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Why I left Mac for Windows: Apple has given up

char.gd

741–750 of 790 posts

Re: Why I left Mac for Windows: Apple has given up

#741
post #313

I think the is a bit hyperbolic. Apple certainly hasn't given up. It may be having some identity issues, but what I really think is happening is politics. Steve Jobs made Apple, he fought for the company so hard he was fired, then he got acqui-hired back. Let's face it, the guy was invincible (do you really think anyone in their right mind would try to tell Jobs what Apple was and what it was about?) and incredibly t…

Some of those things that you loved are actually still there. They have just been moved or disabled by default.

- Dashboard is still there and can be enabled as a space or an overlay (System Preferences > Mission Control).

- You still can zoom in on anything. I use ctrl+scroll (System Preferences > Accessibility > Zoom).

- The invert colors shortcut (cmd-opt-ctrl-8) is still there. (System Preferences > Keyboard > Accessibility).

Another feature I love that used to be easy to find but got buried in settings is the three-finger drag (now found in System Preferences > Accessibility > Mouse & Trackpad > Trackpad Options...).

I question some of the changes in default settings too, but then I realize the defaults are most important for the non-power-users who can't or won't change them. I would also never want to store my Documents or Desktop contents in iCloud, but I can see why someone who doesn't understand the file system might.

Re: Why I left Mac for Windows: Apple has given up

#742
post #240

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> It's universally known that display scaling is the forté of macOS, and has been for a long time I have to interject here. Apple was the first one to have actually working and non-horrible implementation. But the way they went about it has big performance cost. They can only render 2x versions. So if you use the physical resolution, the one that is "as big" as 1280x800 on 2560x1600 13" rMBP, they render it in 1280 2…

> and this gets laggy on bigger resolutions or on older devices or devices without dedicated GPU I have the original 2012 rMBP, which by all accounts has far too wimpy a GPU for retina, and I've been running it in the max scaled resolution (the 1900x1200@2x mode) since the day I bought it. On first few versions of OS X after it was released, yes, the graphics often got very choppy (especially stuff like Expose), but…

Interesting. You have 15", based on resolution?

It might be different but my 2013 13" is definitely laggy on max resolution.

Re: Why I left Mac for Windows: Apple has given up

#743

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What makes Windows 10 better than macOS Sierra, in your opinion? I use both every day for similar projects and find that Windows 10 is lacking compared to Sierra overall.

It is really difficult to have a constructive discussion about OS X and Windows, mostly because both projects are mutually exclusive with their goals and users feel their interests aligned with one side. To name an example, most of the people who prefers OS X complain that Windows lacks aesthetics (ie. font rendering, high dpi support, etc.). On the opposite side, most of the people who prefers Windows complains that…

>On the opposite side, most of the people who prefers Windows complains that OS X lacks support (ie. a huge library of software, backwards compatibility, etc.).

I've been very impressed with Mac backwards compatibility. Old Apple hardware (going back nearly a decade) still works great with latest macOS Sierra and I have decade+ old utilities and custom scripts working as fast or faster than ever before.

There's some of my custom scripts I've had to tweak over time due to Apple's increasingly locked-down security measures within the OS, but that's very much worth the small amount of time I've spent tweaking them and I appreciate the better, overall security.

There's rarely the case that there's a functionality in Windows that can't be found within the many hundreds of thousands of Mac apps available. There's more Mac apps that one could ever use in a lifetime. As a matter of fact, the problem I've run into with Windows is the lack of quality apps that can't match the superior third party Mac apps or built-in macOS functionality in many cases. Of course, there's occasions the opposite is true and I run Crossover and Parallels in Coherence mode for those.

There's also a lot of built-in, time-saving functionalities within the macOS that third party apps in Windows don't replicate well or at all. For example, spring-loaded folders or a solid, fast alternative to Mission Control in Windows that works as seamlessly as it does in macOS.

I use Windows 10 and macOS in near daily production and consulting/support environments. Windows 10 has its advantages over the macOS, but Task View isn't one of them.

Mission Control on Mac in a production environment blows away Task View - which was only finally copied by MS from the macOS after already being in use for well over a decade for Apple users. Granted, there was some Windows third party apps that attempted to clone Exposé (former name of Mac's Mission Control), but they were terribly slow, clunky, crashy and buggy on Windows. That's why I was really happy to see Windows 10 finally copy Mission Control and incorporate it natively, but I was sorely disappointed after using it.

