Changing the title bar to put windows-buttons on right side?
 

hello :-)

I am new to Mac and honestly I do not own one myself. But I am getting interested in getting one. There is one thing I really do not like: The "close", "maximize" and "minimize" buttons in left upper corner. To say it cleary - I hate it! Is there any way to change the interface to show the buttons in the right upper corner?
I am now working with Linux and I am got used to customize my Desktop like I want to. So I really like the Leopard Desktop but the buttons in left upper corner are a no go for me. So please tell me there is a way.

Thanks :-)

Sure, you can use unsanity sdk and develop and application to do this.

https://www.unsanity.com/uss/

Go down to the developer section and you will see the sdk that will help you to do this.

Or you could not hack your system and simply get used to how this platform does things. Really, is it that big of a deal?

Hi,

thanks for the answers.
@Mikey-San - Ok to clearify it, the system is here to serve me not the other way! A good system has the ability to give the user the right tools in the right place.
And like I said I really like the hole design of OS X but a bit customization to fit it perfectly? Would that not be great? ;-)

Thanks

Or maybe just read the post immediately below yours and find the answer instead of posting the question again.

..the system is here to serve me not the other way![/QUOTE]

Haha. Try asking Microsoft to put the buttons on the left. See if they agree with your statement!

And a good user recognizes good design in the first place.

I like the Mac OS layout - I thought that was good design.

I don't know if this is true, but I heard that a lot of thought went into it, and the rationale went something like this: Most people being right handed, the "close" button, something used only once in the "life" of that window, was placed far away on the left. The "zoom" button (and later, the minimize/windowshade button) which might be used more than once while that window was open, was placed on the (more accessible for right-handed people) right side. Keeping them widely separated helped to minimize instances of accidentally clicking on the "close" button when a user was actually aiming for the "minimize" button. Under this layout, the need for annoying "are you sure you want to close this window" dialogues was largely avoided.

On the other hand, grouping them together makes them look like traffic lights, which is cute.

OS X has traffic lights.

No, the system is here to serve me and the millions of Mac users who were using the system before you. If you want to use Windows*, please stick with it. Don't ask Mac users to suffer with you.

*Edit: Windows, Linux; whatever. The basic UI is painfully similar, including those ugly close/minimize buttons on the wrong side. If Mac users wanted it that way, it would be that way. Now you've got to decide if you want to be a Mac user.

"Suffer" is a bit far. It's a giant waste of energy to hack your system to rearrange title bar controls to match Windows, though.

By the way, you're not going to be able to change them all. You *will* encounter situations where the close button is in the normal place, because some window in some application is doing something your hack didn't expect. By trying to monkeywrench 24 years of history out of the system, you're just going to have that much more trouble immersing yourself in this new world you're thinking about exploring. (Not to mention how frustrating it will be when you use someone else's Mac, which is normal, in the future.)

If the position of a close button is this much of a problem for you, perhaps you should reconsider switching to a different OS.

The old Mac had the buttons divided up ("close" on the left, "zoom" and "minimize" on the right, and with good reason), up to the end - something that only changed with the release of OS X. Windows started grouping three buttons together in Windows 95. That means Windows' use of a "buttons all together" arrangement predates Apple's. In this instance, it could be claimed that with OS X, Apple copied Microsoft's GUI!

With respect to the "zoom" and "minimize" buttons (or their counterparts), they were on the right side in both Windows 95 and the Mac (until the release of OS X). The "zoom" and "minimize" on the left in OS X is a relatively new phenomenon, and different from Mac OS or Windows (or Linux) - OS X deviated from the general standard of the time. The complaint about not liking them on the left could as well as have come from a System 7 veteran as the OP. I don't think there was a deep usability or ergonomics based reason behind the decision to put the buttons on the left in OS X. Once Apple decided to go with "buttons together", they probably chose the left because the "close" button (arguably the most important of the three) was already being on the left on the Mac.

Given that both now use "buttons together", I fail to see the significant difference between having all of the buttons on the left vs. the right. I completely agree with this point: who cares? It is what it is (on either platform) so it is probably best just to deal with it.

