Dock on left or right, I find it unusable...

[bouncer1]

But it seems this or hiding it will be the only way to go with the new small air.

The thing that I find very badly thought out in apple's implementation is that the furthest left icon on the dock (the finder one) becomes the top on when you put it on the left or right and there's no option to reverse the this.

Now when you are switching between windows it takes much more time to travel with your mouth near the top and left or right than it would near the bottom for obvious usability reasons. So you end up having the closest to you those icons (minimized ones, stacks) that you will use less often to switch from one to the other, and the ones you will use more often such as the first few ones the furthest up.

I can't see how people can work with this kind of set up and I am always amazed how some people manage to keep their dock on the left or right...

 

[jagger27]

And?

 

[bolsen78]

I just use my dock on the bottom and have it auto hide itself. Not that hard and it isnt that big of a deal I do not think.

 

[bouncer1]

And?

Do you have your period or something? It's about the fifth trolling post of yours I read in the past 5 minutes. Take her easy.

I just use my dock on the bottom and have it auto hide itself. Not that hard and it isnt that big of a deal I do not think.

That's what I do too, but you see these 16:9 babies have tons of space on the left and right and it's a shame to see it going to waste...

 

[bolsen78]

Do you have your period or something? It's about the fifth trolling post of yours I read in the past 5 minutes. Take her easy.



That's what I do too, but you see these 16:9 babies have tons of space on the left and right and it's a shame to see it going to waste...

Why yes he does have his period!!

Anyways I have never tried my dock on either sides. I never did on my MB. I just bought the 11.6 today and just did what I usually do on the MB. Idk I guess maybe I am not understanding what you are getting at with the dock?

 

[Hellishness]

Do you have your period or something? It's about the fifth trolling post of yours I read in the past 5 minutes. Take her easy.



That's what I do too, but you see these 16:9 babies have tons of space on the left and right and it's a shame to see it going to waste...

Funny comeback and you have a decent point. I can never use it on the left or right. It's just not big enough for me aside from what you said. I like to be able to look at something and click on it real fast, and I put my dock on the right for like 30 seconds just now and it sucked. I'm fine with it hidden on the bottom so it's all good. I just wish I could have ti showing and still have windows behind it like you do when you mouse over it when it's hidden.

 

[bouncer1]

Good points. I hadn't noticed that.

They should better re-think that left right dock thing at apple, that's what I feel guys. Come lion they should have a better implementation since they are going for these 16:9 screens anyway. I just don't see why the smallest screen macbook had to be the guinea pig when it was the one most in need of a more vertical space, heck even 4:3.

 

[Corndog5595]

Just use it on the left or right (I recommend the left) for a day or two and you will should get used to it.

 

[bouncer1]

Just use it on the left or right (I recommend the left) for a day or two and you will should get used to it.

You think so? I probably will with the new air, but I don't think I ll get used to it, but who knows.

 

[Corndog5595]

I never really liked the dock on the bottom. It looked nice, but took up a lot of vertical space. 16:10 is a good ratio, but with the dock at the bottom, you lose quite a lot of space for web browsing, PS, video editing, etc. I tried on three separate occasions to get used to it being on the left but I hated it all three times.
I finally tried to just live with it being on the left. I hated how it worked but I just keep thinking that I had to get used to it. After a day or two it started to grow on me and now I love it.

Hiding it is a solution also, but I find it to be a clunky and ugly one.

 

[bouncer1]

Thanks for sharing that buddy, I ll give it a go for a while too, see how it works out.

 

[C64]

Now when you are switching between windows it takes much more time to travel with your mouth near the top and left or right than it would near the bottom for obvious usability reasons. So you end up having the closest to you those icons (minimized ones, stacks) that you will use less often to switch from one to the other, and the ones you will use more often such as the first few ones the furthest up.

I can't see how people can work with this kind of set up and I am always amazed how some people manage to keep their dock on the left or right...

