Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

The Reshaped Mac Experience

morrick.me

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

31–40 of 82 posts

Re: The Reshaped Mac Experience

#31

Post by thebean11 »

m463 wrote: post #26
raiyu wrote: post #2

The author makes the assertion that if we are all celebrating Apple's latest hardware, it is because the focus on their user interface has faded into the background and they have lost their way. But reading through the piece the only tangible evidence he provides is more spacing between elements that he is pulling up on 5 year old hardware? Screen density and pixels have improved dramatically in that time frame, we h…

I use macos to read mail. They have been chipping away at mail bit by bit. I have always used it in what's now called "classic layout" - message list above, current message below, sidebar with accounts/mailboxes. In the message list, I could choose what columns were shown, how wide they were and in what order. I could just click on the top of a column to sort one way, click again to sort another. This would let me fi…

The last time I tried to use the built in mail app (about a year ago?) I was met with some pretty serious bugs that made it unusable. Not to mention those smart filters didn't work.

It sucks that Apple has let it get so bad, but I personally wouldn't consider Mail part of the OS. It's just a built in App like garage band or something.

Re: The Reshaped Mac Experience

#32

Post by galad87 »

m463 wrote: post #26
raiyu wrote: post #2

The author makes the assertion that if we are all celebrating Apple's latest hardware, it is because the focus on their user interface has faded into the background and they have lost their way. But reading through the piece the only tangible evidence he provides is more spacing between elements that he is pulling up on 5 year old hardware? Screen density and pixels have improved dramatically in that time frame, we h…

I use macos to read mail. They have been chipping away at mail bit by bit. I have always used it in what's now called "classic layout" - message list above, current message below, sidebar with accounts/mailboxes. In the message list, I could choose what columns were shown, how wide they were and in what order. I could just click on the top of a column to sort one way, click again to sort another. This would let me fi…

Yep, but fortunately they brought back the good old table view in Mail on Big Sur.

Re: The Reshaped Mac Experience

#33

Post by conradev »

skohan wrote: post #19
Vuska wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One of my minor bugbears with macOS since Yosemite has been changing the green button from zoom to full screen. I just don't use full screen mode much. On my 25" displays the only application that gets kept full screen is my IDE. I don't need a dedicated button that slowly animates the window to fullscreen if I accidentally click it. Speculating here, but given that most people using a mac are looking at a 13" screen…

Yeah I feel like I want fullsreen almost never. Even on a 13" laptop, almost all of my workflows involve having at least two applications open and at least occasionally having both of them visible at the same time

You can have two apps in full screen mode side by side

I personally really enjoy full screen mode when using my laptop undocked

Re: The Reshaped Mac Experience

#34

Post by ricg »

mrkstu wrote: post #24
ricg wrote: post #9

I'm not too fond of the extra spacing and padding on Big Sur either. It reduces information density. All in preparation for a MacBook Touch?

Or making room for a device that runs either OS and making the transition less jarring. Though I suppose a MacBook touch (M1x) would already be able to run iOS apps, theoretically, and it would just help the apps themselves, rather than the OS, fit in.

So an iPad Pro running Big Sur? Combined with the Magic Keyboard, interesting... although I'd say an M1 Mac with a touch display is more likely. We'll see.

Re: The Reshaped Mac Experience

#35

Post by conradev »

Vuska wrote: post #17
skohan wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Screen density and pixels have improved dramatically in that time frame, we have larger screens, more resolution, and retina display I'm typing this on a new 13" MacBook Air, and the screen is pretty small! don't know if BigSur is optimized for a 27" iMac display, but on a small laptop, I certainly feel like the decreased UI density feels like a hindrance.

One of my minor bugbears with macOS since Yosemite has been changing the green button from zoom to full screen. I just don't use full screen mode much. On my 25" displays the only application that gets kept full screen is my IDE. I don't need a dedicated button that slowly animates the window to fullscreen if I accidentally click it. Speculating here, but given that most people using a mac are looking at a 13" screen…

You can still double click on the app’s menu bar to have it expand to fill the screen

Re: The Reshaped Mac Experience

#36

Post by sb636 »

monkin wrote: post #14
rib3ye wrote: post #6

As a Mac cultist and latest iPad Pro owner, it’s pretty obvious the desktop’s time is running out. Most UI innovation is now being poured into how to make iOS a pro-friendly experience. The keyboard/track pad combo was a huge step up, can’t wait to see where it goes from here.

+1 on that, I’m using iPad Pro as my only device for design & code for the last 9 months, and I couldn’t be happier. I moved to it after using over the years different MacBooks Pro and Mini’s. Yet, it’s not for everyone and many will find limitations that are impossible to live with. I am looking forward to the next version of iPad OS to see what else they will improve. :)

Whats your development environment & workflow like? I've been considering making the switch.

Re: The Reshaped Mac Experience

#37

Post by Andrex »

kome wrote: post #16
raiyu wrote: post #2

The author makes the assertion that if we are all celebrating Apple's latest hardware, it is because the focus on their user interface has faded into the background and they have lost their way. But reading through the piece the only tangible evidence he provides is more spacing between elements that he is pulling up on 5 year old hardware? Screen density and pixels have improved dramatically in that time frame, we h…

> "that he is pulling up on 5 year old hardware?" is a 5 year old computer old?

I would say it's exiting middle age.

Re: The Reshaped Mac Experience

#38

Post by falcolas »

kome wrote: post #16
raiyu wrote: post #2

The author makes the assertion that if we are all celebrating Apple's latest hardware, it is because the focus on their user interface has faded into the background and they have lost their way. But reading through the piece the only tangible evidence he provides is more spacing between elements that he is pulling up on 5 year old hardware? Screen density and pixels have improved dramatically in that time frame, we h…

> "that he is pulling up on 5 year old hardware?" is a 5 year old computer old?

Consumer silicon components have an predicted life span of 5-7 years†. This life span gets lower the smaller we go with chip technology.

So, yes, a 5 year old computer is near retirement age.

† https://c3.nasa.gov/dashlink/static/media/other/ObservedFail...

Re: The Reshaped Mac Experience

#39

Post by lstamour »

conradev wrote: post #35
Vuska wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One of my minor bugbears with macOS since Yosemite has been changing the green button from zoom to full screen. I just don't use full screen mode much. On my 25" displays the only application that gets kept full screen is my IDE. I don't need a dedicated button that slowly animates the window to fullscreen if I accidentally click it. Speculating here, but given that most people using a mac are looking at a 13" screen…

You can still double click on the app’s menu bar to have it expand to fill the screen

Double-click a blank part of an apps’ title bar, yes. Or hold down the option key and click the green button, for apps that don’t support this due to a custom layout. Still not every app scales as you might want it to, but it’s the old behaviour restored, just behind an option key…

Re: The Reshaped Mac Experience

#40

Post by dylan604 »

mrkstu wrote: post #21
skohan wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> the leaps in hardware are just too great to be able to keep up appropriately in the UI Why would this be the case? Apple's a massive, well-resourced company and it seems like they should be able to walk and chew gum at the same time.

Microsoft and Windows Control Panel migration to System Settings argue its pretty difficult indeed, even for the most well-resourced companies.

The failure of company A to manage a roll-out does not predict the failure of company B. It just goes to show how badly company A manages their resources.
Post reply on HN