MacDailyNews - Where Mac news comes first

1 - I wish we had uninstaller! (Windows XP)

May 01, 08 - 02:21 pm Comment from: dd

Um, by uninstaller, you mean the trash can, right? Cool. That's what I thought you meant. It's the last icon in the dock.

I got one...

How about when you maximize a window, how come on a Mac it just doesn't fill the screen with that window?

On Windows, it actually auto-sizes to fit the screen.

There is one Windows feature I still miss - the ability to click on say the green dot in a mac window and enlarge it to the extents of the physical screen.

May 01, 08 - 02:25 pm Comment from: HotinPlaya

What about Space's ??

That is my favorite feature of 10.5

May 01, 08 - 02:30 pm Comment from: tenderisthemind

@HotinPlaya

Spaces = "2. Virtual Workspaces"

May 01, 08 - 02:31 pm Comment from: ericdano

BOSD? Um, spyware. Active X. VBA. All those things are great (tongue in cheek).

I can think of one feature that microsoft has, that apple doesn't. right click on desktop, new, and choose which new anything you want, whether its a folder, file (specific file [.doc, .txt, etc]), etc.

I would love to see that come to Apple.

@HotinPlaya

Spaces = Virtual Workspaces

HotinPlaya-

You mean Virtual Workspaces? It's #2 on the list.

@Your Mom Bluray
It is purposeful that individual windows on a mac don't maximize to fill the screen. They are helping one maximize their screen real estate. After switching I struggled with this, but have grown to appreciate it. Why open a screen to fill the entire monitor when most of the screen space is blank around your work space. (http://img181.imageshack.us/img181/7017/zoommaximizext7.png link to a good example of screen waste) Windows are there for you to multitask hence have multiple versions of them open. There are add-ins for Safari and the like that allow for a one click screen expansion, but I found I don't use them any longer. It is logical to me not to have a website open larger than what the site is asking to use on my screen.

@Frank

That actually is a handy feature.

May 01, 08 - 02:38 pm Comment from: HotinPlaya

LOL, So they changed the name to virtual workspaces!!

What is a "Deck top cube"

May 01, 08 - 02:38 pm Comment from: cptnkirk

@Frank

Have you tried right click on the Desk top? It already has some of that functionality and you can add anything you want with Automator!

"There is one Windows feature I still miss - the ability to click on say the green dot in a mac window and enlarge it to the extents of the physical screen."

Why? Most apps don't profit from that anyway. The ones that do (like image editors) typically have a fullscreen view.

May 01, 08 - 02:39 pm Comment from: dd

@Frank

Yes, I'll agree with that. Being able to generate a text file on the fly is kind of nice.

May 01, 08 - 02:41 pm Comment from: What?

@Your Mom Bluray
I hate the way windows does that. I like to have two windows open at once and want to be able to see them both. Why open a web browser to take up the whole screen?

May 01, 08 - 02:42 pm Comment from: smyhre

@Frank

They have the New Folder option on right click but I don't understand the reasoning for the new .doc, new .txt, etc. Only option I ever use in that list is new folder in Windows.

May 01, 08 - 02:43 pm Comment from: CheekyGit

"MacDailyNews Take: We tried for awhile to come up with some Windows features that Mac should have, but we couldn't even come up with one."

Freecell?

@dd


How many times have I had to go into /users/library and delete hidden files created by applications.

For example (Busy sync un-install process)

Open the BusySync Preference Pane.
Select the Reset tab and click the Reset BusySync button.
Click Show All in the toolbar to return to System Preferences.
Control-click on the BusySync Preference Pane and choose Remove “BusySync” Preference Pane.
Delete the files located in ~/Library/Application Support/BusySync and ~/Library/Logs/BusySync.

wouldn't a uninstall option in the system preferences be a little easier?

You<ME!

Suppose I don't want any of 'em software suppositories...

May 01, 08 - 02:45 pm Comment from: Tommy Boy

The one, and only one, feature that Windows has that I wish the Mac had is the ability to resize a window by dragging on any edge rather than just the bottom right corner. It is such a PITA to try and view two spreadsheets side-by-side and to resize the document windows to make 'em appear that way.

As for the Max window size thing, if you download the Saft plug-in for Safari you can get the Max window for Safari.

