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Things I can’t do on macOS which I can do on Ubuntu (2020)

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Re: Things I can’t do on macOS which I can do on Ubuntu (2020)

#411

Post by NoThisIsMe »

warp wrote: post #398
whalesalad wrote: post #380

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> if I’m already jumping through hoops to get SSH mounts on macOS to work, why not use Linux already? Jumping through hoops? It's installing a pkg file, takes about a minute and it is a one time operation you will never really need to do again. Have you ever daily driven a linux box? Times have changed but you will jump through hoops far more often than on macOS. - written from my frankenstein arch linux macbook pro

> It's installing a pkg file, takes about a minute and it is a one time operation you will never really need to do again. Typically I have to do it once a year, because the kernel extension seems to break with every new macOS version.

> Have you ever daily driven a linux box? Times have changed but you will jump through hoops far more often than on macOS.

> - written from my frankenstein arch linux macbook pro

That depends entirely on what you're doing, what software and hardware you're using.

Any Linux distro on a MacBook (unless it's an old model)? Yeah, lots of hoops.

Re: Things I can’t do on macOS which I can do on Ubuntu (2020)

#412

Post by jbylund »

As a new mac user (~4 weeks with new employer) my biggest N are:

1) inability to ask the window manager "which workspace/desktop am I on" - it also seems like this ability has been progressively removed with newer versions (judging from stackoverflow/askdifferent questions) - after some hacking I've found a workaround for this

2) clicking on a browser notification just brings me to _any_ window of the browser, not the one that sent the notification! - if anyone knows how to fix this please help me out

3) there's a delay on toggling caps lock that you can't disable without installing some small third party utility! it just feels super rude that they're essentially telling me that I didn't mean to press caps lock

Re: Things I can’t do on macOS which I can do on Ubuntu (2020)

#413

Post by lnxg33k1 »

The thing is... that MacOS works for "techies" because of that, limits are lack of configuration possibilities and lack of configuration possibilities are seen as user friendly, Mac OS for me as a Gentoo User day-to-day who see macOs only on company hardware is a limit, but it works, you accept the limits and you move on with your work, no matter if you are in the share of people who are not helped by it

I mean I don't think it's wrong or good, I think it's limited and has its share of market within people who don't want to waste time reading manuals of being involved in software or systems, what I find upsetting every now and then is those cool people coming around communities and say "Why Linux can't be MacOS?" I think each system has it's target, all of them cover different needs, I really don't understand who uses something and wants something else to become like the something they use and not use the somethign they already use .. I wish someone had an explanation for this humanity trait for me

Re: Things I can’t do on macOS which I can do on Ubuntu (2020)

#414

Post by boringg »

jbylund wrote: post #412

As a new mac user (~4 weeks with new employer) my biggest N are: 1) inability to ask the window manager "which workspace/desktop am I on" - it also seems like this ability has been progressively removed with newer versions (judging from stackoverflow/askdifferent questions) - after some hacking I've found a workaround for this 2) clicking on a browser notification just brings me to _any_ window of the browser, not th…

Am I the only one who actually finds more desktop a drawback then a benefit? I clearly haven't mastered multiple desktops -- do you split between projects and just leave it there always? I haven't figured out how to best optimize that which I feel I am leaving real value on the table.

Re: Things I can’t do on macOS which I can do on Ubuntu (2020)

#415

Post by nicoburns »

kergonath wrote: post #318
nicoburns wrote: post #47

My biggest bug bears with macOS: - No way to fullscreen a window without moving it into a separate workspace. All a new workspace achieves is making it difficult for me to switch between this app and my other apps! (individual apps can implement this, and some like VLC do, but most apps don't) - No native support for containerisation. Containers/Docker are a great technology, but even on my M1 mac where literally eve…

> No way to fullscreen a window without moving it into a separate workspace. One of the reasons why I almost never use the full screen feature. You can click on the full screen button on the too left-hand corner of each window whilst holding Option, I think that’s the closest you can do out-of-the box. You can assign a keyboard shortcut for this very easily (seriously, the way we can define keyboard shortcuts for alm…

I do use magnet. But something I do want something to be truly fullscreen (no menubar or anything else visible), but without being on another workspace. I think the most common use case for this is with videos. I often want to fullscreen a video, but still be able to quickly switch between windows so that I can for example reply to a message.

Note that with any non-fullscreen window I can continue to see live updates to the window in the mission control view. So I could for example continue to watch a video (albeit smaller) while watching chat messages arrive in another window as my friend sends them. But with a macOS fullscreen window I can't do that. If I open mission control then I can only see the fullscreen window (because it's the only window in the workspace), and if I switch to another workspace to the see the contents of those windows I can no longer see the fullscreen window. Infuriating!

Re: Things I can’t do on macOS which I can do on Ubuntu (2020)

#416

Post by sseagull »

chrisseaton wrote: post #399
m3adow wrote: post #393

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Funny enough he's answering your complaints in the last paragraph. You're telling him he's "holding it wrong". Except individual taste can rarely be wrong.