For example, I can use corner gestures with Mission Control that've been removed from Windows 10. Microsoft had corner gestures in Windows 8, but removed the option entirely in Win10.

Even after I brought corner gestures back to trigger Win10 Task View with a custom script that works via a third party app (the great AutoHotkey), it's still incredibly limited compared to Mission Control. The AutoHotkey app doesn't even trigger itself right away consistently like the built-in macOS corner gestures always instantly and reliably does. I've wasted time with multiple third party triggers and none work as well as the native, built-in macOS corner gestures.

On top of that, with the macOS (and I've been able to do this for about a decade with Exposé and now Mission Control) - I can drag any file to my corner gesture, then drop the file directly into a preferred Mission Control thumbnail window.

Try that in Windows 10 Task View. There's no integration with the file system in Win10 Task View at all and that severely cripples its functionality. There's no third party app that fills the void yet for this either. Granted, I often use launchers on both Mac & Windows to move files, but when there's a need to have a more GUI, visual approach with dragging and dropping, Win10 fails badly because it also inexplicably doesn't have spring-loaded folders in Win10 and no reliable third party app copies that functionality properly either.

I do enjoy the Task Bar thumbnails in Windows that the macOS lacks, but I just use a third party app called HyperDock that not only replicates the functionality, but much improves upon it - and HyperDock has never had any speed or stability issues against the macOS for me like many third party Windows apps tend to have.

That said, there's definitely various advantages to running Windows over Mac and that's why I work in a mixed environment at home and in my work tasks.

Re: Why I left Mac for Windows: Apple has given up

#744
post #293

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sorry but who wants to be some lame "fan"? We want the best tool for the job, too get that job done and we're willing to pay for it. The tools are no longer up to scratch or functioning as expected and we are voicing our concern.

People declaring they are fans? Did you even read the comment I was replying to? > The tools are no longer up to scratch or functioning as > expected and we are voicing our concern. That's bullshit and you know it.

We've banned this account for repeatedly violating the HN guidelines and ignoring our request to stop.

Re: Why I left Mac for Windows: Apple has given up

#745
post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Creators update is not even released, what are you talking about??

...did you read the article? I'm not gonna summarize it for you, but typically, even insider builds have not been this buggy.

The article is about insider builds, i.e. alpha and beta releases.

They are supposed to be buggy as hell!

Re: Why I left Mac for Windows: Apple has given up

#746

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What makes Windows 10 better than macOS Sierra, in your opinion? I use both every day for similar projects and find that Windows 10 is lacking compared to Sierra overall.

Despite my bellyaching, Windows is built on much more solid ground than macOS is these days. All the new stuff introduced in 8/10 - Metro stuff, control panel stuff, etc. - can be wacky, but the core OS is strong. It works, it doesn't crash, it acts the way you expect it to. That's all I really want from a desktop OS, and given that Apple has total control over their ecosystem, they are frighteningly bad at providing…

>the core OS is strong. It works, it doesn't crash,

Windows almost never crashes for me, but I haven't had a system crash on my Macs in close to a decade even after updating the OS numerous times without a clean install. Granted, I know to use combo updaters for Mac instead of the streaming updates, so that helps me quite a bit along with making sure I update third party apps first.

On the other hand, Windows 10 updates have caused all kinds of various issues and it's documented to be widespread. Killing many webcams is one major issue that comes to mind.

Then again, some people have had wifi issues with Mac updates, so no OS is perfect, that's for sure. However, to allude that the macOS system core with Sierra isn't as strong as Win10 doesn't seem realistic to me.

macOS Sierra has been as rock solid as Win10, if not more in some cases.

>given that Apple has total control over their ecosystem, they are frighteningly bad at providing it.

That's a myth. I have Android phones integrated with Macs just fine, for example. I use the free MightyText to send & receive texts and that's just one of several good options. Google Keep app to sync notes across Mac & Android and the list goes on and on.

If any professional power user wants to skip Gatekeeper on a Mac and install apps without any hoops (a simple right-click, basically), Apple made it as simple as this in Terminal so there's no hoop at all:

sudo spctl --master-disable

Done.

I use both Windows and Macs daily. I run anything and everything on my Mac I want and have done so for many years. I'm not trapped in some ecosystem at all on my Mac. If anything, I feel more trapped (privacy-wise) on Windows 10 than Mac and I despise how Microsoft forces updates on me that have crippled my workflow on occasion whereas Mac just puts up a daily reminder until you do it.

