When pressing the red button on applications why doesn't it actually close it down? I don't want to minimise it as I would then press the yellow button as was the process on Snow Leopard. Is this a system change that can be reversed?
MacBook Pro
When pressing the red button on applications why doesn't it actually close it down?
That is intentional. Why close the app just because you've closed the last document? What if you wanted to create a new document? If your intent is to quit the application, choose Quit from the application menu (the one with the application's name, right next to the Apple menu), or press command-Q.
The inconsistency macjack is referring to is that certain apps quit when you close the window. Those apps are typically apps that have only one window and no purpose without that window open. If you train yourself to quit the right way, you'll rarely even notice that inconsistency.
Is this a system change that can be reversed?
It is not a change. The Mac OS has handled programs that way for over two decades, at least since Multi-Finder first came out (which allowed having more than one program running at a a time).
On older (slow) machines, the load time for a program was noticeable and created an annoying lag. The solution was to allow the program to stay loaded and running in the background even when its windows had been closed. This meant switching back to that program from another was near-instantaneous, rather than waiting for a reload of it.
This behavior has been retained even in newer OS's designed for much faster machines. It still has advantages.
Even in SL the red button did not quit all apps, only some. This is an inconsistency that has been around even before SL. File feedback here.
Close button doesn't close the app?
