Yeah I know all about expose. That's one of the reasons I bought a mac. I don't think I would have liked navigating the system at all without it.
In fact I was at my sisters last night and she is a teacher, so they gave her an ibook a while back. She doesn't like it because of the lack of right click and the navigation. So I told her about CTRL+click and was going to show her expose until we realized she didn't have it. I didn't realize it wasn't something that was part of OSX from the start. She has 10.2.
Is this a way to add command+H or command+tab or anything like that to the expose corners?
Expose is AMAZING when you have the mighty mouse with the side buttons. I use it for switching apps on the fly while never taking my hand off the mouse. If you have the money, I would deff. recommend the Mighty Mouse. I use it so often I even find myself trying to use the side buttons for Expose when im on PCs.
In fact I was at my sisters last night and she is a teacher, so they gave her an ibook a while back. She doesn't like it because of the lack of right click and the navigation. So I told her about CTRL+click and was going to show her expose until we realized she didn't have it. I didn't realize it wasn't something that was part of OSX from the start. She has 10.2.
...
Time to update, Panther at least, in order to get full advantage of the best
MacOS feature ever: Exposé. Also 10.3.9 is much much faster even
on *old* G3/G4 iBooks than 10.2.
Btw, there is one more example regarding Exposé and how it works regarding iPhoto.
Say, you've got plenty (about 10.000) photos and you want a few (say 500) of them copied
onto an external (USB stick, HD whatever). Just pick them up, activate Exposé (via mouse
gesture or hotkey), drag them over the external, drop, done. Gorgeous.
Yeah I know all about expose. That's one of the reasons I bought a mac. I don't think I would have liked navigating the system at all without it.
In fact I was at my sisters last night and she is a teacher, so they gave her an ibook a while back. She doesn't like it because of the lack of right click and the navigation. So I told her about CTRL+click and was going to show her expose until we realized she didn't have it. I didn't realize it wasn't something that was part of OSX from the start. She has 10.2.
You could get Panther disks on eBay for like <$10 or similar.. would make a big difference.
See iScroll2 for adding two-fingered scrolling to older Macs with Panther not sure if your sister's is supported but apparently the installer will tell you. Or Sidetrack is a good (but paid for) alternative.
Quote:
Is this a way to add command+H or command+tab or anything like that to the expose corners?
a quick search at Macupdate.com reveals Cornerclick
To answer a windows question, yes you can drag and drop in full screen. Windows is very drag and drop. Just drag something to the taskbar icon and that window will pop up, then just drop it. No need to leave full screen mode on any app.
LOL! Windows supports very basic drag-and-drop support. VERY VERY basic.
To make you realise this, here's a list of the things you can't do on Windows using drag-and-drop:
1. You can't drag a file from a maximised window onto the desktop.
2. You can't select text or images from one window (say, a web browser) and drag it into another application.
3. You cannot attach a file to an email message via drag-and-drop.
4. Drag-and-drop is not supported when you are pressing 'Alt + Tab'.
5. You cannot drag a piece of text from an application onto the desktop.
6. You cannot eject a disk by dragging it to the trash (or the 'Recycle Bin', as it is called).
And there are other things for which drag-and-drop is unsupported but I can't seem to remember any more points now. However, this should give you an idea about how much drag-and-drop support is lacking from Windows (both XP and Vista).
I am a recent switcher myself and have yet to encounted one major problem which would want me to switch back to Windows. Window management is the best feature of OS X. You'll fall in love with Exposé, I can assure you. You've just used it for three days, get more used to it.
You must have responded while I was responding to Marvin.
I understand what you're saying. I know that's probably the problem. Old habits die hard.
I guess the big question is, is it worth changing your habits? And why?
Why? Because they're bad habits. It doesn't take a lot of time to macify your workflow, and once you've done it, you'll find that you spend a lot less time mucking about the OS than you do in Windows.
I hate expose too, but that's not exactly make or break. Mac OS has very good features for going from one place in a file system to another, opening the files, and getting on with your work. Not so in any other OS I'm aware of.
Did anyone here buy a Macbook or any Apple computer strictly to run Windows on it?
I've been following Apple for years and watching all the keynotes and seeing the demos done on stage and some of the things they show off look great. So I finally bought a mac. I love my macbook. Aside from the smaller harddrive and the lack of a decnt graphics card. I love the look of the machine, I love the keyboard, I love the integrated isight, I love the power cord with magsafe, I love the optical audio and the full size firewire jack and all the other little things.
But I don't care for MacOSX. I thought I might but I'm finding it totally counter productive for me.
