redspear said:
Plaupius said:
As for overpriced, that case has been repeated ad nauseaum. But, looking at things "objectively", Macs are not that overpriced, and the software is IMO cheap. Of course, it all depends on what you compare it to: against free, it's more oxpensive, and it is true that there is a general tendency for OS X software makers to charge for their programs. The selection of free software is not as extensive as for Windows (or, to a certain extent, Linux, though you can get a lot of ports). But anyway, about the only thing I really miss is IrfanView, I haven't found a comparable alternative for OS X yet.
Anyhow, I've been schocked that people seem to place no value whatsoever on design or usability. My two year old MacbookPro is still miles ahead of pretty much anything the PC-laptops have to offer when it comes to the quality, design and just overall experience I get from using it. It's been a revelation to me that using a computer does not have to be a chore, it can actually be a pleasant experience. I never, ever, experienced that with Windows.
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OH I do place value on usability and design. Personally I find the layout of OS X to be extremely frustrating the number one issue is the dock which goes against the key rules of a GUI and wastes work space. I do like the borderless edges on OSX windows though. I do not like the menus being on top of the screen particularily when multitaksing. I do not like having to readjust the windows while maximizing(for what ever purpose either to fit the window to viewable area of a web page or to fill the whole screen). The thing about usability and design is it is subjective and not one size fits all and this is a place that OSX fails the most. What if I want the apple bar on the bottom nope forget about it not gonna happen. That is poor design. Another thing that irks me is when i have several open windows like lets say Logic 8 and Compressor. Now I jump form one to the otehr and then goto the top and select the file option once that program is active instead of going to the top of the window and clicking on file before it is open allowing for quicker access to options on non active windows. Or the whole red X thing that you quit but not really quit and having to goto the taskbar to actually quit. I know there are keyboard shortcuts that allow these things to be faster but as a GUI it is more cumbersome IMO.Finally Lenovo makes better laptops than Macbook pros and when was the last time you could buy a quad core MacBook Pro or even a Macbook Pro that had intergrated Blue Ray. The Hardware still lags. OSX made Fitt role in his grave. |
Well well well... I autohide my dock, and place it on the side, so it wastes no work space at all. And for what it is meant to be, IMO it works very well. That the menu bar is always on the top took a bit of getting used to, but now I find it much better than a menu bar in each window. You know, it's always in the same place, kinda easy to find methinks.
And yeah, design is subjective and usability is somewhat subjective, or rather it is user- and context-dependant. But that's not all there is to it, I recommend reading Taste for Makers to get a different view on design. I do have my own irks with the OS X way of doing things, but I respect the design decisions made because I can see the underlying design philosophy at least partly. And it is different from Windows, make no mistake about that. For example, the red X. It closes the window, which, in OS X philosophy, is not the same thing as the program.
I actually suspect that OS X developers want and slightly "force" the users to learn the basic keyboard shortcuts. It's just my gut feeling, based on the fact that pretty much each program has the same basic set of shortcuts, and that using them is so much easier than doing the same things from the GUI. I'm on the fence about that, but at least for me it's made working all that much more efficient.
Funny thing that you mention Fitt, btw. Do you think Windows does any better in that regard?
