I learned to like Command-Tab a lot. I used to constantly use that array in Illustrator so I it really pissed me off a lot first when OS X didn't provide a way to re-map those keys.
My beef with the command-tab array in OS X is the friggin' SCALE. Holy crap, could it be any huger? Allright allready, we understand that eye candy icons only look good when they're bigger than a digikid's fucking BRAIN.
I still think there's too many interfaces in OS X. Concurrent, conflicting, and inconsistent with themselves and each other. All for the sake of showing off. If Apple wants to impress me, they'll come up with ONE interface that's actually smart, and works. Works intuitively.
To navigate between open applications I usually click in the open window that I want. If I can't see it I use Exposé then click on it.
Using the Dock or Command-Tab for open applications will just bring forward the last window I was working in for that application, which may not be the window I want. That means I then have to click on the window I want or select it in a menu, so I might as well just click on it to begin with.
I never use toolbars or the left column for open applications.
Most of the time I use the Dock to open applications.
Is just clicking in the window of an already open application one of the choices?
Is just clicking in the window of a already open application one of the choices?
No, sorry, these polls only give you five choices... and there are obviously more than five ways to switch apps.
I find with most of the apps I use running, I don't often have a visible window in the background to click on to bring the app forward. This is certainly the case with Adobe CS2. Where say I'm in Photoshop, and want to go and start a new Illustrator document. Illustrator is RUNNING, but there's no window open. And when I DO have a window open... sometimes the window manager refuses to bring that window forward! Occasionally I'll have to click just on the menubar... other times it just ignores me (as in the case of an alert or open/save dialog being open in the app.)
Now that I have scads of RAM, I keep my apps running all the time. And yet, there are certainly instances where clicking on an app's window, or using Exposé's F9 doesn't work to switch apps, because there may not BE a window open. Also, if you have a window minimized, it won't show up in Exposé.
... sometimes the window manager refuses to bring that window forward! Occasionally I'll have to click just on the menubar... other times it just ignores me (as in the case of an alert or open/save dialog being open in the app.)
Well, that's true enough. What you are saying is that OS X window manager isn't working the way it should, or isn't working consistently, or sometimes not working at all. What a surprise, huh?
Maybe the poll should be named, "How do You Dodge OS X Inconsistencies and Bugs?"
Maybe the poll should be named, "How do You Dodge OS X Inconsistencies and Bugs?"
Yeah, no kidding! If you look at well, pretty much EVERY Mac OS X forum on the planet, the lion's share of the actual usage discussions revolve around clumsy workarounds. Instead of criticism that the software doesn't perform in an intuitive way, it's always about doing some bullshit, going way out on a limb to get it to work AT ALL. Moreover, there's a kind of JOY evident in the discovery of these workarounds. As if that's what personal computing is all about... as if computer use is some grand and complicated friggin' PUZZLE... a rubics cube, a brain teaser. Almost no X-Man will say "this doesn't work"... they'd much rather say "all you have to do is this, that, the other thing, stand on your head, type this mumbo jumbo into the terminal, click your heels together three times..."
There are definitely two types of people in the world. Those that relish the addition of complexity into their life and work, and those that crave easier and more efficient ways to do things. I'm definitely in the latter category. It makes me mental when people burn cycles on stupid, useless, time wasting, bloated and supersized crap. I became thalo to poke fun at these very things. I'm convoluted and longwinded and disorganized to show what a friggin' drag those things are. To out the people that respond and project their own jag onto anything that's complex enough to suit their need for trivial mental stimulation.
There are definitely two types of people in the world. Those that relish the addition of complexity into their life and work, and those that crave easier and more efficient ways to do things.
I've always liked this one:
There are two types of people in the world. Those who classify people into two types, and those who don't.
Yes, it's true. And it brings up a subject near and dear to my heart. Seeing a problem as black and white, or in myriad shades of grey. Both are valid. And yet as I've said, one way leads to overcomplexity and one way perhaps leads to simplification.
There appear to be times when overcomplexity becomes a cover for deceit. For example, a con artist or embezzler HOPES that complexity will cover his or her tracks, and will hide the true intent from the victim. In short, it seems easier to cheat, fool, or take advantage of people when you can friggin' CONFUSE them. Or convince them into thinking an issue is way more complicated than it might be.
That being said, there are also dangers of oversimplification. Dangers to not exploring all sides of an issue, and therefore making a bold but completely erroneous choice.
And yet, I don't think there is that kind of danger when you are talking about the user experience of the personal computer. I don't know that we NEED to protect the feelings of newbies and GoGurt slurping digis, much less Windows users, in order to make a great computer platform. Like our inalienable rights, which on the surface sound SO SIMPLE... I believe there are fundamental principles of personal computer use that most certainly DO NOT benefit from complex, brain-teasing, spinning gears complexity. In fact, I argue that the overcomplexity of technical issues leads to fragmenting the user base into a geek aristocracy, and everyone else. And it seems that the everyone else is often taken advantage of.
