Agreed, David Pogue's Missing Manuals are helpful.
Within the current context however I have observed the following:
The Mac OS 9 manual has 461 pages.
The Mac OS X manual has 712 pages.
I rest my case
Peace
It could be argued that the increased length is due to following:
1. OSX is/was something very new: it had to be explained from scratch and, as part of this, Pogue has had to spend considerable time explaining the differences between the traditional MacOS and X.
and
2. OSX is more powerful than the traditional MacOS, i.e., there are more advanced features to explain and this is a good thing.
I'm such a ridiculous neat freak that I absolutely flip out and get the screaming heebie jeebies when I come across a junky, cluttered, unorganized Mac.
My first impulse is to put everything in its place. The people I've turned on to Macs lately (since Jaguar/Panther), I've made it a special point of telling them how it's set up and what their Home folder is all about (and why, ideally, stuff should go in there.
I hear that, I don't even like the way everything is just dumped in to Applications on a new install I have to make directories in there even...
Here's a trick I use to keep my Applications directory clean, *and* gain most of the benefits of the computer/users/user distinction elsewhere in the system. (And it's so simple.)
Under /Users/Shared/, make an Applications folder.
Now, put all of your Applications in there, and make an alias in /Applications (mine is called UserApplications).
Voila. You don't have to backup /Applications, you don't have to keep track of everything that Apple installs, let their installers handle that.
Every so often you'll run across an application's installer that *INSISTS* on putting their application in /Applications, and the &%*(@$% thing breaks when you move it. (CODETEK, I'M LOOKING IN YOUR DIRECTION, YOU GOOBERS!)
In those cases, I've found that making a simple alias to the app (where ever you choose to file it) in /Applications will fix it.
/Applications then ends up being Apple-only, much like /System. I never have to worry about backing it up, about keeping track of what version is in there, nada. And, it's clean.
All of my applications in /Users/Shared/Applications get backed up with the /Users directory, so I never have to think about that either.
AND it means you never have to recreate anything after a new upgrade but that one solitary link in /Applications. (Heck, I have a script I run after installs that does it for me.)
I think Ben Kenobi said it best, while talking to that brat Luke: you must "unlearn".
Coming to OS X as a switcher or outright newbie is probably fairly nice and easy.
Migrating from 9, however, seems to be a huge hurdle for many.
Unlearn.
Honestly, once I got my head around that and quit trying to compare X to 9 or think of them even remotely in the same way, I suddenly "got it". And haven't looked back.
That's not the fault of OS X. If it's designers had their way then there wouldn't be any drives mounted on the desktop (and it's one of the first things I switch off).
It's only there to appease people still stuck in an OS 9 frame of mind. And so it is also probably the number one factor in stopping people *getting* the home directory concept because they still double-click the HD to get started like they used to.
I double click the hard drive icon to get to the applications folder. Isnt that what Im supposed to do?
I keep all apps now in the applications folder because I was told to, but I have some other folders I created with info in them, one with pics, one with mpgs sitting next to the other folders. Is this bad?
If i create a folder I have to put it somewhere specific within the hard drive?
Whats wrong with leaving it on the desktop if I so choose?
there is no problem, OS 9 was great for placing files wherever you wanted. I don;t like the new Home directory, I've got used to it, but a computer should work around you, you should not be forced to use it in a certain way, that's what MAC is about.
MacOS X is a multi-user system. It was designed that way from the ground up. This is a *huge* change from OS9, and alters most everything about the system in one way or another.
One of the most obvious ways is where your files go. Under OS9, everything you had on your drive got mixed together - that included everything that Apple installed, everything you installed, everything your family may have installed... it frankly was a mess. It made figuring out what was default Apple and what was extra a pain in the keister, for one thing.
MacOS X makes it a lot simpler for keeping things separate:
/System - everything Apple installs that is required for running your machine (and then some). Apple-alterable *only*. Just ignore it.
