Mountain Lion = ....meh?

[.Neo]

ALT + TAB in Windows is equivalent to CMD + TAB in OSX.

Windows has nothing comparable to Expose / Mission Control.

Not exactly. Cmd + tab only shows apps instead of individual windows.

[shifts]

I think it's funny that people are disappointed. I mean OS X is already so great. I love using my Mac I don't love using Windows. One feels like an extension of my body the other just feels like a tool, even when I'm gaming on my Windows machine it still just feels like a tool and I feel like I'm having to do unnatural things to get work done it doesn't quite fit me as good as a Mac does.

Agreed and I know there are windows users who feel the same way. Call it a Service Pack , a new os or whatever the fact it's an improvement in speed and usability means im shifting more towards liking it than just thinking its meh.

Sure theres no shiney new, once every x amount of years completley overhauled interface but does it really need it? Or is it something we've become accustomed to seeing with Windows so that becomes the norm?

Theres enough tweaks and improvements to let me know im on ML not Lion or SL. It really feels like it's been programmed and optimised if that makes sense.

Whos on the fence and who's happy to make the jump when it's released?

[neufuse Veteran]

This and people thinking OSX releases are service packs :angry:

yeah try to explain to people how versioning works....... Major... Minor.....Build Major increment is a new version, minor increment is a new version, build increment is a service pack / update....

[neufuse Veteran]

Never did understand why regular users get developer access accounts.

they think they are cool?

[xWhiplash]

I prefer what Apple is doing with Lion and Mountain Lion than what Microsoft is doing. I would avoid a new OS X is Launchpad is in my face most of the time too.

[Julius Caro]

the notification center seems to be the most noticeable thing (and whatever they've to safari, which feels weird in a strange but not so bad way).

yet i dont really use emails on Mail.app so I dont really get any useful notifications

[migo]

I think it's funny that people are disappointed. I mean OS X is already so great. I love using my Mac I don't love using Windows. One feels like an extension of my body the other just feels like a tool, even when I'm gaming on my Windows machine it still just feels like a tool and I feel like I'm having to do unnatural things to get work done it doesn't quite fit me as good as a Mac does.

I'm a big big user of Expose. But more than that I'm a visual person. I like to see rather than read. In Windows Vista/7/8 I kind of feel like I'm working against the user interface to get things done. When I want to view my open windows I can use that 3DNow feature but that thing is next to useless you can only see a small part of all the windows and the way it is stacked makes it difficult to quickly get to the window you want. And the task bar can also be a eyes-wild list of icons or text depending on how you've set it.

But on OS X I can just use Expose and view all my open windows on the screen and in less than a second select the window I want. Why hasn't windows got this after 6 years since they introduced 3DNow? I don't know a single person that uses 3DNow but I bet almost every OS X user uses Expose within Mission Control.

Sometimes I think we have it so good on OS X that we forget just what the alternative really is. And in a year from now we'll have another Major release.

You're obviously someone who uses a large screen. I've always been frustrated with OSX' handling of Expose (although it is useful in the absence of anything else) because it's really pants on laptop screens. Windows 7's peek feature does the same thing, but is far more suited to small screens. That's actually something I'm a bit frustrated with in Windows 8 Metro. I wouldn't mind having peek back while using a mouse (it's obvious why it's not usable with touch). In that aspect it really is like Snow Leopard to Lion going from Expose and Spaces to Mission Control.

[migo]

ALT + TAB in Windows is equivalent to CMD + TAB in OSX.

Windows has nothing comparable to Expose / Mission Control.

Peek is superior to both on small screens. Mission Control though is pretty handy using 3 finger swiping between apps when they're full screen, although Metro again trumps it on a touch screen.

[Boz]

Although it doesn't have many in your face changes I think I prefer this kind of gradual improvement release cycle to what Microsoft are doing with Windows 8, specifically the whole Metro thing.

So yeah Mountain Lion: not blowing my socks off but on the other hand I'm not too bothered about that. I do like iMessage and I do like the Notification area. The dictation is quite good (not amazing but good). Worth $20? I think so. I wouldn't pay $129 for it like the old upgrades used to be but at $20 I think it's a nice compromise between price and features.

