a finder window in collumn view.

�This is a cool feature from Windows: I want to be able to click on a file and have its name appear in the file name box. This helps when I'm saving lots of files with identical names except for a number or letter.

�The top of the save dialogue could have the same icons as the finder toolbar for locations, including the Computer location to navigate different volumes easily, and then a pull-down menu for favorites. This would make navigating as easy as it is in the finder in collumn view. There's no reason not to have this sort of navigation support in open/save dialogues.

�Of course, carbon and cocoa should have identical open/save dialogues.

�There should be built-in finder support for saving directly to PDF format and also for file encryption. The technology is there, just put a GUI on it.

�Permit renaming of folders and items in the open/save dialogue. It can be done the same as in a Finder view.

�Have some view options, such as font size and icon size.

Aside from these changes, I'd also like to see some improvements to the dock:

1. Spring-loaded folders in the dock.

2. A utility for creating and managing "apple menus" in the dock, i.e., for creating folders filled with aliases, and giving these folders custom icons. I can do this no problem, but many new OS X users don't realize that this can be done with the dock, and to compensate they fill the dock with every app icon they have, making it unusable. Apple needs to lead people through this with a dock utility, it could be a tab within the dock preferences in system preferences.

3. Additional dock customization features, like separators, spaces, and the ability to create multiple docks.

4. How about the option of separating the trash from the dock and giving it its own small "dock"? I'd like to be able to put it in a corner and keep it hidden, then have it pop up whenever I drag something to said corner.

FINDER: Jaguar's finder is an enormous improvement over Puma's. Still, it needs better threading and more performance optimizations. I don't want to see the spinning LSD-cursor ever again. List view should work instantaneously, menus should pop open instantly, and the Finder should never stall or become unresponsive when doing network activity. Much of this comes down to better threading.

Aqua: I like Aqua in Jaguar very much, but scrolling and window resizing still need work. Apple needs to nail window resizing so it's instantaneous, I don't care how they do it. Maybe they need to find a way to hardware accelerate more of Quartz? I'm no programmer but it must be possible to have fast live resizing, because in Windows XP it's fast enough to keep up with cursor movement. I want the same for OS X.

[funkboy]

I don't think I need anything more in OS X, save for the aforementioned things.

I need new hardware to *run* the darn thing on

[DeathMan]

I'd like to see a nice wrapper on cron, with some capabilities for setting up jobs. A nice graphical way to schedule jobs. That would be really cool.

I'd also like to kill specific windows. like if there is one explorer window that I know is hanging up, i'd like to just be able to kill that one, leaving the others in tact. I don't know how feasible that is, but hey, the cron thing alone is asking a lot.

I agree that the save/open dialoges can be better.

I don't care if they make a stripped down window manager or not, if they can get things opening and closing a little quicker. I want it it be like butter. I think they have a great idea with the glassy look, but it needs to be smooth as glass when redrawing, not just sitting there. Faster machines are already pushing the level I'm talking about. It will be nice when the "average" machine looks smooth like that.

SMB browsing should be limited to only windows machines that have sharing turned on. It's a little confusing otherwise.

Other than that I think things are really great. I'm very happy with Jaguar, and personally have had no problems with it.

Also they should make a nice tar app iTar (??) because stuffit bites the big one.

[yuriwho]

Try downloading cronnix from versiontracker. It's a pretty good gui on crontab.

Y

[Ibson]

Originally posted by DeathMan:
I'd also like to kill specific windows. like if there is one explorer window that I know is hanging up, i'd like to just be able to kill that one, leaving the others in tact. I don't know how feasible that is, but hey, the cron thing alone is asking a lot.

That simply isn't possible on a Mac system. On Windows, each explorer window is actually a new instance of the Internet Explorer application; it loads quickly because most of the functionality is hidden away in those nasty DLL files.

Each window doesn't have its own memory space, it is part of the application's global memory space. A window is no more significant to an application in terms of memory isolation than a button or menu. But the cron idea sounds nice. I'm sure Apple could implement it in a really neat and intuitive way.

[eplegutt1]

Is there a chance that Apple will make the QE engine working with PCI based graphic cards? I'm stuck with my 16 MB ATI Rage 128 in my B&W

[biscuit]

Originally posted by eplegutt1:
Is there a chance that Apple will make the QE engine working with PCI based graphic cards? I'm stuck with my 16 MB ATI Rage 128 in my B&W

Sorry to have to tell you, but QE will never work on a Rage 128. It doesn't support the necessary features, multi-layer transparency is the culprit IIRC.

