Windows features OS X should ‘adopt’
Two months ago, I wrote a list of 10 Classic Features to ‘Bring Back’ to OS X. But Classic MacOS isn’t the only operating system OS X could stand to swipe a few features from. Some of us Mac users also use Windows, either occasionally or full-time at work, and there are a handful of features from that operating system I think Apple should implement in Mac OS X. Here are my Top Nine (not ranked in order of importance):
1. Cut & Paste in Finder
One of the biggest differences between Mac and Windows users is that Mac users typically drag-and-drop their files to move them from one place to another while Windows users cut-and-paste them. Although OS X supports copy-and-paste of items within the Finder, it doesn’t support cut-and-paste and switchers typically find that to be a shortcoming.
The best part about adding this functionality to the Finder is that its presence would not affect those who prefer the drag-and-drop method; they could go on about their business as usual, using Spring-loaded folders, Exposé and such. It’s reminiscent of when the Mac menu bar had to be constantly held down with the mouse button while Windows menus would remain open after a single click-and-release. Apple made it work both ways (try it) and now everyone has what they prefer.
2. Applications Uninstaller
Installing applications on OS X is generally as simple as dragging them to the Applications folder. And uninstalling them is supposed to be just as simple: drag them to the Trash. But there are plenty of files associated with applications that reside within the main or user Library directories in folders like Application Support, Preferences, etc. In the case of iDVD and GarageBand, these external support files can range in the multi-gigabytes. And thus the popular AppZapper was born.
Windows has a built-in Add/Remove Programs capability that is recommended for removing both the application and its associated files strewn around the system (though I’m not making any assertions about its particular qualities). Mac OS X could use a built-in Uninstaller that uses the receipt files generated by an application’s installer to remove an unwanted applications various components (contextual menu item, preference pane, login item, etc.) and provide users with a sense of assurance that an application has truly been uninstalled, rather than its head just being cut off while the rest of its body parts sit lifelessly around the system.
Ideally, Apple should purchase AppZapper, apply its pixie dust (see SoundJam -> iTunes) and make it an included part of Mac OS X for all users.
3. Individual Folder Sharing
Pre-OS X, if you wanted to share files on your Mac with others on a local network, you could right-click on an individual folder and choose Sharing… to set up the folder permissions. That capability is now available in Windows XP (with the standard Windows networking complications, of course). Meanwhile, Mac OS X requires you to move items into your Public folder or the Shared directory – limited functionality that hasn’t been much improved since version 10.1.
I understand that the ease-of-use of System 7’s File Sharing probably can’t be regained due to the complex permissions systems of UNIX and the need to be compatible with Windows networking. But if you can share individual folders at will in Windows, you should be able to do so in Mac OS X. The third-party SharePoints steps up to the challenge, proving both that a solution can be found and that there is a desire for such configurability. But performing such a useful task shouldn’t require seeking out and downloading donation-ware.
4. Remote Desktop Connection
Remote Desktop Connection is a feature included with Windows XP Professional that allows you to remotely control another XP machine that has the remote access features enabled. The Microsoft MacBU even has an OS X client of Remote Desktop Connection (available as a free download) so Mac users can use their XP machines across the network (keeping their noisy PCs off their desk).
The current options for OS X are Apple’s quality, but spendy option of Apple Remote Desktop (which is really designed for system administrators) less-expensive third-party offerings like Timbuktu, and the free, but not simple VNC solutions.
The Apple Remote Desktop Client is already built into OS X and it has VNC capability, giving users a simple way to enable their computer for ‘remote’ viewing and control. Now all we need is a viewing/controlling application included in the Utilities folder. It should be more capable and easier to use than Chicken of the VNC but needn’t be much more advanced than the MacBU’s Remote Desktop Connection. Keeping it from doing too much should prevent it from causing competition for third-party products (which still exist for PC, despite the inclusion of RDC in XP Pro) but be better than current freeware/shareware solutions.
5. Refresh keystroke/toolbar button for Finder windows
Nearly every major revision of OS X has touted an “improved Finder” and one of the improvements has been the updating of folder contents. But there are still occasions where a file has been updated and its appearance in a Finder window goes unaltered. Windows toolbars have a refresh button that can be used to update the contents of the window. Since Apple has already copied the concept of making Finder windows look and act like browser windows (forward/backward buttons) they should add a refresh or reload button. They wouldn’t even have to create a new toolbar button icon, since they could just use the one from Safari. They could even use the same keyboard shortcut, since Command-R is currently unused in the Finder. Ideally, a refresh button shouldn’t be needed in the Finder at all, but we’ve seen four major revisions of OS X and it still hasn’t become unnecessary.
6. Expanded Finder View Options
If you open a folder of images in Windows, it can automatically view in Thumbnails mode, giving you a good overview of all the images. There is also the useful Filmstrip mode, allowing for much larger viewing of images without the need of a separate application. OS X requires you to change the view options to Show icon preview. It’s great to have the option, but it’s even better to have the OS do the work for me.
Also in Windows, if you choose to view in Details mode (analogous to the Mac’s List view) it will list relevant data like Date Photographed, Image Dimensions, etc. If the folder is full of movies or audio files, different relevant data like Length is available to sort by. Considering that Spotlight indexes all of that data (check out the More Info area of the Get Info window), the Finder’s List view is woefully outdated, providing sortability only by a limited number of values that have existed since System 7. Also many files nowadays (mp3s, jpegs, psds) have metadata built right into the file that would be useful to see in list view and sort by.
7. Multiple Undos in the Finder
This is the last Finder request of this article, I promise. The Undo command is a useful one in any application. But even more useful is multiple levels of Undo. (Anyone else remember when there was only one level of Undo in Photoshop?)
