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Impressions from a first-time Mac user

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Re: Impressions from a first-time Mac user

#701

Post by frosted-flakes »

EnKopVand wrote: post #534
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 think the bit on window management reads a little too much like someone who sort or made up their mind upfront. I use windows in my professional life, because that’s how we roll in Denmark, but back in 2015 I bought my first personal MacBook and it’s been a great relationship ever since. On windows I need to install tools for things like snapping pictures because the default snipping tool isn’t quite good enough. I…

> especially on multiple screen setups where you can’t move the mouse from one screen to another if the resolutions are different (4k screens and an open laptop as an example)

What do you mean by this? That is absolutely possible.

Re: Impressions from a first-time Mac user

#702

Post by rodelrod »

BlueTemplar wrote: post #671
rodelrod wrote: post #661

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That looks like an "AZERTY International", with no advantage over the Portuguese layout for programming, and no advantage over "US International" for typing languages other than French. It does look like an improvement over traditional AZERTY! My choice is "US International with AltGr deadkeys". The deadkey behaviour in simple "US International" is very annoying for programming: you have to double-tap every key that…

> no advantage over "US International" for typing languages other than French Uh, did you not even bother to click on the link or something ?? The easy access to all Greek characters (and more math symbols) alone is great if you work in a math-related field !

Yes I clicked but didn't notice the Greek overlay. It's neat. I imagine that it can be useful for math, if you're not using something like LaTeX or Emacs already. I even have something similar in my custom layout, although it seldom gets any use. That does not make it any better for programming, nor for typing in Portuguese (or even Greek).

Look, I think it's great that this thing exists and grateful that you mentioned it. I may even suggest it to some of the French-speaking juniors I work with.

It does not, however, address the issues of the person you were replying to. And I know because I'm in a similar position to them.

Re: Impressions from a first-time Mac user

#703

Post by lfrigodesouza »

I've had the same experience. Always used Windows for work machines and Linux for my personal laptop, and now it's the first time that I'm working on a company that only use macbooks, and, oh boy, what a pain!

The hardware is truly amazing, no arguing with that, but the OS overall experience have not been very good for me. I knew that there would be needed some time to adapt, but there are some things that are simply counter-intuitive. I'm even having trouble putting this to sleep. I've lost count of how many times I had chosen the "Sleep" option on the menu only to the macbook not go into sleep, and drain my battery overnight...

Re: Impressions from a first-time Mac user

#704

Post by spurgu »

> There is no other way to say this: window management is painful on macOS.

Out-of-the-box yes.

> If you open two of the same window (e.g., two Chrome windows), they appear as one in the dock. However, when you press Command (⌘)+Tab, this will only show one entry for Chrome, even though you have two windows of Chrome open.

For app switching I've set the "Move focus to next window" keyboard shortcut to Option+Tab (don't remember what the default is). This works like Cmd+Tab, except it cycles between windows of the active application (i.e. Chrome windows in the above example). It's really quick and smooth since you just move your thumb between Cmd and Option.

There is a slight difference between using Cmd+Tab though - you don't get a preview of the window you're about to switch to, so it's sometimes a bit clumsy if you have many windows open. To solve this I have three-finger swipe down set to display all windows of the focused app (called App Exposé). Don't remember whether this is default behavior. But with this you actually see all windows, which makes it even better than Cmd+Tab in this regard (which only shows icons).

The above two in combination work very well for me and window management is a breeze.

For window snapping I use BetterTouchTool[0] (paid app), but agree that if you need to get corporate IT's blessing to install apps then it's a hassle. Another app I couldn't live without: Alfred[1]. Just its clipboard history management and snippets make it awesome, but it can do so much more, like Workflows which I use a lot for various things). And iTerm2[2] is great.

So in conclusion I agree with OP - if I was forced to use a vanilla installation then I'd prefer most Linux DE's, but being able to install a couple of apps I simply love MacOS and would have a really tough time transitioning back to Linux (been a MacOS user now for almost 7 years, before that 10 years of Linux).