I hate the fact that I can't make windows full screen without dragging every single window to my screen size (if they even allow me to). Although Expose looks fancy to the eye I don't like how I have to first zoom out to see all my windows so i can jump to another. It seems like such a waste of time and my mouse has to go down then up and down then up constantly. In XP my mouse can stay at the bottom and flip between windows like tabs.
I'm also finding the the mouse movement is really slow and sluggish when I have my external optical mouse hooked up. Even though I've got it set to full speed in the preferences. Overall I'm just kind of disappointed. Should I keep this machine to just run windows on or should I take it back to the Apple store, get hit with the 10% restocking fee and then go by a PC?
Is it economical to buy a mac and only run windows on it?
I didn't like OS X much when I first tried it because I had been using Windows for 10 years, but give it a fair chance. Once you get to know all it's capable of and the peace of mind of being practically virus and spyware-proof OS X will grow on you. These days I am much more productive with OS X then I ever was on Windows, and it only took about 3 months to learn all the in-and-outs of OS X (not reading manuals mind you).
I like my windows full screen. So do you know what I do? I drag the corner so it's full-screen. Takes three seconds. I don't see what the big deal about having to drag out the full-screen is. I certainly wouldn't say it's a major enough complaint to use a completely different OS.
sometimes it really just boils down to your subjective opinion on which OS has a better GUI or windows management. I understand there are a lot of Mac supporters here (I am one myself) but I hope to keep the discussion fair nonetheless. To be frank, some of the claims here regarding Windows are inaccurate.
In reply to aryayush,
1. If you are talking about Explorer, in the tree structure you can see the desktop. So, yes, you can drag a file from a max Explorer window onto the desktop. Or try the WINDOWS+M shortcut to show desktop.
2. Yes, you can. Often with better result than dragging contents from Safari to another application. Why don't you try?
3. Yes, you can. Not sure why you can't. Did you try? It works well when you drag and hold while ALT-TAB back to the message window. An even easier way is to right click on the file and choose "SEND TO MAIL RECIPIENT" to quickly send an attachment. Can't do that on Mac OS X though.
4. False. You can drag and drop while ALT+TAB.
5. I've never done that on Mac or Win. Not sure why you prefer to drags thing onto desktop. Why not just save the document or webpage on the desktop?
6. It is the weirdest thing in Mac. Why should you have to drag something into the trash to eject it? Won't people be mistaken that it will just delete the contents? In Windows, this is not supported, for good reason. You simply unplug the thumbdrive in Windows and you are good to go. No hassle with ejecting.
Windows management really isn't Mac OS X's biggest strength. FINDER is weak if you compare it with EXPLORER which allows you to view files with better customized details (tree structure and detailed views). File sharing is easier with a simple link like "\\\\SERVER\\FOLDER" instead of going to finder and connecting via SMB. No Back and Forward shortcut in Finder although you can use ALT+ LEFT/RIGHT ARROWS to move back and forward in browsing history either EXPLORER or Browser. There are plenty more reasons why Windows is stronger in these aspects.
And, of course in Windows, you can CTRL-X to cut. Navigate to whichever window and folder u want, then paste. That simply moves the file. In Mac, you'll have to hold a key (CMD) while drag and drop.
FYI, I work extensively on both Mac and Windows. I use a dual G5 and a Pentium 4 at work, manage both XServe+XServe RAID and a Compaq Proliant and have more than 50 Intel iMacs & MacBooks. On the road or at home, I use a MacbookPro and a Windows XP/Pentium 4. Both OSes have their strength, I guess you won't need me to tell you.
Quote:
Originally Posted by aryayush
LOL! Windows supports very basic drag-and-drop support. VERY VERY basic.
To make you realise this, here's a list of the things you can't do on Windows using drag-and-drop:
1. You can't drag a file from a maximised window onto the desktop.
2. You can't select text or images from one window (say, a web browser) and drag it into another application.
3. You cannot attach a file to an email message via drag-and-drop.
4. Drag-and-drop is not supported when you are pressing 'Alt + Tab'.
5. You cannot drag a piece of text from an application onto the desktop.
6. You cannot eject a disk by dragging it to the trash (or the 'Recycle Bin', as it is called).
And there are other things for which drag-and-drop is unsupported but I can't seem to remember any more points now. However, this should give you an idea about how much drag-and-drop support is lacking from Windows (both XP and Vista).
I am a recent switcher myself and have yet to encounted one major problem which would want me to switch back to Windows. Window management is the best feature of OS X. You'll fall in love with Exposé, I can assure you. You've just used it for three days, get more used to it.
i love how everyone comes together and supports macs and the OS on here. Apple really is amazing and i find it very interesting how loyal mac users are compared to windows users. There really is a sense of love for Apple and Macs and a brotherhood between mac users.
