[MCJ]

"Vista, schmista! That is irrelevant to X. What Windows does or doesn't do is supreme bordom. Who gives a flying you know what about it? You miss Windows get it and live happy ever after, or not."
You're entitled to your opinion of course, but most people are forced to work with Windows in the corporate world and will be using Vista somewhere done the line. Secondly, Apple doesn't work in a vacuum either - it can't pretend as you do that the next OS release from the market's dominant player is irrelevant.

[Albertr]

If we wanted the Mac to be exactly like Window we would all have Window boxes. We don't for a reason. You really yearn for a Window box because you think it is so wonderful. Great Go and get one and leave the Mac that is so pitiful because it is not exactly like that other wonder. We really like the Mac the way it is, easy to use, solid impervious to any virus. Others cry that now that Intel is in the Mac the sky has fallen because it is now a Window box.
The Mac is great because it is consistent, the hardware is dependable because every part to last itsy bitsy screw is under the control of Apple and thus all the parts work together well unlike that other wonder you yearn for. You like Windows, go for it!
(By the way, you can get NeoOffice to replace Windows software for free)

[althe3rd]

In reply to:

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If we wanted the Mac to be exactly like Window we would all have Window boxes. We don't for a reason. You really yearn for a Window box because you think it is so wonderful. Great Go and get one and leave the Mac that is so pitiful because it is not exactly like that other wonder. We really like the Mac the way it is, easy to use, solid impervious to any virus. Others cry that now that Intel is in the Mac the sky has fallen because it is now a Window box.
The Mac is great because it is consistent, the hardware is dependable because every part to last itsy bitsy screw is under the control of Apple and thus all the parts work together well unlike that other wonder you yearn for. You like Windows, go for it!
(By the way, you can get NeoOffice to replace Windows software for free)

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Wow you missed the point entirely Albertr... Not only did you not read my posts (otherwise you would see I already have a windows box) but you aren't paying attention to the point of the initial post at all. Its not about wanting windows or wanting windows features. Its about being better than windows. The mac OS in my opinion is better than windows, but to continue to be better it needs to consider what its next move will be when microsoft continues to copy it. I don't want windows, I don't want mac os, I don't want linux, I want the best os out there. Right now, its mac os, now can they maintain that title? I am rooting for the champ.
Since I am trying to not be a hypocrite I will speculate on my own starting thread some more on what I could see being a feature in 10.5.
Although not entirely useful but... What if your entire desktop colors/theme reflected what your most commonly used tasks status were. To explain, imagine you have your imac (insert favorite mac here) sitting on your desk nearby or in the other room. Normally to check if you recieved an email you probably have to go up to it and look at the dock icon to see if you had any new mail. Or if you are having idvd render your new project but in order to check on the process you need to go sit at the desk and evaluate the status. Instead your mac's desktop wallpaper and or theme would change colors based on status of the application that you are using. Meaning if you have your email open and you are away from your system for a few minutes the screen will go black or white some neutral color but when you recieve an email your entire screen goes green (or any other massively large indicator). So with a quick glance from over 40 feet away you can see if your computer warrants attention.
Although its a not an always incredibly useful feature but imagine you being able to be notified by your computer about something you care about without having to actually sit at the comptuer. You can focus on something else in life and still be in touch electronically. "OS 10.5 - Your personal assistant"

Just a thought....

[Martian]

Mac users like althe3rd: Wow you missed the point entirely Albertr... Not only did you not read my posts (otherwise you would see I already have a windows box) but you aren't paying attention to the point of the initial post at all. Its not about wanting windows or wanting windows features. Its about being better than windows. The mac OS in my opinion is better than windows...
(and me) are actually the most dedicated of all Mac users. We are forced by circumstances to have a PC yet choose to devote considerable time, effort, money, learning curve, and personal frustration to run a second system. The cheap and easy way out for us would be to run the same OS on our other computer(s). And if we did run only one OS, as already explained, it would have to be Windows. So all of that considerable time, effort, money, learning curve, and personal frustration is out of pure appreciation for Macintosh. Can any of you one system Mac users top this?

[althe3rd]

Coming from the same source as the picture links I submitted before of Vista...
Here is a hot off the presses review from the author of the same site.
http://www.winsupers...nvista_5308.asp

Keep in mind that Paul Thurott (article author) is occasionaly one sided towards windows as he is a windows enthusiast. However, in the article submitted he seems to be evaluating vista with a very neutral opinion which I commend him for. You will no doubt see what I mean as he notes the obvious similarities to OS X. Also make note that according to his evaluation of the build that Microsoft is once again hindering a few of the features (smart folders) that it was originally intending on copying from os x... i mean including in vista. /forums/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif (sorry I just had to poke fun)
Btw, any one find my theorized feature for 10.5 any good? Or have any of their own ideas to add?

[MCJ]

For the record here are some of the changes I'd like to see in Leopard.
Dock:
I don't like wasted screen space so I keep the Dock hidden. Problem is, it tends to pop-up unexpectedly when I want to select peripheral objects or text. I also find that it starts to become unwieldy when there are a lot of open applications or minimised documents. I wouldn't cry if the Dock was done away with in Leopard and replaced with something along the lines of the Classic OS menu.
Finder:
The Finder doesn't work very well as an application launcher. If you are working in another application you have to first switch to the Finder, open a new Finder window, then select your chosen application from the Applications folder. Compare this to the ease of LaunchBar, which can launch applications with a few keystrokes. I'd like to see this sort of functionality incorporated into the Finder.
Windows:
I'd like to have the option of changing the position of the close window, hide and minimise / zoom buttons to the top-right of the Finder / application window instead of the top left. As a right-hander (and a lazy one to boot) I get mildly irritated having to drag the mouse right-to-left across the screen to activate these buttons.
I also find it inconvenient that there is only one point at the bottom-right of the window that can be used for resizing, which again necessitates having to drag the mouse over all those virtual acres. So in Leopard it would be nice to be able to resize from any point on the edge of window.
Mail:
Ability to set follow-up dates for messages.
Safari:
Ability to size up whole web pages, not just the text.

