News for hackers. Stuff that matters.
Re:Multiple Displays on a Mac Sucks by brtkdotse on Friday April 26, 2024 @04:36AM (#40167117)
Three times I tried switching from Windows to Mac and each time I bounced because of how janky basic window ergonomics were. I shouldn't have to buy single-dollar-programs to fix core OS functionality.
Re:Multiple Displays on a Mac Sucks by stevage on Friday April 26, 2024 @07:32AM (#40168081)
Huh. After years of mar I tried to go back to windows. I did it for 2 years but I'm so much happier on Mac again.

I did kind of like the windows thg of dragging a window to the top to maximise, but that stuff is easy to replace with an app or two. General OS slowness and instability and clunky design not so much.

Re:Multiple Displays on a Mac Sucks by monsieurbanana on Friday April 26, 2024 @07:36AM (#40168106)
> General OS slowness and instability and clunky design not so much.

I can't tell whether you're talking about Windows or Mac here

Re:Multiple Displays on a Mac Sucks by fx1994 on Friday April 26, 2024 @08:11AM (#40168414)
Windows are not bad if you have control over them. But in corp env, you don't and the force updates, AV, FW, extra AV scans and other monitoring shit so even with 32 GB of RAM, fast SSD and latest i7 PC would start to act like it's Win98. That's why I switch to Mac M2, zero corporate shit and total control so it works great.
Re:Multiple Displays on a Mac Sucks by sofixa on Friday April 26, 2024 @09:54AM (#40169425)
> That's why I switch to Mac M2, zero corporate shit and total control so it works great.

Unless you work at an org that has all this stuff, like pretty much any org at scale that has compliance or security requirements. My work-issued MacBook has an AV that slows opening everything, forces updates and restarts and all that jazz.

Re:Multiple Displays on a Mac Sucks by slowmovintarget on Friday April 26, 2024 @12:25PM (#40171244)
Same. Our corporate-issue MBPs come with managed policies, AV software, and remote control services (remote wipe, lockout). It's why I'm never tempted to use work equipment for personal use.

I guess our org has chosen better management software, though, because it never results in restarts. The one exception is the requirement to keep the OS patched in order to log in to corporate systems.

The window position thing is really annoying though.

Re:Multiple Displays on a Mac Sucks by hu3 on Friday April 26, 2024 @08:17AM (#40168472)
About FW and AV scans, doesn't macOS phone home when you execute programs?

I remember some problem with programs hanging and/or slow to start because the phoning home functionality was having issues.

edit: yep, it does https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/391379/does-macos-...

Re:Multiple Displays on a Mac Sucks by Rinzler89 on Friday April 26, 2024 @09:47AM (#40169347)
It does phone home yes, but people pretend it doesn't and only Windows is evil when it does so. At least it doesn't have ads.
Re:Multiple Displays on a Mac Sucks by NBJack on Friday April 26, 2024 @10:47AM (#40170021)
Not yet. But rest assured, they are just getting started. I know of one theory that suggests ATT was really just Apple preparing to launch its own Ads network.

https://www.wired.com/story/apple-is-an-ad-company-now/

Re:Multiple Displays on a Mac Sucks by NBJack on Friday April 26, 2024 @10:44AM (#40169978)
To be fair, that's only in part because Apple doesn't seem to have the level of device management Windows offers.

Many of the solutions I've seen in the corp environment try to make up for this with some frankly janky solutions. Apple seems to be slowly improving that, but give it time.

But at the end of the day, the crappy performance hits I've seen on both kinds kf devices are generally shitty monitoring solutions and restrictions that neither support natively.

Re:Multiple Displays on a Mac Sucks by nikau on Saturday April 27, 2024 @11:22PM (#40185738)
This is where 'not corporate endorsed but tolerated' wsl2 is awesome, everything inside the vm is not scanned or slowed down by all the security crap.
Re:Multiple Displays on a Mac Sucks by baq on Friday April 26, 2024 @08:26AM (#40168554)
My WindowServer is sitting at 30% CPU and 15% GPU on an M1 MacBook Pro and I have no idea why. I reboot the Mac more often than I rebooted my dogshit HP enterprise laptop.

MacOS is just a bad OS. It's good if you only ever use the MacBook as a laptop, but the moment you hook it up to a useful setup, it becomes a drag.

Re:Multiple Displays on a Mac Sucks by bombcar on Friday April 26, 2024 @10:49AM (#40170060)
Are you using an actual USB-C to DisplayPort adapter or a software-enabled adapter? If you're driving more than one monitor, it might be the software-enabled type, which is NOT actually multiple monitors over DisplayPort but some other weirdness.
Re:Multiple Displays on a Mac Sucks by whynotminot on Friday April 26, 2024 @08:44AM (#40168741)
Did you ever consider there might be something wrong with your machine or some piece of software you’ve installed?

Or do you think the rest of the world that has heaped praise on the Apple Silicon Macs has missed something you’ve seen?

Re:Multiple Displays on a Mac Sucks by baq on Friday April 26, 2024 @08:55AM (#40168859)
I blame this on trying to use non-Apple hardware with the MacBook. I'm sure if I had an Apple Display instead of a g-sync 165Hz-capable monitor and closed the lid when hooked up everything would be... perhaps not fine, but good enough.