The Finder gained an Undo command in OS X, which was welcome. But let’s say you rename a file and move it to a new location. But now you’ve changed your mind (or someone else changed theirs). If you hit Undo, it will only move the file back, it will not change its name back. Similarly, say you create a new folder and name it ‘Stuff for tomorrow’ and then you change your mind because you realize there aren’t enough items to warrant creating a new folder. If you hit Command-Z, it will only undo the renaming of the folder and change it back to ‘untitled folder,’ you cannot undo the creation of the folder.
With Macs sporting dual-core processors and gigabytes of RAM, how hard would it be for OS X to remember just two levels of Undo?
8. Resize windows from more than just bottom-right corner
A longstanding feature of Windows is that any side or corner of a window can be used to resize it, contrary to the Mac method of only being able to use the bottom-right corner. The problem with the Mac method is that if you have a window on the right side of your screen and you want to make it larger, you first have to drag the window to the left and then drag the bottom-right corner to enlarge it. Similarly, if the bottom of the window is already at the bottom of the screen, but you want to make the window taller, you first have to drag the window up, then drag the bottom-right corner to enlarge it. A two-step process that should only require one step. Additionally, because you are dragging a corner, you can never simply make a window only wider or only taller (unless you have single-pixel-accurate mousing abilities). Adding more resizing capabilities to windows would provide more choices for Mac users and pacify Windows switchers who find the classic Mac way of doing things to be unnecessarily limiting.
9. System Restore
Have you ever installed a system update and then discovered it was incompatible with a certain piece of software? Because you can’t uninstall system updates, security updates or even some application updates, the only solution is to do an Archive & Install using your OS X disc and then apply all the interim updates just to go back to the version you were using mere hours prior.
Even if Windows didn’t have a System Restore feature that lets you go back in time to an older version of the system, OS X should provide a way to “rewind” the system to a prior moment. Leopard’s upcoming Time Machine functionality looks like a step in that direction, but it seems to be only for recovering individual files and folders from a former time. Prove me wrong, Apple. Prove me wrong.
Add these nine Windows features to the previous 10 Classic features, the 10 currently known Leopard features and the remaining “top secret” feature(s) and Leopard would be a can’t-miss upgrade.
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#1 Matthew Smith says:Cut-and-paste in the finder is a HUGE mistake. If you are working on something, and use the cut feature on a file, then get distracted, and come back and forget about it, then later cut or copy something else to the clipboard, you’d lose an entire file. That’s just not acceptable behavior for the finder.
#2 Jay says:Cut & Paste along with Refresh should definately be in there.
#3 Steven Jobs says:for idividual folder sharing: sharepoints there u can make new shares with. not as easy as in windows but it is more secure
#4 joe says:as far as I can tell, all AppZapper does anyway is do a Spotlight search, with many a little bit of smart result’s editing. While I bought it myself and use it a lot (it’s great), it actually is a ripoff. Apple doesn’t even need to buy it - it’s practically built into OS X already. This is a 2 day job by an Apple programmer….
#5 oliver says:the ability for iTunes to “watch” it’s directory folder. so that new media dropped into it doesn’t have to be manually added via iTunes. this would save alot of screwing around
#6 matthias says:cut & paste is standard in modern desktops.
Also resizing on windows should be improved. OSX functions still assuming there is nothing beyond XGA.
Although it may not sound popular, I am a PC user since the mid 80’s, linux since late 90’s and just bought a macbook in the states (there are so cheap there) and started to use OSX. It is ok, but for heavily usage KDE, Windows and others are much more developed.
Maybe Mr. Jobs is focusing on his roots aka OSX, brings it to a new level and stopps dreaming about 10mio iPhone - which he won’t make anyhow.
#7 Anshul says:The cut and paste feature and the refresh button are 2 of my favourites.
#8 Steve says:Multiple undos: Time Machine won’t fix that?
Resize windows from more than just bottom-right corner: Yuck. There are rare circumstances where it would be nice, but it would necessitate adding frames around the windows again, and they look so much better without them. I’d rather look at good looking, uncluttered windows all the time than be able to resize a window from the left edge once a month.
#9 Nick says:It shows the only strange weakness OSx has, at least for every day to day use, Finder and file management.
I would love to see real file manager capabilities under Finder, like multipane, sort of how Windows Commander was. I need to juggle files and going back and forth can be very confusing.
As far as cut and paste, if you get confused where you are, don’t do it. That’s all. I would like to see it there. I know how to handle it.
Great post, it shows we are open to ideas and not bigots
#10 Josh B. says:Matthew (#1): that’s not how cut-and-paste works. The source file isn’t touched until it is pasted into its new location. (The file or folder is not actually on the clipboard. Imagine a 10GB folder you wanted to cut-paste into a new location. Then imagine a 10GB object on the clipboard. Not gonna happen)
#11 Frank says:Remote Desktop Connection (Built-in VNC) is coming with iChat in Leopard. They’re calling it “Screen Sharing.”
#12 Eddie Hargreaves says:Leopard’s Screen Sharing via iChat is not the same as Remote Desktop Connection or VNC. It will require a person on both ends.
#13 vanni says:I totally agree with the first poster: CUT & PASTE is not the way to go. it’s wrong! I can see al kinds of data loss. As i have on occasion done in my work on Windows. I think improvements to the FInder … the Windows explorer is better in this area. Apples Finder needs a major overhaul. It takes too many windows to move files around.
#14 Bill Gregg says:No mention of the ability to rename and move files in Open/Save dialog boxes? This is a huge convenience for me when I’m working in Windows and the number one feature I’d like to see OS X copy.
