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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

#311

Post by PaulDavisThe1st »

eigenspace wrote: post #133
7e wrote: post #119

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

Linux has loads of problems, but at least to me, I register these problems in a very different way. The problems with Windows and MacOS are almost all the result of bad incentives, user hostile arrogant design, or just neglect. As such, the presence of these problems feels malcious, and it always feels like I'm pitted against the very company that I'm paying quite a bit of money to. I'm left with very little hope of…

> On Linux, the problems are almost always just a result of "hey man, I tried my best to make something good and useful, but I either don't have the resources or the skills to get it all the way there."

Or, since there are few to zero gatekeepers of UI and/or UX on Linux, you and the person who was responsible for the UI/UX in question just don't agree.

On Windows and macOS, at least for components provided by MS or Apple, there's a degree of gatekeeping that means you agree or disagree with one to 10 people. On Linux, not so much.

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

#312

Post by PaulDavisThe1st »

analogpixel wrote: post #126
7e wrote: post #119

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

I think a lot of people on HN don't realize that some people require software outside of a terminal and a web browser. Can I run Ableton on linux? can I run all the audio plugins that only ship windows/mac versions? is there a decent graphics editor? (gimp is not it.) If all I did was play in the terminal and a web browser, I'd have switched to Linux by now.

> Can I run Ableton on linux?

Well, they do (what do you think powers the Push 3?) They just choose not to let you make that choice.

> can I run all the audio plugins that only ship windows/mac versions?

Obviously not (though yabridge can go quite a long way). Also note that you cannot run AudioUnit-only plugins on Windows, though there are not many released in only this format.

Fortunately, however, you can run Bitwig on Linux, along with one of a thousand or so 3rd party plugins. If you prefer a FLOSS alternative, those exist too, though the core functionality of Live & Bitwig is still not quite as polished (it is getting there, though).

Your point, however, is well taken. There's a world of software out there beyond the browser, and it is absolutely OS-dependent.

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

#313

Post by PaulDavisThe1st »

heresie-dabord wrote: post #194
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 and Linux is just as bad I will civilly contradict you about both MW11 and about Linux. MW11 is rather good for usability . The failures at this point are the egregious telemetry, the spyware misfeatures (e.g. Recall ), and the AI slop being squeezed into everything including Notepad for pity's sake. Linux with Wayland is sweet. Gnome and KDE now use Wayland by default and they are celebrated fo…

> Linux with Wayland is sweet

Unless you want to run KiCAD. Or Ardour. Or any other number of applications that assume X Window functionality that Wayland does not yet (and might never) support.

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

#314

Post by simne »

jasonvorhe wrote: post #303
encom wrote: post #226

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just keep giving Apple more money. That'll show them!

How is using an already paid for computer giving more money to Apple?

They treat you belong to community, and use your appearance in hidden ads as "just another consumer choose A.. products".

Even if you will intentionally hide all logos of A.. from A.. products u use, their design is very distinctive and widely known, so even looking on Xiaomi most people will think it is A..

Plus, A.. products usually deep integrated into their infrastructure, I mean A.. Wi-fi router, A.. printer, A.. speakers, A.. interfaces (Lightning), etc.

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

#315

Post by syabro »

rich_sasha wrote: post #91

I'll have to upgrade my M1 MBP some time and no way am I putting up with this nonsense - back to Linux laptop for me. What recommendations do people have for good metal-body linux-friendly "ultra books" (or whatever they're called these days)?

Try installing asahi on mbp? I tried on my mbp m2 pro, works great

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

#316

Post by xp84 »

fauigerzigerk wrote: post #137
xp84 wrote: post #107

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It sounds plausible, but only in the shallowest “yeah, make ‘em look the same” way. Just like when they started shipping the Catalyst-based Mac apps of Messages, Photos, etc so that they’d look the same as the iOS apps (and no doubt so they could reuse some code from there instead of wasting developers on the Mac platform they hate). It’s not as though anything about Liquid Glass makes a meaningful difference in usab…

I think this goes deeper. Transparency is clearly not a good fit for desktop or mobile apps, but imagine smart glasses where every app completely blocks your view of the things behind it. It just wouldn't work. To move around safely with smart glasses on your face, apps need to be semi transparent from day one. It's not about superficial stylistic similarities this time. And it's not primarily about design either. Th…

You seem to have a more solid idea than I of what a Vison-like device is for. As far as I know, it’s for approximately nothing. I have no opinion on what I’d use a $4,000 AR goggles for besides the world’s most expensive way to watch Netflix on a plane, or the second-most-expensive monitor you can buy for your Mac (Apple’s hilarious $6K 6K monitor being the first, of course).