[0] https://folivora.ai/

[1] https://www.alfredapp.com/

[2] https://iterm2.com/

Re: Impressions from a first-time Mac user

#705

Post by pmontra »

SllX wrote: post #494
kevincox wrote: post #302

Earlier quoted context omitted.

While I do appreciate those benifits the confusion caused as soon as there are multiple windows on the screen doesn't seem worth it. I have enough trouble managing keyboard focus I don't need to add another layer (which somehow seems even harder for me to comprehend)

It’s just one of those things that if you want to, you can get used to it, but if you resist it you won’t. Like learning Vi or Emacs or BBEdit. There are tools you already learned to use, the Macintosh user interface is just another. The alternative is what? Apple changes something millions of people are already used to, their existing customer base, to satisfy switchers specifically when most can easily adapt? Or yo…

> Or you just don’t use a Macintosh

Exactly. The global menu and the top bar have been the main reasons I never bought a Mac.

Re: Impressions from a first-time Mac user

#706

Post by godelski »

OJFord wrote: post #612
godelski wrote: post #467

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think the thing that was hardest for me to learn is navigating the folder systems. Luckily I can use a terminal.

I spend the vast majority of my non-browser time on the command line, but some times for some things for some reason I prefer a GUI file browser - shuffling around 'admin documents', bills etc. rather than programming stuff or anything I've written in a text-based format. Maybe it's just because I grew up with Windows & File Explorer, so that's what I'm accustomed to for that sort of thing. For that, Finder is maybe…

Dolphin browser is pretty similar except you can find home and go up directories.

Re: Impressions from a first-time Mac user

#707

Post by pombrand »

Apple believes they always have the best way, and rarely gives you options to do things in other ways..sometimes they're right, but not always.

I switched from Windows last month, after installing rectangle, bettertouchtools and speeding up all animations possible, I'm left with the following gripes.

1. No magnetic windows the way windows does unless in the clunky fullscreen mode.

2. No way to turn off animations for maximising windows.

3. No way to let mouseover select window an action is taken in (i keep closing the wrong chrome window using mouse gestures)

4. Finder still sucks (so does no cutting and pasting files)

5. All apps cost money, e.g. ScreenX for windows is free and better than all paid macos options for screenshots.

6. Chrome window resizing seems artificially slow.

Overall windows still feels more productive, but also sucks more in many other ways, such as preinstalling candy crush or its opaque update system.

Re: Impressions from a first-time Mac user

#708

Post by loginatnine »

colinmhayes wrote: post #697
loginatnine wrote: post #683

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's objectively slower when you need to leave the keyboard with one hand to reach your touchpad. I'm thinking about a desktop environment here where 1. you might not even have a touchpad and 2. you have your both hands on the keyboard.

I mean maybe if you're using vim all the time, but most of my apps require mouse interface, so my hand is usually near the trackpad. Even when I'm using external monitors I still use the laptop keyboard and trackpad.

Good for you if it works, but it doesn't for me and I find it cumbersome.

Re: Impressions from a first-time Mac user

#709

Post by loginatnine »

mechanical_bear wrote: post #690
loginatnine wrote: post #683

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's objectively slower when you need to leave the keyboard with one hand to reach your touchpad. I'm thinking about a desktop environment here where 1. you might not even have a touchpad and 2. you have your both hands on the keyboard.

I don’t think the literal fraction of a second difference matters.

It matters after a long day and it adds up. On top of the time lost, it's also a matter of ease of use.

Re: Impressions from a first-time Mac user

#710

Post by bliteben »

Toutouxc wrote: post #544
sneak wrote: post #388

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Mac is not an acronym, it's short for Macintosh. MAC stands for Mandatory Access Control or Media Access Control (as in ethernet hwaddr).

I'd swear that writing Macs as MACs (or MAC's) is a shibboleth of people who don't like Macs.

i had it as Mac's but changed it because I knew something offended people honestly didn't know which
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