[qwzybug]

Ugh, the visual cacophony going on the background behind my applications in OSX are so f-ing distracting, I spend most of my time on a Mac moving the damn windows around and individually minimizing them so I don't have to look at them all the time.

Command-option-H. You'll like it.

I like the deemphasis on full-screen windows in Mac OS; one of the biggest losses in OSX UIs of the last decade is that they've moved from the exceedingly customizable palette-style UI (see ircle, for example—an IRC client with the entry box in a different window from the chat log!) to the iTunes-inspired, all-features-in-one-window style.

The ability to use the windowing system to split your focus between different documents and apps for the same task (instead of maximizing every damn thing, like most Windows users I know) was powerful; the current approach reeks of MDI. (As does Adobe CS5—git yer damn tabs outta my Photoshop, Adobe.)

PS - Personally, I can't stand the mouse acceleration curves on Windows. "In matters of taste, there can be no dispute."

[elblanco]

Ircle - Gah! That's like everything that was ever wrong with GUI design. Disconnected windows implies disconnected functionality, overly complex design, buttons . There's no indicator that the input area has anything to do with the chat log. I can see why the interface styles are moving away from that type of design. IRC is supposed to be simple Ircle makes it look like I'm piloting a nuclear sub and a squadron of UAVs at the same time. I know it's old, so it gets a free pass for not being up to date on UI design. But the thing I find hard to believe about Ircle is that it lives on Macs -- the holy sanctuary from bad UI design. (and I'd like to point out how very few controls they jam into the menu bar at top, Ircle is a perfect example of Fitt's law in non-use).

CS5 - Tabs can be a powerful thing when done right, CS5 does not do them right. I strongly dislike Photoshop's tab implementation. Though I'd never in a million years hold up Photoshop (with its aging wretched evolutionary interface cruft) as an example for people to follow in UI design.

Maximize - I've known many people who use the exact phrase "maximize every damn thing" when referring to people's desire to maximize windows to focus on one thing at a time. I've actually sat down with them to discuss their UI behavior and observe how they use their smaller non-maximized windows. What I discovered was fascinating. Instead of focusing on one particular thing at a time, and moving their mouse around inside screen sized real-estate, with nothing else cluttering up their visual field, they focused on one particular thing at a time except they had a much smaller area to work in, things became cluttered and they often got distracted or confused by non-relevant stuff in the background. They spent inordinate amount of time moving windows around to get them positioned well to not be distracting or so they could see them all well (as if the other document they were writing was going to suddenly change state without their notice and they wanted to see that happen - yes this was how it was described exactly to me), and fiddling with toolbars so they were "just so". If I didn't know better, I'd classify most of the behaviors as OCD type worry twitches. The real problem is that if you want to maximize and focus on a Mac, you simply can't. Whereas on Windows or many Linuxes, I can choose either method of operation -- like if I writing some code and have a separate app up logging network activity or something, I can do that. But if I'm having a particularly bad time killing a bug, I simply can't maximize and get everything else out of the way.

There is a built in efficiency in killing off tasks serially that you sometimes can't get when operating in parallel.

Thanks for the command-option-h tip.

[qwzybug]

I hate multitasking as much as the next guy (more probably), so I definitely empathize with your thoughts on maximization. (It's also interesting to note that the iOS, Apple's Next Big UI Thing, has no concept of windows at all.)

However, I still think the multiple-window model is powerful when single-tasking with multiple tools. In XCode, for example, I always run in the "Condensed" layout; the file list is in one window, the editor is another, as are docs, the console, the debugging HUD, etc. It lets me put things where I want them to be: console and debugger on the second monitor, documentation side-by-side with the editor, etc. And I can scootch them around to make room to see a terminal window, or IRC in a dev chat, or whatever.

It means I do spend a little more time on the resize handle than I would hitting a mythical Mac "maximize" button, but trying to use single-window IDEs feels like walking in mud in comparison. (I'm looking at you, XCode 4.)

I tend to use Spaces to focus on tasks. One neat trick: you can manage windows from the Spaces zoomed-out view. Drag your IDE or text editor to another space, or shift-drag to grab all an app's windows at once. You can even engage Expose in Spaces and drag windows from that view. I never find myself wanting a window filling the screen, especially with modern resolutions.

Point taken on ircle. I'm just nostalgic.

[elblanco]

> However, I still think the multiple-window model is powerful when single-tasking with multiple tools.

Oh most definitely. Having multiple tools available all at once (particularly monitoring tools) is really powerful and can shorten up certain work cycles immensely.

One area where I can definitely see the maximize window concept of Windows falling down is the huge screen real estate available on some monitors. I don't have a problem with it on a 22" monitor, but say...a 32" that may end up just being too big. I can't keep the entire screen in my visual field anyway.

Ircle: I know, old software, even with warts, can sometimes still feel best. Like an old pair of shoes.