/Library - anything that's extraneous to *critical* operation of your Mac, so if this goes bye-bye you can still boot... but a lot of important stuff in here... this is also where anything that affects all users is installed, like fonts everyone can use, etc
/Applications - applications that all users can see and use. By default, contains only Apple-installed apps. I like to keep it that way, and I've outlined in another thread how to keep it clean.
/Users - where all user files go.
/Users/<yourname> - where *YOUR* files go. You can do pretty much *ANYTHING* you want in this directory, like you did with your old hard drive. It's yours. '~' is a shortcut for this. ~/Library is a lot like the stuff you'd put in your old System Folder under OS9. It acts just like /Library, but *only for you*. Place a font in here, and *only you* can see it or use it. It lets users each have their own preferences, etc. Other than that, treat this like you would your old hard drive under OS9. In fact, with 10.3, you can set up Finder to always default to this directory on new window creation - ignore the rest of your hard drive, make a link to /Applications, and voila - it looks a lot like your old OS9. *And* you can get rid of the hard drive icon on your desktop.
"But I'm the only user of my machine!" you might say... "why can't I just do things the old way?" It's a valid question.
Because it's infinitely easier to make a multi-user system comfortable for one user than it is to make a single-user system (OS9) usable for multiple users. Apple tried with OS9, and it just plain didn't work all that well. They chose wisely in making the base of OS X multi-user at the core. It means some small bumps in being the only user, but it is *MUCH* nicer overall. There are some ways to make it look and act like the old OS9, but it's rather a zen shift to be had if you grab it.
Now, If its bad to do certain things why are we allowed to do it? For instance, as I said I have opened the hard drive icon and plopped 3 created folders right next to the other folders that were there-applications, etc.
Would I be better off keeping them on the desktop? I do not want them buried in a photos folder, movies folder, documents folder if possible because I want easy access to them. I will be adding things to those created folders daily, or almost daily, and I want to keep them seperate from other photos, documents, etc. When the folders add up to almost 700 Mb I will burn them to a CD then trash them.(I only have a 10Gb hard drive)
I cant grasp why this would be a problem. I've been doing this every since I put panther on this iMac and have had no problems. What problems would this cause, if any?
I am getting more comfortable with OSX by the day, but I hope there arent too many more surprises.
It won't really cause *problems*, it's just... unsightly.
Unseemly even.
Unsettling?
And, you should take note that only an admin can plop things on the top level of your hard drive. You, as first (and perhaps only) user can do so, but other users cannot, nor can they write to those folders by default.
And, if you ever get on someone else's machine, you won't be able to do so either.
The Desktop is now a per-user basis, so keeping things there is still inside your own filespace, and is preferable. Placing them within Documents, and making Dock items for them is even cleaner.
Would I be better off keeping them on the desktop? I do not want them buried in a photos folder, movies folder, documents folder if possible because I want easy access to them.
Just let go! When you find yourself being so melodramatic about something ("buried in a photos folder"!!!!!!!) then it's time to take a step back.
Putting the folders on the Desktop is fine. Just remember that in OS 9 the desktop was the very bottom of the file structure below even the Hard Drive. In Mac OS X, the Desktop is inside your Home folder.
Other options:
Put them in a subdirectory of Photos, Movies etc. then:
* drag an alias by drag and dropping it wherever you want it (the Desktop, perhaps) while holding shift + command.
* drag them into the Dock for easy access (this doesn't move them just creates a shortcut like above.
* add them to the finder toolbar (again a shortcut)
If you did *all* of these you'd never be more than 10 pixels and a click away from the folder. Now *that* is easy access.
And in answer to your earlier question: I would recommend removing hard drives from the desktop (it's a Finder preference) and get used to clicking on the Finder icon to start work instead. I'd also suggest setting the preference that opens new Finder windows in your Home directory.
I cant grasp why this would be a problem. I've been doing this every since I put panther on this iMac and have had no problems. What problems would this cause, if any?
