Little annoyances in Lion (and how to mitigate them)

Posted:
in macOS edited January 2014
I think it's a good idea to share some of our least favourite features in Mac OS X Lion and how to mitigate them.



I'll start with the new dictionary look-up feature. In Snow Leopard I could simply select a word and press Ctrl+Cmd+D to open Dictionary. In Lion I have to move my hands off the keyboard, point the mouse at the word I want to look-up and press Ctrl+Cmd+D. Hardly an improvement.



Also Digital Color Meter (which I use all the time) doesn't display hex values anymore. Easily remedied by copying over SL version.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 34
    stokessdstokessd Posts: 103member
    First, the hiding scroll bars are no-no right from apple's design guidelines that we've been working to since 1984. I can understand it on a tiny screen like the iPhone, but not a computer. - easily fixed



    Backwards scrolling: This may be fine and we can adapt to it, especially if the user only uses a mac, but for those of us who work on multiple OS's, it's pure insanity. - easily fixed



    The applications folder is still a mess - There's more apple apps than ever sprinkled around at the root level of this directory. Lion makes it harder than ever to move them. fortunately "su" and "mv" still do the trick. I know, I know, I'm not supposed to move apps, but with the exception of system preferences, it doesn't cause any problems , and I move them back when I run software update.



    The workspace indicator of spaces is MIA in Mission Control. Workspaces have to be horizontal, 2D grids are right out.



    Launcher is a joke.



    The great desktop pattern of the installer isn't in the system wallpapers.



    Lion wasn't sold on removable media - soon to change, but should be on media from day one



    Lion refuses connections on any AFP server that doesn't support DHX2. And there's no switch to change that in preferences. You have to fix it with defaults changes.









    In general, I don't like the desktop to act like my phone OS, there's a reason desktops have evolved the way they did, and finger OSs evolved the way they did (although iOS4 hasn't evolved as much as I would have liked in four versions).
  • Reply 2 of 34
    garypgaryp Posts: 150member
    The Finder now defaults to a view called "All My Files," in which finding anything is impossible. What were they thinking? Fortunately it is easy to restore your old favorite default view to Finder. It's in Finder Preferences->General, just like before.
  • Reply 3 of 34
    riki81riki81 Posts: 1member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by stratokaster View Post


    I think it's a good idea to share some of our least favourite features in Mac OS X Lion and how to mitigate them.



    I'll start with the new dictionary look-up feature. In Snow Leopard I could simply select a word and press Ctrl+Cmd+D to open Dictionary. In Lion I have to move my hands off the keyboard, point the mouse at the word I want to look-up and press Ctrl+Cmd+D. Hardly an improvement.



    Also Digital Color Meter (which I use all the time) doesn't display hex values anymore. Easily remedied by copying over SL version.



    What about the copy of DigitalColor Meter (Leopard Version) over the Lion version??? If I try by Time Machine or by copying it, Lion tells me that I can move or erase the actual version of DigitalColor Meter.

    Please, let me know how u did the trick!!! ;-)

    I NEED HEX COLORS!!!



    Thanks!
  • Reply 4 of 34
    tallest skiltallest skil Posts: 43,388member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by stratokaster View Post


    II'll start with the new dictionary look-up feature. In Snow Leopard I could simply select a word and press Ctrl+Cmd+D to open Dictionary. In Lion I have to move my hands off the keyboard, point the mouse at the word I want to look-up and press Ctrl+Cmd+D. Hardly an improvement.



    Uh, what? That works perfectly well in Lion. Just use it.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by stokessd View Post


    The great desktop pattern of the installer isn't in the system wallpapers.



    That's because it's the backdrop of the OS at the fundamental level. People would get visually confused if they could use linen or any of its color variations as their Desktop image.



    Quote:

    Lion wasn't sold on removable media - soon to change, but should be on media from day one



    Why.



    Quote:

    there's a reason desktops have evolved the way they did, and finger OSs evolved the way they did



    You realize that Apple's transitioning to a multitouch desktop OS, right? That's why Lion's like this.
  • Reply 5 of 34
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by riki81 View Post


    What about the copy of DigitalColor Meter (Leopard Version) over the Lion version??? If I try by Time Machine or by copying it, Lion tells me that I can move or erase the actual version of DigitalColor Meter.

    Please, let me know how u did the trick!!! ;-)

    I NEED HEX COLORS!!!



    Thanks!



    sudo rm -rf /Applications/Utilities/DigitalColor\\ Meter.app/



    After that you can copy the Snow Leopard version of Digital Color Meter over.
  • Reply 6 of 34
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Tallest Skil View Post


    Uh, what? That works perfectly well in Lion. Just use it.



