this post was submitted on 10 Feb 2026

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Unpopular Opinion

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MacOS is the worst Operating System (lemmy.ca)

submitted 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) by masterspace@lemmy.ca to c/unpopularopinion@lemmy.world

80 comments fedilink hide all child comments

It can't do the literal entire thing an operating system is supposed to do: manage applications and their resulting windows, in a sensible way.

I want to know what application is running.

Sure it's in the dock!

I want to find a specific application window.

Go fuck yourself right to hell.

Wait, the taskbar doesn't show the running windows, like it does on every other OS? It's at least discrete right?

It discretely takes up 1.5cm of the bottom of the screen at all times. It's so discrete it doesn't even need to use the corners.

Uh, alright, well that's all the system space you need right?

Yeah of course just that bottom inch or so .... And a top of screen system level menu bar to display what windows does in the bottom corners.

/sigh/ ok, fine, I just want to be able to full screen a window and still see what else is open.

Burn in hell and die.

I want to be able to easily switch left and right between open windows.

Go full screen or I will shoot you.

I want to move an open window into the other monitor.

You can't because you're full screen dumbass.

I want to let a window present a popup like they normally do.

You can't because youre full screen dumbass. Why would you be full screen?

I want an application like Slack to be able to popup and remove notifications when is appropriate.

Choose to have every single notification persists on screen until you manually remove it, or miss all your notifications.

Can't we trouble you for something in between, where we trust an application and let it manage them in a way that makes sense based on their context?

You can trouble me for something in between these cheeks, shit stain.

Like honestly, I fucking hate what an advertising and AI filled mess Windows is, but it can actually manage your windows and virtual desktops in a way that makes a modicum of sense.

It feels like a single Apple product manager decided that the way that they use their computer (a single application at a time, no windows to manage) is the only way anyone does, so who cares if we implement a nonsensical full screen paradigm, it makes one tiny niche edge case slightly simpler.

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[–] muusemuuse@sh.itjust.works 24 points 6 days ago (1 children)

Dude, everything in this you claim you can’t do on MacOS I already do on macOS just fine. You are saying it can’t be done because you don’t know how to do it.

Attack them for the enormous corner radius, Liquid Glass, spotlight changing the top result right before you click on it, etc. don’t bitch about problems that literally do not exist.

[–] masterspace@lemmy.ca 0 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago) (1 children)

How many windows do you have open during your typical work day? And how many of each application?

[–] muusemuuse@sh.itjust.works 1 points 6 days ago (1 children)

Dude, learn the GUI. It borrows heavily from Linux virtual desktops. Swipe up on the touchpad with 4 fingers. There’s other customizable window sorting stuff too.

[–] masterspace@lemmy.ca -1 points 6 days ago (1 children)

Read the comments, I do. Windows' GUI is better.

How many windows do you need open day to day to do your job?

[–] muusemuuse@sh.itjust.works 2 points 6 days ago (1 children)

First, windows 11 has objectively the worst desktop GUI. It’s a downgrade from its predecessor and so bad literally everyone beats it now. It’s not better, it’s familiar.

Second, asking how many windows I have open is dumb since you are asking for a static number for something that changes day to day. If I say 6, you say 7. If I say 11, you say a billion. You aren’t looking for a real answer to consider, you are looking from something to lie about. I will say I have 3 browsers with multiple windows and tabs open across 3 screens, vscode, terminal, 2 virtual machines in full screen a simple swipe reveals, pages and numbers, TextEdit as a scratchpad for notes, a few finder windows, messages, discord, mail, and probably a few other things.

That was just this afternoon. And when I unplug from the dock and move to the couch, they all are organized sensibly on virtual desktops I can swipe between easily. I haven’t rebooted in over a month and only did so this afternoon for an OS update.

Don’t like MacOS? Fine, there’s KDE that does windows better than actual windows does.

[–] masterspace@lemmy.ca 1 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago) (2 children)

Second, asking how many windows I have open is dumb since you are asking for a static number for something that changes day to day. If I say 6, you say 7. If I say 11, you say a billion. You aren’t looking for a real answer to consider, you are looking from something to lie about.