I know i probably sound like a grandma, but its really cool haha
1. If you are talking about Explorer, in the tree structure you can see the desktop. So, yes, you can drag a file from a max Explorer window onto the desktop.
Only if you are in Explorer and have the folder view open, and even then, I just don't try to DnD at all on Windows anymore. The folder view is so fidgety, my stuff goes in the wrong place all the time.
Quote:
Or try the WINDOWS+M shortcut to show desktop.
Doesn't work while dragging, I think.
Quote:
3. Yes, you can. Not sure why you can't. Did you try? It works well when you drag and hold while ALT-TAB back to the message window. An even easier way is to right click on the file and choose "SEND TO MAIL RECIPIENT" to quickly send an attachment. Can't do that on Mac OS X though.
Finder -> Services -> Mail -> Send. You can set a shortcut to this in System Preferences so you can do this with one keystroke if it's a frequent thing for you. UI services is an area where OS X has Windows beat. What's the point of hard-coding "mail this" into the file browser, when there are zillions of ways to process any one file? With OS X services you can e-mail, IM send, IRC send, bittorrent share, etc.
Quote:
5. I've never done that on Mac or Win. Not sure why you prefer to drags thing onto desktop. Why not just save the document or webpage on the desktop?
It's faster if you are already on the mouse. No dialog, just fling the thing at your desktop, maybe use Expose on the way if you are on a small screen. If you keep the desktop clean, it's a good "work surface" for working on a set of files or setting them down on the way from one app or server to another.
Quote:
6. It is the weirdest thing in Mac. Why should you have to drag something into the trash to eject it?
You don't have to. I never do it. I use the "eject" icon in Finder. If it's a CD, I press the eject key on my keyboard (F12). I'm betting this covers what 80% of OS X users do. You can also right-click any drive and "Eject".
While the method of trash-dragging itself is a little obscure, once you start the drag the system makes quite clear what will happen by changing Trash into a huge Eject icon, complete with the name Eject.
Quote:
In Windows, this is not supported, for good reason. You simply unplug the thumbdrive in Windows and you are good to go. No hassle with ejecting.
Uh oh. You are supposed to tell Windows to unplug the device before physically unplugging it. If you don't know this, then that kind of proves the interface to do it in Windows isn't up to par because it failed to inform you of this and give you an easy way to do it.
It's a lot worse than its OS X counterpart. If I recall correctly, one small mouse target, four mouseclicks and two dialogs (!) for what happens with one mouseclick and no dialogs in Finder.
Quote:
Windows management really isn't Mac OS X's biggest strength. FINDER is weak if you compare it with EXPLORER which allows you to view files with better customized details (tree structure and detailed views).
You mean file management. If you were comparing window management, you'd be comparing Expose, Dock, Dashboard and friends to window management straight from Windows 98 (plus the XP stacked taskbar if you consider it useful).
Quote:
File sharing is easier with a simple link like "\\\\SERVER\\FOLDER" instead of going to finder and connecting via SMB.
That would be a minor convenience thing concerning Windows networking only. Filesharing overall goes to OS X because of performance, reliability and variety. With OS X, I check one checkbox and I can do encrypted filesharing to the other side of the world with SFTP. Or I can check the Apache box and HTTP share to everyone who has a web browser. OS X could use improvement in Windows filesharing connectivity. Then again, most of the time I can connect to Windows shares fine. Back when I was using Windows, I recall combinations of 98, NT, 2000 and XP systems sometimes flat out refused to talk to each other. How can you expect non-MS systems to do SMB silky smooth when MS never even released the specs?
Ironically, when I connect to Linux SMB shares from my OS X laptop, there has never been a problem.
Quote:
No Back and Forward shortcut in Finder although you can use ALT+ LEFT/RIGHT ARROWS to move back and forward in browsing history either EXPLORER or Browser.
I'm looking at Finder right now, and I see back/forward buttons on toolbar, I see back/forward in menu, and I see keyboard shorcuts next to the menu items.
Quote:
And, of course in Windows, you can CTRL-X to cut. Navigate to whichever window and folder u want, then paste. That simply moves the file.
I'd like to see cut in Finder, and I'll go as far as to say its omission is stupid.
Quote:
In Mac, you'll have to hold a key (CMD) while drag and drop.
Not usually. OS X gives you intelligent default behavior (move when you go from a volume to the same volume, copy when you go to a different volume). cmd reverses the behavior for when you need to do the other thing. Windows has the exact same modifier keys but I don't remember if reacts to drop target like OS X does. If not, you need more keypresses for the same thing on Windows.
