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If Apple keeps letting its software slip, the next big thing won’t matter

macworld.com

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Re: If Apple keeps letting its software slip, the next big thing won’t matter

#121

Post by plorkyeran »

alphaomegacode wrote: post #70

As an anecdotal example that may be relevant, I wanted to upgrade to Monterey and my Mac Mini said there wasn't enough room. Hooked up a Western Digital external drive that I had used on previous Macs and launched Time Machine. And that's when it started. Time Machine presented what seemed like a stack of Finder windows in the middle, a timeline with hash marks on the right-side and the only button highlighted was th…

Time Machine's insane UI isn't an example of Apple's software quality slipping; it's basically unchanged since it first shipped 14 years ago. It's more of just an example of how Apple's software never was as good as some people would like to pretend.

Re: If Apple keeps letting its software slip, the next big thing won’t matter

#122

Post by freediver »

akiselev wrote: post #106
nickpp wrote: post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah maybe you as a developer want some fancy CSS and bleeding fresh Web API but I as a user don't. The web is too bloated as it is, I feel that Apple is on my side putting a damper on that. Safari is powerful enough as it is. You want voip, notifications, codecs and so on - do the work and learn to write a native app. I'd rather pay for that than paying with my attention to ads in your "free" web app.

> The web is too bloated as it is, I feel that Apple is on my side putting a damper on that. Like how Safari doesn't support WebP?

Safari/WebKit does support WebP (since June 2020).

Re: If Apple keeps letting its software slip, the next big thing won’t matter

#123

Post by grumpyprole »

freediver wrote: post #18

Yesterday I prepared a few years old Windows laptop for my daughter to use in school. It took me a few hours just to install updates, remove bloatware (my oh my, the amount is staggering!) and fix privacy settings. And this was for Windows 10 which I hear is a mild version of a mess that Windows 11 is. I was instantly reminded why I appreciate Apple software more.

At least one can remove the bloatware from Windows!

Re: If Apple keeps letting its software slip, the next big thing won’t matter

#124

Post by alphaomegacode »

dymk wrote: post #53
rabuse wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My AirPods almost never connect automatically to my phone when trying to take a call. I've since just reverted to the wired set when talking on the phone. Awful.

You're probably in the minority there, I've seen complaints few and far between about AirPods connectivity, but lots of glowing praise for. Personally, AirPods UX is better than any other Bluetooth product I've used.

I've had similar problems with the UX on AirPods. Here are the choices in Bluetooth for AirPods to connect to my Mac: 1. Automatically 2. When Last Connected to this Mac

What does #2 even mean? I want my AirPods to connect when I last connected?

It's been common for me using my AirPods to take a pause in talking and while using my PC for the AirPods to detect sound on my PC and then switch.

Yes, definitely better than many other Bluetooth earbuds but I think people were hoping Apple's control of the OS and hardware would've produced a better, consistent experience.

Re: If Apple keeps letting its software slip, the next big thing won’t matter

#125

Post by valine »

null_object wrote: post #92
valine wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

MacOS Monterey added an option to disable automatic updates. It's been the biggest annoyance for years, now it's just a checkbox in settings.

> MacOS Monterey added an option to disable automatic updates. It's been the biggest annoyance for years, now it's just a checkbox in settings The ability to disable automatic updates goes back far more years than I can remember - possibly even a decade.

You could disable the auto install, but not the nag.

Re: If Apple keeps letting its software slip, the next big thing won’t matter

#126

Post by linuxlizard »

superasn wrote: post #59
freediver wrote: post #18

Yesterday I prepared a few years old Windows laptop for my daughter to use in school. It took me a few hours just to install updates, remove bloatware (my oh my, the amount is staggering!) and fix privacy settings. And this was for Windows 10 which I hear is a mild version of a mess that Windows 11 is. I was instantly reminded why I appreciate Apple software more.

1. Yes first thing I run if I ever have to use a Windows PC is this little gem called Shutup 10 (1). 2. Then there is another software called 10AppsManager (2) to remove further bloatware like Onedrive, Skype, etc. 3. After that I visit ninite.com (3) to get the usual software without toolbars and spyware. 4. For other software like ffmpeg I use choco or chocolatey (4). I am now a full time linux user but this was th…

This is some great stuff. Thank you! I'm definitely going to lean into chocolatey. My daily driver is Linux but I still need a Windows machine around.

