4 ms·

> it's MacOS interface for linux Work bought me a MacBook, and after using it for a year I still can't get over how obnoxious the window manager is: No horizo

> it's MacOS interface for linux Work bought me a MacBook, and after using it for a year I still can't get over how obnoxious the window manager is: No horizontal window splits, and vertical splits only supports two-per-monitor, window switcher hotkey has no positional awareness, there's like two kinds of maximized and some apps don't give you a way to get out of one of them, the list goes on. I also dislike gnome, but I had never put them together before. I started today disliking two things, and now I realize that they're actually the same thing. Somehow that's better, thanks.

benwaffle 5y ago
https://rectangleapp.com/ https://rectangleapp.com/ might make your life easier on MacOS
- zamadatix 5y ago
  Also Middle, or Multitouch if you want the extras, from the same author if you're used to middle clicking links/tabs. Along these lines if resolution and scaling in macOS make you think "I know what I want to do why can't I just do it"™ consider EasyRes (which is refreshingly not trialware). If you use O365 for work try installing the PWA versions of Teams and Outlook instead of the native apps. And of course Homebrew to update the ridiculously out of date CLI tooling (as well as pull in additional things you might be familiar with like htop) Another thing that made it significantly easier to use was finding the secret incantation to make dock and menu auto-hide instant rather than a slow effect. I gave up on trying to find a way to get the fullscreen app views to snap into place quicker though.
- fernandotakai 5y ago
  i've been using amethyst (https://github.com/ianyh/Amethyst https://github.com/ianyh/Amethyst) for the past few weeks and i absolutely love it.
- brimble 5y ago
  I'm still on Spectacle. Will be until it stops working (still fine on M1). Installing that and making CAPS LOCK an extra ctrl is pretty much the extent of customization I do on a new Mac. So little it's not worth scripting. Much simpler than wrangling Linux to work halfway OK (which I did for about a decade before finally joining the Mac world).
jhickok 5y ago
For what it's worth, there are quite a few tools that can help make macos a usable experience. Magnet helps a ton for window management, for example. But stock macos is pretty booty.
arez 5y ago
it apparently didn't bother you enough, otherwise you would've just do one google search and get rid of the problem entirely
Tagbert 5y ago
For Mac OS users who care about it, we usually install one of the third-party window management tools: Moom, BetterSnapTool, and Magnet are popular options. I usually forget that there are even rudimentary tools built in.
- bstar77 5y ago
  I was coming to say exactly this. This is just a criticism of someone not familiar with the Mac ecosystem. I use Moom myself and it's been perfectly adequate for my (Macbook) needs.
  - __MatrixMan__ 5y ago
    That's fair, I have been reluctant to dig into the ecosystem. This isn't exactly rational, but something about having to install amphetamine to disable system sleep really set me on edge about the MacOS ecosystem. It just felt kind of aggressive: like Apple wanted to ensure that I had somebody other than them to blame for a dead battery, and they wanted this so badly that they removed functionality that is a system setting literally everywhere else. It made me afraid to let this MacBook contribute to my "for problem W on platform X use config Y on app Z" problem any further. I can't put my finger on it precisely, but something about Apple's design decisions makes me uncomfortable.
- djur 5y ago
  My experience has been that tools like this built on top of the accessibility API are laggy and cause jerky window movement. Has that improved any recently?
  - Tagbert 5y ago
    I've used Moom and BetterSnaptool and have not run into any jerky movement. neither one required any special security level to install, either.
  - gonehome 5y ago
    I use Magnet and I've found it works well, maybe you are pickier than I am (but I'm pretty picky).
ghotli 5y ago
We share the same opinions of MacOS but I've been using it for years with this setup and I'm very happy with it. TotalSpaces (for a virtual desktop grid and hotkeys) BetterTouchTool (glue for hotkeys and gestures to get things just how i want) Yabai (really nice tiling window manager) skhd (written by yabai author, lightweight global hotkeys, largely setup for yabai) Hyperswitch (per window command tab, just like it should be)
reedjosh 5y ago
The original poster made this comparison, but I don't at all think it's fair to Gnome. I have been using Gnome and or DWM whenever I'm able for at least 5 years now. (I switch between the two) At work, I've had to switch to Mac. Gnome is 100% better than Mac's UI. The snapping in Gnome is great, but generally it all just works. Mac was a huge transition for me, and I'm still annoyed that the command button does so much and the window manager does so little. Please disregard the Mac comparison. It's not really fair to Gnome.
gknoy 5y ago
> No horizontal window splits, and vertical splits only supports two-per-monitor I use the `Spectacle` app (which has a newer alternative that I forget the name of) and it will do 1/2 and 1/3 window splits, in vertical or horizontal (though I only use vertical). I find it nearly-mandatory for using OSX, but now that I have it I love it.

