What version of OSX is this?

Dear Cupertino,

Quick question, you know, with multiple versions of OSX in one household, or office, etc..  Most of the addressing of operating systems is done through common names, you know, like Leopard, Snow Leopard, Tiger, Puma, Panther, Lynx, $future release, etc.

Why are there no easy references to this name once you are on the system?  10.4, 10.5, 10.6 is all we get?  Really?  I mean, come on, if you are going to call it Snow Leopard, then put the words Snow Leopard, at least on the "About This Mac" screen!

Thanks,
Drew Wiens

Command Tab Full Screen Apps

Dear Cupertino,


I love multi-tasking on my Mac. One hinderance to my productivity is not being able to switch between full-screen apps using Command+Tab, a keyboard shortcut that allows me to switch to another program without looking away from the screen.

I figure it's one of two things - either OSX doesn't allow for full-screen app switching, or the developers of said apps aren't building the Command+Tab functionality into their app. If the second option holds true, then Apple should make it a default - just like Option+Command+Esc is force quit for the active app when in full-screen mode.

Yeah - so I'm mainly talking about games here. Halo for Mac is excellent because it does allow full-screen app switching from within the app. Whether this is a specific feature the developers built in, or whether it's included in all Mac games by default, I don't know.

So - CrossOver Games, if you're listening, I'm looking at you.

Productivity, heh. So much for that.

Thanks,
Benny Ling

That consumer-level Mac tower...

Dear Cupertino,

I don't like the Mac Pro. I know it's part of your clever marketing strategy to convince people to buy the Mac Pro when the iMac just doesn't cut the mustard, but really - the price is a little too steep. How about a headless Mac, not dissimilar to the Mac Mini, except make it like a Mac Pro Mini type setup - let us upgrade components on our consumer-level Mac tower.

This new consumer-level Mac tower - it'll be like a Mac Pro, but for the average consumer - for those that think the Mac Pro is the epitome of overkill for those that just want to fiddle around with the internals of their Mac, while keeping the stability and security of OSX - Mac users don't want to hack around just to get OSX to work on an illegitimate OSX box!

Dear Cupertino, we just want a consumer-level Mac tower with user-serviceable parts! Give us easy access to the CPU, RAM, HDDs, PCIe cards, and we'll be all set!

Why Apple haven't bothered to make one of these in the past has just been a complete mystery to me - surely they understand that computer users see the need to upgrade every couple of months if they want to stay at the forefront, and always have the "latest and greatest" technology around.

Heck, I'd even accept Apple-supplied hardware upgrade kits (which would essentially dictate what hardware I am, and am not, allowed to put into my machine - which would be fine by me as long as the hardware range was wide and varied) for this consumer-level Mac tower!

We'll even give you the base spec list - and from there, [Jonathan] Ive can think up an awesome design to go with it - completing the Apple package we all know and love.

Just don't name it the xMac - nothing else could be more stupid except maybe Mac Pro Mini... or Mini Mac Pro...

Thanks,
Benny Ling.

Original image credit: On a Mac

Get Info

Dear Cupertino,

When you click on a dock icon till you get the pop-up menu, why can't you "Get info" on an app without first selecting "Show in  finder" ???

Get info should be one of the options.

Thanks,

Dear Cupertino Reader