This is exactly when I can't deal with a mac as a desktop. My 30 year old muscle memories created in the late 80s with TWM use alt (on a std kbd, would be cmd on mac) + mouse button 1..3 to move, resize and iconify windows. Kde supports this, ldxe supports this, etc. I tried and abandoned using a mac as a desktop ~15 years ago because I didn't have this feature, and I didn't have true focus-follows-mouse.

I don't want to use some app that could be abandoned and end up like the parent, this kind of configurability should be a core OS feature.

Oddly, on a latop its fine, I somehow have a different set of muscle memories for touchpads.

It sucks when you're unable to overcome old habits...

It sucks when UI designers don't provide ways to configure software..

Reminds me of https://xkcd.com/1172/

I acknowledge that I'm still young, but I feel like Apple is introducing changes at a good pace. UI elements and layouts have stayed consistent. [^1] Radical changes are usually confined to single apps, and if there is a f*up like Safari 15, they provide a fallback option and quickly revise their decision.

Providing endless backwards-compatibility only bloats the interface and makes it harder to learn for new users. The goal must be slow but steady progress, so that everyone can adapt.

[^1]: The best example is probably System Preferences: https://www.versionmuseum.com/history-of/mac-os-x

FYI, I ported the basic features to Hammerspoon (resize, drag) after Zooom2 was abandoned in this free OSS library: https://github.com/dbalatero/HyperKey.spoon

I've replaced Zooom/2 with this open source tool: https://github.com/dmarcotte/easy-move-resize

You can do exactly this with BetterTouchTool. You can also set it up with Hammerspoon.

> You can do exactly this with BetterTouchTool.

Zooom2 allows for moving/resizing of background windows. Last I checked, BetterTouchTool window manipulation required clicking the window which brings it to the front.

This free Hammerspoon plugin will also resize background windows: https://github.com/dbalatero/SkyRocket.spoon/

It's actually configurable in BTT whether you bring the window to the front. You don't need to click, just hold down modifier keys.

As a mac user, and more importantly, as an admirer of their UX design, I have to agree with this. Not perhaps specifically this point, but in general with the keyboard.

Muscle memory is not to be fucked with. Cmd vs Ctrl still gets me now and then, and even if it's rarer now, I can feel the cognitive context switch in my brain as I switch between devices. Sometimes it's better to play along even if you think you have a better way. Or at least offer the option (there is a time and place for spacebar heating).

I've also been hand-copying my Zooom2 app from machine to machine.

On my new M1, I am using Hookshot (which apparently is now Rectangle Pro https://rectangleapp.com/pro ) – it has support for key combos to Move and Resize windows.

The only downside is that Hookshot/Rectangle focuses the window when you do this, which Zooom2 did not.

Not sure if you've seen this issue in the tracking: https://github.com/rxhanson/RectanglePro-Community/issues/46

I am planning on adding some control into the UI for it, but no guarantees on a timeframe.

Ah lovely! Thank you for your great work!

I do this all the time via BetterTouchTool. Don’t know where I would be without it.

Using an M1 right now and Zooom/2 still works.

> Using an M1 right now and Zooom/2 still works.

Same, but Rosetta 2 won't be around forever. Dreading the day Zooom/2 stops working and I can't find a replacement that lets one move and resize background windows.