Re: If Apple keeps letting its software slip, the next big thing won’t matter

#127

Post by pas »

okareaman wrote: post #67
freediver wrote: post #18

Yesterday I prepared a few years old Windows laptop for my daughter to use in school. It took me a few hours just to install updates, remove bloatware (my oh my, the amount is staggering!) and fix privacy settings. And this was for Windows 10 which I hear is a mild version of a mess that Windows 11 is. I was instantly reminded why I appreciate Apple software more.

Windows in the Ballmer Era, Vista to Windows 8, was a disaster. Windows 10 was released a year after Satya Nadella took over and was an improvement. Windows 11 of the Nadella era is a big improvement. It seems like Microsoft decided to spend the money to get it right to create something stable and pleasing. I've been running it for a month and highly recommend it. I think a big attraction to Mac OS is that the UI has…

Win11 UI is noticeably bad. Harder to read, harder to notice buttons. Useful functionality is hidden behind more clicks, etc...

It might have some aesthetic value, but it's not necessarily nicer, just different and more trendy. Which quickly wears off.

Re: If Apple keeps letting its software slip, the next big thing won’t matter

#128

Post by noir_lord »

freediver wrote: post #18

Yesterday I prepared a few years old Windows laptop for my daughter to use in school. It took me a few hours just to install updates, remove bloatware (my oh my, the amount is staggering!) and fix privacy settings. And this was for Windows 10 which I hear is a mild version of a mess that Windows 11 is. I was instantly reminded why I appreciate Apple software more.

I put the boy on an old Dell Vostro running Fedora.

Installation and updates took about 30 minutes.

Updating the machine is a `sudo dnf update` and done.

Though I did get in trouble when I shelled into his machine did and update and rebooted without checking he was using it first - killing his call to his (not)girlfriend in the process.

He's just start secondary (high) school and they are using Google Classroom so all he really needs is a browser and a webcam/mic.

Re: If Apple keeps letting its software slip, the next big thing won’t matter

#129

Post by handrous »

city41 wrote: post #105
handrous wrote: post #97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's a pure loss for non-geek users. It should be disabled—no dialog allowed, even—by default, if the feature's gonna exist. That hitting "allow" on a pane that pops up on a site—something users are conditioned to do without thinking by all kinds of shitty but extremely common web patterns—affects something outside the current site's browser window is unexpected and unwanted by normal users. Cases where it's easy for…

That sounds pretty reasonable to me. But that still doesn't excuse Apple not implementing it. Apple doesn't implement features like this because they want to maintain app store sales. They do this for them, not their customers.

I think if Apple really really wanted to implement it if not for the risk to app sales, they'd have it on desktop Safari, at least. As it is, I just think they don't want to implement it, App Store or no.

From observing non-geeks use the "feature", I think that's the right call regardless. It needs to go back to the drawing board, or be scrapped. In general, anything that expands the reach & capabilities of websites should be treated with a ton of suspicion, as a likely vulnerability vector (leaking tracking info; social engineering/phishing vector; straight-up exploitable bugs) or simply a net-negative annoyance for most users.

Re: If Apple keeps letting its software slip, the next big thing won’t matter

#130

Post by salamandersauce »

freediver wrote: post #18

Yesterday I prepared a few years old Windows laptop for my daughter to use in school. It took me a few hours just to install updates, remove bloatware (my oh my, the amount is staggering!) and fix privacy settings. And this was for Windows 10 which I hear is a mild version of a mess that Windows 11 is. I was instantly reminded why I appreciate Apple software more.

Is this not true on Mac? Updates in particular take forever on MacOS. I find Windows updates take like 5 minutes usually. MacOS has been a half hour or more for some of the point updates I've done.

Bloatware is still there, iMovie, Garageband, iWork is IMO bloat. Slightly more quality bloat maybe but I don't need 20GB taken up by stuff I'll literally never use.

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