Maybe, but it ticks me off that so many people think it's ok to ask that the Mac be more like the system that they're abandoning. If they think their system is so good that the Mac should emulate it, instead of their system emulating the Mac as it has been for decades, then they should stay on their current platform.

@cwtnospam

what is your problem? I have asked a simple question if it is possible to change one single point (the three buttons) and you are talking about suffering and Windows und BS and ticking out!

@chabig

who is talking about Windows and Microsoft.. there is a good reason I am using Linux for now about 10 years...

@topic

thanks for the answers... I think I have used Linux too long ;-) I am familiar with being the boss and that the system is here to serve me...
maybe I just have give some power to Steve and let him decide how I should use my computer... and right who cares I think I can get used to it because I really want a change in userfriendliness...

so thanks again for (most of) the answers :-)

He's part of the militant wing of the AFP (Apple Fanboi Party) :p

Baloney! Steve Jobs and Co didn't consult us when they decided to put the buttons on the left. They put the buttons on the left according to their own counsel and we got used to it.

I think Mikey-San's first post made a much better point - a new button arrangement is hardly a difficult thing to get used to on a new platform. If that's the big stumbling block for you, then you aren't ready to tackle the rest of the UI differences! You won't be able to customize everything to the way that you are used to, so I suggest picking your battles - and this just doesn't seem to be worthy of one.

Gee, I couldn't have said it better myself.

You've asked the same question every ignorant Windows user asks:

"How can I make the Mac work like the system I've just dumped?"

And just like the rest of the unwashed, you want to work your way with no thought about how that would affect the rest of us.

Yes wdympcf, they didn't consult us, and we did get used to them where they are now, and have been for nearly 25 years. There is no reason to change them. Certainly not for the sake of users of other platforms.

@cwtnospam

and again... what is your problem? show me where I have said that the interface of your computer should be changed and that I am enjoying your suffering? or where have I said that the interface should change in generally to piss of all the other users?
I help you! NOWHERE!! It was just a question of a simple customization just for me!!
so please STFU!

You've barely begun to use them, don't even own one, and yet:
Spend a few years using the system before you try to change it. Even then, have a much better reason than that it's the way your old system did it.

I think you may have found out that we have many folks here, with a large variety of experiences to draw from.
I hope the conclusion that you would reach - is that the 'simple customization' that you ask about, which would modify the (I think) most recognizable part of OS X, is not so simple to achieve, and may not happen with every app or every variation of the OS X window. Look to other elements to make the GUI your own, such as custom app and folder icons, custom desktop background, colors, size and position of windows, use of various windows view options, etc.

You obviously didn't read biovizier's post, which correctly pointed out that the current button configuration is only 7 years old (not 25). Perhaps a little less hyperbole is in order. And perhaps a little less anti-Windows rhetoric (especially since the OP is a professed Linux user) is also in order. This thread does not need to become yet another part of your never ending rant against all things, people, and ideas associated with Windows.

http://www.d4.dion.ne.jp/~motohiko/system1.htm
Left corner.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...screenshot.png
Left and right corners and not even together. Stop selectively choosing to acknowledge only the things that serve your rant.

Sometimes, it is important to know when to walk around from a conversation.

If you use GNOME on Linux and want to try and get used to the mac-like environment without actually buying one to do so, try this:

Open a terminal and type gconf-editor.
After doing so, navigate in the left pane to /apps/metacity/general/.
There is a key in the right pane called button_layout; edit this key so that it reads close,maximize,minimize:menu and press Enter. Your buttons should be like that of the mac interface. This is for those using GNOME in Linux. Not sure about KDE or any other desktop environment/shell. There is also a tutorial out there to completely give your GNOME interface a make-over to look mostly, if not completely like a mac.

Go to http://www.howtoforge.com/mac4lin_ma...ook_like_a_mac. It will show you step-by-step instructions. It may be a lot of work, but why pay to try when it would only take about 5 minutes to complete the tutorial?

Good luck! :)