Just got my MacBook! Disappointing as hell! Buyers Remorse! Any Solutions to these issues?

I just got my first mac, and I'm shocked about how much LESS user friendly things are than on the PC. This first one is a dealbreaker for me...

1) If I select a folder that has a group of photos in it, and then want to watch them as a slideshow, THE SLIDE SHOW PLAYS IN RANDOM ORDER! Slide shows don't make much sense unless they're played sequentially. Come on guys- it can't be that hard to program. Furthermore, you have to select each photo you want to play, rather than just the first one in the folder. If the slide show is going too slow and you hit the forward arrow, you have big icons covering a substantial portion of your photos, and they take a while to go away (as opposed to little icons in the corner as on Windows). I know what you're going to say- use iPhoto. Well, if I use iPhoto, I have to abandon the way I've been organizing my photos for years, and I'm at the whim of the computer as to how my future photos will be organized (for instance, I can't put a folder inside of a folder that already has photos in it, which is what I do when a friend and I take pictures of the same even and then trade photos). iPhoto also uses huge thumbnails, requiring about 2.5 Gb for my 26 Gb of photos- about 10% overhead! To top it off, iPhoto would put some of my 2007 photo folders in the 2006 folder. When I moved them to the correct place, iPhoto thought they were gone (yes- the EXIF data correctly said the photos were taken in 2007). When I want to view the photos, I can't use my prior folders to automatically make "albums". I must either make new albums, or scroll through a YEARS worth of photos to find what I want (I take about 5000 photos per year). How it should work is a) slideshows from any folder should play in chronological order and b) you should be able to organize your photos how ever you want and put them wherever you want, with iPhoto merely creating windows-media-style playlist-maker of various albums (just referencing the photo wherever it is, rather than copying it and/or making you put it in a specific place). I called tech support (which was excellent), and the guy said if I wanted to organize my folders in a manner of my choosing AND view slidewhows in chronological order, I'd need third party software! You gotta be kidding me! Since I bought this macbook to work with photos on a year-long around the world trip, this may be a dealbreaker for me, and it would've been so simple for the programmers to have solved.

2) In Windows, when I rip a CD the cover art is automatically downloaded. I put all of my MP3s on the mac yesterday. I had to create an iTunes store account to allow downloading of cover art, which is ridiculous- it should be automatic. But here is the kicker...even after creating my account, signing in, and telling it to download the cover art in preferences, it hasn't downloaded a single cover in 24 hours! The PC did it in minutes without my even asking. Shouldn't the Mac be more user friendly?

3) Why would I want separate programs for music and various types of videos. Shouldn't one application cover it all?

4) To open a new tab in Safari, I have to go through the menus, or take my hand off of the mouse to use a keyboard "shortcut". With Internet Explorer, I just click on the blank tab, which is always available. There is also no option in Safari to open a link in a new tab. I have to copy and paste! Ridiculous.

5) There is no icon to minimize all. I have to remember a keyboard shortcut (F11). Even that doesn't truely minimize everything- it just pushes everything to the edges of the screen. When I minimize something and it goes down into the right side of the dock, it displays a little screen shot. Most things you minimize, whether it be itunes, iphoto, safari, word, etc. look almost exactly the same- a little white square. In Windows, when you minimize, you can see exactly which applications are down there, and you have information to easily tell exactly which INSTANCE of the application is down there. In OSX, you have to move your pointer over the icons one-by-one to get the same info. In Windows, if you are using many instances of the same application, or many applications in total, they go down into a nice little stack. This makes it easy to find things, and easy to switch between applications. In OSX, if you minimize them they clog the dock, like in bad old Windows 95. Going between applications, I have to carefully position the pointer on a tiny triangle under the task launcher part of the dock (rather than the 'what-i'm already-running' part of the dock) and do an awkward 3-finger right click.

6) Hardware wise, I wonder why in God's name they couldn't have used a two-button track pad. Using a keyboard shortcut, using additional fingers, or clicking and waiting is NOT more user friendly. Also, a little light telling me when the harddrive is in use would be nice. Sometimes I click on something and I'm not sure if it "heard" me. The colors in the screen also seem to wash out very easily unless you are looking at it at just the right angle. Even then, the colors on the very top or very bottom of the screen will be washed out. Very disappointing for photography.