#15 Hadley Stern says:We actually wrote a similar piece a few months ago and it is our most commented piece (over 200!). It makes for some fun reading.
http://www.applematters.com/index.php/section/comments/what_os_x_could_learn_from_windows/
#16 Lime says:Most of these would ruin mac os
Just because your not used to it doesn’t mean its wrong.
#17 Snafu says:Cut’n'Paste’s possibilities of producing data loss are exactly the same an OS X’ move-type drag’n'drop operation has: unless one is moving files to another Volume, the only thing that changes is the position of the files. If moving to another Volume, the original files won’t be deleted until they are confirmed to have been safely deposited in that Volume. If one doesn’t paste them anywhere, the files simply stay where they are.
#18 maclepper says:Why use cut and paste when a person can simply drag a file? Dragging a file seems more natural to me. I find it far less distracting than clicking the mouse a bunch and then needing to navigate to another winod any way. I prefer to just move the file from one window to a folder or another open window. I can use a keystroke in conjunction with dragging an item to either move it or place a copy of it some where.
#19 Ron Pomeroy says:Actually - cut works pretty nicely on Windows. If you cut a selection and never paste it, there’s no data loss. The next copy or cut operation voids the last copy or cut operation until you paste. At any point you hit escape and that also voids the last copy or cut operation. Pretty reasonable from my perspective.
I like having both the keyboard and drag-n-drop options available. Spring-loaded folders work great.
RP
#20 Hobbs says:Cut and Paste/move: Use command+drag
#21 Chris says:The big problem of drag & drop copy or moving is you have to either have the destination folder already open or visible; or you have to rely on spring loaded folders. And it’s so annoying when you’ve navigated down a folder branch and accidentally hover over something else or go to far and have to start again.
Also annoying is there’s no way to navigate UP a folder branch while dragging.
All these make drag & copy/move very fiddlesome.
Whereas, with cut & paste, you press command-x, and click thru to the folder you want and press command-v.
And if it’s a folder higher in the tree, it’s soooo much simpler.
A surprisingly large number of Mac users are keyboard jockeys, (unlike Windows where the mouse dominates more), So command-x in Finder would be greatly welcomed by those who like using the keyboard.
I’d also like to NOT see unrelated files when saving or opening files.
#22 Kuswanto says:No! cut and paste please. It’s a wrong way to handle files.
System restore is not very useful even in windows, it broke the OS in some kind of way. Backing up user home directory is a good solution for *nix OS. Windows don’t have home directory, so it’s one of the window’s flaws.
We can easily re-install OS X in just less than an hour anyway.
Agree with Remote Desktop, i love to see a lightweight free Apple Remote desktop.
#23 Dan Ashley says:In comment 20 Hobbs wrote:
“Cut and Paste/move: Use command+drag”
If you have deeply buried finder folders and sub folders, cmd-dragging can be pretty scary. You never know where you are going to end up with spring loaded folders popping all over the place with the slightest mis-cue of your mouse or track pad. And if you have a trackpad instead of a mouse, you sometimes bump into the edge of the track pad before you get to your destination.
What if your hand is jittery because you are on an airplane, or over 50 years old, or hung over from the college dorm party or because you are just clumsy? Dragging and dropping is very scary.
It would be much less scary to cmd-click (aka right click) on a file or folder in one finder window, and select “cut”, then simply go to the destination finder window in whatever way you choose (mouse, cmd-tab, cmd-tilda, whatever!), and then cmd-click (right click) and select “paste”. Windows has it right on this one. I’m not saying to disable command+drag, but to add the cut and paste method as an alternative for those of us who scare easily.
- Dan
#24 Mark 2000 says:for those worried about data lose in cut paste for file, the file is not moved in windows until you paste. If you never paste it it stays where it is. There’s no forgetting and loosing it.
I would also like to see full finder functionality in save/open dialog boxes. I’d also like to see right-click dragging of files so i can choose move/copy/shortcut after dropping a file. I know you can do this with the option keys but it more complicated and easily forgotten which key does what.
#25 Jeff says:Nice article.
As being a recent switcher, I would like to see most of those features implemented.
What surprised me though was that I never knew you could not cut and paste in finder. I guess I never had to cut and paste yet.
#26 Steve Hobbs says:Dude, bad list. I guess it means OSX got it right… mostly. Other than share any folder these really aren’t critical needs. And don’t go messing with copy and paste.
#27 Davezilla says:A lot of these are right on. As a longtime user of both OS’s, I have a lonve-hate relationship with the inability of each to do what the other has had for years.
While we’re bashing OS’s, will Windows ever be able to support ligatures in their fonts? Or do a decent screenshot without requiring a second app to save it in? That one is really annoying.
#28 mdmunoz says:Finder cut and paste is supported in OS X. It’s just off by default. You can edit the preference files in the terminal to turn it back on, or just use one of the many programs that modifies hidden preferences.
Or just move with Quicksilver.
Or hold the apple key while dragging a file.
#29 jeff says:“Cut-and-paste in the finder is a HUGE mistake. ”
In windows when you “cut” files from a folder, nothing actually happens to the files until they are pasted into their destination.. This can be faster than drag-and-drop as using the keyboard is almost always faster than the mouse for these sorts of operations in my opinion!
#30 Chris says:I’ve honestly never had an issue with an update breaking stuff. System restore seems totally useless to me. If you really want it I suppose you could get out your DVD and do an upgrade…
#31 Nalgae says:Wow, the amount of ignorance in these comments is amazing. People are actually *afraid* of cut and paste without knowing how it actually works?
Anyway, I actually agree with most of your points. Remote Desktop is the main feature I would like to see in OSX. I use it all the time at work because I actually work in two different departments and could see more offices adapting OSX if features like remote desktop are added on.
