I've been reading through your and the others comments.
Way back around post #26 I outlined myself as a user who likes to explore. I'm an administrator because I'm the only user and I don't like my computer insisting I don't have permissions to do something while exploring. So I have hung the entire system making syntax errors entering commands into the terminal while trying examples from an OS X book I bought or often from a basic misunderstanding of what something is supposed to do.
It would be much more helpful if you could give an example. Specific situations could be addressed. People are happy to help.
Granted most users don't do that kind of thing but I'll contend it is a stability problem for not having trapped an error propagating through the system. UNIX is supposed to do those kinds of things well. I have also seen a numerous random total lockups with only the Finder Window running while I'm doing nothing more exotic but clicking or dragging.
I think you might be expecting too much from any OS. If you enter a perfectly valid command that can damage your system, how is the OS supposed to know what you intend to do? It's no different than someone accidentally formatting the wrong hard drive in windows.
Clicking and dragging in the Finder is only likely to cause problems if you are moving key components of the OS around. Again, move or rename the system32 directory in windows and see what happens.
Maybe an application install has broken something. I have installed iWork, FireFox, a navigation program called GPS NavX and a USB driver for its GPS receiver. I have experimented with a Parallels virtual machine running Windows 2000 for some legacy Windows apps. I saw a couple of 'kernel panics' before I got that running. Did that break something?
None of the applications you listed are likely problems. I have used iWork, Firefox, and Parallels with no problems.
I have no problem with the OS X Graphical Interface. I'm still learning my way around it and I agree its somewhat more logically organized out of the box than the other major OS. It's also very 'pretty'. The machine set itself up remarkably well out of the box but I found myself in a situation that isn't very intuitive networking with my Windows machines; OK I got it working with some help from the Web after a crash or two in the process.
I have found the networking setup to be easier than the Windows machines that I use.
I don't believe I inadvertently installed malware, but again I don't know what's normal in the list of running processes.
As an aside, I'll comment briefly on that messy Windows registry:
Windows introduced its registry for storing interface data for Com Automation/ActiveX ; a very useful advanced and innovative technology that OS X doesn't do. This is one area where we are literally comparing Apples to some other kind of fruit.
That would have been fine if the registry were limited to the support for accessing com automation/ActiveX components. Instead, it became the replacement for all ini files. and many other configuration options for the OS, HW, SW, user preferences, etc.
It is overly complicated and prone to problems.
I guess with computers and all things technical, individual results tend to vary with individual expectations.
--- CHAS
Agreed.
