Friday, February 2, 2001The readers speak: A new OS X
Most MacWEEK readers are enthusiastic about Apple's upcoming release of Mac OS X. But many have suggestions about features they'd like to see, and despite the changes to the Aqua interface, some still see problems in the Dock. Here are comments culled from our recent coverage of Mac OS X (see "A new OS X").
Complaining is good
Apple is finally taking steps to address the UI problems of Mac OS X. There still is long way to go, but this is a very positive sign, and the Mac faithful are to be thanked.
There were some of you out there with the attitude, "Oh shut up and be happy with it, Steve Jobs knows best." Shame on you. Don't you realize that Apple relies on its customer base to know if it is moving in the right direction? This is a lesson Steve Jobs is just learning now. We have an obligation to make sure Mac OS X is the best it can be, and keeping quiet only hurts Apple's chances for success.
Mac OS X is still not perfect, and it will probably still need revisions even after first release. But look at the changes that are being made now. These are taking place because we spoke up! They wouldn't have happened by going into ostrich mode. Whistling "Don't Worry, Be Happy" didn't return the Apple menu to us. Apathy didn't make the Finder more customizable. Giving feedback did. And I applaud everyone in here who gave it.
But there is still more work to do. If you don't care about Apple, and you don't mind if Mac OS X ends up like the Cube or the round mouse, then remain silent. But in this hour when they are in trouble, this is when Apple needs us most. They need us more than even they realize. If you care, you will respond to the Mac OS X customer feedback section at http://www.apple.com/macosx/beta/feedback.html.
No one but the Macintosh community can make Mac OS X fail. And no one but us can make it succeed. Let's help Mac OS X the best it can be.
--Jonathan Hoyle
I'm pretty stoked
When the beta was released I ordered it as quick as I could. Even though I was sure I wouldn't be able to install it on my machine (too old), I figured $30 wasn't bad for a great collectors item.
I read every little bit that I could about the beta. Wanted to know every little nuance about it (especially since I couldn't use it). I agreed with almost every report/criticism. There were missing features and that's fine, but there were no "as good or better" replacements for those features. Very discouraging.
Though most of what I read was good, the bad points where looming. Too many missing features and the idea of using a ton of shareware/freeware to make up for the shortcomings of X was just not comfortable. Didn't feel like the ol' Mac OS I had come to love. I crossed my fingers and hoped that Apple would bring that OS 8 "wow" feeling into the final release.
Sure enough, they did. The release finally looks like an OS I can live with. Sure there will probably be a few shareware/freeware apps I will use to make things work the way that I do, but probably not any more of them than I use now (probably 90 percent less!).
I personally applaud Apple for what they have done (not to mention listening and acting quickly for a change). No one is going to be completely satisfied with it no matter what Apple does, but I think for the most part Apple is delivering a solid OS that fits right in the middle as best as possible. I know I will be drooling for it in the months to come. Anyone with a brain in their head will be.
--Tin Omen
The main problems are still there
The few tweaks in this version of OS X are all nice, but Apple still hasn't solved the main problems of the Dock and the Finder.
The Dock icons still shift around as more are added, meaning that they don't have consistent positions. You can't develop a "muscle memory" for items in the Dock, which makes it much less efficient. And the Dock icons still don't touch the bottom of the screen.
You still have to mouse over the Dock to see icon titles, and many icons such as folders aren't unique. You can't drag and drop into the new folder menus, they are like the Apple menu, not pop-up-windows. Because of this, if you want to be able to drag and drop onto the icons you still have to keep them in the first level of the Dock.
The Dock still either takes up valuable space on the screen or has to be hidden so that it pops up when the mouse pointer touches the bottom of the screen. How hard would it be to have an option that lets you have it pop up only when the bottom of the screen is clicked, that way accidental pop ups could be eliminated.
The Finder still feels crippled to me compared with either NeXTSTEP or Mac OS. It lacks nice Mac features like spring-loaded folders, and the Shelf is replaced by a much less useful toolbar. It's nice that you can customize the new toolbar, but a Shelf would allow you to copy files with one window very elegantly, with OS X you have to use multiple windows.
Overall I still think that the new GUI is a total mess of horrible design, and now it's obvious that it isn't going to be fixed before release.
--Dave Johnson
Dock still bouncy moving target--bad UI
The bottom line is that the central navigation tool of the computer shouldn't be a bouncy-hoppy moving target. This is the essence of bad user interface design.
Microsoft gets little enough right in Windows when it comes to user interface, but one thing they did do right is the taskbar. A customizable, static area for users to park frequently used apps, etc. And a non-static, but fairly simple and unobtrusive area for open apps and documents. Frankly, Action GoMac did the Windows taskbar one better, but the Dock is a flashy, form-over-function giant step backward.