Faster way: Drop the file on the Mail icon in the Dock. Doesn't matter if Mail is running or not, it'll create a new mail msg, and attach the file in one shot, with the cursor ready to start typing the recipient's name.
Yeah, I screwed up my username. I need to get it changed lol.
The winner of the iAnnoyance challenge was the Stoplight addon for OSX. It might be a tad complicated for some people to install, but a preety detailed guide is on the site. Not much really.
What it does is let you change behaviour options of the close/grow buttons on your windows.
So, if you click close on the last window of an application, it can quit it for you, like on windows. Or hide. Or maybe no change at all for this option.
And when you click the grow button... it resizes the window to fill the entire screen. I don't use it much on my 20" iMac but it's better than what was there before.
You can delete all of OSX and have just Windows btw, I did it accidentally installing windows wiping over 400GB of internal and external HD Drives. It wasn't nice. Just go to the MS-DOS style partition menu and mess around for a few seconds. OSX will be gone
Maybe it won't boot. Don't know. But you'll only have Windows.
1. You can't drag a file from a maximised window onto the desktop.
Right click on a file, select Send to Desktop.
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2. You can't select text or images from one window (say, a web browser) and drag it into another application.
I do that everyday. Even composite objects out of programs like Origin.
Quote:
3. You cannot attach a file to an email message via drag-and-drop.
Sure you can. That's how I attach files to outlook express mail.
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4. Drag-and-drop is not supported when you are pressing 'Alt + Tab'.
It's also not supported when pressing the Shut Down button. What's your point?
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5. You cannot drag a piece of text from an application onto the desktop.
Actually, you can... just that a wordpad will open up.
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6. You cannot eject a disk by dragging it to the trash (or the 'Recycle Bin', as it is called).
And that's a good thing and something that I never understand in macs.
Trashing a disk logically means destroy or erase... not eject! I never throw something in the trash when I want to eject it. That's one of the many not-so-smart UI things in macs.
Windows drag and drop is support is actually very good through DDE and object linking and embedding support... you can drag a powerpoint picture into word and then edit it in word as you would in powepoint without starting the powerpoint. You can drag an Origin graph consisting of thousands of data points into word and then edit the points through excel...
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Window management is the best feature of OS X. You'll fall in love with Exposé, I can assure you. You've just used it for three days, get more used to it.
Expose is nothing but a trivial gimmick tacked onto the OS. If you want on for Windows, get Entbloess. It does the same thing.
It maybe helpful to really know what you're talking about before disinforming people.
And that's a good thing and something that I never understand in macs.
Trashing a disk logically means destroy or erase... not eject! I never throw something in the trash when I want to eject it. That's one of the many not-so-smart UI things in macs.
Actually, it makes great sense if you consider Trash as 'forget about' or 'remove from workspace'. If you tell the computer to forget about a disk, it removes it from the workspace, and having nothing else to do with it, it spits it back out at you. If you tell the computer to forget about a file, it deletes it from the workspace. If you read up on the design evolution of the original Mac UI, that was the original intent back in 1984, at least, and they mapped it onto the closest thing in an office environment, which was the working metaphor. *shrug*
So what else don't you understand about the UI?
And I can't help but note that your drag and drop examples all use MS apps... so basically the OS-level interaction only works if you use apps from the OS vendor? Er, lame? I think that kind of proves the point, don't you?
6. It is the weirdest thing in Mac. Why should you have to drag something into the trash to eject it? Won't people be mistaken that it will just delete the contents?
Before OS X, I would say yes, it was a bit weird and did confuse some people. But as has been pointed out, in OS X as soon as the drag is started, the trash-can turns into an eject symbol and is labelled eject. Seems perfectly intuitive to me.
Quote:
Originally Posted by alpha78
You simply unplug the thumbdrive in Windows and you are good to go. No hassle with ejecting.
Oh dear. Do that and one day you'll end up with a corrupt filesystem on the thumbdrive. In Windows you are meant to "stop" the device first, which, as has been pointed out, requires far more user interaction than any of the multiple eject methods offered by OS X.
For two weeks, try working in OS X without maximising all your windows, and using the keyboard a bit more. If after that you still don't like it, fair enough. As it stands, I don't think you've given the OS X way of working enough of a chance to dismiss it.
Ditch that 1 button mouse and get one with multiple buttons. Logitech has a good collection that work well if you don't like Apple's Mighty Mouse. Even Microsoft has a few keyboard/mouse combos for the Mac.
