Why do I have to click twice? How can I fix this?

Question

I am trying to switch to Mac. Easier said than done!
Anyhow, my complaint is that you must click on a background window (i.e. one that does not have focus) simply to GIVE it focus. My click otherwise does nothing. This is annoying to no end for a long-time Windows user like myself. If I click on a background window, specifically because I want to click a button on that window, then clicking on that button, even while it is in the background, should trigger the button! Yes, it is just a second click once the window has focus to activate the button, but it gets worse!
Take Firefox for example. Frequently, I will click on a tab to switch to that webpage. But often Firefox does not have focus, usually because I have an IM window off to the side that I have just been using. Often the fact that Firefox has lost focus is not obvious to me. So when I click on the Firefox tab, nothing obvious happens. So I click again to actually select the tab. I use an add-on in Firefox that allows me to close a tab by double-clicking it. I've worked this way for years and it works well for me. So when I click a tab, it does nothing, and then I click again, it actually 1.gives focus to Firefox, and then 2.interprets my second click as the end of a double-click action. It closes my tab! How annoying. Firefox doesn't get the first click, but it gets the second click in the form of a double click. I find that I am slowed down quite a bit by this sort of behavior, because even if I thought it was logical, there is no way to click twice in quick succession in order to mean 1.give the application focus, and 2.click on what's under the cursor, because it gets interpreted as a double click. I find myself purposefully waiting a few seconds after each click to make sure it's not interpreting everything as a double click. I really wish there were a preference to change this behavior. Can anyone help? Thanks...

Answer 1

Hmmm! Well, you can close, minimize, or resize windows with a single click. Additonally, CMD-click on the title bar reveals its path. Otherwise, that's about it. For the most part, windows in the background are usually mostly covered, so accessing them requires getting their focus and making them the front-most. For switchers, I recommend:
Switching from Windows to Mac OS X,
Basic Tutorials on using a Mac,
Mac 101: Mac Essentials,
Anatomy of a Mac,
MacFixIt Tutorials,
MacTips, and
Switching to the Mac: The Missing Manual, Leopard Edition.
Additionally, *Texas Mac Man* recommends:
Quick Assist.
Welcome to the Switch To A Mac Guides,
Take Control E-books, and
A guide for switching to a Mac.