NOLA Matt's Profile

Hey, everyone, I've got a great idea! Since helping people "switch" and increasing the similarity between Windows and the Mac appears to be as (or more) important than having a quality computing environment - why doesn't Apple make Macs with Intel CPUs that will boot into Windows? Oops. I guess I'm a few weeks late, huh? ;-) All kidding aside, these are (for the most part) some terrible ideas. "Compatible Control Keys" - I agree. It'll be a Great Day for Computing when Microsoft finally admits they screwed the pooch and changes Windows to use the alt key to issue commands. Oh wait...you want Mac users to have to contort their hands into unnatural shapes to use the control key instead of using the command key that is conveniently located right next to the space bar so you can hit it by slightly bending your thumb? You must be out of your freakin' mind. Is your brain really so feeble that you hit the wrong modifier key on Windows more than once or twice a day? "Save Button on Toolbars" - How about we get rid of toolbars altogether (NOT palettes, there's a difference). I hate those damn things. All they do is waste screen real estate. And, unless the toolbar icons are *very* unambiguous, they are productivity killers. Move the cursor to the "mystery icon" on the toolbar....wait for tooltip to appear...say "oops, that's not what I'm looking for," and go on to next icon, etc. Why mess with toolbars when every command is waiting for you inside the menus on the menu bar? Oh, that's right...you can't count on that in Windows apps. My guess is that toolbars appeared because there is little to no consistency between menus and commands in Windows apps. You can't count on the keyboard shortcuts being the same between apps, you can't count on similar commands being listed under similar menus between apps....so every loser Windows developer just started putting these damn toolbars everywhere to help their poor users ACTUALLY FIND WHAT THEY ARE LOOKING FOR. If we forget, for a second, that "Save" in every single Mac app I've ever seen is command-S, and you insist on using the mouse instead of the keyboard to save your work from time to time, is it really much faster OR easier to drag the cursor to the toolbar rather than the File menu? Not really, IMHO. "Multi-Button Mouse" - I think that Apple SHOULD sell a well-designed multi-button mouse (both wired and wireless models) as an optional add-on when purchasing a Mac. Call it "Apple Mouse Extreme" or something, and when you're shopping at the online Apple Store, you can select "Mouse Extreme (add $29)". But the standard mouse that comes with Macs should remain one-button until the end of time. I am certainly smart enough to know how to use a multi-button mouse. I use one on my work PC all day long, and I have used multi-button trackballs on my Mac in the past when I have been forced to work in an area with a very small amount of "mouse-able desk space". IMHO, the current one-button Apple Bluetooth Mouse would be the best mouse ever invented in the history of the universe if only it were a wee bit lighter. The problem with multi-button mice is the way you have to hold your fingers when using the mouse. When holding the mouse with your hand (or at least this is how *my* hand works) in a relaxed configuration, your index finger ends up right on top of the scroll wheel, with your middle finger on the right button. Which is not very useful most of the time. So instead, you have to hold your fingers apart like a snake's forked tongue to put your index finger on the left button and your middle finger on the right button. This produces a noticeable tension throughout your forearmarm (or at least MY arm), which CAN'T be very ergonomic. When I went back to using a one-button mouse on my Mac, I can't say that I found it particularly inconvenient or difficult to ctrl-click instead of right click. Then again, I might just be crazy, because I will go on the record as stating that I really liked the old Hockey Puck Mouse. Really! Most people just didn't understand that you weren't supposed to move your whole hand around on it...you were supposed to lightly grip it with your thumb and ring finger and just kind of flick it around with your fingertips. "Only show relevant file types in open and save dialogs." - This is one of the most aggravating, nonsensical things about Windows. When I am looking in a folder, I want to see everything that is in there! The Mac way of greying-out the names of incompatible files is perfect, and is consistent with the way menus work. Files and/or commands that *exist*, but are not available at the moment (for whatever reason), are grey and "un-clickable". The Windows Way never fails to freak me out by tricking me into thinking some of my files have magically disappeared or been deleted. "Holy Schlitz! Why are there only 15 files in this folder when there should be 100??? OH NO!!!!". Oh no is right...I'm stuck on Windows *again*. This is a typical Windows problem. Rather than being designed for ease of use, it goes overboard trying to think *for* me by HIDING MY DAMN FILES. Wrong Answer. "Sort folders to top of directory listings" - Anyone who suggests this should be run over several times by a Hummer stretch limousine and then slowly fed into a large wood chipper ;-). I can't even begin to describe how INFURIATING that behaviour is on Windows. On my work PC, I have several folders with different types of documents and folders inside them, all titled by street address (123 Main, 256 Broadway, etc.). So, I open my photo folder in seach of my picture of 256 Broadway, type in 256 and I see folders titled "255 Jackson" and "256 Avenue A" but no "256 Broadway". Hmm...I *thought* I had a photo of 256 Broadway...OH! That's right...even though I specifically told Windows to sort by NAME, since I only have one photo of 256 Broadway, it's not in a folder, so Windows decided it would really "help me out" by moving all of my single photo files UNDERNEATH all of my multiple-photo-bearing folders. And this is useful HOW? Sort By Name means SORT BY NAME, *not* "split into groups and then sort each group individually by name." Once again...Please, Windows, DON'T attempt to think FOR me. I'm smarter than you. Really. I know what I want, and I TOLD you what I want. Don't second-guess me. "More context sensitive help" - OK, this one I agree with...except for the fact that us Mac people don't really encourage much right-clicking and the whole contextual menu thing. BTW, I do kinda like the way Windows lets you view photos from "the Finder"...what is that called again? "Filmstrip" view or something? That's pretty neat and is IMHO more convenient than using Column View in the Finder. Also, I may be wrong, but someone was asking about shortcuts/favorites from Open/Save dialogs. I'm stuck on the work PC right now, so I may not remember correctly, but can't you drag files and folders out of the Open/Save dialog and put aliases to them in the Sidebar for safe-keeping and easy access?