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Comment by SippinLean | Hacker News Reader

If you're used to Windows you'll find OSX very limiting. Everything is dumbed down and hard to customize (which some see as a benefit). Simple things like not being able to copy/edit the current folder path from Finder or missing basic file operations like say, cutting and pasting a file are very frustrating. Compared to Explorer, Finder just lacks so much, you can install Double Commander which helps, but the UI is ugly and doesn't match OSX. Spaces is much less intuitive than the Windows flavor, I had to install a 3rd-party app for tiling windows (Snap in Windows). I'm not sure there's any way to sync OS settings across machines, like Windows.

This is all on top of the lack of choices in hardware, the same reason I'm on Android instead of iOS.

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Well, I disagree, as someone who has used Linux, Windows, and mac pretty extensively.

Any of the interfaces anywhere approaching "easy to use" all have pretty severe limitations at some point. At that point, you rely on the application ecosystem to fix it up.

macOS has a good application ecosystem. Where the base system doesn't fit your needs, where you prioritize spending your time, you bring in the 3rd party applications. Just like you don't write code in Notepad, if you love window management to death, you go and install something like slate.

So in my opinion your real day-to-day experience depends on your priorities and application ecosystem, regardless of platform. macOS seems to have a healthy application ecosystem, perhaps because mac users tend to buy apps. You have a smaller system overall, but in a hand-wavy sense, the median mac application feels more polished than the median windows application.

Completely agree. If someone would make something like Windows Explorer for Mac, I would totally buy it.

As a note, for Mac OS X Sierra, if you press Option while copying, the pathname is copied.

You've clearly done zero research into your complaints before writing them up and posting them here.

I use OSX daily in my current development job? In that way I was forced to switch from Windows. These are all personal shortcomings I've experienced. I think OSX is great for people that want to open the box, turn on the machine and use it as is. I'm a tinkerer and consider myself a power user, compared to Windows it falls short of my preferences. I like the Unix base but with Windows' WSL that edge is fading.

Strange my ignorance is so "clear" but you've provided 0 reasons why.

Because I don't want to start a point by point reply chain to try to convince you. I don't really care that you prefer Windows, only that you're evangelizing ignorance.

I get it, you want macOS to be a Windows clone and it not being the same frustrates you. You could actually tinker, poke around, explore, Google it, ask for help, whatever, and be that power user you profess to be, or you can choose to complain.

> Strange my ignorance is so "clear" but you've provided 0 reasons why.

Here:

"copy/edit the current folder path from Finder" Completely doable through the UI with just a mouse. You can literally get the answer to this with Google's "I'm Feeling Lucky" on the bit I quoted from you. Also achievable in a more than a few "power user" ways too.

"missing basic file operations like say, cutting and pasting a file" Drag and drop does exactly this. Also available as a keyboard shortcut or through the UI with a modifier key, but under the unixy name of "move". Also doable in other "power user" ways.

>You could actually tinker

I have. I've installed the kernel extensions. Installed Spectacle for tiling windows. I installed Karabiner, it worked, then I updated the OS and it didn't. I think it does again now?

>Completely doable through the UI with just a mouse.

I know the dance you have to do to do this, because I have googled it. Here's the suggested solution:

>To do this open a new Finder window by pressing Command-N, and then press Shift-Command-G to reveal the Go to Folder panel for the new window. Then drag a target file from another window to the Go to Folder text field, where it will be converted to a full text path that you can select and copy.

The same thing on Windows? ctrl+L

>Also available as a keyboard shortcut or through the UI with a modifier key

Which is counter-intuitive when ctrl+X does nothing, and the UI entry for Cut is greyed out. This wasn't even an option until 10.7!

These things are frustrating when moving from Windows, that was my point.

>I know, because I have googled it. Here's the suggested solution:

Sigh. You just copied the in-line Google result page summary to me. Did you even click that link and read the other three ways to do this? One of which is just two right-clicks. It's not a single keyboard shortcut or menu option like Windows/Explorer out of the box, but a power user could also make that happen and could even map it to Cmd-L if they wanted. Probably takes 5 minutes to solve once and forever. But nope, the OS is dumbed down and not customizable at all, right?

This is exactly why these point-by-point reply chains between operating system differences are a waste of time. If it's not exactly the same as what you already know, you're not interested.

>It's not a single keyboard shortcut or menu option like Windows/Explorer out of the box

That was my point?

>a power user could also make that happen and could even map it to Cmd-L if they wanted

I've even seen Applescripts for it! They took longer than 5 minutes to develop. I want to spend my time tweaking in-depth parts of the UI, not very basic features that exist already in another.

OSX being dumbed down is a feature, if you want to sync your podcasts it's a great system for it.

https://imgur.com/a/7ZO2O

There. That's the Automator script that adds it to Finder's right-click menu. That's it. Add another 20 seconds to go configure your Keyboard shortcuts in System Preferences and someone who's actually a power user can make this happen in about 40 seconds. 5 minutes was being generous to a novice.

Edit: For funsies, here's the fresh out out of the box, mouse only macOS way too: https://imgur.com/a/Wce61

Edit2: "OSX being dumbed down is a feature, if you want to sync your podcasts it's a great system for it." Sure, just like "Windows is a great system for playing games, but if you want to do real work, you use a Mac". See how stupid that sort of ignorance sounds?

Much of the configuration in OSX is hidden, compared to Windows; some of this being a result of Window's dominance at the Enterprise level. That's why you need Terminal to Show Hidden Files.

OSX has a different strength: simplicity. It's why I told my dad to buy one. What you paint here is a false equivalence.

We can all cherry pick complaints. Try remapping your capslock as another control key on both systems and use that as a gauge for which OS hides settings.

In Windows Explorer I can just copy the address bar and paste it into another window.

My biggest complaint about the Mac OS is that the UI design is garbage compared to Windows IMO. You can read all about why right here - http://archive.aaronhildebrandt.com/archive/osx-an-exercise-...

Beyond that, just about everything Apple makes is not made for people who like to be in control. They are way too simple for my taste and they regularly ignore features that people actually need.

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