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Comment by dmm | Hacker News Reader

On a Mac, you can switch between apps with Command-Tab or windows of the same app with Command-` but there's no way to cycle between all windows or bounce between to two most recently used windows.

Maybe this used to make sense when apps were single purpose but I do basically everything in a web browser or a terminal so not being able to bounce between the previously selected window(of whatever kind), as I can with Alt-Tab on linux or windows, is frustrating.

Also Command-` switches to the next window, not the previous one like I would expect.

MacOS removed subpixel antialiasing, honestly for understandable reasons, making rendering on low-ppi displays blurry, but high-ppi displays are still super expensive. I got a 32" 4k monitor(~140ppi) at Costco for $250. A >200ppi display of the same size costs 20x that amount.

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For web apps, spinning them into “installed” apps (doable in both Chrome and Safari now) is the move. This unclogs your tab bar, gets rid of the pointless persistent browser chrome, and gives you the benefit of OS task management capabilities.

You can add Shift to both Command-Tab and Command-` to move in the reverse direction.

Woah, I did not know about this installable web app feature - this is a game changer. Thanks for sharing.

Also I find the default Command-` to be unintuitive, especially on non-US keyboards (` is next to left Shift for me). I remapped Command-` to Option-Tab so you only have to move your thumb.

32" 6K monitor from ASUS costs $1400, 27" 5K Dahua monitor is $500, it's not $250, but we are slowly getting there ...

Not bad! Thanks for pointing those out.

Betterdisplay is $20 or so and solves the ppi problem for the most part.

It’s the dumbest thing apple has ever done and hats off to betterdisplay dev. Best money ever spent on a desktop tool easily.

The solution is subpar, even if it's nice to have one. What windows and linux have is hinting for text and good antialiasing on vector elements. They map these those the actual hardware pixels so you won't have wobbly lines.

These don't matter as much when you have high PPI. But they're a lifeline on low PPI displays (and there are a lot of those).

I completely agree, having gone through that frustration myself a couple years ago, but it at least makes the experience sort of good enough for my backend swe usage instead of making my eyes hurt. It’s still much better on other oses on the same display, absolutely.

Most macOS keyboard commands that let you cycle between things (like windows or applications) can be "reversed" by adding the SHIFT key.

So CMD+TAB+SHIFT cycles in the opposite order of from CMD+TAB, etc.

> I do basically everything in a web browser

Then you are deliberately handicapping yourself, this isn't something you can blame on the OS. It's like complaining that a car has bad fuel economy because you always stay in first gear.

As for the displays, you are comparing apples to oranges. You can get a high DPI monitor which is smaller than 32 inches for cheap. Which is plenty of screen for the distances where DPI differences are important.

>Then you are deliberately handicapping yourself, this isn't something you can blame on the OS.

The classic "You're holding it wrong" defense. Especially when the alternatives don't have this problem.

If you think that the purpose of OS X or Apple devices is to live in the web browser or live in the terminal, then you've been very misinformed. It's on the level of buying a motorcycle and expecting it to have a roof. And then complaining about the manufacturer. Apple stuff has worked like this for decades.

Well, I don't do everything in the browser and the terminal. I also use my IntelliJ IDEs.

But other than that? Most macOS apps are now inferior to browser-based analogs. Calendar, contacts, email, iMessage, Music, TV - they all just suck.

My experience is just the opposite. I have never encountered a cloud app which is anywhere near the best paid apps in quality. What cloud app is better at photo editing than Affinity or Photoshop? What cloud calendar is better than BusyCal? What cloud spreadsheet is better than Excel? IDE and text editor? Etc.

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