10.3 Suggestions

[will]

Introduction
After some careful thought I have come up with the following suggestions for improvements and new features in OS X 10.3. I know there has been some discussion of this already, but I have yet to see a comprehensive list of suggested improvements. I have left out the iApps, as that's a whole big area by itself, and has been covered in some detail elsewhere.

There are bound to be some things I've missed, or some things you don't like. Comments, and criticisms are very welcome

The GUI and Finder
* More GUI customisation and support for themes
I should be able to customise the look and feel of OS X, and there should be proper theme support. the message from Apple seems to be "Think different, but you will all have to use an identical looking GUI." Let us be creative Apple. Oh and I don't like metallic look applications, I should have the option of giving them a normal look.

* Virtual Desktop
Would make user much more productive, particularly when using screen hungry applications like Photoshop.

* Folder labels
Enough said.

* Info windows should remember state
When I get info about a file I would like the info window to remember which sections I had open (e.g. ownership). Perhaps it would also be better to use tabs rather than the triangle drop downs?

* Screen Lock
Ability to lock machine to prevent access while away from desk etc. with a simple key combination or from Apple menu.

* Remember working environment
I should be able to log off and when I log back on have all my applications and documents returned to the state they were in before I logged off. This should also work in networked environments, so that wherever I login I get my desktop ready to go.

* Give Classic apps Aqua look
It should be possible for Apple to make classic applications take on the aqua look, this would make OS X much more consistent when using a mixture of classic and aqua applications.

* Support for arbitrary metadata
Allow files to have arbitrary metadata associated with them, e.g. author. Allow this information to be visible through the finder and set/read through an API so applications can take advantage of it.

* UNIX file(1) command like identification
The UNIX file command can identify a file's type even when there is no external indication of its type. Apple could use this to take more intelligent action when a user tries to open a file of unknown type. To read more about this type 'man file' into a terminal.


Hardware Support
* 64bit and quad CPU support
In readiness for PPC970.

* Offload more screen drawing to graphics card
I'm sure Apple could offload more of the work of Quartz onto the graphics card.

* Networking using firewire
This would be very useful for small office, schools, particularly laptop users.

* USB 2
We're going to need USB 2 at some point, Apple should build support in.


Applications
The following are applications I believe Apple should ship/improve with 10.3.

* New 'paint' application (iPaint?)
Doesn't it strike you as strange that Apple don't include a basic painting application in OS X? Pro users have PhotoShop, but for most users a simple applications to allow basic tweaking of images, painting, incorporating text, converting TIFF->JPEG etc. would be invaluable.

* Help Centre
Currently slow and hard work! Also it doesn't indicate which docs it's going to try and retrieve over the Net, very irritating if you're away from an Internet connection.

* Perl 5.61
Why Apple still ships buggy old 5.60 is beyond me!

* Safari with tabs
Needs to be fast and stable and you have a winner.

* X11
Ship X11 with the OS allowing users to easily use other UNIX applications. Allows users to run gimp and open office.

* Ink
Handwriting recognition could be better, and faster.

* Terminal
Give us back the nice Monaco font from 10.1! See http://www.arstechnica.com/reviews/02q3/macosx-10.2/macosx-10.2-13.html


And finally...
* Free Upgrade for 10.2 Users
Users of 10.2 should be able to obtain the upgrade for the price of postage (i.e. no more than $10).

* Mac Puzzle
As an almost 20th anniversery (of the Mac) treat include the original puzzle app

 

[rainman::|:|]

the consumer suite, Appleworks, includes a painting, drawing, presentation (soon to be killed), database, spreadsheet, and word processing functionality.

Safari Tabs are implimented in v62, which has not been released yet. However this has been discussed often here... it's coming, just be patient. should be here before 10.3, remember safari is separate from the OS and still in beta stage.

firewire networking is pretty useless, especially when gigabit ethernet is the current standard... USB2 is also pointless, as we've far surpassed this with firewire 800. FW800 will become the standard, and USB2 will die soon-- there's just no advantages of it, why get an 80 mbs increase over FW (which is used for virtually all high-speed peripherals anyway) when you can get a 400 increase. USB2 isn't faster than FW400 when applied to things like HDs anyway, why are we upgrading to something that's already been buried by FW's dust?

a lot of what you've detailed are things that Apple just hasn't had time to impliment-- like folder labels, probably theme support, etc. I think a lot of this will come with 10.3 anyway...

pnw

 

[alset]

Solid wish list.

