Is there ANY way to fix these ML issues? Terminal hacks, resource hacks, anything...

[Leek]

Hi guys,

I use Snow Leopard and love it but my eyesight is getting worse and I'd like to install Mountain Lion for HiDPI. Enlarging everything on the screen 2x would be great. Before I switch, though, I have some issues that I haven't been able to find fixes for.

• I want to make Mission Control more like Tiger and Leopard Exposé. This is the biggest. I don't want tiny thumbnails with huge gaps between them. I don't want my desktop and spaces gobbling up space on top. I don't want my background scaling down and distracting me. I want nothing except my screen dimming softly and all my windows being tiled as big as they can go. And to see the window title when I hover over a window. Like this.
  
• Disable Versions. I want to do this globally and safely. I read of some Terminal command for Lion but it was deemed unstable (back then, in Lion).
  
• Re-enable holding a dock icon for app Exposé. I actually used this and I don't get why it was changed/removed. On top of the Exposé issues above, it's like Apple purposely did everything they could to make window management worse.
  
• Proper 'Save As' Behavior. I know "Apple put it back in Mountain Lion albeit hidden" but it is still half-assed. It saves the file under a new name but it also overwrites the original file. I want it to leave the original file untouched, as 'Save As' should.
  
• Aqua scrollbars and scrollbar arrows. It may be superficial but the rippling scrollbars have been my favorite visual in OS X for over 10 years and the gray everywhere is ugly as hell.

Thanks in advance to any gurus/modders who can advise on any of this.

Also, alternatively, if anyone knows of a HiDPI hack for Snow Leopard, I'll gladly take that instead. I've tried Quartz Debug but in SL it seems to be just a really buggy implementation of resolution independence, not stable or usable.

Thanks.

 

[Krazy Bill]

I have some issues that I haven't been able to find fixes for.

The answer is NO to all of the things or your list. You'll just have to adapt.

Personally, I've ditched Lion, skipped Mountain Lion (after a test drive) and am happily back on SL.

 

[JS82712]

Hi guys,

I use Snow Leopard and love it but my eyesight is getting worse and I'd like to install Mountain Lion for HiDPI. Enlarging everything on the screen 2x would be great. Before I switch, though, I have some issues that I haven't been able to find fixes for.

• I want to make Mission Control more like Tiger and Leopard Exposé. This is the biggest. I don't want tiny thumbnails with huge gaps between them. I don't want my desktop and spaces gobbling up space on top. I don't want my background scaling down and distracting me. I want nothing except my screen dimming softly and all my windows being tiled as big as they can go. And to see the window title when I hover over a window. Like this.
  
• Disable Versions. I want to do this globally and safely. I read of some Terminal command for Lion but it was deemed unstable (back then, in Lion).
  
• Re-enable holding a dock icon for app Exposé. I actually used this and I don't get why it was changed/removed. On top of the Exposé issues above, it's like Apple purposely did everything they could to make window management worse.
  
• Proper 'Save As' Behavior. I know "Apple put it back in Mountain Lion albeit hidden" but it is still half-assed. It saves the file under a new name but it also overwrites the original file. I want it to leave the original file untouched, as 'Save As' should.
  
• Aqua scrollbars and scrollbar arrows. It may be superficial but the rippling scrollbars have been my favorite visual in OS X for over 10 years and the gray everywhere is ugly as hell.

Thanks in advance to any gurus/modders who can advise on any of this.

Also, alternatively, if anyone knows of a HiDPI hack for Snow Leopard, I'll gladly take that instead. I've tried Quartz Debug but in SL it seems to be just a really buggy implementation of resolution independence, not stable or usable.

Thanks.

Strangely enough, I agree with all of your points; the sad thing is, if you want to use the new features, you'll have to adapt.
I dislike the fact that apple is changing things in OSX and a lot of the changes are for the worse; I guess it has to do with the absence of Betrand Serlet.

 

[ScottishCaptain]

Nope, nope, nope, nope, nope.

You've outlined everything that is wrong with OS X at the moment. Incidentally, these are also the things that we have no option of changing.

-SC

 

[Paradoxally]

What kind of half assed answers? There are solutions to some of the problems...

MC more like Expose...use TotalSpaces.

Disable Versions...just ignore that, I did and I don't even use it.

Re-enable App Expose via Dock...not possible, but it's faster just swiping down on your trackpad or activating a hot corner.

Proper Save As...not possible, only duplicate because of the stupid ML behavior. Other apps have this fine (e.g. Photoshop, Office), it's just Apple's apps.

Aqua scrollbars...oh how I wish I could get this back. I HATE the new 'Aqua' in Lion & ML, with those horrible grey scrollbars. The only thing I've managed to do is get color in the Finder again...but someone REALLY needs to release a theme for ML so that we get the SL look back again.

 

[throAU]

"Proper" save-as behaviour is subjective. The new behaviour is by design, and is just "different".


Personally I think it is superior, but if you are set in your ways and don't want to adapt then yes you'll find it annoying.

You can bet microsoft will implement something similar in some future version of Windows though.