#32 Schneb says:I agree with almost all of your suggestions above. I do not know what everyone is whining about with cut and paste. I think Windows does it right, it grays out what you cut, pastes it to the new location, but has a temp file written before the paste is finalized. It is ridiculous to copy, paste, go back and delete. Don’t hold you breath on a lot of these. Apple thinks Aqua is perfect as is. Which it aint. This coming from a cross-plat user for 15 years.
#33 orta says:Refresh in Finder from 10.4 onwards is useless, the only place it would be of any use is over a network. Finder hooks into the filesystem to be told when changes are, it doesn’t need to constantly refresh like 10.3 downwards and windows.
#34 Linh says:I agree very much w/ cut and paste. I agree even more with Remote Desktop. VNC doesn’t cut it. I want to be able to log in remotely, and LOCK OUT my system from anyone watching or using it.
#35 Ann Coulter says:A refresh button or menu item is the wrong way to go. It’s one of the “features” that I’ve disliked about Windows. Why tell the computer to refresh when it already knows that it’s outdated (some bit somewhere in memory or on disk knows that it’s changed). A better option is to always show the current list of items in the window, like the Classic MacOS.
#36 Juha says:Moving a deeply nested item with a single Finder window (without springs etc):
1) Locate source item.
2) Drag it to the Desktop.
3) Locate the target item.
4) Drag the source item from the Desktop to the target item.
It has been like this since Finder pre-1.0 in 1984.
It’s not that hard, isn’t it?
#37 joe says:but then the OS X would no longer be “Stable”
#38 substrate says:buahaha some of these comments just show how dumb mac users really are =)
#39 LukeSkope says:All you people saying no cut and paste, will it affect you adversely in any way? No. If it is implemented like Windoze so you can’t loose data if you don’t paste, is there any danger of adding it? No. Will it help some people who care to have that functionality? Yes. So WTF is your problem?
I love OSX, been using it for 5+ years now, I can’t stand using a Windoze computer, but some people have to use both and adding very simple features like this make the transition back and forth a little easier.
#40 joe says:i agree with much of this list. copy+paste with files is sorely missed by this switcher.
#41 Spleeyah says:For all the Mac users complaining about the Cut n’ Paste:
THE OLD FILE IS NOT DELETED UNTIL YOU PASTE IT!
And, if you screw up and paste it in the wrong place, you can just undo and it will be back in it’s original place. I agree that it is a HUGE pain to have to open two different windows just to drag and drop it into it’s new location, especially on a laptop where sometimes you have to lift your finger and keep scrolling, all the while holding down the mouse button.
#42 LukeSkope says:It’s true that you can turn cut on, but it is implemented in the way that most are concerned about. Cutting a file removes it from a folder and paste doesn’t even seem to work on my G5 10.4.8.
I put this in the “please fix Finder/make it better” category.
#43 smallduck says:Files contain content, the clipboard is a temporary store for content. Copy/cut+paste of files breaks this metaphor, the distinction between container and content. Isn’t anyone else bothered by this?
If people really like moving files with the keyboard, Apple should invent a similar but distict mechanism, especially because of the different behavior people seem to want for file cutting vs content cutting.
#44 sorahn says:Refresh isn’t needed. I’ve only a few times had a file that was never refreshed, by looking at it, but as soon as i clicked on the file, all the info (thumbnail, size, date) was corrected.
As for moving windows, i agree with it sorta, i HATE the extra window borders that are all around a window. In OS X the content goes right up to the edge and that’s the end. what they need that would be a good unobtrusive solution, is to have any of the corners support it, but only if you are holding down a modifier while in that corner.
Also i’d like the ability to lock the items that are currently in the dock. On the touch pad i constantly find myself dragging non-open apps out of the dock.
#45 Hostile Monkey says:The Hostile Monkey reckons that when you install PathFinder, AppZapper, MondoMouse and Quicksilver, you’ll be pretty much sorted. Cough up for Desktop Transporter and you’re done, or just wait for the iChat stuff in Leopard.
Of course, Apple COULD build all this functionality in, but then the peanut gallery would start bitching about how Apple stomps all over third party developers, while neglecting to mention that all of these apps have cadged ideas and solutions from other vendors in some form or another.
Bah. Install apps, be happy.
#46 BobH says:DaveZilla says, “While we’re bashing OS’s…”
Nobody is bashing, just making suggestions for enhancements that might be “borrowed” from another OS. Why do you people feel the need to start an OS war at every turn?
#47 DacJames says:Come on, guys, cut-and-paste wouldn’t be a big deal to include and those of you that are complaining would just never use it and everyone that wants it would. Personally I’d like a shelf like the original NeXT (I’ve played with it) had–drag the file to shelf, drag it to the destination. This keeps with the OSX “dragging is better” mentality but allows you to move files around easily with only one finder window.
Individual file sharing should be a given.
#48 Guy says:Well I think that finder should merge folders instead of replacing the old one with the new one. I recently bought a macbook and in the first couple of weeks, I lost two entire days work because I didn’t know that OSX didn’t merge. Even a notification that this is going to happen would be better than nothing.
#49 Leland says:If a file isn’t “cut”, then why say that it’s “cut” in the first place? I think that the terminology is half of anyone’s concern; it shouldn’t need this much explanation in the first place.
I’ve never heard of using the Apple/cmd key while dragging, either. Option-drag to duplicate, sure, and the space bar to spring open a folder and Exposé to make everything visible and cmd-tab while dragging to another application (great for us laptop users), but not command-drag. What’s it supposed to do?
Oh, speaking of cmd-tab — it would be nice to have the use of window-switching keyboard shortcuts while dragging a file. But, hmm… it would be redundant since Exposé is so easy, though.
