In Regards to Window Management
In response to a particular Four Island post with a very long title I would like to say that you're wrong, Hatkirby. For those who don't know what I'm talking about allow me to explain.
I have used OS X before, I used Leopard last year for a Multimedia course I took and the one thing I disliked about them was their window management. The first thing that confused me was the fact that when you closed a window the application was still running, I guess this goes with the idea of a SDI (Single Document Interface). Although This is not a major problem and the applications can be completely closed through the menus it confused me at first.
The main problem I have with Macs was window switching. Coming from Windows I was used to Alt+Tab. They do have something similar on OS X but it lists the open applications instead of the open windows. Of course they have Exposé, but it just isn't as fast. With Alt+Tab you can switch back and forth between two windows instantly, but with Exposé you have to find the window you're looking for and click on it.
OK I'll cut OS X some slack. I don't particularly mind that you can only resize windows from one edge because I don't often resize windows anyway. If I want them bigger I just maximize the window, which brings me to another point, windows don't maximize all the way in OS X! They only take up as much of the screen as they want, so as to not feel fat, or something. Why can't they just do what every other operating system and every other window manager does and actually take up all of the screen when the maximize button is pressed. So in hindsight yes it does annoy me that you can only resize the window from one corner because OS X is the only operating system in which I have to manually resize the window so it takes up as much of the screen as possible.
Now, I probably should mention OS X Lion here. Well as I've mentioned before I think Lion will fix some of the problems I have with OS X's window management: combining Exposé and Spaces, allowing applications to run full screen, etc. Still it won't fix everything. I guess we will just have to wait and see.
Well that's all that I have to say about window management. I hope you were able to follow me in my ranting. 
3 Responses to In Regards to Window Management
You switch apps with Cmd-Tab and you switch between windows with Cmd-`, so that’s a non-problem–I barely even use Exposé (because it runs slowly on my computer). Cmd-Q quits an app, but if it’s something you use often, it’s probably easier to Cmd-W (close the window) or Cmd-H (simply hide it). Some apps do close when you close the main window, but for others, it’s pretty useful that the app is still open and I think it’s a good idea. Sure, it’s a bit difficult to get used to, but when you think about it, it actually makes more sense than Window, where the programs are dependent on their windows. On OS X, the window represents but is legally distinct from the app (:P). And also, I discussed the zoom button in my post and said that it wasn’t actually a maximize button. It’s not supposed to maximize–just resize the window to best fit its contents. That was basically the entire point of my post and you seem to have ignored it, even though you so pointedly state that I’m “wrong”. I’m wrong because window switching is more annoying than window management? Well, since you didn’t really know how to switch windows, I think it’s a bit of a non-arguement.
I’m sorry if I seem a bit annoyed, but I’m just upset that your fourth paragraph reads as if you didn’t actually read my post, which you linked to.
I’m sorry if you were upset by my rant, but I was just trying to say that for an operating system that tries to be very user friendly it seems slightly overcomplicated with regards to window management and I like how Lion has promised to fix some of these problems. Yes OS X is trying to be different and their window management does work well, but I have always found it to be slightly disorganised. Again, Lion has promised to organise these tools better.
I personally dislike the ‘zoom button’ idea because I feel that I should be able to make a website in Safari span across the entire width of the screen if I so desired. And why can’t windows be resized from anywhere along the border? GNOME manages to do it just fine without having a large border and I personally haven’t had any problems with resizing windows using it.
This is all just my personal opinion and I’m not saying that Mac OS X does a bad job with window management, I’m just putting my thoughts forward to be challenged by others.
I do agree–partially. I think that you should also be able to resize from the top, the top-left and the top-right (perhaps even the left and right) because nearly every Cocoa window has the same controls at the top, but it would be difficult to just allow you to resize from anywhere without interacting with the controls inside the window, which I have found to be a problem with GNOME. I personally like the idea of the zoom button, though think it’s more fit for people with larger screens, and I do keep certain windows (Safari, NetNewsWire, Mail, Things, iTunes…) maximized at all times.
I was just upset about the fact that your rant read like you hadn’t read my rant, because then you would’ve known the reasoning behind the zoom button.