4 ms·

I honestly don't get the appeal of the Apple ecosystem. Yes, some bits "just work", and yes I wish that parts of the Linux and Windows ecosystems "just worked"

I honestly don't get the appeal of the Apple ecosystem. Yes, some bits "just work", and yes I wish that parts of the Linux and Windows ecosystems "just worked" too. But.... There are aspects that not only don't "just work", they are aggressively terrible. For example, I still get wildly infuriated every time I try to share my partner's MacBook screen to my Linux laptop so I can build iOS apps, while my partner is logged into the MacBook. It's staggeringly bad. If I had a few spare thousand currency, sure, I'd buy a separate MacBook and a new iPhone, but that's not an option. Remote X windowing has worked for literally decades; Android remote screen access is trivial. Apple is waaaaaay behind the curve here, and it seems deliberately so, in order to encourage sales of multiple devices. Small organisations and individual developers make their livings from addressing these issues. Then Apple re-implements the missing functionality, sometimes aggressively shutting out the third party provider; for example, remember f.lux's experience? https://justgetflux.com/news/2016/01/14/apple.html https://justgetflux.com/news/2016/01/14/apple.html But when the missing functionality is added by Apple, the fan-boiz go wild: https://www.businessinsider.com/apple-iphone-night-shift-review-2016-3 https://www.businessinsider.com/apple-iphone-night-shift-rev... ...including articles in the mainstream press https://amp.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/shortcuts/2016/apr/03/night-shift-ios-iphone-sleep-app https://amp.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/shortcuts/2016/apr/... I'm sure similar happens in other ecosystems, but the level of hyperbole among Apple fans and degree of seemingly-deliberate brokenness and profiteering makes Apple utterly unappealing to me.

argsnd 5y ago
You know macOS has a built-in bog-standard VNC server right?
- austinjp 5y ago
  Yep. Now, tell me how to reliably remotely interact with my MacBook desktop while my partner is logged in to that MacBook and I'm using a separate machine. Note -- and I can't believe this needs spelling out -- I want to see my desktop. Not the login screen, not my partner's desktop. Also note: reliably. As in repeatably. As in, it "just works". Ha. I gratefully await your advice. Meanwhile, I'll refrain from tales of doing this 25 **ing years ago without breaking a sweat. Sigh. (Edit: s/view/interact/)
  - Jcowell 5y ago
    > Yep. Now, tell me how to reliably remotely interact with my MacBook desktop while my partner is logged in to that MacBook and I'm using a separate machine. Note -- and I can't believe this needs spelling out -- I want to see my desktop. Not the login screen, not my partner's desktop. Wouldn’t Screen Sharing work here ? I have to test when I get home today but I’m sure this is possible.
  - argsnd 5y ago
    I just created a second user on my MacBook, enabled the built-in VNC server, switched back to the first user, and was able to access the second user's desktop remotely with a VNC client on Windows while the MacBook itself displayed the first user's desktop.
- luckman212 5y ago
  The speed of the VNC server is pretty atrocious though. I've tried RealVNC, TightVNC, all the others. Could never get more than 2-3 fps out of it. In the end wound up buying Jump Desktop which works well.
  - johnwalkr 5y ago
    Google Remote Desktop works great and takes troubleshooting network routing out of the equation.
  - kaladin-jasnah 5y ago
    NoMachine for Mac also works quite well.
gillesjacobs 5y ago
Exactly my experience too. It's amazing how people get invested in the brand and emotionally attached to the vendor locked walled garden. When you ask for something as simple as universal HiDPI scaling on Apple forums. A feature which many Linux distros have for 5 years now and Windows for even longer. I got passive-aggressive comments of how I should just buy the high-end Apple or LG displays and Apple docks which are literally 3x more expensive.
- rootusrootus 5y ago
  > It's amazing how people get invested in the brand and emotionally attached to the vendor locked walled garden. IMO it's just as interesting as the people who hate Apple as if they are some kind of devil incarnate. And then talk down to Apple users like they're dumb, or cult members, etc. The vitriol is fascinating. I can't decide if the haters are a reaction to the fans, or the fans a reaction to the haters. Probably both at this stage.

argsnd 5y ago

You know macOS has a built-in bog-standard VNC server right?

austinjp 5y ago
Yep. Now, tell me how to reliably remotely interact with my MacBook desktop while my partner is logged in to that MacBook and I'm using a separate machine. Note -- and I can't believe this needs spelling out -- I want to see my desktop. Not the login screen, not my partner's desktop. Also note: reliably. As in repeatably. As in, it "just works". Ha. I gratefully await your advice. Meanwhile, I'll refrain from tales of doing this 25 **ing years ago without breaking a sweat. Sigh. (Edit: s/view/interact/)
- Jcowell 5y ago
  > Yep. Now, tell me how to reliably remotely interact with my MacBook desktop while my partner is logged in to that MacBook and I'm using a separate machine. Note -- and I can't believe this needs spelling out -- I want to see my desktop. Not the login screen, not my partner's desktop. Wouldn’t Screen Sharing work here ? I have to test when I get home today but I’m sure this is possible.
- argsnd 5y ago
  I just created a second user on my MacBook, enabled the built-in VNC server, switched back to the first user, and was able to access the second user's desktop remotely with a VNC client on Windows while the MacBook itself displayed the first user's desktop.
luckman212 5y ago
The speed of the VNC server is pretty atrocious though. I've tried RealVNC, TightVNC, all the others. Could never get more than 2-3 fps out of it. In the end wound up buying Jump Desktop which works well.
- johnwalkr 5y ago
  Google Remote Desktop works great and takes troubleshooting network routing out of the equation.
- kaladin-jasnah 5y ago
  NoMachine for Mac also works quite well.

gillesjacobs 5y ago

Exactly my experience too. It's amazing how people get invested in the brand and emotionally attached to the vendor locked walled garden. When you ask for something as simple as universal HiDPI scaling on Apple forums. A feature which many Linux distros have for 5 years now and Windows for even longer. I got passive-aggressive comments of how I should just buy the high-end Apple or LG displays and Apple docks which are literally 3x more expensive.

rootusrootus 5y ago
> It's amazing how people get invested in the brand and emotionally attached to the vendor locked walled garden. IMO it's just as interesting as the people who hate Apple as if they are some kind of devil incarnate. And then talk down to Apple users like they're dumb, or cult members, etc. The vitriol is fascinating. I can't decide if the haters are a reaction to the fans, or the fans a reaction to the haters. Probably both at this stage.