Mac OS X Lion...

[Guest Lester Weevils]

Just curious, what's your objection to the app store model?

Hi Uber

I am not a joiner. I would about choke before I would register with a company for the privilege of buying their product. It is the vendor's privilege to sell me a product should I decide to buy it. Not the other way around. If anyone must jump thru hoops on a transaction, it ought to be the seller and not the buyer.

On the other hand I guess you've heard this ditty--

The fellers workin in the IOS code mines owe their souls to the company store. If Apple doesn't get pushback on a Mac Appstore, then sooner than later the only way to sell Mac software will be via the Appstore. Heck, it will be the only way a person would be permitted to WRITE Mac software, even for his own amusement.

Today, if you want to write IOS code for your own amusement you have to join up with apple and follow their rules. Not my cup of tea. IMO any computer I buy is mine to do with as I please. If I paid for it then it is my Mac. It ain't Steve Jobs Mac. Its my Mac!

[Guest nicemac]

Understand your position. But, that is precisely why Mac software works so well. Apple controls the whole widget–hardware and software. It makes a terrific product and a compelling platform to write for.

[Guest bkelm18]

Hi Uber

I am not a joiner. I would about choke before I would register with a company for the privilege of buying their product. It is the vendor's privilege to sell me a product should I decide to buy it. Not the other way around. If anyone must jump thru hoops on a transaction, it ought to be the seller and not the buyer.

On the other hand I guess you've heard this ditty--

The fellers workin in the IOS code mines owe their souls to the company store. If Apple doesn't get pushback on a Mac Appstore, then sooner than later the only way to sell Mac software will be via the Appstore. Heck, it will be the only way a person would be permitted to WRITE Mac software, even for his own amusement.

Today, if you want to write IOS code for your own amusement you have to join up with apple and follow their rules. Not my cup of tea. IMO any computer I buy is mine to do with as I please. If I paid for it then it is my Mac. It ain't Steve Jobs Mac. Its my Mac!

Well that's something you should know before buying the computer. The rigidity of the Apple system and products is exactly why it's such a robust system. If you aren't pleased with it, there are plenty of PCs out there.

[G27]

Understand your position. But, that is precisely why Mac software works so well. Apple controls the whole widget–hardware and software. It makes a terrific product and a compelling platform to write for.

This.

It's not everyone's cup of tea, but the 'closed system' is why the OSs are so stable.

[Fourtyfive]

I keep swiping 3 fingers to go back and changing applications which used to be 4 and is now 2 , urggg .....I had to change the scroll from down to up ....just used to my old ways I guess .....

[Guest nicemac]

I keep swiping 3 fingers to go back and changing applications which used to be 4 and is now 2 , urggg .....I had to change the scroll from down to up ....just used to my old ways I guess .....

I definitely don't like the default scroll direction being reversed.

[Guest Lester Weevils]

Understand your position. But, that is precisely why Mac software works so well. Apple controls the whole widget–hardware and software. It makes a terrific product and a compelling platform to write for.

Well that's something you should know before buying the computer. The rigidity of the Apple system and products is exactly why it's such a robust system. If you aren't pleased with it, there are plenty of PCs out there.

Yah, I'm not trying to tell other people what to think. I've programmed Macs since 1986. They have gone thru various stages of developer relations in that 25 years. Depending on Apple's situation in the fat and lean years.

I just don't like the idea of being a sharecropper on Steve Jobs plantation. It is not that way yet, but if the customers generate enough revenue with a Mac AppStore, it will be rather inevitable unless Jobs fades from the picture and maybe a more benevolent dictator takes the reins.

I program PC's also. Each has their good and bad points.

[Guest UberDuper]

Hi Uber

I am not a joiner. I would about choke before I would register with a company for the privilege of buying their product. It is the vendor's privilege to sell me a product should I decide to buy it. Not the other way around. If anyone must jump thru hoops on a transaction, it ought to be the seller and not the buyer.

On the other hand I guess you've heard this ditty--

The fellers workin in the IOS code mines owe their souls to the company store. If Apple doesn't get pushback on a Mac Appstore, then sooner than later the only way to sell Mac software will be via the Appstore. Heck, it will be the only way a person would be permitted to WRITE Mac software, even for his own amusement.