I don't really get what the issue is (not trying to be smart or anything). The trackpads on the MacBooks are amazing. You can get your cursor anywhere on the screen with hardly any effort. In that regard it doesn't really matter where an icon is, you can always reach it because the trackpad is so precise and easy to use.

Assuming you are using the trackpad and not an external mouse, try using keyboard shortcuts instead. Your hands are already near the keyboard. I hardly use the mouse cursor to open an application. I always use ALT + TAB to switch between my open applications. The Dock on the left is just an indication for me to see which apps are running, not so much to actually go to and click the icons. Personally I prefer using the Dock on the left, not the right. Basically because everything is focussed on being from "left to right", and since the Dock is the starting point, I feel that it should be on the left, opening applications on the right.

I use Witch to switch between application windows, which is also a lot easier with the keyboard. And I never minimize windows, always hide them using CMD + H instead. In most cases you minimize to clean up your screen, but when you minimize you'll only clutter your Dock. Use Hide instead and it'll be gone completely. You can always get it back by clicking the icon again or check which windows are open in Witch or OS X's Expose.

I don't like to hide my Dock though. I like being able to see what is opened up and I often drag documents or things from the web to a certain application or folder that's in my Dock. So hiding it would mean another step: first drag it all the way down, then look for the icon, and finally drag it to this icon. That comes down to a long drag. And not seeing everything just gives me the feeling I'm not in control of what's going on

Bottom line: yes it's a change. It's your main go-to element of the OS and it's something you get accustomed to very quickly. Changing that will be weird at first, but you should at least give it a chance. Use the dock on the side a for say a week and decide what you think is best. In the end it'll be different for everyone, but without properly testing both, it's hard to give it a fair assessment.

 

[QuarterSwede]

On my MacBook autohide drives me nuts because you can't have the bottom of a window at the very bottom of the display so I have it hiding on the left. Honestly I don't use Finder from the dock. I click on it from the desktop or cmd+tab to it and do cmd+n. For apps not running I use Spotlight to open them and for apps open I cmd+tab to them. That leaves my Downloads folder and that's an easy flick of the finger to get to.

 

[Hellishness]

Ok here's what I do:
I think hiding the dock looks the cleanest and most professional, along with saving space. I think it's too small and weird to use on the sides, and I like to have some moderate magnification on, so I keep it on the bottom. I have at full size and with magnification just right that when i mouse over it anywhere but the corners, its the exact width of the display. Now my desktop looks really clean and I can make to most use of the space in windows and such.

I never really hide or minimize windows since it takes up place in the dock or you have to click to icon again to use a hidden window. I keep them all open and use expose (four fingers drag down and it works amazingly). I never have to click or really move the mouse much to change windows or apps.

 

[citron230]

That's what I do too, but you see these 16:9 babies have tons of space on the left and right and it's a shame to see it going to waste...

put more items in your dock then and/or make your doc wider using the sliding scale system preferences under dock.

 

[Corndog5595]

Ok here's what I do:
I think hiding the dock looks the cleanest and most professional, along with saving space. I think it's too small and weird to use on the sides, and I like to have some moderate magnification on, so I keep it on the bottom. I have at full size and with magnification just right that when i mouse over it anywhere but the corners, its the exact width of the display. Now my desktop looks really clean and I can make to most use of the space in windows and such.

I never really hide or minimize windows since it takes up place in the dock or you have to click to icon again to use a hidden window. I keep them all open and use expose (four fingers drag down and it works amazingly). I never have to click or really move the mouse much to change windows or apps.

Taking my own advice, I am going to try having the dock on the bottom, hidden. I like how I can have it nice and large, maybe I will get used to it.

 

[bouncer1]

That witch app looks really interesting... thanks!

 

[iDave]

I've always had my dock on the right (hidden) since the first days of Mac OS X. There's more horizontal space than vertical so it has always baffled me that the default position is at the bottom. It's the first thing I change after a fresh install of the OS.