Multiple Displays on a Mac Sucks • Hacker News Board

Re: Multiple Displays on a Mac Sucks

#41

Post by brtkdotse » Fri, Apr 26, 2024, 8:36 AM UTC

AceJohnny2 wrote: post #29

> The Mac operating system still Just. Fucking. Sucks. at remembering where windows were, when relaunching apps. I agree and it's confounding. For me it's even worse: when plugging back into my home office after some work on the road, it doesn't remember the window positions associated with that setup, and I have to reorganize my dozens of windows away from the laptop screen again. I've solved this through a 3rd-part…

Three times I tried switching from Windows to Mac and each time I bounced because of how janky basic window ergonomics were. I shouldn't have to buy single-dollar-programs to fix core OS functionality.

Re: Multiple Displays on a Mac Sucks

#42

Post by ggm » Fri, Apr 26, 2024, 8:37 AM UTC

Changing between set ups, also hurts. Itshould be built in that it knows I've been here before and rearrange to match this rig, not the one with the stifle giant monitor, and nit the times I'm just on the mac

Re: Multiple Displays on a Mac Sucks

#43

Post by Ezhik » Fri, Apr 26, 2024, 8:37 AM UTC

I've had to make a bunch of Hammerspoon hacks for myself to make macOS remember where windows should be.

In my experience macOS doesn't even remember where spaces should be.

Re: Multiple Displays on a Mac Sucks

#44

Post by parker-3461 » Fri, Apr 26, 2024, 8:37 AM UTC

andrelaszlo wrote: post #31

bitcharmer wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm on Linux and I don't have any of these issues

Tiling window manager with rules for window placements. It's not for non-devs, but for me it's perfect.

I’m surprised there isn’t much discussion on the amazing ecosystem of tiling window managers in this whole thread.

When I was still using macOS one to two years ago, I was using yabai [1] and it was perfect

[1] https://github.com/koekeishiya/yabai

Re: Multiple Displays on a Mac Sucks

#45

Post by nusl » Fri, Apr 26, 2024, 8:38 AM UTC

I dislike the limitation on how many external displays you can have with a Mac, though by and large I've had very few problems with it. I can't really identify with any of the problems the author mentions, personally. The only problem that happens semi-frequently is that windows on external displays will swap displays when I resume from sleep.

Re: Multiple Displays on a Mac Sucks

#46

Post by kimi » Fri, Apr 26, 2024, 8:38 AM UTC

I use multiple external displays (some at the office and some at home) with an Arm Mac and, frankly, it mostly works without thinking about it. Sometimes things change their shape because of the different resolution, but it basically works. Just my $.02

Re: Multiple Displays on a Mac Sucks

#47

Post by otikik » Fri, Apr 26, 2024, 8:38 AM UTC

This person needs rectangle at least.

https://rectangleapp.com/

It will not solve all the problems, but at least it will allow for fast key-based window movement instead of slow drag-and dropping with the mouse.

Re: Multiple Displays on a Mac Sucks

#48

Post by Ezhik » Fri, Apr 26, 2024, 8:39 AM UTC

cmckn wrote: post #37

The external display limitations of Apple silicon Macs are inscrutable and infuriating. I have an M3 Pro from work. At the office, I plug it into an HP dock with a single USB-C cable (which I believe is TB4). I have 3 displays connected to the dock and they all work. I purchased the exact same dock for my home, but only 2 of my displays work there. I think the M3 Pro is documented to support 2 displays; you have to g…

My Mac is limited to just one external display yet everything works just fine through a DisplayLink dongle.

Re: Multiple Displays on a Mac Sucks

#49

Post by JR1427 » Fri, Apr 26, 2024, 8:39 AM UTC

AceJohnny2 wrote: post #29

> The Mac operating system still Just. Fucking. Sucks. at remembering where windows were, when relaunching apps. I agree and it's confounding. For me it's even worse: when plugging back into my home office after some work on the road, it doesn't remember the window positions associated with that setup, and I have to reorganize my dozens of windows away from the laptop screen again. I've solved this through a 3rd-part…

My company has enforced frequent updates of browsers and other software set up, so we are relaunching apps very often, and this drives me crazy.

It feels like someone is walking over to your desk and moving everything around, just to annoy you.

Re: Multiple Displays on a Mac Sucks

#50

Post by vbezhenar » Fri, Apr 26, 2024, 8:40 AM UTC

tuyiown wrote: post #9

I don't think the issues of multi display really are only due the OS, my personal experience on multiple platform is that is suck regardless of whatever one thinks the solution would be. There are insolvable constraints implied by multi display: - Screen going on and off is an asynchronous mechanism that the OS has to treat by an event driven implementation. - All states must be valid (all graphical stuff must be put…

I just recently had a really weird bug with Linux and external USB-C display. Basically after reboot with lid closed, system was gone into madness, like display flickers, laptop blinks with its led and eventually it just dies (probably kernel panic).

Turned out it's a dance between systemd putting system to sleep because external display is not connected and waking up because external display is connected. I might be wrong about it, but basically display takes some time to initialize and without input it'll turn off, so those events couldn't alight. What's worse it worked sometimes, so I spent some time distro-hopping, because I thought it's a bug in kernel or mesa.

In the end I just disabled sleep mode in systemd. I don't like this solution, but it's Linux, what could I say... At least I was able to disable it, LoL. Probably with Mac I would have to live with it.