It's not a dick measuring contest, I'm just genuinely curious how someone who actually uses a lot of windows manages, or whether I'm talking to a university student writing an essay.

I will say I have 3 browsers with multiple windows and tabs open across 3 screens, vscode, terminal, 2 virtual machines in full screen a simple swipe reveals, pages and numbers, TextEdit as a scratchpad for notes, a few finder windows, messages, discord, mail, and probably a few other things.

So how do you quickly switch to a different instance of the same browser, on the same monitor?

First, windows 11 has objectively the worst desktop GUI. It’s a downgrade from its predecessor and so bad literally everyone beats it now. It’s not better, it’s familiar.

Oh its just "bad"? I listed numerous basic failings of MacOS, including specific window management failings and their patronizingly useless notification system. How about you do better than "bad"?

[–] potpotato@lemmy.world 1 points 5 days ago (2 children)

“It’s not a dick measuring contest,” but also: How many windows you have open? Bro, how many?!

Really my biggest gripe with iOS/MacOS is that a lot of functionality is designed for an apparent fluidity rather than intuition — I find you often have to be taught how to do the things you are complaining about.

[–] masterspace@lemmy.ca 0 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

Really my biggest gripe with iOS/MacOS is that a lot of functionality is designed for an apparent fluidity rather than intuition — I find you often have to be taught how to do the things you are complaining about.

Stop. Just stop.

Look through the comments. Literally everyone rushing in here to defend Apple says something along the lines of "skill issue" or you just need to be taught how to do it. But when I prompt them to explain how they switch to a different window, of the same application, on one monitor, they list a convulsed series of steps that are decidedly not:

"Alt + Tab"

"Three finger swipe left and right"

like they are on windows / decent Linux desktop environments.

Apple's full screen paradigm has always been nonsense. They pushed it super hard for every application because they have a shitty dock that takes up too much screen real estate, and it's always caused problems with the entire rest of their windowing system as a result.

You know what is fluid? A three finger swipe left and right with handy window previews. MacOS's window management is just UX band aid on top of UX band aid, but they market it as innovation.

[–] muusemuuse@sh.itjust.works 1 points 5 days ago

Until recently I felt Apple UI were pretty intuitive actually.

IpadOS is an abomination unto the lord though.

[–] muusemuuse@sh.itjust.works 0 points 5 days ago

Four finger swipe up, cmd tab, right click the dock icon and all the windows for that app show in the list, enable app expose and swipe down with however many figure you set that to…

There’s lots of ways to do this.

[–] remon@ani.social 14 points 6 days ago (1 children)

Upvote for an unpolular opinion.

But it's pretty clear that most of your PEBCAK

[–] masterspace@lemmy.ca 2 points 6 days ago (1 children)

Lmfao. I use all the dumbass window management features apple provides. Again, they're just objectively worse then the ones that windows provides.

Alt tabbing applications is nonsense when a single application like your browser will likely have multiple windows open, each of which is serving a completely different task.

Making the only way to quickly switch between windows, being switching between full screen windows is literal nonsense.

It fucking sucks at managing applications and their windows. It's designed for writing your novel in café where you have one Google doc open and that's it.

[–] remon@ani.social 4 points 6 days ago (1 children)

Alt tabbing applications is nonsense when a single application like your browser will likely have multiple windows open, each of which is serving a completely different task.

yeah, there is a different hotkey for switching between windows of the same application ...

[–] masterspace@lemmy.ca 3 points 6 days ago (1 children)

Yeah, that's not what I want because again, the application is not the context the user thinks about.

I want to switch between to the last used window, on that monitor, or pick between the different open windows, on that monitor.

On Windows, you literally just three finger swipe left and right. On MacOS you can use mission control to see impossible tiny thumbnails of full screen apps, and if you happen to be on a desktop you might be able to make out which open window is which, but if you're not or have too many open you just can't.

