Thoughts on Using Macintoshes

    Back when I first started college, I wanted a laptop and wanted to get into multiple computer environments. I had been using Windows since the 3.1 days, and MSDOS before that. My first computing memories were of using my dad’s old Kaypro using some version of MSDOS for playing some old educational games like Math Blaster Episode I: In Search of Spot, a basic math game from 1993. Again, these memories are more than a little hazy given that this was largely 30 years ago, and I was still quite young. By the early 2000s I had my first experiences of running Linux and when I was going to college in 2007, I wanted to expand my experience to include MacOS X.

    It worked out well for me, in as far as timing went, because that was also the point when Apple transitioned from PowerPC architecture to Intel x86 via the Core, then Core 2, lineup. That along with the release of Bootcamp meant that I could have a single machine and run both OSX and Windows natively. So, I ended up with a 2007 15” MacBook Pro running a dual-core Core 2 Duo and, tragically, an Nvidia 8600M GT. And while that machine lasted a good three years it did ultimately suffer the fate so common with those Nvidia 8000 series mobile chips with the graphics dying right before my first transfer to Ohio State. So, needing a new laptop for college I went once more for an Apple computer as I had enjoyed using it up to that point outside of the Nvidia issues. Amusingly, I ended up with a 13” MacBook Pro also running a slightly newer Core 2 Duo and an Nvidia 8400M GT. Thankfully, and even somewhat surprisingly, that machine still runs though the battery lost the ability to hold a charge years ago.

Since then, I’ve had a few other Macintosh laptops. One of my favorites was, amusingly, one of the most maligned Apple systems of the late-2010s. I had the 2017 MacBook 12” which was a bizarre system even at its time as almost a call-back to the netbook era of ten years prior. I had one of those netbooks that I used in tandem with my first MacBook Pro, a 10” MSI Wind that I had chosen specifically because I could upgrade it to 2GB of RAM when most were stuck with 1GB soldered onboard with no expansion. Though it came with Windows XP it spent most of its life running various Linux distros, notably Ubuntu 7 through 9 which it handled surprisingly well. I even managed to get it running MacOS as well for a short moment though that was a delightful mess, and it was quickly reformatted to Linux.

In any event, that poor MacBook was never a performant computer. Utilizing that Core m3 meant it was slow outside of basic tasks, with system updates being notoriously slow to install on it, generally in the range of 90-120 minutes from initializing to finally resume usability. It did manage to run Linux quite well, with me flip-flopping between Ubuntu and Mint on it. Those ran somewhat more smoothly, albeit still slowly. That brings us to today where I’m using a Mac that is part of the transition period away from Intel to Apple Silicon via a 14” MacBook Pro with an M2 Pro chip. It’s fascinating to me to see how far Apple has progressed with processor development, especially with this long and steady march to producing some of the most powerful and efficient ARM processors.

It’s one of the more calculated moves from Apple to do this after spending more than a decade developing and improving their own ARM chips for their mobile products. The efficiency and performance they developed since the launch of the first iPhone in 2007 shows that they have excellent engineers designing their hardware and software, if often extremely controlled and closed with their development and design. I want to see more truly open platforms develop and while ARM and RISC-V are the starting points there’s far more development into proprietary designs, like Apple Silicon.

It’s complicated, really. As someone who wants to keep up on technology it’s always a pleasure to use the latest hardware and software. Or, at least, a pleasure in the sense of an ongoing experience of learning. But, it’s also frustrating to see how in many ways I’m seeing a backsliding of both hardware and software with regards to openness of platforms. There was a period where open-source software was seeing a huge push but much of that is now covered in asterisks through major expansions on open-source platforms being proprietary and often closed source.

I think there’s still a growing tide of open-source software, and even hardware, development going on but there’s also a new push against it from the largest tech corporations against those. There’s also been a push back against these massive corporations, like Google, Apple, and Microsoft from both individuals and larger scale deployments, ranging from companies to local governments and universities, all the way to the national level. Again, it’s complicated.

Ultimately though, it’s been interesting to watch the evolution of MacOS since I first started using it the better part of two decades ago now. That was MacOS 10.4, Tiger, and quickly replaced by the release of 10.5 Leopard. It was so odd going to that ecosystem where it was the point release that was the marker of a major version upgrade versus the whole number releases of Windows, and even most Linux distributions. That’s since changed with me writing this on macOS 14.2 Sonoma’s latest public beta. It’s been fascinating to see the operating system evolve over that time. Most striking of course is the move away from the Aqua style of early OS X and the height of skeuomorphism to the ever-flattening design style of modern macOS.

With the changes have come advancements that trade between Mac, Windows, and Linux as to who is first to develop new features. Usually it’s Linux at the forefront, things like multiple virtual desktops, tabbed file managers, the advent of dark mode, and such. Then Apple and Microsoft trade blows with who adopts them first for mainstream adoption via Windows and macOS. One that changed how I used my Macs was the introduction of Spaces way back in Leopard (10.5). Though I had used Linux on-and-off up to that point it was there with daily use on my laptop that I really became familiar with the concept of virtual desktops like that, where I could have multiple applications running on different screens simultaneously. The shortcuts using trackpads under macOS are so ingrained with me that I find myself wanting to use them on all of my computers, regardless of operating system at the time. And, thankfully, many of those multitouch gestures are the same across platforms.

