MacWorld Announcements (and OS X experiences)
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The coolest thing I saw is that Apple has finally released a laptop in the form factor I like -- the 12 inch PowerBook. At 4.6 pounds, it's still heavier than my 2.9 pound Sony Vaio, but it has an integrated DVD drive. That's nice. The only reason I didn't by an Apple laptop was because there was nothing as small as the Vaio.
The other cool thing is that the new Safari browser has integrated spell checking. I wrote this last summer: "It's 2002. Why doesn't my web browser have a spell checker?" Now it does -- if I'd switch.
Since I'm talking about Apple, I'd like to share some thoughts about my love/hate relationship with OS X.
My dad has a TiBook and my sister has a 15 inch flat screen iMac. Like the new Apple computers, these are amazing machines. While I was in Pennsylvania I got plenty of time to use them. OS X looks amazing. Everything is very smooth and polished looking. But I hate using it.
On Linux, I know nothing will work, so I'm pleasantly surprised when it does. On Windows, everything mostly works as I expect, and I get pissed when it doesn't. On Mac OS X, I expect perfection, and I get upset when the OS doesn't follow through.
Why don't I like using OS X? Let me count the ways...
- I dispise the dock. It's terrible. There are no excuses.
- Application switching behavior sucks. Alt Tab doesn't work as on Windows. I heard Command Tab does, but I tried that last night, and it didn't work either.
- Disregard of Fitt's law in all four corners of the screen.
- Transparency in menus and titles. Who's idea was this, anyway? It makes text impossible to read. I understand it's better in Jaguar, but it should've never been there in the first place.
- Creator codes that cause Classic to launch.
- tcsh. Need I say more? Why, why, why?
If Apple fixes 1 and 2, I'd switch in a heartbeat. I can live with (or hack around) the rest. But damnit, if I'm going to pay premium prices for software, I expect perfection.