5 ms·

They are getting worse particularly in the software department. Two that really grind my gears (there are others): MacOS on Apple Silicon for an extremely long

They are getting worse particularly in the software department. Two that really grind my gears (there are others): MacOS on Apple Silicon for an extremely long time (maybe it's solved now? 2 years later?) which caused incredibly glitchy, almost unusable cursor movement if you let your battery drain to 0%, then plugged it back in and woke it from hibernate. Screen Time in macOS is unbelievably, ludicrously, fully broken. Nothing about it works almost at all. Metrics for children don't show up. Web filtering falls open after a few hours at random (presumably because the background services crash). The "site not allowed" page predates HTML5 and randomly doesn't work. You can't block built-in apps like Apple News, the best you can do is set a 1-minute time limit. Tons of IP Addresses and Apple phone-home addresses get blocked on the "allowed sites only" mode resulting in constant popups. I had to pay for Qustodio because it's just useless. Also, it has elementary bugs that are horrifying. For example, the pane where you add allowed websites doesn't remember websites you just added when you dismiss it - so if you open the pane again without a reboot, and add another site, it forgets the one you added last time you opened the pane. However janky other things might be on macOS, Screen Time with "Allowed Sites Only" is by far the most broken thing on macOS, bar none. Try using it with your younger children and rage in frustration as it crashes-open silently and allows Private Browsing with no filtering after a few hours.

