Finally, Apple steals somthing good from M$

Q

quaiz

Registered
I was messing around in the finder today (5g64) and i found somthing useful that Apple stole from M$ that i have not heard mentioned on this site yet.

What is it you may ask......

File/Directory COPY and PASTE!!!!!

Now, instead of just copying the names of the files you select in the finder, you actually copy (apple-C) the files (like in windows). You can then go to some other directory and past (apple-V) the files to that directory.

Fu@K YEAH!!!!:D
 
While this does speed file copying up quite a bit, and simplifys somethings; I think Apple should have changed the names of the actions for files, becuase cutting and pasted doesn't make sense to me for files. I like one of the suggestions i have heard, Pick Up, and Put Down; although this is more of a Cut & Paste instead of Copy & Paste.

Also now that I have used GNUStep with GWorkspace and the Shelf, I think that would be a much better solution, although it might be too far from the MS way of doing things for the masses.
 
I agree... a shelf would be much better than this copy/paste stuff. Personally I don't like it.
 
I DO like it. That is always one of those tiny little things that I wished we had on Macs. Sounds great!

Now all they have to do is switch to a goddamn two button wheel mouse as a minimum on all Macintoshes. Does anyone agree that this is like years and years overdue?
 
I don't like it, but I can ignore it.

Unfortunately the same isn't true for bad stuff Apple stole from Windoze. For example not showing the entire filename in Cocoa save dialogs (sheets). It really sucks!

I don't plan on buying any Cocoa apps, unfortunately.
 
Why make two button mice a minimum? They confuse people who are new to computers, and you can buy your own for twenty bucks.

-Rob
 
... IS TO LEARN SOME STUFF FROM MICROSOFT!

OS X finally picks up on some of Window's superior functions. One is the copy and paste of files. Yes that is cool.

But they need to make a save dialogue where you can replace a file by clicking on the goddamn file IN THE DIALOUGE directory. Is it not so primitive that you have to ALWAYS retype it? You should have FULL access to all finder functions in OPEN / SAVE dialogues such as new folder, move files, etc. etc. .... JUST LIKE WINDOWS.

Two button mice are 20 bucks. At least Mac OS X has native support of the right button and a wheel. So if you want to use it just buy the mouse. Apple will never abandon a one button mouse, which is retarded, but of no consequence.

The finder should also be able to resize windows from any corner or side, like Windows. I mean, why not? It's just better. (And a button to disable that if you really don't think so.)

There's probably a bunch of other little subtle superiorities of Windows just like these, that I can't think of right now.

Like being able to select menus with the keyboard... again, why not?

And having drag and drop FTP native in OS X. If you access an FTP in Windows Internet Explorer, it "becomes" a normal Windows window where you can drop files (to upload) and drag out (to download).

Do you realize OS X HAS NO FTP???? NO good program is available!!! Fetch 4.0 sucks now, and has graphic bugs, and is slow. Transmit 1.7 beta is buggy still. Interarchy 5 is weird. RBrowser is not standard FTP. It acts funky, too. Stuffit's new FTP upload function is not meant for normal FTP use. And terminal (command line) FTP cannot upload folders. (I assume uploading folders are really macro-scripts or something). There is NO GOOD FTP PROGRAM AHHH!!!!! It should really be part of OS X.

And also, the finder previews music, videos, and text. That rocks. But text previews should have scroll bars. And RTF should be previewable, as well as PDF. And HTML should be previewable (like windows!!).

If Mac OS X did these things, it would just rule all, and be king of everything.

-solrac-
 
Originally posted by solrac
... IS TO LEARN SOME STUFF FROM MICROSOFT!

Like being able to select menus with the keyboard... again, why not?
-solrac-
Click to expand...

You can select menus with the keyboard, check out the Full Keyboard Access tab in the Keyboard sys prefs
 
Solarc:

re: file dialog box: what if you're browsing through a directory and accidently replace a file you don't mean to? More abstractions are not good to new users.. just because you are used to this doesn't make it superior...

re: two mouse button... most people don't need 2 mice buttons, but now the option and support is there. What's the big deal?

re: resizing Windows. You can't resize any/all windows in Windows, in fact it's often very confusing when you can and can't resize. Having the resize widget makes it very visually clear when you can and can't resize.

re: subtle superiorities of Windows... do you mean "superficial things I'm used to"?

re: FTP program... sure the GUI FTP programs have some problems right now, but there is an FTP program built into OS X. Drop down into the terminal. There is no GUI FTP built into Windows either.

anything else?
 
posted by besson3c

re: file dialog box: what if you're browsing through a directory and accidently replace a file you don't mean to? More abstractions are not good to new users.. just because you are used to this doesn't make it superior...

--- This functionality IS superior in windows because it saves time. For Mac OS X, it could be enabled by a check box, thus new users don't worry about it.

re: two mouse button... most people don't need 2 mice buttons, but now the option and support is there. What's the big deal?

-- That's what I said, dude...

re: resizing Windows. You can't resize any/all windows in Windows, in fact it's often very confusing when you can and can't resize. Having the resize widget makes it very visually clear when you can and can't resize.

