Wasn't too much of a rant, more like:
"So what if we're a cult, at least we don't eat humans."

It's the thing about being a minority. When you meet one like yourself you have a connection that sets you apart from other people and the mainstream culture. In this case the minority is computer choice, instead of skin color or nationality.

I think when you said "trying to work out the finer points of this subject" you meant "trying to come up with some valid reasons as to why Macs are better."

I don't want to start a fight, and I hope I'm not coming off as an a-hole. For the record, I am a Mac user, and I really love Unsanity's work. I'm a paid user of Windowshade X, and I love APE and its modules.

But the fact of the matter is, if OS X was a sophisticated operating system, we wouldn't need you guys. Why did they take out the Windowshade function between 9 and X? Why can't you customize the Apple Menu? Why isn't there a decent selection of menu extras? Why can't I customize event sounds? Or have any event sounds, for that matter? On a personal note, why doesn't the Finder remember window sizes and viewing options (somewhat remedied in Jaguar, but still unacceptable)? Why doesn't the green button maximize a window? Why can't Internet Explorer remember window sizes that take up the whole screen (perhaps not Apple's problem, but I'm on a roll, here)? Why can't I put a folder on the left side of the dock (top if you keep it on the side)? Why can't I Cut and Paste in the finder (forcing me to open multiple windows and drag/drop)? Why can't I see the path of a Finder window and use it to navigate to other folders? Why can't I select a folder in the Finder and press the delete key to delete it? I have to drag it to the trash or click the delete key on the keyboard. Why isn't there simple keyboard access to the menu system? Why can't I have my icons line up along the left side of the desktop? Why don't the freaking Home and End keys work natively (they work on a per-application basis) and have the same function system-wide? This is a major issue with me, because my productivity is seriously set back by having to point and click to the start or end of a line, or figuring out the odd combination of other keys (if there is one) that perform the home and end functions. Oh, and one mouse button? Not an OS X thing, I know, but...good GOD, what are they thinking? I liken it to Sony AGAIN putting only 2 controller ports on the PS2, outright conceding the console multiplayer battle to Microsoft and Nintendo.

All right, I'm sorry, I'm just rambling now. To sum up, OS X is a very pretty OS. Nice eye candy. But it lacks functionality. And while the community aspect of being a Mac user is certainly worth noting, there aren't any solid hardware or software (or price, heh...) advantages to owning a Mac.

I'd like to reiterate that I AM a Mac user (I'm studying graphic design) and I LOVE Unsanity's work. :)

Don't even get me started on the one button mouse thing...I never even unwrapped the plastic off my "pill" when I got my new G4.

I'm with you on several other points also, but I'll hold out for another day to spill some frustration in that area. ;)

>Why did they take out the Windowshade function between 9 and X?

Because they made the Dock.

>Why can't you customize the Apple Menu?

Because they made the Dock

>Why isn't there a decent selection of menu extras?

Define decent? Sounds like opinion.

>Why doesn't the green button maximize a window?

Does it not? News to me. Always thought it was "maximize window to show current window contents" not "make window as large as possible"

>Why can't I see the path of a Finder window and use it to navigate to other folders?

Path pop-up toolbar item and command-click the title bar aren't enough?

>Why can't I select a folder in the Finder and press the delete key to delete it?

Command-Delete is bad?

>Why isn't there simple keyboard access to the menu system?

Full keyboard access in the Keyboard preference pane.

>Why can't I have my icons line up along the left side of the desktop?

Because that's where application windows and the "home" menu have traditionally been placed.

>Why don't the freaking Home and End keys work natively (they work on a per-application basis) and have the same function system-wide?

A proper application will have command+

>Why can't I put a folder on the left side of the dock?

That's for applications. Simpler if functionality is consistent.

I'm not a Mac fanatic, I just use whatever works. Mac OS allows me to get my work done in the least amount of time mostly thanks to Apple working on the humancomputer bottleneck.

That said Mac OS X is losing some of those advantages. Apple made a really good decision in System 7 to deprecate functions which used file paths. Unfortunately Cocoa uses file paths as file primitives, as does all the UNIX crap which makes a really fragile file hierarchy. If you move/rename a file/folder/non-root volume things break. UGH

Get rid of filesystems altogether I say.

I'm also not a fan of NSLayoutManager which makes text views behave more like windows than Mac OS. For example selecting down on the right side will select the trailing linefeed which I really hate.

Hrm, maybe a haxie could fix this |-\

>>Why did they take out the Windowshade function between 9 and X?

>Because they made the Dock.

Nonsense. What about programs that use multiple windows? Finder anyone? Do you surf with just one IE window open?

>>Why can't you customize the Apple Menu?

>Because they made the Dock

The dock isn't customizable enough.

>>Why isn't there a decent selection of menu extras?

>Define decent? Sounds like opinion.

I'll give you this one.

>>Why doesn't the green button maximize a window?

>Does it not? News to me. Always thought it was "maximize window to show current window contents" not "make window as large as possible"

It doesn't "maximize window to show current window contents" in the finder. And it should make window as large as possible. God bless the third party software makers who implement it in this way.

>>Why can't I see the path of a Finder window and use it to navigate to other folders?

>Path pop-up toolbar item and command-click the title bar aren't enough?

No. It requires either a click or a keystroke and a click, and after that you can only go to a folder above the one you're currently in.

>>Why can't I select a folder in the Finder and press the delete key to delete it?

>Command-Delete is bad?

It's an extra keystroke.

