Submit Hint Search The Forums LinksStatsPollsHeadlinesRSS
14,000 hints and counting!


Click here to return to the '10.5: How to keep folders, not Stacks, in the Dock' hint
The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. This site is not responsible for what they say.
10.5: How to keep folders, not Stacks, in the Dock
Authored by: jmccance on Oct 31, '07 09:38:07AM

I understand wanting the old functionality back, but I find the complaint about the changing icon weird. Part of the original idea was that the icon should give hints about the content of the stack, instead of just being a faceless folder. The changing icon is a feature, not a bug.

Color me puzzled.



[ Reply to This | # ]
10.5: How to keep folders, not Stacks, in the Dock
Authored by: jase71ds on Oct 31, '07 10:05:22AM

The problem is that the download icon keeps changing, based upon what you last downloaded. This is NOT good form. As you say, the icon should reflect its purpose, but if it changes constantly (trying to be helpful) it's not helpful to me at all. It's sorta like trying to find a moving target.

I disappointed in many of the aesthetic "features" of Leopard. The Human Interface Group at Apple has really swung the pendulum to an extreme that sacrifices effeciency for the sake of eye candy.

I've said it before:
Just because you can, doesn't mean you should.
and...
Just because Vista does, doesn't mean Apple ought to.



[ Reply to This | # ]
10.5: How to keep folders, not Stacks, in the Dock
Authored by: jmccance on Oct 31, '07 11:37:26AM

Is it really that difficult to keep track of? I doubt you suddenly forget what's in a pile on your desk if someone adds to it, especially if it's a dedicated inbox like the downloads folder is meant to be. Why is this different?


---
"They tell me the Internet is made of people. Like Soylent Green."
-- Warren Ellis



[ Reply to This | # ]
10.5: How to keep folders, not Stacks, in the Dock
Authored by: jase71ds on Nov 03, '07 01:05:27PM

Obviously it greatly annoys me and it doesn't greatly annoy you.
I'm happy for you.

As for me, it confuses the eye to have folders in the dock constantly changing in appearance coupled with the noise of another icon slightly sticking out from the sides of the first icon. Dynamic noise.

Whoever at Apple thought that this was good HMI form rode a short bus as a kid.

Jase.



[ Reply to This | # ]
10.5: How to keep folders, not Stacks, in the Dock
Authored by: Spliff on Oct 31, '07 10:22:10AM

I love custom icons. I use them everywhere and they allow me to identify, at a glance, which folder it is. If the icon keeps changing on me based on the folder's contents, then I have no idea which folder I'm looking at.

I love to control much of how my system works and looks. Apple has taken away functionality. I should at least have the option of choosing how the Dock folders display icons.

Apple gets a big middle finger from me for screwing this up.



[ Reply to This | # ]
10.5: How to keep folders, not Stacks, in the Dock
Authored by: jmccance on Oct 31, '07 11:49:24AM

As I asked the other respondent: is it really that difficult to remember which stack is which? Presumably you are not baffled when someone puts a piece of paper on a stack on your desk, especially if its your inbox.

Perhaps other people keep more folders in their dock than I do (I use mine very sparingly), but I have no trouble remembering which folder is which. I'm curious to know why this is a difficulty for others.

---
"They tell me the Internet is made of people. Like Soylent Green."
-- Warren Ellis



[ Reply to This | # ]
10.5: How to keep folders, not Stacks, in the Dock
Authored by: DanFrakes on Oct 31, '07 01:28:15PM

One of the bedrocks of a good UI is that it takes advantage of memory: with a consistent interface, you learn the locations of interface elements and become more efficient because of it.

Once Dock icons start changing their appearance based on their contents or which enclosed file was most-recently accessed, you lose that interface consistency -- every time you look at the right-hand side of the Dock, the icons may have changed.

This feature of Stacks is most useful for people who have only one or two folders in the Dock. Once you add several folders (and documents) to the Dock, it breaks down.

---
Dan Frakes / Senior Editor, Macworld / Senior Reviews Editor, Playlist



[ Reply to This | # ]