Fantasktik brings a little bit of Windows to the Mac
Although he's gone to the Mac side, Adam Turner finds there's still a few things he misses about Windows. Fortunately, Fantasktik 1.1 brings some of the best bits of Windows to the Mac.
Okay, time to put on the asbestos undies - I know I'll get flamed by the Cupertino fanboys for this one. Leopard is not perfect. There, I've said it. It's out there. Hate me if you must, but it's true.
One of the things I miss most about Windows is the Taskbar. It made it simple to see which applications and specific windows were open, monitor their status and switch between them as required.
As someone who tends to keep a lot of things open at once, the Taskbar kept me sane. I also loved the Quick Start icon that let me hide all the windows.
Leopard's Dock might be cute and animated, but it's just not as functional as the Windows Taskbar when it comes to managing open windows. For example, the Dock won't show me at a glance all the windows open in a specific application, I need to right-click on an icon to see this.
It means OSX is not as easy as Windows when it comes to switching between multiple windows from the same application, or jumping from one application to a specific window in another application. Command + Tab scrols between apps, then you need to use Command + ~ to scroll through the app's windows until you find the one you want.
My MacBook's small 13.3 inch display makes it impractical to have apps open side-by-side, so I've come to rely on Leopard's fantastic Spaces (multiple desktops) and Active Screen Corners to keep me sane.
I've got my browser and IM on desktop 1, with my iCal next door on desktop 2. Apple Mail is below desktop 1 on desktop 3 and iTunes is next to this on desktop 4.
Switching between desktops is easy, just press Control and the corresponding desktop number, or Control and an arrow key to navigate through them. Unfortunately there's no Control button on the right hand side of the keyboard next to the arrow keys. I dipped into the System Preferences and changed the trigger key from Control to Option, so I can now flick between Windows with one hand (right index finger on the Option key with the middle finger working the arrow keys).
To handle the clutter on each desktop, I've set Active Screen Corners to show me every open window (shrunk down to fit on the screen) when I move the pointer to the bottom left screen.
This is the easiest way to select a specific window in a specific app, and it's so burned into my brain that I struggle to use a Mac that doesn't have it enabled. Unfortunately it becomes difficult to see what you're doing when you've got more than eight windows open.
When I move the pointer to the top left, all the windows part to show the desktop - but I often trigger it by accident when diving for the browser's back button. The bottom right calls up the Dashboard, but I often trigger it by accident when looking for the trash. I wish there was a way to adjust the sensitivity.
I've left the top right corner unused because I got sick of triggering it when clicking on the Spotlight icon (it would be handy if I could move the Spotlight icon further across the menu bar). I should try to get in the habit of using Command + Space to call up the Spotlight search bar.
Anyway, Dockland Software's Fantasktik taskbar app is a handy way to get back some of the Windows Taskbar functionality in Leopard.
Fantasktik 1.1 puts a small strip across the top or bottom of the display, with an icon for every open application and a number telling you how many windows the application has open. Clicking on the icon brings up a button for each open window. Hovering the pointer on a button pops up a Vista-like live thumbnail of the window, while clicking on the button brings that window to the front (switching desktops if necessary).
Fantasktik appears on every desktop and you can click a button to hide it or, as with the Windows taskbar, you can set it to auto-hide when not in use. Unfortunately the buttons don't resize as you open more windows, so you'll need to scroll through the taskbar if you've got too many windows open.
The most logical place to put the Fantasktik taskbar is at the bottom of the screen but it does tend to clash with the Dock. I'd love to see a future version somehow integrated into the dock. I'd also love it if the buttons could indicate the status of an application, such as flashing if it needs attention.
Fantasktik seems like a good idea, but the Mac way of doing things is so ingrained that it will be a while before I integrate it into the way I do things. The 15 day trial gives me time to think about it.
What really amused me was the Cupertino fanboy rants Fantasktik triggered over at The Unofficial Apple Weblog from Apple worshippers who couldn't see past the fact Fantasktik is Windows-esque. Comments like "dont bring windows crap over to Mac" only help reinforce the common belief that Mac users are arrogant wankers. The complaints of it not working with Spaces seem to be addressed in the latest version.
I think I'll play with Fantasktik for a while and judge it on its merits, rather than other people's prejudices.
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