Losing control

[Metrogirl]

Maybe it’s just me, but it seems that more and more control is being taken away from us and put into the hands of others. I’m growing increasingly frustrated by requirements to do things in a certain way rather then being allowed to decide how I want to do them.

 

Although I’m a keen supporter of the Mac and OSX, I feel that the Apple operating system is slowly taking control away from the user. In its quest to make everything easy and friendly each iteration of the OS hides more of what’s going on and removes the options that I’ve traditionally had.

 

Before you cry “Luddite!” I admit I felt that way about XP when it came out. Actually I still do, but in the four years or so that I’ve been using it I have developed a whole bunch of customisations which turn off a lot of the features which I consider to be akin to training wheels on a child’s bicycle. I slash the running services to a minimum. I use third party security software. I have two levels of external network protection before my computer even sees the cable modem which sits in my basement. I don’t want Windoze’ pathetic firewall and similar Fisher-Price features. I was stunned when Symantec bought AtGuard (a great firewall) and reduced it to something a five-year would use. I stayed with the final version of AtGuard until SP2 made it unreliable by changing IP stack vectors.

 

And yes, I’m arrogant enough to honestly believe I’m brighter than many computer users. I don’t need Bill Gates or Steve Jobs to hold my hand when I want to play an mp3 or watch a video file. I certainly don’t want them telling me what I can watch, and when, and whether I can copy it to another machine or not. I’d like to choose what software plays that mp3, not rely on whatever the OS maker bundles. I really don’t want the OS reporting back to Microsoft or Apple that I’m listening to Sheryl Crow during my lunch break – and seeing the whole system grind to a near-halt because I blocked its network connection

 

So I suppose it’s not surprising that I’ve been disappointed with the beta of Vista that I’ve installed recently. Dammit, I don’t want my hard drive cataloguing. I want to use my own image viewing software. I know which directory I’m in. I can find where I put my files, thank you, and I would like to choose, all on my own, what processes run and when they do so. But more fundamentally I am frustrated by the bloat and system-sapping properties of a lot of those built-in features. Why should I be forced to waste memory, disk and CPU cycles on something I don’t want? The difficulty - or impossibility - of removing some 'features' like Media Player and Outlook Express from Windows is a real frustration for me. Vista seems even more bound up with stuff I don’t want and to make matters worse it’s even more efficient at spotting that you’ve stopped or deleted things it considers essential and they magically reappear.

 

OSX is amazingly bloat-free by comparison. If you don’t like iTunes, you can remove it and it stays removed. OSX at least has that underlying Unix system which allows for great control if you understand it and don’t mind getting your hands dirty. This is probably the main reason that I’m moving more and more to that platform for doing anything out of the ordinary. But I’m worried that with each successive release OSX is becoming more Disney-like and full of warm, furry buttons. How much longer before Steve Jobs decides that I have to use iTunes for mp3s and it won’t work unless I allow it to connect to Apple?

 

Or maybe we’ll see unofficial stripped-down OSX versions, like those produced with nLite for Windows. That might be one way to go. Apple would doubtless jump on that with all sorts of legal clout but it would survive regardless.

 

I recognise that a loss of control is inevitable with the advancement of technology. But it’s happening at an increasing pace, and I don’t like it. I sincerely hope that OSX doesn’t go the way of Windows.

 

So go on, tell me that I’m just being old fashioned and need to move with the times! Tell me that you believe Bill and Steve know what’s best for you. Or do you agree with me?

[Callysto]

Yes you're spot on but it's creeping into Linux too

[dponmac]

Yeah I'm gonna have to say get with the times old lady!!! J/k.

 

I do agree with OS' taking more and more control away from the user, It would be nice to see different versions that let you customize what you can control, instead of "media" "home" and "ultimate" versions. But if you think about it, users like you are a minority. The average user is dumber than a tack when it comes to computers. I'm the Nick Burns (your company computer guy!) at my work, and it blows me away to see upper management people that have Master degrees, and make over 6 figures doing something that I don't really understand, and yet have problems printing a document on their computer.

