Why did Apple include so many hidden features in Mac OS X?
Of course we cannot officially speak for Apple, but there are several reasons why some built-in preference settings of Mac OS X are usually kept under the hood: • Settings for professional users: Some settings, e.g. the preference to show hidden and system files in the Finder, are official features of Mac OS X but Apple intentionally does not disclose them to normal end users. Those features are documented to developers or to professional users which read the technical manuals of Mac OS X. This way Apple can keep the user interface simple, at the same time not excluding particular user groups from using advanced features. Especially in professional networks, system administrators even don’t like the graphical user interface but prefer shell scripts and the Terminal command-line. So there are also cases where Apple considers it too costly to develop a graphical user interface, thinking that most users would not use it. • OPENSTEP settings untouched by Apple: Technically seen, Mac OS X i
