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Is there a perfect O/S? I see a lot of complaints about Linux, Windows, and OSX. I personally use Mac OSX at home and Windows at work. I find both have there

Is there a perfect O/S? I see a lot of complaints about Linux, Windows, and OSX. I personally use Mac OSX at home and Windows at work. I find both have there own set of issues. For example, I find the Finder app in OSX to be a joke compared to Explorer on Windows.

aliqot 4y ago
plan9
bayindirh 4y ago
Actually Finder is pretty feature packed, but all of these features are well hidden from eyes, so unless you discover them it feels like that, you're true.
AuthorizedCust 4y ago
Far too much of Mac OS’s UI is click-happy, minimally functional garbage (or if allegedly functional, hides a lot of good things). And for reasons I can’t grasp, many keyboard shortcuts take 3-4 keys even though Mac has four specialty keys (Ctrl, Alt, Apple, and the #-like key). I remember a Gartner article warning that Mac users will prefer the OS for nonobjective reasons, and that IT leaders just need to learn to accept it. I’ve finally had a Mac for a year, and I can’t agree more on the nonobjective part. It’s not good.
- kayodelycaon 4y ago
  I can explain the Mac bits. The command key (⌘) is the primary key and is used to implement system-wide (via convention) shortcuts: e.g. copy, paste, find, minimize window, etc. The option key (⌥) is used for symbols and composing diacritics. The ctrl (^) key is a tertiary key, used for a small amount of keyboard navigation. The fn (globe) key is largely unavailable for use in shortcuts. There is no apple key, it got replaced by the command key. Since the command key does a lot of work, you end up with a lot of chording.
  - Karunamon 4y ago
    The option key also has a habit of being used to surface hidden menu items when held down and opening the menu, or otherwise changing the default behavior of what a click or a double-click does.
bodge5000 4y ago
I don't think so. Strangely, to me it seems like Windows is both the closest to the best and also the furthest from, due to the fact that many of the issues with MacOS and Linux are kind of by design (first that comes to mind is fragmentation on linux, and the walled garden of MacOS). Many of the issues with Windows are indeed intentional, like the fact it forces updates on you, but they're not core to what Windows is.
- pivo 4y ago
  I've only used macOS and Linux so I don't really understand your statement that "forced updates are not core to what Windows is." If it's mandated, how are forced updates not core to Windows and how is that different to the walled garden of macOS? What even is the walled garden of macOS? Is it just that you need a developer account for Xcode? Is it the macOS App Store? Neither of those seem core to macOS. I grant you that there's a walled garden in iOS, but that's different. I've never had an issue running anything I wished to run on macOS.
  - bodge5000 4y ago
    What I mean is that if you make linux into something that centrally controlled, it becomes unrecognisable from the linux we know. If you remove the walled garden from macos, it becomes unrecognisable from the macos we know. If you remove forced updates from windows, fundamentally its still the same thing. As for what the walled garden is, its quite hard to explain. I'm not saying its a wholly bad thing either, I use a mac as my main person computer at the moment. But it certainly does feel like if you don't use your mac the way apple intends you to you'll have a significantly worse time compared to another OS. Opinionated software I guess would be the word, which like I say is a double edged sword.
ghaff 4y ago
Finder seems mediocre for such a core app. Personally I like to use Path Finder most of the time.
- rtp4me 4y ago
  I was a Path Finder user until I found ForkLift. It has dual pane support, easy drag/drop, easy connections to remote servers, etc. Feels better/faster/easier to use than Path Finder (IMO) plus it is less expensive - $19.95 for ForkLift vs $29.95 for Path Finder.
  - ghaff 4y ago
    Thanks. I'll take a look.
suprjami 4y ago
> Is there a perfect O/S? No, they all suck. Some just suck less than others. Not always the same ones by the same criteria.

aliqot 4y ago

plan9

bayindirh 4y ago

Actually Finder is pretty feature packed, but all of these features are well hidden from eyes, so unless you discover them it feels like that, you're true.

AuthorizedCust 4y ago

Far too much of Mac OS’s UI is click-happy, minimally functional garbage (or if allegedly functional, hides a lot of good things). And for reasons I can’t grasp, many keyboard shortcuts take 3-4 keys even though Mac has four specialty keys (Ctrl, Alt, Apple, and the #-like key). I remember a Gartner article warning that Mac users will prefer the OS for nonobjective reasons, and that IT leaders just need to learn to accept it. I’ve finally had a Mac for a year, and I can’t agree more on the nonobjective part. It’s not good.

kayodelycaon 4y ago
I can explain the Mac bits. The command key (⌘) is the primary key and is used to implement system-wide (via convention) shortcuts: e.g. copy, paste, find, minimize window, etc. The option key (⌥) is used for symbols and composing diacritics. The ctrl (^) key is a tertiary key, used for a small amount of keyboard navigation. The fn (globe) key is largely unavailable for use in shortcuts. There is no apple key, it got replaced by the command key. Since the command key does a lot of work, you end up with a lot of chording.
- Karunamon 4y ago
  The option key also has a habit of being used to surface hidden menu items when held down and opening the menu, or otherwise changing the default behavior of what a click or a double-click does.

bodge5000 4y ago

I don't think so. Strangely, to me it seems like Windows is both the closest to the best and also the furthest from, due to the fact that many of the issues with MacOS and Linux are kind of by design (first that comes to mind is fragmentation on linux, and the walled garden of MacOS). Many of the issues with Windows are indeed intentional, like the fact it forces updates on you, but they're not core to what Windows is.

pivo 4y ago
I've only used macOS and Linux so I don't really understand your statement that "forced updates are not core to what Windows is." If it's mandated, how are forced updates not core to Windows and how is that different to the walled garden of macOS? What even is the walled garden of macOS? Is it just that you need a developer account for Xcode? Is it the macOS App Store? Neither of those seem core to macOS. I grant you that there's a walled garden in iOS, but that's different. I've never had an issue running anything I wished to run on macOS.
- bodge5000 4y ago
  What I mean is that if you make linux into something that centrally controlled, it becomes unrecognisable from the linux we know. If you remove the walled garden from macos, it becomes unrecognisable from the macos we know. If you remove forced updates from windows, fundamentally its still the same thing. As for what the walled garden is, its quite hard to explain. I'm not saying its a wholly bad thing either, I use a mac as my main person computer at the moment. But it certainly does feel like if you don't use your mac the way apple intends you to you'll have a significantly worse time compared to another OS. Opinionated software I guess would be the word, which like I say is a double edged sword.

ghaff 4y ago

Finder seems mediocre for such a core app. Personally I like to use Path Finder most of the time.

rtp4me 4y ago
I was a Path Finder user until I found ForkLift. It has dual pane support, easy drag/drop, easy connections to remote servers, etc. Feels better/faster/easier to use than Path Finder (IMO) plus it is less expensive - $19.95 for ForkLift vs $29.95 for Path Finder.
- ghaff 4y ago
  Thanks. I'll take a look.

suprjami 4y ago

> Is there a perfect O/S? No, they all suck. Some just suck less than others. Not always the same ones by the same criteria.