I would kill for bug-free Firewire networking. And I'd like to see my iBook check if it has a faster option than Airport without me having to tell it to switch locations. Every time I work on the network it should check the Firewire and Ethernet ports and, if possible, use those.

Dan

 

[cubist]

Yes, a good list. Themes/colors/font selections are overdue.

I really liked the way OS/2 did it - open a font selector, drag a font and drop it on something, and whatever it is changes to that font. Same for changing colors. But I don't really care much how it works, as long as I can change fonts and colors and get rid of the pinstripes.

I'd like it if Classic apps would just run like regular programs, instead of being treated like poor stepchildren. But I don't expect much change in that area.

10.2 still has some weird problems with associations/selecting applications. For example, when I right click a program and say open with, sometimes a bunch of applications are listed, sometimes not; sometimes I can't select an application (it's grayed). I think it's sometimes using the invisible type/creator codes (echh!) and sometimes using the file extension. This is irritating.

 

[alex_ant]

No!

- Keep that X11 garbage off my Mac! If I want it, I'll download it myself.

- I'm not sure about giving Classic apps an Aqua look. I think it would be much more work than it would appear, and I don't think the need is very pressing. It would make Classic apps look like strange Classic-Aqua hybrids, since they would have Aqua titlebars but not use Quartz font rendering... I say just leave Classic alone.

- There are much better ways to identify file types than with Unix file. Apple needs to migrate away from HFS+ and move to a database FS that supports arbitrary metadata like you said. (They could look to BeOS for a way to pull this off.)

- The GUI already is customizable if you just download Duality or something. I don't think I would want this feature built into the OS. It would suggest a lack of confidence in Apple's own design, and it would hurt GUI consistency.

- The virtual desktop would be nice especially with these 1024x768 displays Apple is shipping. There should be an option to turn it on & off, though.

- You're right, another game would be nice.

 

[SoonToGetAMac]

I think there should be a speical price for 10.2 users, but more than $10. I think that some where around $50 or $75 is fair. I know Apple is innovating and all, but $130 per year ($230 if you get .Mac) is gonna get old....now that I say that, there's a good idea to get .mac signups! Offer 50% off OSX.3 when you join .Mac, or something like that.

 

[beatle888]

Re: 10.3 Suggestions

Originally posted by will



* Screen Lock
Ability to lock machine to prevent access while away from desk etc. with a simple key combination or from Apple menu.

we already have that feature...open keychain and go to VIEW>SHOW STATUS IN MENU BAR. then go to your new pad lock icon in your menu bare and choose LOCK SCREEN.

 

[nuckinfutz]

And finally...
* Free Upgrade for 10.2 Users
Users of 10.2 should be able to obtain the upgrade for the price of postage (i.e. no more than $10).

Like your lists but forget the above here. By the time 10.3 comes out 10.2 would have shipped a year ago. Apple is going to be charging for 10.x releases...period. Just because you bought 10.2 doesn't mean Jack. You're paying for Programmers who've worked on OSX 10.3 for a year. They don't work for free.

think there should be a speical price for 10.2 users, but more than $10. I think that some where around $50 or $75 is fair. I know Apple is innovating and all, but $130 per year ($230 if you get .Mac) is gonna get old....now that I say that, there's a good idea to get .mac signups! Offer 50% off OSX.3 when you join .Mac, or something like that.

No that's not a good idea. Apple is NOT forcing you to upgrade. You can keep running 10.2 as long as you can. I want Apple to be successful and to do that they must fetch a fair price for their products. You're not ENTITLED to get a discount on the next OS just because you purchased the prior.

firewire networking is pretty useless, especially when gigabit ethernet is the current standard... USB2 is also pointless, as we've far surpassed this with firewire 800. FW800 will become the standard, and USB2 will die soon-- .

ibooks iMacs eMacs and most powerbooks don't have Gigabit Ethernet so it's definitely not useless. USB2 is not going to die. It's going to be on every Motherboard that ships in 2004...can Firewire say the same?


If Apple is going to charge for 10.3 they will have to add enough features to make it worthwile for the majority of users.

10.3 WILL be a full price upgrade. Come this July it would have been a year since Jaguar shipped and you don't pay programmers salaries by shipping a year of their work for a loss.

I expect there to be Finder Improvements, Quartz Extreme Improvements. Audio Improvements.

I also expect to see some new Technologies that no one has been able to guess.