#50 ch33zer says:Wow. In windows when a file is cut, it isn’t deleted or anything, the file icon gets lighter, letting you know it’s been cut. It doesn’t move until you hit “paste” (on the right click menu, I might add
) It is then transfered to the new location.
#51 Jake says:Mr. Jobs, PLEASE pay attention to this list! I beg you! These tiny things really are a big deal and most of them shouldn’t be too hard to implement!
-Jake
#52 Leland says:To Guy, regarding merging of folders –
I’m sure that you’ve noticed by now that the better way is to drag the contents of the “newer” folder to its destination. OS X will ask if you really want to replace the same-named files with the ones you’re moving.
This is a holdover from the “physical metaphor” that used to rule the Finder interface more substantially. That is, using the Finder was meant to feel like moving folders & files around a physical workspace. For example, if you have a filing cabinet and want to put in a new folder, but there’s already an older one with the same name, you’ll have to decide whether to keep the old one or to rename either folder. But, if you want to mix their documents together, you’ll still have to open up the older folder, take the documents out of the newer one, and put them inside.
If you think of files & folders in OS X’s Finder as physical objects, then the interface begins to make more sense.
#53 actiondan says:Cut & paste in the finder/explorer is intuitive, super-useful and nothing to be afraid of. Hard to live without once you’ve experienced it. Drag & drop is conceptually attractive but fraught with practical problems (such as mis-dropping, running out of screen estate etc).
I love OS X’s minimal window borders but frankly both it and Windows should take a leaf out of Linux’s book. Having a drag motion to allow move/resize from anywhere within the window (eg Alt-left/middle drag in Gnome) is simple to learn and stupidly efficient. Why the hell to I have to search for a 1 pixel border/corner every time I want to rearrange my desktop?
#54 Marc says:Windows has a much better trash folder (which is ironic considering that Apple invented it). It’s got a Restore button to undelete. It tells you the date that a file was deleted, and it let’s you permanently delete only part of the trash. I miss all those things in Mac OS X.
#55 Leland says:Well, then a lighter shade of icon doesn’t mean “cut” to me, it means, well, that the file is “in limbo” or something…
“Cut”, in my eyes, means that it’s surely “cut”, or removed, from that location, just like while editing in any other application. That’s another example of the physical metaphor that I also mentioned just above.
#56 ChoJin says:I think having a “Refresh” button would be a mistake. We have to stop thinking like Windows and start to think different
More seriously, something changed… the finder should update itself, period. We shouldn’t want another extra useless button in the human interface. The bugs should just be fixed.
As for the multiple Undos and System Restore, hopefully these features will be called Time machine.
#57 Sy5t3m says:I like alot of these suggestions, being a longtime Windows user, but I don’t need to see them adopted in OSX. Mac users like OSX because of personal preference. I like that Vista took some good ideas from OSX that make it a nicer OS than previous Windows releases, but I don’t like the idea of a homogenous market for GUI’s. Mac should keep Mac functionality, Windows should stick to Windows, everyone’s happy.
#58 dmb says:OS X is a joke compared to windows in a lot of areas - sorry to say. I’m posting from macbook btw, and have over 5 years professional development experience on each platform.
1) Cut and paste - apple thinks we’re too stupid to grok the concept of cut and paste file is different than cut and paste text. And fanboys (some of them in this very thread) agree - they are too stupid. Sigh.
2) Finder is a joke. No default list view. No address bar (man… that sucks). No UP nav button. Its a disgrace.
3) Search sucks. Spotlight sucks. Its results suck. The indexing of attached drives sucks. Even after they botched it in XP, windows file search is light years ahead of OS X. Guess what apple - people still search for files by filename using wildcards - all the time. I don’t need to search the contents of the metaverse for my string, thanks. I actually boot parallels or boot camp into XP if I need to do some heavy searching on the OS X partition - or use easyfind.
4) The dock is a joke. Seriously. You need to keep a mental map of minimized applications to know whether its going to show in the dock - and the dock acts like an app launcher in addition to open window browser. Sucks at both jobs. The windows Task Bar is vastly superior.
5) Why - OH WHY - does finder still beachball of death when it loses a samba share? This bug is literally a DECADE old now. Will you ever fix it you $&#$%$#$$#%s?
All is not lost however, and with the correct third party apps you can make OS X quite kickass:
Witch - app switcher
Dragthing - app launcher, and windows task bar replacer
Default Folder - nice file dialogue replacer
Path Finder - this is the big daddy, replaces Finder with something leagues ahead of ANYTHING on ANY OS.
Easyfind - decent little search utility, with default folder its almost as good as right click - > search from XP.
Hide the dock and you are good to go. I wish Apple would buy ALL of these companies and roll this stuff into OS X - but they’re more interested in spending tens of millions on toys like garageband while ignoring the serious flaws in the OS.
#59 jjjjjjb says:How about putting in proper FTP client in the Finder as well, unlike the crippled one currently in place. Windows does this much better.
Also a “hide all but the desktop” is handy as well. Even something in the dock to make it more obvious than the option-command-clickondesktop keystroke.
Finally, the ability to rename/duplicate/trash files from the Open/Save dialogue boxes is a great feature of Windows.
#60 Scott says:These suggestion are all “right on”. I own a Mac consulting company and have been using Macs for 15 years. I also use Windows alot in my business. Most of the comments here that are negative, are by Mac users who know very little about Windows and are a little two over protective of Macs!
#61 Some guy says:http://www.apple.com/macosx/leopard/ichat.html
Share and share alike
Remote control takes on a whole new meaning with iChat in Leopard. Thanks to iChat Screen Sharing, you and your buddy can observe and control a single desktop via iChat, making it a cinch to collaborate with colleagues, browse the Web with a friend, or pick the perfect plane seats with your spouse. Share your own desktop or share your buddy’s — you both have complete control at all times. And when you start a Screen Sharing session, iChat automatically initiates an audio chat so you can talk things through while you’re at it.