[–] remon@ani.social 1 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago) (1 children)

I want to switch between to the last used window, on that monitor, or pick between the different open windows, on that monitor.

And you can do just that. You just have to use a different hotkey depending on whether the last used windows are of the same application or not.

I guess having to use two different hotkeys can seem really overwhelming at first, but it actually makes it much faster to switch tab through many windows, because they are group by application instead of just being in one big flat list.

Again, you're just describing a skill issue.

[–] masterspace@lemmy.ca 2 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago)

And you can do just that. You just have to use a different hotkey depending on whether the last used windows are of the same application or not.

Lmfao, "again, you can do that just as easily" followed by a series of keyboard shortcuts that do something else.

Again, this isn't complicated. I have:

Monitor 1:

Browser with Google meet
Browser with ticket
Document editor
Spotify

Monitor 2:

Browser with output
Browser with output with admin user logged in
Email
Document for reference

I'm on monitor 1 and want to quickly switch to the other browser window, how do I do that?

One of your keyboard shortcuts will cycle between running applications, not useful if I'm on the same application already. The other will cycle through all browser windows across all monitors, cycling me through two other windows and changing stuff in every monitor just to get to the other browser window on the monitor I'm on.

The only way on MacOS to achieve the quick switching, per monitor, window behaviour, that Windows has, is to full screen them and use command + arrow left/right, and it's still worse then Windows' three finger swipe (/ windows key + arrow keys), since it's slower and gives you no preview of the windows unless you go to mission control.

[–] tiredofsametab@fedia.io 8 points 6 days ago

I have to use Mac for work and hate the window management. So much of it feels counterintuitive, especially anything with two instances running and switching.

[–] phoenixz@lemmy.ca 6 points 6 days ago (2 children)

macOS is an okay-ish OS as long as you don't step out of line. Do not want freedoms. Be a good child and obey.

It sucks, but at least it works.

Microsoft Windows can't even say that.

Fuck both osses, they both suck donkey balls, long love Linux!

[–] corsicanguppy@lemmy.ca 1 points 6 days ago

osses

OSes

[–] Adderbox76@lemmy.ca 1 points 6 days ago

I don't know if things have changed, since I haven't used windows since Windows 7 and I've only sporadically touched macs, but the other day I dragged my clock from one side of my desktop to the other on Manjaro and a staff member looking over my shoulder freaked out like I was a warlock.

[–] spacemanspiffy@lemmy.world 7 points 6 days ago

I fully agree. I feel like an old man yelling at clouds when I try to use an Apple anything. It might be a me problem, I'll admit, but I am so lost when trying to use someone else's iPhone. Not at all intuitive.

[–] tomiant@piefed.social 2 points 5 days ago

Apple as a brand died the day they stopped calling it Macintosh.

[–] tyler@programming.dev 2 points 5 days ago (1 children)

I want to know what application is running.

Sure it's in the dock!

I want to find a specific application window.

Go fuck yourself right to hell.

right click them, but you're a programmer, why do you even care about the dock at all, you should hide it and use hammerspoon to make your system more suited for you.

Wait, the taskbar doesn't show the running windows, like it does on every other OS? It's at least discrete right?

well this is just wrong. On windows and KDE Plasma it definitely shows just the running application. You can hover over it and get a ridiculously long list of windows but that's honestly just as bad as mac. They're both bad solutions. Either you right click and get a list of text you have to remember, or you get a picture of the window that you have to scroll (I usually have way more windows open than this)

It discretely takes up 1.5cm of the bottom of the screen at all times. It's so discrete it doesn't even need to use the corners.

you can disable this.. like, what even is this complaint. You can literally hide it just like you can on windows. You can actually resize it easier than windows, you just grab it and drag! You can set the size programmatically (defaults write com.apple.dock tilesize -int 42 sets the size to 42 pixels) or completely disable it or set it to hide, like seriously? this is your complaint? https://mikefrobbins.com/2025/05/07/customize-and-automate-a-clean-macos-dock-layout/#dock-preferences

Yeah of course just that bottom inch or so .... And a top of screen system level menu bar to display what windows does in the bottom corners.

you can also set this to hide...