I like a lot about OS X, but the Dock is a flagrant example of a ooh-ahh marketing trumping do-it-right engineering. I'm a marketing guy myself, and the sins of my people glare out at me, as in this case.
--Bill C.
Key command to hide Dock
Apple has addressed the biggest problems I had for most part , except for two--spring-loaded folders and the Dock getting in way of everything. Right now, when you have an app open and get to the bottom of a page, if you cursor gets close to the Dock, it instantly gets in way. This is perhaps the single biggest usability problem with Dock. Sure you can make it auto hide, but it still pops up when your mouse is down there. Why can't it be like the control strip and have a key command like strip to make it hide completely? That alone would solve what I find to be biggest problem with dock-it's too aggressive.
--Dave
Dock is the greatest!
I get things done much faster with the dock. With the advances Steve showed at Macworld I love it even more!
--slayman
One more beta would be nice...
Even if the release is 60 days away, I'd still like to see one more beta release. For these features to remain in Apple without the benefit of feedback is insane. It's like they're saying, "We listened, we fixed stuff, and we're not changing it again...nah, nah."
--John Foster
Conservatism
There are a lot of conservatives in the computer community. Those who feel that they don't like the changes Apple is making can stay with OS 9.1. Personally, I'll be installing OS X on March 24.
--Ron Lussier
OS X pricing
So OS X is going to be $129. Most previous Mac OSes have been $99. Does Apple plan to offer those of us who paid $30 for the Public Beta a deal? Like maybe $30 off toward the purchase? That would be nice.
--David
For $129 they better make sure it launches with full third party printer support. If there is no printer support it is useless to most people and companies!
--macaddict#334
Support Windows as a legacy system
Apple can vastly expand its potential market with the release of OS X by providing optional (BTO) Windows support on par with its support of Mac OS 9.1. Even without Windows pre-installed, a Windows installation manager would allow the customer to add it later.
Mac OS 9.1 is supported as a legacy system in such a way as to make it easy for end users to migrate to OS X. Apple can offer a system that can simultaneously host classic Mac OS and Windows environments while providing the best Unix experience as well! This would blow everybody away and expand the potential customer base of Apple by a factor of 10 to 20.
Many organizations require computers to have Windows compatibility. This approach would allow people in such organizations to order a premium computer system from Apple as an advanced Unix workstation with Windows and classic Macintosh compatibility. Many computer users have the need for one or more Windows-only programs. Vendors of such programs would also have more incentive to port their programs to OS X.
I'm afraid that without offering this option, Apple's potential customer base is limited to the small or dwindling market segments of: 1) existing Mac users (embattled); 2) complete beginners (dwindling); and 3) open-minded Unix heads (must be willing to spend premium $$).
--Art S
Labels, Window shade and Application Switcher
I still want labels. I use them all the time for marking groups of files as I'm working on them. I can not see of any other way to quickly mark files. Labels are such a good idea that Adobe Photoshop 6 and GoLive have them now.
I also prefer a windowshade to moving the window to an icon at the bottom of the screen. Sorry, but I don't like chasing after an icon in the Dock. It is bad enough that I have to go to the bottom of the screen to get back my window, but then I have to chase it in a Dock that moves it around.
This brings me to the Application Switcher, or lack of it. I often have 15 or more programs open, and I do not want to have to hunt down and chase a moving icon at the bottom of my screen. Yes, I know that I can use the keyboard to go through all the open programs, but what happens when I just want to keep switching between a couple of programs and leave the rest open and hidden?
It looks like the Apple menu is back and I can not begin to express how happy I am about that, I use it all the time.
The Dock looks like could become a nice replacement for the control strip, but it does not replace pop-up folders, windowshade or the Application Switcher for the way I work.
--Terri Zamore
Big problem: name of app
The recently announced changes to OS X are great. But, OS X still suffers from a big flaw. The menus at the top of the screen "move" based on the length of the name of the application (second menu after the Apple menu).
This leads to all sorts of problems, which have been documented elsewhere.
Please, Apple, fix this. I know you can change the way that particular menu works (using the icon of the app instead of the name), but the default behavior is bound to confuse people.
--Klark
OK! Let's cut the crap
First point: I have been fiddling around with OS X PB for two months now and let me tell you this; OS X Public Beta has fewer bugs in it than Windows NT 4, which I have to put up with every day at work
Second point: What Apple has done with even the beta of OS X is astonishing. Combine the most powerful OS in the world (Unix) with the easiest to use OS in the world (Mac OS). Until now, this was only a wet dream, but Apple has come through and has put in some astonishing work. I've been showing OS X to some heavy-duty programmer friends of mine, and they can't believe what they are seeing with their own eyes.