#62 Charlie Hayes says:I am both a Windows user and a MacOS X user.
“One of the biggest differences between Mac and Windows users is that Mac users typically drag-and-drop their files to move them from one place to another while Windows users cut-and-paste them”
Have you seen studies that show that is how Windows users manage files? How are you drawing these conclusions? As a Windows user, I use drag and drop. As a Mac user, I can say that you can already do this.
“removing both the application and its associated files strewn around the system”
Since when do uninstallers regularly clean up after themselves well? I would say it is as often as an application on a Mac worth writing an uninstaller for. I haven’t even looked at free/used space on my computers for years. Do we really need to worry about that sort of thing? What about the gigabytes that Windows installs without options to remove? At least on MacOS X they are named well and put in well named folders.
“apply its pixie dust (see SoundJam -> iTunes)”
SoundJam was and is an amazing application. iTunes is arguably no better. It’s simplified, but you lose so much power.
“Individual Folder Sharing”
Windows litters the whole experience with ‘shared folders’ all over. This is before *any* manual shares by users. One could argue that pre-made shared folders (however much more discrete in the Mac case) lead to a much better user experience. You don’t have orphaned shared folders all over the system requiring a relatively complicated application to find, you have much more consistency, and you don’t have to mess with permissions. I think a better solution would be better integration of symlinks.
“Refresh keystroke/toolbar button for Finder windows”
I think a better option would be to fix the file change monitoring.
“it can automatically view in Thumbnails mode”
I find that I more often than not am unpleasantly surprised when Windows chooses the ‘best’ way to view my files. I set a *global default* in folder options, yet it ignores this. I believe Leopard is getting ‘quick slideshow’ and much better file viewing.
“Multiple Undo’s in the Finder”
I hope it doesn’t end up being as mysterious as Window’s global multiple undo where the menu item is “Undo Move” and it’s left up to me what file/folder that is.
“longstanding feature of Windows is that any side or corner of a window can be used to resize it”
In MacOS Classic, you could drag any side of the window to move it, allowing you to move the title bar out of view, better mouse-locality, etc. One could argue either way for hours, but in the end, it’s ugly and wastes space. I don’t like it. How often do you find yourself resizing windows anyway? And if you don’t have single pixel mouse movement abilities, 3 or 4 would be pushing it also.
“System Restore”
Ah yes, another mysterious Windows feature. This often ends up doing more harm than good. When it’s really necessary to use, i.e.: Windows wont boot, it’s pretty crazy hard to find/hard to use, especially for novices. Not to mention the fact that when you need to use it there’s probably a deeper issue at hand that a System Restore wont fix, so its just taking up huge amounts of disk space and computing time to run. I disable it every time I reinstall Windows, and I have never once wished I hadn’t. Side note: I have never had to reinstall OSX.
#63 Cory Micek says:the finder refreshes itself automatically; you’re a complete tool.
#64 Ozzie says:There is a simple solution: use Gnome. Nautilus is powerful, easy to use, and looks good.
#65 Dave M. says:Application Uninstall is a questionable need. Sure AppZapper and CleanApp are basically application uninstallers. However, if an App or tool installs itself in a way that can’t be removed by simply taking the Application Icon and dragging it to the trash, then I would suggest making sure the Install App has an uninstall option. I really wouldn’t want an average user trying to decipher some of the files they would have to in order to remove addons and such that are not installed in the Applications folder.
System Restore is evil and should not come anywhere near OS X! My father used it to jump back to a time when a virus wasn’t on his system. He thought that would be a good way to deal with it. It wiped out changes well past a virus getting into the system and took out his internet drivers and settings.
It took me about 30 minutes to get the system even close to the way it was before and I’m sure the virus is still in there.
If Time Machine does what System Restore did, I’m sure it will do it much better and safer or it won’t do it at all.
#66 Kyle says:My List:
#1: OS X is a terrible multi-monitor OS. I have 3 monitors, an open app’s menu bar can be over 2400 pixels away; this is simply poor design, at the very least allow a menu bar per monitor. The current bit of design cruft made sense when monitors were less than 500x and 9×9 or so, but the current menu bar model is just embarrassing.
#2: There is no utility to snap windows at an OS level.
#3: Critically poor handling of file sharing. If there is a network share that becomes unavailable (wifi etc) the finder can freak out and lock up completely. This is poor style. Connecting to samaba shares is also painfully slow and the finder window does not update correctly (and there is no refresh as the article points out)
#4: There are no utilities to resize windows automagically (like utils xp, keystrokes to make the window half the size of the monitor and snap to the left for instance)
#5: itunes is generally a piece of crap, is slow etc. iTunes auto updating added media to a folder would be a start.
#6: The interface is generally sluggish, it needs more a more snappy feel. (on a dual core)
#67 You says:Honestly… the lack of a finder cut/paste operation is probably THE most frustrating part of Mac OS. As for your point Leland, when you cut a file in Windows, essentially it is on the clipboard… however, if you then copy or cut something else, the file is not lost, but instead returned to its previous folder.
#68 Wenzi says:Your list would ruin a mac. You want Apple to remove the ‘pixie dust’ from OSX. OSX is a great operating system designed for the market that Apple sells into.
May I suggest you stop using a Mac. It would be better for all involved if you just went back to using a PC.
#69 Nathan says:Do a little more research next time. Time Machine supports restoring your entire system to a previous point in time. It also supports backing up to a remote server and the ability to reconstruct your entire hard drive if it gets corrupted, or even stolen.