Now, the iOS devices are another story, but that's a huge can of worms when we're talking about phones and the need for security, etc. -- I'm not going to get into that here since we're talking about Mac vs. Windows -- not iOS vs. Android, etc. (my preference is Android for most of my use cases and iOS for some others).

Re: Why I left Mac for Windows: Apple has given up

#747

It's quite obvious that Apple is slowly converging iOS and OS X even as they say they are different beasts at the moment. Maybe that's why some power users's expectations are frustrated atm? But that is also precisely why Apple is still WAY ahead of Microsoft and co. They will be able to make the desktop and tablets converge where you can carry your computer in your bag, and when you're home you put it in a dock and…

Pretty strong opinion, but if you took an honest look at the Surface Pro 4 vs an iPad Pro, you might find that Apple is making a device that can't fulfill its promises. I am sure Apple has some great master plan that we haven't seen, but the reality is far from great right now. Logic Pro and iOS dev and the only reasons I still (sometimes) use OSX.

What nobody does is look at a PC, and say, where can we simplify? If you start by assuming that a lambda user needs to be exposed to a complex file hierarchy for example, then you're not really thinking ahead. Then you come up with a hybrid device.

I'm sure Surface Pro is a great device, and it answers the needs of a certain demographic but "windows on the tablet" is not the answer to the computer of tomorrow. For what it's worth I heard from artists the Surface isn't a replacement for the Wacom as it has its problems.

I assume you're referring to the fact that iPad Pro doesn't accept USB keys, or lets you access filesystem etc. But what Apple achieved with the iPad Pro is to make a tablet first and foremost, with a fantastic touch interface. Not a hybrid device.

Re: Why I left Mac for Windows: Apple has given up

#748

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If the mac allowed the "store" to have more than one source, allowed usage via cli and gui and didn't require a 30% cut most of your software would probably come from the store and it would be a good thing.

They'd have to remove the account requirement too. Just `appstore install foo`.

An account could be required for installation of non free software while still allowing installation of free software without it.

Re: Why I left Mac for Windows: Apple has given up

#749

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They'd have to remove the account requirement too. Just `appstore install foo`.

Maybe the could just offer a way to download the apps via the internet, and then open some kind of image container and move a file to the Applications folder.

This is inherently inferior as you are requiring the user to make the distinction between safe and unsafe software each and every time they install software something users are notoriously bad at.

Additionally it makes it hard for 2 apps to specify libraries required meaning each must include whatever they require AND either updates are manual, read nonexistent, or each app includes its own nagging update mechanism.

Re: Why I left Mac for Windows: Apple has given up

#750

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Option+Up? Nope that selects the next folder up. Control+Up? No, that made all of my windows do something weird that I don't know what that is. Ah, it's Command+Up. In macOS, generally: ⌘ Command = App-specific shortcuts. The primary modifier key. ⌃ Control = Global shortcuts. App-specific shortcuts will not generally have Control as the sole modifier. ⌥ Option/Alt = Something to with the keyboard, selection, or se…

And most of your solutions are incredibly non-obvious, just like Cmd+Up. Right click on the folder icon in the title bar? Hold down option to change the right click menus? This is exactly what I'm talking about. Explorer is terrible but it's better than Finder because you don't need to read a manual or tweak the defaults in order to make it work in a predictable manner.

> And most of your solutions are incredibly non-obvious, just like Cmd+Up.

HOW is Cmd+Up NOT an obvious shortcut for going UP one level? As I said, Cmd is already the primary modifier key for all app-specific shortcuts.

On the other hand, what does Windows use? BACKSPACE! A key people associate with deletion and editing text!

> Hold down option to change the right click menus?

Option modifies shortcuts, changing their behavior. "ALTernate." Again it's a behavior that's consistent across all macOS apps.

> Explorer is terrible but it's better than Finder because you don't need to read a manual

You don't need to read a manual for Finder, or almost any macOS app, because you can just click on the Help menu, and type the name of a command or action you expect that app to be able to perform, and it will automatically highlight the menu which contains that action:

http://i.imgur.com/HNUNqpN.png

I just typed "path" in the Finder help menu and it showed me the shortcut for "Copy as Pathname" including the Alt/Option modifier. And that works in EVERY macOS app. Try doing that in Windows!

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