On 9/17/07, Ian Forrester <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > I have a theory that PC users like to customise more that Mac and Linux > users. I don't know why but once you buy a mac, your pretty much in the fold > and rarely change anything. > > For example how many mac users have you seen using something else besides > itunes to manage there ipod? Or how many mac users have you seen with a > different colour UI? Few, and i'm wondering if that's because the interface > is so perfect that actually its restrictive? Or is it just that mac users > are too busy to play with the skin/ui? >
Each of these are different questions. As for skins and UIs, there's a reason why most people don't change their theme - it's already pretty good. So much so that there are tons of people making OS X impersonation themes for Windows, KDE and GNOME. That said, there are tools like Unsanity's Shape Shifter: http://www.unsanity.com/haxies/shapeshifter/ and a wide variety of themes available: http://interfacelift.com/themes-mac/ I'm really happy with the OS X theme, and have no need to change it. I have a custom backgrounds set on my PC on both the XP and Ubuntu partitions, but haven't been bothered to copy it over to my Mac. I'm lazy. I actually don't care too much about the UI. I'm reasonably happy with it. I've customised the living crap out of my .bash_profile file though. What goes around that is mostly irrelevant. > But let me ask a question to the list (those at barcampbrighton know what > I'm going to ask) > > Q1. How many of you Mac users have Quicksilver installed? Guilty as charged. I don't think it proves your point though, Ian. It has a ton of different themes and plugins available. And I've written a load of custom user scripts for Quicksilver so that I can control my Mac the way I like (for instance, a simple script called "Lock" which locks my keychains and flips back to the login screen - useful when I'm at somewhere like BarCamp where I can trust everyone enough to leave my laptop out, but not trust them enough to let them browse my e-mail!). I've also written custom scripts to post to Twitter and Jaiku from Quicksilver. Quicksilver is not a 'monopoly' though. Most people use it because they don't like Spotlight - the built-in OS X "type it, find it" tool. And there's a following out there for LaunchBar which does the same sort of thing (I used LaunchBar back on 10.2). My parents are both Mac users. Both of them have Quicksilver installed on their Mac (my insistence). Neither of them use it. Both use the Dock. Both have custom backgrounds. And Quicksilver is going open source with the next release http://www.tuaw.com/2007/08/09/quicksilver-goes-open-source-with-leopard-release/ Also, Quicksilver has become so popular that there's been a huge set of spinoffs on the Windows platform: http://www.lifeclever.com/scott-hanselman-10-quicksilver-alternatives-for-windows/ > Q2. How many of you Mac users have a iPod and use iTunes? I have an iPod and iTunes, and think it's brilliant. Everyone bitches about iTunes, but I really like it. I use it for tons of podcast subscriptions and it's almost rock solid. I'd switch to other podcast management tools if they were any good. I've tried them, and they either flake out or do things in other, undesirable ways. There are ways to improve iTunes, of course. I don't like the standard 'filtering' system in OS X - you can't specify complex rules, so you are forced to do things like create search dependencies (ie. create a playlist that contains all X, another playlist that contains all Y, then a playlist that contains things which are both X & Y or X & !Y etc.) I think this is a case of Apple simplifying the interface at expense of useful functionality, and is one of the reasons I don't use the Apple Mail client. I use OS X because it has support for the software I use, and it annoys me marginally less than Windows. > Q3. How many of you Mac users have change the dock position? I did have my dock on the right for a while, but because of the fact I have a wide-screen laptop, I have it at the bottom so I can fit more stuff on it. That said, I'm not a big user of the Dock. I use Alt-Tab and Quicksilver more. The corollary of those questions are: How many Mac users all use the same text editor? I did an informal poll in the pub after BarCamp and the answers were all over the map: TextMate, BBEdit, TextEdit, Emacs, Vim, SubEthaEdit, Eclipse. How many people use the same browser on the Mac? Well, if only a few other operating sysems could have the diversity of Firefox, Safari, Camino, Shiira, iCab, OmniWeb and so on. Just as a point of reference, I currently have running on my Mac: Finder, Quicksilver, Firefox, Adium, iTunes, the OPML Editor, iTerm (terminal emulator), QuickTime Player (with Perian plugins), Azureus and Oxygen. (And in that interminably ever-expanding top-right hand bar, a last.fm client and the Plaxo Sync thingy as well as all the standard buttons). As for whether OS X is inimical to the goals of Backstage? It's no more than any other commercial software. And there are some really nice advantages to it. You can buy a Mac now which comes with the full development stack (Xcode, Objective-C etc.) in the box. The idea that we are all fanboys is ridiculous. Talk to any Mac user who's been on the platform for more than six months and they'll give you a list the length of your arm of what's wrong. I've been on the Mac platform since 1999, and there's a ton of things wrong with it. But it's got a lot right about it. Yours, -- Tom Morris http://tommorris.org/ - Sent via the backstage.bbc.co.uk discussion group. To unsubscribe, please visit http://backstage.bbc.co.uk/archives/2005/01/mailing_list.html. Unofficial list archive: http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/