    Sorry, but it does not. You have to have your mouse pointer over the word you want to look up.
  • Reply 7 of 34
    tallest skiltallest skil Posts: 43,388member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by stratokaster View Post


    Sorry, but it does not. You have to have your mouse pointer over the word you want to look up.



    You had to do that in Snow Leopard for it to work, too!
  • Reply 8 of 34
    dacloodacloo Posts: 890member
    Other little annoyances in Lion:



    1)

    There used to be a diagonal line pattern ("resize handler") in the right bottom corner of a resizable window. In Lion you don't have any notion if a window can be resized or not.

    You need to move your mouse all the way to the bottom corner to find if it does (cursor changes). There is absolutely no good reason removing this handle bar. A step back.



    2)

    "correct spelling as you type" makes sense on an iPad but not on desktop. It's quite annoying to see your text being changed all the time. Although it can be turned off, it should have been turned off by default. (Even the iPad version sucks; you expect suggestions to be applied if you select the floating suggestion icon above the word, instead it does the opposite).

    An OS where need to revert a lot of default settings in order to be usable is not a good sign.
  • Reply 9 of 34
    tallest skiltallest skil Posts: 43,388member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by dacloo View Post


    Other little annoyances in Lion:



    1)

    There used to be a diagonal line pattern ("resize handler") in the right bottom corner of a resizable window. In Lion you don't have any notion if a window can be resized or not.



    Because you can resize from ANYWHERE ON THE WINDOW. The handler existed because that was the only place you could resize before.



    Quote:

    There is absolutely no good reason removing this handle bar.



    Except the one I just mentioned.



    Quote:

    "correct spelling as you type" makes sense on an iPad but not on desktop. It's quite annoying to see your text being changed all the time.



    If you typed words correctly, this wouldn't be a problem.
  • Reply 10 of 34
    dacloodacloo Posts: 890member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Tallest Skil View Post


    Because you can resize from ANYWHERE ON THE WINDOW. The handler existed because that was the only place you could resize before.



    Except the one I just mentioned.



    That is true, on the other hand it could have served exact the same purpose in Lion as it was on Snow Leopard. On Windows (where they have a similar handle bar at the right bottom of the window) the handle bar communicates "hey! you can resize this window", and not so much "you can resize the window if you drag me right here".

    In Lion, there is no way you know if a window is resizable or not, and that is bad user interface design in my book. I call it a lack of feed forward. Same with scroll bars - it makes much more sense to have classic scrollbars instead of the iOS ones on a desktop OS, since you're dealing with a radical different design.



    Again, my personal opinion is that Apple tries to create a rather forced marriage between their touch products and desktop users. Ending up somewhere in the middle does not make sense. A schizo OS. Either change MacOSX into iOS, or focus on desktop users, not both.



    Quote:

    If you typed words correctly, this wouldn't be a problem.



    Again, true, but if we all were able to type without mistakes, we probably don't need correct-spelling-as-you-type at all :-)
  • Reply 11 of 34
    aquaticaquatic Posts: 5,602member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Tallest Skil View Post


    Uh, what? That works perfectly well in Lion. Just use it.







    That's because it's the backdrop of the OS at the fundamental level. People would get visually confused if they could use linen or any of its color variations as their Desktop image.







    Why.







    You realize that Apple's transitioning to a multitouch desktop OS, right? That's why Lion's like this.



    LOL they're taking their sweet time. I expected a MacBook or MacBook Pro with a screen that could swivel around, fold back over the keyboard, and be used as a touchscreen...to come out in like 2008. I mean after they saw how iPhone was taking off...c'mon Apple get in on this! Haven't PC laptops like this been out for over a half a decade?



    Lion looks fugly. On the other hand, AutoSave makes it worth the price alone, just like Time Machine did for Leopard. Of course, Resolution Independence would've been the best feature, if they'd managed to include it. I guess making iCal look stupid was more important.
  • Reply 12 of 34
    dacloodacloo Posts: 890member
    Autosave and versions is brilliant and is one of these things where you think "why hasn't this been done earlier?".



    iCal is fugly.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Aquatic View Post


    On the other hand, AutoSave makes it worth the price alone, just like Time Machine did for Leopard. Of course, Resolution Independence would've been the best feature, if they'd managed to include it. I guess making iCal look stupid was more important.



  • Reply 13 of 34
    stokessdstokessd Posts: 103member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by dacloo View Post




    iCal is fugly.





    So is AddressBook
  • Reply 14 of 34
    stokessdstokessd Posts: 103member
    The reason many of us seem upset with Lion (which is a step backwards in usability in many ways) has to do with Apple forcing us to use it. In my case my newest computer is like 6 months old, but the next Mac I buy will force me into using Lion or whatever dumbed down cat is next.