 

Now could you imagine how worse off the computing world be if XP came with default settings that would let you do whatever you wanted to the OS at a drop of a hat? To you and me, we'd think it'd be great. But to the average Joe Blow, they'd spend a lot more time on the phone with Tech Support trying to figure out why their desktop got flipped upside down!! So what happens? We get OS' that basically come with training wheels, and we need a hacksaw, sledgehammer and if all else fails, jackhammer to get them off!!

 

I'm not very inclined in the OS X department as far as how things use to be, but I do have a lot more freedom to do what I want in OS X than XP, so I can only imagine how things use to be. But IMHO, I think one reason to why OS X is taking some power from the user is maybe because they've becoming a bit more popular over the last few years, thus more inexperienced End Users having no clue what they are doing. And seeing how End Users love to blame the OS for their own mistakes, power is slowly being taken away from the user to keep them safe from themselves, and more likely to buy the next hot Apple to come out on the market.

[-.-]

Yeah I'm gonna have to say get with the times old lady!!! J/k.

 

I do agree with OS' taking more and more control away from the user, It would be nice to see different versions that let you customize what you can control, instead of "media" "home" and "ultimate" versions. But if you think about it, users like you are a minority. The average user is dumber than a tack when it comes to computers. I'm the Nick Burns (your company computer guy!) at my work, and it blows me away to see upper management people that have Master degrees, and make over 6 figures doing something that I don't really understand, and yet have problems printing a document on their computer.

 

Now could you imagine how worse off the computing world be if XP came with default settings that would let you do whatever you wanted to the OS at a drop of a hat? To you and me, we'd think it'd be great. But to the average Joe Blow, they'd spend a lot more time on the phone with Tech Support trying to figure out why their desktop got flipped upside down!! So what happens? We get OS' that basically come with training wheels, and we need a hacksaw, sledgehammer and if all else fails, jackhammer to get them off!!

 

I'm not very inclined in the OS X department as far as how things use to be, but I do have a lot more freedom to do what I want in OS X than XP, so I can only imagine how things use to be. But IMHO, I think one reason to why OS X is taking some power from the user is maybe because they've becoming a bit more popular over the last few years, thus more inexperienced End Users having no clue what they are doing. And seeing how End Users love to blame the OS for their own mistakes, power is slowly being taken away from the user to keep them safe from themselves, and more likely to buy the next hot Apple to come out on the market.

I'm afraid I'm going to have to speak out on behalf of us average users that are dumber than a tack when it comes to computers. You see we don't like the bloat and the dictation either, and if it didn't have all that it would not be difficult for us to find our way around.

 

I agree Metrogirl, great post.

[Metrogirl]

... Now could you imagine how worse off the computing world be if XP came with default settings that would let you do whatever you wanted to the OS at a drop of a hat? ...

 

Oh, absolutely! The thing that's bugging me isn't so much the handholding features, though I'm frustrated by having to go through hoops to get rid of them. It's the fact that the option to remove them is slowly being taken away from us. 'Easy' defaults are fine - I think it's great that my grandmother can use the computer and send me email, and that's largely thanks to those Disney features - she'd have never been able to do that with DOS. I just get really p***d off when they're not just defaults, they're the only option. More and more those training wheels are welded on. Many have invisible elastic that makes them spring back when you think you've got them off. Some you can't get them off at all. That is Very Naughty of Bill/Steve, particularly if they are apps which phone home for whatever reason.

 

Some third party apps and older Windows features have an 'advanced' mode with a warning that you shouldn't tinker unless you know what you are doing, and that should be good enough to keep Granny out of them but let me turn them off.

 

I *don't* want OSX to go the way of Windows in this respect!

 

Yeah I'm gonna have to say get with the times old lady!!! J/k.

Haha I'm not that old!

[scousi]

Unfortunately, all of this comes from focus groups and market research. Most users do not want to have to CONFIGURE their computer. They expect it to be safe as soon as they buy it. You just said it yourself - you do not represent the market so MS and Apple do not care about you because you represent a minority.

 

By hiding feature, they also limit the dammage one can do to their installation. Many people like to try different things but when it fails, they have no idea on how to come back to the initial state.

 

Microsoft puts basic feature (Media player, picture viewer, firewall) to satisfy the people who will never install anything. They expect music to come out of the speakers as soon as they insert a CD. They expect to see a jpg in an e-mail just by clicking on it. They expect their PC to be relatively safe from attack. I think that XP's vulnerability is overblown by the media. (I may sound like an MS fan, but believe me I am not). I thinks it's amazing that XP installs works on the hundreds of millions of permutations out there . It's one of MS biggest strength. Once installed it's not the best - but it's by far the most compatible OS.

