A discovery of the allure of Mac OS 10

[XXXL Feet]

I love OS 10.  I love the Dock, Finder, and everything else the powerhouse that is Mac OS houses.  If you have ever downloaded the Mac OS 10 immitation, Desktop X, you can clearly see that the animations of the dock are out of control.  In actual OS 10, the dock is animated very precicely and it works beautifully.  Mac OS is not about graphics, it's only the half of it.  It's the fact that it's precise, the way we would do it if we could.  It's like a finely tuned machine.  That's the allure of the OS.  Every single aspect of the OS is perfected.  Also, realize that only the body of an icon is clickable in OS 9, I'm not sure if this is true in 10, but in OS9, this was a really big deal for me.  It's that kind of dedication to perfection that keeps Mac OS on top.  If you have any other suggestions as to why OS 10 is so charismatic, I'd like to hear what you have to say too.

[Laukev7]

Yes, it's that very perfection that caught my attention. I remember when I was a Wolfenstein junkie back in 98. There was (and still is) a flourishing community of Wolf3d mods since the release of its source code in 95.  Anyway, I wanted to make my own (I never got around to finish it), and I saw pictures of the Mac version, which impressed me. So, wanting to try the Mac version, I download Basilisk II and started toying with System 7.

Imagine, I had only occasionally used Macs at school in 94-96, I didn't even know that Apple was still in business, let alone anything about the newer iMacs. I had no particular opinion about them; all I knew was that there was 'this other' computer out there, not knowing that any other platform existed, young and blissfully ignorant about Amiga, Acorn, BeOS and even Linux.

So, I was impressed by an old version of Mac OS, compared to Windows 98. Impressed by its simplicity and its elegance. Impressed the first time I slid an .sit icon on the Stuffit Expander icon on the desktop, and seeing the a fully expanded folder named after the archive, right next to the .sit or the .hqx. And yes, I was also impressed by the icons 'body only' feature. Impressed at how everything was easy everything was.  No installer, no huge splash screen. The OS just minded its own business. And when I tried Wolfenstein, I was impressed by the graphical capabilities of the Macintosh so early back in the DOS days.

Ah, those were the days. I remember that I wasn't particularly fond of Windows, either. I remember how much I protested when Dad installed Windows 95 on the computer, afraid (and rightly so) that all my DOS games wouldn't work anymore.

[ July 14, 2003: Message edited by: Laukev7 ]

[slave]

Finder is ok provided you don't want to use a location bar or mount SMB shares.

The Dock is fine as long as you enjoy having a graphics paradigm that takes up 1/8 the screen and looks more lifeless than strom thurmond giving an acceptance speech when you turn off icon zooming.

 

quote:
Also, realize that only the body of an icon is clickable in OS 9, I'm not sure if this is true in 10, but in OS9, this was a really big deal for me. It's that kind of dedication to perfection that keeps Mac OS on top.

I know what you mean.  When I click on an icon, by god I want to have to double click very fast in the dead center of the thing!  

 

quote:
If you have any other suggestions as to why OS 10 is so charismatic, I'd like to hear what you have to say too.

Okay.
Apple's propaganda machine is exceptionally well-funded.


-----------

Now, I have some usability suggestions for Apple's next version of Mac OS:

1. I'd like to be able to save text clipboard history so if I accidentaly copy over something I can just click on an icon at the bottom of the screen to scroll through the cut/copy history.

2. I'd like to be able to create shortcuts on the desktop.

3. I'd like to be able to change my GUI to something more memory-efficient if I have a low-end machine.

4. I'd like to be able to run the OS on my laptop instead of buying a $2000 one from Apple.

5. I usually have a lot of windows open at once, particularly when I'm programming or using several differnt programs at once.  Multiple desktops would be helpful.

[Laukev7]

quote: Finder is ok provided you don't want to use a location bar or mount SMB shares.

Rendezvous is not enough for you?