I can't guarantee you'll have problems but I would feel squeamish about running an OS update if I had stuff outside of Users/Home. People who tinker with the Webserver that comes with OS X have to redo their changes every time they update as they get overwritten.
I've recently - as of last week - turned off my desktop hard drive icon and have just been clicking the Finder icon in the Dock (or hitting Command-N) to get a new work area/window.
I, too, am trying to break a few remaining (and unnecessary) pre-OS X habits and methods.
Panther's new Finder really makes this possible and practical. I think that whole "directories vertically stacked down the left side" thing is very nice!
Today I collected my OSX Panther pack. Not yet tried to install it on my early eMac with OS9.2.2 and an earlier version of OSX - (which I never used, partly because it's in German, which I speak but don't trust myself to understand in a, for me, new venture)
Now I have seen on other Mac forums that it may be necessary to update not only some software but also firmware - BEFORE installing the new OS. Some people claim that if you don't perform the updates your new OSX will either not work well, or even not at all.
As everybody can see, I have an Internet connection.
But I find myself asking what happens to those without an Internet account? Seems to me that quite a lot of people may not be so endowed, especially outside the wealthy US and W. Euroipe.
Only necessary on much older equipment, and even then it's something that comes on the OS X install CDs (or at least it originally did...) did they remove that?
Just let go! When you find yourself being so melodramatic about something ("buried in a photos folder"!!!!!!!) then it's time to take a step back.
Putting the folders on the Desktop is fine. Just remember that in OS 9 the desktop was the very bottom of the file structure below even the Hard Drive. In Mac OS X, the Desktop is inside your Home folder.
Other options:
Put them in a subdirectory of Photos, Movies etc. then:
* drag an alias by drag and dropping it wherever you want it (the Desktop, perhaps) while holding shift + command.
* drag them into the Dock for easy access (this doesn't move them just creates a shortcut like above.
* add them to the finder toolbar (again a shortcut)
If you did *all* of these you'd never be more than 10 pixels and a click away from the folder. Now *that* is easy access.
And in answer to your earlier question: I would recommend removing hard drives from the desktop (it's a Finder preference) and get used to clicking on the Finder icon to start work instead. I'd also suggest setting the preference that opens new Finder windows in your Home directory.
Actually , you added the exclamation points which does make it look melodramatic, but without them, as I wrote it, makes it look like a regular sentence, which is what I intended. That will be $100 for your grammar lesson
Putting the folders into the dock seems like the fastest way to get to them, if I cant have them on the desktop (the clutter doesnt bother me). I set the preference for new windows but I like the hard drive on the desktop, even though its no faster to get to the applications folder that way. Maybe later on Ill try it without it.
I now can see the need to do all these things in OSX because if you had more than one person using the computer you want to keep your files, etc safe. I just have to get used to it.
I can't guarantee you'll have problems but I would feel squeamish about running an OS update if I had stuff outside of Users/Home. People who tinker with the Webserver that comes with OS X have to redo their changes every time they update as they get overwritten.
when you say users/home you mean the house icon, right?
How come the applications folder isnt in there when I click on the house? wouldnt that nake it outside of users/home?
It won't really cause *problems*, it's just... unsightly.
Unseemly even.
Unsettling?
And, you should take note that only an admin can plop things on the top level of your hard drive. You, as first (and perhaps only) user can do so, but other users cannot, nor can they write to those folders by default.
And, if you ever get on someone else's machine, you won't be able to do so either.
The Desktop is now a per-user basis, so keeping things there is still inside your own filespace, and is preferable. Placing them within Documents, and making Dock items for them is even cleaner.
ahhhhh, so keeping it on the desktop is OK. Cool. Ill keep it there then and not on the hard drive, unless I actually want the photos, etc stored in the appropriate folders.I actually feel more comfortable with my created folders on the desktop as long as there isnt more than 3-4 of them.
Comments
Within the current context however I have observed the following:
The Mac OS 9 manual has 461 pages.
