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Let me guess, ex-Windows user? The OSs are visually similar these days but there are fundamental conceptual differences, still. Window management on macOS, in

Let me guess, ex-Windows user? The OSs are visually similar these days but there are fundamental conceptual differences, still. Window management on macOS, in particular, is a merger from two very different paradigms: classic Mac OS and NeXT. I was a huge fan of the former, though I don’t know if it would have scaled to the terabytes of today. In any case, my advice is trying to understand whatever underling reason some behavior might have instead of trying to shoehorn a previous habit. I know a lot of my frustration with Windows was that it was not the Mac I’ve been using all of my life.

lolinder 3y ago
Without providing the underlying reason that supposedly exists this just feels condescending. I recently switched jobs, and with the change switched from Ubuntu to Mac for my work computer. I've started to develop severe repetitive stress in my right hand from too much magic mouse usage because there are so many things that just don't have keyboard shortcuts. So, for the benefit of all of us ex-PC users, what is the underlying reason for this extreme dearth of keyboard shortcuts? How am I meant to be using these Mac OS tools in a way that doesn't kill my hand?
- tambourine_man 3y ago
  Didn't mean to sound condescending, it was my actual experience with Windows. Aside from some obviously dumb things (like drive letters), some are just different and understanding them decreased my frustration. I didn't directly address the original post issues because it's hard for me to even understand it, since it's nothing I've ever dealt with. For example: “…an issue where you can select an app and it does absolutely nothing” I _think_ the author is struggling with the fact that Mac apps can be open and have no windows. And that's not weird at all, just different. Or maybe it's a virtual desktop thing (Spaces), which I don't use. Anyway, I use keyboard shortcuts extensively, command-tilde will switch between windows on the same app, for instance, if that's what you're looking for. But keyboard shortcuts are much more discoverable in Windows than on the Mac. The letters are underlined in dialog boxes. It's uglier, but way more obvious. You can use the Mac with a keyboard only, but you may have to Google some shortcuts, unfortunately.

lolinder 3y ago

Without providing the underlying reason that supposedly exists this just feels condescending. I recently switched jobs, and with the change switched from Ubuntu to Mac for my work computer. I've started to develop severe repetitive stress in my right hand from too much magic mouse usage because there are so many things that just don't have keyboard shortcuts. So, for the benefit of all of us ex-PC users, what is the underlying reason for this extreme dearth of keyboard shortcuts? How am I meant to be using these Mac OS tools in a way that doesn't kill my hand?

tambourine_man 3y ago
Didn't mean to sound condescending, it was my actual experience with Windows. Aside from some obviously dumb things (like drive letters), some are just different and understanding them decreased my frustration. I didn't directly address the original post issues because it's hard for me to even understand it, since it's nothing I've ever dealt with. For example: “…an issue where you can select an app and it does absolutely nothing” I _think_ the author is struggling with the fact that Mac apps can be open and have no windows. And that's not weird at all, just different. Or maybe it's a virtual desktop thing (Spaces), which I don't use. Anyway, I use keyboard shortcuts extensively, command-tilde will switch between windows on the same app, for instance, if that's what you're looking for. But keyboard shortcuts are much more discoverable in Windows than on the Mac. The letters are underlined in dialog boxes. It's uglier, but way more obvious. You can use the Mac with a keyboard only, but you may have to Google some shortcuts, unfortunately.