It isn't all bad though. The OS is rock-solid stable when multitasking. I was pushing it hard, and nothing locked up. It is also extremely quiet until the fan kicks on. The slimness is very nice (although it is very heavy for such a small computer). The machine is also very attractive- great industrial design. I guess I was pulled in by the hardware, and then totally let down by the cumbersome operation.

I'll give it a few more days, and if it doesn't grow on me by then this thing is going back for a Sony laptop (which, unlike the desktops, have a much higher reliability rating than Apple laptops anyway- check consumerreports.org)
I have buyer remorse big time. Very disappointing overall. If I can't find a good deal on a Sony or Dell 1330, I may just make it a primarily Windows machine and suffer with the defunct-under-Windows trackpad

 

I'm pretty sure there's a preference setting where you can set slideshows to play in order.

You need an iTunes Store account to get Album Art in Windows as well...and I don't know why it won't download album art for you even after getting an account but mine's worked fine.

If you right click there is an option to open a link in a new tab. Or if you look into Preferences on Safari you can also choose so new links open in a tab instead of a new window.

If you want to hide a program without quitting it or making it clog up the Dock, press Apple + H. Also, try Apple + Tab to see what applications are open.

Well, that's a personal preference, and Apple can't satisfy everyone. Personally I like how you can use two fingers + tap to right click.

Mac OS X is more keyboard shortcut-centric while Windows is more about right clicking. Hopefully you adjust to that.

Nothing's going to be perfect, and there are things I'd like fixed in Mac OS X. Mac OS X isn't for everyone, and if you can't stand it I'd suggest you stay with Windows.

 

One thing to note; you don't have to use the built in apps. I mean, you can use Firefox instead of Safari, for example. You can use any number of various media apps (you don't have to use an app like iPhoto or iTunes or QuickTime player).

Personally even on Windows though, I personally prefer to use dedicated apps for different functions; ZoomPlayer for videos, IfranView for slideshows, etc.

Regarding the "minimize all" concept; yeah, I guess it's a matter of personal preference. Personally, I love the Expose concept............ frankly I don't like minimizing stuff in Windows and maximizing it, because it does take more time. I much prefer using Expose to move all the windows to the side to show the desktop, and using it to view all available windows at the same time.

But yeah, if you really don't like it, you should be able to return it, or sell it and get most of your money back, and get a Vaio or XPSM1330 or whatever.

Normally I'd say to give it some more time and talk with other users about how they do things (it seems like a bit much to get buyer's remorse just because you don't like iPhoto or Safari; plenty of Mac users NEVER use those apps, and use third party stuff instead). But if you are really so disappointed and think it is so terrible, it might not be worth it to try and learn more about it and get used to it, as I think it sounds like you much prefer the way Windows and the apps you use work.

-Zadillo

 

why wont spend more time with OS x and then jump into conclusions and posting such a bold threads , when i switched , i knew ill be havig hard time , thats why i got the book , learned how to use OS X , and im extremely happy. THEY ARE DIFFERENT . and if u dont like the operating system post it in os forums somewhere this is about macbookpro forum ,

 

Actually this is the Apple & Mac OS X forum. All Apple hardware and software (including Mac OS X) is discussed here.

 

I don't see any under Finder. The tech support guy didn't know of a way either.

Only if you want the album art in iTunes. Windows will put the album art right in your folders automatically.

I stand corrected on that tidbit. Still, I wish I could open a new BLANK tab with one click.

I thought Macs were suppose to be easier for the neophyte. Memorizing archaic keyboard shortcuts and navigating menus sure doesn't seem as user friendly as just clicking on what you're interested in in order to see what you can do with it. Also, Apple could've included a two-button trackpad without hindering function on the Apple side at all (even improving it). Two finger click is better than nothing, but makes less sense than simply right clicking as you would when you have a mouse attached. I prefer the two finger scrolling to scroll bars, however. It frees up more of the trackpad.