Apple needs to give us a reason to WANT 10.3 and that's the excitement of this. As the OS gets better it will be more difficult for Apple to do so.

 

[hvfsl]

Originally posted by nuckinfutz

ibooks iMacs eMacs and most powerbooks don't have Gigabit Ethernet so it's definitely not useless. USB2 is not going to die. It's going to be on every Motherboard that ships in 2004...can Firewire say the same?

Actually if a PC ships with USB2 it almost always ships with Firewire as well. USB2 is still only used in the high end motherboards on PCs. I got a new mobo for my PC last week for $60 and it only had USB1.

 

[will]

Re: No!

Originally posted by alex_ant
- Keep that X11 garbage off my Mac! If I want it, I'll download it myself.

- There are much better ways to identify file types than with Unix file. Apple needs to migrate away from HFS+ and move to a database FS that supports arbitrary metadata like you said. (They could look to BeOS for a way to pull this off.)

- The GUI already is customizable if you just download Duality or something. I don't think I would want this feature built into the OS. It would suggest a lack of confidence in Apple's own design, and it would hurt GUI consistency.

Some thoughts on your comments:

Why the hostility to X11? I'm pretty sure Apple will include it in 10.3. If you don't want it don't install/use it.

I agree with you on the FS. All I'm saying is that if I download or get sent a file whose type isn't clear from mime or extension use file rather than give up.

I don't think allowing customisation is suggesting a lack of confidence in Apple design. It's about giving users the freedom to customise their working environment; remember the 1984 advert. At the moment I can't even choose the colour of GUI components (apart from the graphite/aqua schemes). I'm not asking to fundamentally change OS X GUI, just tweak it to my preferences and needs. We should also consider users with poor eye sight who could really benefit from a high contrast colour scheme.

 

[will]

Originally posted by nuckinfutz

No that's not a good idea. Apple is NOT forcing you to upgrade. You can keep running 10.2 as long as you can. I want Apple to be successful and to do that they must fetch a fair price for their products. You're not ENTITLED to get a discount on the next OS just because you purchased the prior.

10.3 WILL be a full price upgrade. Come this July it would have been a year since Jaguar shipped and you don't pay programmers salaries by shipping a year of their work for a loss.

Hmmm, is it really the case that you can keep running old versions? How many patches and security updates have there been to 10.1 since 10.2 was released? If you're going to allow users to continue to use old OS versions then they need to be supported. If recent previous versions aren't supported then Apple should definity not charge users upgrading from 10.2 the full price.

Even Microsoft conitues to support old versions of Windows, e.g. Windows NT is still supported, years after Microsoft updated it to Windows 2000 and now Windows XP.

Loyal Apple users should be supported by Apple, not fleeced. In summary, either continue to properly support old versions for at least three years, or don't charge users for upgrades.

 

[synthetickittie]

they DEFINITLY should charge for 10.3, just not the full price if you all ready have 10.2. A person that doesnt even have os X yet definitly should be paying more for 10.3 then somone that has all ready bought 10.2.

 

[dricci]

Re: Re: No!

Originally posted by will
SI don't think allowing customisation is suggesting a lack of confidence in Apple design. It's about giving users the freedom to customise their working environment; remember the 1984 advert. At the moment I can't even choose the colour of GUI components (apart from the graphite/aqua schemes). I'm not asking to fundamentally change OS X GUI, just tweak it to my preferences and needs. We should also consider users with poor eye sight who could really benefit from a high contrast colour scheme.

Freedom to Customize ends up causing support headaches. "Do you see the Titlebar, it's white with stripes in it." "No... I have something that's blue though!" Apple needs to leave the appearance static, and let the diehard themers break the appearance at their own risk.

Regarding contrast: Check system prefs > univeral access to enable several different visual modes for people with vision problems.

 

[kishba]

in the get info window, clicking on the folding triangle titles (instead of just on the triangle) should be able to unfold info item too...

i can't count how many times i've wished it would...

 

[nuckinfutz]

Hmmm, is it really the case that you can keep running old versions? How many patches and security updates have there been to 10.1 since 10.2 was released?

They are supported. Jaguar users haven't had to pay for 10.2.x have they? And in the meantime new functionality has been added(Journaling).

There may even be a 10.2.5 coming. But the scenario you will see is

10.3= Paid upgrade
10.4= Paid upgrade
10.5= Paid upgrade and so on and so on.