This is true.. Apple has gone a different way.. incremental updates to the OS (small features and optimizations) for dirt cheap is much better approach than shocking approach that Microsoft is doing. It has less chances of back-firing for Apple and is much more consumer friendly approach in terms of adjusting. It also allows annual revisions so if they do something people hate they will fix it next year. If Microsoft screws up (as it looks like from Win8) it will take 2-3 years to get a new version that doesn't suck.

In that regard Apple is doing it smart and better for everyone.

[Daniel Tablas]

What I don't like about ML is that I feel like I'm buying an apps bundle that's focused on being social

[sanctified Veteran]

This is true.. Apple has gone a different way.. incremental updates to the OS (small features and optimizations) for dirt cheap is much better approach than shocking approach that Microsoft is doing. It has less chances of back-firing for Apple and is much more consumer friendly approach in terms of adjusting. It also allows annual revisions so if they do something people hate they will fix it next year. If Microsoft screws up (as it looks like from Win8) it will take 2-3 years to get a new version that doesn't suck.

In that regard Apple is doing it smart and better for everyone.

Very glad to read a post like that from you.

[bandit_liberty_rumble]

I've always been frustrated with OSX' handling of Expose (although it is useful in the absence of anything else) because it's really pants on laptop screens. Windows 7's peek feature does the same thing, but is far more suited to small screens

Why is that?

The peek feature is available for OS X as well, by the way. I just don't see the point.

[migo]

Why is that?

The peek feature is available for OS X as well, by the way. I just don't see the point.

If you use Expose on a small screen you can't see any of the content of the windows, so it's pretty much useless if you have multiple documents open and need to pick the right one. Peek let's you hover over the window icon in the taskbar and it'll show the window full size with everything else transparent, so you know the right one.

You can get expose like features with add ons to Windows too, if you really want.

[bandit_liberty_rumble]

If you use Expose on a small screen you can't see any of the content of the windows, so it's pretty much useless if you have multiple documents open and need to pick the right one. Peek let's you hover over the window icon in the taskbar and it'll show the window full size with everything else transparent, so you know the right one.

But the task bar thumbnails themselves are very small ? likely much smaller than the Expos? previews. Almost certainly smaller than the previews you get in 'Application Expos?'. And if you're interested in the full-size preview in Windows - like you say - you first have to hover over each thumbnail to find the window you're looking for. You can do the same thing in Expos? / Application Expos? by pressing the space bar to get a full-size preview of any window?

You can get expose like features with add ons to Windows too, if you really want.

I'd actually love to have an Expos? clone that works well. Care to share a link? :)

[McKay]

Windows has nothing comparable to Expose / Mission Control.

If you get a Microsoft touch mouse, it enables this with a 3-finger swipe up.

[Elliott]

You're obviously someone who uses a large screen. I've always been frustrated with OSX' handling of Expose (although it is useful in the absence of anything else) because it's really pants on laptop screens. Windows 7's peek feature does the same thing, but is far more suited to small screens. That's actually something I'm a bit frustrated with in Windows 8 Metro. I wouldn't mind having peek back while using a mouse (it's obvious why it's not usable with touch). In that aspect it really is like Snow Leopard to Lion going from Expose and Spaces to Mission Control.

Before I got my Retina MBP, I had been using an 11" MacBook Air and I didn't have any issues using Expos?. If I had a ton of screen clutter and similar-looking windows, the space-bar "Quick Look" trick works just as well as Aero Peek.

[migo]

But the task bar thumbnails themselves are very small ? likely much smaller than the Expos? previews. Almost certainly smaller than the previews you get in 'Application Expos?'. And if you're interested in the full-size preview in Windows - like you say - you first have to hover over each thumbnail to find the window you're looking for. You can do the same thing in Expos? / Application Expos? by pressing the space bar to get a full-size preview of any window?

It doesn't matter. In expose all you can really tell is what the program is, not what the content is. The taskbar thumbnails tell you that as well, but take up less space (plus they're consistently in the same place rather than occasionally re-arranging the way expose does - at least spaces is consistent though). Having to press a spacebar is going through an extra action. With peek you just hover, which lets you pick the right window very quickly, as you often need only a glance to see a particular window is not the one you're looking for.

I'd actually love to have an Expos? clone that works well. Care to share a link? :)

I grabbed most of my stuff from MakeUseOf.com, but I only ever used Expose and Spaces as an alternative to Peek, and never liked it that much so I'm not sure what counts as working well. Plus, max screens size for me for a while has been 13", so I've not had anything that allows me to take advantage of Expose.

