CUT and PASTE??

You are arguing with the wrong people here. We are simply users. If you feel this strongly about this issue you will have to take it up with Apple, since they are they only ones who do anything about it.

Having said that I think your chances are right up there with the snowball in you know where.


___________________

Allan


___________________

Right now I need to move 400GB from one directory to another on my harddrive, and its gonna take 1-2 hour copying and deleting folders, but it would've taken 10 seconds with a cut command.

No it won't. Not if you're going from one folder to the other on the same drive. Just have both windows open (which you also have to do on a cut command in Windows) and just drag and drop the files and/or folders from the source folder to the target. It will take "10 seconds".

Whether it's Mac or Windows, going from one physical drive or partition to another will take quite a bit longer since the OS can't just update the file table to reflect where you moved a file or folder to. It has to completely copy the data from one drive/partition to the other and then delete them from the source drive/partition. There's no way around this. And no, a cut command will not speed such an operation up. The OS (Mac or Windows) still has to physically copy the files in their entirety to the target drive.

even though it is a CLEARLY MORE INEFFICIENT METHOD to not have some sort of simple 'cut' functionality for files and folders.

Windows' cut/paste is absolutely not more efficient. Besides the fact that the Mac OS in not Windows, and it's up the to user to learn the OS they're in, and not true to force it to do something it isn't programmed to do, there's this:

Here's every physical step in each OS. Whether it's a mouse or keyboard command. Let's just assume we're moving everything from one folder to another. I've opened the source/target folders in the order that would eliminate having to select the source folder to mark the files you're moving since it was opened second, and would therefore already be the highlighted folder. This also assumes the files and folders are on the same drive or partition.

Moving in Windows:

1) Open your target window of files/folders.
2) Open your source window of files/folders.
3) Control+A to select all files.
4) Control+X to cut.
5) Click on the target folder.
6) Control+V to paste.

Moving in OS X:

1) Open your target window of files/folders.
2) Open your source window of files/folders.
3) Command+A to select all files.
4) Click and hold on any folder or file.
5) Drag to the target folder and release the mouse button.

Hmm. Once less step to do the same thing on the Mac. Seems to work pretty well if you ask me.

If you really want to be picky and separate the last step in OS X as two actions; dragging from one folder to the other and then releasing the button, then it's the same number of steps. Either way, your claim that the Windows method is more efficient is false.

Not only is it inconsistent and unnecessary, but it eliminates an obvious mode of error -- hitting the cut hot-key a second time before hitting paste. In cut-and-paste, a cut becomes a deletion if followed by an event that puts something else onto the clipboard. Also, a paste doesn't flush the clipboard, so you can paste multiple times.

The Apple method of drag-and-drop isn't just different and internally more consistent, it's safer.