“With Time Machine, you can restore your whole system from any past backups and peruse the past with ease. … When you find the file you want, just select it and restore it. Time Machine brings it into the present. You can do the same with a group of files, whole folders, even your entire system.” — http://www.apple.com/macosx/leopard/timemachine.html
As for multiple undo in the Finder, as long as it uses Core Data the undo functionality will be available ‘for free’ (as they’re fond of saying about Core Data). Presumably an updated Finder will use the new frameworks in Mac OS X, so this is almost a given.
Number 3 would be incredibly easy. You could probably do it with an Automator action, creating a symlink to the folder from your Shared folder to the currently selected item.
#70 Rafael Nevarez says:I think the best way to implement the AppZapper functionality is to add a behavior to the Trash can when you drag an App into it. You drag an App to the trash, the system automatically finds the addittional files that has to erase aditionally. I dont think this is too complicated.
and keeps the actual simplicity of the process
#71 derek says:I can’t believe he said system restore ….lol..well i hope you understand that leopard is rapped in a svn called time machine
me personly would like gui support for NFS but thats just me!
#72 David says:Cut/pasting files does not work the same way as cut/pasting text. When working with files, only a reference to the file is stored in the clipboard. If you cut another file before pasting your original cut, only the reference is replaced, not the actual file.
#73 Me says:Being stuck with only being able to resize windows in the corner is a constant frustration. Worse, several times, whether because of bugs or who knows, I’ve gotten windows into a state where it was bigger than the screen vertically, so it wasn’t even *possible* to get to the resize corner. You have to either close the window, or, if you’re lucky, the green button will put the whole window back on the screen. Frames are not unaesthetic unless you’re incredibly picky, and I’ll take function over form any day. My computer is a tool, not a piece of art.
#74 Dan says:In OS X, I find it very useful to be able to select multiple files and copy A LIST OF THE FILES AS TEXT into the clipboard. Windows cannot do this and if you made OS X work like Windows you would kill this feature on a Mac. Also, I dare you to ‘copy’ some files that are currently open in Windows and then try to paste into a text document (something very easy to do accidentally) … it took ten minutes for that mess to clear up.
And please, Apple, DO NOT make your finders list view work anything like the Windows detailed view. In Windows, you sort by name, but folders are still grouped together (Lame), you sort by size, but it can’t compute a folder’s size (Lame), you add a file to that folder, it’s at the end of the list and YOU HAVE TO refresh or re-sort… LAME LAME LAME
System Restore & Multiple Undos == Time Machine
PS. I use both platforms extensively and can only stand XP when it’s in classic mode.
#75 BK says:@Matthew Smith
When you cut and paste files in XP, the file is not deleted, only until it is pasted is it deleted. When you cut the file(s) they become transparent looking letting you know they are cut, if you go and cut/copy something else before pasting the files they just go back to looking solid instead of transparent. Cut and paste basically works as a move file command.
#76 Muneer says:The only needed feature on that list is RDC. Oh, But wait!! They already have that!! http://www.apple.com/remotedesktop/
#77 dodo says:There’s obviously a lot of parallels between the two OS’s, even among the “experts” there are many features that have parity on both systems that you guys don’t even know about. It’s hilarious reading through this stuff!
#78 Leland says:So, the words “cut and paste” mean one thing in every application, but mean something else entirely in the Finder? Why?
Again, Cut & Paste doesn’t make enough sense, and not simply enough, for me to think it should be included.
Imagine trying to explain it to my mom. That’s just not going to happen. She’s a very object-oriented person, and even after having used two iMacs over seven years, she’ll take a long time to grasp cut & paste in the Finder. She has no problem with it in PageMaker or Pages or Photoshop or iMovie or anything else, though.
We’re all geeks here. We all know more about OSes than most people walking down the street. What we CAN’T do is make something as convoluted as we’re capable of imagining.
Remember the original Mac ads? Something about “the computer for the rest of us.”
#79 Mark says:Good points, all of them. The VNC stuff in OSX is however about as good as they come, so not sure what else you’re asking for there (aside from an apple branded free VNC client).
#80 Alex says:Add one more: some way to maximize the current window. Please.
And put another damned mouse button on the MacBook. Just… get over it.
#81 Leland says:Why put another mouse button on a laptop? You already have four click modifier keys right next to the trackpad anyway.
#82 Alex says:So that I don’t have to hold down some modifier. I can just… click. This should just… work.
#83 cpawl says:Funny, most of the things you say OS X needs I think Windows does completely wrong. I am a mac user forced to use Windows at work for the the past ten years. MOving things in windows is a pain, cut and paste or not. Everything takes place in one Window most of the time.
Click to open Window
navigate , find, cut navigate back, click new location, navigate in - paste.
Or APPLE + N open window, find file drag to destination. Cut and paste doesn’t even make sense in the physical world. This is why Apple doe not use it. It’s not that no one “will get it” it’s that it is bad practice. Of course, Windows users find this more efficient, because you are use to taking the long way home.
I would agree with the Remote Desktop function - Apple’s lack of this annoys the hell out of me.
Resizing windows from every corner is an overkill and a waste of time. That is like saying let’s put back buttons on every corner of the borwser because I am too lazy to reach for the one that already exists.
Multiple Undos? Why? So you can umdo, undo, undo, uh where the heck was I to begin with. By the time you undo 5 times (most likely something like moving a file around) you could easily just drag to file to where you want it again. Another Windows only logic here… using multiple undos because the actual “do’ took more steps than you would rather “do” again.
The Refresh button idea is not only pointless but retarded. There is no reason, OS X or Windows should not update live. Expecting a user to refresh is an insult to a modern operating system. What am I refreshing anyway? I just dragged in 10 files in a finder window, renamed all of them, and then dragged them out- the finder updated instantly.
