Saturday was a great day. Not only did I clean my atrociously dusty room, but I came home from the city with a technological gem. The all new iMac. All my friends asked "where's the computer" and I laughed and proclaimed, "That, dear sir, is the computer." All of the wants I wanted in a computer were there. Style and performance. Elegance and power. But, what really sets this unique machine apart in what drives it, and what makes any modern computer... the OS. When you think of OS X, you think of confusion and how hard it must be the go all the way to the left to close a window instead of the right. There are several burning questions I had about OS X, and how hard it would be to switch. Where do I put my files. Where do I get to this location? How do I get through the layout of files? How in God's name do I use Automator? Where the heck is the C drive? These question, surprisingly, were very simple to answer, and hopefully this article can give you a bit of insight on the mysteries of OS X.

Intro

Thanks for that amazing welcome. Bem-vin-idoko... whatever.

Setup was really easy, and fast. Last time I remembered, Windows took maybe 20min to set up. OS X took less than ten. I entered my info, and I was ready to use my computer. The dock popped right up. The first thing I wanted to do was figure out how files were arranged in the system. I realized that my worries of a complicated file arrangment were silly thoughts. The files are actually less complicated than Windows. In Windows, you can find C:> Program Files, Windows, etc. But in OS X, it's simply Applications (Which holds all of your applications), Users (which holds all of the media specific to each user), Library (which is kind of like your Program Files), and System (which is like WINDOWS). Each file name helped me and everyone else on the computer help locate ourselves, and revealed the contents of each folder.

Setup of Apps

Setup was pretty straightforward. You drag the App icon into the Application folder. Instead of shortcuts on the desktop, you simply drop it onto the dock. It keeps all of your icons in order, and it looks pretty, too.


Whoa... trippy.

Glorified Features

As you know, Leopard boasts many features that people could care less about. I was one of those people. Stacks? Useless. RSS in Mail? Don't need it. Time Machine? Waste of space. Wait! Don't go thrash me with a post. Keep reading. All of these features actually made my OS X experience complete. Heres how.

Stacks- Stacks are sensational. Why didn't somebody think of this before? I don't constantly move files around, so I thought that Stacks would be useless. Come to find out, I can't imagine my daily work without it. Take my Applications stack. I don't want a bagillion icons on the dock. Thats why I can open the stack, and open an App in the convenient grid layout. And downloads. Instead of opening a large finder window, I can access my downloaded files on the fly. Still not convinced? Trust me, it is a dream.

RSS- I NEVER used RSS in any sort of way before OS X. I thought it was unneeded. But, I soon realized that it was so much faster to just open Mail and read through the headlines than opening up a webpage every time I wanted to get the news. I know that there are options on Windows for RSS, but having my eMail and my news in one convenient location is fantastic. Plus, the RSS screensaver is very cool, too.

Time Machine- You may think it's a waste, but I notice no loss in speed or performance with Time Machine on. Plus, it is very convenient. I actually used it yesterday for a file I lost. Some may say that the Vista alternative is just as good, and it is, but Time Machine seems simpler to me. I mean, how much simpler can you get than off and on?

The Simple Things

The things I love about OS X are the simple detail. Do I want scroll arrows at the bottom or the top and bottom? The possibilities for conforming OS X are endless. The simple designs are beautiful and delicate. I can't imagine if they missed anything.

Minor Annoyances

Apple is infamous for the lack of the right click mouse... or at least they used to be. Sure, the Mighty Mouse can right click, but it doesn't feel right to me. So, I use the Ctrl-Click method. It may seem a hassle, and at times, it is. But it really isn't bad. Really.

Closing apps involve more than just clicking the pretty button. You have to Command-Q and all that jazz. I understand why. You can close a window while having a process running. It's actually convenient, but others who use the computer don't actually understand, so they have 20+ plus apps running at a time. Trying to explain that to people is a little troublesome.

In Conclusion...

So. As you can guess, OS X is the coolest thing I've ever used on a computer. It's fast, amazing, and cool. Not to mention pretty. If you have any questions as a current Windows user, don't be afraid to ask. A lot of you Apple-ites may say that this is all basic stuff, and your right. You have to understand that I'm trying to deliver answers to Windows users who have used Windows all of their life, like me. So, if you are considering OS X or a Mac, trust me, you won't be disappointed.

Not a bad review from a non uber-techy mac zealot. Funny you mention the subtleties about the OS as their are a few that tick me off, of which includes the right click and a host of other shortcuts I've mastered on the PC side of the universe. Yes I know you can reconstruct shortcuts etc but for the horrible travesty that might be Win OS, its the subtleties that keep me here.