You'll still be supported by Apple but I think that with every new upgrade of the OS previous users feel like they're going to get some discount or break and that's just not going to happen. 10.2 shipped last July. I don't expect 10.3 to hit until July of this yearn It WILL have new features and functionality but it will cost full price. As long as people know that we can avoid the annual ritual of Mac users flooding the boards sounding like jilted lovers.

they DEFINITLY should charge for 10.3, just not the full price if you all ready have 10.2. A person that doesnt even have os X yet definitly should be paying more for 10.3 then somone that has all ready bought 10.2.

I'm curious as to why you feel this way. A basic tenet of commerce is that there is Mutual Consideration. In this case you purchased OSX 10.2 for $129. You have had the benifts of its technology for almost a year. Next comes 10.3 which will contain new items and technologies. Wouldn't it be fair for Apple to recoup compensation for it's hard work?

 

[synthetickittie]

I'm curious as to why you feel this way. A basic tenet of commerce is that there is Mutual Consideration. In this case you purchased OSX 10.2 for $129. You have had the benifts of its technology for almost a year. Next comes 10.3 which will contain new items and technologies. Wouldn't it be fair for Apple to recoup compensation for it's hard work?

Well I DO get what your saying and kind of agrue. Yet I guees its just what Ive been used to and kind of like it.. buy new software and when a new verision comes out you dont have to pay the full prise to upgrade. Examples would be basically any software: photoshop, flash, and oh ya even microsoft stuff. Windows, if you had ME and wanted to upgrade to XP its cheaper then buying it if you didnt.

 

[nuckinfutz]

Originally posted by synthetickittie
Well I DO get what your saying and kind of agrue. Yet I guees its just what Ive been used to and kind of like it.. buy new software and when a new verision comes out you dont have to pay the full prise to upgrade. Examples would be basically any software: photoshop, flash, and oh ya even microsoft stuff. Windows, if you had ME and wanted to upgrade to XP its cheaper then buying it if you didnt.

No problem dude. I definitely see your point. I like putting Apple in the Hotseat. They HAVE to make you WANT to pay for 10.3 and that means features features features! If it doesn't have features you're not going to pay your hard earned money and that's a fact.

So I can see 10.3 playing out like this.

$129= Some new features that cause an instant Drool Response in most Jaguar users. On one hand your pissed because you have to shell out more ducats but you HAVE to have said new features.

$69= (fictional price) Apple realizes 10.3 is just a bug fix with relatively little new features. Decides to offer 10.3 at reduced price.

Apple could go either way depending on what's ready once 10.3 ships.

Since I'll be buying a new Mac at years end I'll end up with 10.3 regardless but I would like to see new functonality and features. The OS is one area Mac users get features more quickly than our PC counterparts. Space your upgrades 18 Months apart and it's financially feasible for most.

 

[will]

Originally posted by nuckinfutz
They are supported. Jaguar users haven't had to pay for 10.2.x have they? And in the meantime new functionality has been added(Journaling).

My point was that 10.1 wasn't supported, 10.2 is the current release, so of course it's supported! As I said before, how many patches have there been for 10.1? As far as I am aware there haven't been any, this means that 10.1 machines are probably vunerable to a large number of exploits. Hence you have to upgarde.

 

[Tommy!]

upgrades, new features

Maybe it would be fair if every other upgrade had to be paid for.... 10.1= free, 10.2= 129$, 10.3= free, 10.4 = 129$ and so on...


For new features, I think that there should be springloaded folders in the dock. For example, you should be able to drag a folder to your home folder in your desktop and have it behave like any other spring loaded folder. If this is already a feature, it sure doesn't work on my iMac... It just seems like a feature Apple would have incorporated.

Also, when your screen saver comes on, small icons should throb on and off if their app requires your attention. Then, you can tell at-a-glance if any applications need your attention, without having to enter your screensaver password and check.

Third, in the dock, applications currently in use should have a differently colored arrow. It just makes sense to me.

I also think that if you hide an application, it should disappear from the dock. If you want to reselect it by clicking and holding on the finder icon. Your hidden app would be in the finder menu. Hiding apps would clear up dock space and desktop space.

Of course, all these features should be able to be turned on and off!

 

[nuckinfutz]

Originally posted by will
My point was that 10.1 wasn't supported, 10.2 is the current release, so of course it's supported! As I said before, how many patches have there been for 10.1? As far as I am aware there haven't been any, this means that 10.1 machines are probably vunerable to a large number of exploits. Hence you have to upgarde.

http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=106713


Give it up man. Realize when you're defeated