Can't sort by image bit depth in Finder
This one really bugs me. For a platform that is supposed to be designer friendly, this one boggles my mind. I work mostly in tablets and mobile, so file sizes and bit depths play a big role in what I do. For performance reasons, keeping each of those attributes low adds to a better user experience. If I can export something at 8-bit and loose no quality, I will do so.
Often I need to do batch scaling. I don't want to export 8-bit PNGs as 24/32 bit, so I like to run these batches separately. On a PC (Vista and above), you can sort by bit depth in Explorer. I can quickly see 8, 24, 32 (and even 1, 2, 4). I cannot find a way to do this on a Mac. Even looking at Get Info, I can see that the bit depth displayed in there is either wrong, or it's based on direct color, not image bit-depth.
UGH.
Thursday, October 18, 2012
Monday, October 15, 2012
Things I hate about my Macbook #3
No Delete Button
The delete button on a Mac acts like a Backspace button on Windows. It deletes left, not right, and it won't delete files. Some programs have programmed the button to behave the way I expect it to, but not Apple.
It took me 2 weeks to figure out I had somewhat similar functionality of the Window's Delete key by making sure I hit Command-Delete.
I guess that will work.
The delete button on a Mac acts like a Backspace button on Windows. It deletes left, not right, and it won't delete files. Some programs have programmed the button to behave the way I expect it to, but not Apple.
It took me 2 weeks to figure out I had somewhat similar functionality of the Window's Delete key by making sure I hit Command-Delete.
I guess that will work.
Things I hate about my Macbook #2
Finder Locks Up
I work remotely pretty much every night. I understand that trying to open 300 Mb files over VPN is going to take some time, and may lock up your system a bit. What I don't like is when Finder locks up and can't be minimized. I end up stuck behind Finder windows, when the windows and apps underneath are perfectly selectable and useable. It's like it's taunting me.
I've noticed this with more than just Finder and big files, any time the machine locks up a bit this happens.
Oh, and I've already crashed the computer completely. So much for "Get a Mac. They just work."
I work remotely pretty much every night. I understand that trying to open 300 Mb files over VPN is going to take some time, and may lock up your system a bit. What I don't like is when Finder locks up and can't be minimized. I end up stuck behind Finder windows, when the windows and apps underneath are perfectly selectable and useable. It's like it's taunting me.
I've noticed this with more than just Finder and big files, any time the machine locks up a bit this happens.
Oh, and I've already crashed the computer completely. So much for "Get a Mac. They just work."
Things I hate about my Macbook #1
Command vs. Ctrl
As you can imagine, switching from PC to Mac, there are many things I need to get used to. Some features in Windows just don't exist on a Mac, and some are just changes in how I do things. Command vs. Ctrl is one of those things.
I use an external keyboard most of the time. It's a Dell keyboard, which means I don't even have a Command key.
Ctrl as a modifier key should be easily accessible. I noticed that with my normal hand positioning, hitting Command wasn't as easy as Ctrl. Ctrl sits there right on the corner of my keyboard, begging for it. With Command, I find myself having to search. Given that I work at nights a lot in the dark (with a black keyboard), I need this key to be easy to hit.
Enter: System Preferences > Keyboard > Modifier Keys
Switch Ctrl and Command. Pow.
As you can imagine, switching from PC to Mac, there are many things I need to get used to. Some features in Windows just don't exist on a Mac, and some are just changes in how I do things. Command vs. Ctrl is one of those things.
I use an external keyboard most of the time. It's a Dell keyboard, which means I don't even have a Command key.
Ctrl as a modifier key should be easily accessible. I noticed that with my normal hand positioning, hitting Command wasn't as easy as Ctrl. Ctrl sits there right on the corner of my keyboard, begging for it. With Command, I find myself having to search. Given that I work at nights a lot in the dark (with a black keyboard), I need this key to be easy to hit.
Enter: System Preferences > Keyboard > Modifier Keys
Switch Ctrl and Command. Pow.
OSX Mountain Lion and Reverse Scrolling
One of my biggest gripes about OSX right now is the scroll wheel on my mouse. When Apple released Mountain Lion, they decided that "natural" scrolling is now the default and the standard, so all of us need to just get used to the path that Apple is blazing.