However, you can get QE to work on PCI Radeon cards. It saturates the PCI bus so your other cards would be screwed, but it might be worth a try if you can pick up a cheap card. Go for lots of VRAM as that will alieviate the bus traffic.

As for OS X, I love it but some things aren't right. It misses some of the small details, but then this is only the third revision I suppose...

biscuit

Edit: Re-read your post and saw you said would Apple 'make' it work. Well I think the answer is no there too. I guess they don't see the point in investing resources to make it work with cards that are now obselete. All new Macs ship with compatible ones.

[Targon]

Originally posted by Adam Betts:
Why the F do people still want metadata when Steve Jobs and every Apple staffs said "NO, you will not be getting it anytime no matter how high the demand are."

I like the new way better than metadata, that's for sure

Hey Adam, change a DMG file's extension from .dmg to .txt and see what happens. Great init, just like Winhoez the file has totally lost all association witht he application that it belongs to.

Im finding this new behavior rather disturbing lately.

[chris_h]

Originally posted by Targon:


Hey Adam, change a DMG file's extension from .dmg to .txt and see what happens. Great init, just like Winhoez the file has totally lost all association witht he application that it belongs to.

Im finding this new behavior rather disturbing lately.

That is infinately better than the system OS9 had.
I've spent most of my computer life as a lunix dork, but I still don't know how to change a file's association in OS9, without using some crappy shareware app.
I'm talking about changing the type/creator codes. Which, by the way, are only marginally better than file extensions... most of the codes are arbitrary and dumb... i mean, MOOV? what the flying fvck?
And then there'd be files that double-click behavior was really dumb.
My favorite example was a something.pl file I had downloaded from somewhere. It was just plain text. Double clicking it said "choose an application to open this file" and the list had a few dumb things in it (like quicktime) but they were ALL greyed out... I also couldn't open it from simpletext because simpletext wouldn't show it in the open dialog.

That sysem was terminally retarded.

OSX's right click> open with/always open with is perfect.

[Developer]

Originally posted by chris_h:

I'm talking about changing the type/creator codes. Which, by the way, are only marginally better than file extensions... most of the codes are arbitrary and dumb... i mean, MOOV? what the flying fvck?

I happily agree with you that it was very unfortunate that there was no user interface to change the document->application binding in OS 9. But I disagree with you that the type/creator codes were poorly chosen. They are just numbers and have never been intended to be user readable. Any arbitrary number is as good as any other. What was intended to be user readable was the kind string associated with the type/creator codes. For MOOV that was something like "QuickTime Movie". Any interface designed to let the user change the file type would have to show the user readable kind string instead of the raw file type code. That most of the time type and creator codes that translate to somewhat memorizable ASCII have been chosen was just a convenience for the developers that registered those codes.

[Stephane]

Originally posted by Terri:
Some kind of Labels are a really big one for me.

The Open/Save dialogs are really lacking. You can't view by date, can't type a letter to go to. I would really like to turn off column view. I really like the Open/Save dialogs of System 9.

I vote for this one too and the ability to manage things inside the Save window (rename a folder, change the folder label color...) before saving a file. For now you have to go find the folder, modify things then get back to the app to open Save box.

Tabbed folders would be nice. Actually being able to split the dock up would work well. [...] If I could split the dock up then I could use it for tabbed folders, at least if they put spring loaded folders in it.

I mourn the old Launcher aiblity to switch between categories of buttons (Video, Office, Graphics... for example) : I tried 3rd party solutions but nothing equals the old Laucher ease of use.
You always have to : keep the original dock hidden while using Dragthing for example or have several docks or use a control console to switch between docks...
I think Apple could come with a clever way to switch between different docks (for the Applications part only, keeping the minimized folders, files, windows common to different docks), even by simply dragging a file of the adequate icon.
Imagine 4 icons a the left side of the dock representing 4 different dock configs; then when you drag a file on the "Graphics" icon, it displays your graphics apps, you then drop you jpg file on you Graphic Converter icon and the dock can even go back to its standard (read common used apps) config. The user can use customized icons etc.
The advantage is that besides the icons corresponding to different docks, nothing goes against Apple GUI coherence. And use of separators. And the dock will still look alike the one we have now.

More themes. I want a neutral gray one, something like the platinum color of System 9.