The macbook is amazing when considered in isolation. Trying to use it in a workstation setting is definitely 'holding it wrong', which drives me nuts. Wasted potential and definitely undeserving of the 'Pro' moniker.

Re:Multiple Displays on a Mac Sucks by lghh on Friday April 26, 2024 @11:11AM (#40170410)
I have a LG 38WN95C (3480x1600, 144hz, thunderbolt 3) monitor that's plugged into my Macbook Pro (M1 Pro _I think_, I'm not home to doulble check). The laptop is in clamshell and plugged in via Thunderbolt 3. IIRC, I had to turn the refresh rate down to 120hz, but otherwise it works well. The only hiccup is that if I unplug it, use it for a bit, and plug it back in I have to open the lid one time after plugging it in so it can realize it's plugged in to a display.

I have a M3 Pro MacBook Pro for work that I also swap between on the display using the single cable that I remove from one to plug into the other. The laptop travels with me to work where it plugs into a 16:9 4k 60hz monitor while it's open. I have the same clamshell issue as my personal laptop where I have to open it once after plugging it in, but otherwise it works pretty well.

I do however have to do some workspace rearranging when I go from clamshell->ultrawide to my work setup of open lid->16:9 monitor. But that's no a huge deal since I'm going from 1 screen to 2 screens.

Re:Multiple Displays on a Mac Sucks by rcarmo on Friday April 26, 2024 @10:48AM (#40170037)
I have zero Apple displays out of the three or four I have in the office. They all work amazingly well -- often better than on Windows or Linux.
Re:Multiple Displays on a Mac Sucks by whynotminot on Friday April 26, 2024 @09:00AM (#40168909)
I use it in a workstation setting. Two workstation settings in fact.

I dock at home into a dual monitor setup.

I go to work and dock into a dual monitor setup.

I keep my MacBook open, not closed.

Pretty much all my coworkers do the same. All with Apple silicon MacBook pros. No idea what you’re talking about.

I believe you — I just think you need to do a deeper dive into your kit instead of assuming the rest of the world must be wrong about these machines.

Re:Multiple Displays on a Mac Sucks by yareal on Friday April 26, 2024 @09:50AM (#40169383)
Huge plus one. I too bounce between environments with my MacBook. Never experienced any of the issues the gp describes, which to me sounds like something wrong with that device. Is it a Corp managed device?
Re:Multiple Displays on a Mac Sucks by fragmede on Friday April 26, 2024 @07:13PM (#40175359)
I'm using one in a workstation setting with 1 big curved widescreen monitor and a multitude of keyboards and pointer devices, and it's great. It's fine in the workstation setting, you're holding it particularly wrong somewayhow
Re:Multiple Displays on a Mac Sucks by deanishe on Saturday April 27, 2024 @02:28AM (#40177765)
It's a Mac. Of course there's something wrong with it. It's riddled with bugs Apple can't be bothered to fix.

If it isn't WindowServer losing its mind, it's some other buggy system daemon. Apple simply does not do stable versions of macOS any more.

Re:Multiple Displays on a Mac Sucks by seec on Sunday April 28, 2024 @10:38PM (#40193827)
Most of the Apple Silicon praise is coming from delusional fanboys. It's only good for one thing and it is power efficiency.

For the majority of people that are really into computers, that means jack shit and it is basically just some nice thing you may want to have if you really have to use a laptop from time to time.

Most Apple laptops (especially the expensive ones) are used by executives and somewhat rich people who want to show off. I was an Apple technician in the past so I know very well how marketing really doesn't match the typical user, then you get irrelevant "praise".

As someone who actually cared about Apple products, I wish they didn't switch their whole computer lineup to Apple Silicon. They could have kept making standard computers at the same time, but it would have been hard justifying such outrageous markup on ram and storage.

Re:Multiple Displays on a Mac Sucks by phone8675309 on Friday April 26, 2024 @10:42AM (#40169945)
Are you running an external display and is it DisplayLink?
Re:Multiple Displays on a Mac Sucks by baq on Friday April 26, 2024 @11:41AM (#40170822)
Yes, HDMI-USB-C dedicated cable directly into the laptop.
Re:Multiple Displays on a Mac Sucks by rcarmo on Friday April 26, 2024 @10:46AM (#40170013)
If you miss some specific Windows behaviour, I might have listed an app that implements it: https://taoofmac.com/space/apps/window_managers

(I switch between Windows and Mac throughout the day, so window tiling and Fancy Zones were things I missed)

Re:Multiple Displays on a Mac Sucks by mmcnl on Friday April 26, 2024 @03:17PM (#40172958)
Resizing a window in macOS feels so janky. The fancy gestures are all very smooth, but the basic stuff seems like it's forgotten.
Re:Multiple Displays on a Mac Sucks by jemmyw on Friday April 26, 2024 @05:25AM (#40167378)
I wrote a hammerspoon script that moves my windows and the dock when I plug in to monitors. That's free, I agree we shouldn't have to have such a complex solution though. But I would bet that if Apple did provide a built in solution it would break the more complex solutions.
Re:Multiple Displays on a Mac Sucks by happymellon on Friday April 26, 2024 @06:55AM (#40167839)
You make it sound like they give a damn about breaking 3rd party solutions at the moment.