MacDailyNews - Where Mac news comes first

Hey ! I like that Command-Tab thing. It is a great way of shutting down all my applications before I put my PowerBook to sleep at the end of the day.

abqMac beat me to it - I like the command-tab deal as well, and the OS X version seems better implemented (from my limited windoze experience)...

MDN word - extent - as in "to What Extent will Windows copy OS X's [insert app name here]"

"Microsoft going to get eaten alive"

Alive or dead. Just as long as they're fully digested.


MW: analysis. Spanish for tech. writers and Yes men in a conspiracy.

Vista will still get viruses, malware, spyware. It's lipstick on a pig.

NO they won't...know why...Microsoft's core audience doesn't care were M$ appropriates it's intellectual property from. It won't matter a hill a beans. Of course you know it's done deliberately to throw tar in the roadway to Apple's possible encroachment into the corporate world. But unless they change their default security configuration this desperate act will only delay eventual loss of OS market share.

Me too! I use command-tab all the time. It's the one Windows "feature" that I was thrilled to see added to OS X.

command - tab rocks. use it.

RIGHT ON BRADY,

Command-Tab is my best friend when I do web development... edit in TextWrangler, switch to Safari to test; repeat 500 times. Expose is WAY too unwieldy for this.

Command-Tab rules!

Command-Tab is awesome; works well with Exposé when dragging and dropping between apps, etc.

Do not discount the help that Command-Tab is to Windows users, like myself, that depend on that functionality for application switching.

Expose is great, but slower and solves a different problem, than Command (nee Alt) Tab.

Alas the ignorant masses will believe Microsoft has "caught up" again. Those that have ever heard of the Mac, that is.

Most Mac applications could improve efficiency with a few more shortcuts. I know I would use them. However, research has shown that keyboard shortcuts are very rarely used by even very experienced users (other than journalists perhaps) for anything other than cut, copy, and paste. That makes it a non-issue for most. The vast majority use icons just about all the time.

What I don't understand is why Microsoft has a need to release all of those incomplete builds of their OS each month. That would drive me crazy. You can't install it on your "real" computer, and you know there are going to be flaws so why bother? Apple just releases a new version, complete, beautiful, innovative and ready to be loaded onto your grandmother's Mac will full confidence. There are no crippled versions forcing the consumer to struggle with trying to predict the future of their computing needs. On a Mac, it's the same OS on the minis and laptops as it is on the Quad towers.

Even with Mac's fractional market share, I expect there to be a much faster adoption of Leopard than with Vista, not to mention a much better user experience after the installation.

The "apple" command key is right next to the spacebar not the keyboard.

ThurRot got one thing right, 6 or 8 versions of Windows is rediculous and very confusing. Perhaps that appeals to the average MS purchaser, they like the mystery and intrigue of discovering their OS shortcomings and problems.

A large portion of the computing using world doesnt even know what a keyboard shortcut is.

The ones who do are mainly using cut copy and paste. Oh the humanity of trying to adapt the Mac way of doing this.

For kicks I priced out several Alienware PC machines yesterday. They all ended up costing a lot more than a PowerMac Quad for similar features.

It's nice to know that if you have a problem with an Apple there are many support options available.

I'm wondering what the support of todays Alien-PC (or HP or Dell) will be after Vista hits the market.

Don't have to worry about Gateway support, they will have gone out of business by the time Vista rolls.

hey...vista looks good. those screenshots are about the sexiest thing ever out of redmond.

i wonder how much if vista is just eye candy?

7 versions of eye candy...

As much as I love Apple, I think they were VERY naughty 'implementing' Command-Tab they way they have...

http://www.proteron.com/liteswitchx/

The REAL inventors of Command-Tab as we know it!

I use command tab -

(when I'm on my old g3 tower at work playing spaceward ho and I hear my boss comming - command tab makes it go away quick and come back just as quick. You should try it. Also, for the few mac users who have never played spaceward ho, it rocks. Like Risk only more complex. Like Civilization, only more simple...)

