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Impressions from a first-time Mac user

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Re: Impressions from a first-time Mac user

#361

Post by perryizgr8 »

Aardwolf wrote: post #216
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'm not a mac user (but a linux user who chooses desktops with the windowing paradigms of like windows 2000 or so plus multiple desktops) so have no idea how it's like in practice, but: These days it's very common for more than half your work to take place in a browser, with many browser windows, each having many tabs Every window of the browser almost is like its own application for the user, yet they're all from th…

It doesn't work out well. This is an area of macos that grinds my gears daily. It gets even messier if you maximize an app, or use multiple desktops.

Often I need to quickly switch between a particular terminal window to a particular browser window. But it's always a gamble. I don't know what I'm gonna get when I press cmd+tab. It may show the correct window, or it may show all terminal windows, or it may even do absolutely nothing.

Re: Impressions from a first-time Mac user

#362

Post by sircastor »

Sharlin wrote: post #14

> Apple decided to grace the 2021 Macbook Pro with ports that any PC laptop user has had for years (HDMI?! SD card reader?! gasp!). To be fair, MBPs also had those for years, until Apple in its wisdom decided to ditch them in 2016, along with making other questionable interface decisions that they've been gradually reverting since then. I still use a 2015 MBP partially for that reason. Now it's probably become a time…

I’m certain this was a change in design philosophy. And I think the exit of Jony Ive resulted in substantially more rational design decisions (form follows function), but any time that happens there’s a year or two of product pipeline that has to cycle.

Re: Impressions from a first-time Mac user

#363

Post by rrdharan »

I’m amused that the author is allowed to install Logi Options (a massive electron bundling steaming pile of … from a company with a dodgy track record) and not Rectangle or AltTab.

Also no mention made of the Cmd-~ vs Cmd-Tab distinction.

Re: Impressions from a first-time Mac user

#365

Post by mch82 »

This review is misses for me due to these two quotes:

> I’m using this Macbook almost exclusively with the lid closed, with a USB-C adapter to connect my keyboard/mouse/monitor.

> However, that keyboard doesn’t have the Option (⌥) or Command (⌘) keys like on my Macbook.

The reviewer isn’t using the built in webcam, Touch ID, trackpad, or the Mac keyboard layout! Why even have a Mac with that setup?

Opening the lid solves the webcam issues. Using the trackpad gestures solves the desktop switching issues. Using the Mac keyboard solves the keyboard command issues. And, yeah, get a USB-C dock for those ports (or the latest laptop that added them back).

Re: Impressions from a first-time Mac user

#366

Post by ctime »

Re: Snapping

I recall visiting a Apple store around 2006 and playing with a store model iMac. I asked why I couldn’t easily maximize windows and manage them. The Apple genius just replied “why would you ever want to do it that way!”

Well, idk? because it is intuitive and works? Sometimes I wish the Apple-heads would get their head out of their asses.

I still bought a Mac Mini and by all accounts I am deeply invested in Apple products.

These days, whenever working on a new Mac system, my first install is usually to install Amethest (https://ianyh.com/amethyst/)

Re: Impressions from a first-time Mac user

#367

Post by esolyt »

pschastain wrote: post #358

Funny. Coming from macOS to Linux Mint, I find I can make many of the same or similar arguments but against Linux. The UI is inconsistent, esp. wrt the menu bar. Keyboard shortcuts are inconsistent across different apps. macOS remembers window positions, GNOME doesn't. macOS can use different backgrounds for different monitors, GNOME can't. The GNOME Panel is a poor substitute for the macOS Dock (which itself is seve…

Not sure if these are similar arguments. These are relatively minor cosmetic issues. Window management and package management on the other hand are essential parts of the operating system.

Re: Impressions from a first-time Mac user

#368

Post by bigDinosaur »

CSMastermind wrote: post #257

There's a lot of people in comments defending macOS saying that the difference in switching between operating systems will lead to a bad experience no matter what and people just need to power through and learn the new system. I'll say that I've used Windows and macOS both personally and professionally for two decades now (longer for Windows). I'd consider myself a power user in both OSes, I know the keyboard shortcu…

It's interesting - I use all three major OS's (MacOS, Windows, various Linux distros) and I seem to have no problem switching between them at all. I don't even get bothered with the nonsensical UI problems such as some of finders limitations (with cutting and pasting folders I just never do that on MacOS, it makes you use a different flow or else you're fighting it).

The only thing I dislike in a UI sense is alt-tab on Mac - I still think it sometimes arbitrarily reorders my windows.

On reflection there is one other (not quite UI?) fundamental part of the OS I actually do really dislike - the mouse acceleration curve. How could I forget that - I find I can use it but geez is it inferior to Windows/Linux in this respect.

Re: Impressions from a first-time Mac user

#369

Post by smoldesu »

noizejoy wrote: post #323
smoldesu wrote: post #162

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not worth it if my computer heats up to 85 degrees for an hour and a half every few days. Really throws a wrench in my productivity and has already made me miss a couple meetings. Raycast looks neat, but I'm not interested in adding Yet Another Random Closed-Source Tool to my Mac. At this point I'm mostly using it as a dumb terminal and even that is testing my limits with how annoying Homebrew and the FreeBSD 4.…

> has already made me miss a couple meetings. Congratulations on a novel permutation of “the dog ate my meeting notification” :-)

More like "my computer's CPU is pinned so high that I can't do the screenshare I promised you earlier, because I made the mistake of trying to rebase 15 minutes before I was scheduled to appear"

Re: Impressions from a first-time Mac user

#370

Post by _s »

wintermutestwin wrote: post #357
CSMastermind wrote: post #257

There's a lot of people in comments defending macOS saying that the difference in switching between operating systems will lead to a bad experience no matter what and people just need to power through and learn the new system. I'll say that I've used Windows and macOS both personally and professionally for two decades now (longer for Windows). I'd consider myself a power user in both OSes, I know the keyboard shortcu…

I have mostly enjoyed my transition from Windows to Mac. I agree the the default of not being able to Cut and Paste in Finder was annoying but there is one thing that absolutely makes me furious: The file save dialog box has this unbelievable limit of 38 viewable characters! I regularly have to deal with 50+ character naming conventions where the first 38 characters are the same among many files. It is a huge hassle…

If your workflow is dependant on many files, and with that naming convention because of it - there’s a good chance the workflow could be cleaned / simplified greatly. Wether it’s worth the effort or not, I don’t know - but lots of tools / freedoms / restrictions make certain processes possible and it’s always worth revisiting.
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