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.
I have two Macs. OS X was almost unusable for me until I discovered SteerMouse. It has both the speed and acceleration settings to get a Windows like performance out of the mouse. Plus center mouse button (or mouse button 4 and 5) clicking for FireFox etc when using non-Apple mice and snap to feature. The system preference settings, and other hacks floating around, are pretty inadequate.
I am not sure if it handles the touchpad or not. I always use an external laptop mouse. But there is a demo trial period.
As for lack of screen maximize mode and not being able to resize the window from anywhere, you will either always find it annoying, or get used to it. Certain applications like the Finder will ignore your window size settings between sessions and individual windows anyhow. So you are wasting your time trying to get them to do what you intend.
How virtual desktops will make this "lack of maximization feature" less irksome in Leopard, I don't know. I have had virtual desktops for years on my Windows and Linux machines and I keep the applications on each desktop maximized.
If you take a little time you will find there is not much difference between the "keyboard navigation to switch running programs" on the Mac or Windows. The "drag something onto the taskbar to switch applications" idiom is probably one of the few times where Windows users are being more mouse centric than Mac users. You can CMD-Tab on the Mac when dragging something. Some apps will also let you CMD-` to change between windows in the same app, but not all, so you may need to do some more work of window arranging beforehand.
The Dock and the taskbar are not that different either, especially if you are running Luna and not classic. The taskbar is more regimented into what is a shortcut and what is running application etc, the Dock is more freeform. Apple could have done a bit better job with the polish of the Dock, such as making the autohide response a bit snappier (or at least customizable) and also making sure that new desktop icons don't get placed under a fixed Dock where they can't be reached.
You say give it some time. I worked with the Mac OS for nearly a year, still do not like it.
We bought 2 Macbook Pros last year, buying into the hype that they were better than PCs with Windows. In 1 years time we've had to completely rebuild the harddrive in one of them twice, the harddrive failed in the other, the ram failed in one. And now one has died alltogether. RIP! Apple updates have caused as much trouble as they have solved. Another thing, Macs are not entirely happy with anything but expensive Apple ram. More of Steve Jobs controlling his customers rather than playing in an open market place.
There is more to this saga, but you get the idea.
I do like the hardware (Intel/Envidia based) and will replace the dead Macbook with another, but run it as a Windows only machine.
Another thing, Macs are not entirely happy with anything but expensive Apple ram.
Nope. Crucial RAM works just fine (lifetime warranty if you use their selector tool to select the correct RAM for your machine) and is much cheaper than what Apple charge.
I must say I don't really get your post. You reeled off a list of things that went wrong with the hardware, but then say you're happy with the hardware. Doesn't make a lot of sense to me. Where are the gripes about OS X?
Comments
Ditch that 1 button mouse
Good idea, except he's using a MacBook. He could try sidetrack, a third-party trackpad driver.
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.
I have two Macs. OS X was almost unusable for me until I discovered SteerMouse. It has both the speed and acceleration settings to get a Windows like performance out of the mouse. Plus center mouse button (or mouse button 4 and 5) clicking for FireFox etc when using non-Apple mice and snap to feature. The system preference settings, and other hacks floating around, are pretty inadequate.
I am not sure if it handles the touchpad or not. I always use an external laptop mouse. But there is a demo trial period.
http://plentycom.jp/en/steermouse/
I need a fast mouse due to my RSI problems.
As for lack of screen maximize mode and not being able to resize the window from anywhere, you will either always find it annoying, or get used to it. Certain applications like the Finder will ignore your window size settings between sessions and individual windows anyhow. So you are wasting your time trying to get them to do what you intend.
How virtual desktops will make this "lack of maximization feature" less irksome in Leopard, I don't know. I have had virtual desktops for years on my Windows and Linux machines and I keep the applications on each desktop maximized.
If you take a little time you will find there is not much difference between the "keyboard navigation to switch running programs" on the Mac or Windows. The "drag something onto the taskbar to switch applications" idiom is probably one of the few times where Windows users are being more mouse centric than Mac users. You can CMD-Tab on the Mac when dragging something. Some apps will also let you CMD-` to change between windows in the same app, but not all, so you may need to do some more work of window arranging beforehand.
The Dock and the taskbar are not that different either, especially if you are running Luna and not classic. The taskbar is more regimented into what is a shortcut and what is running application etc, the Dock is more freeform. Apple could have done a bit better job with the polish of the Dock, such as making the autohide response a bit snappier (or at least customizable) and also making sure that new desktop icons don't get placed under a fixed Dock where they can't be reached.
Yes, it was *so* trivial that it hadn't yet appeared on any other UI. Yeah, trivial.
Simple and elegant solutions that make you slap your forehead and say "OMG! How *obvious*!" are the best kind.
We bought 2 Macbook Pros last year, buying into the hype that they were better than PCs with Windows. In 1 years time we've had to completely rebuild the harddrive in one of them twice, the harddrive failed in the other, the ram failed in one. And now one has died alltogether. RIP!
There is more to this saga, but you get the idea.
I do like the hardware (Intel/Envidia based) and will replace the dead Macbook with another, but run it as a Windows only machine.
2C
Another thing, Macs are not entirely happy with anything but expensive Apple ram.
Nope. Crucial RAM works just fine (lifetime warranty if you use their selector tool to select the correct RAM for your machine) and is much cheaper than what Apple charge.
I must say I don't really get your post. You reeled off a list of things that went wrong with the hardware, but then say you're happy with the hardware. Doesn't make a lot of sense to me. Where are the gripes about OS X?
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).
You may like SizeUp for your desktop window management.