jensensbutton 4y ago
My M1 Pro still randomly loses internet requiring a restart.
- iamacyborg 4y ago
  My asus wifi card in my pc does that too
- 2muchcoffeeman 4y ago
  Have you tried flushing the DNS cache?
  - typon 4y ago
    This has almost become a meme at this point. Anyone in the office who has a problem with their internet on the Macbook, I just send them this: sudo dscacheutil -flushcache;sudo killall -HUP mDNSResponder
    - JamesSwift 4y ago
      yep, been a part of my bash aliases for about a decade now?
- therein 4y ago
  Likely that it is related to Bluetooth as well. Especially if you have AirPods connected. I noticed the wireless connection quality degrades significantly when the device is connected to an AirPod.
- atribecalledqst 4y ago
  I haven't seen mine lose Internet entirely, but I have seen it randomly switch between the two Wi-Fi networks I have set up where I live. I eventually got frustrated with this and then told it it can't automatically connect to one of them anymore.
abdusco 4y ago
> almost unusable cursor movement if you let your battery drain to 0%, then plugged it back in and woke it from hibernate. Argh. I hate it when this happens. It's infuriating that this hasn't been fixed yet.
flutas 4y ago
> They are getting worse particularly in the software department. I actually just found one that has me scratching my head... If I plug a USB-C -> Ethernet adapter in to my M1 MBP on OSX Ventura...it brings down the entire network. Just ethernet + adapter + power is fine, plug it into the laptop, entire network dies.
- bartvk 4y ago
  Which USB-C -> Ethernet adapter is that?
  - flutas 4y ago
    It's a Insignia one from BB[0], so probably not the best QA on it. Still trying to determine why and when though, as this adapter used to be fine. [0]: https://www.bestbuy.com/site/insignia-7-port-type-c-hub-with-gigabit-ethernet-adapter/6259291.p?skuId=6259291 https://www.bestbuy.com/site/insignia-7-port-type-c-hub-with...
- EVa5I7bHFq9mnYK 4y ago
  Do they run their own DHCP server on a laptop maybe?
- rootusrootus 4y ago
  That's a weird one. When you say it brings it down, what do you mean is actually occurring? I have a USB ethernet adapter in use on my M1 MBP running Ventura as I write this, and it's been completely fine. But if there's a gotcha out there lurking, I'd be interested to know what triggers it.
  - flutas 4y ago
    > When you say it brings it down, what do you mean is actually occurring? All wired devices on the network (except for an AP strangely enough) drop all connections and can't get DNS responses. I haven't had the time to dig in further than that yet though. Someone did reply with this link[0], which may be the same or similar to what I'm experiencing just a different scenario. [0]: https://mjtsai.com/blog/2022/05/11/usb-c-hubs-breaking-ethernet-networks/ https://mjtsai.com/blog/2022/05/11/usb-c-hubs-breaking-ether...
onlyrealcuzzo 4y ago
> They are getting worse particularly in the software department. I would argue the opposite. Their software has historically been terrible. OG iTunes ranks at the top of the worst pieces of software I've ever used - rendered the iPod almost useless for me. Their software is still unimpressive, but I'd argue it's trending in the right direction. The App Store is functional. Safari is not terrible. Their email client is fine. The Apple TV UI is pretty snazzy, etc.
- ericmay 4y ago
  Yea I don't get this either. I find while maybe lacking some features, a lot of their applications work either just fine or great. Apple Maps for example, the Podcasts app, many others.
  - gjsman-1000 4y ago
    You have to be kidding, right? The Apple Podcasts app is widely considered one of Apple's worst - and before Apple started playing "rating pop up" shenanigans, it was rated only 1.8 stars on the App Store. https://9to5mac.com/2021/11/19/apple-podcasts-app-store-rating-jump/ https://9to5mac.com/2021/11/19/apple-podcasts-app-store-rati...
    - ericmay 4y ago
      I use it every day and it works just fine for me. What's wrong with it?
- sn0wf1re 4y ago
  The Apple TV is a multi-user device with extremely poor multi-user support. Considering how long it has been used by B&Bs it amazes me that Apple has never allowed guest access. Music App sometimes breaks. It just doesn't play certain sections of some songs, even on replay, closing the app doesn't help; a device reboot is required to play songs in their entirety. And this happens on both devices that are connected via hardwire as well as wifi/LTE. Considering Apple's revenue it is ridiculous how long bugs persist in their applications.
bink 4y ago
The first example is oddly specific. I think you can find flaws like that with almost any software or hardware manufacturer, regardless of monopoly status. The second example is, I think, a perfect example of what most large companies do, which is to neglect specific features in favor of others. People want to work on the "new hotness" rather than maintain something written 10 years ago by a team that no longer exists. I don't think either suggests that Apple software is getting worse as a whole. The simple fact that they rolled out an entirely new architecture and it's worked pretty flawlessly (except for some fraction of people when the battery drains to 0 and it hibernates and needs a restart) suggests to me that they aren't just resting and pulling in money based on their monopoly status (which they don't even have in any industry).
- gjsman-1000 4y ago
  > The first example is oddly specific. I think you can find flaws like that with almost any software or hardware manufacturer, regardless of monopoly status. True... but this one has caught me, over and over, and it makes me paranoid of a low battery. Before I just had a lazy habit of not getting off the couch until the battery actually died from 0%. Now I panic the moment it turns red, because the cursor bug quickly makes working miserable and requires a restart for my sanity. > I don't think either suggests that Apple software is getting worse as a whole. To me, it suggests they are letting more surface-level bugs get a pass than previously. Before, they might have had poorly designed software once in a while, but not things this basic and easily discoverable.
  - PTcartelsLOL 4y ago
    Gawd... a restart... unthinkable. You should try windows...
  - Aeolos 4y ago
    Seems to have been finally fixed on MacOS Venture 13.0. But 2 years of this bug was embarrassing.
- 2muchcoffeeman 4y ago
  There was a time when Apple would release a new version that was basically a maintenance release. And they would squash a bunch of bugs. I think a lot of people still remember this. Perhaps through some objective measure, it’s still ok. But I agree it all feels worse.
atribecalledqst 4y ago
A lot of folks are disagreeing with you in the replies but I actually agree with you to be honest. I recently got a new Macbook Pro after my old one unexpectedly died and there are a lot of things in Monterey that I find highly annoying relative to the last version I was on (High Sierra). I complained about Music in another reply. One thing that really annoys me that I don't remember from High Sierra is this weird "overbounce"/"overscroll" functionality. This drives me absolutely nuts! Preview does this for example, and actually so does Firefox (but you can disable it there). If you open up a PDF in Preview, set the zoom so that a full page width is entirely within view (i.e. no scrolling needed), then scroll a bit to the side anyway, you'll see what I'm talking about. The viewport moves even though the full page width is in view. I've found that this triggers even when I'm trying to scroll down, resulting in a weird, glitchy scroll feel. I feel like I should temper the bad with the good a bit though. For example I have not had Bluetooth fail randomly with this new computer, whereas it failed quite a lot on my last one -- often requiring a reboot to fix.
tomxor 4y ago
All the children comments to this post are amusing... Some things get worse, some get better, some things depend on the use case. They all miss the point. The problem with Apple in it's relentless mission of maximising vertical integration, is that you are forced to align with their decisions at every single level, whether it's technical, social or political. "Cult" doesn't do it justice, Apple is has gone far beyond this. Most other proprietary tech is not like this because the pieces are smaller with some reasonable degree of either interchangeability or combinability. Apple isn't neutral technology it's some kind of political entity. When you sign up, you are handing over all control, which is fine until they do something you don't like at which point your only choice is abandon the entire thing or accept it - I don't give a crap about NFTs, but I give a crap about some things, and I don't want to be part of an ecosystem where I can be pushed around. I don't blame the people who are stuck in it, it's hard to exit something that can define a lot about how you work with technology, they are essentially the victim of a big bully with a very difficult to stomach exit strategy.
- smoldesu 4y ago
  tomxor, you may survive us yet. Unfortunately, many of the hackers on this site aren't willing to see the forest for the trees. We're too busy fighting over myopic identity politics to imagine a future without the problems we face today.
superdisk 4y ago
Similar frustration and mind boggling for me when I found that the "custom focus" feature on iOS just does... nothing. It's a feature where you're supposed to be able to select which specific apps can send notifications to you, so I made one which allows Slack to come through (for work) and blocks everything else. Instead, it just allows everything through as if the "custom focus" wasn't enabled at all. No seriously, I'm baffled. How was this released?