So I don’t think I necessarily buy that apps have to have any transparency at all. If I’m walking around doing things in the real world with a Vision Pro on my head, that itself beggars belief to me. It’s wildly impractical for that with its 2-hour battery life, super heavy weight, and hilarious appearance, and all those will continue to be true long after the 5-year window when the “26” OS aesthetic will likely persist.

So, might some future glasses or something benefit from transparency? Maybe. But if I find myself walking down the street with a screen on my face, I’d personally prefer to just close the apps that I don’t need, rather than look through them. If the glasses are going to highlight place names, people’s names, etc. they can do that with text floating in midair, like a subtitle.

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

#317

Post by concinds »

torben-friis wrote: post #309
concinds wrote: post #289

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The rest of the executives were fully content with this effort, and in the end he wasn't even forced out Tim Cook, by all accounts, can be very micromanaging and demanding when it comes to logistics underlings, but has been extremely hands-off with all his other underlings, doesn't insert himself into their loops or require his approval, doesn't decide by decree like Jobs which forces underlings to fight the bureau…

Such laissez-faire attitude should lead to teams that feel something’s great but it doesn’t connect. Like a product that’s an amazing feat of engineering but feels convoluted to the end user. The thing is, when glass was presented the very first to cry in disbelief were designers. It is very much at odds with many industry standards. So I really have nothing on how this came to pass. At this point, the tinfoil hat vi…

Corporations are more boring than that. Reportedly, Jony Ive (who was given oversight of Apple's UIs), in turn put Dye in charge of the iOS 7 redesign. Dye and Ive then presented it internally. Here's how journalist Tripp Mickle reported it back in 2022, long before Liquid Glass came about:

> Ive’s focus on visual styling vexed the software design team. Though they obsessed over colors and shapes, they prioritized how people interacted with the phone and often built demonstrations of the software they planned to introduce so they could experience how intuitive it would be for users and adjust as needed. Many of them believed that design was how the software behaved and thought that Ive was myopically focused on how it looked. [...] At Ive’s direction, they shifted from demonstrating how an app worked to making paper printouts that showed how an app looked. They became more like graphic designers than software savants.

The book then details a big talent drain from the design team.

Fast forward to the Liquid Glass release, reportedly many Apple designers hated the direction. Fast forward to last week, John Gruber says Ive hates Liquid Glass and Dye, and heavily implies that he heard this either from Ive himself or a close associate.

When you leave a moron in charge and a chunk of the talent leaves, Liquid Glass is what you get. It's ultimately Cook's fault. Dye was under Jeff Williams (operations, now gone) who was under Cook. Operations dictates everything under Cook, I doubt anyone else could say no to him.

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

#318

Post by zingar »

baq wrote: post #50
coldpie wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If it helps, I've been using XFCE since 2007 and it's remained functionally identical for all of those almost 20 years. It just works, it improves a tiny bit with each major upgrade, and they don't rearrange everything every couple years for the sake of justifying a salary. Maybe it's a good opportunity to consider whether you actually have to keep running on Apple's treadmill.

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 don’t see anyone in these replies really addressing the touchpad. Would love to hear from people who have used macbooks if they have found a Linux machine that matches the Apple trackpad.

“Never tried a MacBook, my Linux machine trackpad always worked perfectly” is the usual response I get when I press for a response… but without trying Apple (on this one thing) you’ll never understand until you’ve experienced the downgrade.

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

#319

Post by TacticalCoder »

runjake wrote: post #274
socalgal2 wrote: post #220

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 t…

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

Or, you know, just format the disk and install Linux.

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

#320

Post by DrProtic »

I was about to upgrade my MacBook but instead booted up Linux on my dust collecting desktop, all because liquid glass.

They managed to break so many things, they even managed to mess up the volume slider. Instead of showing up across the screen now it’s tucked away to the top right. What the hell.

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