Posts Tagged "os x"
JetLinked: Installing applications on the Mac still broken
Lukas Mathis has posted some thoughts on the issues Mac newcomers have with .dmg files. I also talked about this issue a while back in a post on the most common issues switchers have, but it’s worth noting it again. I agree with his followup post that adding another file format isn’t really the way to go either – DMG files are a great feature to have – once you’ve understood them. But from a usability and customer support perspective, a simple zip file seems to be the better choice.
I’d still be interested to see what kinds of customer support issues you run into with zip files though:
- Do people using alternative browsers, that don’t automatically open “safe” files like Safari does, struggle with them?
- Do users who prefer to manually download updates have several versions of the same app sitting in their Downloads folder?
- Are there any issues if users have a 3rd party archive tool installed (I’m looking at you StuffIt)?
But despite those questions, I think there is a valid reason to reconsider whether .dmg files should still be considered “best practise” for app distribution.
Read MoreFirst Look: Lounge for OS X
Stop the presses tweets! There’s a new Twitter app in town!
For a while now Twitterific has ruled the roost when it comes to desktop apps for OS X. This is primarily due to the fact that there actually aren’t that many decent Mac clients around, despite the plethora of options for the iPhone.
(Note: Yes, there are a whole host of Air apps, iChat plugins, multi-purpose social updaters and Dashboard widgets, but I’m only talking about Cocoa-based, OS X-ish Mac apps.)
That’s about to change: Bluebird, Beak and Lounge are three new OS X native apps announced for release this Spring.
First impressions
Lounge for the Mac is still very much a work in progress, but is already quite stable and reliable. The UI makes it easy to access all the Twitter features you’ve come to expect and the ability to save searches as Groups is also very useful. Unlike some apps the UI doesn’t try to overwhelm you with multiple message lists. Support for multiple accounts, retweeting, a Services menu and the ability to ‘drill down’ into people’s @replies, user profiles and links rounds out the experience.
One feature that I’m particularly fond of is the ability to sync your read-status with the iPhone companion app that is already available on the App Store.
Pricing for the Mac version of Lounge hasn’t yet been announced, but you can test drive the beta version until its expiration date, July 1st.
Gripes
Lounge still lacks some features such as Picture support, built-in url shortening etc. that some users will probably miss, but it’s early days yet…
Conclusion
Definitely worth checking out if you’re looking for a slightly different take in the desktop Twitter app genre.
Read MoreSpotlight suggestion: Tab between groups
I’ve gone back and forth between using Spotlight or using a 3rd party tool (I’ve given up on Quicksilver, but I have high hopes for Google’s Quick Search Box by the same developer) might be to quickly access apps and files. I’d prefer to use a built-in tool to be honest, but Spotlight never seems to quite cut it.
A big improvement would be the ability to tab between the different result categories, similar to the way you can tab between other UI elements That would allow users to get to their goal faster and would also make the behaviour feel more consistent with the rest of the operating system.
A few additional commands or the ability to launch web searches would also be nice, but better search results and navigation of those results would be a great start.
Here’s hoping for 10.6!
Update:
Aaand of course I just couldn’t find the right shortcut. In the comments my colleague pointed out a tweet by Scott Stevenson with exactly the shortcut I was after. Thanks Albert & Scott!
Read MoreWindows 7 = Snow Vista?
Now that the Windows 7 public beta is out, I’ve fired it up and taken it for a spin.
It strikes me that 7 is basically Microsoft’s answer to both Apple’s “I’m a Mac” ads and a similar effort to Snow Leopard – the successor to 10.5 that Apple has announced.
Snow Leopard will purportedly contain no new features, instead focusing on improving the foundation of the OS and making under-the-hood performance improvements.
7 seems to be a similar effort: There are a few visual changes to the taskbar and start menu, but overall there is very much a “Vista 2.0″ feeling to it. However: unlike Snow Leopard – which has so far received mostly positive buzz, despite the lack of new features, I don’t expect Microsoft to attempt to market 7 as a “no features” release. Coming on the back of the poor Vista publicity it would be seen as admitting defeat.
Nonetheless, with 7 expected for a late 2009 / early 2010 release and Snow Leopard expected sometime within the same timeframe, it’ll be interesting to see the two “tidy-up” releases go head-to-head.
Read MoreNew Malicious OS X Script Discovered
I noticed a post on at Mac-Forums.com that seemed a little sketchy. A brand new user claimed posted an OS X application with the promise that it “Does really amazing stuff with your camera.”.
I downloaded the zip file and took a look inside the “Astro.app” package.
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