Navigation is much better with a multi button mouse and there is more right click support than you realize.
Comments
Yeah I know all about expose. That's one of the reasons I bought a mac. I don't think I would have liked navigating the system at all without it.
In fact I was at my sisters last night and she is a teacher, so they gave her an ibook a while back. She doesn't like it because of the lack of right click and the navigation. So I told her about CTRL+click and was going to show her expose until we realized she didn't have it. I didn't realize it wasn't something that was part of OSX from the start. She has 10.2.
Is this a way to add command+H or command+tab or anything like that to the expose corners?
Expose is AMAZING when you have the mighty mouse with the side buttons. I use it for switching apps on the fly while never taking my hand off the mouse. If you have the money, I would deff. recommend the Mighty Mouse. I use it so often I even find myself trying to use the side buttons for Expose when im on PCs.
...
In fact I was at my sisters last night and she is a teacher, so they gave her an ibook a while back. She doesn't like it because of the lack of right click and the navigation. So I told her about CTRL+click and was going to show her expose until we realized she didn't have it. I didn't realize it wasn't something that was part of OSX from the start. She has 10.2.
...
Time to update, Panther at least, in order to get full advantage of the best
MacOS feature ever: Exposé. Also 10.3.9 is much much faster even
on *old* G3/G4 iBooks than 10.2.
Btw, there is one more example regarding Exposé and how it works regarding iPhoto.
Say, you've got plenty (about 10.000) photos and you want a few (say 500) of them copied
onto an external (USB stick, HD whatever). Just pick them up, activate Exposé (via mouse
gesture or hotkey), drag them over the external, drop, done. Gorgeous.
Exposé and Drag an' Drop is one of a mighty tool.
Yeah I know all about expose. That's one of the reasons I bought a mac. I don't think I would have liked navigating the system at all without it.
In fact I was at my sisters last night and she is a teacher, so they gave her an ibook a while back. She doesn't like it because of the lack of right click and the navigation. So I told her about CTRL+click and was going to show her expose until we realized she didn't have it. I didn't realize it wasn't something that was part of OSX from the start. She has 10.2.
You could get Panther disks on eBay for like <$10 or similar.. would make a big difference.
See iScroll2 for adding two-fingered scrolling to older Macs with Panther not sure if your sister's is supported but apparently the installer will tell you. Or Sidetrack is a good (but paid for) alternative.
Is this a way to add command+H or command+tab or anything like that to the expose corners?
a quick search at Macupdate.com reveals Cornerclick
(http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/12413)
seems to add apple-h and alt-apple-h.
To answer a windows question, yes you can drag and drop in full screen. Windows is very drag and drop. Just drag something to the taskbar icon and that window will pop up, then just drop it. No need to leave full screen mode on any app.
LOL! Windows supports very basic drag-and-drop support. VERY VERY basic.
To make you realise this, here's a list of the things you can't do on Windows using drag-and-drop:
1. You can't drag a file from a maximised window onto the desktop.
2. You can't select text or images from one window (say, a web browser) and drag it into another application.
3. You cannot attach a file to an email message via drag-and-drop.
4. Drag-and-drop is not supported when you are pressing 'Alt + Tab'.
5. You cannot drag a piece of text from an application onto the desktop.
6. You cannot eject a disk by dragging it to the trash (or the 'Recycle Bin', as it is called).
And there are other things for which drag-and-drop is unsupported but I can't seem to remember any more points now. However, this should give you an idea about how much drag-and-drop support is lacking from Windows (both XP and Vista).
I am a recent switcher myself and have yet to encounted one major problem which would want me to switch back to Windows. Window management is the best feature of OS X. You'll fall in love with Exposé, I can assure you. You've just used it for three days, get more used to it.
LOL! Windows supports very basic drag-and-drop support. VERY VERY basic.
To make you realise this, here's a list of the things you can't do on Windows using drag-and-drop:
6. You cannot eject a disk by dragging it to the trash (or the 'Recycle Bin', as it is called).
...
Yeah. Btw point #6 is the only one that i can faintly understand that
it is not supported on Windows. Wouldn't make sense anyway.
Hey guys,
You must have responded while I was responding to Marvin.
I understand what you're saying. I know that's probably the problem. Old habits die hard.
I guess the big question is, is it worth changing your habits? And why?
Why? Because they're bad habits. It doesn't take a lot of time to macify your workflow, and once you've done it, you'll find that you spend a lot less time mucking about the OS than you do in Windows.
I hate expose too, but that's not exactly make or break. Mac OS has very good features for going from one place in a file system to another, opening the files, and getting on with your work. Not so in any other OS I'm aware of.