jensensbutton 4y ago

My M1 Pro still randomly loses internet requiring a restart.

iamacyborg 4y ago
My asus wifi card in my pc does that too
2muchcoffeeman 4y ago
Have you tried flushing the DNS cache?
- typon 4y ago
  This has almost become a meme at this point. Anyone in the office who has a problem with their internet on the Macbook, I just send them this: sudo dscacheutil -flushcache;sudo killall -HUP mDNSResponder
  - JamesSwift 4y ago
    yep, been a part of my bash aliases for about a decade now?
therein 4y ago
Likely that it is related to Bluetooth as well. Especially if you have AirPods connected. I noticed the wireless connection quality degrades significantly when the device is connected to an AirPod.
atribecalledqst 4y ago
I haven't seen mine lose Internet entirely, but I have seen it randomly switch between the two Wi-Fi networks I have set up where I live. I eventually got frustrated with this and then told it it can't automatically connect to one of them anymore.

abdusco 4y ago

> almost unusable cursor movement if you let your battery drain to 0%, then plugged it back in and woke it from hibernate. Argh. I hate it when this happens. It's infuriating that this hasn't been fixed yet.

flutas 4y ago

> They are getting worse particularly in the software department. I actually just found one that has me scratching my head... If I plug a USB-C -> Ethernet adapter in to my M1 MBP on OSX Ventura...it brings down the entire network. Just ethernet + adapter + power is fine, plug it into the laptop, entire network dies.

bartvk 4y ago
Which USB-C -> Ethernet adapter is that?
- flutas 4y ago
  It's a Insignia one from BB[0], so probably not the best QA on it. Still trying to determine why and when though, as this adapter used to be fine. [0]: https://www.bestbuy.com/site/insignia-7-port-type-c-hub-with-gigabit-ethernet-adapter/6259291.p?skuId=6259291 https://www.bestbuy.com/site/insignia-7-port-type-c-hub-with...
EVa5I7bHFq9mnYK 4y ago
Do they run their own DHCP server on a laptop maybe?
rootusrootus 4y ago
That's a weird one. When you say it brings it down, what do you mean is actually occurring? I have a USB ethernet adapter in use on my M1 MBP running Ventura as I write this, and it's been completely fine. But if there's a gotcha out there lurking, I'd be interested to know what triggers it.
- flutas 4y ago
  > When you say it brings it down, what do you mean is actually occurring? All wired devices on the network (except for an AP strangely enough) drop all connections and can't get DNS responses. I haven't had the time to dig in further than that yet though. Someone did reply with this link[0], which may be the same or similar to what I'm experiencing just a different scenario. [0]: https://mjtsai.com/blog/2022/05/11/usb-c-hubs-breaking-ethernet-networks/ https://mjtsai.com/blog/2022/05/11/usb-c-hubs-breaking-ether...

onlyrealcuzzo 4y ago

> They are getting worse particularly in the software department. I would argue the opposite. Their software has historically been terrible. OG iTunes ranks at the top of the worst pieces of software I've ever used - rendered the iPod almost useless for me. Their software is still unimpressive, but I'd argue it's trending in the right direction. The App Store is functional. Safari is not terrible. Their email client is fine. The Apple TV UI is pretty snazzy, etc.

ericmay 4y ago
Yea I don't get this either. I find while maybe lacking some features, a lot of their applications work either just fine or great. Apple Maps for example, the Podcasts app, many others.
- gjsman-1000 4y ago
  You have to be kidding, right? The Apple Podcasts app is widely considered one of Apple's worst - and before Apple started playing "rating pop up" shenanigans, it was rated only 1.8 stars on the App Store. https://9to5mac.com/2021/11/19/apple-podcasts-app-store-rating-jump/ https://9to5mac.com/2021/11/19/apple-podcasts-app-store-rati...
  - ericmay 4y ago
    I use it every day and it works just fine for me. What's wrong with it?
sn0wf1re 4y ago
The Apple TV is a multi-user device with extremely poor multi-user support. Considering how long it has been used by B&Bs it amazes me that Apple has never allowed guest access. Music App sometimes breaks. It just doesn't play certain sections of some songs, even on replay, closing the app doesn't help; a device reboot is required to play songs in their entirety. And this happens on both devices that are connected via hardwire as well as wifi/LTE. Considering Apple's revenue it is ridiculous how long bugs persist in their applications.

