I completely disagree. Only agree on Launchpad and it does not decrease any usability either.
Why I Quit OS X – Geoff Wozniak
361–370 of 531 posts
Re: Why I Quit OS X – Geoff Wozniak
#362Earlier quoted context omitted.
I'm sorry you had a poor experience, but I think most would agree that such problems are quite rare compared to other OSes. Also, it sounds like you had decent support from Apple. Though they failed, they expended significant effort and money to try and solve the problem. But your anecdote doesn't address my point: Do you think any combination of laptop brand and linux distro would be more likely to have everything w…
> I'm sorry you had a poor experience By no means! It worked out for the best. > I think most would agree that such problems are quite rare compared to other OSes. Macbooks are very popular nowadays, but somewhat less so 5-6 years ago when I was diagnosing this. There were many, many people in my shoes all over the Apple discussions and other forums ("hunderds" from my previous post is almost definitely an underestim…
But in all honesty, can you name another manufacturer who does have good technical support? I have dealt with tech support people from Dell, HP, Panasonic, Lenovo, and Apple. They all have the same roadmap of denial:
1. I don't see the problem. 2. Oh, I see, that's a feature! 3. Hmm, not a feature you say, then it must be those pesky 3rd party apps you are using. 4. Ok, ok, it's a clean install, have you done all the upgrades? 5. You have? I see, well we will probably fix it in the next driver/software update, wouldn't you like to just wait? 6. You wouldn't???? Ok, fine, I guess it might be a hardware issue, but it's probably not covered under warranty, because they all do it. 7. Ok, I guess it's just your device, but are you sure you have warranty? 8. Ok, fine, will fix it, but just this once!
Apple is no more a pain in the ass than any of the other major manufacturers. At least they have an Apple Store in most markets, so you can go and bitch at someone in person, rather than engaging in a futile argument with a bangladeshi call center operator. At least with Apple you have an option to choke to death the person who is "assisting" you, when you eventually snap, instead of just threatening to do so :) Ok, I am not sure if that last bit is a plus.
That being said, I do agree that Genius Bar people are mostly idiots, and are trained to avoid fixing your problem, if at all possible. But honestly, can't you say the same about all of the other companies.
Re: Why I Quit OS X – Geoff Wozniak
#363What system to use for development is a good question. Both popular commercial OS's (OSX & Windows) [& Canonical with Unity, FWIW] are moving inexorably towards a more mobile/tablet/touchscreen feel, with an ever-expanding set of bells & whistles for their core consumers. I think OSX became fashionable again among devs over the last few years due to its out-of-the-box UNIX-like terminal and underlying software stack, plus installation tools such as Homebrew and PIP (along with base level disdain for anything Microsoft).
Presently I run Mint in virtualbox on my Surface pro 3, because native Linux support does not appear to be there for multi-touch screens and features such as the detachable keyboard. Multi-touch and some sort of tablet mode (ie virtual kbd) are critical to be able to develop and test apps that are destined for anything other than desktop-only status (meaning basically all of them).
Is there a decent combination of hardware and FOSS OS that really fits today's agile/mobile developer?
Re: Why I Quit OS X – Geoff Wozniak
#364Earlier quoted context omitted.
The solution is simple: Don't use the full screen mode unless you have an 11" MacBook Air and need even the topmost 20px of screen estate.
I used full-screen in leu of a Maximize shortcut. As you well know, "Zoom" doesn't quite work as Maximize does in Windows. So, the solution is actually: Just move and resize your windows with the mouse, like normal people.
Or use one of the many apps that give you all sorts of window controls (including a nice maximize shortcut) like SizeUp (no connection, but happy user).
EDIT: Grammar
Re: Why I Quit OS X – Geoff Wozniak
#365Earlier quoted context omitted.
Here's my OS X vs Linux experience circa 2014. I have a new OS X MBP. 16 GB RAM, NVIDIA Something (650?), SSD, Yosemite, i7. I have an older i7 Sager, 16 GB RAM, Nvidia 550m, HDD. The Sager for years has been a terrible computer due to the WIFI support. It was crappy in Windows and worse in Linux. I actually looked forward to getting the MBP. Recently, however, I found a guy's opensource driver for the RealTek WIFI.…
Does OS X' swappiness affect performance?
I don't have personal experience since my MBP has a SSD. Things page fairly quickly. It will affect the total life expectancy of the drive. With the new models of MBP that's a real problem. The drive and it's logic board have to be replaced. This will require me to pay a "Genius" to do that. Ideally I could just pop a few screws and be done.