Also, I said I'm going to give it a few more days, and I'm talking to other users right now- that's what this (and a few other) threads are for. However, the tech support guy said I CAN'T store my pictures in a folder-structure of my choosing AND view my pictures in chronological order. It's one or the other, and knowing the programmers didn't bother with something so simple, yet so important, definitely concerns me. I won't be able to use iPhoto, and I refuse to show people my pictures in random order.

 

Well, again, you don't HAVE to use iPhoto. There are tons of third party apps (check versiontracker.com and do a search for slideshow, for example).

One nifty one I've been looking at recently for slideshows is PhotoPresenter:

http://www.arizona-software.ch/photopresenter/

 

You can operate XP on a Mac nowadays. Why not just do that?

 

Generally speaking, it would not make sense to keep the Mac just to run XP exclusively on it. It would make much more sense to return it/sell it and get a normal PC laptop.

 

Yes, zadillo is right. If you just use Windows exclusively on your Mac, its not really a Mac but an Apple-branded laptop. A Mac is a computer running Mac OS X.

With a Mac you're paying for iLife and Mac OS X. If you just plan to run Windows exclusively I recommend getting a PC laptop.

 

Indeed.

Honestly, I still can't stress enough that it's not like you have to use Safari and iLife as a Mac owner.

I mean, I love OS X, but I don't use Safari or iLife (except for GarageBand and iTunes). One of the things I like about OS X is all the creative and slick third party freeware and shareware apps that people make for it; I like it as a framework for other people's apps........... I think iPhoto is decent as a photo management program, but it does have a lot of weaknesses.

It just seems a bit extreme to me to get fed up with something like iPhoto and other things and then find the whole thing "Disappointing as hell!". When I use Windows I don't abandon the whole thing just because of some element of MS's built in apps that I don't like. I get other shareware apps, etc. that do exactly what I need.

-Zadillo

 

I was really excited about iLife, too. My wife and I even took a class on it at the Apple store, and it heavily influenced our buying decision. They failed to mention you lose all control of your media. I want my photos orgainzied in such a way that I'll be able to find them in 20 years.

That 3rd party slideshow viewer looks interesting, although it is crazy I'd have to buy such a thing. Do you know if it'll let you just navigate your photos and then "view as slideshow"? If you h ave to assemble slideshows it wouldn't be all that practical- I could just use powerpoint for that.

BTW- I wasn't just disappointed with iPhoto, but with how OS X finder allowed you to see your photos, along with a bunch of other things.

Oh yeah- I just posted this on the apple support discussion, and it was deleted in under two minutes. Some support

P.S. What are some cool 3rd party apps I could try?

 

Well, for video playback you might want to look at VLC.

Adium is a good IM client that supports MSN, AIM, Yahoo, and (I think ICQ).

NeoOffice is the OpenOffice of Mac OS X.

Check out the Mac Gems sticky for some more third party apps.

 

You mean you posted the whole thing you said above? I am guessing the tone of it was probably seen as inappropriate. "Disappointing as hell" and "Buyers Remorse" are likely redflags.

You're more likely to get assistance and support just asking the questions themselves calmly and clearly.

Regarding PhotoPresenter; I don't know. I haven't done too much extensively with it; it's shareware though, so you can download it and see what you think.

You of course don't have to buy a slideshow viewer. I was mentioning PhotoPresenter as an example; that one happens to be shareware. It's not like no-one makes shareware on the Windows side either.

There are freeware apps as well that would probably do this just fine too; versiontracker.com, as I mentioned, is a great place to search.

I don't know that it's "crazy" to pay for shareware though, if a third party dev does something really good that you find useful, I don't mind paying them for their work.

Yes, a large part of iLife is that it does "take over" a lot of the organization and management of media, so definitely it isn't something that should be used if you don't want to let it do that.

As I mentioned in my previous post, iLife is not for everyone. It does have a lot of limitations; some things can be controlled via preferences... that's the big thing about organizing things into film rolls. I know some people have been able to deal with some issues by unchecking "Place most recent photos on top" in the iPhoto preferences, and then arranging photos by whatever works for them (date, title, film roll, etc.).