    I also agree that having to change a ton of defaults to get to a usable state is a bad sign of things to come. I love the mac hardware, and OsX is pretty good, but not exactly what I want. But it's miles ahead of Linux and Windows for my use patterns.
  • Reply 15 of 34
    tallest skiltallest skil Posts: 43,388member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by stokessd View Post


    The reason many of us seem upset with Lion (which is a step backwards in usability in many ways) has to do with Apple forcing us to use it.



    This has never been a problem nor complaint with any release of OS X ever. It has actually been one of Apple's stronger points.



    Quote:

    In my case my newest computer is like 6 months old, but the next Mac I buy will force me into using Lion or whatever dumbed down cat is next.







    Quote:

    I also agree that having to change a ton of defaults to get to a usable state is a bad sign of things to come.



    I'm guessing you'll be the first signatory of the "Save The Mouse Foundation" when multitouch desktops finally come out and Apple gives up the mouse and cursor paradigm for good, huh.
  • Reply 16 of 34
    stokessdstokessd Posts: 103member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Tallest Skil View Post


    I'm guessing you'll be the first signatory of the "Save The Mouse Foundation" when multitouch desktops finally come out and Apple gives up the mouse and cursor paradigm for good, huh.



    I was using multi-touch mice (using USB overdrive in the dark days of OS9) when apple said that one button was all you'd ever need, and a scroll wheel was not important. Now look, they have indirectly said they were wrong all those years ago.



    I think you'll be surprised to see a lot of push-back on the mouse front by people who actually do work on their computers, and use the likes of Photoshop, Illustrator, Pro-E, SolidWorks etc. The fat sausage of a finger isn't the most precise pointing device around, and it's not see-through to know where you touched until it's too late.



    The iPhone is great, but that doesn't mean the all computing should be done iPhone style.





    Sheldon
  • Reply 17 of 34
    sdw2001sdw2001 Posts: 18,015member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by stokessd View Post


    The reason many of us seem upset with Lion (which is a step backwards in usability in many ways) has to do with Apple forcing us to use it. In my case my newest computer is like 6 months old, but the next Mac I buy will force me into using Lion or whatever dumbed down cat is next.



    I also agree that having to change a ton of defaults to get to a usable state is a bad sign of things to come. I love the mac hardware, and OsX is pretty good, but not exactly what I want. But it's miles ahead of Linux and Windows for my use patterns.



    That's idiotic. Apple is not forcing you to use anything. You chose to upgrade. And every computer sold comes with the newest OS.



    Secondly, it's not a "step backward" at all. You're expressing nothing but a misguided and unsupported opinion.



    OS X is "pretty good."
  • Reply 18 of 34
    downpourdownpour Posts: 37member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Tallest Skil View Post


    Uh, what? That works perfectly well in Lion. Just use it.



    Not on my version of Lion it doesn't.



    Previously you could bring up the dictionary definition of a word from the right click menu, now that just highlights the word in yellow... so you then have to click the word again... which brings up an annoying popup window with some of the definition visible... if you then select the word AGAIN in this popup... you can finally bring up the proper dictionary window like you had in SL.



    It's really annoying.





    ...oh, yeah and what the hell were they thinking making the traffic light buttons into tiny little dots?



    They looked great before, an iconic part of the interface... now they are ugly... I feel like I'm using Linux.
  • Reply 19 of 34
    pbpb Posts: 4,255member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by SDW2001 View Post


    That's idiotic. Apple is not forcing you to use anything. You chose to upgrade.



    This could be true long ago but not anymore. And it is not Apple but the general technological evolution forcing you to upgrade. You cannot keep a computer for five years or more and expect it to run flawlessly under any situation like it did in the begninning. The most notable example is the ubiquitous internet. It taxes more and more the CPUs and on top of that, it may need software that will never be available for older Mac OS X versions.



    I have a black Macbook which is now trhee and a half years old and it can painfully keep up with the internet CPU demand. In youtube the CPU temperature will skyrocket in no time, while more recent Macs go happily through it. Or, scripts running behind the scenes in some web pages may bring it to its knees, especially when paging out starts (and it has 4 GB of RAM).



    So, yes, you are forced to upgrade, although not by Apple.
  • Reply 20 of 34
    tallest skiltallest skil Posts: 43,388member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Downpour View Post


    Not on my version of Lion it doesn't.



    There's one version of Lion. Your install went badly, then.



    Quote:

    Previously you could bring up the dictionary definition of a word from the right click menu, now that just highlights the word in yellow...



    Nope, that brings up the definition at the same time.



    Quote:

    ...oh, yeah and what the hell were they thinking making the traffic light buttons into tiny little dots?



    Given that they left the hit boxes for them the same size, they were thinking about aesthetics.
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