my numberous ideas on how to improve os x and the digital hub. what are yours?

[iMe]

Hi

here are a few things that annoy me when using OSX. Well, I like mac os x a lot, but there are many issues that need to be dealt with… I believe that my ideas could improve the way we use computers and increase the value of the digital hub...

maybe there are solutions for these problems, but i wish one wouldn´t need to look for solutions - i´d rather have it included from the beginning... and yes, i am aware that it is not only os x´s fault at times, but i thought i include all my ideas that would improve the mac experience :-)


have a look at the list of my problems and ideas and let me know of your comments and ideas... lets start some brainstorming:

1. Mac OS X
- on 10.1.2 my clock starts at 1AM 1970 from time to time… no idea why… looks like it is a bug… it didn´t happen on 10.1.3 yet, but i didn´t restart that often yet, so i don´t know for sure...
- When dialing in using aol, itunes stops playing or skips for a few moments… (I know aol is ****, but i have no choice)
- I´m annoyed that mac os x doesn´t know what type of media you put into the machine… it always only shows a white icon of a media… I´d prefer to see an icon of a zip disc when I put a zip in, an icon of a jaz etc… sure one can do it manually on every drive, but why not automatically…
- I´m annoyed that I still couldn´t find a memorystick icon…
- I´m annoyed that the macos icon (the most left icon in the dock) doesn´t give any feedback wether classic is running or not.,.. additionally it would be a nice information if it showed under which name one is logged in…
- I´m annoyed that there is so little information when you delete the trash… how many MB, etc (just like in 9)
- I´m very annoyed that classic prevents me from shutting down the computer… I always have to force quit classic…
- energy saver has to be improved… there is no way it can stay like this for much longer…
- I can´t put my computer in deep sleep with my scsi card…
- I´m very annoyed that os x forgets about the settings of windows… I want to keep my icons in list view.. it isn´t that hard is it??

2. Mail:
- I´m annoyed that you have to add a “reply-to “ address manually each time…
- I´m annoyed that it still crashes too often
- That it doesn´t include international spell checking..
- That you can´t set how long the mail should stay on the mail server – before it is being deleted there
- It annoys me that you can´t share mail between two different mail programs – mail and another programm in 9… no I only check mail in x….
- Annoyed that mail copys all addresses to the adressbook automatically…

3. address book
- Annoyed that I have addresses more than once… double posts..
- Annoyed that address book does not sync with palm… that would be fantastic
- A pro version of this software that allows you to click a button and automatically sets up a word or apple works letterhead with the address you clicked on
-
4. iPhoto
- iphoto needs to work with mail… why can´t zou just simply click a button to mail a photo... I know about the scripts but that shouldn´t be the way…
- iphoto needs to work with itunes… why can´t you use a playlist from itunes when looking at a gallery… why do you have to set up your own playlist in iphoto (in a very bad way)
- iphoto editing needs to have a save button… I accidently have a gray photo of myself, because iphoto changed a color photo to black and white when I was playing around – not knowing that there it saves automatically…
- I´d like to have an itunes like search
- A possibility to make a gallery and save it as a screensaver for os x… that would be nifty…
- A possibility to iport external folders without having to copy them into the iphoto location…
- Offer the photoalbum in Europe too…
- Allow to change and update the itools homepage…
- Give me the option wether I want iPhoto to start up once I insert my memorystick into the drive…

5.itunes/ipod
- Itunes rocks, but I still have a few issues……
- Why can´t I use itunes as an alarmclock? Soundjam offered this feature and I loved it…
- Why (or how) can I backup my playlists?
- I´d love to have a possibility of having the itunes player in a floating window or better still directly in the dock – but without losing the possibility to control it…
- An audion like counter that counts how often you listened to which song.. stupid but fun… J
- Automatically sync os 9 and osx playlists… most don´t know the trick with the aliases
- Cover arts? Totally unimportant but maybe a nice feature?
- Improved random.. he seems to play some songs more often than others…
- Ipod battery indicator.. it´s a joke.. how about a proper one – best in percentage
- An (alarm)clock in the ipod
- Ipod: A remote control please…


6. ICQ
- icq X should use the dock more… instead of jumping up and down, show me if a message arrives etc…

7. imovie
- is great
- btu why does it not make better use of the screen on higer resolutions?

9. palm ud x
- it need to sync with adressbook and entourage…
- avantgo for mac os x
- documents to go for x…


see you, iMe

[Marcwic]

5.itunes/ipod


Cover arts would be good. Wndow Media Player ON XP automatially gets the CD case and puts it as the folder icon, i was mpressed with this.

[zs]

I agree with most of the stuff you stated. The other stuff I don't know cuz I don't use ICQ, iPhoto, or have an iPod or a PDA.