-Zadillo

 

Well aren't you quite the little party pooper...

 

Okay, @dam, I tried it out for you.

Go to iPhoto, and click the Play button on the bottom row of iPhoto, and a window should pop up with some settings. If "Shuffle slide order" is checked, uncheck it. The photos should play in the order they're organized now.

 

I also took back my first macbook after buying it because it was different to what I knew with windows and I could not figure the simplest things out:confused2: . But I went out and bought a good book and as well as these forums I learned some short cuts ect...and then bought a MBP. I wanted something different than windows. I know can say after 2 months of use that I love my MBP and Tiger. I have to force myself to use my M1210 with Vista.I use this because of portability and would trade it for a macbook. Give it a week.:wink:

 

Sam- thanks for looking into that for me. My dilemia, however, is that if I use iPhoto, I have no control over how my photos are organized in their file folder structure, which could cause problems years down the road. If I DON'T use iPhoto and just view the slide show through Finder, they play out of order.

Stjs: Maybe you're right. I'll give 'er a try. It's just really frustrating right now. Can you recommend a good book or tutorial?

 

I am truly sorry that you are disappointed in your Mac experience. What's interesting is it's really not the "Mac Experience" that you are having disappointment. You said the OS was great. See, it's the same as in Windows, Vista comes with it's own suite of apps and Windows photo gallery works a lot like iPhoto. So what do you do if you don't like Windows photo gallery?, install a 3rd party app.
It's sorta odd the preinstalled apps have made you virtually hate your Mac. Most people that buy computers and use them the way you do know that there are more software choices to do what they need to do, you don't have to use the preinstalled apps.

Also what's odd is that you took a class at the Apple store and you act as if you never knew how to use this machine.
Aside from Expose' my favorite feature on the Mac is being able to simply drag a file to the trash and no uninstallation required since there's no annoying registry to deal with. If I switched from the Mac to Windows that feature would be missing and I would be pissed but if I wanted to use Windows I would accept it and live with it.

Take your Mac back and get the Sony, it's no sin. Your concerns are almost coming across as a rant as if you think the Mac users will be upset if you switch back to Windows and try to save you. We will be supportive but no one will really care if you go back to Windows.

 

I'm still using pc and haven't switched yet but will be pretty soon...

and i know it's going to be really hard at 1st but i dont think i will be complaining even within 1st month of use...

if im still having a hard time after maybe 6 months... then i'll probably start complaining...

 

There's an excellent book by David Pogue called "Mac OS X Tiger: The Missing Manual" published by O'Reilly. I'd highly recommend it as a book that is well written and a breeze to read through that contains a lot of useful information.

There's also another book in the Missing Manual series called something like "Switching to the Mac" which is more specifically oriented around helping someone used to Windows transition to the Mac.

 

well differnt ppl differnet taste? i am going to switch soon too =) (yay MBP!) but OSX is differnet than XP, i think one has to keep a mindset that there will be differences between how they operate inevitably. expecting OSX to work just like how you worked with XP is kind of hard. anyways those are just my opinions; but at any rate, if one is to complain, i think a little less emotion would do, that would make your opinion less bias in my opinion and more believable.

just waht i felt like saying =) i havent used OSX yet, but from my brainwashed frd, i will believe its as awesome as all u guys put it.

 

Yes i think getting a Sony notebook would be much better than the MBP since it has far more keyboard flex and screen ripples. Oh! and Sony's customer service is legendary too!! And yes Apple notebooks are worse than Sony's in reliability as you can see here: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1895,2006499,00.asp

 

Never have I seen sarcasm delivered so tactfully and subtly. Excellent job buddy.

Adam has a Macbook btw, not a Macbook Pro.

 

all of your issues with Mac OS X simply come from you not fulling knowing what you are doing with the OS. which makes sense because it is a DIFFERENT operating system than windows, instead of seeing all of these things as negatives, make sure you fully understand what is actually going on.