The Mac OS X manual has 712 pages.
I rest my case
Peace
Originally posted by eric j
Agreed, David Pogue's Missing Manuals are helpful.
Within the current context however I have observed the following:
The Mac OS 9 manual has 461 pages.
The Mac OS X manual has 712 pages.
I rest my case
Peace
It could be argued that the increased length is due to following:
1. OSX is/was something very new: it had to be explained from scratch and, as part of this, Pogue has had to spend considerable time explaining the differences between the traditional MacOS and X.
and
2. OSX is more powerful than the traditional MacOS, i.e., there are more advanced features to explain and this is a good thing.
Originally posted by pscates
I'm such a ridiculous neat freak that I absolutely flip out and get the screaming heebie jeebies when I come across a junky, cluttered, unorganized Mac.
My first impulse is to put everything in its place. The people I've turned on to Macs lately (since Jaguar/Panther), I've made it a special point of telling them how it's set up and what their Home folder is all about (and why, ideally, stuff should go in there.
I hear that, I don't even like the way everything is just dumped in to Applications on a new install I have to make directories in there even...
Under /Users/Shared/, make an Applications folder.
Now, put all of your Applications in there, and make an alias in /Applications (mine is called UserApplications).
Voila. You don't have to backup /Applications, you don't have to keep track of everything that Apple installs, let their installers handle that.
Every so often you'll run across an application's installer that *INSISTS* on putting their application in /Applications, and the &%*(@$% thing breaks when you move it. (CODETEK, I'M LOOKING IN YOUR DIRECTION, YOU GOOBERS!)
In those cases, I've found that making a simple alias to the app (where ever you choose to file it) in /Applications will fix it.
/Applications then ends up being Apple-only, much like /System. I never have to worry about backing it up, about keeping track of what version is in there, nada. And, it's clean.
All of my applications in /Users/Shared/Applications get backed up with the /Users directory, so I never have to think about that either.
AND it means you never have to recreate anything after a new upgrade but that one solitary link in /Applications. (Heck, I have a script I run after installs that does it for me.)
Coming to OS X as a switcher or outright newbie is probably fairly nice and easy.
Migrating from 9, however, seems to be a huge hurdle for many.
Unlearn.
Honestly, once I got my head around that and quit trying to compare X to 9 or think of them even remotely in the same way, I suddenly "got it". And haven't looked back.
Most won't.
Originally posted by stupider...likeafox
That's not the fault of OS X. If it's designers had their way then there wouldn't be any drives mounted on the desktop (and it's one of the first things I switch off).
It's only there to appease people still stuck in an OS 9 frame of mind. And so it is also probably the number one factor in stopping people *getting* the home directory concept because they still double-click the HD to get started like they used to.
I double click the hard drive icon to get to the applications folder. Isnt that what Im supposed to do?
I keep all apps now in the applications folder because I was told to, but I have some other folders I created with info in them, one with pics, one with mpgs sitting next to the other folders. Is this bad?
If i create a folder I have to put it somewhere specific within the hard drive?
Whats wrong with leaving it on the desktop if I so choose?
Originally posted by MacCrazy
there is no problem, OS 9 was great for placing files wherever you wanted. I don;t like the new Home directory, I've got used to it, but a computer should work around you, you should not be forced to use it in a certain way, that's what MAC is about.
Amen, brother
MacOS X is a multi-user system. It was designed that way from the ground up. This is a *huge* change from OS9, and alters most everything about the system in one way or another.
One of the most obvious ways is where your files go. Under OS9, everything you had on your drive got mixed together - that included everything that Apple installed, everything you installed, everything your family may have installed... it frankly was a mess. It made figuring out what was default Apple and what was extra a pain in the keister, for one thing.
MacOS X makes it a lot simpler for keeping things separate:
/System - everything Apple installs that is required for running your machine (and then some). Apple-alterable *only*. Just ignore it.
