6 ms·

Why? I get it’s popular on Windows. But it’s so incredibly Windows-y, not Mac like at all. And we already have BBEdit and Nova. Perhaps the site answers past “

by MBCook 6mo ago

Why? I get it’s popular on Windows. But it’s so incredibly Windows-y, not Mac like at all. And we already have BBEdit and Nova. Perhaps the site answers past “you like it here it is”, but at the moment we appear to have slashdotted them.

j45 6mo ago
It doesn’t have to be for everyone. Lots of people use both operating systems, or stretched from one to the other. Socrates is about choice, just because I might not see the understanding in something doesn’t mean there isn’t any understanding in it.
- MBCook 6mo ago
  I use both operating systems. I hate using things that don’t follow platform standards. It makes them more confusing and causes extra cognitive load. I simply see no benefit of a copy of very Windows-y app. It’s pure MDI with buttons in a toolbar. It’s a perfect example of a 3.1/95 style app. It’s not like it has special features missing from the great many editors on Mac. If you want a “same everywhere” experience I’d think you’d want something that sort of lives in its own world like VSCode. It’s not native style anywhere, exactly. But it’s very powerful and popular. In many cases I get “I want the app I like over here”. I really do. Especially if there is something really special about its design or feature set. In my experience with Notepad++, I have never wished to have it on my Mac once.
  - slidehero 6mo ago
    >I simply see no benefit of a copy of very Windows-y app. That's cool, sounds like it's not for you then. There are plenty of people who would appreciate it though. I've been using N++ for a long time. I have tried just about every editor out there and I always end up back in N++. It's old. It is missing a lot of the bells and whistles of newer editors, but I'm still most productive in old faithful :)
  - tuwtuwtuwtuw 6mo ago
    Do you see that other people might no share your view and instead find this useful?
brandonmenc 6mo ago
Why do anything?
NautilusWave 6mo ago
It's FREEEEEE!
vict7 6mo ago
First I've heard of Nova. I have used Transmit--also made by Panic--and was impressed with the UX there. I'll have to give Nova a spin.
internet2000 6mo ago
New switcher on his brand new MacBook Neo who doesn't want to learn Mac apps and conventions? Guaranteed this person uses a Windows "Alt-tab" style switcher app too.
- yborg 6mo ago
  Can confirm, friend who moved to Mac after 30+ years on Win ecosystem and all of the discussions we have are basically "but on Windows..." They specifically have lamented the unavailability of Notepad++ because of a specific hanging indent behavior they are used to. Most people do not have the cognitive flexibility to really adapt to a tool that is more or less domain equivalent but different in any way. These small differences create more friction than learning something that doesn't have any close mapping to what you knew before.
  - dnnddidiej 6mo ago
    Cuts both ways too. I am finding Windoews harder due to using the mac as daily driver. Haven't got the hang of finder yet. I use CLI as much as possible making use rare enough not to master.
    - cosmic_cheese 6mo ago
      Goes for Linux too. I have the flexibility to adjust to platforms other than macOS but I’d rather not have to. My setup works for me and having to change it is annoying and drags down productivity. In my case it’s more intense than usual because I’m a visual person and my productivity suffers for things like my desktop environment, theme, etc not looking “right”. When using Linux for anything more “serious” than studying with Anki I get pulled down a bottomless rabbit hole of trying to “fix” everything, which is futile because many of the problems can’t be fixed without a huge number of project forks.
      - omnimus 6mo ago
        Recent editions of MacOS look so bad that Windows might actually be better designed (if it weren't for all the windows ads and spam). Gnome is starting to become the nicest desktop environment lol.
krackers 6mo ago
Don't forget TextMate, CotEditor, Chocolat. There are so many mac-native text editors that it's a crowded space for a new entrant sporting a distinctively un-mac-like UX.
- spectre3d 6mo ago
  Smultron is a good one that I’ve been using for over a decade alongside BBEdit. The developer offers versions for 10.10 Yosemite and newer. https://www.peterborgapps.com/smultron/ https://www.peterborgapps.com/smultron/
steve1977 6mo ago
Yeah this feels similar to PowerShell on Linux. Is it possible? Sure. Does it make sense? Not really.
- pulimento 6mo ago
  script for ci pipelines beg to differ
  - steve1977 6mo ago
    What are the advantages of pwsh for this use case?
akho 6mo ago
Note how noone clones bbedit for other oses.
- steve1977 6mo ago
  Can't escape the macOS event horizon.
s_trumpet 6mo ago
Notepad++ has incredibly easy to use macros with the record/play buttons in the toolbar. It is my preferred tool for quickly munging text files especially ones where you want to change formatting through the file.

by MBCook 6mo ago

j45 6mo ago

It doesn’t have to be for everyone. Lots of people use both operating systems, or stretched from one to the other. Socrates is about choice, just because I might not see the understanding in something doesn’t mean there isn’t any understanding in it.

