Introducing Mac OS 9 - nice story

[Mat]

Two weeks ago I started a Mac OS 9 workshop for new young people to enable them using the machines as well (at a public space). I planned 2-3 hours of basic finder usage, and understanding of the system in generall as the spacial metaphor.

After I did about 40 minutes of introducing Mac OS 9.2.2 to a 20 year old new user (who worked with Ubuntu and XP only before) he stated the following:

"Actually it is Insanity, considering with what Operating Systems we have to stuggle with usually. Especially when there already is such an logical and well programmed System, done long before the stuff we have to use these days."

Of course I influenced him a little bit telling him why I love the system, but his statement was a true and deep realisation he had in this moment (we talked about folders that can only be opened once at the same time and that double klicking at opened folders brings the opened folder to the front, as of modifier keys like ALT-Klick that closes all windows and such).

You can imagin that my heart opened, and I felt totally approved - once again!

And finally he had some new views and thoughts for me as well. For example he said that the sorting of folders not as lists or icons but as keys/buttons (don´t know how it´s called in english Mac OS 9, and usually I do never use them, but I showed it to him) was a forestalling of the recent metaphores of mobile devices like smartphones and tablets.

[mrhappy]

Nice work Mat!!

[GaryN]

VERY cool Mat!  Does it make you feel like the "Old Philosopher"?

[Mat]

Does it make you feel like the "Old Philosopher"?

Well first it made me feel just old for the first time.
No joke, I relalized that the time has come that there are younger people who never saw the system at all! Thats why I started to offer the workshop.

Later I got a little bit sad, as all our "real problems" could be solved. A improed Classilla, a modern PDF reader, USB 2 drivers, .odt/xml readers and some video codecs in hardware. All of them would be possible by cool developers in 6 to 12 months. And our system would be usable for 99,9 % of every daily computer usage, and it could honestly be offered as alternative to such new users, ...

But that the spacial metaphore is still so impressive to new users made me really happy!

[MacTron]

"Actually it is Insanity, considering with what Operating Systems we have to stuggle with usually. Especially when there already is such an logical and well programmed System, done long before the stuff we have to use these days."

Great !
 

[IIO]

and usually I do never use them, but I showed it to him) was a forestalling of the recent metaphores of mobile devices like smartphones and tablets.

exactly, i dont use them myself either (and i also turn off the one-click option in kdx in my ftp client), but it is nice additional feature, ahead of its time ... when iOS and adroid came out the "apps" icons on their dekstops reminded my instantly on the good old MacOS buttons.

did you show them sticky windows and spring loaded folders, too?

and then tell them that apple removed spring loaded folders with yosemite for no reason.

[Mat]

did you show them sticky windows and spring loaded folders, too?

Of course I did! And especially I liked it to show the spring loaded folders while holding down the space bar, to visualize what I undestand about a "snappy deskop"!

[dr bu]

sticky windows??...spring loaded folders??

[Mat]

Sticky Windows is the possibility that you can move any opened folder in the Finder to the bottom of the desktop, and it becomes a "Tab" always there. See the folder "Apps" this screenshot:
http://www.dasmirnov.net/media/blogs/blog/macos9logout.png

Spring loaded folders is a interresting way to navigate through your folders. Grab any file folder with the mouse and keep the mouse button pressed. Now you can move it on to any other folder that will open by itselve. Keep the button still holded and you can move quickly in and out of different foldes and it will be moved to the folder that is opened where you release the mouse button.
See here: http://www.macoptions.com/tips/os/sprgfolder.html

[GaryN]

"Sticky windows" are officially known as "pop-up windows"

[IIO]

thanks, me and another guy were searching for the proper terminology yesterday.

i could not live without them, they are my "filebrowser" in some of my custom applications.
the application is in fullscreen mode (a special fullscreen mode which works across multiple monitors) but the lowest two pixels are missing, so that a click at the bottom of the screen brings the finder to the front.
since the application window is "always on top", you can now drag stuff like plug-ins or audio files with only 1-2 clicks from a popup window into your custom app.

[dr bu]

  I use Sticky Windows and Spring loaded folders all the time..not knowing these names. I also tried writing an Applescript for having different pop-up windows-setups, but i didnt make it.

[IIO]

I also tried writing an Applescript for having different pop-up windows-setups, but i didnt make it.

oh yeah, i´d love to have that, too.

this would also help to reset them in order if you have closed them by accident or after a resolution change.

[GaryN]

I also tried writing an Applescript for having different pop-up windows-setups, but i didnt make it.

oh yeah, i´d love to have that, too.

this would also help to reset them in order if you have closed them by accident or after a resolution change.

THIS will do exactly that!