Nobody said his taste was 'wrong'. I don't even know what that would mean? I'm saying he'd get more out the tool by learning and embracing the design of it, rather than wishing it was something that it isn't. Go with the flow, rather than fighting it. Reduce entropy not create it.

I'll give a bit of a different example.

I was recently playing the remastered Dark Souls on Switch. For some reason, they used the Japanese button mapping of B and A rather than the usual mapping in the US. And you couldn't change it.

I mean, no big deal, I can learn the new mapping. And I mostly did. But even after 50-100 hours, I would still occasionally press the wrong button (accepting rather than cancelling). The previous configuration was so ingrained in me that I could not overcome my muscle memory without conscious thought.

So even when I really try to "go with the flow" there is friction. People come from different backgrounds, using different software and different paradigms, and it's not really easy at all to remap their way of thinking, even if they want to.

Re: Things I can’t do on macOS which I can do on Ubuntu (2020)

#417

Post by mikeryan »

jbylund wrote: post #412

As a new mac user (~4 weeks with new employer) my biggest N are: 1) inability to ask the window manager "which workspace/desktop am I on" - it also seems like this ability has been progressively removed with newer versions (judging from stackoverflow/askdifferent questions) - after some hacking I've found a workaround for this 2) clicking on a browser notification just brings me to _any_ window of the browser, not th…

1) inability to ask the window manager "which workspace/desktop am I on" - it also seems like this ability has been progressively removed with newer versions (judging from stackoverflow/askdifferent questions) - after some hacking I've found a workaround for this

I just swipe up with three fingers on the Trackpad to see what desktop I'm on, are you looking for something different?

Re: Things I can’t do on macOS which I can do on Ubuntu (2020)

#418

Post by zmxz »

FredPret wrote: post #346
epapsiou wrote: post #307

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Stability ???? Ubuntu is far more stable. Have never had issues wrt stability. I have had issues with support as in some software do not work on linux (Turbo Tax , Games etc) but never in stability. Have been using linux desktops since 2010

You’re kidding right? Linux as a desktop OS is a dumpster fire in my experience. Many times I’ve had a system working for a couple of months, only to be laid low mysteriously by an update. This happened on everything from Ubuntu to Mint to Arch. The last straw for me (not stability related) was when I needed to scan something. Cue hours spent in the terminal… still no scanning. MacOS will keep working for years for m…

Why would the person be kidding? Why is it a dumpster fire in your experience?

My work PC has the uptime of 3 months right now. I've been using this particular PC for 26 months, with Ubuntu installed. No crashes. No problems. No slowdowns.

These testimonials where someone says "but it's " are difficult to relate with. I also scan and print from time to time, I'm not advanced user of scanners/printers - but after plugging the devices in via USB, they did their job.

I had the pleasure of trying to work with containers on Mac the other day. After 10 minutes I gave up. Mac is a great machine but it's not for me, it definitely has its audience and I can tell it's great because it helps many types of users cut a lot of corners. I'm sure I could get containers to work with M1, if there was any kind of benefit to use a machine which is, hardware-wise, slower than the beefy one I use with Linux.

Re: Things I can’t do on macOS which I can do on Ubuntu (2020)

#420

Post by mrtksn »

Matl wrote: post #402
mrtksn wrote: post #392

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The catch is, with enough 3rd party apps MacOS can do all that stuff but no amount of 3rd party apps and utilities can make Ubuntu match the MacOS experience. To match macOS on Ubuntu you will need a full time Linux guru as PA to smooth things out for your. You will need another one for the after hours. Therefore, Ubuntu is great for really rich people or people who need that one thing that Ubuntu excels at and nothi…

As someone who uses both, I have to say I am not sure what's so special about the 'macOS experience'. I mean the desktop is not even a decent window manager imo, I have to get something like PathFinder for a decent file manager etc, yes there are some nice apps for macOS but it's not like the OS experience itself is some unbeatable benchmark.

Good for you. Good experience essentially means good defaults, stuff work reliably as expected and when things break you fix them easily. That usually require good edge case handling and justified restrictions.

Notice how OP complains about not being able to change the default font and text size? Well, he is technically right but the thing is that Apple has already addressed the reason behind changing fonts by designing a UI that works well with all kind of resolutions. You don't have instances of extremely large or extremely small text or buttons, for example. It's all polished very well so there's no reason for someone to need to tune font size or font face. Sure, some people have visual impairments or use their computers differently therefore they can choose a "UI zoom level" instead of resolution and font sizes.

This works very well for most people and that's why most people are very happy with their device. For people who don't find this behaviour useful for them, there's Ubuntu, Windows, ChromeOS etc.

I see a lot of Android screenshots with barely legible fonts as system font. Some things are better when left to professionals and for those who disagree, there's Android of course.

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