7 November 2007

Things I haven't got used to in the Mac...yet

Although my transition to the Apple operating system has been running quite smoothly, there are however some things that I still wasn't able to get in my head (mainly because of old Windows habits):

Copy + Paste
This issue applies to a lot of different situations, not only to the copy and paste shortcuts. While in Windows (and other system too) the shortcuts are done using the CTRL key, in Mac OS X I have to use the Command key (the Apple Logo key) instead. So this is taking a little bit longer to get used to than I thought, but I'll get there.

Some keys are missing
Like most programmers, I have picked up a lot of habits using shortcuts and quick-access keys to "travel" around in a text file. Unfortunately, in a Mac Home, End, Delete, Page Up and Page Down keys are not available. Instead, these can be emulated with different combinations of keys, mostly using the Command key again.

Alt + Tab
This shortcut is one of the most useful features on windows-based operating systems. If offers you a way of changing between windows easily and with no effort. However, this shortcut has a slightly different behavior in Mac OS X. First of all, I have to use the Command key (again) instead of Alt. And then this shortcut switches between applications instead of windows. Let me give you an example: if you have two Firefox windows opened, this shortcut won't allow you to switch between them, only between Firefox and other applications that are opened.

Hard writing
I don't know if this is exclusive to the MacBook Pro or if it applies to all Apple keyboards, but this keyboard seems to be less sensible to pressure, that is, I have to apply more pressure than usual to write some of the letters in the keyboard.

Lighting Sensor
The lighting sensor is an excellent feature as it automatically changes the display's and keyboard's brightness according to light conditions. However it seems that this sensor is located near the speakers and since I have the habit of placing the left hand on top of the left side of the laptop when I'm not using it, the display gets darker every time i do it.

Nonetheless, these issues don't really annoy me because I know that these are thing that I'll get used to with time.

And what about you? What are your dislikes towards Mac OS X?

2 comments:

DCY said...

Just so you know, you can use Cmd + (it seems this key doesn't appear on my iPhone, but it's the backwards quote above the tab) to switch between windows of the same app.

António Lopes said...

Thanks, great tip! It works :)
I got used to using Exposé now, so it's easy to switch between all windows.