miles1's Profile

I think much of the debate about "consistency" started with a genuine issue about the "application/document/window" distinction. The dock has been criticized for storing representations of these conceptually disparate items. I find it convenient, but confused--purely an answer to the Windows taskbar. But it one respect it is even more confused: why don't all windows, other than the topmost one, appear on the Dock? I understand minimization and its very clever implementation--it's for documents and tools (i.e. applications) that you are not finished with but not using right now--documents/tools "shoved to the side of your desk". I understand having tools (i.e. applications) that will be used on multiple documents always available (i.e. in the dock). But why shouldn't I have a persistent "map" of everything on my desk--i.e. an icon for every open window always in the dock. I know there is Expose, which is brilliant, but using it interrupts what you are doing and underlines this defect. I think the Windows taskbar is far from perfect, and both the XP and 2000 implementations have defects, but they're onto the right idea (as much as I hate to say it). The other inconsistency that totally baffles me is the location of the various "Recent Items". Recent Applications and Recent Documents are stored in the Apple Menu. As far as I can tell, this is for two reasons. One, they are supposed to be accessible system-wide, as the Apple Menu is. Two, they didn't seem to fit neatly into the dock. But why pick a perpetually visible iconic representation of applications and minimized windows (and folders!) in the dock, then bury their recently used counterparts in text menu on the other side of the screen? When looking at other applications, the situation becomes even more confused. Many applications now list their recently used documents in the "File" menu because that is where you would otherwise find the "Open" command. Web browsers list their recently used documents in a separate "History" menu, which happens to be next to the menu of permanent oft-used items (like the dock applications/documents/folders), "Bookmarks". The Finder, for some inane reason, lists "Recent Folders" in a submenu under "Go To...". If the Dock is so intuitive, should it not also be able to represent, in the same format, past items? (perhaps with transparency, or upon pressing a modifier key, etc.) On an issue totally unrelated to the visual aspects of the design, I agree with the posters that OSX is better at doing 99% of things better than OS9, including networking and multi-user activities. But to suggest that these multi-user activities and the folder organization is more intuitive is crazy. I want to put my folders where I like them, not where an installer expects to find them. I want to share folders from where I want to store them. I don't want to have to organize my files into particular folders to ensure that particular people get access. The program Sharepoints underlines this deficiency in the OS, but still isn't simple enough for my parents. The need for programs like Launchbar and the new Tiger searching illustrate how silly folder navigability has become. This is the most egregious example of administrator/programmer-centric rather than user-centric design, and I know it's inherited from BSD. It may conform to some metaphor of a person having a key to the office and key to particular filing cabinets, in which you must file particular things, but that is not a metaphor we should be bound by. How about a metaphor where I can put on my "John Doe" goggles to see which of my things John Doe can see and use, or my "World" goggles to see which of my things everyone can see, but when I take them off, everything is just where I wanted to keep it. I know if I have administrative privileges I can access their account, but that is not what I am talking about. Along the same lines, why is there no place where I can see *everything* I am sharing? The "Sharing" control panel displays whether you *allow* a particular type of sharing (printer, files, etc.), but not what is being shared (i.e. specific printers, etc.), and is incomplete (i.e. excluding iTunes songs, etc.). Certain applications like Rendezvous browser give you a more comprehensive list, but only for a certain technical protocol. I want to "see" what others can "see" without examining the settings in a dozen applications. I thought OS9's modification of file icons to represent that they were shared was clever, but is clearly not enough in the networking age.