Sunday, August 22, 2021

Bring back the Mac grabby hand

If you want to move a window on your Mac, you position your mouse cursor so you can click and hold on the top part of the window. But it's not always that easy.

There's a lot of stuff up there. If you're using a web browser, it might be full of tabs. If you're using Word, it might be full on functions. Finding the right place to click might mean resorting to trial and error. What looks like a free spot might actually be yet another thing you can do with the app.

Back in the day, there were two big hints to let you know where you could grab. First, the cursor would transform from a pointer to a gloved hand with outstretched fingers. The fingers would close when you clicked. Second, the part of the window you could grab had five or six horizontal lines on it — a sort of grab pad.

There is still one app that has this feature, although it's not quite the same as what we had in the classic Mac interface. I'm referring to a collection of music with a retro look called Poolsuite. Not only does the cursor turn into a grab hand, but it can also turn into a hand with a pointing finger when you hover over buttons in the top left.

Maybe the thinking among app designers now is that people are so used to working with apps that they don't need these cues any more. But I see it as a sort of courtesy. Poolsuite's developers want us to feel comfortable when using their app. Making the grab space obvious is a nice touch. Much appreciated.

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Sunday, October 30, 2016

How the MacBook touch bar went from meh to wow

A couple of new computers were announced last week. My initial reactions were wow to the first one and meh to the second one. After some thought, those opinions have completely reversed.

What had me going wow at first was Microsoft’s Surface Studio. In case you haven’t been paying attention, Microsoft has become a major manufacturer of computers. It started with iPad-like tablets called the Surface. Now the product line has grown to the point where the latest Surface looks more like an iMac that you can tilt and use as a giant tablet for your art.

Microsoft has a video showing artists using a stylus and a new gadget called a dial to instantly make beautiful creations. It’s amazing to watch.

The meh settled in when I thought about the cost. Because of the power needed to run the Surface Studio, it costs a lot more than an iMac. Graphic artists, as much as I love them, are a small niche. Graphic artists with big budgets are an even smaller niche.

The price of an expensive new product often comes down if it gains traction in the market place. That might eventually happen with the Surface Studio, but I doubt it.

It turns out the real wow was the touch bar on the new MacBook Pros. With its latest laptops, Apple has removed the F keys at the top of the keyboard and replaced them with a long, skinny touch screen that changes depending on which program you’re running.

For example, if you’re in Photoshop and you want to adjust the colour in a picture, you can run your finger back and forth on the touch bar until it looks right. It’s not just the novelty of using a finger instead of a mouse that’s appealing, it’s the fact that the controls you need are easier to find and more intuitive to adjust.

I can see where this could catch on, especially as developers come up with innovative ways of using the touch bar.

As noted by The Verge, the touch bar is actually a mini version of the Apple Watch. This opens up the possibility of the touch bar eventually running standalone apps that could be used for multitasking.

Many people already work with two screens, but that gets awkward if you’re on the move with a laptop. But imagine this problem being solved if the touch bar could handle things like email and a calendar.

Apple has taken a confusing and seldom used part of the keyboard and turned it into an area with the potential for becoming a powerhouse of productivity.

That alone is worth a wow — but there’s more. The touch bar includes something called Touch ID. According to Wired:

. . . that’s what you can now use to unlock your Mac, pay for items online, and even replace the bulk of your passwords altogether. It can recognize multiple fingerprints, allowing for secure, simple access to multiple profiles on the same device.

Hallelujah for the day we can do away with passwords.

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