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content/posts/2023-09-11-i-dont-like-macos.md

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+---
+type: blog-post
+title: I don't like MacOS (Software dev PoV)
+description: This post goes into some of the reasons why I do and don't like MacOS but mostly don't
+draft: true
+date: 2023-09-12
+updates:
+  - time: 2023-09-12
+    description: first iteration
+tags:
+  - "#blog"
+---
+
+I don't like MacOS, I've been using it profesionally for the past year and a
+half, and it hasn't gotten better. This post goes into some of the things I
+like, and which I don't. This is mostly a post shitting on MacOS, so fanboys
+please stay clear.
+
+## Some background
+
+I am a systems / platform / data engineer, so what I need is generally a tool
+where I can be productive writing code, in a variety of environments, some
+virtualization, mostly docker thought. I need a browser for browser stuff, and
+in our case for Google Meet as well. I also have a variety of utility apps, such
+as Mailspring, Linear, Obsidian and so on I use on a daily basis. I don't use
+MacOS because I need to build apps, it is simply a company default and what is
+recommended, which is why I am using it. The laptop I am on is a pretty beefy
+1st gen M1 MacBook Pro, and the hardware has been awesome. But this post isn't
+about the Hardware, but about the Software, and why I think it is crippling its
+potential, at least for me.
+
+## The things I like
+
+I should probably start off a little positive, so here are some of the things I
+like
+
+- The user interface is generally quite polished, I haven't felt the need to
+  change the look of the UI, so that is a plus.
+- I like the dock and the top bar, The dock is generally quite clean, even if it
+  a more _animated_ than I'd like. The top bare is quite useful, I like the
+  integration with my globally available apps, though the navigation leaves much
+  to be desired, I work on a large monitor 50% of the time, and it is just so,
+  so far away. I tend to never use the `File`, `Edit` and so on options only
+  when I absolutely need to, otherwise key-binds are preferred, as they're right
+  there.
+- It generally just works, even if the bar is quite low. I trust that when I
+  update the Os, the OS itself doesn't break, which sometimes isn't the case
+  with the Linux and Windows os I normally run on my personal machine. (This is
+  mostly my own doing, as I prefer cutting edge Distributions)
+- The fingerprint integration is quite good, it is responsive, and quite a few
+  of my apps can use it for various effects.
+
+Quite a small list, but that is how it goes
+
+## The things I don't like
+
+This will be quite a hefty, section, and I should preface, that I've tried to
+fix a lot of the follow issues using various third party apps. But generally
+they all feel like they are fighting against the OS, to actually provide a good
+user experience. I will go into some of the specifics as we go.
+
+### Display manager
+
+I like to be organized, and have opinionated workflows, as such the default of
+dragging, resizing windows and spaces are clunky at best. I've tried to use
+Stage manager, but I didn't like that it was as fluid as it was. It felt like my
+windows were in a pool of water, drifting around when I moved another window.
+
+I would like to jump between windows and spaces using keybinds, and feel fast
+doing so. I've been using `Rectangle` and have been fairly happy doing so. I've
+built my own little manual I3wm workflow around it, but it is a quite manual
+experience. Recently I've tried `yabai` and friends. And that is actually what
+prompted me to write this post. Not because of the tool, but because all the
+limitation MacOS impose on it.
+
+I ended up switching away from `yabai` again. Not because `yabai` was missing
+features, or had an obscure command set. No because MacOS made it too unstable
+to use properly (and required super root access, i.e. turning off root disk
+protection to the OS).
+
+I simply wanted a display manager which organizes my windows for me, and allows
+me to create new ones, move them between spaces, and let me jump between spaces.
+But no. MacOS will automatically change the numbering on the spaces, if you use
+one more than another, it will think. Hippity hoppity let me move that space for
+you. This was not great when yabai would reassign an app to a space. I would get
+ghost application, where MacOS would think they were in one space, but yabai had
+moved it to another (Where I actually wanted it to be).
+
+MacOS doesn't allow by default removing transitions between space changes, you
+can enable animation reduced mode, where the space transition changes to a fade
+in and out, instead of a sliding thingy. I just want a snappy change from one
+space to another, I don't care for the transition, it is pretty and yes the Mac
+display is high refresh, it is smooth and all that. I just don't care. I want to
+quickly change to my email client, slack or something else and back in a jiffy,
+Mac doesn't allow this workflow.
