How can I maximise windows under Lion?

Question

OK, I realise that this is a trivial question that seems to have been answered several times for previous incarnations of OS X, but I thought I'd read somewhere the the behaviour of the green triffic light buttong had changed under Lion, so that it provide Maximise capability. Ufortunately, from what I cna see, it hasn't :-(
It cycles through various window sizes, and will get close to the maximise function, but only if you have already manually set the size using the mouse (or touch pad).
What I'm realy looking for is a feature that will unconditionally set the window to its maximum possible size - does this exist?
Note that I do not want the full screen facility, which I know about. I dislike this because it hides too much of the application away, such as the menu.
I may be being unreasonable, but this doesn't sound like too much to ask.
Note that this request is partly for myself, but mainly for my wife who has just transferred to OS X from Windows.

Answer 1

If Apple put as much effort into implemeeitng as they've put int justifying *not* impleemmting it then the world would be a better (and different) place.
Apple chose - a LOOONG time ago - to put that power in the hands of developers.  If you develop an app, you can choose how the maximize button works for your app.  This makes the maximize button far more intelligent and useful, if developers take the trouble to do so, since the window can then maximize to display the most content possible instead of uselessly covering the entire screen when the content is only a fraction of that area.  Personally, I think Apple made the right choice, as I almost never want one window to cover the entire screen, but if you disagree, just use Right Zoom.  Or full screen mode.