June 2007
8 things Mac OS could do better
After 4 years of Ubuntu Linux, I am finally getting comfortable with Mac OS. Here’s my list of things that I think will make Mac OS a better OS for me, a long-time Linux user.
Disclaimer: I not a Mac expert by any means. Please feel free to enlighten me.
1. Better X11 and GNOME support
X11 applications don’t look and feel anything like native OS X applications. Try Inkscape on Mac and you’ll know what I mean. Applications have to be refactored to use carbon, e.g. GIMP and NeoOffice, to make them look native (bad!). The fact that all X11 programs run under the master X11 application is really annoying and unnecessary. I’d like to see the GTK libraries and GNOME infrastructure be available for Mac by default, or at least part of the X11 distribution, so that developers can use tools like autoconf to build the application. I have no idea how difficult GNOME within Mac would be but I really like to see it happen. I want to be able download and compile my favorite GNOME application and have it look and feel like a native Mac OS application, as much as possible. Hey, if you can make GNOME look like Mac OS, why can’t Apple make GNOME look like Mac OS? Another advantage of adding GNOME infrastructure is the ability to run .NET applications through Mono.
2. Better out-of-the box personalization
Metacity is way more customizable than Carbon/Cocoa. Just look at gnome-look.org. I want to personalize my desktop and not have to pay extra. Tiger only comes with two color schemes, blue and gray. Weak! I would like to see real themes, out-of-the-box.
3. Consistent look and feel
For an OS that blazes the trail on UI design, it’s really disappointing to see the inconsistent look and feel. The first thing I noticed after booting up my Mac was that Safari, Finder, iTunes, they all look different, i.e. Brushed metal vs. not. This is being fixed in Leopard.
4. Software package management
MacPorts is a start but nothing like the Ubuntu repositories. I do like the .app format. All app related files in one place. I don’t like that Mac installation programs have to scan the harddrive for existing versions or dependencies. I would love to see something like Synaptic and be able to install my software using one-click or one command on a fresh Mac.
5. Make Darwin more Unix-like
I love the fact that bash, vim, grep, awk, ssh, etc. are installed by default. But I find the Mac file structure dis-orienting. For example, why is it so complicated to create a script to run during initialization? A subsystem that supports System V-style init scripts would be great, even if it runs after the core Mac OS-initialization. Better coherence with Linux directory structure will also be very helpful.
6. Make Firefox the default browser
Apple should stop wasting energy on Safari. Firefox runs everywhere. IE dominates the Windows world. We don’t need yet another browser with it’s own little quirks. Apple should embrace Firefox, improve it where it’s lacking and submit the code upstream. If Apple really wants their own browser, they should at least use the Gecko engine so we get consistent behavior. I really don’t think a minor performance improvement is worth all the compatibility trouble.
7. Install NeoOffice by default
Apple is all about giving you everything you need to get going. This is more true for Linux than it is for Mac. Where are my productivity tools on the Mac? Unless legally bound by Microsoft’s investment, Apple should just include NeoOffice. And hire those brilliant NeoOffice guys while they’re at it. Keynote and Pages are nice, they can remain options for paid upgrade.
8. Let Sun take care of Java
As of June 2007, there’s still no Java 6 for Mac. That’s a real shame, considering how important Apple claims Java is to them. My advice, give up and give it back to the experts. I know Apple and Sun work together on this to make Java integrate well with Apple. From what I can see, I don’t think the integration is that special and I see no reason why Sun couldn’t do it themselves. However they want to solve this problem, between Sun and Apple, please keep up with Java releases.
That said, Mac OS is a great OS for developers. Linux users will find more things in common with Mac as compared to Windows. I was planning to Bootcamp my Mac with Feisty but after a few days of OS X, I ended up staying. Keep up the good work guys. Leopard is looking good!
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