There’s something many Mac-heads love about Mac OS X, and that’s consistency. Consistency in the UI, consistency in the applications, consistency in how users can perform a large variety of actions in different applications - in the same way. Take a look at Smart Albums: you can create them in then same way in every app (including the Finder) that supports them. Regardless of the reason you want to create a smart collection on your desktop or in LittleSnapper, Mac OS X presents you the same menu.

But when I switched to Mac OS, I just didn’t notice this.

I didn’t even understand why I should actually create smart collections, when the good old normal folder structure was still working fine to me. And that’s the case of many users out there: they don’t get the importance of an operating system that can guide them through the process of having a consistent experience, no matter what they’re doing or would like to.

Apple needs to focus more on the importance of consistency in Mac OS X. Instead of refreshing the interface for Mac OS 10.7 (which will hopefully come out next year), Apple needs to change it, evolve it and take a radical different approach for the end user. Don’t get me wrong, I love Mac OS and you know that if you’ve been reading MacStories. What I’m trying to say is that for someone who’s just getting started to Mac OS X, consistency doesn’t seem that big of a thing. For someone who’s switched from Windows and has moved to a Mac, acting the same way in different apps may look like a limitation. They were used to having to act differently in every part of the OS, and getting used to it made them feel skilled and  confident. Having to forget those tricks they learned in order to approach to a simpler OS makes them feel stupid, less skilled and gives them the perception of a less powerful OS. And this happens because Apple doesn’t provide a real good explanation of how Mac OS X is actually great while using it. Apple’s website is not the problem: it provides some good insights into what Mac OS does and doesn’t, and you can watch some pretty cool videos too of how it actually works. I don’t want Apple to showcase hundreds of features on its website, but I think it would be better to discover them while using the computer. Discovering features and understanding the operating system should be better than this: it should be simpler. It should be natural. And by discovering features, people will notice the consistency of the OS and will start to appreciate it. After some months, everything will feel so natural to them, and yes - so consistent and usual - that they will wonder why the didn’t switch before. That’s already happening, but in the wrong way.

It took some months for me to understand all the stuff I needed from Mac OS X and nobody taught me anything. Nobody explained me that everything worked everywhere in the same way. I just realized it myself. While this could be a huge advantage for Apple (people understand by themselves that the OS is great) it’s a big drawback on the other hand. You can’t rely on people’s minds when selling a product. You have to tell them why they’ll fall in love with it. You have to guide them and make them feel comfortable with it since the first boot. Again, it’s not about revealing every feature, shipping Macbooks with a 300 pages manual or including a 2GB video tutorials folder: it’s about giving to consistency and experience the importance they deserve. But how can this happen, exactly? Speaking of user experience, Apple did a great job for iPhone OS. They made everything look the same everywhere on the device and spread the voice about a phone that required just two fingers to get the job done. The rest is history. But the situation is way different on a Macbook: you can’t tell people they can do everything with just two clicks. You have to slowly introduce them to the Mac OS experience. Take a look at Things: there’s a screencast the first time you launch the app, and this is no doubt  a nice idea. But rather than force the user to stop and watch a 3 minutes video, I’d prefer the user to start using the app and slowly (but not too much) realize how much it’s great. CulturedCode knew this and together with the screencast they put some “tips boxes” inside each empty section of Things. If a section is empty, it’s very likely that the user doesn’t understand it so they put some tips inside it. And as they’ve realized how that works, they can close the box. Simple and useful.

I think a similar system can work for the entire system as well. When you first install Mac OS X you’re asked if that’s your first Mac or not. If you choose yes, Mac OS X will display some tips about the features Mac OS X shares at a system wide level, like the iChat status thing in Mail and other apps, the universal color and font picker, the Address Book and so on. People have to understand that Mac OS comes with all the tools they need in every app, and those tools work in the same way no matter where you are. Obviously, tips can be closed at any time, and there could even be a pref pane for that. If you find it annoying, you can just turn it off. If you think it’s ok, leave it on.

I know that many people are going to comment and sending me emails saying it’s the worst idea ever but I tell you, just stop for one second and think about it: if Apple will ever manage to improve aspects like this one and the installation process, it’s gonna be a better world for everyone. The tips thing is just an idea, but it’s the concept behind it that matters. When everyone will get used to Mac OS consistency and system wide integrations, developers will take advantage of it and start developing even deeper, more powerful and feature-rich applications.

That day, I’ll be sitting at my desk, explaining smart folders to my friends once again.