 

[3282868]

All app's are free

"Mountain Lion Tweaks"

Free app. Removes the skeuomorphic design elements in "Calendar" and "Contacts", allows changing the N.C. background, disabling auto app termination, smooth scrolling and rubber band scrolling (and more, see screen shots)

"Loginox"

If your Mac is password protected, the first screen you see after starting up is the login screen. This screen contains the default image of Mac OS X, which can get boring after a while.

Loginox is an application which lets you easily customize the login screen.

Use Loginox to change the login background image or the login logo with a single Drag-and-Drop.

"BetterTouchTool"

Never used to like it until the TrackPad and 10.7/8. One trick: In "Finder" trackpad gestures, add a new gesture for 2-Finger left and right swipe using the 3-Finger gesture. This will allow 2-finger swiping through-out OS X, not just "Safari" and other apps, but in "Finder" and third party apps as well. Keep the 2 finger swiping in "System Preferences" on, of course.

"TotalSpaces" (formerly "ReSpaceApp")

I'd been working with the developer, Stephen, on "ReSpaceApp" for a while. It was bought by BinaryAge, the makers of "TotalFinder", with Stephen Sykes at the helm. Great app, free at the moment, adds full 10.5/6 desktop "Spaces" to 10.7/8. (someone already mentioned this pointer, highly recommend it)

"CandyBar"

I always "tweak" my icons, and while you can do it manually this app takes time and work out of the equation. It's now free, and you can download tons of free icon sets and produce your own custom OS X. The only issue is the inability to theme 10.8's new "Dock" app. Hopefully that will change. I've tried many recommendation but to no avail. In time.

As for "Save As...", while in the "File" menu, hold the "alt/option" key and a "Save As..." option will appear in the list.

 

[Fishrrman]

Disregard what others have written above.

You can return to the old "save as…" paradigm by using the terminal commands documented here:
http://hints.macworld.com/article.php?story=20120604101520950

 

[robgendreau]

After moaning about Apple's changes, why stick with them?

There are only a very few applications that use Apple's new file saving features. Don't use them; problem solved.

 

[50548]

[*]I want to make Mission Control more like Tiger and Leopard Exposé. This is the biggest. I don't want tiny thumbnails with huge gaps between them. I don't want my desktop and spaces gobbling up space on top. I don't want my background scaling down and distracting me. I want nothing except my screen dimming softly and all my windows being tiled as big as they can go. And to see the window title when I hover over a window. Like this.

Not exactly the same, but this may help:

# Speed up Mission Control animations
defaults write com.apple.dock expose-animation-duration -float 0.1

# Group windows by application in Mission Control
defaults write com.apple.dock "expose-group-by-app" -bool true

[*]Disable Versions. I want to do this globally and safely. I read of some Terminal command for Lion but it was deemed unstable (back then, in Lion).

Try this: http://superuser.com/questions/381928/can-i-disable-os-x-lion-autosave-and-versions

[*]Re-enable holding a dock icon for app Exposé. I actually used this and I don't get why it was changed/removed. On top of the Exposé issues above, it's like Apple purposely did everything they could to make window management worse.

http://osxdaily.com/2012/07/30/expose-mac-os-x-mountain-lion/

[*]Proper 'Save As' Behavior. I know "Apple put it back in Mountain Lion albeit hidden" but it is still half-assed. It saves the file under a new name but it also overwrites the original file. I want it to leave the original file untouched, as 'Save As' should.

Probably fixed by Apple at a later stage; send them feedback.

[*]Aqua scrollbars and scrollbar arrows. It may be superficial but the rippling scrollbars have been my favorite visual in OS X for over 10 years and the gray everywhere is ugly as hell.
[/LIST]

http://www.marsthemes.com/crystalclear/

Thanks.

You're welcome.

 

[jameslmoser]

There is to a way to remove autosave and restore Save As...

defaults write -g ApplePersistence -bool false

Restart any apple app and see for yourself.

 

[NeoMayhem]

Anyway to get rid of the huge safari tabs?

 

[Jenni8]

Anyway to get rid of the huge safari tabs?

I hated it at first and have sort of gotten used to it I suppose, although I wouldn't mind being able to go back.

 

[CarlSGutekunst]

http://www.marsthemes.com/crystalclear/

According to Leland Scott from CrystalClear:

On Lion, CCI themes the scrollbars, but there are no arrows anymore. If you set your preferences to always show the scrollbars, you can use the bars themed with CrystalClear Interface and its various button themes. The bars look like they do on Snow Leopard, minus the arrows.​

 

[TDCorinthian]

I don't really mind the gray scrollbars but the bounce effect when you reach the ends is a little annoying.

I also don't like the easing effect when you switch desktops; it's slow and it's followed by a split-second where you can't interact with anything. I'm using TotalSpaces now to speed it up until someone finds a terminal hack.

I'm also getting a bug where sometimes if I close a full-screen Mail app, the Mail icon on the dock magnifies like my mouse is over it. I have to hover over the dock to "snap out of it".