There is one thing that Mac does better than Windows, and it drives me nuts on a daily basis. Let me rename open files!! This would save me so much hassle. It won’t even let you rename a folder that has an open file in it. Its barbaric!
Sorry, long day.
Usability wise, OS X was ahead of Windows for many years. At this point, however, Windows has caught up and they are on par. I continue to use MacOS because I use a lot of software that has to run on Linux machines, and it used to be a lot easier to do that on Mac than Windows. With Linux on Windows, however, that’s no longer quite as true.
I’d really like to get a new Windows gaming PC; probably a laptop b/c of travel needs. I haven’t pulled the trigger on that yet.
I kind of disagree. See my post above for example.
Another thing I love on Mac, select a whole bunch of files and create a folder with all of them in it. There is a bunch of little things like this that are great. Another is Spaces, I would kill for Spaces on my work computer.
And then you add 3rd party stuff like Alfred, Text Expander, or shelf apps, and Windows is really behind. I don’t know if Windows even has stuff like that.
Yes exactly this. The big stuff is nice, but the little daily paper cuts drive me nutso on Windows compared to Mac.
Diego
Probably because you don’t really need it in Windows, or at least folks that use our PCs like I do aren’t missing it. I had to chuckle when you complained about file management in Windows because that is a BIG reason I dislike MacOS. Having to open two windows in MacOS to move files from one folder to another in, say, a different drive constantly drives me nuts. I can just expand the left panel in File Explorer and quickly select the files I want to move and move them.
Another advantage for File Explorer is that you can see the entire file name for exceedingly long file names when saving files. So my day 5 observation is that I hate the file management system in MacOS. I prefer the File Explorer in Windows 10 by a long shot. I do not like having to mount and dismount hard drives all the time. This is the area that will ultimately push me back to Windows full time. I do a lot of file moving, saving, etc. and I am spending more time doing this in MacOS than in Windows 10. I know there are third-party aps that let you do this, but I am third-party apped out at this point. Not spending another dime for functionality that should be part of the OS.
I do agree that the ability to make files into folders is pretty cool in MacOS.
If you want to do everything in one window, you can expand full trees in Finder’s list view or the column view. Alt+right arrow expands the whole tree and cmd+right arrow show just the immediate children. Copy-and-paste is faster than dragging. No need for third party file managers. Edit: also, Cmd+1/2/3/4 switch between the different Finder views.
Definitely two different approaches though. I’m surprised you haven’t mentioned folders appearing in alphabetical order. 
Hmm, if I click on Dropbox icon in Favorites (for example), I cannot see the underlying folders in my dropbox. Everything is available and great in main window, but if I want to simply move a file in another location’s folder to a sub-folder in Dropbox (for example), I have to open another Finder window.
Sorry, I meant you can expand trees in the main window. Yes, if you wanted to move a bunch of files between deep in another tree to deep in the Dropbox tree, it’d probably be fastest to work between two windows. Preferable to me to trying to scroll in that narrow left pane in Explorer, but I get being used to it.
Agreed that Windows File Explorer’s left pane can be handy, but it usually drives me nuts at work because it’s filled with network drives that I don’t use. File Explorer in general seems to get crowded with all sorts of garbage Windows thinks I want. That’s probably my fault for not learning how to lock it down though.
As @cornchip already said, when I am doing heavy file management on a Mac, I just use a big Finder window in column view. For individual files on my desktop, I use Alfred to move them with keyboard shortcuts (or I throw them on shelf in Yoink to move later). Or even better, Hazel to move files automatically that I tend to use a lot.
Finder does get a lot of heat, but once you get used to it, it’s fine. The other little things make it worth it.
Oh, and macOS really does need to learn to just unmount drives when you unplug them. I don’t find it to be a huge deal in practice, but they should fix that.
Because they don’t know any better. People just use Windows, you use one Windows computer you can use any of them. But you will hear about Mac users who have their computers customized just the way they want them with all sorts of software, automations, shortcuts, etc. The first day with a Mac, I spend the first few hours getting it set up. On Windows I spend it updating software and installing updated drivers. :-)
(Qt3 added smilies?!)
Day 6 musings:
Given that I am obviously well invested in Windows 10 PCs, why would I even think about switching to MacOS right now? I ask myself this question every day, but there actually are some compelling reasons to use MacOS and Apple computers. However, they have nothing to do with all the keyboard command stuff mentioned above, because I’m not going back to the 70s and 80s.
The MBP 16 is a fantastic laptop. Nothing I’ve owned on the Windows-side has come close to being as good from a form factor to ease of use perspective. It is generally quiet when not at load and even when it is, it is not too loud. It does get warm at load and the fans do spin, but not like a gaming laptop. It has by far the best speaker system that I’ve experienced in a laptop. It really puts my Thinkpads to shame from the trackpad, to the sleep function, to battery life, etc. I don’t even mind that I can’t upgrade the MBP 16’s RAM or hard drive. I did spend a pretty penny to get a pretty maxed out model, so that is why I am not concerned. I cannot see a situation where I will need more power over the next 2 or 3 years.
