Quote: "hide it away in some file somewhere."
It's not hidden. You have to open one program and ask it for the last message. That's it. Remember though, that's only if it's a "You're screwed" error (like the USB device not functioning error). Most other stuff pops up somewhere else (the system config viewer thing will show driver-less devices, for example. Same as device manager under Windows. Just without the pointless bubble popups which don't actually tell you the error)
Quote: "If my grandmother plugs in an MP3 player and it just doesn't work, that will be a lot more frustrating for her (and for me, who will inevitably get a phone call about it), than if it showed the error in a dialog box. At least I could make a decision faster as to what to do."
Actually, I don't think there would be any difference. She would probably just say "It doesn't work" either way. On Windows, it's unlikely she would even tell you the error text, because old people and not-computer-savvy people tend to not read the errors and just say "It didn't work". Either way, you're getting a call saying it doesn't work. There is absolutely no difference at all.
And OS X actually logs the full error details
somewhere. Minor errors have a tendency to be ignored under Windows' system log - so unless Grandma remembered the error, you're going to have extra rigmarole. Under OS X though: just open a log. Case closed.
I think the OS X approach only poses a problem if you're used to Windows (and you expect feedback for both success and failure). Once you get used to OS X's method of "No feedback/Not appearing/working = Failure" it makes more sense. It only seems stupid because Windows' method is prevalent.
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