Did anyone here buy a Macbook or any Apple computer strictly to run Windows on it?
I've been following Apple for years and watching all the keynotes and seeing the demos done on stage and some of the things they show off look great. So I finally bought a mac. I love my macbook. Aside from the smaller harddrive and the lack of a decnt graphics card. I love the look of the machine, I love the keyboard, I love the integrated isight, I love the power cord with magsafe, I love the optical audio and the full size firewire jack and all the other little things.
But I don't care for MacOSX. I thought I might but I'm finding it totally counter productive for me.
I hate the fact that I can't make windows full screen without dragging every single window to my screen size (if they even allow me to). Although Expose looks fancy to the eye I don't like how I have to first zoom out to see all my windows so i can jump to another. It seems like such a waste of time and my mouse has to go down then up and down then up constantly. In XP my mouse can stay at the bottom and flip between windows like tabs.
I'm also finding the the mouse movement is really slow and sluggish when I have my external optical mouse hooked up. Even though I've got it set to full speed in the preferences. Overall I'm just kind of disappointed. Should I keep this machine to just run windows on or should I take it back to the Apple store, get hit with the 10% restocking fee and then go by a PC?
Is it economical to buy a mac and only run windows on it?
I didn't like OS X much when I first tried it because I had been using Windows for 10 years, but give it a fair chance. Once you get to know all it's capable of and the peace of mind of being practically virus and spyware-proof OS X will grow on you. These days I am much more productive with OS X then I ever was on Windows, and it only took about 3 months to learn all the in-and-outs of OS X (not reading manuals mind you).
sometimes it really just boils down to your subjective opinion on which OS has a better GUI or windows management. I understand there are a lot of Mac supporters here (I am one myself) but I hope to keep the discussion fair nonetheless. To be frank, some of the claims here regarding Windows are inaccurate.
In reply to aryayush,
1. If you are talking about Explorer, in the tree structure you can see the desktop. So, yes, you can drag a file from a max Explorer window onto the desktop. Or try the WINDOWS+M shortcut to show desktop.
2. Yes, you can. Often with better result than dragging contents from Safari to another application. Why don't you try?
3. Yes, you can. Not sure why you can't. Did you try? It works well when you drag and hold while ALT-TAB back to the message window. An even easier way is to right click on the file and choose "SEND TO MAIL RECIPIENT" to quickly send an attachment. Can't do that on Mac OS X though.
4. False. You can drag and drop while ALT+TAB.
5. I've never done that on Mac or Win. Not sure why you prefer to drags thing onto desktop. Why not just save the document or webpage on the desktop?
6. It is the weirdest thing in Mac. Why should you have to drag something into the trash to eject it? Won't people be mistaken that it will just delete the contents? In Windows, this is not supported, for good reason. You simply unplug the thumbdrive in Windows and you are good to go. No hassle with ejecting.
Windows management really isn't Mac OS X's biggest strength. FINDER is weak if you compare it with EXPLORER which allows you to view files with better customized details (tree structure and detailed views). File sharing is easier with a simple link like "\\\\SERVER\\FOLDER" instead of going to finder and connecting via SMB. No Back and Forward shortcut in Finder although you can use ALT+ LEFT/RIGHT ARROWS to move back and forward in browsing history either EXPLORER or Browser. There are plenty more reasons why Windows is stronger in these aspects.
And, of course in Windows, you can CTRL-X to cut. Navigate to whichever window and folder u want, then paste. That simply moves the file. In Mac, you'll have to hold a key (CMD) while drag and drop.
FYI, I work extensively on both Mac and Windows. I use a dual G5 and a Pentium 4 at work, manage both XServe+XServe RAID and a Compaq Proliant and have more than 50 Intel iMacs & MacBooks. On the road or at home, I use a MacbookPro and a Windows XP/Pentium 4. Both OSes have their strength, I guess you won't need me to tell you.
LOL! Windows supports very basic drag-and-drop support. VERY VERY basic.
To make you realise this, here's a list of the things you can't do on Windows using drag-and-drop:
1. You can't drag a file from a maximised window onto the desktop.
2. You can't select text or images from one window (say, a web browser) and drag it into another application.
3. You cannot attach a file to an email message via drag-and-drop.
4. Drag-and-drop is not supported when you are pressing 'Alt + Tab'.
5. You cannot drag a piece of text from an application onto the desktop.
6. You cannot eject a disk by dragging it to the trash (or the 'Recycle Bin', as it is called).
And there are other things for which drag-and-drop is unsupported but I can't seem to remember any more points now. However, this should give you an idea about how much drag-and-drop support is lacking from Windows (both XP and Vista).