Natural works amazing for the trackpad. I'm so used to my iPad and my iPhone, that it just feels right. The problem is, I've been using scroll wheels for much much longer than my iPhone, so I expect them to behave a certain way. Apple does give you the option to turn this off, but while they give us separate settings screens for the trackpad and the mouse, the scrolling attributes are linked. So turn off natural on one, and it removes from the other as well. It's a pain in the ass to have to switch every time I decide to use this machine as a laptop, then switch back when I dock in.
Enter Scroll Reverser (http://pilotmoon.com/scrollreverser/).
With Scroll Reverser, you can adjust the scrolling direction per type of input. I now have my scrolling set to Natural in System Preferences, but reverse it for the mouse through Scroll Reverser. It hangs out in your menu bar, and you can tell it to launch on login to keep it working for you. Pow.
Natural works amazing for the trackpad. I'm so used to my iPad and my iPhone, that it just feels right. The problem is, I've been using scroll wheels for much much longer than my iPhone, so I expect them to behave a certain way. Apple does give you the option to turn this off, but while they give us separate settings screens for the trackpad and the mouse, the scrolling attributes are linked. So turn off natural on one, and it removes from the other as well. It's a pain in the ass to have to switch every time I decide to use this machine as a laptop, then switch back when I dock in.
Enter Scroll Reverser (http://pilotmoon.com/scrollreverser/).
With Scroll Reverser, you can adjust the scrolling direction per type of input. I now have my scrolling set to Natural in System Preferences, but reverse it for the mouse through Scroll Reverser. It hangs out in your menu bar, and you can tell it to launch on login to keep it working for you. Pow.
Path Finder for Mac OSX
I'm in the midst of switching to a Macbook Pro from my 20+ years of Windows. I've always known Apple to have nice machines, but I've always preferred Windows and just feel more at home there. But times, they are a changin'.
I've been designing more and more for iPad. Besides the ridiculous file sizes created by working on a canvas that is 2048x1536 (easily upwards of 200 Mb per), having to design at 33% zoom kinda sucks. So in order to make my life easier, IT suggested I try out the Macbook Pro Retina, with 16 GB RAM.
So far it's been a decent change. The power of the laptop is the biggest plus. The OS? Meh. There are things I love, and things I can't stand. Other than the multi-touch trackpad with gestures and the power of this machine, I don't think I've come across much else that would make me "need" to switch. It's a great laptop, if all I needed was web browsing and Word docs, I'd be in love. But as a work machine, I find as many cons as I do pluses.
One of my biggest gripes is Finder. It's lack of features and the user experience makes me long for Explorer. I love being able to type in paths, copy and paste paths, the way things are displayed and organized, bread crumbs.
Enter Path Finder (http://cocoatech.com/pathfinder/).
Path Finder brings a lot of the features I miss in Explorer to OSX. I can copy and paste paths (in any format I want, BTW, Windows, Unix, etc.), I can see where I've been with breadcrumbs and quickly go up a few levels, tabbed browsing (Explorer doesn't even have this) as well as quick links to recent documents, changed documents, and more. It's $40, but will be well worth the investment and sanity.
I've been designing more and more for iPad. Besides the ridiculous file sizes created by working on a canvas that is 2048x1536 (easily upwards of 200 Mb per), having to design at 33% zoom kinda sucks. So in order to make my life easier, IT suggested I try out the Macbook Pro Retina, with 16 GB RAM.
So far it's been a decent change. The power of the laptop is the biggest plus. The OS? Meh. There are things I love, and things I can't stand. Other than the multi-touch trackpad with gestures and the power of this machine, I don't think I've come across much else that would make me "need" to switch. It's a great laptop, if all I needed was web browsing and Word docs, I'd be in love. But as a work machine, I find as many cons as I do pluses.
One of my biggest gripes is Finder. It's lack of features and the user experience makes me long for Explorer. I love being able to type in paths, copy and paste paths, the way things are displayed and organized, bread crumbs.
Enter Path Finder (http://cocoatech.com/pathfinder/).
Path Finder brings a lot of the features I miss in Explorer to OSX. I can copy and paste paths (in any format I want, BTW, Windows, Unix, etc.), I can see where I've been with breadcrumbs and quickly go up a few levels, tabbed browsing (Explorer doesn't even have this) as well as quick links to recent documents, changed documents, and more. It's $40, but will be well worth the investment and sanity.
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