 

and for heaven's sake, that slot is not to post e-mail. It's for loading cd/dvds!

 

"Switching to the Mac the missing manual" is great and fun to read. It can be found at most book shops. Also the Apple site has some good tips that covers the basics. I did find that there is an app for anything I wanted to do with the mac(and then some).

 

"Switching to the Mac..."

Here is the link for "Switching to the Mac: The Missing Manual, Tiger Edition"! It even has pictures for us simpler folk

Josh

 

Another thing to add to your list: The delete button doesn't work, click on a file in finder, press the delete button and nothing happens... I also find it hard to believe that the design team behind the mac mini, the G4 the Macbook etc. is too lazy to design a hardware eject button for the dvd drive,it is possible to design good looking buttons lol, the reason the walkman was so dominant was because Sony could design some really amazing looking hardware, they failed initially in the digittal market because they couldn't do what they did with hardware what they did with software, like Apple

I disagree with people saying that OSX is easier to use for a beginner etc..

If you sit someone completely new to computers behind Vista/XP/OSX they will either find out how to use each one in the same amount of time, or be completely confused at how all the OS's work, they have more chances of learning how to use XP because there are more people there to teach

 

This is actually by design, but it's a bit annoying for me too. Then again, even in Windows on a PC, I have to hold down shift when I hit delete (I usually skip the Recycle Bin, but keep it as an option just in case), so it's not a huge difference to hit fn or cmd.

I would hope not. One of the worst trends that occurred in the latter part of 90s and the early 2000s was a tendency for people to just bundle features into one application, instead of specializing. What you end up is a bloated mess that no one wants, is inefficient, and has all sorts of problems. Just look at Netscape and AOL. This is part of the reason why firefox was originally so successful too. People began to realize that having specific programs specializing in one task and being good at that one task was better than tossing everything including the kitchen sink in.

I dislike Safari tab support in the sense that it doesn't fully work with gmail. This is subjective though - a ton of people, me included, HATE how MSIE forces that ugly tab bar on at all times. All other browsers, firefox, camino, and safari, by default turn off the tab bar when only one tab is showing and give you an option to keep it viewable at all times, allowing for maximum viewing space. If it bothers you though, just go to preferences and select the option to always show the tab bar.

IMO, MSIE's bar is wasteful. When would you ever want to create a blank tab? Either you want to open a new link in it from a webpage (which there are mouse and keyboard shortcuts for), or you want to open a new link from the address bar, in which case there are keyboard shortcuts for that. As a result, that "feature" in MSIE is redundant and just unnecessarily takes up space.

But Safari is only the native browser with OSX. You don't have to use that. Just as how you wouldn't use MSIE in Windows, but use firefox or opera instead, you could simply use firefox/minefield/camino or opera or omnibrowser in OSX.

 

yeah i agree. if you want a sleek apple-like machine for windows, sony is a great solution.

 

to all switchers please get to know os before making any moves oh by the way heres the book thats extremely useful

 

Umm...nice bookmark caveman You may wanna edit the pic to keep it family friendly.

 

for iphoto, try turning off "import into iphoto library" option in preferences, it should then use your folder structure. although i am not sure how it will react when you edit photos with it (it makes a backup and saves the newly edited version).

not sure if i missed this, but to open a link in a new tab, you can set the preferences to always do that, right click and choose open in new tab, or use your third mouse button.

as for itunes downloading album art, i will admit that its slow at it and does it in an odd random fashioin (time and file), but it will eventually get as much as it can.

as for the minimizing windows, try using exposé more, you should eventually find it much faster and become a 'cant live without feature'. as well as hiding applications. and when working in the dock, you can click anywhere on the icon, you don't have to try to position the pointer on the "application on" arrow underneath them. and as for the stacking thing you mentioned, OSX 10.5 Leopard will finally have a stacks feature that seems quite full featured.

i've tried to answer your concerns as best i could right now, and as said before, lots of times the thing you are looking for is there, but done differently from windows, and when you've used windows for a while, you want it to react like windows, hence causing some fustration. Tough it out and learn the keyboard shortcuts, they tend to be quite helpful and speedy, and in some cases will do what you are looking for.

