How would you Improve OSX?

[xmichaelp]

Siri.

Make TextEdit windows and text bigger.

Break up iTunes. Have a separate Music, Videos, and Podcasts app.

Redo the windows system wide. The gray bars are just ugly and dated. Make them semi transparent like the menu bar.

Rename it to macOS.

Have dark right click menus in Dark Mode.

Edit in external editor for Photos.

 

[azpc]

https://medium.com/@Pier/what-i-d-like-to-see-in-osx-10-12-3b58edd7e85b#.g17tk6yye

Points I agree with:

UI Scaling

• I want to to be able to scale the UI to 125% to make text more readable across the whole OS without any ugly resolution interpolation.

Better window management

• Windows is much better at this than OSX has ever been. You should (at least) be able to maximize a window.

Better control of default application and file icons

I want to be able to define which apps open which types of files and not have OSX mess with that without my permission. Say you assign Photoshop to open JPG files instead of Preview. I would expect all JPG files to get a Photoshop icon instead of a Preview icon, but that doesn’t happen automatically.

Also if you install another application afterwards that also opens JPG files, like say Affinity Photo, OSX may even change your default application (and even maybe the file icon) without asking you.​

Bring back the old color labels in Finder

Call me old fashioned, but I’ve missed those labels since Apple removed them in Mavericks. The color dots are useless to me and many others.

 

[azpc]

9 to 5 Mac published this morning an article on how to improve Window Management on the Mac.

Parts I agree with:

• Split View is a nice option to have, but it simply doesn’t compete with the flexibility and customization afforded by window snapping.

What is window snapping?

"Window snapping allows you to position windows in specific areas of the screen, usually by dragging the window to the edge of the screen, causing the window to “snap” into place. This feature was first popularized by Microsoft’s Aero Snap on Windows.
​

• Mac's need the ability to preview what’s running in the dock without fully opening an app window. Hovering the mouse pointer over an open app in the Dock should reveal a small preview window displaying its current state.

Why is this is useful?​

When you have more than one window open for a single application you can preview both windows right from the dock without opening either window.​

Disagree with:

Having to purchase Ad-ons for basic Window management. This functionality should be included in OSX.

Source: http://9to5mac.com/2016/05/06/how-to-enable-aero-snap-like-window-snapping-on-your-mac-video/

 

[azpc]

Source: http://www.daha.co.uk/apple-mac-os-x-wish-list

Minimum Font Size

Must be able to set a minimum front size for all applications.

Right now some applications have fonts so small that people are getting eyestrain - especially pro-apps.

Resolution independence wont solve this issue as it will make the whole application window larger - including fonts AND graphics/widgets. We don't need graphics/widgets enlarged - only the fonts.

Need to be able to cope with people setting a minimum front size of 20 without messing up the display. Or another way of putting it: independently scalable application user interface fonts.​

[doublepost=1462885413][/doublepost]Clipboard

• Enable the clipboard (for copy and paste) to contain multiple objects.

Source: http://www.daha.co.uk/apple-mac-os-x-wish-list

 

[Europe calling]

I think Apple should have a new team of experts (NOT led by Ive) release a separate OSX 'Pro' version without all the useless consumer/iOS crap 'features' for all of us that use the mac professionally. Then we'll be able to focus on our work again, not debugging... I'm really sad Apple has taken away their focus on being the best trouble free OS

 

[azpc]

MacWorld UK OSX 10.12 wish List

http://www.macworld.co.uk/news/mac-...-date-rumours-el-capitan-macos-3630374/#toc-7

Suggestions I agree with:

• Faster more accurate Spotlight

• iCoud Drive to an external drive

• Restore Save As - "We're still not sure why Apple replaced Save-As, but we think Apple should rethink the approach. The new approach to file saving hasn't gained wider industry traction, and it's just confusing to everybody.

• Clock App for OS X - Wouldn't it be great if OS X had a proper Clock app, with all the functionality of the Clock app in iOS. The widget is fine, but a dedicated app with Alarm, Stopwatch and Timer functionality for OS X would come in handy.

• iCloud Time Machine

• Health app for OS X
  

 

[Draeconis]

A replacement for HFS+. It's 18 years old, corrupts easily and is poorly designed to work on todays hardware.

Should be replaced with ZFS or BTRFS; proper software RAID, snapshotting, checksumming, redundancy and CoW-style benefits are essential and overdue.

 

[colourfastt]

After reading through this thread, it seems like most posters really just want to be running Windows.