MBCook 6mo ago
I use both operating systems. I hate using things that don’t follow platform standards. It makes them more confusing and causes extra cognitive load. I simply see no benefit of a copy of very Windows-y app. It’s pure MDI with buttons in a toolbar. It’s a perfect example of a 3.1/95 style app. It’s not like it has special features missing from the great many editors on Mac. If you want a “same everywhere” experience I’d think you’d want something that sort of lives in its own world like VSCode. It’s not native style anywhere, exactly. But it’s very powerful and popular. In many cases I get “I want the app I like over here”. I really do. Especially if there is something really special about its design or feature set. In my experience with Notepad++, I have never wished to have it on my Mac once.
- slidehero 6mo ago
  >I simply see no benefit of a copy of very Windows-y app. That's cool, sounds like it's not for you then. There are plenty of people who would appreciate it though. I've been using N++ for a long time. I have tried just about every editor out there and I always end up back in N++. It's old. It is missing a lot of the bells and whistles of newer editors, but I'm still most productive in old faithful :)
- tuwtuwtuwtuw 6mo ago
  Do you see that other people might no share your view and instead find this useful?

brandonmenc 6mo ago

Why do anything?

NautilusWave 6mo ago

It's FREEEEEE!

vict7 6mo ago

First I've heard of Nova. I have used Transmit--also made by Panic--and was impressed with the UX there. I'll have to give Nova a spin.

internet2000 6mo ago

New switcher on his brand new MacBook Neo who doesn't want to learn Mac apps and conventions? Guaranteed this person uses a Windows "Alt-tab" style switcher app too.

yborg 6mo ago
Can confirm, friend who moved to Mac after 30+ years on Win ecosystem and all of the discussions we have are basically "but on Windows..." They specifically have lamented the unavailability of Notepad++ because of a specific hanging indent behavior they are used to. Most people do not have the cognitive flexibility to really adapt to a tool that is more or less domain equivalent but different in any way. These small differences create more friction than learning something that doesn't have any close mapping to what you knew before.
- dnnddidiej 6mo ago
  Cuts both ways too. I am finding Windoews harder due to using the mac as daily driver. Haven't got the hang of finder yet. I use CLI as much as possible making use rare enough not to master.
  - cosmic_cheese 6mo ago
    Goes for Linux too. I have the flexibility to adjust to platforms other than macOS but I’d rather not have to. My setup works for me and having to change it is annoying and drags down productivity. In my case it’s more intense than usual because I’m a visual person and my productivity suffers for things like my desktop environment, theme, etc not looking “right”. When using Linux for anything more “serious” than studying with Anki I get pulled down a bottomless rabbit hole of trying to “fix” everything, which is futile because many of the problems can’t be fixed without a huge number of project forks.
    - omnimus 6mo ago
      Recent editions of MacOS look so bad that Windows might actually be better designed (if it weren't for all the windows ads and spam). Gnome is starting to become the nicest desktop environment lol.

krackers 6mo ago

Don't forget TextMate, CotEditor, Chocolat. There are so many mac-native text editors that it's a crowded space for a new entrant sporting a distinctively un-mac-like UX.

spectre3d 6mo ago
Smultron is a good one that I’ve been using for over a decade alongside BBEdit. The developer offers versions for 10.10 Yosemite and newer. https://www.peterborgapps.com/smultron/ https://www.peterborgapps.com/smultron/

steve1977 6mo ago

Yeah this feels similar to PowerShell on Linux. Is it possible? Sure. Does it make sense? Not really.

pulimento 6mo ago
script for ci pipelines beg to differ
- steve1977 6mo ago
  What are the advantages of pwsh for this use case?

akho 6mo ago

Note how noone clones bbedit for other oses.

steve1977 6mo ago
Can't escape the macOS event horizon.

s_trumpet 6mo ago

Notepad++ has incredibly easy to use macros with the record/play buttons in the toolbar. It is my preferred tool for quickly munging text files especially ones where you want to change formatting through the file.