Hiya! I'm going to clarify some of my issues below. I don't intend this to come off in an argumentative tone.
> > I was always told it was just like Linux with a better UX.
> That is definitely not true. Whoever told you that has probably never used either one of the systems.
I agree it's not true, but this is the impression I got from other devs. I certainly prefer the dev experience on MacOS compared to Windows.
> > Multiple desktops, but you can't move windows between them with keyboard shortcuts.
> I use Rectangle app. It's free and open source, and has this functionality.
Wait, are you sure? I'm talking about moving windows between "Spaces", not separate monitors. I love Rectangle to bits, but AFAIK MacOS provides devs no API for moving between spaces.
My experience on MacOS would really drastically improve if there's a way to do this! (Hope there's someone at Apple who might be reading this...)
> > Child windows (e.g. to open or save files) will move the parent window if (1) it's wider or taller than the parent window and (2) the parent window is near an edge. This is very funny but only the first time
> This is just complaining about nothing. The parent window returns to the original position once the child window is closed.
This is not my experience. (Perhaps it's a setting I flipped unintentionally, or perhaps it is app dependent?) Once moved, the window will stay there until manually returned to its proper position.
I do agree, it wouldn't be worth mentioning if the window returned.
> > Running applications downloaded from the internet is obtuse and time-consuming.
> Sorry, what?
When downloading certain applications from the internet, MacOS will prevent you from running it, with a dialogue window along the lines of "We haven't seen this file before, so we've put it in the trash for you."
The dialogue window for an unfamiliar app is almost identical to one for known-bad malware.
There is a secreted location where you can ask the OS to run it anyways. Apps that you have recently attempted to open will be listed somewhere in the system settings.
> > Even the newer laptops with "fixed keyboards" have problems. (Every 2021 MBP I've tried has a bad capslock key. This is supposed to be by design.)
> If you mean the tiny delay between pressing it and activating the lock, it's definitely not a broken thing. Arguably, it should be an accessibility option, either opt-in or opt-out. As it stands, there's no option.
> Most people tend to like it though as it absolutely kills the possibility of accidentally switching it on.
This is the opposite of my experience. It turns on when I don't intend it to, and does not active when I intend it to. (This is my experience on two separate MBPs, so I believe it's part of the intended experience.)
I definitely believe a lot of people like this, and it's probably not a big issue for most others.
> How is XCode a macOS complaint? It's an IDE, not part of the OS. I never have it installed on my computers as I don't write mac or iDevice apps.
I haven't used Xcode a lot. But the experience was surprising (sluggish, huge download). I understand Xcode updates also update system-wide Python and Git. (I think this caused me an issue, but I'm not 100% sure where the blame falls.)
> bricking from user-accessible settings
Never seen or heard of that one, but sounds horrible.
Yeah :( If you set the display to "web colors", it won't posterize to the web palette, it'll instead map every non-web color to black. Rebooting in safe mode, resetting eeprom, etc. doesn't fix it. (FWIW, I think this is only a soft-brick.)
> > features are obtuse/obfuscated and lack affordances for discovery
> I'm not even sure what you mean by that.
"Affordances" such as skeumorphs implying a button is a button, etc.
One of the most well-known examples is the "option" key providing alternate options in many menus, or the `super`+`shift`+`cmd`+`4`+`space` five-key shortcut for screenshot with selection.
This is one of my biggest, but also most subjective, complaints. I near-completely skipped the OSX timeframe, but if I hadn't, I might be arguing Windows or GNOME is the most obtuse.
> > The benefit that the newest Apple laptops had are its battery, but that was ruined with the latest major update to MacOS.
> I'm typing this on an M2 Pro that's been on for about 4h. It's up-to-date and has 69% battery left.
Have you noticed a battery decline since the recent OS update in August/September? The battery life is still great (M1 Pro), but I'm getting closer to 8 hours now rather than 18 hours. (Currently 67%, down from 80%, after 2 hours mild use.)
> > A cautionary tale for anyone else who's happy in Linux land!
> Also fair, but I was very happy in Linux land. When I bought my first MacBook, I just wanted it for the hardware. The first thing I did was install Linux on it. After a while I decided to dual-boot OS X, mostly influenced by some of my smartest friends and colleagues, many of which also pretty big on Linux.
> It did take me a while to get used to it. I had to let go of many behaviours, customisation options, etc. It was a little painful for a couple months. After that, I was fine and really enjoying the freedom to not think about OS breakages. I could just close the lid and put the computer in my bag, and I could trust that everything would be as I left them when I opened it again.
> I stopped spending every available second on another customisation or optimisation. I started focusing more and better at the task at hand.
> An anecdote to counter your anecdotal cautionary tale. :)
Absolutely valid! And I do appreciate hearing things from your side.
I think we ultimately share the same mindset. The best distro is one which requires the least amount of customization to get the stability/features/etc you want. Experiences like yours are what made MacOS so tantalizing