[bROCKNESS]

provide access to SERVICES from CONTROL-CLICKING or RIGHT-CLICKING on a file. selecting something and then going to the MENU is weak. add SERVICES to the contextual menu.
include a WEB DEVELOPMENT option when installing the new OS which would include PHP, MySQL in the install. also, add WEB SERVER System Preferences - turn on PHP, MySQL, more. i know i can do this already. but since we're putting together a wish list ..... why not?
in MAIL - when reading an email from a sender that i'm corresponding with (or frequently correspond with) why not view/open the email in REPLY mode so i can just start typing a response. one less mouse click.

[moose_n_squirrel]

In reply to:

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The Finder doesn't work very well as an application launcher...Compare this to the ease of LaunchBar, which can launch applications with a few keystrokes.

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Apple already did that one. As soon as I type "ea" Spotlight already has Google Earth highlighted, or "il" gets me Illustrator, and I press Return. LaunchBar does do it better, no question. But OS X does it.
Got some other good ideas in the post, though.

[althe3rd]

Here are some of the predictions from Loop Rumors
Part 1 - http://www.looprumor...fo08302005.html

Part 2 - http://www.looprumor...fo09142005.html
Interesting...

[moose_n_squirrel]

Interesting? Those rumors are almost completely uninteresting and none of them are Vista-killers. PowerPC and Intel compatible? (Nice predictive skills there....) More desktop backgrounds? Four items on the list that are only about eye candy? Nobody will pay $129 for that list of features. The real interesting Leopard features are yet to be announced.

[lkalliance]

I agree. Those were non-news. I was mildly interested in the iChat features mentioned.



Here's another something I'd like, btw: in Mail/Address Book, I'd like contact-specific SMTP defaults.

[althe3rd]

I would agree as well. I had seen those pages before, I only posted them to let other people who are posting the same things realize that those aren't massive enough improvements to warrant a 10.x release.
Some of the comments people have left on this thread is to see a button label change to system preferences or a minor graphical touch, etc, etc. I am trying to see what people think will be the BIG new features in 10.5, or the "vista killers" as someone mentioned earlier.

[MCJ]

In reply to:

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Apple already did that one. As soon as I type "ea" Spotlight already has Google Earth highlighted, or "il" gets me Illustrator, and I press Return.

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You're right, of course. As far as Finder as an application launcher goes I could have used Spotlight as a comparison instead of LaunchBar. In fact I have no doubt that the Finder as we know it will eventually be replaced by Spotlight's search technology, perhaps with a few tweaks to the interface a la LaunchBar - probably not in Leopard but perhaps in Sabre-tooth or whatever OS X 10.6 will be called /forums/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smirk.gif.

[Earthling7]

Totally agree!
Here is my current feature list:
Resize windows by clicking on any edge (Windows has that). Lower-right hand corner is annoying and is sometimes even off-screen.
Rethink the Finder. It has some great features, such as Columns View, but it can be greatly enhanced. Windows Explorer is more complete in some ways.
LaunchBar or some kind of Start thing should be in OSX. Windows stole it from the Mac and the Mac abandoned it. If an app is not in the doc, launching it is slow and unintuitive. The Spotlight tip is interesting, but this is Mac OSX and it should be all about ease-of-use.
Safari could learn a thing or two from Firefox. RSS implementation especially. Stability as well. Safari is the only app in my experience that regularly hangs (mostly when trying to open media) and when that one tab in that one window gets stuck, you have to Force Quit the whole app. Not good. Love Safari, apart from that.
Dashboard was a great idea, but it's too heavy. If it's optimised to work faster and use less memory, it would be more useful.
Open with? There should always be a choice of apps to use when opening media. If I open an attachment, PDFs for example, I can either pick Acrobat or Preview. I can never choose. It probably has something to do with how the PDF was made, but if I save it to the hard drive, I can open it in either app.
Save to... When saving images from a website (yes, it is OK sometimes), I can save it to "downloads" or iPhoto. I can not choose what folder to save it to.
That's about all I can think of right now. It may be an idea to bundle iLife and iWork with OSX. Vista is including Windows Media Player (HD in Home Superiour or whatever), DVD creator, some photo app, imaging app etc. I realise that OSX (currently) retails for much less, but that's Apple's decision. They need to sell Leopard, not just with new hardware, but to people like me that are not planning on replacing their wonderful Powerbooks (insert your favourite Mac here) for a couple of years.
And to the "if you like Windows, get Windows" posts... I have been using windows since the beginning of time. I got frustrated with the video possibilities on Windows and was pointed towards the Mac. I was so impressed by OSX that I soon sold my ThinkPad, gave away my old tower and am now 100% Mac. I still use Windows at work and it's not pretty. OSX needs to keep this distance, it needs to stay well ahead of Windows. If OSX was just pretty, I would have happily used one system for video and kept the ThinkPad for the rest, but I didn't. OSX can't afford to have Windows catching up.