4 ms·

Am I the only one around here that doesn't like MacBooks? The hardware is fine, yes, except the glossy screen but the software is horrible. Everything is a pain

Am I the only one around here that doesn't like MacBooks? The hardware is fine, yes, except the glossy screen but the software is horrible. Everything is a pain in the a*.

senttoschool 4y ago
Yes, you're the only one.
CHY872 4y ago
As a software engineer, the software is pleasant. I have a Unix OS for development tooling and the standard set of applications (browser, preview, file management, IDE tooling) just work. It seems far more likely that something works first time than my desktop that runs either Windows or Linux (Windows example: clock somehow ends up 1 hour out of sync every week or two, computer sometimes locks up leaving me no control over mouse, screen flickers whenever my VR headset comes out of sleep moode. Linux example: I now have to enter my password 3 times in order to fully get into the operating system). Mostly I'm disappointed with the hardware - my late-2018 model is extremely slow for what it is.
klodolph 4y ago
Pick an operating system—you can be confident that plenty of people on HN hate it. It’s true now, it was true on Slashdot twenty years ago, it was true on Usenet thirty years ago.
- xbar 4y ago
  The difference: everyone on Usenet was right.
swozey 4y ago
If you're coming from Windows or another OS it definitely takes time to get used to the "Apple way" of doing things. Also you need to expect that a lot of the applications you're used to being free in other OS cost $10-35+ each on Apple. Apps like SetApp are great for this and trying new applications out but that's a $10 monthly fee. It'd still take me awhile (a year+) to buy the apps I use at $10/mo so I just pay the monthly. I still have to look at my (unlabeled) keyboard to figure out what the Apple Cmd Shift Up etc heiroglyphs are and it'll always be weird closing windows on the left instead of right side but beyond that after about 3 months of forcing myself to use OSX 5 years ago OSX is now by far my favorite OS. The continuity and interoperability between my other Apple devices is amazing. Yesterday I was working on my jeep and I just dragged a PDF of instructions over to my Ipad from my Macbook and immediately had it to look at downstairs. You can do that in other systems with pushbullet, dropbox, etc but it's just fluid and built in here. I've always only owned a MBP through work, the M1 max w/64gb 14" is the first MBP I've ever bought for myself and it just hums. I hope it'll be "fast" for 5+ years for the price I paid.
- Darmody 4y ago
  I come from linux and I feel like I've been given a machine for computer illiterate people who are going to do some office work at Starbucks. Stereotypical, yes, but that's how I feel. I need this basic software feature. Yeah? Too bad, the OS won't allow you to do that. Maybe you'll find a paid app that does it. I do pay for software but when you have to pay for basic stuff that should come out of the box, it's a no for me. To cover the basics you need to pay a lot of money. Then there's the weird behaviour. Example. You have 2 Chrome windows on two different monitors. You're focusing one of them and on that same monitor witch to a fullscreen app and then go back. Now it'll raise and focus the Chrome window on the other monitor. In the worst case I just have to manually change the window, on the worst case, I'll use some shortcut on a windows that I'm not supposed to and break something. I wouldn't be the only one breaking/changing something in Jira because of this. The file manager is a joke. Again, something fancy but useless if you need a bit of functionality. At least the OS has a good shell that you can use instead. When I'm told to learn to use it "the Apple way" what I understand is, "shut up and get used to it, you have no saying in how your machine or you should work". If I leave my current job it'll be because of the Macbook.
  - chrisseaton 4y ago
    > When I'm told to learn to use it "the Apple way" what I understand is, "shut up and get used to it, you have no saying in how your machine or you should work". Well yeah that is kind of the philosophy - a single simple way to do things. Cutting down on customisation makes the system more stable and I think allows them to innovate more quickly. Don't confuse it with lack of power - it's a fully certified UNIX unlike most Linux distributions. They do have incredible support for accessibility, so they do accommodate people who genuinely need things to work differently, not just a preference. What they're not keen on is adding knobs and bells and whistles for the sake of it, as it's clutter.
    - Darmody 4y ago
      > Well yeah that is kind of the philosophy - a single simple way to do things. Not being able to do something is very different from what you're saying. Not being able to do something, in fact, makes it more complicated because you need workarounds. > Cutting down on customisation makes the system more stable and I think allows them to innovate more quickly Nobody is talking about customization. Missing features does not equal a simple way to do things. > Cutting down on customisation makes the system more stable and I think allows them to innovate more quickly. How? How does that allow them to innovate more quickly? There has been no innovation in their UI for ages. > Don't confuse it with lack of power - it's a fully certified UNIX unlike most Linux distributions. Don't confuse lacking a POSIX certification with the lack of power. The certification is just a badge you pay money for. Nothing else. It can't even run Docker properly.
deleted 4y ago
[deleted]

Am I the only one around here that doesn't like MacBooks? The hardware is fine, yes, except the glossy screen but the software is horrible. Everything is a pain in the a*.

senttoschool 4y ago

Yes, you're the only one.

