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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

#81

Post by TYPE_FASTER »

afandian wrote: post #60
irskep wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The difference is that none of that stuff is running in the background when you aren't using it. Maps doesn't take up a global menu slot. Apple Music doesn't open unless you explicitly open it (unless you happen to hit an Apple Music URL on the web). You can ignore it and it doesn't bother you. Whereas on Windows, bloatware tends to add a Start menu icon, tray icon, background process, startup item, etc. And Apple's…

I never found a way of disabling the automatic starting of iTunes when you press the play/pause button on the keyboard. How do I choose my own music player app? And my new Mac has things like (can't remember exactly) 'musiccreationd'. These count as 'startup items' to me.

You can use software like this to customize media keys: http://beardedspice.github.io/

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

#82

Post by mrguyorama »

handrous wrote: post #72
makerofspoons wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Safari is famously behind on supporting PWAs, most notably their implementation is missing web push notifications.

Not having web push is a feature. They're the 3rd party toolbar or BonziBuddy of the modern web—often enabled, but rarely wanted—however nice an idea they were in theory.

Firefox lets me simply deny a web page the ability to send a notification when it attempts to do so, allowing me to only let the apps I want do so, while not bothering me about the majority of web sites that don't use it.

Why should apple make this choice for me?

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

#83

Post by null_object »

asiachick wrote: post #62
aunty_helen wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In reality, you just don't realise how much bloatware osx has. Install a firewall and watch as studentd or 100 other services you never use contacts apple. Edit: List of most recent and trying not to include things that may be useful to me syncdefaultsd, nsurlsessiond, apsd, cloudd, transparencyd, mapspushd, cloudphotod, akd, parsec-fbf, appstoreagent, AddressBookSourceSync, com.apple.iCloudHelper.xpc, familycircled,…

I agree with the previous person that Windows has more bloat. I don't want the 3-5 3rd party games it pre-installs and several other things. I also agree with you though. For me, All the Apple software is stuff I don't use so when I get a new Mac the first thing is removing Mail, Maps, Contacts, Pages, Photos, Calendar, Facetime, Reminders, AppleTV, Music, Keynote, and more and then removing the bloat widgets like Ne…

> removing Mail, Maps, Contacts, Pages, Photos, Calendar, Facetime, Reminders, AppleTV, Music, Keynote, and more and then removing the bloat widgets like News, Stocks, etc

All of the things in your list are just apps that can be removed with one click. My partner’s PC comes pre-installed with masses of hidden spyware. I know the kneejerk reaction is to bash Apple for everything - but the two are totally not comparable.

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

#84

Post by nickpp »

phoenixdblack wrote: post #51
freediver wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

On a Mac, Safari is the best browser (as defined by being fast, battery efficient and native app) by a far margin compared to other mainstream choices, only matched by the Orion browser (but I may be biased).

Since Internet Explorer is not supported anymore by most websites Safari has become the new worst browser in regards to having really bad CSS and Web API Support.

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.

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

#85

Post by city41 »

handrous wrote: post #72
makerofspoons wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Safari is famously behind on supporting PWAs, most notably their implementation is missing web push notifications.

Not having web push is a feature. They're the 3rd party toolbar or BonziBuddy of the modern web—often enabled, but rarely wanted—however nice an idea they were in theory.

The push API is supported by every major browser except Safari. Just because you find them annoying is no excuse for not supporting them.

If by chance Apple agrees with your stance, a Safari config that disables them is the proper solution, not dragging their feet.

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

#86

Post by oopsyDoodl »

Steltek wrote: post #68
buildbot wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But that's 1st party vs. 3rd party, big difference!

I can't tell if this is a defense or outrage? 1st party seems worse as, depending on the purpose, it might be harder to remove.

Last I checked even server focused Linux distros ship with a firewall.

Bash? Fucking savages! Zsh or gtfo

Not everyone has time to memorize Linux From Scratch and git commit a CI/CD pipeline towards the perfect distro

Maybe if programmers were interested in teaching versus making bank at big corp.

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

#87

Post by xattt »

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…

Common refrain from the fanboys: You’re enjoying the things you like wrong.

Seriously, I am using Windows 11 since official release and I am getting to a point where things are just the way I like them. I was lucky enough to have a machine that just met the TPM/processor requirements cutoff.

There are a few annoyances: I would like to use the dashboard/widgets for weather, etc but they force their newsfeed on you.

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

#88

Post by AlexandrB »

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 has been neglected for so long. The UI was never great for power users, but at least it worked. For a novice computer user it was a pretty good "set it and forget it" experience. In the last 3 years it has become so unreliable (every time it tries to backup it claims the backup is corrupted and needs to be re-created) that I've given up and switched to Carbon Copy Cloner.

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

#89

Post by cblconfederate »

underscore_ku wrote: post #69
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.

why do you people bother with windows? just use linux

Windows and linux don't overlap much in use cases. I think macos and linux are more interchangeable

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

#90

Post by handrous »

mrguyorama wrote: post #82
handrous wrote: post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not having web push is a feature. They're the 3rd party toolbar or BonziBuddy of the modern web—often enabled, but rarely wanted—however nice an idea they were in theory.

Firefox lets me simply deny a web page the ability to send a notification when it attempts to do so, allowing me to only let the apps I want do so, while not bothering me about the majority of web sites that don't use it. Why should apple make this choice for me?

I'd love some data on what percentage of web-push notifications going out are to users who want them, versus to users who didn't realize browsers had added a feature to let websites shit up their desktop, and, like most folks, just click "allow" on everything that pops up on a site (as there's rarely any reason, for normal people, not to) and don't know why or how some site they visited once is sending them stuff.

My experience from my immediate friends and family support circle is "0%" and "100%", respectively, but I'd be open to data showing that the first number is slightly higher than 0%. The "UX" for this feature for normal users is, as far as I can tell, exactly like the bad old days when people'd accidentally install 3rd party "search bars", then not know how to get rid of them.

Historically, browsers have worked to keep web sites from doing things that affect the machine outside that site's browser pane, that normal users don't want or expect them to be able to do.

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