May 01, 08 - 02:45 pm Comment from: smyhre

For an uninstaller Try AppZapper http://appzapper.com/

I've been dying to shut down from the start menu and search endlessly for a CD/DVD I insert. Guessing whether my A,B,C drive is my hard drive, CD/CVD, or yes, my floppy drive is my relentless endless fantasy.

May 01, 08 - 02:46 pm Comment from: Predrag

HotinPlaya:

Check No. 2 on the list (and I'm sure you meant Spaces, plural, rather than Space's, possessive...)

There in fact are a few features of Windows that might be helpful in Mac OS (maximisation, Windows-style not being one of them for me; why would I want to go back to the years of DOS when an app took entire screen and you couldn't see anything else? with 30" of screen real estate, what possible benefit is there for me?).

First, the ability to re-size windows by grabbing on ANY border seems quite practical.

Then, what often annoys me, the feature whereby hitting Enter with an icon selected gets you into rename mode. This happens more often than one might think; I sometimes use keyboard navigation between icons, using their first character to select them. If I accidentally hit Enter, I'm renaming without knowing it; If I hit it again, or click elsewhere, the file name is forever gone. Not to mention that my 2-year old tends to do exactly this when I'm away from the computer; upon return, my Macintosh HD is renamed to sssssssssssssssdrewwwwwre, etc...

There may be a few other small things that I can't think of at the moment.

In general, though, the guy is totally on the mark.

May 01, 08 - 02:49 pm Comment from: MikeK

There is one Windows feature I still miss - the ability to click on say the green dot in a mac window and enlarge it to the extents of the physical screen.

---------------------------

It is intentional for this NOT to happen on a Mac.. On a Mac, the window will expand to as large as it needs to be, NOT as large as it can be.. Take a web page for example: If there is empty space on either side of the page, a Mac will expand so that all the content is displayed, this saves you screen real estate.. If there is ever an application where the entire screen can be used (iPhoto for example,) there will always be a full screen option..

I dream of guiding my mouse USB cord down the wall, around the side of the desk, over the old AOL coasters, passing thru 20 different cords, and then into the dark non-visible lower back of my CPU instead of the boring Mac way of just simply plugging it into the keyboard 3-6 inches away.

May 01, 08 - 02:53 pm Comment from: Tergenev

I agree with Tommy Boy. That is my one ongoing complaint about OS X. I much prefer the Mac OS otherwise, but window resizing is easier in Windows.

May 01, 08 - 02:54 pm Comment from: MacDragon

They need to add QuickLook to that list and maybe get rid of Coverflow, which is next to worthless IMO.

May 01, 08 - 02:56 pm Comment from: Buster

@smyhre

I agree with dd. You are also right about appzapper except that this is FREE in windows.

Apart from that,,,,windoze sucks

@ wmd - right on.
@ dd - trashing an app in the "Applications" folder doesn't remove all of it. With some apps, not nearly all of it.

I agree that a nicely designed app would keep *all* of it's files (prefs and otherwise) within the app package. That's not possible with apps that need access to certain parts of the system.

An uninstaller *is* badly needed to be included in OSX. I know there are some third party utils that do it. What it needs to do is monitor everything installed, where it goes, and also *subsequent files* created by the same app. So it's not just as easy as looking at the Receipts file.

For those of you who are home users, or in small Mac-only shops, then the following is foreign to you and you rebel at the thought. But believe me, it's the real world and it's where more Macs are headed. So, Apple give us a built-in uninstaller already!

For instance, Symantec Anti-Virus for Mac (SAM) client software -- don't even think about dissing the fact it's installed on gloriously immune OSX. We run our own inhouse Symantec AV server for both Mac and Windows, and have hundreds of client computers. Business requires it in a mixed Mac-Win environment. You could even say *it's required, no questions asked* nation-wide due to Sarbanes-Oxley responsibilities. The problem with SAM is that Symantec's own uninstaller leaves behind about 20-30 files, in many different directories (user and system). A couple files govern the server the client responds to, so without that being deleted, I can't get the client to check-in with a different serve without performing voodoo on every system. Actually had to write a shell script to find and trash all the trash left after Symantecs "uninstaller". What a pain.

