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Impressions from a first-time Mac user

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Re: Impressions from a first-time Mac user

#741
post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Agreed. The distinction between applications and windows that macOS/Mac OS has always made was jarring at first, but definitely one of those things that after the initial adjustment simply feel different rather than objectively better or worse.

Better or worse depends on use case, but I will say that a tree is a much better semantic fit than a flat list.

Funnily enough there was a time when MDI was a popular and favored design philosophy on Windows, practically leading to the same application/window distinction that MacOS had/has.

Re: Impressions from a first-time Mac user

#742
post #124

> While macOS isn’t POSIX-certified, it is Single Unix Specification UNIX 03 registered and compliant. This sounds wrong. Isn’t POSIX a mandatory subset of the Single Unix Specification? Hence it is inherently certified.

OP here. I was mainly going off of this (2nd paragraph). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darwin_(operating_system)

From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Single_UNIX_Specification

"system developers generally aim for compliance with POSIX standards, which form the core of the Single UNIX Specification"

Re: Impressions from a first-time Mac user

#743
post #597

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Simple isn’t the same as convenient.

Sure, but Mac's solution is neither. At least in the modern world where almost everything is done in your browser.

I certainly don't do everything in a browser. I usually have at most 2 browser windows open (usually just one). For important browser-based apps, I just pin the tabs.

I actually find the macOS model to be more convenient (even though I didn't like it when I first tried it). It makes it very easy to switch away from an app that has multiple windows.

To be honest, I'm not sure there's an objectively better solution. I think it all comes down to the workflow and habits you've built around the model you use most often.

It's also pretty convenient to be able to switch between browser windows using cmd+`. I don't need to worry about getting other apps in between my browser windows.

Re: Impressions from a first-time Mac user

#744

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…

4. You can press the option key when pasting to move the files or you can drag the files (you can enable drag with drag lock to make things easier: https://support.apple.com/guide/mac-help/change-mouse-trackp... ) 5. Why do you need a standalone app to make screenshots? cmd + shift + 5 (or 4) work fine imo.

4. Im aware but it still cumbersome, would be nice to do it without the using the keyboard.

5. Because I need more functionality.

Re: Impressions from a first-time Mac user

#745

Earlier quoted context omitted.

they are cheap clevo laptops at a huge markup

I just spec'd out the System 76 Galago Pro to match that of the Clevo equivalent that's linked elsewhere in this thread (L143MU), and the System 76 came to $1032, while the Clevo is listed at €1,026.90 (or $1,116.89), so when you say "huge markup" it must be in reference to something else. That said, I don't have any real skin in this game.

well to be fair, i did the same exercise before buying a system76 a few years back and the difference was a bit more even with oem consideration so thats good to know. the build quality is very cheapish feeling and it fell apart pretty quickly and i regretted not just getting a lenovo or xps or something but it was nice to support their efforts

Re: Impressions from a first-time Mac user

#746

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Ah, I almost never use the file picker. I tend to keep certain folders open in tabs in Finder and drag from them to the apps or to the file open dialogs. I tend to do a lot of work in a handful of folders and never liked the process of of “File Open….now navigate to that folder you were just using”.

Re: Impressions from a first-time Mac user

#747
post #188

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

Not quit sure what you want but you can copy or drag path information from the “Path Bar” at the bottom of a finder window/tab. I do this all the time to get a path in terminal

Re: Impressions from a first-time Mac user

#748
post #98

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I almost never use that kind of full-screen mode in Mac OS. I do too much work between apps and rarely restrict myself to just one. Drag-n-drop has been a major interaction model in Mac OS for many decades

I do most of my work in many apps too. It's pretty easy to remember to three finger swipe left twice to get to my browser from tmux etc. and is faster than other methods i've found. Plus I need all the screen space I can get, 16 inches is barely big enough.

I do a lot of drag and drop between and it always felt off trying to do that between full-screen apps.

Re: Impressions from a first-time Mac user

#749
post #87

My recommendations for Mac Users: * Put the Dock left or right, vertical space is precious (trust me, do it for a week and then decide) * Setup Hot-Corners (Settings -> Mission Control -> Hot Corners) - Upper-Right Corner as Mission Control (Must be upper right so spaces are immediately shown) - Lower-Left Corner as Application Windows - just fling your mouse curser into the corner (use std. gestures on the trackpad)…

> Learn about the screenshot shortcuts CMD+shift+{3,4}, 3: full screen, 4: select area or switch to window select with hitting space bar once. I just learned about command-shift-5 for screen recordings, which is super nice for showing a visual diff of work done.

[deleted]

Re: Impressions from a first-time Mac user

#750
post #659
post #645

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What monitor, mouse, and keyboard did not work with mac? Most of the complaints makes it sound like you aren't actually trying to do everything the "Apple way", rather wishing macOS way worked like what you're used to and comfortable with from Windows.

> What monitor, mouse, and keyboard did not work with mac? The monitor was an MSI Optix MAG321CQR (32", 1440p, 144hz). The text on it was blurry and pixellated as hell. It turns out that Apple has removed previously existing scaling functionality that would have made it work. So I had to upgrade to a 4k monitor to get around it. I would assume it's because they don't want to compete with cheaper monitors. The text wa…

> Minimizing windows fucks me over when using voice control software

I think this is a good example of wanting macOS to work like how you were used to with windows. Try cmd+h to "hide" instead of "minimizing" [0]. Multiple desktops also works well, and using "mission control" to switch apps vs minimizing things.

> Switching between windows from the same app is a pain in the ass, because it requires more clicks, which literally equals more pain for me

I actually find this pretty convenient on mac with cmd+` (cmd+tab to switch between applications, cmd+` to switch between windows of an app)

[0] https://superuser.com/a/543072

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