[bandit_liberty_rumble]

In expose all you can really tell is what the program is, not what the content is.

We'll have to agree to disagree here. :) In any case, maybe you should try the 'Application Expos?' function if you haven't already? It takes a lot of windows in a single application before each of them becomes too small to recognize its content, even on a 13" screen.

[migo]

We'll have to agree to disagree here. :) In any case, maybe you should try the 'Application Expos?' function if you haven't already? It takes a lot of windows in a single application before each of them becomes too small to recognize its content, even on a 13" screen.

I have tried it. I didn't like it. Peek is just that much better.

[BoDEAN]

One thing I miss is, unlike WINDOWS 8, you can not snap windows to the side of the monitor ie, I like having 2 browser windows open, and snap them to each side of the monitor, so they are side by side. Surprised ML doesn't offer this yet.

But having run the last few DP's and the current Gold Master, ML isn't that much more visually stunning than SL is.

[.Neo]

If you get a Microsoft touch mouse, it enables this with a 3-finger swipe up.

Redmond, start your photocopiers? And they did.

[.Neo]

It doesn't matter. In expose all you can really tell is what the program is, not what the content is.

What you're saying here is just nonsense. The window thumbnails of Mission Control are in general much bigger than those of the Windows 7 taskbar which automatically means it's easier to check the window's content. Then there is App Expos? which also takes up the entire screen. So even with an extreme numbers of apps open you can still use that too see content easily on a per app basis. Then when really needed you at least have the option to hit space to Quick View the window. You can hide behind the whole "it's an extra action" thing, in most scenarios however it really isn't needed.

The amount of screen space being used by Mission Control is completely irrelevant since you're temporarily suspending your task anyway. You might as well utilize all space instead of trying to check for content on a very small thumbnail.

[Quillz]

One thing I miss is, unlike WINDOWS 8, you can not snap windows to the side of the monitor ie, I like having 2 browser windows open, and snap them to each side of the monitor, so they are side by side. Surprised ML doesn't offer this yet.

But having run the last few DP's and the current Gold Master, ML isn't that much more visually stunning than SL is.

I like that feature, too. I recall using a third-party app that added it in, but I can't remember the name.

It might have been "Cinch." But it went farther, it also let you drag windows and snap them to just one-quarter of the screen real estate, so you could have four square windows taking up as much of the display as possible.

[migo]

What you're saying here is just nonsense. The window thumbnails of Mission Control are in general much bigger than those of the Windows 7 taskbar which automatically means it's easier to check the window's content.

For some reason you're thinking of Vista while I was very clearly talking about 7. It's not about the thumbnails, it's the preview that peek gives you.

Then there is App Expos? which also takes up the entire screen.

And each individual window is still smaller than what you see with peek. If you have 10 Word documents open, App Expose is useless.

So even with an extreme numbers of apps open you can still use that too see content easily on a per app basis. Then when really needed you at least have the option to hit space to Quick View the window. You can hide behind the whole "it's an extra action" thing, in most scenarios however it really isn't needed.

You can say in most scenarios it isn't needed, but that's just because you don't work with a lot of text. With lots of text, particularly with multiple versions of the same document, you need peek. That's what it was designed for. Nothing Apple has come up with (nor anyone in the Linux community) comes close to the functionality and convenience of peek.

The amount of screen space being used by Mission Control is completely irrelevant since you're temporarily suspending your task anyway. You might as well utilize all space instead of trying to check for content on a very small thumbnail.

That attitude you've got is very clearly driven by your experience with Expose, rather than your experience with Peek.

[migo]

I like that feature, too. I recall using a third-party app that added it in, but I can't remember the name.

It might have been "Cinch." But it went farther, it also let you drag windows and snap them to just one-quarter of the screen real estate, so you could have four square windows taking up as much of the display as possible.

I remember that app, but Cinch isn't ringing any bells. Would definitely be nice if Windows 8 offered more than the 20/80 split (maybe a PiP option like what the GS3 has). Maybe that'll come with Windows 9. Admittedly if it's a code complexity issue I won't hold it against them.

I think Apple will have to get full screen apps ubiquitous before they start doing anything else with it.