/sigh/ ok, fine, I just want to be able to full screen a window and still see what else is open.

Burn in hell and die.

click the plus button while holding option. it's not hard. You can probably even applescript it or use BTT or Hammerspoon to make it so that it always works that way, but once again, why are you clicking buttons manually? For me to fullscreen an app I click alt+r space to make it fullscreen with no distractions, and for the windows way it's alt+r f.

I want to be able to easily switch left and right between open windows.

Go full screen or I will shoot you.

I can't tell if these are jokes or not.

I want to move an open window into the other monitor.

You can't because you're full screen dumbass.

you literally can. it's the same as rearranging any other space. I can think of no less than three separate ways to do this.

I want to let a window present a popup like they normally do.

You can't because youre full screen dumbass. Why would you be full screen?

FINALLY a REAL FUCKING PROBLEM. holy shit how did it take this long for you to mention something that is actually an issue with mac.

I want an application like Slack to be able to popup and remove notifications when is appropriate.

Choose to have every single notification persists on screen until you manually remove it, or miss all your notifications.

This is a choice of the developer.

Can't we trouble you for something in between, where we trust an application and let it manage them in a way that makes sense based on their context?

You can trouble me for something in between these cheeks, shit stain.

so yeah you literally don't know how it works. it literally is the developer's choice for how long a notification stays up and if it is persistent or not.

How about this. Go try out Hammerspoon, go try out AltTab. If those are too difficult for you then use BetterTouchTool (though that costs money). Your problems are nonexistent besides the single qualm about the popups not showing for 'true fullscreen' apps. But you don't like fs apps anyway! So don't use them!

[–] masterspace@lemmy.ca 1 points 5 days ago

right click them,

I want to know which ones are running on that monitor.

but you're a programmer, why do you even care about the dock at all, you should hide it and use hammerspoon to make your system more suited for you.

Because I'm a programmer. I have enough code to write and maintain, and because if it was possible, I assume someone else would have done it by now given how much it's asked for.

On windows and KDE Plasma it definitely shows just the running application.

First of all no, on windows that's a setting, because windows has settings for things. You can either

Show the running applications
Show the running windows but collapse them into their application once the bar is full
Show the running windows and never collapse them into their application

You can hover over it and get a ridiculously long list of windows but that's honestly just as bad as mac. They're both bad solutions. Either you right click and get a list of text you have to remember, or you get a picture of the window that you have to scroll (I usually have way more windows open than this)

Lmao, no they are not equally bad.

First of all, on windows you can also right click and get that shitty list, but you probably don't use that because it's worse than the hover.

Second, the hover exists, and is better. An image preview of the window plus it's title is easier to scan quickly.

Third, you can also three finger swipe left and right on a trackpad, or windows key plus arrow key left and right to switch between windows, and you get a handy horizontal list in the middle when you do so you know exactly where you are in that list.

I can't tell if these are jokes or not.

How do you switch between the running windows on a single monitor on a Mac, without having to consider every running application and window on your whole computer?

Alt Tabbing switches between applications, not windows.

Command + Arrow key, only switches between full screen windows / desktops, forcing you to full screen windows, just so you can quickly switch back and forth between them.

you can disable this.. like, what even is this complaint. You can literally hide it just like you can on windows.

The complaint is that Apple's designers are obnoxious as fuck to waste more space than Windows on a taskbar that does less.

so yeah you literally don't know how it works. it literally is the developer's choice for how long a notification stays up and if it is persistent or not.

No, it is not. The user chooses in the MacOS settings for an app whether that app getsalerts or banners, and that changes their behaviour entirely. Alerts disappear and get lost, banners persist on your desktop until you dismiss them.

How about this. Go try out Hammerspoon, go try out AltTab. If those are too difficult for you then use BetterTouchTool (though that costs money).