bink 4y ago

The first example is oddly specific. I think you can find flaws like that with almost any software or hardware manufacturer, regardless of monopoly status. The second example is, I think, a perfect example of what most large companies do, which is to neglect specific features in favor of others. People want to work on the "new hotness" rather than maintain something written 10 years ago by a team that no longer exists. I don't think either suggests that Apple software is getting worse as a whole. The simple fact that they rolled out an entirely new architecture and it's worked pretty flawlessly (except for some fraction of people when the battery drains to 0 and it hibernates and needs a restart) suggests to me that they aren't just resting and pulling in money based on their monopoly status (which they don't even have in any industry).

gjsman-1000 4y ago
> The first example is oddly specific. I think you can find flaws like that with almost any software or hardware manufacturer, regardless of monopoly status. True... but this one has caught me, over and over, and it makes me paranoid of a low battery. Before I just had a lazy habit of not getting off the couch until the battery actually died from 0%. Now I panic the moment it turns red, because the cursor bug quickly makes working miserable and requires a restart for my sanity. > I don't think either suggests that Apple software is getting worse as a whole. To me, it suggests they are letting more surface-level bugs get a pass than previously. Before, they might have had poorly designed software once in a while, but not things this basic and easily discoverable.
- PTcartelsLOL 4y ago
  Gawd... a restart... unthinkable. You should try windows...
- Aeolos 4y ago
  Seems to have been finally fixed on MacOS Venture 13.0. But 2 years of this bug was embarrassing.
2muchcoffeeman 4y ago
There was a time when Apple would release a new version that was basically a maintenance release. And they would squash a bunch of bugs. I think a lot of people still remember this. Perhaps through some objective measure, it’s still ok. But I agree it all feels worse.

atribecalledqst 4y ago

A lot of folks are disagreeing with you in the replies but I actually agree with you to be honest. I recently got a new Macbook Pro after my old one unexpectedly died and there are a lot of things in Monterey that I find highly annoying relative to the last version I was on (High Sierra). I complained about Music in another reply. One thing that really annoys me that I don't remember from High Sierra is this weird "overbounce"/"overscroll" functionality. This drives me absolutely nuts! Preview does this for example, and actually so does Firefox (but you can disable it there). If you open up a PDF in Preview, set the zoom so that a full page width is entirely within view (i.e. no scrolling needed), then scroll a bit to the side anyway, you'll see what I'm talking about. The viewport moves even though the full page width is in view. I've found that this triggers even when I'm trying to scroll down, resulting in a weird, glitchy scroll feel. I feel like I should temper the bad with the good a bit though. For example I have not had Bluetooth fail randomly with this new computer, whereas it failed quite a lot on my last one -- often requiring a reboot to fix.

tomxor 4y ago

All the children comments to this post are amusing... Some things get worse, some get better, some things depend on the use case. They all miss the point. The problem with Apple in it's relentless mission of maximising vertical integration, is that you are forced to align with their decisions at every single level, whether it's technical, social or political. "Cult" doesn't do it justice, Apple is has gone far beyond this. Most other proprietary tech is not like this because the pieces are smaller with some reasonable degree of either interchangeability or combinability. Apple isn't neutral technology it's some kind of political entity. When you sign up, you are handing over all control, which is fine until they do something you don't like at which point your only choice is abandon the entire thing or accept it - I don't give a crap about NFTs, but I give a crap about some things, and I don't want to be part of an ecosystem where I can be pushed around. I don't blame the people who are stuck in it, it's hard to exit something that can define a lot about how you work with technology, they are essentially the victim of a big bully with a very difficult to stomach exit strategy.

smoldesu 4y ago
tomxor, you may survive us yet. Unfortunately, many of the hackers on this site aren't willing to see the forest for the trees. We're too busy fighting over myopic identity politics to imagine a future without the problems we face today.

superdisk 4y ago

Similar frustration and mind boggling for me when I found that the "custom focus" feature on iOS just does... nothing. It's a feature where you're supposed to be able to select which specific apps can send notifications to you, so I made one which allows Slack to come through (for work) and blocks everything else. Instead, it just allows everything through as if the "custom focus" wasn't enabled at all. No seriously, I'm baffled. How was this released?