I would just say a less intrusive Graphite one (Graphite contrast too much with windows textures/backgrounds) and maybe flatter scroll buttons (like the new ones in dialog boxes). Graphite folders also : when you works on graphics, the more discreet the GUI the better.

Some way to move windows besides the title bar. I'm not sure I want borders like in System 9, but a key combo or something. I've already had to deal with stuck windows that I couldn't move because I couldn't get to the title bar, just like before System 8 days.

Triple "yes" to this one.

A recent servers menu like back in System 9. Also I should be able to select the recent docs, folders, and apps menu and let go so that a window opens up with the alias in it. Like the way it works in System 9.

Yeah true.

Also, I would like a way to edit favorites in "Go To" dialog box displaying the connected servers list : since Jaguar doesn't see all the Macs on a network, I often have to use the IP address of the one I want to reach. I would like to be able to name it like I want and edit its IP address (you know like in some browsers Favorites ). Also I use different networks (Powerbook owner) and I would like to be able to clear the recent servers list (many macs I will never see again).

[IonCable]

I'd like to see a system level theme support or at least more customization built in. I know there are haxies, but I avoid them. I like a stable system that doesn't get broke with an update.

Of example I'd like a "icon library" and when I make a new folder be able to use a contextual menu to select a custom icon for it. I'd like more color choices than Graphite and Aqua.

Pop-up windows would be nice. I know I can put folders in the dock but I like pop-up folders.

I want all apps to be Dock a where and NOT open windows into the dock space.

However I Love OS X since the beta

[C.J. Moof]

I'd love a remote login system like Window's RDP. Timbuktu and VNC are nice, but they're pathetically slow compared to RDP. Give me a java-based client app that I can carry on my USB keychain drive, or run in a webpage like gotomypc.com.

Applescript Folder Actions.

When previewing a jpeg in column view, tell me the pixel dimensions.

Stop apps from declaring themselves the frontmost as they feel like. If Stuffit Expander was a physical object, I woulda smacked it with a baseball bat LONG ago for throwing it's progress window in front of me while I'm typing a letter/email/forum post/ect. The user should control what app is frontmost, not the computer. It should NEVER interrupt my interaction with the interface unless it needs to tell me my chair is on fire. You are my servant, computer. Act like it.

More transparent window feedback, as in the brightness and volume controls. What if that stuffit progress bar was a click-through onionskin where I could see what was happening, while I continued to write this post? Then diskcopy could mount the .img and keep me informed the same way. I would love that.

[daftpig]

Originally posted by Terri:


More themes. I want a neutral gray one, something like the platinum color of System 9.

You could try a theme called 'workspace'... it's on the site from which Makki is downloaded from.. not sure if it's by the same author tho.

But it's the MOST neutral of themes I've come across for X. it doesnt have the bluish tint of graphite... just gray but a much lighter gray than platinum tho.


kwok

[clebin]

I agree that the Finder still isn't good enough.

Particularly the Connect To Server functionality. My AD domains from work still appear when I'm at home. If I accidentally click on one, it goes searching. While it does this 10 minute search, it locks up the Finder so you can't even restart it.

And as I explained in another thread, SMB in the Finder still has problems that the command line smbclient doesn't.

EDIT: And the fact that you can browse to the server, but not see what shares are available is plain crap. There's a command line utility for this - why not incorporate this into Jaguar's 'marvellous' networking GUI?

CUPS is also something of a botch to get working.

Considering they made such a big thing of networking in Jaguar, you think they would bothered to make this stuff work first. Traditional Apple ease-of-use is being heavily compromised in this area.

Chris

ps. oh, and let's have the install CD boot straight into the Finder a la OS 9.

[xi_hyperon]

Originally posted by C.J. Moof:
Stop apps from declaring themselves the frontmost as they feel like. If Stuffit Expander was a physical object, I woulda smacked it with a baseball bat LONG ago for throwing it's progress window in front of me while I'm typing a letter/email/forum post/ect. The user should control what app is frontmost, not the computer. It should NEVER interrupt my interaction with the interface unless it needs to tell me my chair is on fire. You are my servant, computer. Act like it.

Wow. One of the best feedbacks I've seen so far.

[pliny]

printing in the finder ala desktop printer would be nice to see again. don't know why this was ever removed, it is very useful.

[macaddled]

Originally posted by pliny:
printing in the finder ala desktop printer would be nice to see again. don't know why this was ever removed, it is very useful.

how? I always found the desktop printer idea unnecessary and annoying. what function did it serve that can't be emulated by having the print center in the dock?