 

[azpc]

A couple of neat ideas here:

https://www.behance.net/gallery/28739081/OS-X-El-Capitan-concepts
[doublepost=1463672658][/doublepost]The Mac Observer also has some nice ideas:

• Clipboard history with continuity via iCloud.

http://www.macobserver.com/tmo/article/as-apple-moves-from-os-x-to-macos-whats-in-store-for-users

I Agree with:

"Better Handling of Secure Erase/Empty Trash. In El Capitan, Apple had to give up the pretense that Secure Empty Trash worked properly with Flash memory. A Flash memory controller technique called wear leveling tends to prevent full erasure, and private data can linger, unwanted in Flash (and SSD) storage systems.​

The iPhone encrypts data with a hardware key, and that key is kept in a special memory location, exempt from wear leveling, called effaceable memory. Delete the key there, (with a Reset) and it's really gone, and all that's left is scrambled, encrypted data in the rest of the storage. One way to fix the OS X/Flash memory problem is to always encrypt the Flash storage and add effaceable storage. That way, Mac owners, like iPhone owners, can feel safe when they sell their (Flash-based) Macs."

"A New Filesystem Architecture. HFS+ is very old, going back to 1998 and Classic Mac OS 8.1 and lacks many modern features desirable in a modern filesystem. We've been waiting for Apple to modernize it for years. Perhaps now is the time.

In my opinion, Apple would likely not adopt one of the popular, modern Linux/UNIX filesystems but brew its own superset of HFS+, perhaps called HFS++. The advantages of course are control, freedom from any licensing issues, and backwards compatibility with HFS+."​

 

[boston04and07]

• Clock App for OS X - Wouldn't it be great if OS X had a proper Clock app, with all the functionality of the Clock app in iOS. The widget is fine, but a dedicated app with Alarm, Stopwatch and Timer functionality for OS X would come in handy.

Seriously, this seems so simple but I would totally love having something like this. I've looked in the App Store but there's literally nothing (that I've found) that does this - everything is one of the three features or another, or some random combination of two of them, but I've yet to find a decent app that combines a world clock with an alarm, stopwatch, and timer.

Health app for OS X

This right here is the reason I still use a Fitbit and haven't switched to the Apple Watch. Even though its OS X sync solution is crappy and you can only view your data on the web (as opposed to a standalone app), at least you can view it on a computer. I really wish Apple would add this.

 

[azpc]

Image Capture:

• Needs a share option

1. Share to Photos
2. Share to Messages
3. Share to E-Mail

• Extensions for Image Capture.

- Allow third parties to extend the functionality of Image Capture.​

 

[grahamperrin]

Location independent files.

ZFS …

… although if Apple intends to make Location independent files a feature of some of its operating systems, you're much more likely to see it on OS X with Core Storage.

More openness. (For example: when I last looked at the manual page for fsck_cs, mystery surrounded the bugs).

Better documentation.

Better change logs.

FeedBack App for the Mac

Much work went into versions of Apple's Feedback Assistant before and after it became associated with public betas. I haven't touched the application for a long time, but I assume that it has improved.

In the future it might become usable by a wider range of Apple customers. I don't imagine this happening in the near future.

… opinion, Apple would likely not adopt one of the popular, modern Linux/UNIX filesystems but brew its own superset of HFS+, perhaps called HFS++. The advantages of course are control, freedom from any licensing issues, and backwards compatibility with HFS+."

I understand the wish, but I do not imagine significant future extension of a file system that was extended long ago. Already (in many modern computing environments) Mac OS Extended is somewhat overextended.

… windows to OS X integration in regards of the file system (yes I'm aware of Tuxera and Paragon)

Microsoft and Apple approaches to storage systems have diverged so far, and for so long, that I don't imagine either company properly supporting the storage system and/or file systems that are associated with the other company.

… Universal Apps …

+1

Better window management

flexibility and customization afforded by window snapping

+1

It's a feature of so many other environments (KDE Plasma 4 is my current preference), it's odd that Apple drags its heels on this. I suspect that the feature has been ready for public consumption for years but it's deferred by Apple to be presented as something 'new'.

 

[grahamperrin]

A proper title bar for Safari.

From WWDC 2014:

… This is a picture of Safari, and something you're going to notice about it is that the title of the window isn't there …

More at https://forums.macrumors.com/posts/21555268

 

[boston04and07]

One thing I really want to see is iCloud integration for iMessages, similar to how iBooks is now integrated into iCloud. I'm someone who never deletes a thread, and I have a Messages database that goes back to my original iPhone in 2009. Of course, the Messages database on my Mac only went as far back as the introduction of the Messages app on OS X (whenever that was), and it was missing SMS message histories until that was introduced last summer. My iPad was like that too, but I was able to transfer my iPhone's entire Messages history to that device using this method not too long ago: http://www.idownloadblog.com/2014/03/06/how-to-back-up-restore-sms-messages/ However, I can't get that to work on OS X. I had to do a fresh install the other day, and thanks to a faulty Time Machine backup, I wasn't able to restore my old (albeit incomplete) Messages history on my Mac. I figured that this would have been a good time to restore my entire database from my iPhone, as I'd been meaning to do that for a while, but no matter what it just won't recognize the database.

So anyway, long story short, I'd really, really love it if Apple integrated iCloud syncing into the Messages app. That could allow changes such as thread or message deletions to sync across devices, something that's (unfortunately) not possible now, but I'd also love it for the sole purpose of giving me access to my entire Messages database on all my devices. Of course, just like iCloud for iBooks, I think enabling this should definitely be left up to the user, but I for one would be all for it.

