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Impressions from a first-time Mac user

loganmarchione.com

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Re: Impressions from a first-time Mac user

#551

Post by dsego »

nneonneo wrote: post #242
Aardwolf wrote: post #216

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

Cmd+` switches between windows of the same app, and it's actually more convenient (IMHO) than using Alt+Tab to switch between every one of your windows from every app. There are also a handful of trackpad gestures for showing all the windows in the current app or all of your windows.

Not only trackpad, you can use ctrl+down to show all windows of the current app and ctrl+up to see all windows.

Re: Impressions from a first-time Mac user

#552

Post by ihateolives »

qhohncw wrote: post #408
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…

This is my exact experience as well. I'd love to switch to Mac full time, since the integration with iCloud is extremely well done and the hardware is magnificent, but I feel so much more productive in Windows, although Microsoft is fighting hard to make its UX as bad as Mac's. I should note that I pay for several MacOS apps to make the desktop experience better, but I don't pay for any third party app for Windows. N…

> and most importantly, Mac OS doesn't reboot whenever it feels like it to install updates.

But when it does reboot, it's a game of dice how long it's going to take. My windows laptop is roughly half powerful as my M1 macbook, but Windows OS updates are all relatively quick. Updating MacOS I never knwo whether I should just grab a coffee or head out to lunch. 6 minutes remaining, no 11 minutes remaining, now 8 minutes remaining, hooray, just 1 minute remaining! Except that that last minute is actually 5 minutes long.

Re: Impressions from a first-time Mac user

#553

Post by dsego »

dvngnt_ wrote: post #436
nneonneo wrote: post #242

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Cmd+` switches between windows of the same app, and it's actually more convenient (IMHO) than using Alt+Tab to switch between every one of your windows from every app. There are also a handful of trackpad gestures for showing all the windows in the current app or all of your windows.

except windows is still king because the preview shows the instance instead of an application

ctrl+up / ctrl+down

Re: Impressions from a first-time Mac user

#554

Post by RealStickman_ »

joeman1000 wrote: post #336
loganmarchione wrote: post #308

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> On window snapping: why on earth would you want to obscure your desktop with two huge panes? OP here. I typically have a browser with documentation on one half, and a terminal/IDE in the other. I'm on an external monitor, so I want the space.

No doubt that multiplexing is useful, and macOS is NOT as good as something like BSPWM or EXWM. I didn’t mean that multiplexing/tiling/snapping is not useful. I meant that I don’t know why windows makes you multiplex over your desktop. It just clutters things. I know there’s Win+d to get to desktop (or something), but it just feels wrong to have many layers. It’s like a pile of junk. I consider it to be a real deskto…

I'm sorry, but this feels more like a religion than an actual technical reason.

I have all my important applications on the taskbar (windows) or behind shortcuts (linux).

If it's a rarely used program, I can use the start menu/app launcher to open that application.

I don't need to access my desktop.

Re: Impressions from a first-time Mac user

#555

Post by dsego »

loginatnine wrote: post #297
smaddox wrote: post #224

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Instead of minimizing windows, put them on a separate virtual desktop. Or close them. I never minimize windows on purpose. I think the only reason the concept exists is because it predates virtual desktop switching. Also, instead of Alt-Tab, flick four fingers up or down and select the window of interest.

Keyboard shortcuts are IMO superior to gestures and are objectively faster. The whole virtual desktop can get quite clunky fast when you have multiple windows opened or ephemeral programs that you temporarily need.

All gestures on macos regarding virtual desktops and windows have corresponding keyboard shortcuts.

Re: Impressions from a first-time Mac user

#556

Post by ccouzens »

kristiandupont wrote: post #506
ChicagoBoy11 wrote: post #2

Despite the warning, I didn't find it nearly as "ranty" as the author cautioned, and instead seemed like a fairly comprehensive and fair take on his experience. Having gone through the same thing myself several years ago, the UI aspect of it is something that I'd be curious to see how it develops for the author. I think it is not uncommon for Windows folk to find the windowing experience on macs rather painful, at le…

I've been on Mac for 10 years now and I still consider the way Windows handles windows vastly superior. The fact that cmd-tabbing to a app will place all of its windows on top means that I might be forced to move a window with the mouse to see what's underneath it which I find infuriating. The fact that two windows belong to the same app is an arbitrary distinction to me. I group things by mental "projects", and I pr…

My first Mac was the first Intel iMac. OSX Tiger was better than Windows XP. Expose felt better than the alt tab of xp- and more fun. And Tiger pushed to have windows take up the space of their contents rather than the whole screen, so most windows were visible on screen all the time making switching between them easier.

In the time since, I brought another iMac and had 2 work MBPs.

In that time, MacOS got worse. It now wants to make windows full screen. Mission control is awkward if you use an ordinary mouse.

My workflow has changed. I'm more likely to have 2 windows of every app- 2 vscode windows, 2 terminal windows and 2 browser windows. As stated many times over, MacOS handles switching between those configuration of windows badly (and I gave it plenty of time to become intuitive).

I now use the Gnome desktop. I have windows that snap. I have alt tab that cycles through windows (it needs configuring). And it has an Expose like effect (gnome overview).

I feel like I have the best of all worlds. Great window management. Great hardware support (none of the MBPs supported daisy chaining my displays). The Linux command line. The same apps I'd be using on any other OS.

Re: Impressions from a first-time Mac user

#557

Post by have_faith »

desttro wrote: post #483
below43 wrote: post #454

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In your said use case, full screen mode with split windows would be a much better solution than snapping.

Maybe I'm the only one that finds being locked into full screen mode a horrific experience.

I’m the opposite, I only work in full screen mode for everything. It’s like a zen mode for every app.

Re: Impressions from a first-time Mac user

#558

Post by dsego »

iamcreasy wrote: post #433

I have similar issues like the author but the comments in this thread have solved some of those problem. I also moved from Windows to MacOS. What was the purpose behind introducing ctrl, opt and cmd button? What do they stand for?

What's the purpose behind having ctrl, alt and win buttons ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Re: Impressions from a first-time Mac user

#559

Post by wink »

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 3 monitors connected to my Windows machine and I have to switch all 3 of them on before logging in or weird things happen. It's only a little bit better on Linux and I don't have a mac to try. I'm actually blaming the modern connectors and how digital inputs are handled, this was never a problem with D-SUB (i.e. you could move the mouse to the empty space where the switched off screen is, but it won't move your icons or your taskbar around...). If there was a global "ignore plug and play for monitors, just assume they are there" I'd use it...

Re: Impressions from a first-time Mac user

#560

Post by knolan »

teilo wrote: post #5

Someone needs to tell him about option-click on the maximize button. Most of these "rants" really just amount to: "this different OS doesn't work exactly the same way as the OS I am used to." That's why 3rd party utilities exist to give you the functionality you wish to have. That formula cuts both ways.

You don’t even have to use the green zoom button. Just double click the top of the window like in every other OS. The difference is that zooming a window is not the same as maximising. It makes the window as big as the content it contains.

Also you can double click the edge of any window to extend it to the edge of the screen.

I really don’t get the obsession for tiling windows personally. It’s not part of my workflow.

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