Tuesday: Apple's version of Window's "All Programs" menu. |
11 April 2006 |
Apple's "All Programs" menu.
I came across "Vista is a train wreck (Part Deux)" by Charlie Owen on his RetroSight blog. Charlie writes very reasonable reply to the unfair comparison of Windows Vista and Mac OS X by Mart in his blog entry "Vista is a train wreck".
Mart compares some user interface elements of Windows 98, Windows Vista and Mac OS X. He compares the Start Menu panel, available desktop space, internet browser top toolbar sizes, Network settings panels and control Panel windows. Mart does not show a Mac OS X equivalent for the Start Menu and Network settings comparisons. Why? Well, they're no better in Mac OS X. Network settings in Mac OS X are just as difficult to understand for Grandma as the Windows version.
Opening an application that is not in the first available selection panel is what rasised my hackles.
Just as in Windows, in Mac OS X you can get to your application by several routes. In our examples we want to run Activity Monitor.
1. Spotlight for the application.
Press Command and Space to activate the Spotlight search bar. Enter part of the application's name ("Activ") and select "Activity Monitor" when it has been found. This is not always quick the first time.
2. Use a Finder window.
Click on the Finder icon in the Dock, select the Applications button in the left-hand sidebar (should be there in a default installation) select the Utilities subfolder then select the "Activity Monitor".
3. Use a folder icon menu from the Dock.
You can drag a folder to the dock and use it like a menu. If you drag the Applications folder to the dock you get a Windows "All Programs" like menu to open your applications.
Assuming you have the Applications folder in you Dock, right click (or Control click) on the Applications icon, then hover over the "Utilities" subfolder, then select "Activity Monitor".
Windows.
Now tell me this is simpler than in Windows... You can't, can you? The only thing that is easier in Mac OS X is opening an application from the first viewable selection panel: the Dock, which is always accesible without using a mouse button.
Gaping Void.
Here is the cartoon which originally led me to this comparison, go have a look at Gaping Void!
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