But dam, OS X doesn't look bad Wow, I could compare women based on the previous model.....

Nicely written review. There is definitely some great progress that has been made with Leopard. I'm glad, with the recent updates, that some of the bugs in iLife have been worked out too.

Where did you get the wallpaper in the second screenshot? Link please?

Here you go! Props to Fr3d for linking the wall in the "Workstations" thread.
http://www.fr3d.org/dev/null/Leopard_TimeMachine.jpg

Get a proper right click mouse--it'll work fine. Mighty Mouse is utter crap.

Yeah, the Mighty Mouse looks nice, but the scroll ball dies after a few months as well. Wish Apple would fix it up a bit :\

I wish....I didn't own my Dell Inspiron 1520.

hmm, when I tried osx86 for a month straight I didn’t feel like you do.
It works great for basic things, internet, email etc. I however don’t just do "basic" things. I do video encoding, gaming, graphics design, music, videos, programming etc.

For me osx could not deliver in the way that I need an os to deliver, I need to be able to have a wide variety of choices for everything, I ABSOLUTELY HATE ITUNES... I program in VS.net and SQL so osx didn’t help me.

I will say that it was very very friendly and that I was not confused about anything. The speed was nice considering it was emulation for a few apps; also internet browsing was nice for the most part, except when plug-ins were required etc.

I’m glad to hear that you enjoyed switching.

My MM is two years old and I haven't had any problems with it at all.

Very nice review.


I wish I was in the same boat as you. My Mighty Mouse is about 8 months old, and it died 4 months in.

hmmm, as far as I know, OSX can handle most of those and excels at a few of them.
on the programming, its good if you're a lamp programmer not a .net

Join the crowd...

OSX excels in everything you mentioned above. When you say OSX86? Do you mean OSX on non-Apple hardware. Well, I think, that's what your problem was.

Yes to both of these, the "scroll nipple" on my MM stopped working one day (couldn't scroll up or down), ended up buying a new mouse for my PC and used the old one for my Mac, it works great.

And you can program .NET apps on the Mac, but IMO nothing really beats VS.NET (I love MS's development apps)

Nice review, well written and good for people who are still doubting about buying a mac.
Glad to see you enjoy you brand new mac and believe me it only gets better the more you learn to use OSX.

I like OSX but I can't STAND apples mouses that can't right click, ctrl+clicking drives me insane! I have macs at my school and it gets so annoying that I can't just right click. Who the HELL at apple decided (Let's make our mouse practically useless and remove right click for no damn reason!) /rant

But then Macs had a mouse before Windows was a spec in Bills eye.

Its what you grow up with, you've used windows, you expect a right click button
people who started on macs have never noticed any difference

and Oh, macs can right click, they;ve being able to for years!

The Mighty Mouse is a multi-button mouse. Has been since it was released. The buttons are just touch-sensitive hence it looks like it only has one button.

Except for the gaming part

Nice review, I'd love to get my hands on Leopard, however, I can't really afford a Mac right now

OK, the catalog of games for OSX is not as vast as for Windows.

But it still sucks. The scroll ball becomes unusable after a while, it just gets so dirty. Why Apple doesn't make it quick and simple to take it apart and clean it is beyond me. They'd rather maintain the clean lines and have you spend another $69 for a new one with a few months shelf life.

I just replaced it with a Microsoft wireless notebook mouse, and it works great, much better than the Mighty Mouse, I think.

I liked the review, succinct and without pandering too much. And I like the mighty mouse but this thread isn't about that

Good review.

Nice review, but [rant]I don't like Macintosh nonetheless. I'm a programmer and a gamer. I can't use Visual Studio nor my favorite games on a Mac. So, too bad Apple, I'm sticking with Windows. But there are other minor things.

First I don't WANT my OS to organize my stuff for me, to provide me with a "user" folder and an "application" folder and whatnot. I want to know where that folder is located and usually it is not where I want it to, or down a complicated path. I create my own Program Files, on the hard drive partition I reserved for applications. I create my own user folders, on the hard drive partition I reserved for files. My own way of organizing my files is better for me than the default OS way.

Ok Windows does the same thing, but that's precisly one the gripes I have with Windows too.

Next, I hate that bulky dock at the bottom of the screen. I don't want things that inflate when I mouse over them, I don't want them jumping around gaily when I click on them. Besides aesthetical reasons, the damn thing just takes too much space. There's already a bar at the top of the screen with many functionality, now I have to get a second one at the bottom, a large and animated one. Where do I put my windows now?

