OK, I have now watched the keynote and read some of the reviews.
I like OS X Yosemite.
I’ll get used to the eye candy. Apart from the system font (which is much improved) the only reason I don’t like the new UI design is because it’s different to what I’m used to now. I’m pretty sure I will like it once I use it for a while. Just like I didn’t like iOS 7 at first and now not only love it but find iOS 6-style apps frustrating.
I love the concept of Handoff and hope it works half as well as the demo. I’m sure there’ll be problems but it, along with iCloud Drive and AirDrop, will solve a lot of issues I have with working on my iOS devices (e.g. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve started an email on my iPhone, but needed to finish it on my Mac). If only the current iWork apps weren’t crippled parodies of their former selves, I’d be set.
I’ll likely use Instant Hotspot quite a bit, looking forward to it.
Sending SMS from my computer will be very helpful. I receive a lot of texts from clients, and always need to take care with (and document) my replies. It will be super helpful to do this using a full keyboard and with access to all the resources at my Mac’s disposal. Could save me minutes(!) each week.
I also like the new Notification Centre and am prepared to take the new Spotlight at face value. Safari will take some getting used to, but glad to see RSS feeds return.
Mail? Looks promising. For the time being, I’ll choose to be optimistic. Was about to say I’d never need the new Markup feature, but then thought of a few examples from my past where I could have used it to great effect.
Green button to full screen? OK, not overwhelmed by that, but I noticed that Option-click will mimic the current behaviour, so I can live with it.
AmberV wrote:a Dadaist painter tripping down a stairwell
That’s the start of “Artist Descending a Staircase”, a wonderful stereo radio play (a murder mystery, really) written by Tom Stoppard and produced by the BBC in the 1970s. Try and get a copy: it’s amazing!
Thank you for the recommendation. I’ve tracked down the play and downloaded it, so when I eventually upgrade to Yosemite I’ll be able to listen to Stoppard and gaze at a reproduction of Marcel Duchamp’s painting at the same time, for the full multi-dimensional Dadaist experience. (I think I already have a postcard of the painting somewhere, so I’m well on the way to executing this plan – just need to wait for Apple.)
Am I in a minority in loving full screen mode? I thought I’d hate it, but especially with Scrivener’s slide-in of binder and inspector, I get so much more space for the cork board or side-by-side editors that I can’t imagine working without it anymore. I don’t like all aspects of Spaces (I’d rather have a grid, and let apps go full screen on an existing virtual desktop instead of creating their own), but on balance it’s been a positive for me. I never zoom my windows anymore, though I wouldn’t mind a left/right tile of two different apps the way Windows does these days.
My problem with APPLE’s full screen as implemented is that I can’t use two monitors. It will fill one monitor with a window and render the other unusable. EVEN if I have multiple windows of a single app open. “full size” on the the window bar though… all my monitors are usable again.
Disliking it doesn’t stop it.
May as well adapt to on your terms.
Besides, aren’t you the one moving from upstate NY to paradise? And didn’t you mention you were considering switching to Linux from a powerful, stable and professional OS that runs the software you love? And aren’t you also the one that welded who-knows-what special modifications onto his jeep? Oh yes, Mr “I dislike change” indeed!
I work in linux everyday. I’ve worked with it since 1995. There is commercial support for Linux but it the TCO is higher than Apple and the possible ROI is much lower. So the real change was the move from linux to OSX a while ago…
IT IS FECKIN’ PARADISE!!! But a paradise that we vacation near regularly. And I visited often as a kid. Oh and Mrs and I started planning our exodus from NY back in June of '11. Our plan was to relocate in '16. And that was to the very area we are moving to in … 16 days*. So the change here is time line, not the plan.
I broke it. Now I’m fixing it. Making it better and stronger. The change here is that I’m doing it myself. Which was part of the point of buying this adult tinker toy/go cart thing. The change for me is the increased scope of “do it yourself” work. I’ve gone way past oil change, shocks and springs, fix the rust type work. I’m now allowed to call myself a “fabricator” in the Jeep club. Basically they are letting me hold a “man card” for a few minutes.
But yeah. The last year has been a TON of changes that have me very … skittish. That might explain the sleepless nights and crankiness. Or it could just be me…
I’m not much for change either. My wife and I have moved 28 times in the first 40 years of marriage; we are now at 43 ½ years. The first 15 moves were relatively easy. But I am 65 so driving a 24’ U-Haul truck is a little bigger challenge.
I started as a math/physic teacher (back when there were only seven numbers). Then I served as naval intelligence officer (9+ years). Then attended seminary and served as pastor for 17 years, then analyst at Fortune 100 company for 7+ years. Then seminary president, then again as pastor (and still serve as seminary president).
Isn’t it odd that the folk that “don’t like change” seem to experience it most? I wonder if it is the dislike is based on frequency more than actual results?
Basically because it happens so often, the few “bad experiences” are more frequent so a dislike develops.
I love the “natural scrolling” setting. I hook my MBP to my external monitor and use a secondary trackpad I bought specifically for the things it can do. I find it far more logical to flick two fingers up to pull information down a page up then I do pulling a bar on the right down. No one uses a scroll bar these days so the metaphor kinda doesn’t work. That’s just me though.
I also love full screen mode. I’m not sure if this speaks to your reference to “standard Control + Number” mention, but I have a gesture set up to show me mission control when swiping four fingers up. This makes it easy to get from one “Desktop” to another, so having an app in full screen mode isn’t a hindrance for getting to other applications. It allows me to use the entire screen for each app (or any app that supports full screen mode which are most apps I own)that I want to. CMD+Tab still works when I need to get to another application if that is how I want to navigate.
(I think I already have a postcard of the painting somewhere, so I’m well on the way to executing this plan – just need to wait for Apple.)
