@ James Lee: Apropos of nothing, I use Terminal on a regular basis, but not for Mac OS X. It’s employed to connect to our Web server via SSH so I can perform a command line function or two. The server is running a Linux distribution, CentOS 5.2 (64-bit) if anyone cares.

Peace,
Gene

The Terminal rules/the Terminal sucks is a religious war I will stay out of. But I will add one reason that Apple does things that seem overly simple is support expense. If the Dock is always, or even usually, in the same place, it is that much easier to explain “click the iTunes icon in the Dock” to a new computer user. I know this seems absurd but some of the most time consuming support calls Apple handles involve getting the new or very inexperienced customer to do the simplest thing. The more options there are in UI layout the longer this can take and the more it costs to support. It may or may not apply here, but Apple’s support gurus have a strong voice on some of these issue.

Gene, I’m with you on this.

As a Mac person since 1986, I’ve always thought that accessing a CLI seemed like a step backwards. To bring up another car analogy, using a CLI is like having to be a mechanic and tinker under the hood of one’s car in order to get the most use out of driving it. I shouldn’t have to be a programmer.

I’m just the type of person who could use some of those hidden power-user features, but can’t stand the idea of having to go to the Terminal. DaveD’s experience is just the sort of thing I want to avoid.

Every article I’ve read about the Terminal reads like it was written for those who already have nearly expert experience with it. I’d like to find something for the utterly complete newbie, something where the instructions are absolutely clear about what has to be done at every step along the way.

@ David C: That’s why I suggested an Advanced option, so the typical user wouldn’t need to contend with it. But those who might appreciate the additional choices could access them without resorting to the command line or a third-party utility.

@ DaveD: I’m down with the concept, but if a feature is going to be developed, there ought to be a way to access it without jumping through hoops. Otherwise why is it there in the first place?

Peace,
Gene

Keep It Simple, Stupid (KISS) is drilled into my head after over 25 years as a programmer in the data processing. I know all too well that if you don’t do this, the level of user/customer support go way up. I’m so glad that Apple takes the extra steps to make my Mac experience quite enjoyable. Long live the single-button mouse click.

I wanted to use an iTunes add-on under Leopard. From the web, there were two ways to get it working. One involved getting some more files and tweaking it, the second was using the Terminal. I chose the Terminal which required a few commands. Somehow, I’ve got into a fat-fingers mode and entered an important command incorrectly.

If the Mac OS X was a person, I would say that the person vomited. Knowing that all is lost, I shut the Mac down and looked for my Leopard installation DVDs.

While Apple does provide a hidden way to put the Dock at the top, it is not a choice that they wanted to offer most users. I’m all for tucking away features that 99% of us won’t need to access. I’m also OK with Apple deciding what does and does not make the cut. By adding the feature in, however inconvenient to access, complainers can’t gripe about a feature gone missing and all have an interface uncluttered by obscure options.

I very much like the idea of hiding power user and obscure options from the typical user. One of the hallmarks of the Mac OS is that it’s simple on the surface, but very powerful options like tucked away for those that need them.

Joe S wrote:

One advantage to Apple of simplifying the user options is that it substantially simplifies its testing. Testing is not a trivial effort. User interface code is some of the most difficult to test, especially if you start looking for interactions.

I don’t disagree with you. But if they’re going to take the time and undergo the expense to put features into the operating system, it doesn’t seem logical not to offer an easy way to make them function.

Peace,
Gene

One advantage to Apple of simplifying the user options is that it substantially simplifies its testing. Testing is not a trivial effort. User interface code is some of the most difficult to test, especially if you start looking for interactions.