That was one area where I was spoiled early on with Apple hardware was having my first laptop being a MacBook and using that trackpad compared to the utter mess that was found on most other laptops of the era. That was really driven home with the single, large (at the time) glass trackpad that I have on my 2010 model. By virtue of how smooth it feels, both from the glass itself and from the integration within the operating system, it really encouraged using touch to interact with the computer. Even with an external mouse connected to my current MacBook I still find myself reach over to the trackpad to do gestures as they’re often faster than using the mouse and keyboard together for the same task. If nothing else, using macOS feels more fluid than other operating systems though they’ve certainly caught up by leaps and bounds since 2007. Again, I think a lot of the credit there goes to the lessons they learned from developing their handheld platforms, iPhone and iPad. I think going back even earlier, they learned tremendously from how a simple touch interface can be made to feel wonderful with the click-wheel of the earlier iPods. I still remember how good that system felt to use, and I haven’t used an original style iPod in over a decade now. Knowing that I could pick one up today and still find it familiar is a testament to the excellent user experience of that platform.

Something else that has continued to evolve with periods of improvement and regression is hardware expansion within the Apple ecosystem as a whole. I think the move to USB-C and Thunderbolt has helped tremendously there. I do wish there was at least one USB-A port on the computer, for things like flash drives or as a quick hookup for a mouse or keyboard but using a, now ubiquitous, dongle solves that fairly easily, if awkwardly. I’ve appreciated the keyboards on my Macs as well over the years. Even after getting far more interested in custom mechanical keyboards, I still find going back to the built-in keyboards on my laptops they’re still pleasant to type on for what they are. They’re still better than most other laptop keyboards I’ve used over the years. And, controversial opinion, I even enjoyed the stupid butterfly keyboard that was on my 12” MacBook. That said, it never had the issues that plagued those keyboards so I’m sure if I had those issues crop up that rosier opinion would no doubt have been clouded. But, easily enough, I can pop a USB-C-to-C cable into any of my keyboards and immediately have that experience on my Mac as well. In fact, I’m using my Keychron Q7 right now and it runs just as flawlessly as on any other computer and gives me an ISO layout on my otherwise ANSI Mac. It's a bit cute to me that the keyboard recognition prompt on macOS is still nearly identical to the one that would pop up all those years ago on 10.4.

One of the wonderful benefits of USB-C is that I have a single USB-C to DisplayPort cable from my laptop to my 2560x1440 monitor and it immediately recognizes it and runs it at 165Hz. It’s remarkable how much smoother computers feel when they’re running at 120Hz or higher compared to 60Hz. Even on my phone it makes it feel so much smoother and it is good to see Apple slowly pushing forward with their systems to integrate that, even if it is under the typically Apple form of buzzwords, in this case ProMotion. I really hope they bring that feature to their non-Pro lines (notably the iMac and iPhone) but I think they’re still using it as a differentiation between the Pro and non-Pro lineups despite the majority of competing phones and computers switching to high refresh rate panels. That stubbornness to hold back their own products out of some desire to push users to higher tier products is absolutely central to Apple policy though so I don’t see it changing, no matter how frustrating it is.

And I think that really sums up using Apple products. They’re often some of the most thoughtfully made technology you’ll use. They feel polished, and typically well-developed. But they can also feel kneecapped by utterly bizarre decisions and omissions compared to competing products. They can feel lost in time sometimes as well, with quicks showing up that have been present for twenty years. They will force you to adapt to their choices if you choose to buy one, sometimes in little ways and other times in dramatic ways compared to their peers. Sometimes you can force your own vision to win out. Applications like Rectangle to bring hotspots to the desktop to bring behavior similar to Microsoft’s snapping are huge additions to revise and improve using macOS. And much to Apple’s chagrin, running Linux is also an option on Mac, though far easier for Intel (or even PowerPC) Macs as development for Apple Silicon is difficult with no support from Apple themselves for getting it up and running. Which, I suppose makes sense from their perspective considering how “pedestrian” Linux is compared to macOS (which being based upon BSD is at worst a cousin to Linux if not an outright sibling depending on how you feel about the Unix family tree).

Something that I’ve also seen develop is far tighter multi-lingual integration with Apple. I find their implementation of switching between languages, and even settings within those environments themselves, is tight and streamlined. As someone who occasionally ends up typing in Japanese, I’m particularly sensitive to typing both on mobile and desktop in that language. It was one of my largest gripes with early Android as I found the available keyboards utilized a very poor Japanese IME (input method editor) that was honestly obtuse to use compared to both Apple and Microsoft’s IMEs for Japanese. That’s particularly problematic with a language that is so notoriously complicated to write given it has multiple writing systems that are utilized simultaneously even in basic writing. And, as a small sidenote, having a dedicated language toggle button on my keyboard with the laptop is wonderful and I’d love to see that expand beyond to all systems because of how useful that is as a multi-language user.

I think that’s where I am now. I’m going to continue to use “the big three” of Windows, Linux, and macOS for the foreseeable future. They have their strengths and weaknesses. They’re in a constant state of flux, developing and changing and evolving over time. And it’s almost like seeing a dramatically condensed version of development of species. To see them change and adapt to different needs and stimuli and become completely different creatures compared to each other but very clearly with shared heritage between them as well. It’s honestly fun for me and I enjoy the process of seeing software platforms like these develop over time. It’s fun to see how far they’ve progressed since I first used a keyboard and mouse all those years ago at some time in the early 1990s. Now, 30 years later I am still just as fascinated by these tools that we use every day and I look forward to continuing my little explorations and experimentation to see how these disparate systems handle the tasks I need to complete day to day.