 

does the mac computer have a microsoft word or a place wear u can type stuff???

 

There is Microsoft Office for Mac, but it costs money like the Windows version.

Mac OS X does have TextEdit, the WordPad of Mac OS X, but much more advanced that WordPad.

There is also NeoOffice, the Mac version of OpenOffice, and its free.

 

Agreed, TextEdit is the most overlooked and full-featured app built into Mac OS X. It reads Word docs and can create text documents that can be easily saved in Word format as well as the new XML format. Excellent app but overlooked.

 

@dam, before you jump off the ledge, relax. It's a totally different experience than what you are used to, and the better at Windows you are/were the tougher it will be to adjust. There are certain things that you will have to accept, one is that OS X uses more keyboard shortcuts for everyday tasks. Another is that its programs (i.e. iLife) tend to be more GUI centric and less focused on a file browser. Those are things you must overcome. The idea of iPhoto is that you will never need to go into Finder to get your pictures. Just open iPhoto and view them, and why not? I can find something in iPhoto much quicker than Finder or Windows Explorer.

BTW, have to actually looked at how iPhoto arranges it folders? Once you get through the iPhoto Library Folder and into the Originals or Modified folder, it is pretty basic and intuitive. Each 'roll' in iPhoto is a folder in in Finder.

I must admit, for me getting over the GUI vs file explorer issue was very difficult, but once I did I realized how draconian using a file viewer to find my pictures was. It is much easier letting the system take care of that stuff and just use a good program. And if you ever need to get all of your pictures you can either export them or copy the proper folders.

The best advice is give time and be open minded. If you can't then return it now and get a Windows machine.

 

lol

I where the hottest fashions and I go to the bar wear everybody knows my name.

 

You need a 3rd party app. For some reason I have never seen your "out of order" problem in Preview but the controls smack in the middle of the screen are retarded, and not being able to just drop a folder on Preview also doesn't make any sense.

iPhoto sucks and has always sucked. It suck less and less with each iteration, but, like you, I need to be in control of my photo folder structure. I don't mind itunes organizing my songs, thats very nice, but I just don't trust iPhoto. I am hoping and praying that Google will release a version of Picasa for the Mac, or I will just use it under Parallels. Picasa is what iPhoto should have been. It leaves your folders alone, and it does most things much faster and much more easily than iPhoto.

Safari tips:
- The status bar (turn it on) shows you what will happen when you click on a link. For example, hold shift-command and hover over a link with the mouse, it will tell you it's going to open a link in a new tab behind the current one.
- CMD-T creates a new empty tab
- CMD-click opens a link in a new tab
- There are others, like open link in new window.
- Safari 3 also allows you to drag tabs out of a window (creates a new window). That's kinda useful sometimes
- Use Firefox if you don't like it. I have both running for those times when Safari freaks out. It has a very nice user interface but it can be quirky and temperamental at times.

Other tips:
- CMD-H hides any application
- Clicking on an app in the dock while holding option hides all other applications. Holding down command while doing it shows you the app's location
- cmd-shift-A in the Finder shows the applications folder
- Use Spotlight, it's faster than anything.
- Use QuickSilver http://quicksilver.blacktree.com/ - I haven't explored all it can do but quicksilver has some incredible tricks on offer. It's like an extremely customizable version of Spotlight. Brilliant app.
- If you find yourself doing something all the time, learn the keyboard shortcut for it. That way you can fly through the OS X interface... when people watch me use it they have no clue what's going on because everything is happening so fast. This speed is something I have never achieved on Windows despite using it for many years.

If you are wondering why on earth you should remember something as archaic as keyboard shortcuts in the easiest to use OS you have hit upon the secret of OS X - learn it and it will be the fastest to use OS you know. OS X is easy to use if you don't want to learn anything, but slow - you click and move stuff with the mouse. It takes ages, I can't watch people doing that.
But if you go deeper and learn all the shortcuts you will find that they work extremely well and are relatively consistent across all OS X apps. They say OS X is good for newbies but the actual fact is that OS X is even better for expert users.

