100% working.... and now I hate it **TLDR warning**

[bigddybn]

TLDR version: I had fun building but hate OSX and I'm not totally sure why. Would a proper keybaord and mouse/trackpad help? Any non apple suggestions? I MISS THE BACK BUTTON ON MY MOUSE

Is the magic trackpad worth it? Are the gestures a "must have" in OSX?
Is there a mouse with a working "back" thumb button?
Would getting an actual apple keyboard make a difference?
Is there a good "newb tips for window users" guide?


Long version:

About a month ago I decided I was going to build a hackintosh. I selected parts that were build friendly, did tons of reading and finally clicked the order button on ewegg. Install went fairly smooth but I did hit a few speedbumps. Nothing that Google couldn't help with. I've got fully working video, sound, network, sleep, bluetooth etc... I've converted my storage devices to exFat to be compatible with both the "mac" and the PCs that live in the house as well as Mr Hyde in this box. Dug out an old USB keyboard and went to town with a sharpie to mark the command and option keys as well as a few keyboard shortcuts.

The build, install and tweaking has been fun but now that it's done I think I hate OSX.

I know part of the problem is that I'm VERY good in Windows. It's a must at the job. I run windows PCs at home including a home theater PC all over a gigabit and wireless network. I'll be the first to admit I'm a creature of habit and am used to the windows way of doing thigs. Windows 7 has been the near perfect OS for me.

OSX definitely has some nice parts to it. Little things like:
The scanner application has built in cropping.
iChat I dig for it's minimalist yet fully featured interface.
The Mail app for the same reasons.
Disk Utility flat rocks the house - the windows version doesn't even compare.
The UI touches like dragging icons off the dock to remove them, dragging applications to install them (MUCH better than windows imo)
And so forth...

Unfortunately it has some serious suck going on also:

Finder. Seriously? Who wrote this garbage? Explorer on 7 just curbstomps this piece of crap. And like Explorer is the SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT app in the dang OS! It's horribad!

Fullscreen apps. What? Is this 1989? What exactly the heck is that little green + sign for if not fullscreen? Just to resize my window larger where I still can't see it all? And when the app is fullscreen I have to park my cursor uptop for a few seconds to take it out of fullscreen?

Window managment. Just as above Windows simply does this 100 times better. Drag a window up and it goes fullscreen. Drag left or right and it goes half fullscreen. Drag away from the edge to go back to windowed mode. OSX has...... ?

Web browser. This one really gets me. How the heck do I go "back" in the web browser easily? I run a G5v2 mouse and the back button on the mouse acts like you would expect middle click to. The only way to go back in the browser is to reach up and hit the backspace/delete key. Having to switch back and forth from keyboard to mouse just to websurf is annoying to say the least. I could just hit the back arrow with the mouse but I can't seem to find it because the stupid app fails at fullscreen and I have to hover the mouse to get the toolbar to come back......

Now deep down inside none of this makes any sense to me. Everywhere you look people just won't stfu about how easy and "it just works" MAC OSX is. I have a few friends that run as pure MAC as you can in a Windows world who are just plain giddy about OSX. These are intelligent people with exposure to lots of computing systems and methods. How can all of these people puke themselves constantly about how wonderful OSX is with these problems?

Am I just doing it wrong?

Does the trackpad solve many of these problems? All of these people use macbooks of some flavor. All of them usually mention the trackpad as the best thing about their macbooks. I've played with the macbooks at best buy like everyone else and I'll admit those trackpads absolutely destroy the garbage that comes on even high end PC notebooks. The clickpad along with the multitouch gestures really are quite nice but it's hard to guage an OS based on 2 minutes in retail hell.

Are the gestures really what OSX is built around?

 

[justr]

I think you've answered your own question:

You are a creature of habit, and you have deeply ingrained habits. Interacting with a computer is a highly subjective pursuit-- and choice of OS, application needs, etc are too.

