Aqua Interface Complaints

simX

simX

Unofficial Mac Genius
OK, yesterday on macslash.com, there was a link to an article on IBM's website that looked at how "grim" Aqua's interface was.

Well, I got fed up. His arguments were just about unfounded. He seems to think that you should know exactly where the window widgets are when you first start up a computer, without even looking at the window. He seems to think that the application menu is totally unintuitive.

I've heard so many similar complaints about Aqua, and I've had it.

So I set up the "Aqua Interface Complaints" page, where I am posting a link, a copy of the article, and my response to the article. So far, I only have that one article, but I plan to keep on adding.

Here's the link to the page: http://homepage.mac.com/simx/aqua/

If you see an article on the Aqua interface (specifically), whether good or bad, send me a line at simX@mac.com. I want to respond (constructively, of course) to the problems that people have with Aqua. I truly believe that most of the complaints are just due to habits from the Classic Mac OS.
 
Just an FYI about your response - You can change the dock's position to left, right, or center in the Dock's preferences in the system prefs. :D
 
But you can't pin it to the left, center, or right from System Preferences. If the dock is pinned left (but on the bottom of the screen), the Finder would always be at the very far left a few pixels from the edge of the screen, and the Dock will grow to the right. Center pinned means nothing's a fixed target, and the Dock expands both to the left or the right.
 
I dunno, I think the IBM article was very immature, but also take a look at the writer's little short paragraph about himself. He sounds like a complete baby. *sigh*
 
Very funny artical lol!

The only thing I miss from OS 9 is the windowshade, which I have a shareware app which lets me do that, AND fully transparentise the ENTIRE app at will. It's really cool.
 
Wouldn't turning off Magnification (which I think it's default to off on a fresh install of OSX) fix the moving targets problem? :p

Of course I know adding, launching, closing apps and windows will make it move a little - but not as to have a major problem clicking on icons.


I actually have my dock hide, and with tinker tool I have it set to the upper left hand corner. With or without Magnification - I have no problem clicking on icons.

Maybe it's because I'm open-minded, but personally I LOVE different interfaces, which is why I adapted so well to OSX so quickly (and I used OS 9 for a couple of months first, not to mention I've been using OS7 through 9 at college for a couple of years).

I only, truley have 1 single complaint of the new UI in OSX... I can't modify it enough! :D

From Windows 3.1, 95, 98, ME, 2000, XP, Mac OS 7, 8, 9, X, and on Linux Gnome, KDE, Blackbox, I quickly adapt to any inteface and make it my own! Most times I have one OS's UI look like a another's, and other times make it look completly alien.

I love OSX's UI! I just wish I could also make it look completly alien other than just change the color of Aqua to Graphite! :p
 
Not quiet what I meant, but close enough. :D

I had Duality at one point, now that you reminded me, I'll go out and hunt for it - see if there's more stuff with it. :)
 
The whole "gumdrop" issue. I was recently talking to my roommate, who was (at the time) using my Windows computer. I told her to minimize the window she was working in. She knew what it meant, had seen me do it a million times, but couldn't remember which button it was. "The box? The underline thing? The X?" How is that more intuitive than OS X? OK, so I can see the icons before moving the mouse over them. I still have to move the mouse over them to use them. And since the icons are close together (but not too close, as already mentioned) I don't have to move far if I start by pointing at the wrong one.

For example, if I'm running a program called "Terminal," there will be a menu with the heading "Terminal" just to the left of the File menu. Of the menus provided, this will be the only one that is not specific to the application I'm running; instead, it's a menu that doesn't vary from one application to another, so it has nothing at all to do with the program called "Terminal."
Click to expand...
I don't get this at all. The "Terminal" menu only deals with Terminal app issues. Preferences, quitting, etc. The File menu is not a better place for quitting. It's the same argument as "I have to press Start to shut down?" I want to quit the File? No, I want to quit Terminal. As you said, simX, I think it's more habit than poor design of the interface.

The author needs to get a grip. Heh, so do I if I am feeding the trolls like this... :D
 
I just got done reading the other articles that the author uses for reference. They're just as bad as the original article. So there's more fodder for your responses, simX.
 
ohhh, you mean the customizability of linux? heh, good luck with that, I'd LOVE to have Windowmaker as my default interface for OS X, but it doesn't look like its going to happen, oh well..theres always XDarwin... Oo
 
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