benwaffle 5y ago

https://rectangleapp.com/ https://rectangleapp.com/ might make your life easier on MacOS

zamadatix 5y ago
Also Middle, or Multitouch if you want the extras, from the same author if you're used to middle clicking links/tabs. Along these lines if resolution and scaling in macOS make you think "I know what I want to do why can't I just do it"™ consider EasyRes (which is refreshingly not trialware). If you use O365 for work try installing the PWA versions of Teams and Outlook instead of the native apps. And of course Homebrew to update the ridiculously out of date CLI tooling (as well as pull in additional things you might be familiar with like htop) Another thing that made it significantly easier to use was finding the secret incantation to make dock and menu auto-hide instant rather than a slow effect. I gave up on trying to find a way to get the fullscreen app views to snap into place quicker though.
fernandotakai 5y ago
i've been using amethyst (https://github.com/ianyh/Amethyst https://github.com/ianyh/Amethyst) for the past few weeks and i absolutely love it.
brimble 5y ago
I'm still on Spectacle. Will be until it stops working (still fine on M1). Installing that and making CAPS LOCK an extra ctrl is pretty much the extent of customization I do on a new Mac. So little it's not worth scripting. Much simpler than wrangling Linux to work halfway OK (which I did for about a decade before finally joining the Mac world).

jhickok 5y ago

For what it's worth, there are quite a few tools that can help make macos a usable experience. Magnet helps a ton for window management, for example. But stock macos is pretty booty.

arez 5y ago

it apparently didn't bother you enough, otherwise you would've just do one google search and get rid of the problem entirely

Tagbert 5y ago

For Mac OS users who care about it, we usually install one of the third-party window management tools: Moom, BetterSnapTool, and Magnet are popular options. I usually forget that there are even rudimentary tools built in.

bstar77 5y ago
I was coming to say exactly this. This is just a criticism of someone not familiar with the Mac ecosystem. I use Moom myself and it's been perfectly adequate for my (Macbook) needs.
- __MatrixMan__ 5y ago
  That's fair, I have been reluctant to dig into the ecosystem. This isn't exactly rational, but something about having to install amphetamine to disable system sleep really set me on edge about the MacOS ecosystem. It just felt kind of aggressive: like Apple wanted to ensure that I had somebody other than them to blame for a dead battery, and they wanted this so badly that they removed functionality that is a system setting literally everywhere else. It made me afraid to let this MacBook contribute to my "for problem W on platform X use config Y on app Z" problem any further. I can't put my finger on it precisely, but something about Apple's design decisions makes me uncomfortable.
djur 5y ago
My experience has been that tools like this built on top of the accessibility API are laggy and cause jerky window movement. Has that improved any recently?
- Tagbert 5y ago
  I've used Moom and BetterSnaptool and have not run into any jerky movement. neither one required any special security level to install, either.
- gonehome 5y ago
  I use Magnet and I've found it works well, maybe you are pickier than I am (but I'm pretty picky).

ghotli 5y ago

We share the same opinions of MacOS but I've been using it for years with this setup and I'm very happy with it. TotalSpaces (for a virtual desktop grid and hotkeys) BetterTouchTool (glue for hotkeys and gestures to get things just how i want) Yabai (really nice tiling window manager) skhd (written by yabai author, lightweight global hotkeys, largely setup for yabai) Hyperswitch (per window command tab, just like it should be)

reedjosh 5y ago

The original poster made this comparison, but I don't at all think it's fair to Gnome. I have been using Gnome and or DWM whenever I'm able for at least 5 years now. (I switch between the two) At work, I've had to switch to Mac. Gnome is 100% better than Mac's UI. The snapping in Gnome is great, but generally it all just works. Mac was a huge transition for me, and I'm still annoyed that the command button does so much and the window manager does so little. Please disregard the Mac comparison. It's not really fair to Gnome.

gknoy 5y ago

> No horizontal window splits, and vertical splits only supports two-per-monitor I use the `Spectacle` app (which has a newer alternative that I forget the name of) and it will do 1/2 and 1/3 window splits, in vertical or horizontal (though I only use vertical). I find it nearly-mandatory for using OSX, but now that I have it I love it.