Strive to become a master ...OS X will pay you back.

 

Good / nice looking machines but I keep hearing horror stories about support. For a laptop, that's bad because frankly I have not owned a laptop that didn't go back to service at least once.

(knock on wood my new MBP seems to work just perfectly though )

 

Quoted for truth.

I have never used a book but I have been there for many friends who switched to Macs. Just knowing a handful facts about OS X will make your life so much easier.

So either keep a Mac guru close at hand, or read a book like the above.

It's not much to know at all, but the difference between knowing these little things and not knowing them is huge.

 

Just remember, if you're having trouble with something, ALWAYS blame the something, never yourself.

 

Well said Even if you don't learn EVERY keyboard shortcut, if you find yourself doing something often, just learn the shortcut for that action.

It will all become second nature and adding them one at a time will make them seem manageable.

 

It's hardly like keyboard shortcuts are unique to OS X anyway.

If anything, I've heard people who wish OS X had MORE keyboard shortcuts. As it is, I know people who still do almost all their navigating/etc. in Windows with alt-commands, etc.

-Zadillo

 

It's always good to be very familiar with both keyboard and mouse. So you can navigate and do everything on the keyboard without a mouse when you're working and when you're just sitting back with one hand on the mouse, you can accomplish the same with button-combos and mouse gestures. The whole point of a GUI is so that the user can be as lazy as he wants to be!

My only gripe with OSX shortcuts is that they're not all consistent. Or rather, software made for OSX - especially those ported from Windows, refuse to adopt the general shortcuts used in OSX and continue to use their Windows shortcuts.

It's definitely annoying to have to know 5 sets of shortcuts for 5 different browsers for example (e.g. for the search bar - command-k, command-shift-f, command-f, ctrl-e, ctrl k ... etc. etc. etc.)

 

@dam - here's my 2c
When you make the switch, you are knowingly taking a step into the unknown - its like moving to another country.
You have to approach it with an open mind - don't compare everything to windows - macs are good at some things (multitasking being one of them, including easy app switching) and windows is good with some other things. If you approach the new OS with the idea is that it is Windows + everything bad in windows fixed, then you WILL be frustrated. Period.

Say you move from an luxury suv to a luxury sedan - the sedan will have different driving characteristics

 

One of my ongoing gripes with OS X (but it has been improving) is that it seems I often have to use the mouse and keyboard in combination together. Sometimes this is probably because I don't have the full knowledge (although I generally try to take the time to look things up). Also a number of the shortcuts I use regularly seem to take more keys in OS X then in XP. The big one being the Windows delete key (which I generally use at least as often as the backspace key), and the home key (to take you to the beginning of the line). Also even when they take the same number of keys, not having a right hand ctrl or alt key means that many times you have to use both hands for a keyboard shortcut (which kind of sucks).

I've been using Macs regularly for about 5 years now, and have two at home, but despite how much I like the hardwar and parts of the OS, little things like this keep me from using it as my main OS.

 

wow, you mac usesers are a tight knit bunch eh? nothin like some good ol' mob mentality.
i feel ya @dam. i just spent Alot of money (in my books) because i didn't want to deal with virus' and was told by everyone including my sales guy: "oh you'll love it, it's So easy."
you'll have to excuse our frustrated temperment but i think we all know what it's like to get frustrated with a computer, no?
switching from pc to mac is not easy. i can't even figure out how to get my pics to come up as thumbnails or many other simple things.
i've looked through the apple website that the sales guy told me would have these "great tutorials", all i can find is stuff i already know like "how to get red eye out." gimme a break, i need to know what the heck i can do with this machine.
don't get me wrong, love my new mac, wanna learn how to use it... but it's not as easy a transition as it's made out to be. it will be months before i'm used to this system or even know one tenth of what i can do with it.

 

Err...Mac Switcher Rule #1: Keep an open mind .

If you want everything to work the Windows way, you haven't switched, now have you?

Check out the Recommended Links and Guides section of the Mac Switcher's Guide for more tutorials. Hope they help.