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2007-10-30 13:12:10
As a recent OS X convert myself, my experience has been exactly the opposite of
yours. I used to be able to work a lot faster, a lot smoother, without having
to stop and interrupt my flow of thought -- yes, on Windows XP. Linux has been
slightly less usable, but still more so than OS X. Here's why:
First, the shortcuts are not consistent from program to program. Firefox, for
example, uses Ctrl-D to deny cookies, while Safari uses Command-D to deny.
Browsing back and forth is Command-Left and Command-Right, but that is also the
shortcut to go to the beginning/end of line (when typing into a form field, for
example). Microsoft Word for Mac uses Windows-style shortcuts (end/home etc). I
realize that this is not an OS X problem, but in a way it is -- these keys are
not enforced like they are on other OSes (yes, linux has good shortcuts). These
impede my flow of thought when I have to fish for the right keys to move from
word to word, use the delete key (on a laptop), show the desktop (F11? wtf). I
could go on and on about bad shortcut keys, but I think I have gotten my point
across. Oh, and using Open Office is not feasible in OS X. I'm sorry, but it
plain sucks (slow, inconsistent, requires X11...)
Second, window switching is abysmal. In fact, you can't switch between windows.
You switch between applications. THEN, and only then, can you switch between
windows with Command ~. Furthermore, you can't even switch windows if one of
them is minimized. Yep, you have to fish for it with your mouse (this makes the
minimize button and Expose completely useless). And no, Expose does not show
minimized windows either. So, my shortcuts are all messed up, my desktop is
cluttered, and the "zoom" button has unpredictable behaviors (try it in iTunes,
for example).
Third, I have had weird things happen with my MBP -- fans just started spinning
at 6000rpm for no good reason. I had to reset the PRAM. Why? Also, when the
battery goes empty and the system goes to sleep, plugging it in does not let
you turn the system back on! Err what? I have to wait 10 minutes or so for the
battery to get charged at least a little.
So, OS X indeed slows me down to the point where I lose my train of thought
when I'm "in the zone." This just sucks, and it's a shame too. I really like
the look of OS X, and I think it's a great system -- but my needs are different
than those of many people, and sadly is simply not a system for me. But I
readily admit that it's the best damn notebook I ever had (and for $5K it damn
well better be -- it's my company's).
mk
P.S. Sorry to have to post as AC, but I don't want to go to Karma hell. It's
not my intention to start a flame war anyway, just giving you an honest answer
to your question, from my point of view.
Posted: 2007827@595.82
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stranger
My review of OSX (Score:5, Funny)
by kuactet (1017816) on Monday October 29, @11:40PM (#21166421)
9:00 a.m.
Despite having no friends, no life, no education no job, and no prospects,
despite the war in Iraq, a plunging dollar, the looming energy crisis, global
warming, and the sheer horror of being alive in this day and age, this morning,
I woke up happy, for today would be my most exciting review: OSX 10.5 was being
released.
I am not normally one to get excited about reviewing a product, especially if
it is my first time using it; usually there is a feeling of trepidation about
stepping outside my comfort zone, but today, it is notably absent. Perhaps
because I have been following this product since its inception, living the
Apple lifestyle in preparation, and becoming fully engrossed by the user
community. The experience has been like a second birth to me, and the release
of 10.5 is the wonderful culmination.
But I should back up. For those of you who have been living normal, healthy
lives, 10.5, also known as the Leopard is the single most anticipated OSX
release of all time, packed with 300 new features that would surely leave its
competitors (the monolithic Microsoft and agile Linux) stunned and possibly
bleeding as it whizzes by in a blur of growing market share and spots.
Apple Inc., the Cupertino-based personal electronics company behind the
Leopard, burst into the public view in 2001 with the introduction of the
phenomenally popular iPod music player. Apple then followed up that success
with the iPhone brand cellular phone, which has sold a whopping 1.4 million
units since its summer debut. Today, Apple hopes to leverage that success to
bootstrap its long-stagnant personal computing platform, the Mac.
For the last decade, the Mac has maintained a relatively constant 5% share of
the global computing market. In recent months, however, increasing
disillusionment with the new Microsoft Vista operating system has pushed more
and more people into Apple's open arms, but the uptake has been slow. The
release of the Leopard, Apple hopes, will be the impetus for users to peek
beyond the simple familiarity of Windows. Drawn by the prospect of a bigger and
better world, they will slowly venture beyond their thatched grass huts into
the thrilling unknown. The Leopard will then snatch them up and drag them into
its stylish and intuitive tree to feast.