[Terri]

Originally posted by daftpig:

But it's the MOST neutral of themes I've come across for X. it doesnt have the bluish tint of graphite... just gray but a much lighter gray than platinum tho.

That would be a start, but platinum is still the best. I came to computers from being a photographer. Platinum is real close to the 18% grey cards that we would use for calibration. They really got it right when platinum came out.

Also I really don't want to hack my system with themes that always seem to break or get messed up someplace.



_

[clarkgoble]

I have to agree that other applications bringing up windows is annoying. That's the #1 complaint I have on Windows which does it *all* the time. It is also a security risk in public environments as it frequently happens while I'm typing a password. OSX is actually considerably better in this regard, and I believe it is GUI guidelines to simply have the hopping icon in the dock. But there are a few, like Stuffit, that chap my hide.

Two other things I thought about are more for Unix weenies. First off some standard GUI for common Unix commands would be nice. They don't have to be known to users. We have the /Developers directory for all those (potentially dangerous) tools. Why not one like that for some Unix apps like a GUI for cron or related things. Perhaps Apple has an incentive not to do this because of OSX Server, but many tools would do to have a common interface.

On the other hand a lot of this would become somewhat moot if there was a TK port to Aqua so we could do that easier with Python or (ugh) Perl. Yeah you can do a lot of this with Applescript Studio. But I think paying a couple of college kids for an internship could develop a lot of this. Hell, pay some shareware dude a few thousand for their apps would sometimes do the job - and probably give them more money than they'll earn by shareware payments.

Regarding the Open window. I agree with all those comments. Some of those can be fixed with Default Folder. But the column view in both the Finder and the Open dialog does need more features as outlined.

BTW - does apple have a suggestion booth for these things? Do they actual read it? I'm curious as some of these suggestions seem pretty easy to implement. (As opposed to things like comments/labels which pose many conceptual problems)

[pliny]

Originally posted by macaddled:


what function did it serve that can't be emulated by having the print center in the dock?

printing in the finder--that is, dragging x number of documents to the printer icon, which would then spool and print each one by opening the app, spooling, closing the doc,printing the doc, etc. it was very quick. can't do that in X. can't drag anything to print center.

[El Pre$idente]

I want labels, speedy resizing, proper video acceleration (the interface jerky if you open a few different vids) and would like the Finder to have better multithreading.

Internet performance is very poor and for some reason I don't think it's the fault of all the browsers since they have all tried their best and none of them are as fast as Windows or Classic versions.

[k2director]

1) I'd like to see applications running in the background **NOT** slow down the interface for active apps. When I do a long render in Final Cut, and then go to Word or Navigator so I can continue to be productive, why does Final Cut's render (which is in the background) have to slow down Word or Navigator so much? (on a Ti 800). It shouldn't...

2) For PowerBooks, X's Finder often hangs when you go to sleep while connected to external servers (another Mac, idisk, etc.), and then wake up in a new location, without having a net connection.

3) This isn't OS X specific, but related: why don't more Apple apps use multi-threads? In Quicktime, if you do an export, it should run as a thread, so you can continue to do other stuff in the Player. Same thing with Final Cut--exporting and capturing should be a process that doesn't stop you from using the rest of the program.

4) In general, the interface could still be quicker when it comes to switching apps (it takes a second for open apps to come up when called from the Dock) and window scrolling is still bothersome.

[C.J. Moof]

Originally posted by macaddled:


how? I always found the desktop printer idea unnecessary and annoying. what function did it serve that can't be emulated by having the print center in the dock?

I liked desktop printing for the time you realize that your officemate is printing a 250 page document on the printer you just need that one simple page before the client meeting... open desktop printer, pick up your document, drop it onto an alternate printer, problem solved. I like having an interface element for each printer, with an icon that even LOOKS like the physical object it controls, vs Print Center's one-icon-fits-all approach. The ability to just pick up a document and drop it onto a printer was never really that useful, but just kinda cool.

I was going to compare this to how you'd do it with X and print center, but I'm forced to look at the pinwheel for about 7-10 seconds every time I ask for a print dialog. Aaaarrgggh. So let's put "speed up the print time!!!" onto the list. Well, speed up everything, really.....

And on the topic of printing, Paper Feed used to be on the first tab of the print dialog, where it belongs. I find the most commonly tweaked options to be the page range and a specific paper tray, which now takes visiting both Copies and Pages and Paper Feed screens on the laserwriter driver.
I will give praise for finally allowing mutiple, named presets and save as PDF right on the printer dialog tho. Those are wishes come true for me.