1.
-I'm pretty sure that time thing was fixed in 10.1.3 because I had the same problem and it hasn't recurred since I upgraded.
-The deep sleep problem is an issue with your SCSI card driver if you have an Asante card like me. I fixed the problem by downloading new drivers I found at Apple (http://www.apple.com/downloads/macosx/drivers/).

5.
-I believe that the iTunes playlists are stored in ~/Documents/iTunes/iTunes Music Library (2) or some variation of that. Unfortunately this is the database that stores info for all of you music files, also.
-iTunes can be turned into a small window by clicking the maximize button (green plus in upper left).

Hope that helps. BTW I love the use of the word numberous. "Numerous" is used in my part of the world, but I'm going to start saying numberous just to annoy my friends. Is that used in UK English or am I just ignorant?:)

Forgot to add that iTunes can be controlled by click holding, control clicking, or right clicking on the dock icon (if I read your issue correctly).

[jfisher2]

You should easily be able to share address book entries workgroup wide. I am trying to share an address book and there seems to be no clean way to do it. Digital Hub? I think not. That should be a feature in Rendezvous. It seems AB is not and cannot be Rendezvous aware. AB should have the ability to publish users/groups via Rendezvous.

It was sugested that LDAP was a solution to share AB info. It is not! The interface from AB into LDAP sucks at best. You cannot correct info even if you are the rootdn. It doesn't share the same GUI. Too hard to train users to use. Configuration is in 2 spots (AB and Directory Access).

Is anyone working on a more elegant solution?

[rusto]

- I´d love to have a possibility of having the itunes player in a floating window or better still directly in the dock – but without losing the possibility to control it…

You CAN control it "directly in the dock" and frontmost app never loses focus either, see screenshot (http://www.russcam.com/temp/DockSS003.jpg).

[chabig]

2. Mail:
- I´m annoyed that you have to add a “reply-to “ address manually each time…

I don't know what you mean. I never have to manually add the reply-to address. The reply-to address is my own email account. What does yours use?

[Russ R.]

Lots of good ideas...

I would just add that a few of these problems are peculiar to your computer -

- on 10.1.2 my clock starts at 1AM 1970 from time to time… no idea why…
Never seen this, myself.
- I´m annoyed that the macos icon (the most left icon in the dock) doesn´t give any feedback wether classic is running or not.,.. additionally it would be a nice information if it showed under which name one is logged in…
I like the idea of a user name. For those of us that rarely use Classic, I'm not sure that we want to be reminded of that.
- I´m very annoyed that classic prevents me from shutting down the computer… I always have to force quit classic…
Take a look at what extensions are loading in Classic and eliminate the ones you don't need. Norton File Saver in Classic was one that would cause this.
- I´m annoyed that you have to add a “reply-to “ address manually each time…

Not quite sure what you mean here. I never have to supply the address.
- I´m annoyed that it still crashes too often
Luckily, I haven't seen this, either.
- That you can´t set how long the mail should stay on the mail server – before it is being deleted there
There is an time option for deleting Sent, Trashed and Junk mail in account preferences.
- Annoyed that mail copys all addresses to the adressbook automatically…
Does it still do this? I can't recall this happening lately. Maybe one of the recent updates fixed this.
- Annoyed that address book does not sync with palm… that would be fantastic
Well, it does, if you use iSync to first overwrite your PDA, and then sync that with Palm Desktop.
- iphoto needs to work with mail… why can´t zou just simply click a button to mail a photo...
You can do this. Select the photo, hit the Share button in iPhoto, hit the Mail icon...
- A possibility to make a gallery and save it as a screensaver for os x… that would be nifty…
You can also do this. Just hit the screensaver icon under Share. If you have .mac, you can also publish your screensaver gallery online.
- Give me the option wether I want iPhoto to start up once I insert my memorystick into the drive…
That option is there - in the Image Capture application preferences.
- Why (or how) can I backup my playlists?
You can do this using Apple's Backup utility.
- Ipod: A remote control please…
I just wish that I had an iPod.:(
- it need to sync with adressbook and entourage…
You should try iSync. I'm finding it very useful for syncing iCal and Address Book with my 2 Macs and my PDA.

[friedmaj]

"- An audion like counter that counts how often you listened to which song.. stupid but fun… J "

Just right-click on any of the column headings, and you can choose from a variety of options, including a play count.

[miklb]

Originally posted by iMe

- An audion like counter that counts how often you listened to which song.. stupid but fun… J

- Cover arts? Totally unimportant but maybe a nice feature?
-

For the counter, under edit, view, there is a box to check to allow for this function

For cover art, there is a freeware(?) app CD Cover Tool (check versiontracker) that provides this, granted its not included in iTunes, but it's OS X.