RE: MDN Take

As much as I think Mac OS is a FAR superior OS compared to Windows, I find it fanboyish that MDN weren't able to come up with at least the first two of the following:

1. Resize windows from all corners
2. Cut option in the Finder
3. Tile windows option (although I wrote a script to do this)
4. Full screen maximise in ADDITION to exisiting "Zoom" button
5. Uninstall which gets rid of ALL files / settings created

May 01, 08 - 02:59 pm Comment from: dd

@retarded_baboon
Well, your name is spot-on...

The files left in those paths are extraordinarily small. If you really feel the need to remove them, spotlight them and get rid of them.

Preference files are not install files, nor are they similar to registry entries, so there's no harm in leaving them there. However, if you need that 8k of space, by all means, do your thing and get rid of them.

Lastly, 99% of apps do not create preference panes. Those that do usually have an uninstaller to assist removing those.

ME>you, since you know nothing but Windows.

@ dd

Does dd stand for dumb donkey, or ding dong?

I know that you must be a “know-it-all” with that great response.

TIP: Uninstaller is not the same as the Trash. I am sure in your mind its the same, but not in the real world.

wmd

May 01, 08 - 03:01 pm Comment from: informed

Still would like the old MacOS funtionality of printing Finder Folder contents.

The add-on shareware utilities for this now-missing MacOS feature are lacking....

I often have a need to change a file name or delete a file while in and open/save dialog box. Fortunately, Default Folder X allows me to do that plus other things as well.

May 01, 08 - 03:04 pm Comment from: Macintosh

@ Your Mom Blueray:

Because when you maximize a window on a Mac, it expands until all of the contents of the window are visible, but still allows you to see and click things behind it.

Windows took the easy way out, and just made it fill the screen. From a development point of view, it's quicker and easier to just fill the screen.

Apple actually thought about it and did it right, even though it was harder to do... As usual.

I agree with Tommy Boy too. I would also add that I have liked the fact that I can change a file name in a save dialog on Windows. Otherwise, Windows just makes me practice suppresing my gag reflex.

XP/Vista features that I wished Leopard had?

- Image thumbnails of folder contents for photo/video. In Windows I pull up my dozens of photograph folders and see thumbnails of a few of the images within. I can navigate to the folder I want without even reading the folder name. When I open the Pictures folder in Leopard, I see a Finder window full of ugly, featureless blue folders in icon view.

- Along the same lines, how about a cache file for all of those icon previews? Leopard gives nice previews of photo and video content, but has to re-draw those every time the finder window is opened.

- How about a maximize button that actually, uh, Maximizes the open window?

- How about enabling the right-click out of the box instead of burying the option in system prefs?

- How about a true full-screen mode in Safari like other browsers?

- How about consistent shift key functionality through the Finder? Why can I highlight a group with a shift-click in list view but not icon view?

- Widgets that can live on the desktop like Vista gadgets in the sidebar? It’s easy to forget about Dashboard when those widgets live like ghosts in an alternate desktop netherworld.

Being different does not always necessarily mean better. There’s nothing wrong with copying features that work. Microsoft certainly does it!

May 01, 08 - 03:06 pm Comment from: mossman

My biggest wishes as a power user on both Mac and Windows... well, a convenient keyboard navigation of menus (Alt+ some key) and control of the window Zoom button would be nice.

Yeah, there *is* a way to do this using Universal Access, but it's nowhere as convenient as Alt-F to reveal the File menu. Anything that requires hitting an F-key is too awkward (Alt-F4 to exit a program in Windows sucks just as bad).

Keyboard shortcut to zoom the window, like Alt-space + X (maximize) or Alt-space + R to restore. I have a prefpane called "Witch" that lets me assign a keystroke to the zoom button, so that's close enough... still wish there was a way to do it out-of-the-box, though.

As others mentioned, right-click on a desktop or Finder window and then creating various documents would be nice too. I rarely use this on Windows, but it's funny... I try doing that on my Mac far more often.

You CAN resize windows on OS X from any corner and with a number of other options...for $15....worth it.

http://www.atomicbird.com/mondomouse/

May 01, 08 - 03:12 pm Comment from: Crabs

Why do they say virtual workspaces and desktop cube? The desktop cube is a version of a virtual workspace. It's basically a 3D Spaces. Personally, I like spaces better. The cube thing is cool and all, but just seems impractical to me.

