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Last Year on My Mac: Look Back in Disbelief

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Re: Last Year on My Mac: Look Back in Disbelief

#271

Post by voidhorse »

manoDev wrote: post #229
eoskx wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've had similar observations with different behaviors in Safari and Finder. One would think the quality of Apple's software would be increasing with the usage of Swift over Objective-C, but the opposite seems to be true.

Swift was the worst thing that happened to Mac OS, because we’re now suffering second system syndrome.

I completely agree. I saw the writing on the wall the moment they started boosting swiftUI as a UI library of the future where it was only half done and not even compatible with existing frameworks.

Re: Last Year on My Mac: Look Back in Disbelief

#272

Post by voidhorse »

eoskx wrote: post #60
jjice wrote: post #43

I don't mind how Liquid Glass looks at all. It's just insane how buggy the system has become. Even Messages will bug out, like deleting my first word if I type too fast after opening a conversation or auto scrolling and not letting me scroll down until I exit and re-enter. Unacceptable for the premium you pay for Apple software. Unacceptable for any software one is paying for. I hope they get their shit together and…

I've had similar observations with different behaviors in Safari and Finder. One would think the quality of Apple's software would be increasing with the usage of Swift over Objective-C, but the opposite seems to be true.

Maybe the sharper edges of objective-C lead to a programming practice that was more careful, which has been abandoned under the impression of Swift's increase default safety.

Re: Last Year on My Mac: Look Back in Disbelief

#273

Post by Groxx »

stefanfisk wrote: post #152
dijksterhuis wrote: post #26

> Maybe this is because I’m getting older, but that gives me the benefit of having experienced Apple’s older interfaces, with their exceptional quality and functionality. i really missed snow leopard for about 10 years all the way up to when i moved on from my macbook circa 5 years ago.

I feel so old saying this, but back in the days both Apple and third party developers would follow the HIG closely enough that something felt off right away when an app wasn't behaving 100% native. Running something like a Java app was jarring to say the least even if they were supposedly using a "cross platform" UI library. But then Gruber said that the HIG was dead and the decline gained more and more momentum...

Very much yes. When "affordance" was one of the primary goals, rather than "breathing room". Information density took a nose-dive and we lost all visual separation and gained... what? Less battery life?

Re: Last Year on My Mac: Look Back in Disbelief

#274

Post by runjake »

socalgal2 wrote: post #220
sheepscreek wrote: post #135

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Indeed - the system as a whole is starting to feel bloated. Today’s macOS design is akin to the cosmetic mufflers/exhaust pipes in cars, which serve only to justify the “Sport” badge. I long for the days past.

It's felt bloated for a while. Everytime I setup a new Mac I have to remove all of the icons from the doc. A new Dell isn't that bloated.

This is my shining moment! I just happened to setup a new Dell. It was far more cumbersome than dealing with a new Mac.

Here's some of the stuff I had to do on my new Dell, from memory:

- Uninstall all the bloatware apps that come installed with Windows 11. They nag and beg you not to uninstall them, but after several prompts, they mostly seem uninstalled?

- Remove the trial offers from the Start menu.

- Remove the third-party stub apps from the Start menu (eg. TikTok).

- Remove the O365 stub apps.

- Remove the McAfee antivirus payware.

- Remove Dell SupportAssist from the laptop.

- Then, just reinstall Windows 11 from scratch, because of all the remaining detritus left after performing the above steps. And uninstalling SupportAssist caused some instability and weird errors upon login.

- Uninstall all the bloatware apps the come installed with Windows 11 again.

- Remove the trial offers from the Start menu.

- Remove the third-party stub apps from the Start menu (eg. TikTok).

- Remove the O365 stub apps.

Compared to on my Mac:

- Remove apps from the Dock

- Go into /Applications and uninstall about 6 Apple apps I don't use.

Re: Last Year on My Mac: Look Back in Disbelief

#275

Post by xp84 »

xqcgrek2 wrote: post #4

Tahoe has to be the worst software Apple has released in three decades. It's unbelievable it got through. If Macs and macOS were not a tiny portion of their revenue I would short the stock.