/Library - anything that's extraneous to *critical* operation of your Mac, so if this goes bye-bye you can still boot... but a lot of important stuff in here... this is also where anything that affects all users is installed, like fonts everyone can use, etc
/Applications - applications that all users can see and use. By default, contains only Apple-installed apps. I like to keep it that way, and I've outlined in another thread how to keep it clean.
/Users - where all user files go.
/Users/<yourname> - where *YOUR* files go. You can do pretty much *ANYTHING* you want in this directory, like you did with your old hard drive. It's yours. '~' is a shortcut for this. ~/Library is a lot like the stuff you'd put in your old System Folder under OS9. It acts just like /Library, but *only for you*. Place a font in here, and *only you* can see it or use it. It lets users each have their own preferences, etc. Other than that, treat this like you would your old hard drive under OS9. In fact, with 10.3, you can set up Finder to always default to this directory on new window creation - ignore the rest of your hard drive, make a link to /Applications, and voila - it looks a lot like your old OS9. *And* you can get rid of the hard drive icon on your desktop.
"But I'm the only user of my machine!" you might say... "why can't I just do things the old way?" It's a valid question.
Because it's infinitely easier to make a multi-user system comfortable for one user than it is to make a single-user system (OS9) usable for multiple users. Apple tried with OS9, and it just plain didn't work all that well. They chose wisely in making the base of OS X multi-user at the core. It means some small bumps in being the only user, but it is *MUCH* nicer overall. There are some ways to make it look and act like the old OS9, but it's rather a zen shift to be had if you grab it.
People are squawking over such silly little things. Their lives will be easier if they just drop the whole "yeah, but in OS 9...".
This ain't OS 9, people.
Just as 9 wasn't System 7 and so on...
Things change. For the better.
Would I be better off keeping them on the desktop? I do not want them buried in a photos folder, movies folder, documents folder if possible because I want easy access to them. I will be adding things to those created folders daily, or almost daily, and I want to keep them seperate from other photos, documents, etc. When the folders add up to almost 700 Mb I will burn them to a CD then trash them.(I only have a 10Gb hard drive)
I cant grasp why this would be a problem. I've been doing this every since I put panther on this iMac and have had no problems. What problems would this cause, if any?
I am getting more comfortable with OSX by the day, but I hope there arent too many more surprises.
Unseemly even.
Unsettling?
And, you should take note that only an admin can plop things on the top level of your hard drive. You, as first (and perhaps only) user can do so, but other users cannot, nor can they write to those folders by default.
And, if you ever get on someone else's machine, you won't be able to do so either.
The Desktop is now a per-user basis, so keeping things there is still inside your own filespace, and is preferable. Placing them within Documents, and making Dock items for them is even cleaner.
Originally posted by steve666
Would I be better off keeping them on the desktop? I do not want them buried in a photos folder, movies folder, documents folder if possible because I want easy access to them.
Just let go! When you find yourself being so melodramatic about something ("buried in a photos folder"!!!!!!!) then it's time to take a step back.
Putting the folders on the Desktop is fine. Just remember that in OS 9 the desktop was the very bottom of the file structure below even the Hard Drive. In Mac OS X, the Desktop is inside your Home folder.
Other options:
Put them in a subdirectory of Photos, Movies etc. then:
* drag an alias by drag and dropping it wherever you want it (the Desktop, perhaps) while holding shift + command.
* drag them into the Dock for easy access (this doesn't move them just creates a shortcut like above.
* add them to the finder toolbar (again a shortcut)
If you did *all* of these you'd never be more than 10 pixels and a click away from the folder. Now *that* is easy access.
And in answer to your earlier question: I would recommend removing hard drives from the desktop (it's a Finder preference) and get used to clicking on the Finder icon to start work instead. I'd also suggest setting the preference that opens new Finder windows in your Home directory.
Originally posted by steve666
I cant grasp why this would be a problem. I've been doing this every since I put panther on this iMac and have had no problems. What problems would this cause, if any?
