::scr A PC user speaks ...

[celia romaniuk]

On Wed, 27 Mar 2002, Simon Wistow wrote:

> 2. Old Mac users, many of whom seem to hate  OS X. Whether this is
> reactionism or whether it's because it's fundamentally flawed, usability
> wise [SIMON looks hopefully at any usability bods who've used OSX who'd
> be able to back this up] and who, in general (unless they're somewhere
> between this group and the next) don't care about the Unixy goodness
> lying underneath like the nougat in a Double Decker bar (the most
> underated of chocolate bars)

I've been using Mac OS X for the last week or so, having used various
earlier versions over the last um, while ago (I *think* I started using
Macs with some version of 6, but I don't think I owned a Mac until 7 came
out). So that makes me pretty familiar with them, though at a pretty
superficial level.  To me they've been a tool to do stuff (write,
commumicate, draw) rather than anything else.

Anyway. I think now I'm getting more used to OS X I'm somewhat
past the WTF phase, so am willing to comment.

1. Things they done good. (go steve!) 
They've certainly cleaned up some major things (e.g. they now have a
'print center' instead of organising your printers through the chooser).
And at least now there is an option to set consistent folder views (this
may be a personal preference - I like the list view. But I know some
people like lists sometimes, icons others, so shrug). Erm, what else.

2. Thing's that may be a familiarity issue but may be not
There are some things that I wonder if I'll get used to e.g. a new folder
is now cmd-shift-n, and cmd-n is used for opening a new window in the
finder. This may be something I get used to... but what bugs me about it
is that I'm now far more dependent on the finder to, er, find things, than
I was before. 

3. Things they done bad. (stupid steve) 
Double-clicking a window title bar minimises it. It's too easy to
accidentally do this. Well, it is for me, anyway. The look and feel is
just drooly (I completely agree with Dave's comment about wanting an OS9
look and feel). Why is the default option to put Classic to sleep after
five minutes? As I have to use Outlook (on Classic) for work-mail, but it
sometimes goes to sleep and freezes, this was really annoying until I
found the option to change the setting.

One thing that interests me is the use of the home directory. I read in
some 'tips' article that you should keep all your stuff in there. But this
to me is not obvious for people who haven't worked on a multi-user nix box
before. And I certainly haven't read any docs that explain this to the
random user.

I really hope that they keep improving OS X. Hopefully they'll mke the
interface more work-friendly (as opposed to screenshot friendly. Bad
Steve).

Oh. As to Unixy goodness. I really really like having a terminal, but the
only thing I used it for at the moment is connect to the box where my mail
is, and read my mail. And occasionally poke around to see what's there. I
should read more stuff about what I can do with it or something. Yes, I've
seen http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/a/mac/2001/12/14/terminal_one.html. To
be honest, the examples he mentions there don't seem particularly useful
for my needs. Bottom line, I guess, is that I'm not a programmer. It's
nice to know I'm able try stuff out if I want to though.

The thing that worries me most (and this is a hardware not a software
thing) is that I appear to be getting aches in my right arm with the new
machine (a TiPB). I've plugged in an external keyboard and mouse, and am
trying to sit more proper like. But still. Erk.

One last thing. Dell laptops with both nipples and trackpads. I know
people will disagree with me but I think it's silly design. People tend to
have a preference and will only use one of the two, so why not just build
two different models, one with trackpad and one with  nipple, and let the
user decide? The alternative they went with has just led to redundancy and
inelegance in the design. It has been pointed out to me that with
corporate hardware pools this type of machine is actually useful (you can
just buy one and let people use the pointing device of their choice). And
I think that's true. But I still don't agree with it as a good design for
a personally bought laptop.

Um, sorry, rambly today. 

-- 
celia
the thinner the air becomes the more we feel at home