Things I'd like in OS-X (not all of them are Apple's fault for them not being in it). (And few of them are in Windows)

1. Any corner/border resize.
2. When you delete an application, it automatically removes hidden files associated with it (AppTrap does this for free)
3. A good, natively MSN compatible chat app. (I know, I know, Adium. I hate Adium. I love iChat. I just wish I didn't have to route it through Jabber to use MSN)
4. Fit to content AND maximize. There's no reason we can't have both.
5. The ability to have some selected Widgets floating on the desktop. (you can actually do this with the calendar widget, which is nice, but it's not my most used widget)
6. Desktop Multi-Touch/on-screen (tilting screen) Multi-Touch. Why am I left out because I use a desktop rather than a laptop?
7. Built-in DVD-to iTunes ripping. (They did it with CDs, why not DVDs?)
8. Uh...I really can't think of anything else.

What's amazing is that I found it really hard to think of things I wish OS X had. It's a good thing I'm not in charge of planning the new OS releases at Apple, or I'd be out of ideas pretty soon...

wow dd, that was a little uncalled for.
By the way hundreds of those little preference files from trying out years and years of freeware/shareware equals a pretty large amount of space. I wouldn't complain if there was an uninstaller thrown into the sys profiler.

May 01, 08 - 03:19 pm Comment from: Spudly

Just buy a fu*king Mac!!! Enough of this envy. PeeCee users have always been lemmings. I remember back in the 80's when my PeeCee toting friends would argue that the mouse was an unnecessary toy!! Then the goons in Redmond bring out Windows and they all rave about how great a mouse is... it's the same story.. year after year...the only thing that changes is the tech that Redmond is copying...the stooges who stand behind it stays the same...

Ignore PC World...each article could (should) have been written 5-10 years ago! yawn...

@ dd

I believe I know retarded_baboon, this person knows more about Mac/Windows computers now at such a young age, than you ever will know in your life time.

If I were you, I would not respond anymore on this topic. You are way-off base and are living in your own world. The more you talk the more you prove our point.

I am sure you enjoy the birds and bees and all the little pretty thinks in your room.

wmd

May 01, 08 - 03:22 pm Comment from: dd

Wow, for all the things I've added to my Mac and then uninstalled over the years, I'd be lucky if got a couple hundred kilobytes back from removing old preference files. These files are small. If you're really hurting for hard drive space, it might behoove you to get an extra hard drive.

I did not mean to come across as mean or difficult, but the Windows mentality of uninstall does not work here. As to Mr. Baboon, when you end your statement with "You<ME," I take that as a trolling statement. Therefore, I responded in kind.

I do agree that certain apps need an uninstaller, such as Norton's, Office, and complex things like those, because they add files EVERYWHERE. Still, that said, it still does not have a registry-like effect by leaving some of those files. The worst case scenario is space taken up on your drive.

May 01, 08 - 03:24 pm Comment from: dd

Sorry, WMD. Your statements and his statements show me you BOTH know NOTHING in regards to Mac. You are using Windows logic, which doesn't work here.

May 01, 08 - 03:25 pm Comment from: Crabs

*Gasp!* I just noticed you can no longer even have the Calendar widget on the desktop. I hadn't tried it since before Leopard, just now tried it, and it doesn't work anymore. How sad.

@mossman

OS X does have a zoom keyboard shortcut try this with me:

Hit command-option-8. Now it's enabled (unless you had it previously enabled, in which case you just disabled it.) Now, to zoom in, hit command-option =. OMG! Did it zoom? I bet it did (unless you already had zoom enabled, in which case you need to hit cmd-opt-8 again to re-enable it). How bout zooming out? cmd opt - (that's the minus/dash key, ps). OMG. It zoomed out.

I will agree with you on keyboard shortcuts for menus though. I rarely used a mouse on Windows, that was one of the biggest changes I had to get into my head.

May 01, 08 - 03:25 pm Comment from: Basil Ganglia

Fun to read the 85 Comments to this article. The PC fanboys are having a major tantrum over it. We need to add a few supportive comments.

May 01, 08 - 03:30 pm Comment from: Hm...

How about these feature of Vista that *no one else* has:
- The seeming perpetual flow of money into the M$ coffers from corporate software-maintenance agreements irrespective of the substandard instantiation of XP that is called Vista.
- The license my univ signed that charges by the number of "knowledge workers," rather than the number of copies used or machines where installed,