Today, if you want to write IOS code for your own amusement you have to join up with apple and follow their rules. Not my cup of tea. IMO any computer I buy is mine to do with as I please. If I paid for it then it is my Mac. It ain't Steve Jobs Mac. Its my Mac!

I can respect that. I don't really find much fault with the app store model itself but apple does take a pretty hefty slice of the pie.

I don't know if apple realizes it or not but the apps are what makes the iOS platform. The original iPhone and iOS was a novelty. It was the apps that made the product.

Edited July 21, 2011 by UberDuper

[Guest nicemac]

I can respect that. I don't really find much fault with the app store model itself but apple does take a pretty hefty slice of the pie.

But they also expose your little app to a world-wide marketplace that you (likely) would never be able to market to on your own. They digitally warehouse and deliver (over very fat pipes) the downloads, take care of all $$ transactions. 30%? What a deal.

[Guest Lester Weevils]

I can respect that. I don't really find much fault with the app store model itself but apple does take a pretty hefty slice of the pie.

I don't know if apple realizes it or not but the apps are what makes the iOS platform. The original iPhone and iOS was a novelty. It was the apps that made the product.

They do realize it. It is like having thousands of programmers that you don't have to pay unless they make something profitable, but they have to follow your rules anyway.

Dunno if it is intentional, but Apple and MS both seem to design with at least an eye toward gathering "captive" programmers who have so much time invested in one platform that it is difficult/expensive to create cross-platform versions and cross-platform sales.

So if a "captive" small-time programmer makes a "hit" on apple then maybe he doesn't have the resources to make a PC version unless it is a huge hit. He's too busy fixing his code for every MacOS change that comes down the pike, and the equivalent code for a PC version would be equivalent to an 80 percent rewrite.

Same deal for a "captive" windows programmer.

The capture mechanism on Mac and PC in the past was the complete incompatibility of most system and gui calls, even if using the same programming language on both platforms.

But then the PC capture mechanism was window's C#. It is not especially easy to port a half million lines of C# to Mac. The equivalent Mac capture mechanism is Cocoa and Objective C. It is not especially easy to port a half million lines of ObjC/Cocoa to windows.

The difference is that when MS tried the trap, the majority of developers ignored it and MS was wise enough to leave the platform open for all languages because MS makes money regardless of the developer's language of choice.

But Apple every year keeps making it increasingly less practical to program a Mac in any language other than Cocoa/ObjC. At least the GUI parts. Some code has hardly any GUI component, but other kinds of programs are primarily GUI.

Every year a programmer accumulates more and more legacy code. Code that at one time worked perfectly and would still work perfectly except that new versions of the OS have deprecated perfectly good old system calls. If you have 10 or 20 years of code it is not trivial to re-write it for the OS flavor of the month.

MS does not radically change windows very quickly and a surprising number of incredibly ancient programs still run fine on Windows 7. Every year with Apple is the guessing game, "Will the new MacOS change so much that it will be too expensive to rewrite my program to run properly?"

[Guest nicemac]

Nicemac,

Question I just installed Lion and it was about to take me through a set up to show me all of the features, then it went away. How can I find this again? I believe it was under setup assistant but I can not find it anymore.

Thanks.

I just installed Lion on another Mac. The little assistant you mention ONLY demos/displays the new swiping gestures functionality of the mighty mouse/ trackpad. It is VERY brief.

[ls3_kid]

I just installed Lion on another Mac. The little assistant you mention ONLY demos/displays the new swiping gestures functionality of the mighty mouse/ trackpad. It is VERY brief.

Ok well I got all of that down, thanks. Thought I was missing some important stuff.

Edited July 22, 2011 by ls3_kid

[Guest nicemac]

I think I prefer the classic layout in Mail…

[ls3_kid]

I think I prefer the classic layout in Mail…

I like the new and I've already got used to the inverted scrolling. Even though I heard you can change it.

[Guest nicemac]

I like the new and I've already got used to the inverted scrolling. Even though I heard you can change it.

Apple really did a nice job giving options to move back to the old way of doing things in this OS. If you use a trackpad, the new way of scrolling makes sense. If you use a mouse, it's very awkward.

[Guest nicemac]

Swiping forward and back in Safari has the be the coolest interface feature yet.