The shared folder issue might seem like a downfall to Windows people, but I personally like that ALL my shared stuff is is one location instead of scattered all over the OS. This is more secure, more organized, and works the way a directory should. I always the know the path, I always knwo the purpose, and I usually know the content because I took time to put it there.
#84 Leland says:I don’t understand the problem.
If it should have more than one button, then how many should it have? One for the regular click, one for control-click, one for shift-click, one for command-click, one for option-click, another for option-shift click….?
See where I’m going with this?
Of the modified mouse clicks, I use control-click maybe just a third of the time. I’m using one of the other modifiers the rest of the time. Adding a second mouse button won’t make those other clicks any easier.
#85 cpawl says:Speaking of shared folders… make a folder with an action or automator workflow- sit it on the desktop or drag an alias to it in your finder window. The action can be to move the folder to the user public folder. Now drag-drop- done. Eveything in one place.
#86 WD says:“And put another damned mouse button on the MacBook. Just… get over it.”
Jesus just put a second finger on the track pad! THEN CLICK! Haven’t you ever used a MacBook????
#87 WD says:BTW you can also scroll using two fingers as well. It’s very nice.
#88 Kyle says:“If it should have more than one button, then how many should it have? One for the regular click, one for control-click, one for shift-click, one for command-click, one for option-click, another for option-shift click….?
See where I’m going with this?”
Yeah, I see what you did there, you’re trying to make an argument based on false assumptions. The only modifier+click that’s used heavily is ctrl+click, which should be available as right click on laptops. (like it is on apple brand stand-alone mice, I bet the majority of users would pay over $50 alone for this ‘upgrade’ on an mbp)
“Resizing windows from every corner is an overkill and a waste of time. ”
Who’s time? Hunting for a resize corner is a waste of my time, and not snapping windows is a waste of my time.
“The Refresh button idea is not only pointless but retarded. There is no reason, OS X or Windows should not update live.”
I agree with this one, but after 6 years of failure, maybe the OS X devs should give up and allow the user to refresh instead of having a broken out-of-date finder window. Either admit defeat and give the user more control or do it right.
#89 John says:Great writeup..Now I’ll confess Im a windows power user, BUT I do admire the smooth elegance of the OSX GUI. Ive tried Apple computers at times during work and many of the things you mention in your article are things that irked me about OSX.
#90 cpawl says:“Resizing windows from every corner is an overkill and a waste of time. “
“Who’s time? Hunting for a resize corner is a waste of my time, and not snapping windows is a waste of my time.”
–
Hunting? For what? The same location - on every window - in every application. Do you also “hunt” for your “enter” or “return” key? Do you “hunt” for your “addess bar” or “back button”. A fixed location for a fixed function makes sense.
#91 Leland says:I’m not “trying to make an argument based on false assumptions”. Don’t give me that crap.
In fact, the modified mouse click I use the most — by FAR, when you include Safari — is command-click.
It opens links in new tabs, shows the path when clicked on a window’s title bar, selects & deselects multiple items in the Finder and in menus, etc etc.
Sure, maybe I could configure a second mouse button on my laptop to do command-click instead of control-click, but what about when someone else borrows it? They would have a hell of a time just using my computer.
This is one of those things that just shouldn’t be changed so drastically.
#92 Nate says:@joe
“as far as I can tell, all AppZapper does anyway is do a Spotlight search, with many a little bit of smart result’s editing. While I bought it myself and use it a lot (it’s great), it actually is a ripoff. Apple doesn’t even need to buy it - it’s practically built into OS X already. This is a 2 day job by an Apple programmer….”
It does not do a spotlight search. I disabled spotlight a few months ago and it does affect some things, but appzapper is not one of them. And the reason Apple would buy it would be because it is intellectual property of its coder. It’s just the proper thing to do.
#93 chadseld says:Refresh issues were fixed in 10.4. If there are cases in which icons do not refresh, then the underlying mechanism needs to be fixed. Adding a refresh menu is extremely retarded.
Cut and Paste in finder/explorer breaks the cut and paste paradigm because the ‘cut’ does not remove the original item until it is pasted. This is different from the way cut works in a text editor. Be consistent at all times!
I’m not sure I’ve ever had a use for system restore even on my Windows PC’s, but I’m game.
The rest of your suggestions are spot on.
#94 Jesse Gardner says:One thing that drives me BATTY is that Finder displays the folders all mixed up with the other files. Windows has all the directories right up at the top making drilling down through file structures easy. With Finder, it’s a guessing game every time.
#95 Visigoth says:Use Unix-style window dragging; hold down a key like Alt and left-click to drag the window, hold down another key/different mouse button to resize it.. from anywhere on the window. This reduces the need for ANY edges, corners or titlebars on windows once you get used to it, plus is reduces the need to hunt for pixels that let you resize it. Since this is such a common task, once you’ve grown accustomed to it in Gnome, KDE, Xfce or any other decent window manager in Linux/etc, it is a shock to come back to OSX or Windows.
#96 xazuru says:I agree with your opinion. Even though OSX is better in most cases, some things are better in Windows.
#97 Leland says:If you don’t need to control a remote Mac, and only need to send files to it, it’s very easy to do without any add-on software.
I did it on a whim once while chatting with my dad. I had him tell me the IP address as shown in the Network pane of System Preferences, then I pasted it into the Connect To Server… dialog in Finder. I used their username & password, logged in, and there it was.
Apart from the photocasting in iPhoto ‘06, this was the best way to send nearly two gigs of Christmas pics to my parents. I don’t know why it would need to be a separate application.
#98