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View Full Version : Apple and easy positioning of content



Mr. Picklesworth
November 12th, 2007, 06:48 PM
My favourite thing about Macs is Apple's iLife and iWork suites. More specifically, I am a very big fan of how easy it is to arrange content in these programs. That is, you click on it and you put it wherever the heck you want. No messing with margins, padding, line spacing, placement settings... you can just drag the image or the text block, and put it anywhere.
There are some flaws: Namely, Shapes do not make immediate sense (actually, I still don't get them. They looks like they should be used to control masking, but I can't find how! Their documentation probably tells all, mind).

This feature is not just in their text editor, but in absolutely every program they make -- even the web site maker. (Such functionality blurs the lines between the different types of programs, too; I haven't noticed much difference between iWeb and iWork's Pages, beyond the included templates and export options, which would be bad for business, but on the other hand would be pretty good for a free software project).

Why is this functionality so unique to Apple? It is why people like their software; because it does what they tell it to do. If any creativity tool wanted to come out ahead, this would be how.
Is there anything else that at least tries to achieve it?

aysiu
November 12th, 2007, 06:59 PM
Why is this functionality so unique to Apple? It is why people like their software; because it does what they tell it to do. While I agree that easy positioning is a great thing, I don't see how you can see Apple's software does what people tell it to do.

I told my wife's Powerbook to use WPA encryption for wireless, and it refused to do so. I told it to maximize the window, but the window zoomed instead. I told it (view Cmd-Tab) to bring back the application I minimized--the application showed up on the toolbar, but the window stayed minimized. I told it to delete the file by pressing the Delete key, but I found out I had to press Cmd-Delete to delete the file. I tried to delete the contents of a drive by dragging the drive to the trash can, but Mac OS X ended up ejecting the drive instead.

Computers, no matter how sophisticated or "intuitive" people think they are, are not mind readers and are not human. They require adaption and training always. Apple is not the savior of computer software.

SomeGuyDude
November 12th, 2007, 07:01 PM
Apple's entire shtick is that you can use it like an actual desktop with objects sitting on them. You don't need to know squat about squat to get things up and running, etc. I haven't a clue what in the world the iWhatever suites do (nothing sounds interesting enough for me to look), but if it's like anything else Apple makes, then it's like I said. Apple's claim to fame is making something that doesn't require a manual.

I would assume that part of the issue is money and that Open Source is only going to be able to do so much when it's not generating revenue. To this day I am shocked that Linux distros are as feature-rich as they are and that OpenOffice is so comprehensive. I'd assume there's going to be a limit, though.

As for why there's no commercial equivalent, hell if I know on that one.

aysiu
November 12th, 2007, 07:05 PM
You don't need to know squat about squat to get things up and running, etc. Apple's claim to fame is making something that doesn't require a manual. Then their claim is wrong.

I required a manual to get software installed in Mac OS X.

I thought I'd download the .dmg file, double-click it, answer some questions, and the software would be installed. What happened instead? I downloaded the .dmg file, double-clicked it, and a white disk appeared on the desktop. I double-clicked the white disk, and an icon for the application appeared inside. I double-clicked the icon to start the application, and the application started. I moved the white disk and .dmg to the trash, and the application closed.

I had to research on the web (and, yes, read a manual) to find out that you're supposed to drag the application icon from the white disk to the Applications folder, eject the white disk and .dmg, and then start the application from the Applications folder.

I don't know how you could expect users to know all this (http://guides.macrumors.com/Installing_Applications_in_Mac_OS_X) without a manual. Like Windows users, many Mac users assume that what they're used to is also empirically intuitive. When it comes to computers, lofty notions of intuitiveness are overshadowed by training and familiarity.

SomeGuyDude
November 12th, 2007, 07:33 PM
Then their claim is wrong.

They may not be incredibly successful at it, but that's what they aim for. While Linux distros generally want you to be able to get inside them and play around (which means making them a little less than what most would call "user friendly", and much less in some cases), Apple seems to want five year olds, 105 year olds, and victims of head-trauma to be able to use their products out of the box without having to read the manuals at the expense of control and, generally, functionality.

aysiu
November 12th, 2007, 07:41 PM
It greatly depends on the Linux distro. Many do not target end users or make any attempt to be new-user-friendly, but others do, including Ubuntu, Mepis, Xandros, PCLinuxOS, Linspire, gOS, and Linux Mint.

If you don't believe me, compare Ubuntu 7.10 to Ubuntu 4.10. Believe me, Ubuntu aims to be useful and easy to learn, and it has made great strides over the last three years in doing so.

Mr. Picklesworth
November 12th, 2007, 08:33 PM
Eek!
I see the "just works" and "does what it tells you to" claim to be a lie, too, most of the time. (Their very nice documentation helps, though; it's like buying a reference book along with the computer).

The exception is just this one topic: Their word processor. It is a very smooth style of word processor that I have not seen elsewhere, and it just baffles me why not. I must be missing something...

aysiu
November 12th, 2007, 08:36 PM
Eek!
I see the "just works" and "does what it tells you to" claim to be a lie, too, most of the time. (Their very nice documentation helps, though; it's like buying a reference book along with the computer).

The exception is just this one topic: Their word processor. It is a very smooth style of word processor that I have not seen elsewhere, and it just baffles me why not. I must be missing something...
Well, there are multiple exceptions. The bottom line is that there are many things that Mac OS X does well, and there are things it doesn't do so well.

The easy positioning of content feature sounds wonderful.