CHY872 4y ago

As a software engineer, the software is pleasant. I have a Unix OS for development tooling and the standard set of applications (browser, preview, file management, IDE tooling) just work. It seems far more likely that something works first time than my desktop that runs either Windows or Linux (Windows example: clock somehow ends up 1 hour out of sync every week or two, computer sometimes locks up leaving me no control over mouse, screen flickers whenever my VR headset comes out of sleep moode. Linux example: I now have to enter my password 3 times in order to fully get into the operating system). Mostly I'm disappointed with the hardware - my late-2018 model is extremely slow for what it is.

klodolph 4y ago

Pick an operating system—you can be confident that plenty of people on HN hate it. It’s true now, it was true on Slashdot twenty years ago, it was true on Usenet thirty years ago.

xbar 4y ago
The difference: everyone on Usenet was right.

swozey 4y ago

If you're coming from Windows or another OS it definitely takes time to get used to the "Apple way" of doing things. Also you need to expect that a lot of the applications you're used to being free in other OS cost $10-35+ each on Apple. Apps like SetApp are great for this and trying new applications out but that's a $10 monthly fee. It'd still take me awhile (a year+) to buy the apps I use at $10/mo so I just pay the monthly. I still have to look at my (unlabeled) keyboard to figure out what the Apple Cmd Shift Up etc heiroglyphs are and it'll always be weird closing windows on the left instead of right side but beyond that after about 3 months of forcing myself to use OSX 5 years ago OSX is now by far my favorite OS. The continuity and interoperability between my other Apple devices is amazing. Yesterday I was working on my jeep and I just dragged a PDF of instructions over to my Ipad from my Macbook and immediately had it to look at downstairs. You can do that in other systems with pushbullet, dropbox, etc but it's just fluid and built in here. I've always only owned a MBP through work, the M1 max w/64gb 14" is the first MBP I've ever bought for myself and it just hums. I hope it'll be "fast" for 5+ years for the price I paid.

Darmody 4y ago
I come from linux and I feel like I've been given a machine for computer illiterate people who are going to do some office work at Starbucks. Stereotypical, yes, but that's how I feel. I need this basic software feature. Yeah? Too bad, the OS won't allow you to do that. Maybe you'll find a paid app that does it. I do pay for software but when you have to pay for basic stuff that should come out of the box, it's a no for me. To cover the basics you need to pay a lot of money. Then there's the weird behaviour. Example. You have 2 Chrome windows on two different monitors. You're focusing one of them and on that same monitor witch to a fullscreen app and then go back. Now it'll raise and focus the Chrome window on the other monitor. In the worst case I just have to manually change the window, on the worst case, I'll use some shortcut on a windows that I'm not supposed to and break something. I wouldn't be the only one breaking/changing something in Jira because of this. The file manager is a joke. Again, something fancy but useless if you need a bit of functionality. At least the OS has a good shell that you can use instead. When I'm told to learn to use it "the Apple way" what I understand is, "shut up and get used to it, you have no saying in how your machine or you should work". If I leave my current job it'll be because of the Macbook.
- chrisseaton 4y ago
  > When I'm told to learn to use it "the Apple way" what I understand is, "shut up and get used to it, you have no saying in how your machine or you should work". Well yeah that is kind of the philosophy - a single simple way to do things. Cutting down on customisation makes the system more stable and I think allows them to innovate more quickly. Don't confuse it with lack of power - it's a fully certified UNIX unlike most Linux distributions. They do have incredible support for accessibility, so they do accommodate people who genuinely need things to work differently, not just a preference. What they're not keen on is adding knobs and bells and whistles for the sake of it, as it's clutter.
  - Darmody 4y ago
    > Well yeah that is kind of the philosophy - a single simple way to do things. Not being able to do something is very different from what you're saying. Not being able to do something, in fact, makes it more complicated because you need workarounds. > Cutting down on customisation makes the system more stable and I think allows them to innovate more quickly Nobody is talking about customization. Missing features does not equal a simple way to do things. > Cutting down on customisation makes the system more stable and I think allows them to innovate more quickly. How? How does that allow them to innovate more quickly? There has been no innovation in their UI for ages. > Don't confuse it with lack of power - it's a fully certified UNIX unlike most Linux distributions. Don't confuse lacking a POSIX certification with the lack of power. The certification is just a badge you pay money for. Nothing else. It can't even run Docker properly.

deleted 4y ago

[deleted]