OSX startup login not intuitive.

satchmo

This is rather petty but to this day, I don't like the login at OSX startup (is there a way to bypass this?).



But not only for the delay and inconvenience, but the buttons "restart" and "shutdown" seem to be designed that you almost naturally want to click them. While I've gotten use to this by now, some newbies or switchers will not readily click the human figure icon.

This icon needs to be more 3-D or something to make users want to click here.

luca

You can "set auto login" in one of the accounts preference panes (that's another thing they should change... put "My Account" and "Account" in the same pane). Basically you just enter your password once and it rememers it and automatically enters it.



Also, you can check the checkbox at the bottom of "Accounts" that says "Automatically login as <account name>." You can also hide the restart and shut down buttons if you're afraid a n00b will accidentally click them.

kecksy

Go to "Accounts" in the OS X System Preferences and click on "Set Auto Login." This will bypass the login menu at startup. Also in the "Accounts" preference pane click on the "Login Options" tab and select "Hide Restart and Shutdown buttons" if it bothers you.





Edit: Bastard beat me to it

luca

satchmo

uh...never mind

ghost_user_name

Well, I guess this situation was resolved.



Still, in case anyone else has anything to add, I'm moving this to the Mac OS X forum.

overhope

I never click anything on the login screen: hit return, type password, hit return: there's a reason neither Restart or Shutdown is the default option...

kecksy

The only reason I don't have auto login turned on is for security. Don't want someone getting onto my computer while I'm away by restarting.

zoso

Quote:

Originally posted by Kecksy

The only reason I don't have auto login turned on is for security. Don't want someone getting onto my computer while I'm away by restarting.

What about simply password-protecting the screensaver? You can choose an activation corner, so before you walk away you just move the pointer in the screen corner you chose and that's it!



Hope this helps...



ZoSo

kecksy

Quote:

Originally posted by ZoSo

What about simply password-protecting the screensaver? You can choose an activation corner, so before you walk away you just move the pointer in the screen corner you chose and that's it!



Hope this helps...



ZoSo

Did I say I like auto log-in on? Oops. I meant I like it off. Yes, I do password proctect my screensaver, but someone could still hit apple-command-power and restart my machine. I have auto login turned off so they won't be able to mess with my stuff.

amorph

There's a point to this. My mom called me up a week ago describing something very much like a kernel panic: "The only options are shut down and restart." Restarting didn't ever clear it up, nor did anything else I could think of on the other end of a phone line. Turns out that it was the login screen, which she was seeing for the first time. The person looks too much like an icon and not enough like a button. Yes, there are workarounds, but she too wants the smidgen of extra security offered by the login screen.



Buttons should look like buttons.

overhope

I get the impression that the login screen was designed to look pretty and show off the OS (ooh, look, a shaking dialogue box! WTF is that supposed to mean?), with usability taking something of a back seat.

satchmo

Hmm...after reading Luca's suggestion, I went to the Accounts preferences and clicked to hide the restart and shutdown buttons.

Upon restart...they're still there. What gives?

thunderpoit

it dosent really hide them, it disables them, they are unclickable, right?