I can't guarantee you'll have problems but I would feel squeamish about running an OS update if I had stuff outside of Users/Home. People who tinker with the Webserver that comes with OS X have to redo their changes every time they update as they get overwritten.
I, too, am trying to break a few remaining (and unnecessary) pre-OS X habits and methods.
Panther's new Finder really makes this possible and practical. I think that whole "directories vertically stacked down the left side" thing is very nice!
Today I collected my OSX Panther pack. Not yet tried to install it on my early eMac with OS9.2.2 and an earlier version of OSX - (which I never used, partly because it's in German, which I speak but don't trust myself to understand in a, for me, new venture)
Now I have seen on other Mac forums that it may be necessary to update not only some software but also firmware - BEFORE installing the new OS. Some people claim that if you don't perform the updates your new OSX will either not work well, or even not at all.
As everybody can see, I have an Internet connection.
But I find myself asking what happens to those without an Internet account? Seems to me that quite a lot of people may not be so endowed, especially outside the wealthy US and W. Euroipe.
Anybody like to offer views on this?
Peace
eric j
Originally posted by stupider...likeafox
Just let go! When you find yourself being so melodramatic about something ("buried in a photos folder"!!!!!!!) then it's time to take a step back.
Putting the folders on the Desktop is fine. Just remember that in OS 9 the desktop was the very bottom of the file structure below even the Hard Drive. In Mac OS X, the Desktop is inside your Home folder.
Other options:
Put them in a subdirectory of Photos, Movies etc. then:
* drag an alias by drag and dropping it wherever you want it (the Desktop, perhaps) while holding shift + command.
* drag them into the Dock for easy access (this doesn't move them just creates a shortcut like above.
* add them to the finder toolbar (again a shortcut)
If you did *all* of these you'd never be more than 10 pixels and a click away from the folder. Now *that* is easy access.
And in answer to your earlier question: I would recommend removing hard drives from the desktop (it's a Finder preference) and get used to clicking on the Finder icon to start work instead. I'd also suggest setting the preference that opens new Finder windows in your Home directory.
Actually , you added the exclamation points which does make it look melodramatic, but without them, as I wrote it, makes it look like a regular sentence, which is what I intended. That will be $100 for your grammar lesson
Putting the folders into the dock seems like the fastest way to get to them, if I cant have them on the desktop (the clutter doesnt bother me). I set the preference for new windows but I like the hard drive on the desktop, even though its no faster to get to the applications folder that way. Maybe later on Ill try it without it.
I now can see the need to do all these things in OSX because if you had more than one person using the computer you want to keep your files, etc safe. I just have to get used to it.
Originally posted by stupider...likeafox
I can't guarantee you'll have problems but I would feel squeamish about running an OS update if I had stuff outside of Users/Home. People who tinker with the Webserver that comes with OS X have to redo their changes every time they update as they get overwritten.
when you say users/home you mean the house icon, right?
How come the applications folder isnt in there when I click on the house? wouldnt that nake it outside of users/home?
Man, I feel like a moron right now
Originally posted by Kickaha
It won't really cause *problems*, it's just... unsightly.
Unseemly even.
Unsettling?
And, you should take note that only an admin can plop things on the top level of your hard drive. You, as first (and perhaps only) user can do so, but other users cannot, nor can they write to those folders by default.
And, if you ever get on someone else's machine, you won't be able to do so either.
The Desktop is now a per-user basis, so keeping things there is still inside your own filespace, and is preferable. Placing them within Documents, and making Dock items for them is even cleaner.
ahhhhh, so keeping it on the desktop is OK. Cool. Ill keep it there then and not on the hard drive, unless I actually want the photos, etc stored in the appropriate folders.I actually feel more comfortable with my created folders on the desktop as long as there isnt more than 3-4 of them.
The actual place those folders live is ~/Desktop (remember, '~' is a shorthand notation for your user space).
Under OS9, they'd be at the very top level, but under OS X they're inside your user space, so each user can have their own Desktop.