How about the trillion dollar corporation spend their time and money coding a functional window system into their 30 year old operating system? Or how about they stop using bullshit walled garden tactics like the iOS / Safari Rendering engine to force developers into buying Macs?

the single qualm about the popups not showing for 'true fullscreen' apps. But you don't like fs apps anyway! So don't use them!

Again, there is no way to switch between running windows on a single monitor.

I do not understand why some people feel the need to defend such a dumb fucking windowing system. You obviously recognize how nonsensical Apple's full screen system is, and yet you come in here to insist it's not worse then Windows' because it has awkward multi step equivalents to windows' single shortcuts.

[–] donkeyass@lemmy.sdf.org 2 points 5 days ago

This is not unpopular to me, MacOS is regurgitated garbage that forbids you from changing almost any goddamned standard behavior.

[–] DupaCycki@lemmy.world 5 points 6 days ago

No offense to anyone, but to me MacOS feels like an operating system designed specifically for mentally deficient, disabled toddlers. So much 'time saving' in the background it's actively wasting my time.

[–] djmikeale@feddit.dk 5 points 6 days ago (1 children)

I'd argue window management is a small part of the overall MacOS experience, and yes I agree that it sucks. However, with BetterTouchTool configured sensibly and raycast set up, I really like it.

A few things I really like about macos:

you can download an app and just drag it into your apps folder. No installation required. You can also just use something like brew with --cask Param then you don't need to even download the app first
You can modify most settings programmatically
CMD + , always opens settings in all apps
The os (or hardware??) Is very energy efficient, I don't have to worry about running out of battery
I like the menu bar is always at the top of the screen, and when using the Search function under "help", it shows me where to find the correct menu item so I don't have to search again next time I need to find it

[–] masterspace@lemmy.ca 3 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago) (1 children)

you can download an app and just drag it into your apps folder. No installation required. You can also just use something like brew with --cask Param then you don't need to even download the app first

Technically you can do that on Windows without even the application folder, if the app is written to be a portable app, then you can execute that file from anywhere. Admittedly not quite the same thing, but still possible.

You can modify most settings programmatically

I will say, it's easier to edit most setting programmatically on MacOS, if those settings exist in the first place. On Windows the programmatic way to edit some settings is truly ancient and arcane, but on the flip side, windows actually has settings for virtually everything. MacOS doesn't even have a way of letting you have your mouse and your trackpad scroll different directions.

[–] djmikeale@feddit.dk 3 points 6 days ago

That thing with reverse scrolling on mouse vs trackpad was bugging me so fucking much it's ridiculous. I had to download an app to handle this. So yes, completely agree on that point!

[–] cupcakezealot@piefed.blahaj.zone 3 points 6 days ago

macOS=bad
Mac OS X snow leopard= peak

[–] Strider@lemmy.world 2 points 6 days ago

Eh, I seemed to do fine when I had to use it a few years at work. It was good in most parts compared to Windows.

However. That fucking keyboard layout is from hell.

[–] cuboc@lemmy.world 32 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Not only does it have terrible UX designed by the marketing department of Fischer Price, it treats you like a toddler as well.

[–] Matty_r@programming.dev 16 points 1 week ago (1 children)

This is the thing that the Gnome devs are desperately trying to replicate.

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[–] blitzen@lemmy.ca 28 points 1 week ago (6 children)

Eh, I don’t know. Kinda feels like it’s more of a reflection on your ability to learn.

Does macOS need some windowing improvements? Undoubtedly. But my 12 year old kid and my senior citizen mom can use it just fine, I’m sure you can too.

macOS has the unique ability to be good for newbies and power users (thanks to its unix underpinnings,) but falls short for people who have just enough computer knowledge to be dangerous (such as yourself.)

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[–] AA5B@lemmy.world 16 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (9 children)

I don’t even know how to limit my Mac to get most of those complaints. What did you do to it? In particular the only reason the taskbar doesn’t show all my running windows is because there are so many. There’s got to be the first 30 or so though.

Nor do I know how to avoid some of them on my Windows box.

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[–] Engywuck@lemmy.zip 16 points 1 week ago (2 children)

It is. Period.

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