+
+### Display
+
+I often have to share a part of a screen or use an external monitor, either for
+a presentation, or at the office because we have free seating. The mac often
+forgets window placement, or craps out entirely, requiring me to unplug and plug
+the monitor in again until it works. This is frustrating, and I'd hoped that the
+experience at least was better than what we have on Linux, but to be honest it
+isn't much better.
+
+### Sound
+
+Don't get me started on the sound system in macos, it has a life of its own.
+Sometimes it just randomly changes my Microphone to the build in one, even when
+the mac is closed, and docked. The same for the output. I honestly don't know
+what is going on, but it sucks when speaking to a large group of people and you
+just disappear.
+
+### The Dock and app lifecycles
+
+You can hide apps in the dock, but they may also be unhidden if you do a global
+action on them. Lets say I have a VPN client I'd like to hide, because I use it
+once in the morning, and turn it off when I stop for the day. I don't care of
+looking at it on my dock the entire day.
+
+When you close an app for the most part, it is just pseudo dead, it is actually
+still stateful, and can be started nearly instantly again. This is somewhat
+nice, but when I want to close and app, it should just die. It shouldn't keep
+running in the background. `Cmd+q` will kill it for me, which is nice, so it
+isn't a huge deal, it is just annoying, given how troublesome MacOS generally
+makes building routine apps running in the background for a root user.
+
+### Package manager / App store and updates
+
+Homebrew or rather its packages are often abysmal, often the packages are binary
+builds, which means that it builds the binaries for me instead of downloading
+them. This can be hefty, both in time and battery usage. Especially as homebrew
+is run sequentially, which I don't understand, it should know the dependency
+graph of the different packages, so why couldn't it resolve it after downloading
+the taps and casks? No idea, but it is by far the slowest in my normal day to
+day update cycle. I've also got a lot of them, as I am working in multiple
+different development environments.
+
+I don't use the App store, I haven't found a lot of value on it, maybe slack and
+so on. But either I use `dmg`s or `homebrew`. The installation for Apps is
+childish and obtruse, you have to know how macos works, to actually install an
+app properly. First you download an app of, of the internet. A random dmg file,
+then you double click it and a draggable application pops up, you move it to the
+application folder, and then nothing happens, you usually don't get a
+confirmation that anything was installed. You have to manually open the
+application to verify that it works, and then you can close the popup and delete
+the dmg file. This is quite strange, a few family members have called me because
+they couldn't understand why the app wasn't installed, when it turns out it
+actually was, they just hadn't opened it yet.
+
+There is also the story of actually getting a dmg to install, if you don't have
+a signed dmg, then it is quite bothersome to install, and properly not something
+a non technical person would be able to figure out on their own. Though that may
+not be true.
+
+### Inconsistencies
+
+MacOS default apps work a lot like windows apps, in that they tell the os to
+play by certain rules, but don't actually follow those rules themselves. For
+example the new settings panel cannot be made wider, the finder cannot be hard
+killed using `Cmd+q`.
+
+Xcode is rolled out with os updates (as far as I can tell), this breaks on every
+single goddamn update, and I have to reinstall the cli tools package again. This
+also often breaks, and I have to retry it a few times for it to actually update
+properly. This has been reported multiple times, and have been a problem for
+years, as far as I can tell given the support tickets, but it doesn't look like
+it will be fixed anytime soon. I don't even use xcode, but still it is giving me
+grief.
+
+### Shady stuff
+
+I don't generally care all that much about privacy, especially on a work machine
+like this one. As I don't use the Mac for anything other than work. But seeing
+the background processes sometimes consuming a lot of memory, and then googling
+the process names to reveal that it is some kind of trial run by Apple doing
+image scans, feature toggling, telemetry and all sorts of crap. It doesn't feel
+nice, and I don't want to give a trial process a few gigabytes of ram, when I
+don't benefit at all from it.
+
+## Conclusion
+
+There is a bunch more, but I think this is probably enough from me for now. I
+can still keep using the Mac and MacOS, but it isn't as impressive as people
+say, I am probably not the intended user, and that is fair. It is just
+frustrating as the MacOS generally markets itself as a general purpose os, but
+also for professionals, and after this experience I think it is anything but.