Aye.. Alt-Tab app switching rules. OSX *did* steal it, and OSX *does* implement it better (permitting you to hit Q to quit an app without releasing the CMD-Key or leaving CMD-Tab mode)

Then again, I got no problem with the Windows shortcut keys, either. ALT-F4 is no less obscure than CMD-W for closing a window, and F1 for Help is really nice.

Command-Tab and Expose offer similar functionality but in different ways, personally when using a mouse I only use Expose but if for some reason I'm heavily into the keyboard I will use Command-Tab or Witch.

In fact there is only one thing I would really like to see OS X add from windows and that's being able to see a folder tree type view in the sidebar, it suits my mindset when flicking from multiple folders.

Another vote for Command-Tab. Command-tab in Mac OS X is implimented in a way superior to Windows in that it is more appealing visually and provides better functionality (ability to Quit apps, etc).

I use command-tab all the time as well and I have Expose with a hot corner just to add to the variety. I use the hot corner for quick switching and C-Tab for quick quit of apps before shutting down.

My little PC friends love to watch and wonder. Shift-minimise in sloooowwwww mmooottttiiiiiooon also gets them wet.

Leo

As I read the threads regarding Windows Vista looking very much like OS X, I thought about Steve Jobs goal to differentiate OS X from Windows. Microsoft knows this all too well. It is quite apparent that Bill Gates is a huge fan of OS X and is worried about what Steve Jobs is doing with it.

Bill apparently realizes that OS X is far more attractive visually, laid out more logically, works far better and is simply a superior operating system.

By making Vista look and work just like OS X, he is probably expecting Steve Jobs to radically change the look and function of OS X. Then, by default, he will have the OS X that we enjoy so much and windows users will become as passionate about it as we are and Mac users will have something less functional and attractive.

I love Command-Tab for switching apps. I also use it for quitting and hiding apps. While holding Command, release the tab and press Q or H. Don't know if you can do that in Windows.

Thurrott is a tool. I do love the command-tab function though. Very quick way to jump from one app to another.

Even though M$ loves there photocopier, they fail to grasp the most basis rules of GUI. The "eye candy" in OS X is almost always useful in telling you what is happening. The gennie effect shows you that a document is being minimized to the dock. Double-clicking an app icon zooms out to show you that the app is launching.

From what I have seen of Vista, they have added some effects that are arbitrary and meaningless, like windows wiggling. They just don't get it.

Also, I hope Vista changes the copying graphic. I want to laugh everytime I see that sheet of paper moving 6 inches across the screen to the other folder. It smacks of a very sorry cartoon.

If Vista introduces any elegance, I'll be shocked.

Vista will incorporate a new feature not seen in Mac OS X. It will be a flush key. It will be used when you have a blue screen of death error and will incorporate quartz like graphics as you will see the whole screen swirl and a 6 channel digital sound file of a industrial toilet flushing. You can either map the flush key to your keyboard or a sidebar icon.

So, do you think he will claim (in part 3) that it is really the mac that is copying Windows? And that only in-the-know people like him know the real truth?

How can Bill Gates not be totally embarrassed? He has thousands upon thousands of the worlds best engineers and programmers, and after many years of effort, all he has is a regurgitated XP poorly cloaked under a GUI obviously stolen from Apple.

"All the kings horses and all the kings men couldn't put Humpty back together again."

is command-tab, great when you're going back and forth between 2 apps or more on a consistent basis (and it's directional sibling command-shift-tab...which is nice when you have 10 apps open and accidentally tab by the one you want).

use it every day

ummm, command-tab to switch apps has been in the Mac OS for a looong time (way before OS X). OS X just made it look sexy instead of stupid and ugly like in Windows.

What's with the multiple versions of Vista? I think that would create a massive amout of frustration for the consumer -
"Which version should they buy, and if it is too much of a head-ache - to figure out - forget it."

My guess - they'll either stay with what they have or purchase the much easier to understand and less complicated Mac.

Thurrott needs to run a small business. We switched from Windows to OS 9 years ago because of lost productivity and the high cost of maintaining Windows PCs.

"Of course, Windows Vista is still Windows, and that means you can be far more productive with Vista than is possible with OS X, especially if you're a heavy keyboard user like me."

