One of the first things a person switching from Windows to OSX notices is that there is no “maximize” function, or at least not one as they’ve become accustomed to in Windows.

In Windows, you click the square thing and the active window takes over the whole screen. If the window is that of a document inside an MDI (multiple document interface) program, the document takes up the entire inside of the application. Pretty straightforward, and it’s the way most people understand “maximizing” windows.

On the Mac, if you click the green plus, the window also almost maximizes. When I say almost, I mean it expands to the optimal width and height (heightwise, it usually goes all the way) for the content inside the window. So, for example, when using something like Garageband, the + makes it take over the entire screen. When browsing the web, Firefox will take up the entire height of the screen but will only expand about 2/3 of the way across the screen.

This, of course, leads most ex-Windows users to think that OSX is “broken” in the way it handles maximizing, but when you think about it, it’s not broken, just different. And, on top of it, you get used to it.

ForeverGeek has a poll asking for reader preferences. For me, I don’t really care either way. I’m not a maximizer. I like being able to click apps open so I tend to run a bunch of non-maximized windows right on top of each other with a little bit of each visible. On my Mac at home, I use dual monitors, so I can get even more open windows visible at the same time.

I don’t particularly think either Windows or OSX’s way of handling windows is inherently more efficient than the other. The truth is, I like both and it’s not something I think about. Just something I use. It’s like being a carpenter. You use a hammer to hammer in a nail, but you don’t sit and debate the shape of the handle while you’re doing it.

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This entry was posted on Friday, September 22nd, 2006 at 6:55 am and is filed under Geeky. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.