I think it's terrible that when you hide an app, it's minimized dock windows dissapear from the dock. But the dock icon doesn't (fortunately!) So I was to minimize my post window, switch to mail and hide others, I have to select the Omniweb app from the dock (getting a new blank window I don't want!), watch the document return to the dock, and then maximize my document to return to where I am now. Yuck. I put the document in the dock, I'd like it to stay there until I ask for it. I'd like my dock to not remove documents from it until I click them, drag them out, or quit the app. In my mind, the dock contents should be immune from the hiding command... my dock is already hidden until I go ask for it.

And could we PLEASE go back to updating a window's contents as soon as something is added to it, and not wait for a click to refresh it? As in get email with attachment, drag attachment to desktop, but then have to click Finder to the frontmost for the desktop to reflect that the attachment was copied there. We had this right many years ago.... I used to laugh at Win for needing a "refresh" contextual menu. I don't anymore.

"Connect to Server" is kinda confusing. My lefthand column looks like this:
MOOF
Moof Zone
moof.com
Local
WORKGROUP

(okay, not really, but I should be working... I'm not announcing where I'm not working ) MOOF= NT Domain, shows SMB clients. Moof Zone= Appletalk Zone. moof.com= I have no idea where it gets that from, it's blank. Local pulls the same list as Moof Zone, afaik. Workgroup does nothing. So behind which door is that server with the file I need?
At least give them differing icons... those of us on the forums might know the difference between an Appletalk zone and an NT domain, but the account rep down than hall doesn't care and shouldn't be expected to learn.

xi_hyperon: much appreciated!

[C.J. Moof]

Originally posted by C.J. Moof:
Applescript Folder Actions.

I actually just stumbled upon folder actions. I felt like Arthur Dent searching out the Display Department, but I found them.

I can't really tell why they decided to move from a contextual menu item to an interface based on running scripts to control this feature, but it is there. It seems to run on closed folders now too!

[clarkgoble]

Yeah, Print Center really needs to be drag and drop aware. I'd not thought of that because I rarely need to do it. But that is something that is (a) easy to add and (b) a glaring omission.

An other thing that has always bugged me is the inability to print directories from the Finder. Yeah there is shareware and having the Shell solves a lot of that now. However for "newbies" and just plain convenience it really ought to have a "Print" menu.

One other final thought. Am I the only one who hates the way the horizonal scroll bar works in the finder? When you click to the right or left of the tab in the scroll bar it doesn't move right or left one directory but "jumps" to that position in the graphical display. Trying to go up or down a directory is a pain in the Finder Column view. Once again something that ought to be trivial to fix and I honestly can't imagine anyone really liking it the way it is.


Once again -- anyone know where to send suggestions to Apple?

[voodoo]

Labels, labels, labels!

<said in a developer, developers, developers! kind of way>

[CheesePuff]

Originally posted by gorgonzola:


They actually do have both. Cmd-I does the old-school Get Info (multiple windows) and Cmd-Opt-I (single window inspector) does that thing you're looking for. You have to hit cmd-opt instead of cmd, but hey, at least it's there.

Holy poo you are the coolest.

[Ibson]

Originally posted by k2director:
1) I'd like to see applications running in the background **NOT** slow down the interface for active apps. When I do a long render in Final Cut, and then go to Word or Navigator so I can continue to be productive, why does Final Cut's render (which is in the background) have to slow down Word or Navigator so much? (on a Ti 800). It shouldn't...

...

3) This isn't OS X specific, but related: why don't more Apple apps use multi-threads? In Quicktime, if you do an export, it should run as a thread, so you can continue to do other stuff in the Player. Same thing with Final Cut--exporting and capturing should be a process that doesn't stop you from using the rest of the program.

...

1) This just isn't how computers work. For your dream to come true, you'd need a pretty powerful multi-processor machine. If you wanted Word to continue being responsive while you render, Final Cut Pro would have to take 10 times as long to complete the render. It's simply impossible to have a very processor-intensive task such as rendering going on, and then expect to be able to have good performance in other apps. on a single 800 MHz G4.

2) This is related to #1. Playing a movie is processor intensive. Exporting one is even more so. Doing those two things at the same time on a SP machine is ludicrous! Everything would slow to a crawl. Especially in something like FCP.