ROFLMFAO

Oh, god good one! No serious wth is Thurrott smoking?

one of my in-laws once asked me: "aren't all computers windoze?" this is what we're up against.

so what about Leopard ?

apple is poised for a great counter-punch

huge opportunity

amazing that there is so little speculation on Leopard and so much on new device configuration

Uh, Doc Bob, far from making Vista "look and work just like OS X", Billy Boy has, as Mike so eloquently put it, "poorly cloaked" XP. Aside from an overkill of translucence and liberal 3D and animated effects, it's still XP.

Loving cmd+tab, about tabing past the app you want:
when you have pressed cmd+tab you can use the arrows to navigate. not for everyday use but it's a nice feature when you do have 10+ apps open. when you do, expose is no joy either

"Of course, Windows Vista is still Windows, and that means you can be far more productive with Vista than is possible with OS X"

Oooohhh! Paul started off strong and the he had to blow it with that line. Oh well, common sense, like democracy, don't arrive over night.
_____

I usually use Expose but there are times when command-tab comes in really handy, like when switching between apps that use multiple windows like the Final Cut Studio apps. Expose make a huge mess of those, and they all look very similar, so command-tab is great.

Do NOT click on this guy's site, no one can be that dense, he's fishing for hits, "Mamma needs a new iMac."

Or maybe he is, sadly, many windows are trying to achieve perfection through mediocrity.

MDN pontificates: "That way-too-big finger stretch from the command key in Windows to any letter key is just one example. On a Mac, it's done right, with the command key more centrally located, right next to the spacebar."

Oh, yeah, MDN - LOL - why don´t you tell Apple to make an ad campaign on that one. You will get millions of people switching from Windows to Mac because of this.

Windows Vista will probably dazzle a lot of unsuspecting PC drones, so I hope Apple does what it promised: counter with a new release of Mac OSX. I'm not crazy about the use of cat names, but I hope Leopard will be a revolutionary upgrade. I still feel the FINDER needs to go. It's not much more than a folder within a folder within a folder. If it's one thing Windows did right, it was the Start button. Apple's blue apple would be the perfect place to have something similar. Putting the APPS folder on the dock (forced to the far right) is hesitant, clunky and awkward. Finder just sucks. Reminds me of Program Manager from the Windows 3.1 days. And the dock only goes so far. And forget icons on the desktop; I can't stand them!!!! Leopard needs to change OSX more towards Windows in certain regards, or forget building marketshare extracting from the Windows base. OSX still has a ways to go, and that's good, because if there was no room for improvement, there would be nowhere to go but down. Vista sucks, but I don't underestimate the boost if will give PC sales. Apple has to pull off something big, and I'd love to hear everyone's ideas about what you think it will be and when?

Productivity with keyboard commands? Why then in Firefox with multiple tabs open do I not see a way to use a key command to switch between tabs? I have to click on it. Unless I just don't see it, but I try to see as little as possible with windows.

Speaking of "what we're up against," last week I was speaking to a person who makes well into six figures--someone who could afford the finest of what Apple has to offer. I mentioned Apple computers, and she was quite taken aback that Apple even still sold *computers*. She was under the impression that they had transitioned to a music devices company.

Command tab rockz
Command ~ rockz even more!!

Nuff said boyz n grrlz


MW= come... uh I leave it up to your imagination

" "Talking about the 6-8 new Windows Vista versions, Thurrott continues, "it's too confusing. One thing Apple gets right is that you get OS X, and you're done. There's only one version of the OS (well, there's a version for servers too, of course) and Apple doesn't try to bifurcate the market with a bunch of silly versions, most of which offers certain features not found in other product editions. It's inane." "

And yet he considers using Windows to be far more productive?

Inane, indeed.

Command-Tab was there in Mac OS 9 well before OSX came along, it just didn't work nearly as well. You couldn't quit applications using it (like you can in OSX), and it also didn't display a nice menu on-screen when you used it, but OSX hasn't always done that. I think it was added in 10.3 (correct me if I'm wrong)

Anyway, I think Command-Tab is awesome! Just thought I'd clarify when it came about on the Mac.

Turd-rot is still turd no matter what he says.