 

As far as OSX vs XP - I find that the XP interface seems to me more efficient. I find that Apple's lack of right-click support and keyboard commands makes it less efficient (for me anyways).

 

OSX is of course doesn't seem to deteriorate over time to the point of having to re-install it.

 

BTW: What is is equivalent keyboard command in OSX that send everything to the dock (like XP's WNDOWS KEY-D). There'e F11 but that just moves all the opened apps to the side and not to the docks itself.

[Ouch]

Personally i subscribe completely to the view that computers should be a black box, leave the technical stuff to it's designers. Technlology is supposed to reduce our workload and make our lives easier not require a degree to configure. I don't try to disable the lightbulb in my microwave because I never look inside when it's running. Why should my PC be any different - i don't care what services are running in the background as long as they don't interfere with the task at hand.

 

I have been working in IT for some years now and have quickly grown tired of tinkering with settings, switching defaults off and installing third party solutions to things that shouldn't require my consideration

 

So i am happy for microsoft/apple to dumb down the operating system as much as they want as long as it doesn't interfere with the task i want my computer to perform.

 

[cyrana]

Is this really that much of a problem? I also agree I felt this way about XP when it first came out...I hate the whole Fisher-Price OS feeling I get when using XP.

 

But, even in XP you can at least get down and do what you want. It seems that it is just the initial interface that is dumbed down, but you can still go and get technical, turn off useless eye-candy, 'simple' file-sharing, etc.

 

Now, if it gets to the point where I am no longer able to change things at all, I'll complain I suppose. I don't think it has come to that, yet...at least on the Mac. Once it becomes impossible to really change the system (look at IE and WMP on windows and how hard they are to remove) I'll get upset.

[Metrogirl]

No gasps of horror, in fact I totally agree with your assertion of 'as long as it doesn't interfere with the task in hand'. Thing is, it does interefere, at least for me and quite a lot of other people too - at least until I've made the changes which I can still make. If I want to open a file on a CD and edit it in Photoshop, I don't want the picture popping up in the MS picture browser first. I don't want Photoshop running slowly or possibly crashing because it has to share resources with services that are simply not necessary or in any way related to what I'm doing. If I have to dismiss applications and alert boxes, that's interfering with what I want to do.

 

Not sure that technology is supposed to reduce our workload, either. That's how they sell it to us, sure, but no end of technology and 'improvement' has other, often hidden purposes - for example to collect data on us or provide a benefit to the manufacturer.

 

As for things being a black box, I am happy with that when the black box does what I want it to do. I've plenty of things which are just as they came. It's a question of degree. At one extreme, if I buy a frozen dinner I might put salt and pepper on it and remove the carrots - that's not quite leaving it as the manufacturer delivered it. Messrs. ReadyMeal haven't removed that option or made it impossible. A more sensible example is the TV that comes with colour or brightness set to ridiculous levels (often done to make it look good in a brightly-lit showroom). Aren't we all glad we have the option to adjust those values? I have a great audio system in my car and the factory system had to be taken out to fit it. Wouldn't you be unhappy if you wanted to install a stereo and the manufacturer had made it impossible to remove the inferior one they had supplied? Sure, it sounded sort of OK and my mum would be happy with it, but I, and presumbly everyone else who buys aftermarket car audio, want something that's more to their taste.

 

If a computer came with three icons, email, internet and word processing (hmm, wasn't Bob like that?) that would be fine for many people, but when I've spent $$(££) buying it and $$ on the operating system I want the ability to install what I want and remove what I don't. It's the insiduous elimination of that ability that is winding me up, not the fact that the initial experience is dumbed down per se.

 

BTW, the light in my microwave failed over a year ago. I haven't replaced it.

 

Edit: True, Cyrana, it's not a big deal yet - I was just motivated to have a rant because I was getting seriously @%*! off with Vista - but it's certainly stimulated some discussion!

[bluedragon1971]

As far as OSX vs XP - I find that the XP interface seems to me more efficient. I find that Apple's lack of right-click support and keyboard commands makes it less efficient (for me anyways).

