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Impressions from a first-time Mac user

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Re: Impressions from a first-time Mac user

#181

Post by bombcar »

Tagbert wrote: post #110
bombcar wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

MacOS apparently caches directory views somewhere, and I can routinely get the "Downloads" folder to not actually show what is in the Downloads folder; often having to resort to "open" on the terminal to access the file. I wish I knew how to force it to refresh the actual contents instead of reading it from the cache.

Do you have that folder set to sort by something useful like “date added”? Then it should work. If you have it set to not sorted then maybe the file is lower on the list and off screen. ~\Downloads is always the first tab in Finder for me and I almost always keep it to show the most recently added files at the top.

I always do date added, and it sometimes doesn't show new files in the file picker view most commonly - and then I have to go somewhere else and back and it seems to refresh.

The other weirdness is sometimes a file gets updated (think "touch") and it won't change it's order in the list.

Most of the time it works fine. It's like inotify or whatever sometimes doesn't fire.

Re: Impressions from a first-time Mac user

#182

Post by bombcar »

smoldesu wrote: post #121
bombcar wrote: post #97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, homebrew isn't the greatest by any means, but it seems to have more stuff and more people use it than fink or macports anymore, so usually there's a workaround somewhere. The MacOS "app bundle" is a really cute solution to the installation/library problem, and I wish something like it had caught on in the Linux world. It seems AppImage is heading this way.

App bundles are neat, but when given the option of "an app directory on top of a traditional Unix filesystem layout" or "everything is packages", I'll tend to choose the latter. It might just be an impasse situation; I think the ideas of package management are developed about as far as they can go, even newcomers like Flatpak can't really bring anything new to the table. The only package manager that's impressed me i…

The bane of package managers is when you have to go beyond what they supply for whatever reason - horrible memories of trying to upgrade php on old versions of CentOS still haunt me.

Re: Impressions from a first-time Mac user

#183

Post by djkoolaide »

urbandw311er wrote: post #152
olyjohn wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I can't get used to the fact that I can't alt-tab to a minimized window. Nor can I figure out how to switch to any particular minimized window. You have literally no way of knowing that a minimized window exists other than right-clicking the dock icon, or going to the "Window" menu after you switched to the application. The dock was fine 20 years ago when they released OSX, but they've literally done nothing to make…

Ok, so you can actually do this but the keyboard sequence is a bit bonkers. * Hold down Command and press Tab until the application icon representing the minimised window is highlighted. * Release Tab but DONT let go of Command. * Now press Option too so you are holding down Command + Option * Now release Command so you are just holding down Option * Finally release Option Amazingly this will then maximise the window…

You've literally improved my life with this comment. Thank you.

Re: Impressions from a first-time Mac user

#184

Post by s__s »

olyjohn wrote: post #115
nerdjon wrote: post #101

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Has Mac changed its default settings? The Dock shows you any minimized windows on the right. If for some reason this is no longer default (I don't remember the last time I setup a new Mac and didn't carry over settings) Right Click the dock >> dock preferences >> Uncheck "Minimize windows into application icon"

Well, that did work. But now I just have a massive pile of minimized window icons... and still no keyboard shortcut to switch to them.

On Mac you generally just don’t minimize windows unless you explicitly want that behaviour (sort of hidden and available manually through the dock). It’s just a different workflow.

Re: Impressions from a first-time Mac user

#185

Post by hx833001 »

olyjohn wrote: post #64
rwc wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not that it's right or wrong, but the behavior dates back to the very first implementations of Mac OS and Windows. Mac OS has always been an application switching interface, and Windows has been a window switching interface. Takes getting used to the paradigm shift.

I can't get used to the fact that I can't alt-tab to a minimized window. Nor can I figure out how to switch to any particular minimized window. You have literally no way of knowing that a minimized window exists other than right-clicking the dock icon, or going to the "Window" menu after you switched to the application. The dock was fine 20 years ago when they released OSX, but they've literally done nothing to make…

One way of addressing this is to use the intended method, which is to Hide the application instead of minimizing it. Cmd H hides the application away, and it pops back to the front with a Cmd Tab.

Re: Impressions from a first-time Mac user

#186

Post by ryukafalz »

brimble wrote: post #117
lbrito wrote: post #20

>you use what they give you, how they give it to you, using their workflows, barely customizing anything. Apple products are supposed to be revered the world over as the pinnacle of design, used by artists, engineers, professionals, and creators. Why do I feel like there are training wheels on a machine I use for productivity? Gosh, this is exactly how I felt in a similar situation. Really hit the nail on the head. I…

What are people doing with their computers that a Mac is so stifling? I'm late to the Mac game, have been on it for about a decade, and was a 15-year Windows and Linux desktop user before that. Still, I don't even know what it might be.

The options for package management on macOS aren’t great in my experience, coming from using Linux on all my personal machines. Homebrew exists but it always feels bolted on and I’ve had things break in interesting ways using it. Nix might be better, I don’t have much experience using it on macOS.

Also, tiling window managers.

Re: Impressions from a first-time Mac user

#187

Post by Asraelite »

colinmhayes wrote: post #159
olyjohn wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I can't get used to the fact that I can't alt-tab to a minimized window. Nor can I figure out how to switch to any particular minimized window. You have literally no way of knowing that a minimized window exists other than right-clicking the dock icon, or going to the "Window" menu after you switched to the application. The dock was fine 20 years ago when they released OSX, but they've literally done nothing to make…

The solution is simple. Don't minimize windows. Everything fullscreen on virtual desktops. Three fingers up and choose the window you want if it's one you don't use normally. Three finger swipe between frequently used windows.

I do this. It's absolutely insane that it's the easiest way to do window management in MacOS. We have regressed to the point of not having windows anymore.

Re: Impressions from a first-time Mac user

#188

Post by daok »

Tagbert wrote: post #103
paxys wrote: post #10

File management is another one I'd like to add to the list of macOS screwups. How can viewing lists of files and moving them over from one place to another be so complicated?

What is complicated about it? I typically keep a handful of tabs open in Finder and drag and drop between them or to applications. You can also always do CMD-C and then either CMD-V to copy a file somewhere or OPT-CMD-V to move a file.

I like that in Windows I can copy-paste the location from one File Manager windows to another one. Something that you cannot do in MacOs File Manager

Re: Impressions from a first-time Mac user

#190

Post by K7PJP »

olyjohn wrote: post #115
nerdjon wrote: post #101

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Has Mac changed its default settings? The Dock shows you any minimized windows on the right. If for some reason this is no longer default (I don't remember the last time I setup a new Mac and didn't carry over settings) Right Click the dock >> dock preferences >> Uncheck "Minimize windows into application icon"

Well, that did work. But now I just have a massive pile of minimized window icons... and still no keyboard shortcut to switch to them.

I never minimize windows at all on the Mac, perhaps because of this behavior. I hide apps with (Command-H) instead, and use multiple desktops for managing different workflows instead.
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