I like that I am not tempted to game with the MBP 16. Well, I do have Out of the Park Baseball on the MBP 16, but that is it. I am in an online league so I need to keep up with my team while I am on the road.
Even though I do not use it, I like that bootcamp and other solutions allow me to use Windows on a Mac. For example, if I do stick with the Mac, I will need to install bootcamp again so that I can run Power BI in Windows. I will have to invest the time and energy in figuring out the nuances of maximizing performance under bootcamp.
Is the hardware so great that it will keep me using this somewhat gimped (for me) OS? I’m not sure yet, but I’m not separated or divorced yet. Every day I think, that’s it, shut down this experiment, but then I open one of my other MBPs to work on a paper or some project while I am watching TV and I just marvel at how easy it is to use these laptops.
Edit: I’d also add that I haven’t even scratched the surface of Airdrop and all that other device interoperability stuff. I have not shared or moved any file using these capabilities.
If you have an iPhone and your phone and Mac are logged into iCloud with the same account, you get a lot of interoperability. My fav: right-click the desktop and select “Import from iPhone or iPad,” then “Scan Document.” This will open the camera on your phone. Hold it over the page you are trying to scan, it will take a photo and save it as a PDF to your desktop. It can handle multi-page documents well, too.
I have heard a lot of complaints that Airdrop isn’t very reliable. I don’t use it a lot, but has worked when I needed it to. My most common use is to be looking at a webpage on my iPhone and then just transfer it to my Mac so I can see it on a big screen. But if you are using Safari, you can view all your tabs on your other devices already.
Safari really is better on a Mac. It takes advantage of stuff like this.
Run it the full 30 days. If nothing else, it can distract you from the craziness going around. As you go, keep a list of things that work and don’t. Then break out the list into separate columns like “No solution, solution barely workable, or workable but too many hoops.” Then the ones that are “no solution” you can see how much of a dealbreaker they are. If there is no solution for X, but you only do it for an hour a month, it’s not the same dealbreaker as something you do every day.
Lee you probably already know this, but for others:
I have a gesture that I use, which works fantastically for moving / copying desktop files: set up a hot corner (under screensaver) for “show desktop” – I use the top right which doesn’t interfere with anything – then it’s just a quick flip of the wrist to see the desktop, grab whatever you want, flick again to go back to where you were, and drop the file.
It works just as well for groups of files (drag to select as many as you need, or command-select to pick and choose).
This gesture is great for super-easy emailing of things, or any other use case where you need to move or copy files from your desktop (hold down Option to copy instead of move).
What?! Just tried it – that’s awesome. It works in Finder windows, too.
That is very handy, but I don’t need a hot corner myself since I am mainly a trackpad user and four fingers pinching outwards shows desktop. Then copy/cut the files you need from your desktop (or move them on to your shelf app). For a mouse user, that hot corner would be perfect.
Top right is start screen saver for me, and speaking of which, did you know you can add a modulator key (option, command, etc) to your hot corners? So it will only work if you go to corner holding a key? Stops accidental hot corners activations, but unfortunately it doesn’t work with the screensaver hot corner, since as soon as you let go of the key, the screensaver turns off.
There are so many shortcuts/tips it’s impossible to remember them all.
This is very cool! Another big point in favor of Apple. I scan a lot of documents and it used to be very cumbersome, but not any more thanks to this tip!
This gives me hope. Do I dare dream of running World of Warcraft on a Mac? I will test this (I need to reinstall bootcamp this weekend).
Day 7 Musings:
I was using my desktop PC for a Microsoft Teams session and the microphone on my Logitech Brio failed. This is the kind of thing that drives me nuts about Windows PCs and further explains why I am serious about making this transition. I quickly switched over to my MBP16/LG Ultrafine setup and had no issues for the rest of the day. Big point in favor of Apple.
I think I need an iMac of some sort. One of the key differences between my Windows vs. MacOS experience is that I have a full-blown desktop PC and around three Windows laptops. On the Apple side I have my MBP 16, an OG butterfly MBP 15, and an older MBP 15 that I do not use. I do not have an iMac or any desktop solution.
One of my issues with using the MBP 16 and LG Fine monitor is while the USB-C connections work, I have to disconnect the MBP 16 and take it to work with me. This increases my frustration with the whole mounting and dismounting hard drives, but that is what I must do. An iMac has some old school USB 3 inputs and USB-C, and I could keep the hard drives connected to the iMac and never have to worry about the whole dismounting issue except when I needed to change out the drives. I’d probably move the LG UltraFine to my office and connect the MBP 16 there and bring it home for mobile work.
WoW has a native Mac client.
Yeah, but I never really liked WoW’s Mac client. The graphics look more washed out than they do under Windows. Not to mention the mouse support necessary that doesn’t work under MacOS (Razer Nagga) and some key utilities that have no Mac version (Tukui Client, for example). I think Twitch finally enabled the ability to manage add-ons cross platform, but life is easier in WoW through Windows, even on a Mac.