Now that I’ve been using Mac OS X for nearly a year, I think it is time to point out the top annoyances that I’ve come across. Hopefully this will reduce the risk of me being considered a complete Apple fanboy.

No wireless iPhone sync

In an apparent effort to shove MobileMe down everybodys throat, Apple has decided to disable wireless synchronization of iPhone data. Given how spectacularly well the iPhone works with wireless protocols, I consider it downright moronic to disallow non-MobileMe users access to wireless synchronization. When added to the whole apps-only-through-the-appstore extravaganza it supports my belief that the iPhone is an exceptionally evil product. That said, I do like to pet my iPhone.

Wake on USB disconnect

Everybody knows that Apple laptops play nice with “sleep” mode. Simply close the lid, and the machine goes to sleep. Open the lid, and it wakes up. Nice and smooth.

Except if I accidently close the lid and then disconnect my USB devices. In that case, the machine wakes up again, even though the lid is closed. So I have to reopen it (hoping that the screen gets turned on) and wait for it to wake up, before I close it again, and wait for it to go to sleep (again). Call me an idiot, but for some reason I tend get the order wrong most of the times that I need to sleep my laptop.

Another misfeature, that I can’t seem to figure out why Apple hasn’t fixed yet.

Spaces and lost dialogues

Occasionally apps will open modal dialogue windows. When using spaces, such windows typically open on the workspace that is currently being viewed. If however, I happen to miss a dialogue window, and navigate to another workspace, the application which originally open the dialog can no longer be interacted with, and I have to go hunting through every workspace in an attempt to locate the rogue dialogue window. To make matters worse showing all workspaces (by hitting F8) doesn’t show modal dialogue windows, so I have to manually comb through all 12 of my workspaces.

Auxillary monitors and window gathering

When disconnecting and auxillary monitor, Mac OS X gathers all open windows (and icons) on the laptop monitor. That’s all well and good. If however, I plug the auxillary monitor back in, the windows remain gathered on the laptop monitor, instead of returning to their original positions. The only way to get around this, that I have found, is to sleep the machine while the auxillay monitor is still connected, and not wake it up until the same monitor (or one just like it) has been reconnected. If I wake up the laptop with no auxillay monitor connected, all windows are gathered on the laptop monitor, and I get to spend 10 minutes shuffling windows around when I reconnect the auxillary monitor later.

No iphone mms
and why oh why does the iphone have no support for sending or receiving mms messages?

That said, I really do like working with OS X.

This entry was posted on Thursday, January 8th, 2009 at 10:09 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.