 

...

 

BTW: What is is equivalent keyboard command in OSX that send everything to the dock (like XP's WNDOWS KEY-D). There'e F11 but that just moves all the opened apps to the side and not to the docks itself.

 

OS X has probably just as many keyboard shortcuts as XP does, but you can't expect them both to work exactly the same, since they are designed to do things differently. The Dock is not the exact equivalent of XP's system tray, it is really more like the Quick Launch bar. That being said, the somewhat equivalent command you would be looking for is alt-command-H (which hides all open programs except the one you are working in), possibly followed by command-H (which hides the program you are working in).

 

BTW: What is the equivalent keyboard command in XP to SCALE all open windows to fit on the desktop and not overlap, like F9 does in OS X? See, that kind of thing goes both ways.

 

You might want to read over this page: OS X Keyboard Shortcuts

[Ouch]

I never understood the difference between an after market cd player, and the factory installed one (beyond the array of LED's strobing away out the corner of your eye)

 

I guess i dream of the day when I can use my pc without ever being aware of the operating system. You shouldn't have to disable services photoshop doesn't require - the OS should realise you just started up photoshop and stop those services automatically.

[Workplace Shell]

OS X does tend to hide configuration options a lot more compared to Windows. Part of it is from past interface research (Apple's once vaunted Human Interface Guideline which IMO has gone slightly awry with OS X) and the other being the minimalist approach (one of those Steve Jobs edict sort of thing). Additionally, there is still something called the Simple Finder (mainly used in education) which is really buried (System Preferences > Accounts > Select User Account > Parental Controls > Check Finder & System > Configure > Simple Finder > Select Apps user may access) in Mac OS X. The same thing is much more accessible and configurable in OS X Server.

 

 

Server Admin and Workgroup Manager in OS X Server exposes more options but it really takes the command-line to reveal the level of tweaking available (like sysctl for kernel parameters or defaults for manipulation of user, application, and system defaults). A good example might be to look at the Energy Saver preferences panel versus pmset from the command-line; the latter allows for a bit more fine tuning than what is available from the GUI (some 3rd party free/shareware like Xupport or TinkerTool puts a GUI on top of hidden capabilities).

 

One thing I've noticed over time (since the public beta days) is how the number of corresponding command-line equivalents for GUI level controls/functions have grown. Some of this grew out of feedback for that capability in OS X Server and since the core OS is the same foundation, this naturally has become a part of the systems capabilities. They also tend to offer a wider range of configuration or provides an avenue to system features for use in shell scripting. A fun one to try is speech synthesis using the say command; "say this computer sucks like a turd on a stick" which never fails for practical joke purposes. While you can use Command-Shift-3 to take a fullscreen shot or Command-Shift-4 to bring up the crosshair for drag selection capture, the screencapture command allows it to be invoked with various options from the command-line.

 

The one real complaint longtime users have is with the lack of interface theme customization compared to earlier classic versions and Windows. Before, it was easy to change system fonts via the old Appearance Manager but it requires a bunch of hacks to accomplish the same thing. There was also a control for the grid spacing in icon view but so far, no one has figured out how to change it in OS X (too much wasted space). Sure, icons can be changed and skinning is possible with Shapeshifer (or for hardcore types who don't want to use a haxie, editing various system resource files) but Apple for the most part has made it difficult to turn off unwanted eye candy like the way XP allows and does not officially sanction themes (unlike classic Mac OS).

 

I find that Apple's lack of right-click support and keyboard commands makes it less efficient (for me anyways).

Apple to date has left contextual menus sparse to allow 3rd parties like Unsanity Fruitmenu (shareware) or FinderPop (freeware/pintware and one of the most popular right-click popup addons on OS 9 and earlier) to populate them as well as the ability to allow more advanced users to roll their own with Automator and/or Folder Actions. This is how my contextual menu looks from right-clicking on the Desktop.

 

 

Additionally, there is an array of keyboard shortcuts which have their own usual Mac defaults that can be easily reprogrammed via System Preferences > Keyboard & Mouse > Keyboard Shortcuts. Open up Apple Help Viewer and search for keyboard shortcuts to see what is possible. It can be per application or global. For example, I normally swap the New Finder Window and New Folder shortcuts in the Finder.