Re: Why I Quit OS X – Geoff Wozniak
#366I want to quit OS X but can't until I get (as almost everyone else in the world has said): 1.) Laptop hardware/construction that rivals Apples. I hate plastic. I hate it. 2.) A usable trackpad. Apple has by far the most usable trackpad and it works well. Windows/Linux laptops force me to bring a mouse because the trackpads/drivers are essentially crap by comparison. 3.) Hassle-free wireless and graphics card drivers.…
Thinkpad - the only other laptop that gets as much respect and fanaticism as Macbooks. Out-of-the-box compatibility with most linux flavors. Very eminently upgradable and maintainable (we cannot, in all seriousness, even begin to compare the maintainability of Thinkpads to Macbook)
Oh and the Thinkpad keyboard kicks the Macbook's butt.
Re: Why I Quit OS X – Geoff Wozniak
#367I haven't quit it, but the problems, annoyances, surprises, seeming ineptitude, and creeping iOSification of OS X that the author describes sure do resonate. Every new major release of OS X is a day or week spent disabling things, shutting down Spotlight again, trying to restore things back to the way they were instead of the way some Designer with a capital D thinks they should be, for no other reason than, "Beauty.…
As a heavy user of OS X, I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about related to your difficulties upgrading to new versions. I've gone from 10.4 all the way to Mavericks and have yet to have a single shred of trouble.
Re: Why I Quit OS X – Geoff Wozniak
#368Earlier quoted context omitted.
Windows 8 wasn't all that bad. Relative to Windows 7 it was just two steps forward and two steps back. For all the Metro haters: the core workflow to launch applications (winkey + number keys or winkey + search + enter) is still the same as Windows 7. Windows 8.1 improved things a bit by identifying some scenarios where Metro was unnecessary and keeping it out of the way. So relative to Windows 7 it's now two steps f…
Windows 7 is my preferred modern OS. For a time in work I was using a windows 8 machine and I found it bafflingly bad. What were the 2 steps forward you mentioned? I'm curious. In my experience it was just 2 steps backward, period.
There's big ticket improvements for performance [1] and a huge step forward for multiple monitor support [2]. I've given third-party multiple monitor utilities the boot. Multiple monitor support in Windows 8 is squarely in "good enough" territory.
There's smaller improvements too, like the new Task Manager [3].
There's also mundane stuff like rejigged NTFS this and that [4].
Client Hyper-V is a welcome addition.
etc. etc.
[1] http://blogs.msdn.com/b/b8/archive/2011/10/07/reducing-runti...
[2] http://blogs.msdn.com/b/b8/archive/2012/05/21/enhancing-wind...
[3] http://blogs.msdn.com/b/b8/archive/2011/10/13/the-windows-8-...
[4] http://blogs.msdn.com/b/b8/archive/2012/05/09/redesigning-ch...
Re: Why I Quit OS X – Geoff Wozniak
#369Earlier quoted context omitted.
Thinkpads have pretty much worked on Linux, for me. Overall, Linux is great these days if you have compatible hardware. A random Windows laptop might be a problem, but a Thinkpad or a System76 or such should all be fine.
While it worked acceptably for three years, I gave up on my Thinkpad W520 this summer and switched to a Macbook Pro. Partly it was due to size (going from a bulky 15" to a really slim 13" computer is awesome), and partly it was due to wanting application support again, after seven years of almost exclusively using Linux. One thing I'd like to say when looking at Thinkpads, or other laptops, for running Linux on, don'…
I have a T430s - fairly thin with hybrid graphics. You should know that you can switch off hybrid graphics in the BIOS. Please feel free to get a hybrid graphics thinkpad - you can use it whichever way you want.
Re: Why I Quit OS X – Geoff Wozniak
#370Earlier quoted context omitted.
I use Cygwin on a regular basis. It's basically indispensible, because it's the only thing that does what it does. But I get the strong impression that it was designed to punish Windows users. Just off the top of my head: * It has no idea about Windows file system conventions. IIRC, the default install directory is "C:\Cygwin". * The "default" install is super bare-bones, and missing a lot of pretty basic Unix utils.…
So? Who cares about Windows conventions? You're using Cygwin to escape Windows.
I only use Cygwin because its the only way to use certain tools. I run a tidy Windows install otherwise. I wouldn't use it at all if I didn't need to.