The Windows vs Mac OS dichotomy is a false one. Niether is universally better or worse. I'd be willing to bet that if you put in the time to really get used to OS X, to figure out what applications exist to modify your GUI interactions (whether one of the quicksilver clones, or a replacement finder app, or a magic track pad... whatever) you'd come around to the point where you liked OS X reasonably well. Just like I'd come around to Windows if I really put in the time and effort.

But all this begs the question: Why?

If you have a system that works for you, and you like it, and it's efficient, and you don't NEED something offered elsewhere... perhaps you should stick with what you know and enjoy.

Seriously.

 

[bigddybn]

You are right in that I certainly don't *need* a new OS. One doesn't need to grow flowers or collect stamps or build birdhouses either.

It's something to tinker with. I suppose my post did sound like I was going to cry if it didn't work out which certainly isn't the case. Just want to give it a fair shot to make sure I'm not missing out on what the cool kids are.

I guess I should have just typed "What keyboard and mouse should I buy? Is a trackpad worth it?" but that would have been far to easy.

 

[Sasquatch00]

I used to utilize Windows, then switched to OSX and have been using that for years now. I just built a dual boot with Snow Leopard (for work) and Windows 7(for gaming).

I had the same reaction as you when I went to windows after being in OSX for so long. Not that it's done poorly, but how frustrating it is to deal with a different OS, hot keys and all. I was complaining to my friend about it, and he said "well, I had to do that when I started OSX for the first time". As stated above, it's just a matter of experience.

To answer your peripheral questions, I bought a magic trackpad and 'enjoy' it. I wouldn't say it's incredible or even magic, but it's fun, especially when web browsing. For work applications like photoshop or FCP, a wacom pad would be much more useful and even though I use it a little bit in FCP, it's definitely a toy. I am regretting it in some ways, but at least it's accurate and the batteries last a while. I also got it working in Windows 7 but it's not nearly as useful as it doesn't understand multitouch.

I personally use a wired Apple mouse with the left and right buttons, along with the midmouse button that I actually turn off because it's too sensitive.

 

[bigddybn]

I assume there is a "back" swipe gesture with the trackpad? Or is there a compatible mouse with a "back" button.

I'm used to using that button in everything. Backing up folder in explorer, going back in web browsers, etc...

 

[kidpub]

I assume there is a "back" swipe gesture with the trackpad? Or is there a compatible mouse with a "back" button.

I'm used to using that button in everything. Backing up folder in explorer, going back in web browsers, etc...

There's a great utility, Better Touch Tool, that lets you completely configure the gestures used on the magic mouse/trackpad, keyboard, and non-touch mouse. I feel that I'm more productive using gestures on the trackpad than when doing the same tasks with a mouse (I work mostly in Photoshop and InDesign). The trackpad reduces strain on the hand and wrist, too.

Finder's always been so-so...I use the Finder replacement PathFinder. It's incredibly handy...so much so that I have one of the screens on my workstation dedicated to it.

The Windows/OSX choice is just something that comes down to personal preference. I'm a Unix guy and was never comfortable running Windows (though I've used it since version 1 back in the 80s), and found that OSX, especially in the past few years, is so close to Unix that I feel right at home.

Perry

 

[Sasquatch00]

I assume there is a "back" swipe gesture with the trackpad? Or is there a compatible mouse with a "back" button.

I'm used to using that button in everything. Backing up folder in explorer, going back in web browsers, etc...

There is a stock gesture for "back", yes, but I think it might be for Web only. I need to double check when i'm on OSX. I haven't tried Better Touch Tools yet, but have to say Magic Prefs wasn't so great. It really confused my trackpad and made it jet around inconsistently. When I deleted it, it went back to normal.

I'm going try out Better Touch Tools.

 

[Scimitar]

I'm used to using that button in everything. Backing up folder in explorer, going back in web browsers, etc...

Try USB Overdrive. It will permit you to customize the various mouse buttons to do what you're looking for and more.