I am a recent switcher myself and have yet to encounted one major problem which would want me to switch back to Windows. Window management is the best feature of OS X. You'll fall in love with Exposé, I can assure you. You've just used it for three days, get more used to it.
I know i probably sound like a grandma, but its really cool haha
1. If you are talking about Explorer, in the tree structure you can see the desktop. So, yes, you can drag a file from a max Explorer window onto the desktop.
Only if you are in Explorer and have the folder view open, and even then, I just don't try to DnD at all on Windows anymore. The folder view is so fidgety, my stuff goes in the wrong place all the time.
Or try the WINDOWS+M shortcut to show desktop.
Doesn't work while dragging, I think.
3. Yes, you can. Not sure why you can't. Did you try? It works well when you drag and hold while ALT-TAB back to the message window. An even easier way is to right click on the file and choose "SEND TO MAIL RECIPIENT" to quickly send an attachment. Can't do that on Mac OS X though.
Finder -> Services -> Mail -> Send. You can set a shortcut to this in System Preferences so you can do this with one keystroke if it's a frequent thing for you. UI services is an area where OS X has Windows beat. What's the point of hard-coding "mail this" into the file browser, when there are zillions of ways to process any one file? With OS X services you can e-mail, IM send, IRC send, bittorrent share, etc.
5. I've never done that on Mac or Win. Not sure why you prefer to drags thing onto desktop. Why not just save the document or webpage on the desktop?
It's faster if you are already on the mouse. No dialog, just fling the thing at your desktop, maybe use Expose on the way if you are on a small screen. If you keep the desktop clean, it's a good "work surface" for working on a set of files or setting them down on the way from one app or server to another.
6. It is the weirdest thing in Mac. Why should you have to drag something into the trash to eject it?
You don't have to. I never do it. I use the "eject" icon in Finder. If it's a CD, I press the eject key on my keyboard (F12). I'm betting this covers what 80% of OS X users do. You can also right-click any drive and "Eject".
While the method of trash-dragging itself is a little obscure, once you start the drag the system makes quite clear what will happen by changing Trash into a huge Eject icon, complete with the name Eject.
In Windows, this is not supported, for good reason. You simply unplug the thumbdrive in Windows and you are good to go. No hassle with ejecting.
Uh oh. You are supposed to tell Windows to unplug the device before physically unplugging it. If you don't know this, then that kind of proves the interface to do it in Windows isn't up to par because it failed to inform you of this and give you an easy way to do it.
It's a lot worse than its OS X counterpart. If I recall correctly, one small mouse target, four mouseclicks and two dialogs (!) for what happens with one mouseclick and no dialogs in Finder.
Windows management really isn't Mac OS X's biggest strength. FINDER is weak if you compare it with EXPLORER which allows you to view files with better customized details (tree structure and detailed views).
You mean file management. If you were comparing window management, you'd be comparing Expose, Dock, Dashboard and friends to window management straight from Windows 98 (plus the XP stacked taskbar if you consider it useful).
File sharing is easier with a simple link like "\\\\SERVER\\FOLDER" instead of going to finder and connecting via SMB.
That would be a minor convenience thing concerning Windows networking only. Filesharing overall goes to OS X because of performance, reliability and variety. With OS X, I check one checkbox and I can do encrypted filesharing to the other side of the world with SFTP. Or I can check the Apache box and HTTP share to everyone who has a web browser. OS X could use improvement in Windows filesharing connectivity. Then again, most of the time I can connect to Windows shares fine. Back when I was using Windows, I recall combinations of 98, NT, 2000 and XP systems sometimes flat out refused to talk to each other. How can you expect non-MS systems to do SMB silky smooth when MS never even released the specs?
Ironically, when I connect to Linux SMB shares from my OS X laptop, there has never been a problem.
No Back and Forward shortcut in Finder although you can use ALT+ LEFT/RIGHT ARROWS to move back and forward in browsing history either EXPLORER or Browser.
I'm looking at Finder right now, and I see back/forward buttons on toolbar, I see back/forward in menu, and I see keyboard shorcuts next to the menu items.
And, of course in Windows, you can CTRL-X to cut. Navigate to whichever window and folder u want, then paste. That simply moves the file.
I'd like to see cut in Finder, and I'll go as far as to say its omission is stupid.
In Mac, you'll have to hold a key (CMD) while drag and drop.
Not usually. OS X gives you intelligent default behavior (move when you go from a volume to the same volume, copy when you go to a different volume). cmd reverses the behavior for when you need to do the other thing. Windows has the exact same modifier keys but I don't remember if reacts to drop target like OS X does. If not, you need more keypresses for the same thing on Windows.