Third point: It keeps getting better and better. OS X PB has a cartload of debugging code included in it and it still runs like a prize stallion. Also Apple is seriously listening to us users and they are adding more and more ideas and solutions to an OS that is already seriously cool and powerful.
Fourth point: Just go around some of OS X discussion boards on the Web. Discussions are fast and vigorous. You can tell the excitement that OS X has roused among different kinds of people just by flicking through the posts. Something strange is happening: Linux/BSD/OpenSource types are connecting with Mac users and discussing the finer points of command lines, system security, etc. with them. A whole new group of users are flooding in with all the experience and excitement of kids let into a huge room full of new toys.
People coming from disparate parts of the computer industry are finding a new common ground away from all the staleness, the empty hype and empty promises of Microsoft and Windows. Software that was previously available only for Unix is being ported over by programmers, and not because they have to, but because they want to, even if only for the sheer novelty of a previously alien OS which has suddenly become strangely familiar.
Fifth point: No one else apart from Apple could have achieved all this or they would have already done so. Only Apple had the sheer gall and courage to come up with a brand new OS which is also one of the oldest on the planet, and make it work.
So, let's not bicker on about the finer points of the Apple menu or how Apple could have done things a bit better. Such things are solved in ways that they always have been: either Apple implements them or third parties do. It's that simple.
This is the new wave. Even if Apple fails and is wiped off the face of the earth, I will rest easy knowing that not only did Apple survive longer than everybody thought they would, they also wrote the best OS on the planet and went out with a bang!
--battal boy
Apple must tell us why OS X is better!
As a long time Mac user, I too am looking forward to the big roll out, and hopefully massive killer ad campaign to announce it (hint, hint, nudge, nudge).
However, Apple has to really do a good job of communicating why OS X is clearly better. Not only better than Windows, but better than 9.1. In other words, OS X has to offer the average user a better experience and in many ways, a more productive experience.
Sure, the GUI is the most visible, and most controversial, but what's going to prompt users to shell out $129 for the OS, plus dough to upgrade to Carbon versions of their software (Photoshop, Office, etc), unless there are real tangible benefits? Less crashing will be nice, and multi-tasking capabilities will be a small improvement, but what else will be improved? Faster operation....um, not necessarily unless you pick up a new machine at the same time....and I'm sure OS X will love more memory...
I compare it to the Quark-InDesign battle. Quark was the standard. Along came the rumors of InDesign with its PostScript backbone and other amazing capabilities. What happened? Even though people had complaints about Quark and the company, there weren't enough tangible benefits to switching over. Not only was there cost involved, there was also time and training needed. It didn't take much investigation to discover that the benefits of switching over were few in most cases.
One benefit will be if more major companies announce OS X versions, similar to what Alias/Wavefront is doing to Maya. That will turn a few heads. But then again, Maya is a very high-end program that won't sell a ton. Many companies will also roll out some additional features with their OS X-ready software, to appease those of us that cry about paying for compatibility.
Another benefit will be if Apple gets on board and bundles a bunch of cool apps with the OS. Sorta like the PC side where you get a small business edition of Office. Some real killer OS X-ready apps and games bundled along will make it easier to swallow.
To sum up, Apple has to really build up anticipation for the roll out and deliver some great bundled apps to show off OS X's capabilities. Communicating the real benefits to users will help also. If the worst happens, like third-party hardware problems and buggy Classic implementation, many of us will wait until OS X.1 or longer.
--Howard Wright
Right about the apps
The bloom is off personal computers because the PC experience is getting more complex and much less rewarding. Even though iTunes is interesting, right now it functions as a way of cataloging and recording stolen music. The purloined songs are the killer app here, not iTunes. iMovie is a good idea, but 50 years of experience from 8mm film to videotape to digital video has shown that people simply don't have the skill or the interest to edit moving images. The previous killers, email, chat groups, desktop publishing and image editing are still great fun. But it's not new. We've seen it before.
If it comes down to selling computers based on instant messaging (the only good-looking thing to come along lately), then the effort is weak. Sure, computerizing is helpful in business, but most implementations that I've seen (brought to you on a clunky crashing Windows basis) are frustrating and time-consuming for most people. If Macs are going to be the hub for a "digital lifestyle," I'd like to see a broader vision expressed as to what that vision might be. I keep up with new and innovative big-iron enterprise stuff as well as small computer stuff. The vision and the ideas just don't seem to be coming along. Anybody heard of anything really provocative? I'd like to know.
--Steve G.
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