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I don't expect you to. I expect you to intuitively understand it, like pretty much everybody I've seen using a Mac does. The spatial metaphor is pretty easy to

by unalone 18y ago

I don't expect you to. I expect you to intuitively understand it, like pretty much everybody I've seen using a Mac does. The spatial metaphor is pretty easy to grasp, unless you're convinced that the executable is the only way to go, in which case your viewpoint is twisted. Instead of taking my comments as an attack on the Mac, why not view them as first impressions that may be shared by potentially many other people? Because you're not making useful lists. I'm sorry if this offends you, but from my perspective you've been writing little half-posts about small things you don't like, without any backup. You're not giving screenshots or any sort of information, you're posting small snippets, and I don't consider that to be worth an HN post - even if you are using this site for your blog. Furthermore, I'm irritated that you posted this as a new post rather than as a comment on your last post, which could have been posted as a comment on your post before that. If you've got gripes, take your time and make a single good post, get pictures, phrase your ideas in a good way, and then post it all in one, so we can have one single discussion rather than a fractured one across a bunch of posts that come close to being flag-worthy by my standards.

amichail 18y ago
FYI, I still think dmg files are a bad idea. BTW, vista and windows 7 won't let programs mess up the OS without your permission. And most programs -- properly written -- don't need to access any critical parts of the OS.
- unalone 18y ago
  Funny, because my family Vistabox got pretty badly virused in a month's time. We thought we'd try to run it without antivirus. Meanwhile, I'm nearing my year anniversary with my Mac, which has no viruses and still goes as quickly as it did on Day 1. How are DMGs a bad idea? They do no wrong.
  - amichail 18y ago
    Macs are great if you don't want to deal with viruses. No need to even run an antivirus program. On Windows, you should run one and there are some excellent commercial ones you can use. I've already explained why DMGs are bad. They are confusing and cause clutter.
    - unalone 18y ago
      Do DMGs cause more clutter for applications than Program Files does on Windows? If I want to find a specific program's exe then it's extremely time-consuming, versus opening either a DMG or the app folder and clicking the icon that's very prominent. No app has two app icons; some programs have multiple exes. I'd argue that the need for commercial protection on Windows is a bad thing in and of itself, but I'm a little tired of this argument. We've each made our respective points.
      - amichail 18y ago
        Finding stuff including executables is very easy under Windows. Just search for it just as you would with spotlight under the Mac. No need to browse through a start menu.
    - antipax 18y ago
      Disk images are awesome. If you only think you're going to need an application once, you can run most straight from the image and be assured that nothing will end up on your system. I think you have a bad understanding of how installation on a Mac should work. There are only two cases: 1. Dragging an application bundle to a folder. This method is for applications that can run without installing or modifying anything important. 2. An installation app. This method is for apps that require a script or executable to run to be able to function. If you ask me, this is better than the .exe installers that come with every Windows program, inevitably littering files all over your system. .dmg's are mostly just convention in the Mac world, as far as I know. You can package an app in a .zip file, but you can mount a .dmg and then it just appears as a disk on your Mac. I used to use a Windows machine, and when I moved to Mac this was one of the things that confused me -- but most everyone I've talked to about it agrees that after a little while you get used to it and it makes a lot more sense than the other system.
thwarted 18y ago
unalone: That said: there's some terminology you need to know. unalone: Amichail, I don't know you, so forgive me if this is impertinent, but you don't seem to have a clue about how Macs work. You don't seem to have put any research into the ideas behind OS X. amichail: Expecting people to research how the Mac works just to install software is asking a bit too much. unalone: I don't expect you to. I expect you to intuitively understand it, like pretty much everybody I've seen using a Mac does.

by unalone 18y ago

amichail 18y ago

FYI, I still think dmg files are a bad idea. BTW, vista and windows 7 won't let programs mess up the OS without your permission. And most programs -- properly written -- don't need to access any critical parts of the OS.

unalone 18y ago
Funny, because my family Vistabox got pretty badly virused in a month's time. We thought we'd try to run it without antivirus. Meanwhile, I'm nearing my year anniversary with my Mac, which has no viruses and still goes as quickly as it did on Day 1. How are DMGs a bad idea? They do no wrong.
- amichail 18y ago
  Macs are great if you don't want to deal with viruses. No need to even run an antivirus program. On Windows, you should run one and there are some excellent commercial ones you can use. I've already explained why DMGs are bad. They are confusing and cause clutter.
  - unalone 18y ago
    Do DMGs cause more clutter for applications than Program Files does on Windows? If I want to find a specific program's exe then it's extremely time-consuming, versus opening either a DMG or the app folder and clicking the icon that's very prominent. No app has two app icons; some programs have multiple exes. I'd argue that the need for commercial protection on Windows is a bad thing in and of itself, but I'm a little tired of this argument. We've each made our respective points.
    - amichail 18y ago
      Finding stuff including executables is very easy under Windows. Just search for it just as you would with spotlight under the Mac. No need to browse through a start menu.
  - antipax 18y ago
    Disk images are awesome. If you only think you're going to need an application once, you can run most straight from the image and be assured that nothing will end up on your system. I think you have a bad understanding of how installation on a Mac should work. There are only two cases: 1. Dragging an application bundle to a folder. This method is for applications that can run without installing or modifying anything important. 2. An installation app. This method is for apps that require a script or executable to run to be able to function. If you ask me, this is better than the .exe installers that come with every Windows program, inevitably littering files all over your system. .dmg's are mostly just convention in the Mac world, as far as I know. You can package an app in a .zip file, but you can mount a .dmg and then it just appears as a disk on your Mac. I used to use a Windows machine, and when I moved to Mac this was one of the things that confused me -- but most everyone I've talked to about it agrees that after a little while you get used to it and it makes a lot more sense than the other system.

thwarted 18y ago

unalone: That said: there's some terminology you need to know. unalone: Amichail, I don't know you, so forgive me if this is impertinent, but you don't seem to have a clue about how Macs work. You don't seem to have put any research into the ideas behind OS X. amichail: Expecting people to research how the Mac works just to install software is asking a bit too much. unalone: I don't expect you to. I expect you to intuitively understand it, like pretty much everybody I've seen using a Mac does.