[Guest Lester Weevils]

One newish Apple product that seems very good and price-competitive are the 27" hires LED monitors.

It is disappointing that they only have one video input. A feature shared by the HP 30" monitors (which are not LED). Several of the other brand 27" and 30" hires monitors do have multiple inputs. They are all about the same price.

Maybe I'm the only guy on the planet that needs multiple inputs. Or not.

I don't need KVM switchers. Use one set of wireless keyboard/mouse for the PC and another set of wireless keyboard/mouse for the Mac. Just need to allocate 2 monitors between the computers as dual-monitor pc, or dual-monitor Mac, or half-and-half, or occasionally attach one monitor to a laptop.

It is easy with dual 24" multi-input 1920X1280 monitors. Just hook up several video cables and switch using the monitor front-panel controls.

The connection hardware for 2560 X 1600 or 2560 X 1440 seems up in the air with dual link dvi (old), high-bandwidth hdmi, and DisplayPort, plus Apple just came out with a 27" monitor with some fourth kind of firewire-replacement video connection.

I wish could put a pair of the Apple monitors on the desk, but googling around, video switchers capable of handling that kind of bandwidth are rather expensive. The few products seem to be targeted and priced for video studios rather than an old schmuck's desktop.

Just wondering if I've missed some options. Would love to put a couple of 27" or bigger monitors on the desk but the competing video connection standards alone seem risky because maybe there won't be a feasible way to hook up a monitor I buy today to some computer purchased 3 years (or even 1 year) in the future? The "standard connector" of the future is different depending on who you ask.

[ls3_kid]

Swiping forward and back in Safari has the be the coolest interface feature yet.

100% agree, I wish there were a way to "swipe" between tabs..

[Guest WyattEarp]

sigh, i guess I'm upgrading after all. One of my MTSU classes this semester is using the new version of Final Cut Pro X, however, it won't work on any version of MAC OS X lower than 10.7

so in order to work from home and not spend hours in the lab (in which a computer might not even be available, I'm just upgrading).

[Guest WyattEarp]

Here's a good read on the lesser known features of OSX Lion 10.7 if anyone's interested

Egg Freckles | Lions Lesser Known Features

[Guest nicemac]

Here's a good read on the lesser known features of OSX Lion 10.7 if anyone's interested

Egg Freckles | Lions Lesser Known Features

Been using it for over a month and didn't discover the resize from any edge feature until I read this article. Thanks!

Got a magic trackpad yesterday. This takes some getting used to!

[Guest WyattEarp]

welcome!

I just installed 10.7, it's asking me to reboot now, wish me luck...if i dont make it back in about 5 minutes, you know it went kapuut! lol

Edit: well its gonna be bout 30 minutes while it installs... thought it was done already and just needed to reboot.

Edited August 4, 2011 by WyattEarp

[Guest WyattEarp]

update successful. all my programs seem to be working fine as well.

[Guest Lester Weevils]

Got a magic trackpad yesterday. This takes some getting used to!

Played with the new MacBook trackpad for a week or two while preparing a new MacBook for another programmer. I liked it. Guess it has a few more features with Lion, but the hardware was nice compared to the pad on my older MacBook, both running 10.6.8.

Played fer awhile with a magic trackpad at BestBuy, connected to a big-screen iMac. The external pad didn't seem to work as smooth as the one in that new MacBook. Maybe it is a practice thing, but it didn't take any practice to work the new MacBook pad correctly. Or maybe the demo at BestBuy was partially damaged.

Please let us know if you get used to it.

I generally like apple hardware but they strike out on some stuff. I got the 2008 Mac Pro along with a bluetooth magic mouse and the bluetooth fashionable tiny keyboard. The Mac Pro is still kicking butt and taking names but the magic mouse trackwheel had to be cleaned about weekly and died after about 6 months and the bluetooth fashionable keyboard's chicklet keys were not comfortable but it thankfully died after about 9 months.

Hooked up a $40 wireless logitech mouse and keyboard to the Mac Pro which has been working fabulous ever since.

Edited August 4, 2011 by Lester Weevils

[PirateQui]

I only really have one Lion complaint... When the rosetta apps were broken the utility called, "WindowShadeX" that I use was broken also. It sucks.