QotD: 9 to X and Windowshade
Posted November 25th, 2005 @ 02:00pm by Erik J. Barzeski
Question: Do you miss Mac OS 9's "windowshade" functionality? Have you done anything to get it back?
My Answer: I miss it somewhat. I think that with Exposé (which I rarely use simply because I've never forced myself to get into the habit of using it), cmd-tab, and cmd-tilde, windowshading is something that was a lot more necessary on Mac OS 9. Occasionally it'd be nice to see what's under the window I'm looking at without switching apps, minimizing, or even switching windows, but I find those times to be exceedingly rare.
The next few questions will ask about some "abandoned" Mac OS 7/8/9 "technologies" in Mac OS X.
You are encouraged to answer the Question of the Day for yourself in the comments or on your blog.
Donate Life
Posted 25 Nov 2005 at 2:56pm #
windowshade was something i used in OS 9 all the time, but using it never even occurred to me in OS X, so i guess i dont really miss it at all.
what i really miss is gravite. ...but we've already discussed that. 🙂
the only thing i can think of that i miss from OS 9 is the snappiness.
Posted 25 Nov 2005 at 2:57pm #
oh, and that Oscar the Grouch extension where he'd pop out of the trashcan and sing when i emptied the trash. that was pretty sweet. 😛
Posted 25 Nov 2005 at 3:50pm #
I use Exposé all the time. But I also use Unsanity's haxie Windowshade X. Yes, I am well aware of the controversy over whether or not Unsanity's haxies contribute to system unstableness. And I've switched back and forth between having it installed and not. But, lately at least, it seems to be working fine.
Anyway, the best function of their Windowshade X haxie is the ability to toggle a window's translucence. I have mine set so that if I hit cmd twice in succession, the front-most window becomes nearly 100% transparent allowing me to clearly see the window directly underneath. That comes in handy a lot for me.
Posted 25 Nov 2005 at 4:20pm #
When Windowshade X was first released I used it and loved having the windowshade functionality back. As time has gone on, I don't use it anymore. I do however use Expose a lot. I have it mapped to my scroll button and it helps me move around very nicely.
If they added it back into OS X I would enjoy it, but it's not something I go out of my way for anymore.
Posted 25 Nov 2005 at 8:23pm #
I definitely miss it and I purchased and installed my copy of Windowshade X the moment I knew of its availability.
Posted 26 Nov 2005 at 11:18pm #
I used windowshade x up until expose, not at all after expose was available, although even now, I will still find myself double clicking a window bar (I usually don't put documents in the dock at all, so I have no reason for double clicking.
In theory, I could still see some use for windowshade, to place windows where they will always be within reach and block each other less, for example, but in practice, that ain't happening. I use expose instead.
If I used my Powerbook with as many apps or windows open as I do my with my tower, I think I might start using windowshade again, because hitting a function key to get expose working is a pain.
Posted 30 Nov 2005 at 2:56pm #
Exposé is better for me. Most of the time when I want to get at a window in back (or the desktop, most of the time) it's because I'm dragging something. with Exposé I can begin my drag, hit F11 (or F9, or F10) then drop the icon where I want it. faster than collapsing a window, dragging an icon, then uncollapsing the window. (and if multiple windows were in the way, then Exposé really shines)