Or so it is planned. But will Apple be able to succeed where so many others
have failed? Will it finally be able to wrest control of the desktop from the
Monopolist? Yes, of course. But it is my duty as a reviewer to show, not just
tell. So join me as I prepare to drink deeply of the Steve Jobs Kool-Aid and
plunge myself into the Leopard, to prove this Apple revolution is truly the way
of the future.
Part 1: Getting OSX
3:30 p.m.
The cold rain pours down outside, but under the glass roof of the Christiana
Mall, it is warm and dry. Twenty yards away is the only Apple Store for miles,
and consequently where one must go for the latest Apple releases.
Though I had arrived early, there is already a sizable line, stretching back to
where I find myself now. The head of it, I am told, had been waiting since
early morning, growing progressively more excited as the day wore on. His manic
energy is infectious, it seems, and the light buzz of excitement percolating
through the crowd quickly set my nerves on edge in the best possible way. This,
I reflect, is better than most drugs.
I strike up conversation with the man waiting impatiently in front of me. When
I ask him what he intends to do with the Leopard when he brings it home, he
stares at me for twenty minutes. His steady gaze says more than any words
could, and when he tells me he will teach it to love, and then maybe make a
movie, I weep for the sheer joy that wells up in my heart. He holds me,
understanding.
5:57 p.m.
The excitement has reached an almost painful level. It is a silent buzz
permeating the very air; the crowd is like a swarm of angry bees awaiting a
software release, but there is no danger of being stung. My chest begins to
throb. Is this how it feels?
5:58 p.m.
The anticipation builds higher and higher as the seconds crawl by. I thought it
had been painful before, but now it is agonizing, dreadful, pre-orgasmic. The
crowd begins to murmur and I feel the fabric of reality cracking.
5:59 p.m.
And, suddenly, the buzz is cut off: a store manager, black-shirted, goateed,
and chiseled like a Greek god, has stepped out, and is waiting to address the
crowd. There is instant silence, not even the sound of breathing. The
surrounding mall, too, is quiet, as though grasping the gravity of the
situation.
Apple's local Adonis speaks in a whisper, but everyone can hear:
"Mac OSX 10.5 Leopard... is on sale..."
6:00 p.m.
"... now."
Release.
Oh God, release.
The women moan and the men shudder. I go weak at the knees and drop down,
thanking Jobs for the simple gift of being alive to witness this moment, and I
am not alone.
6:02 p.m.
One by one, we stand, reforming the original line, and slowly thread into the
store. There is no hurry, no urgency in our movements. That moment has passed;
this is the afterglow.
6:25 p.m.
I stand at the counter dedicated to this event. I had often come here, in my
fantasies, but no amount of dreaming could ever measure up...
"One copy," I say, slapping $129 onto the counter, "Of the Leopard."
He smiles. Not the store policy smile of the world-weary cashier that has been
on his feet far too long. No, he is genuinely happy as he reaches back and
pulls a box from the stack; this job means something.
"Welcome to the fold, oh my brother," he says, holding out the box. He leans
forward and plants a kiss on my forehead as I accept the prized software. Our
fingers brush, and it is love. I smile sadly, for I cannot stay; he smiles, for
he forgives me.
The box is heavy in my hands. No, not heavy; sturdy, powerful, as though the
beast contained within was projecting itself beyond the confines of its
cardboard prison. Or perhaps it was the weight of newfound brotherhood.
Kool-Aid indeed.
6:51 p.m.
All through the drive home I kept glancing over at the box, halfway worried
that if I took my eyes off it for too long, it would disappear, like a dream. I
shielded it from the rain with my body on the way to the car, and again on the
way inside.
I don't even kick off my shoes, instead running straight to my laptop and
powering it on.
I sit down in front of the glowing screen and gingerly opened the Leopard box.
I tip it over, and the DVD comes out; I like to think I didn't imagine the
small roar that accompanied it. There is no manual, a testament to the
operating system's ease of use.
The disk itself is simple, and deceptively light. I pick it up gingerly an
insert it into my computer's drive. I shiver in anticipation as it begins to
spin up. This is the moment, finally, that I had been waiting for...
Part 2: Installation
An error message?
Oh.
My laptop is an HP. Not a Mac. So OSX won't work. At all. On the other hand,
the packaging is nice.
Four stars.