Finder -> Services -> Mail -> Send.
Faster way: Drop the file on the Mail icon in the Dock. Doesn't matter if Mail is running or not, it'll create a new mail msg, and attach the file in one shot, with the cursor ready to start typing the recipient's name.
The winner of the iAnnoyance challenge was the Stoplight addon for OSX. It might be a tad complicated for some people to install, but a preety detailed guide is on the site. Not much really.
What it does is let you change behaviour options of the close/grow buttons on your windows.
So, if you click close on the last window of an application, it can quit it for you, like on windows. Or hide. Or maybe no change at all for this option.
And when you click the grow button... it resizes the window to fill the entire screen. I don't use it much on my 20" iMac but it's better than what was there before.
Well here it is:
http://forum.insanelymac.com/index.php?showtopic=26597
You can delete all of OSX and have just Windows btw, I did it accidentally installing windows wiping over 400GB of internal and external HD Drives. It wasn't nice. Just go to the MS-DOS style partition menu and mess around for a few seconds. OSX will be gone
Maybe it won't boot. Don't know. But you'll only have Windows.
-tj (hope i helped a bit)
P.S. OSX is great!
1. You can't drag a file from a maximised window onto the desktop.
Right click on a file, select Send to Desktop.
2. You can't select text or images from one window (say, a web browser) and drag it into another application.
I do that everyday. Even composite objects out of programs like Origin.
3. You cannot attach a file to an email message via drag-and-drop.
Sure you can. That's how I attach files to outlook express mail.
4. Drag-and-drop is not supported when you are pressing 'Alt + Tab'.
It's also not supported when pressing the Shut Down button. What's your point?
5. You cannot drag a piece of text from an application onto the desktop.
Actually, you can... just that a wordpad will open up.
6. You cannot eject a disk by dragging it to the trash (or the 'Recycle Bin', as it is called).
And that's a good thing and something that I never understand in macs.
Trashing a disk logically means destroy or erase... not eject! I never throw something in the trash when I want to eject it. That's one of the many not-so-smart UI things in macs.
Windows drag and drop is support is actually very good through DDE and object linking and embedding support... you can drag a powerpoint picture into word and then edit it in word as you would in powepoint without starting the powerpoint. You can drag an Origin graph consisting of thousands of data points into word and then edit the points through excel...
Window management is the best feature of OS X. You'll fall in love with Exposé, I can assure you. You've just used it for three days, get more used to it.
Expose is nothing but a trivial gimmick tacked onto the OS. If you want on for Windows, get Entbloess. It does the same thing.
It maybe helpful to really know what you're talking about before disinforming people.
...I pity the fool!
And that's a good thing and something that I never understand in macs.
Trashing a disk logically means destroy or erase... not eject! I never throw something in the trash when I want to eject it. That's one of the many not-so-smart UI things in macs.
Actually, it makes great sense if you consider Trash as 'forget about' or 'remove from workspace'. If you tell the computer to forget about a disk, it removes it from the workspace, and having nothing else to do with it, it spits it back out at you. If you tell the computer to forget about a file, it deletes it from the workspace. If you read up on the design evolution of the original Mac UI, that was the original intent back in 1984, at least, and they mapped it onto the closest thing in an office environment, which was the working metaphor. *shrug*
So what else don't you understand about the UI?
And I can't help but note that your drag and drop examples all use MS apps... so basically the OS-level interaction only works if you use apps from the OS vendor? Er, lame? I think that kind of proves the point, don't you?
6. It is the weirdest thing in Mac. Why should you have to drag something into the trash to eject it? Won't people be mistaken that it will just delete the contents?
Before OS X, I would say yes, it was a bit weird and did confuse some people. But as has been pointed out, in OS X as soon as the drag is started, the trash-can turns into an eject symbol and is labelled eject. Seems perfectly intuitive to me.
You simply unplug the thumbdrive in Windows and you are good to go. No hassle with ejecting.
Oh dear. Do that and one day you'll end up with a corrupt filesystem on the thumbdrive. In Windows you are meant to "stop" the device first, which, as has been pointed out, requires far more user interaction than any of the multiple eject methods offered by OS X.
Expose is nothing but a trivial gimmick tacked onto the OS.
I have a challenge for you:
For two weeks, try working in OS X without maximising all your windows, and using the keyboard a bit more. If after that you still don't like it, fair enough. As it stands, I don't think you've given the OS X way of working enough of a chance to dismiss it.
Navigation is much better with a multi button mouse and there is more right click support than you realize.