>short the stock

The frustrating part is that even if you take the position that iOS 26 is just as awful, their incentives are so decoupled from what you’d hope they would be, that ruining your product isn’t really bad for the business! After all, Apple can just point to Windows 11’s embedded ads, three or four layers of different generations of overlapping settings panes, and inferior hardware and dare you to switch. Most of the customer base has only those two realistic options.

Re: Last Year on My Mac: Look Back in Disbelief

#276

Post by snazz »

encom wrote: post #223
stefanfisk wrote: post #128

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For me the touchpad experience is not just about the hardware. I got a Magic Trackpad for my Linux desktop hoping that it would at least be somewhat comparable to my MacBook. But scrolling and gestures are nowhere near as consistent and fluid as in macOS since the software support just isn't there. As a fairly typical example, getting Firefox on Linux to actually scroll smoothly takes googling and fiddling with setti…

Firefox on Fedora on X1 Carbon and scrolling just works. Maybe it was different in the past.

If you “fling” the page, lift your fingers off, and then tap with two fingers, does the page come to a stop?

Re: Last Year on My Mac: Look Back in Disbelief

#277

Post by ako »

somebehemoth wrote: post #68
baq wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’d love an XFCE (or even gnome tbh) environment on a properly built laptop, unfortunately only Apple is able to build something that works in all areas that matter: sleeps when lid closed, wakes when lid opens, touchpad and display don’t suck.

I have an oled thinkpad running fedora that has never had a sleep issue. Excellent touchpad as well. Thinkpad X1 Carbon.

I have a thinkpad p1 with popos, but it doesn’t sleep properly. Closing the lid causes it to be super active. I have to lay it down up side down so the ventilation gaps are not blocked, otherwise it overheats. Burned one SSD this way.

Re: Last Year on My Mac: Look Back in Disbelief

#278

Post by xp84 »

uxp100 wrote: post #13
xqcgrek2 wrote: post #4

Tahoe has to be the worst software Apple has released in three decades. It's unbelievable it got through. If Macs and macOS were not a tiny portion of their revenue I would short the stock.

iOS 26 is also very bad. Many Christmas conversations between boomers baffled by their phones, and as I younger (than boomer) person I am not as baffled but there are a number of things that take more button presses than they did in previous versions for no apparent reason. And it’s real ugly imo.

They’ve achieved sufficient lock-in that they can enshittify everything as much as they want with no consequences. Switching has too high an ecosystem cost, plus in the US it’s a special case that a lot of people think if you don’t use all Apple products you are probably poor.

Re: Last Year on My Mac: Look Back in Disbelief

#279

Post by xp84 »

bratwurst3000 wrote: post #62

i switched this year from windows to mac because windows is unbearable.... but apple seems to want to get rid of desktop user also

It’s clear how much Apple now hates the MacOS as we have known it… I think the concept of a computer which can run code outside a sandbox and without tollbooths that extract rents for Apple is abhorrent to them.

I think the vague plan is to iOSify it more and more until there is no real difference, including the lockdown and mandatory App Store requirement.

Re: Last Year on My Mac: Look Back in Disbelief

#280

Post by nutjob2 »

kibwen wrote: post #127
7e wrote: post #119

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Switch to what? Windows is horrible and Linux is just as bad (but in different ways).

Windows is horrible, yes. But Linux definitely isn't "just as bad" as MacOS, it's already better, and it keeps getting better every year while MacOS keeps getting worse.

Obviously not representative, but recently I installed the most recent release of the "user friendliest desktop Linux" and tried to get it to stop asking me for my password, or asking me to select the user, on startup.

Not only is the issue spread across more than one similar sounding system setting which interact in strange and mysterious ways, but nothing works as designed or described. It's a horrible mess.

Searching for an fix was great: forums were full of sanctimonious "you shouldn't be doing that, it's not secure" and no solution.

I gave up. The average user has no chance with desktop Linux is my experience is any guide.

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