 

quote: The Dock is fine as long as you enjoy having a graphics paradigm that takes up 1/8 the screen and looks more lifeless than strom thurmond giving an acceptance speech when you turn off icon zooming.

As opposed to the KDE/GNOME menu bar? Or Windowmaker? Or QNX? And last time I checked, it is possible to resize the dock.

 

quote: Okay.
Apple's propaganda machine is exceptionally well-funded.
 

Strange. I was impressed by OS X even before I heard any propaganda.

 

quote: I know what you mean. When I click on an icon, by god I want to have to double click very fast in the dead center of the thing!

On the other hand, I really like the way I accidentally single click on the dustbin in KDE/GNOME, and it takes about 10 seconds to open!

 

quote: 1. I'd like to be able to save text clipboard history so if I accidentaly copy over something I can just click on an icon at the bottom of the screen to scroll through the cut/copy history.

Point taken.

 

quote: 2. I'd like to be able to create shortcuts on the desktop.

Then do so. I have always been able to do that when I use Macs at school.

 

quote: 3. I'd like to be able to change my GUI to something more memory-efficient if I have a low-end machine.

Then do so. KDE is available for Mac OS X. I am sure there are some good tutorials out there to replace Aqua.

 

quote: 4. I'd like to be able to run the OS on my laptop instead of buying a $2000 one from Apple.

Then buy a $999 one from Apple.

http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore.woa/72603/wo/NqtAHTYWYQoA2nMsUTW1SQydd6j/0.0.7.1.0.5.21.1.1.1.0.0.0.1.0

 

quote: 5. I usually have a lot of windows open at once, particularly when I'm programming or using several differnt programs at once. Multiple desktops would be helpful.

That would be useful. But ever heard of Expos

[Laukev7]

Moderators!

Edit: Thank you.

[ July 14, 2003: Message edited by: Laukev7 ]

[psyjax]

What is this load of Tosh Linux user?

Have you ever used a Mac?

Nearly everything you complain about is either non-existance or can easely be remedied.

The dock can be resized and hidden.

Duality is a free theme changer, and some themes are very light weight.

Aqua can be replaced or run alongside KDE, GNOME, etc.

Duble click speeds can be adjusted in the SystemPrefrences.

I run OSX server on an iMac 233Mhz. Is that low end enugh? Thr GUI is a bit slugish but its usable.

SMB is natively recognized. All SMB shares are accesible from the menu Go->Connect to Server...

Multiplr desktops are available in a free thrid party haxie.

www.resexcellence.com

Yer full of it, I respect your posts usualy, but use OSX before writting flame worthy crap like that.

[choasforages]

osx handles nfs quite well even without telling it *anything*. tell it to mount an nfs share.... it will comply.  
as for low end systems, i have a 233mhz 9500 running it. thats a 604e too. i also use all sorts of apps like photoshop and illustrator and other "burrowed" software and it perfoms very well. it is noticably laggy but what do you expect for a 7 year old computer running todays software, well close enough at os 10.1.5

thats the thing, is macintoshs have a great upgradability path unlike x86 which is very limited, but ill rant later

[slave]

Ignore my rants, I was just feeling sorry for my little brother who was shafted by Apple via what is known as the eMac.  We don't like Apple very much now, especially since they lied at tech support about being able to upgrade the video card, and when we called them about the OS not booting they went into some spiel about buying an extended warranty.  I mean come on.  And furthermore why does OS X *not* have a journaled filesystem??  This isn't Windows 3.1.  The GUI rant above was just my annoyance with the default functioning of the OS in my experience.  It takes some getting used to.  But please ignore my post, if you love the Mac GUI then use it by all means.

[xyle_one]

http://www.macosxhints.com/article.php?story=2002111200220086
enabling journaling in osx.2
http://www.osnews.com/comment.php?news_id=1939
more info on osx journaling.


Sucks that your brother had a horrible experience with apple. I have had a good experience thus far, so my opinion of apple computers is good. I am a huge fan of the gui, its simplicity and the features it touts are one of the reasons i switched from windows.