Any threaded task on a single processor machine is going to be slower than one running in the main thread. You know OmniWeb? It uses many threads, meaning it can crawl on a SP machine. Switch over to a DP one, and its so much faster.

What you want is simply impossible. Sorry.

[PowerMatt]

I want to be able to switch users (a la Win XP) while keeping programs running. I wouldn't mind stripped down Aqua but if it were there I would use it. The dock still needs improvement. Finally, I don't like how when i print in Word v.X, when I change settings in the print dialog, the "Print" buttons will expand behind the dock and sometimes off the screen altogether.

[OverclockedHomoSapien]

Originally posted by Terri:


That would be a start, but platinum is still the best. I came to computers from being a photographer. Platinum is real close to the 18% grey cards that we would use for calibration. They really got it right when platinum came out.

Also I really don't want to hack my system with themes that always seem to break or get messed up someplace.

_

No, YOU like Platinum the best. Many other Mac users have embraced Aqua as their favorite GUI and forgot about Platinum long ago.

Me, I love Aqua. It's gorgeous while being highly functional. Most of the eye candy serves a purpose, and compared to Windows XP Aqua is downright subtle. Where XP is gaudy and ugly, OS X is pretty and functional.


Well this is only MY opinion, but I think Aqua is the best GUI EVER designed for a personal computer. And since it's MY OWN opinion, it's more right than anyone else's opinion!

[chris_h]

Originally posted by Ibson:


2) This is related to #1. Playing a movie is processor intensive. Exporting one is even more so. Doing those two things at the same time on a SP machine is ludicrous!

My bullsh!t detector is going crazy.

On my 800mhz machine, I can be exporting a movie to MP4 in quicktime, and I can watch another movie (even something proc intensive like a divx) either in finder preview mode or one of the many shareware movie player apps.

The fact that quicktime player won't do anything else while its exporting is just lame.

[OverclockedHomoSapien]

Originally posted by pliny:


printing in the finder--that is, dragging x number of documents to the printer icon, which would then spool and print each one by opening the app, spooling, closing the doc,printing the doc, etc. it was very quick. can't do that in X. can't drag anything to print center.

Yeah this was a sweet feature. I never used it often, but when I did use it it was nice to have.

There are many details like this from OS 9 that OS X still needs to acquire. One wonders how many of the features are planned, and if planned, how many are actually done. I can envision Apple sitting on a mountain of small features derived from OS 9 so that they can bundle the features into each OS X point release for several years, thus providing a more compelling reason to pay for OS X upgrades. For example, I suspect that spring loaded folders were completed in time for the 10.0.0 release, but Apple waited so they would have a reason to charge full price for the Jaguar update.

It's all a diabolical plot, man!!!

[biscuit]

Originally posted by clarkgoble:
BTW - does apple have a suggestion booth for these things?

Yes they do. Its called the Mac OS X Feedback Page and I think we should all have it bookmarked.

Do they actual read it?

Who knows. But if we all send in enough feedback then the message will get through.

You guys should also check out this thread, although thats more about bugs.

biscuit

[OreoCookie]

A new filesystem. Just read an article about the new FreeBSD filesystem that is (sort of) journaled.
Other than that, a smart integration of database-like features into the filesystem would be very cool, especially for offices with several thousand docs.

A fluent GUI, I don't want to swim through molasses. Ever.

[khufuu]

The total annihilation of that evil little spinning lollipop would be my fav.....

[waffffffle]

Apple needs to implement classic window layering at the OS level. The current hacks that do it don't do it all that well, windows still pop up out of nowhere. I hate that an application's windows can be mixed in between another app's windows. That's just stupid. I guess it should be an option for those people that actually like it, but I can't stand it.

[chris_h]

Originally posted by waffffffle:
I hate that an application's windows can be mixed in between another app's windows.

I seriously don't understand what you're saying... you want something like single window mode?
don't you work with more than one app at a time?

[chris v]

Originally posted by chris_h:


I seriously don't understand what you're saying... you want something like single window mode?
don't you work with more than one app at a time?

He's probably referring to the stacking order, where different app's windows get between one another when you've got multiple apps with multiple windows open. If you click on a window title bar, just that window will com forward, instead of all the windows belonging to the app. I think if you click on the app icon in the dock, they'll all come foreward.

CV

[beb]

Shaded list-view windows.

[chris v]

Add option to turn off menu blinking/fade-out. This would do tons of good as far as percieved speed goes.

CV