“Right, now explain to us how having a single menu on top of the screen *miles* away from your current focus location adds anything to the ease of use of the Mac UI? This is just a legacy from 512×512 pixels screens. On a 30″ Cinema display this is the most annoying thing I can think of, right next to the single-button mouse.”

If you know anything about macs you know that you hardly ever use the menu anyway. We use something called a dock. In fact, I don’t think that I’ve used that menu in the past two and a half years.

“now explain to us how having a single menu on top of the screen *miles* away from your current focus location adds anything to the ease of use of the Mac UI?”

As you mentioned in your post, the ease is directly related to the distance the point must travel, AND the size of the target. By having the Mac menu bar on the very top of the screen, they have infinite height since the mouse cannot travel outside the border. So although you still have to aim the mouse horizontally, you cannot move it too far upwards.

In response to azz0r,

I can see the 7px gap to the right of the close button, however Anonymous said that the area to the right of that is still clickable anyway. In which case, there is no loss of usability here.

On a side note, I can’t wait to get Vista.

There is no 7 pixel gap in the titlebar of firefox or any window in Vista.

Right, now explain to us how having a single menu on top of the screen *miles* away from your current focus location adds anything to the ease of use of the Mac UI? This is just a legacy from 512×512 pixels screens. On a 30″ Cinema display this is the most annoying thing I can think of, right next to the single-button mouse.

On the other hand, it’s nice to see that Mac users have lost nothing of their attitude, despide the fact that the installed base is still stagnant at 2-3%. If the Mac was so good it would get more customers.

I agree with you entirely, and that’s why I started the entire article saying that I had used Vista. However, I find it interesting that the screen shot you sent me does indeed have that 7 pixel gap I was referring to. The screen shot also says it doesn’t make a difference, but it does, as mathematically proven by Fitts’ law. And it would certainly affect someone like me who is used to ability to send the mouse to the corner so quickly without needing to aim it.

I appreciate your comments.

http://forums.wuggawoo.co.uk/images/attachments/39751169548650.jpg

That image renders your article void. Try using the OS before writing a piece on it in future.