OS X Annoyances

[Swad]

Today's Great Debate is really more of a venting session. The only real debate is whether these are bugs or features. If one of our annoyances is easily fixed, let us know!

 

What are the things about OS X that annoy you the most? You know, those seemingly tiny little quirks that really get bothersome after awhile. My 3 largest are fairly common.

 

First, I have no idea why there's no default list view in the finder. Should I really have to change the settings for each folder?

 

Secondly, the Dashboard is a powerful tool, but why can't I drag a widget to the desktop (this is, at least, possible) and make it float, stay below other windows, keep it locked on the desktop, etc. (If Apple was trying to knock out Konfabulator with Dashboard - and they were - they should at least support a few of its features)

 

Finally, why can't I delete messages in Mail.app that are below the one selected? Does the rest of the world start at the bottom of their inbox and move up?

 

What are yours?

[Guest Guest]

At least the new version of OSX will fix the dashboard issue. I find it annoying also, especially for widgets that let you drag files in.

[Titan999]

Well, the dashboard issue can be done with a simple fix by typing something into terminal then dragging it onto the desktop by pressing F12 to take you out of dashboard.

 

Make sure you have root previlages or use the sudo command and type:

defaults write com.apple.dashboard devmode YES (return)

(then restart your computer and drag your widget, press F12 to remove dashboard and voila, its on your desktop)

 

The deleting issue, i beleive you can have it the other way around by sorting the mail by clicking the "Date" column.

 

The folder views.. these files called ds stores i beleive stores what a folder looks like. I dont really know what you mean, if you mean the view of each folder you can change the view for all the folder or each one by getting into show viewing options

[Guest Guest]

I want them to fix a problem with the shut down dialog in spanish, if (on a laptop) you press the power button and then hit enter it doesn't work because the dialog is not focused, this is happening since OSX 10.4.0 and i already wrote to apple twice and nothing!!

[Swad]

I hope so, Guest, but we still don't know about the widgets on the desktop yet.

 

Titan - Yeah, I know what you're talking about with the widget thing (it's also an option in Oynx) but you can't tell it where to stay in relation to other windows, etc.

[Titan999]

Do you mean Z-Order or the issue with it being on top all the time???

I dont know that one!!

For spanish i think you need to go to international in preferences and put english on top. I dont know if thats the issue though

[Swad]

Yeah, when I tried it using the "Developer Setting" with Onyx, it stayed on top of all the windows - not really what I was needing.

[non sequitur]

the widget thing makes me angry too. i also dont like the fact that the iwork trial takes up a gig of space and it expires after thirty days. i was cleaning up my hfs partition and that made me angry that it was just wasting space.

[mifki]

I dont liek the fact that A perfectly working Install takes sooooo long to achieve from scratch, its one of the only reasons i dont have OS X running on my computer anymore

[quixos]

i can't stand how the default width of columns in finder can not be set. the amount of time wasted clicking to expand finder columns hurts my mind.

 

if in the next finder they had it set up so that not only could you set the width easily, but the

widths would be remembered per folder, that would be fantastic.

 

(i spent many hours back in the beginning looking for the answer to changing default column size. there might actually be a way to do it. life intruded and i forgot about it until i saw this thread. someone should track down the answer. )

[Guest Guest]

When shutting down my MacBook I have to wait for OSX to completely shutdown before closing the lid - if I close the lid during the shutdown it hangs OSX

[Korrupted]

ATI mouse tearing..but it's being worked on.

[deadlyhifi]

to change finder column size and keep it that way. Hold down 'alt' (is that 'option' for you crazy americans?) and drag to the desired size. When you return it stays that way.

[Korrupted]

to change finder column size and keep it that way. Hold down 'alt' (is that 'option' for you crazy americans?) and drag to the desired size. When you return it stays that way.

 

Do you have to select something before doing it?

[deadlyhifi]

Do you have to select something before doing it?

 

No. Just hold alt and drag at the bottom of the column, where the two little lines are.

[Korrupted]

I can't figure it out for the life of me. Could you post a screenshot perhaps?