Next, why is it so hard to maximize a window? Double-clicking doesn't work. None of the three standard buttons do it. So since I'm not aware of yet another mac-[insert key here] shortcut here, I have to manually expand the window. Then they minimize at the bottom-right of the screen, yes, with a graphical representation of the contents, but so tiny its useless and much less informative than the sensible, sobre title used in Windows. Well you can make them huge if you like your dock to be huge but I'd rather make it as small as possible and make my screen estate actually useful.

Next, Safari font rendering looks horrible, and Apple keyboards, mice and lcd screens are simply among the cheapest I ever saw.

Oh yeah OS X is better for multimedia. Right. I had Digital Performer hang or crash at least once everyday on the G4 I used for a year.[/rant]

Great review, and really nicely written

I have been using OS X since I bought my MacBook in November, and it is wonderful for University life. Everything is simple, elegant and clear...it is actually a joy to use OS X sometimes.

Windows is a great operating system as well, and I could not completely switch from one to the other, I work better using both. I have Vista on my desktop, but I still find myself lieing down in bed with my MacBook writing this post (albeit with a hangover) so that says something.

Thanks for the review. The next laptop I buy may well be a mac, BootCamp will have matured even more by then.

The wallpaper's definitely better than Bliss.

Nice review I've been using Mac OS X 10.5 since last month and I love it, much better than Windows Vista IMO.

As you said, Windows does it aswell, pointless rant against OSX there

Well, you can stop it bounching, turn it off, hide it, shrink it, how is this different from the task bar?



As has being explained many times before, this works different, it expands to the maximum it needs to, why expand to full screen when its just a waste?


How is that exactly worse the taskbar minimizes?



waste of time

I have a question. Considering apple says vista doesnt have the feature how is time machine different then the full system backup and previous file system in vista ultimate? Its hard to even think about getting a mac because apple is consistantly lying about what vista has.

I am really asking this I am not trying to start a flamer war.

I don't really understand how that stops you getting a consumer device?
I don't even listen to adverts press releases what not, why would I be that anal, the only time I actually go out of my way is when they have a mac world going on and thats to see what new products there is.

If over the top advertising stops you getting a Mac, why are you on Vista rather then Linux cause surly illegal business practices is surly worse the OTT advertising?

The one-click "always on" setup and the UI (specifically the bit that allows restoration from within applications) is the part that matters so far as the time machine vs. volume shadow copy/etc debate goes.



If you're interested in product <x>, who cares what people say product <y> is lacking?

Don't worry, you won't want to use windows after using a unix like OS anyway.

I said about the apple advertising stuff because I wont just switch because everybody says its just better. I would switch because OSX has features that vista doesn't and Apple outright lies about that all the time and if you try to ask real non flaming questions to apple users or windows users you get flames and fanboys. MY example is evo spooks answer. I am not a fanboy of either OS but latyely on any website is downright impossible to get fair straight answers about either operating system.

The answers are simple, if simple straight forward questions are asked, rather then confused statements. How can you give a answer to a opinion I;m not get a device cause the company or users go OTT, as this stands for Windows, Apple and every other manufacturer.

eg: Play games - stick with Windows
eg: do .net programming - stick with windows
eg: don't like to fight your computer - OSX

To this you have to add personal preference, which is down to the individual

I don't use use either but I can tell you OSX is a better OS than Windows.

Whether it has the "features" you want is a different matter. I prefer to have my PC exactly the way I want it, and I would probably even choose Windows over OSX for that reason if I absolutely had to (it must be possible to hack OSX, though.. so maybe I wouldn't). OSX thinks it knows the best way to do everything and forces you to do it that way. A lot of people like that, though.

OSX is very hackable, just as with its Unix background though a lot of the hacks will have to be from the Terminal.

Could you explain on who OSX forces you to do something a particular way, but windows (without extensions) doesn't?

For some reason, I end up fighting more with OS/X than I do with Vista. And I seem to be the only one that suffers from this...

might be length of usage, I've being using Macs a lot longer then I have Windows machines

so now you are saying that it's experience that counts and that os/x isn't inherently easier to use? Or did I misread that?

What's giving you trouble? Make a thread in Mac Software so we can help you out.

In the post above I said: To this you have to add personal preference, which is down to the individual

Which will I think fit in with what you said above, personal preference and usage will always have a bearing on someones experience.

I find OSX a lot easier then Windows, is that because it is easier, because I just find it easier, or is it just due to experience, who knows I just do, cause if I say IT IS EASIER BECAUSE IT IS A EASIER SYSTEM, many Windows users will disagree, they find Windows easier, is that just due to usage?