>>Why isn't there simple keyboard access to the menu system?

>Full keyboard access in the Keyboard preference pane.

Too much work.

>>Why can't I have my icons line up along the left side of the desktop?

>Because that's where application windows and the "home" menu have traditionally been placed.

This is why Windows is a better overall UI. I don't need to look at my desktop while I'm working in Photoshop or Dreamweaver. I'm concentrating on the work. And if I need to do something else, it's as simple as pulling down the start menu. Apple sorta got this right with the Dock. I was pleased to discover the ability to place a Macintosh HD alias in the Dock that I can right-click on and get a listing of HD contents.

>>Why don't the freaking Home and End keys work natively (they work on a per-application basis) and have the same function system-wide?

>A proper application will have command+

A proper OS would make it system wide. Cmd+Left and Cmd+Right are back and forward in IE, as they should be. Even if those are "supposed" to provide that function, then what's the freaking point of having the home and end keys ON the keyboard?

>>Why can't I put a folder on the left side of the dock?

>That's for applications. Simpler if functionality is consistent.

I'll take power and customizability over simplicity, thanks. I didn't switch to Mac because it was simpler to use than Windows.

The common thread in my complaints is that the Mac is suppposed to be much more productive than the PC, well, for every extra keystroke I have to throw in to get something done (Cmd+Click for path; Cmd+Delete for deleting a file; Cmd+L or Cmd+R for home and end), that's a little less time I could be using productively.

Hehe... Apple broke everything when they moved from OS 9 to OS X. All for the sake of Steve Jobs' wounded pride from the NeXT days. I run OS 9.22 on a Beige G3 466, and the response time in the GUI is instantaneous. And I get Windowshade (Click... Sproing!), Launcher (Who needs the Dock?), and a non-UNIX OS (No command-line for me, thanks). I bought OS X for $120 when it came out, installed it, and only left it on for about 2 hours. It raped my Mac! I would've bought a PC if I wanted a slow, broken OS (Although I have to admit, XP is way better than 98). And I don't have to run an entire OS as an application to make some of my programs work (Apple should stop calling it the "Classic Environment" and call it "Virtual Macintosh"). Ever since Steve Jobs came back, Macs have gone from stylish to fruity & shiny. My OS might not look like molded plastic (and my case comes in "Beige" instead of "Flower Power" or "Tangerine" or "Car Muffler Aluminum"), but at least it runs right.

I agree with both sets of the argument :)

I love OS X
I love the UNIX power
I love the glitz and glamour that is like svelt over that power (ipulse for starters...gorgeous with the HAL jacket)

but...
*do able haxie suggestion's*
I like the snap-to-it speed of windows
I am used to the Explorer (finder) in Windows and wish the MAC Finder allowed a 'compatability mode' to mimic the Explorer finder's best bits
primarily (and i would pay for a haxie of this sort)
'seeing the full \users\username\documents (eg) path in each window
'seeing the file size, and other info down in the very bottom strip of the window when a file (or aggregate details for groups) or group of files is selected
'a 'up folder button (although panther now has apple-downarrow which is great / and apple-uparrow to go up)

*probably fundementally difficult haxie suggestions*
and slightly more radical - the dotted drop lines that Windows explorer uses to avoid panels and panels and more panels when you are navigating deep deep deep into the FS

*an address bar in the finder that would allow you to path your way to a folder/view (admittedly the 'goto folder' option does this , but on windows its short and sharp like windows\start\run box -

and importantly - Tab navigation around the window/why not implement alt-key (windows compatability) for alot of this stuff... the OS X keyboard nav implementation is just too radically different to try and remember the commands

and perhaps the best concept to put forward that would incorporate these - comes from the Linux Project by Eazel called Nautilus - which would have been a serious threat to apple as it was a bunch (so i hear) e-apple guys amongst others working on making the linux desktop both easy to install and USE ... anyways a module that they had in Nautilus was that of 'User Levels for the desktop' - what i mean by that is a three way toggle for users that were either beginners, intermediate, or advanced' choosing a drop down menu that showed (HOW CUTE WAS THIS!) a Green Circle, a Blue Square and a Black Diamond to denote these modes (borrowed from the snow skiing culture)

and each mode would add layers designed to help that skill level - maybe , its a while back bear with me, thats the equivelent of 'not being prompted to delete a file once you press Delete' if your on the Advanced, or maybe a confirm dialog if your on the beginner -- and it can / could go on to showing more detail (hidden files for eg, paths in the top view) explorer style option to view/interact with the file/finder in advanced etc

My twenty cents
:)

Adrian

Love Macs, also love PCs, getting to know my new mini mac OS X and enjoying it very much. Just a comment about maximising. The key thing about maximise in Windows is it stops the window from being moved around by mistake. If you're in an application and you don't want to be distracted by anything else, this feature is great. Really, the + button in OS X is actually an "optimise" button, something that Windows doesn't do, and should. To get the best of all worlds, we should be able to do both - have an optimise and a maximise button on the toolbar. Then the user could choose!

Yo - so can I get the home and end key buttons to work on this wonderful new Mac I bought? It really does slow down my typing and all that. I (and hopefully many of you) do in fact use those on a very regular basis. You know what else I like to use on a regular basis? The back button and scroll functions on my old mouse. I plugged it in and it worked, but none of the awesome features it has seem to work now. If Mac's are so great (And I did just make the switch) can I make it do those things for me?

Sadly you are in a weird cult. Get out while you can!