 

[azpc]

Good ideas from Apple Insider:

App Improvements:

"Apple should take apps like Image Capture and the Mac's Printing and Scanning features and present one clear, finished app for working with connected imaging devices from scanners to cameras to USB stored images.

This could even be integrated with Preview to provide a single, iCloud backed repository for scanned documents and PDFs, a sort of OCR-enabled graphic Notes for documents, receipts and other captured images."​

New Apps:

"Apple released a number of new apps for iOS 9 last year that have yet to make an appearance on Macs, including News, Health and Activity. There's also no native Mac app for accessing Find my iPhone or Find Friends (both of which could be integrated into the Mac Maps app).

For both the Mac and iOS devices, it seems that Apple should offer a Home app for managing HomeKit devices, rather than leaving HomeKit licensees to roll their own. Along those lines, Apple could also integrate tools for configuring Apple TV, Airport Base station and Time Machine devices into the same single interface.

As earlier noted in regard to Apple Watch, the Mac Messages app should gain support for at least receiving Digital Touch, tap and heartbeat messages from watch wearers. Bringing over Health and Activity to the Mac could also help with efforts to gamify fitness, health and weight loss goals inside of a Game Center social network, as well as potentially contributing to clinical study reporting for ResearchKit and CareKit applications."

http://appleinsider.com/articles/16...-2016-whats-in-store-for-apples-macs-and-os-x​

 

[ardchoille50]

My contribution to improving OS X:

Have Apple bring back, or create, the themes from all of the previous OS X releases (i.e. 10.0 - 10.11) and have each theme available as an end user option in Settings. I would love to run El Capitan with the Mountain Lion theme.

I've sent this request to Apple using their feedback page, but I doubt Apple would be willing to implement this to satisfy just one user.

 

[navaira]

Have Apple bring back, or create, the themes from all of the previous OS X releases (i.e. 10.0 - 10.11) and have each theme available as an end user option in Settings. I would love to run El Capitan with the Mountain Lion theme.

"Over my dead body" - Jony

 

[boston04and07]

"Apple released a number of new apps for iOS 9 last year that have yet to make an appearance on Macs, including News, Health and Activity. There's also no native Mac app for accessing Find my iPhone or Find Friends (both of which could be integrated into the Mac Maps app).

For both the Mac and iOS devices, it seems that Apple should offer a Home app for managing HomeKit devices, rather than leaving HomeKit licensees to roll their own. Along those lines, Apple could also integrate tools for configuring Apple TV, Airport Base station and Time Machine devices into the same single interface.

As earlier noted in regard to Apple Watch, the Mac Messages app should gain support for at least receiving Digital Touch, tap and heartbeat messages from watch wearers. Bringing over Health and Activity to the Mac could also help with efforts to gamify fitness, health and weight loss goals inside of a Game Center social network, as well as potentially contributing to clinical study reporting for ResearchKit and CareKit applications."

Yes to all of this! I really like how they're arguing for continuity in app offerings across devices. I've long wanted Find my Friends and Find my iPhone apps on OS X. The Find my Friends widget is good to have but just doesn't cut it as an app replacement; it lacks notifications and a decent map view. As for Find my iPhone, I use the website on my Mac allllllll the time as I'm always losing my phone at home in couch cushions and the like. My Mac is obviously way harder to lose, so naturally I use the service on my Mac to find my iPhone way more than I would use it on my iPhone to find my Mac (actually, I've never needed to use it for that yet, knock on wood). A native app would be sooooooo welcome, even if it is integrated into Maps. It'd be better than having to call up the website and log in every time I use it.

And as I've mentioned before here, I am strongly in favor of News, Health, and Activity coming to OS X (and the iPad for the latter two) as well as a dedicated Phone app that gives us access to voicemails. Continuity in app availability is very important to me - I hate it when I have my perfectly capable 15" rMBP in my lap and I have to go get my 4" screen to do a simple task that my MBP is in theory perfectly capable of handling. And I've been seeing more and more people arguing for this lately, which is great IMO.

 

[grahamperrin]

… focused on ideas not diatribes or complaints …

"Over my dead body" - Jony

@navaira can you add an idea that's not Jony's? Thanks.

 

[dianeoforegon]

In Contacts, I would like to be able to add a flag icon for country and a field for time zone.

 

[ges]

Flatter title bars and better defined window borders. But NOT translucent. Too much translucency just muddies the distinction between windows. There is already too much of it. Only temporary overlays should be translucent.

 

[grahamperrin]

Allow the user to securely erase free space on volumes that are non encrypted.

More broadly, restore lost functionality to Disk Utility.

 

[andeify]

So the FaceTime voice mail would that be Face Mail?

 

[azpc]

A newer version of the list is now posted under the "Sierra" Forum

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/needed-improvements.1977518/

 

[azpc]

Finally!

Add option to have folders displayed at the top of the window (alphabetically but before all other files).

Here it is: http://9to5mac.com/2016/06/17/hands-on-new-features-macos-sierra-video/