Its a question with really no right or wrong, except for ME, OSX is easier, smoother logical on how it is set

It's not anything I can't get over - nothing is where I would expect it to be, and I am not looking in the 'illogical Windows places', but I still don't find my experience as fluid (having been an OS/X user since 10.1 on a PowerMac and a Windows user since 95 - I didn't like Windows until Win2K). Like evo_spook said, I guess more a personal preference thing.



Enough of the caps already (no need to get your knickers in a twist) - I did ask if I had misread your statement!

its in caps to differentiate not to shout.

Any one of you two want to try getting back to the thread? After all it's about one previous windows user's experiences on using OSX.

I mentioned it because the OP was talking about it being an advantage in OSX.

You already have a task bar in OSX. It's at the top of the screen. But in OSX, not only do you get a taskbar, but also that stupid bulky dock.

Because the maximum it needs (or think it needs) is not necessarly the maximum I want it to be. So I'd like the option to simply maximize it. I don't have it. It sucks.


As I said, because the taskbar minimize uses about 70% of its area for this whereas the OSX dock is cramped in right corner; and because the Windows taskbar uses titles which are much more informative than tiny graphics.

Why am I even arguing with you I wonder

There's no maximise button because Mac OS X is all about multi-tasking. When you maximise a window, you eliminate that; and it goes against core features of multi-window layering and drag-and-drop. The Zoom button (expect in iTunes) aims to "maximise" the window to show maximum content without hogging the entire screen (e.g. Safari would only expand vertically, as horizontally is just webpage background.)

And if you don't like that, go ahead and set your own size. You can then toggle between your size and (?) the default.


You're comparing two different ideals. The taskbar manages windows; the dock (the majority of it) manages applications. Expose manages windows.

I've been using Macs since OS 7 and started using windows when NT4 was current. I can understand both points of view as I use XP and OSX Leopard. First, as far as mice go, I've tried Apple's Mighty Mouse, Microsoft, and Logitech and found from my experience that my logitech mice work best. My logitech seemed more reliable retaining it's settings than the MS mouse and easier to adapt/use-regularly than when I tried the mighty mouse. As far as the OS's are concern, I found that OSX is great for multimedia/entertainment stuff. Very easy to manage all my photos, movies, music, etc. Dashboard is great, especially since they added the ability to make your own widgets. However, I feel that some of the apps still lack in features. Safari is very fast, but I can't live without my Firefox extensions. Also ran into a lot of website compatibility issues with sites like blogger and ebay for example. Mail.app just flat out didn't work correctly with gmail using POP, while Thunderbird works flawlessly with it. MS Office on my mac is horribly slow and clunky. One issue I also found a hindrance was working with long file names. For work, I have a lot of files with very long file names and because you can't modify the OS's fonts [to use small fonts or pixel fonts], managing large archives of long filenames is a nightmare. This is where I still prefer XP for things. Office is much faster, Firefox is faster, and managing large archives with long file names is a breeze [even on lesser hardware]. And XP is very flexible to modify it's GUI [fonts, visual style, taskbar placement, etc]. and of course, some windows only apps that I can't live without, like Foobar2k ^_^. I guess it's just a matter of personal preference. Both have pros and cons, I guess it's just a matter of personal preference. I could go on-and-on comparing pros and cons of both. I still use both every day and enjoy both of them for various reasons.

I've been using a mac daily for about 3 years, and I've never noticed this, can you point it out?

I want an iMac . Hopefully this summer.

What? The menu bar is nothing like the taskbar in Windows.

Well I'm not necessarily multitasking. When I work in Visual Studio there are times when I need other applications in my view, and there are times when I need maximum space for the code. You can have multiple panes open in VS. Then you are multitasking inside the app. Then you don't want to OS to interfere with large taskbar jumping at you or not let you easily maximize or reduce the window.

Maximizing a window with a single or double click is a convenience I've used since I started using PCs. I can't help but feel clumsy with an OS that doesn't give me that basic tool. Even Linux does.

The Windows taskbar not only manages windows, but also applications (with the quick laucnh - much more subtle), most of the computer's basic functionality (with the start menu), applications running in the background (with the system tray), and you can even drag and drop your own folders there for quick access to your most useful stuff. For instance, I can create a folder called "Games", put all my game desktop shortcuts in there, and drop it in the bar. Then with a single click I have access to all my games.

The OS X dock takes a lot more space and does more to capture your attention (with animations, large icons), but does a whole lot less. Again, I find the Windows solution more practical and elegant.