[Danyel]

The biggest complaint I have doesn't have to do with OS X as much per se. I'm stuck running OSX 10.4.1 on my laptop due to Integrated Graphical Card restraints. OSx86 10.4.1 runs slowly compared to 10.4.5 and above. 10.4.1 also has trouble running most Universal applications.

 

I'm running 10.4.5 on everything else (MSI mPC, Dell Dimension 4600 and Dell Inspiron 1300) and it makes a world of difference (Full QE / CI Support).

[deadlyhifi]

I can't figure it out for the life of me. Could you post a screenshot perhaps?

 

now I'm starting to get worried that we are speaking of something completely different. how about this?

 

 

I'm on 10.4.7 on a 15" macbook pro.

[Korrupted]

Oh, i see. I use the Icon view.

[rogabean]

Umm hey guys.. some of the annoyances that have been posted.. such as Kiko's.. are NOT OS X annoyances, they are OS X86 annoyances. You would not have these annoyances if you were running an actual Apple Mac.

 

Sorry to sound cold, but they are a bit off the topic. This thread is for things with Apple's OS that annoy us, not things that annoy us because we are hacking it to work on unsupported software.

 

And I hear ya Mash on the Dashboard thing.

 

Personally since it didn't support this feature out of the box, I removed it from my system.

[velinn]

How about not being able to close the lid of your laptop without going into sleep mode? Talk about annoying.

[deadlyhifi]

I find it annoying that some programs close when you click the X button, and some just go an hide in the dock. I think they should all close, as the minimize button hides things as well.

[rogabean]

How about not being able to close the lid of your laptop without going into sleep mode? Talk about annoying.

 

This can be changed can it not? I was able to change it on the iBook, although the girl preferred it going to sleep so it was changed back.

 

 

I find it annoying that some programs close when you click the X button, and some just go an hide in the dock. I think they should all close, as the minimize button hides things as well.

 

That's a feature. I like that when I hit the close button iTunes disappears but continues to run while not cluttering up the section of my dock it would if I minimized it.

 

This has been a feature of the Mac OS since before OS X.

 

If I want something to actually close I use the key combo. If I hit the close button I only want that window to close out and not be minimized on the dock... I still want the app to run.

 

perhaps an option to change this behavior would work so that those who like it as it is now can continue and others can have it another way... i.e. a "Windows Behavior" section in System Prefs.

 

It the same I way I miss the old window blinds feature from OS 9. double click the title bar and it folds up like a window shade.... not minimizes to the dock.

[quixos]

to change finder column size and keep it that way. Hold down 'alt' (is that 'option' for you crazy americans?) and drag to the desired size. When you return it stays that way.

 

i'm very very happy about this information. i thought, perhaps it wouldn't remain set after a reboot, but it did!

 

this is not as well known as it should be. folks over at macosxhints and other forums have asked the same question and not gotten a working answer. the answer is hidden in the forums there, and elsewhere. but i needed your information, "alt+columns+finder" to find it hidden in under the brilliantly unhelpfully titled post "Two little annoyances about finder from a noob - any help appreciated". just want to find him and poke him with a stick until bloody.

 

you should post this in the Genius Bar. "[How to] Permanently change width of columns in Finder" or some descriptive title.

 

thanks again for fixing my SUPREME OS X annoyance!

[Guest Guest]

This can be changed can it not? I was able to change it on the iBook, although the girl preferred it going to sleep so it was changed back.

 

 

Can you please show me where to change that? I've looked every where I could think to look, but I can't find it. I've even Googled it and came up with forum posts saying that the only way it could be done is to put a paperclip (??) over whatever it is that causes the OS to realise the lid was closed. And of course posts saying not to do that because the heat will fry your screen. Or something. Anyway, point being that I can't find that in any preference I've looked at.

 

Nothing like switching OS's to get that noob feeling back, eh?

 

Other than that, I don't have any other annoyances with OS X. Maybe a more unified GUI would be nice; some programs are brushed metal, some aren't, some themes change scroll bars while leaving the rest metal, etc. There shouldn't be so many "looks" to program windows. Issues that others have brought up (dashboard, minimizing instead of closing, etc) I all find to be "just right" the way they are. Of course I'm fairly new to the OS in general and am still in the "wow" phase. Maybe I'll get annoyed in a month or two.