-- It's not confusing if there is no visual cue. The visual cue is in the lower-right corner. That should always be there, the reliable method. Having additional methods can only be better, as they are optional.

re: subtle superiorities of Windows... do you mean "superficial things I'm used to"?

-- No, actual improvements, time savers, and things that would make workflow much faster.

re: FTP program... sure the GUI FTP programs have some problems right now, but there is an FTP program built into OS X. Drop down into the terminal. There is no GUI FTP built into Windows either.

-- Windows has GUI FTP built in... it is Windows Explorer! Like I said... try it. What do you mean by FTP built into OS X, drop down into the terminal? Do you mean use the terminal? That's true... but like I said.. you can't upload folders. Terminal (command line) FTP only allows single file uploads, as far as I know.

-solrac-
 
re: checkbox for clicking on files in a dialog box? What would you call this option if you were Apple?

re: resizing windows.. I don't understand. You want to be able to resize any window including dialog boxes??

re: FTP... you're right about Windows Explorer. I wasn't thinking of it as a traditional FTP program. Cool...

You can upload folders, I'm sure there is an arguement to pass to the "put" command in either FTP or ncftp.

I guess you have an arguement saying that OS X doesn't have a GUI based FTP program built in, but I think the direction they (Apple) are going in is mounted shares like iDisk and other TCP/IP based Appletalk/Samba servers... These are so much nicer than FTP and have much nicer integration. (and yes, of course you can mount shares in Windows).
 
I agree...

It's time for Apple to either abandon or augment the single button mouse with a Pro version. They should use the MS Intellimouse Explorer as their inspiration. Give it a scrollwheel and 4 buttons.

I completely understand Apple's desire to provide a simple to understand experience for new users with a one button mouse. But truth be told - we live in a Windows world, and even Windows users know how to use a 2 button mouse with a scrollwheel. One of the most confusing aspects for a Windows user migrating to the Mac OS is always - "how do I right click on this thing?" - "what, you mean I have to hold down the control key every time I want to right click... What a PAIN!". I introduce the Mac OS to a lot of my friends who know only Windows, and they say this every time.

Leave the one button mouse as the iMac's mouse. Make a nice 4 button/scrollwheel mouse for the ProLine...

As for Copy and Pasting files... It's a great addition, long overdue. The great thing about it is - if you want it and like the feature, great, it's there. If you don't like it - don't worry. You don't have to use it!
 
I think that mput will allow you to upload folders in ftp. Also I know that ncftp allows you to do it. I belive the command for ncftp is, put -r <dir_name>.

Im not at my OS X box to try uploading a folder through ftp to see if mput works.
 
using the "Connect To" option in the Finder (command - K) you could enter an FTP address and mount an FTP file server on your desktop just like an iDisk. I mean, OS X has FTP capability built in at the Terminal level, why not just modify "Connect To" to take advantage of this protocol?

Hopefully this is on tap for 10.2....
 
Not only can you copy and paste files now, you can also undo Finder actions! That's new isn't it? Correct me if I am wrong... :eek:
 
I will attempt to elaborate on the post about IE (Internet Explorer) being an ftp client. This is very true. If you type in ftp://username:password@ipaddress.com it will work just as in the windows environment (minus the mounted drive). You can drag folders to upload, download folders, and of course the same is true of files. This functionality is actually the underpinnings of the way windows explorer (which is now basically powered by the Internet explorer) works on the pc. Now it's built into the mac version of IE. To see how it would behave, use your own hard drive by typing in file:/// into the address box in IE and hit go or return.

Now the question is, Is it powerful enough for pro users. No. That is why I use Interarchy.

The newest version of Interarchy has many interfaces. I'm sure you can find one that doesn't seem weird. And most importantly is has a MOUNT FTP DRIVE feature. Just as you request. It mounts an icon on the desktop. It navigates just like a CD or your local hard drive.

(problem is, I know your going to say "why doesn't apple build it in?" I think it is because there are so many solutions and needs for FTP that it would be hard for apple to build a suitable interface that would satisfy everyone.)

Take the time to learn the FTP Disk features of Interarchy. They are great. http://www.interarchy.com/


Tim
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http://www.saltedwound.com
http://captions.saltedwound.com
 
the thing is, it wouldn't hard for Apple to implement it at all. It's already implemented to some degree. iTools is exactly how FTP should work. All Apple has to do is enable "Connect To" to recognize FTP services, and for power users, enable the "Get Info" (command - I) to allow changing permissions on FTP volumes.

Piece of cake....

And I do realize that IE, and Interachy, et all offer FTP to one degree or another. I actively use Transmit and love it. But 99% of the functionality is there already in the Finder - all Apple needs to do is to go that one extra step and we'll be able to use the best file browser there is - The Finder, to ul/dl FTP files.
 
If we're going to offer a Finder interface to FTP (and i agree, the fact it's missing is a mistake), then we should offer SFTP - secure file transfer protocol. The commandline util is available with OS X as of 10.0.something; the user interface is much like FTP, but everything is sent over SSH - passwords and files are encrypted over the network, not plaintext.

And CaptainFoo says you can undo file copy & paste - sweet!
SCrossman says you can can open menus with the keyboard - sweeter and sweeter! I must get me my CD now!!!
 
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