Apple still sells expensive "Pro" computers with just 8GB of RAM and charges a fortune for more.
Apple has a memory problem and we're all paying for it::Apple still sells expensive "Pro" computers with just 8GB of RAM and charges a fortune for more.
Apple fan here, and I love what they’ve done with hardware the last few years. That said…. I have to agree. Base RAM config is silly low, and higher RAM and SSD configs are stupid expensive. It’s a money maker for sure, I wish it wasn’t so obviously a cash grab. I’d be ok with a bit more padding in the base hardware price if the ram wasn’t so expensive to upgrade.
In the old days this was a moot point because you buy base config and immediately swap for after market big sticks- I did that for decades, but these days with soldered RAM and storage…. Eh, it’s a bit of a kick in the balls.
I am stoked for my new M3 next week though, good thing work pays for it!
How so? It's a polished Unix desktop that runs most open-source and a bunch of proprietary apps, including Final Cut and Logic. It's natively POSIX and has a proper shell.
It's alright. Personal preference has me sticking with Linux, and I'll never touch Windows with a ten foot pole if I can avoid it, but MacOS is certainly commendable.
Before I went Linux, I daily drove hackintoshes for a decade or so - back when the hardware was bad and the software was first class. Now it's the other way around!
If Asahi ever get their kernel perfect, I'm definitely buying a modern MacBook Pro. No doubt about it.
I was watching a Twitch stream from a programmer and he said the same thing, about Apple switching from bad hardware/good software to good hardware/bad software. I do think modern macOS is so much better than modern Windows, but it’s far from where it was. Though that might just be me being nostalgic; 10.5-10.9 (Leopard to Mavericks) was my personal “golden age”.
I would argue modern MacOS is not "bad software" per se, it's just nothing to write home about. Back in the heyday you describe, it was innovative and quite spectacular compared to the competition. Nowadays it's rivals are better featured in many respects, but it still does everything it needs to.
MacOS is extremely barebones. Almost two years ago I got a MacBook to work on a customer project. Until then I've only been on Linux and Windows 10. And boy was I in for a surprise. I kind of got used to it, but let me give you a few examples.
You want to tab between windows and not apps? Better pay for an app. You want to snap your windows left or right? An app. You want to control which app outputs to which audio device? You guessed it - an app. Clipboard? App. Configure mouse acceleration? An app (linear mouse).
I mean, the OS is polished and looks great. And if all you do is swoosh windows left and right in Starbucks, that's all you need. But for anyone else it's just sad how little it supports out of the box.
snap windows left and right with keyboard shortcuts (Win Key + Arrows on Windows)
set a default output device (eg speakers), but select apps (Spotify for example) should output through my USB DAC.
I can tab between applications, but the only way to tab between all active Windows was with a third party app. It mostly works fine, but has a few quirks.
snapping. There is not a built in key for this, you’re right. However you can double click on the edge of a window to make it size to the edge of the screen. Additionally you can set the double click of the title bar to scale the window (which usually is to the top and bottom of the screen.
HOWEVER: this can be accomplished using an AppleScript which can be bound to a keyboard command. Yes… it’s not straightforward, but it doesn’t require a third party app.
neither windows nor Mac have this audio routing feature built in without a third party app or an app that installs with the drivers. (To my knowledge)
3). Command + ` (~, or backtick) will switch between windows of the same app. Using shift will reverse it.
I’d strongly suggest using a trackpad with macOS, as the multitouch gestures are very useful for desktop navigation, especially when there are a lot of apps open. macOS also has “Spaces” which is similar to Virtual Desktops in windows. Spaces can also be “split views” where two apps are set to be full screen (maximized, without a menu bar) on the same window with the ability to size them. This is particularly useful for me when working on iOS apps or websites.
So maybe I missed it or we are talking about the same things. Can you point me at the right thing to look for? Since you seem to be aware how these work natively.
snapping windows by keyboard shortcuts (Win Key + Arrows on Windows)
I want to have one output device by default (eg speakers), but select apps (Spotify for example) should output through my USB DAC.
I can tab between applications no problem, but when I looked up how to change between windows of the same app (eg text editors), I came up with nothing. How is the shortcut called?