brianus

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brianus
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  • Apple is right to ditch folding iPad plans in favor of the iPhone Fold

    brianusbrianus
    I find that large iPads kind of miss the point of tablets (just like the execrable new large-screen-optimized iPadOS 26 UI Apple is forcing on even those of us who use smaller screens where the previous UI's optimizations were perfect). Everything should be easily reachable when the device is held with both hands; interactions should be quick, gesture-based, with a lot of reasonable defaults (such as app size classes, or automatic positioning of floating windows at the screen corners) to reduce the amount of effort and time wasted in altering app configurations. There is no "desktop" and real estate is at a premium so the entire screen should be filled at all times with app UIs. But a large screen makes all of this untenable, and an even larger screen moreso.

    A phone might fold out to near iPad mini size, and something mini size might fold out to something like an 11", but any larger just seems silly, at least for something primarily used as a tablet, without a keyboard.

    That said, I do use sidecar and universal control with my MacBook/iPads as well as bringing a portable USB-C display when I'm on the go. A large screen foldable iPad would be pretty awesome as a Mac companion. Imagine an iPad with a 13" footprint (same as the MacBook, so it fits on top of it in a bag or backpack), but which folds out to something like a 20" external display for the Mac. 
    williamlondon

  • macOS Tahoe review -- glossy changes mask genuine improvements

    brianusbrianus
    macgui said:
    sunman42 said:
    Most of the features sound fine, if you need/want them, but making the list font in Finder windows smaller? Nuh-uh, even if the spacing has been slightly expanded. That will not make finding what you want easier, particularly for anyone with presbyopia (that is, almost anyone older than about 45).

    Damn kids, get off my interface.
    It's disappointing that Apple has continually made tweaks with macOS that do not benefit older users. I've noticed contrast in many instances decreasing as OSes have progressed. And making typeface smaller by default is almost agist.
     
    I like the gloss of Glass but wish it were more like what "lickable" was to the current flat look of icons. I do appreciate function as well. But for the longest time (no, not at first) Apple has been the fine crocus cloth to other  OS' #80grit. At least in appearance. So like a great car, I want it to look the part as well as run well.

    And presbyopia starts kicking a lot of vision butt at 40. 

    Replacing Launchpad with Applications disappoints me. I liked the in your face display of icons filling the screen. Even with corrected vision, I found it pleasing.

    So at the top there are a list of suggested apps that the Mac believes you're most likely to want next -- based on at least how often you use them, possibly also on the time of day.

    Replacing it with a window like that which was Settings? Where the apps placement changed with each new OS? That's a poor model. Does this mean that the Applications app/window changes as your use of apps changes? If so — WTF! If it's not the case then I'll stand down. Otherwise it's a case of constantly relearning Where What is. Sometimes I think Apple Software engineers use a Magic 8 Ball, dice, pickup sticks, and snow globes for UI and UX designs.

    And yes, there are kids I have to chase off my lawn.
    1000%. It’s always one step forward, two completely random steps backwards and diagonally with their UI changes.

    Killing LaunchPad now, of all times, is especially unfortunate given their supposed push to “unify” the UX across their platforms. Launchpad being essentially a Home Screen for the Mac meant I could organize my apps into folders the same way I do on my iPhone and iPad, so when I go looking for an app it’s in the same place on every device. It’s muscle memory. Isn’t that a GOOD thing? Why remove it and make the experience of using a Mac now more DISsimilar to their other platforms than before⁇ 

    They’ve already killed off the really elegantly designed tablet multitasking system on iPadOS and replaced it with a half baked mess taken from the Mac’s broken windowing system, and now this… they have truly lost the plot. 
    appleinsiderusermuthuk_vanalingamnumenoreanwilliamlondon

  • Craig Federighi says macOS would ruin what makes the iPad special

    brianusbrianus
    The irony of this headline is that iPadOS 26 is, in fact, ruining what makes iPadOS special by replacing its innovative touch based multitasking with shitty warmed over ideas from macOS. 

    GONE: slideover, and with it the ability to do anything with a second app when in full screen mode
    GONE: the ability to run multiple 'spaces' of split-viewed apps (with slideover acting as a go-between among them)
    GONE: the ability to quickly swap out a split screened app with drag and drop
    GONE: predefined size classes that ensure buttons, controls and other UI elements are in a predictable place in every Split View configuration

    Remains to be reported on but I would not be surprised if Picture-in-picture and Quick Notes were gone too. Has anyone checked to see if app folders are still supported in the dock? Either way, iPadOS 26 is a disaster for touch-based productivity. I did NOT intend to buy a small Mac, I bought a damned tablet and I want it so work like one.
    williamlondonwatto_cobra

  • Apple has again Sherlocked developers with Clipboard History

    brianusbrianus
    eightzero said:

    And oh, I've never been able to actually use Spotlight. Yes, I guess I'm a dumbass, but it doesn't work for me and my needs at all. YMMV. Go to the finder, get a new window, do a search in a search bar. Found. Done. Bet that's been around for 30 years too.

    Spotlight is one of Apple's most unreliable and bloated systems and it's been that way for 20 years. In the Intel days I constantly had to kill the background indexing that was wasting gigs of RAM and tons of CPU time, making external drives silently un-ejectable and being a general nuisance while still failing to properly find my files or emails. Now in the Apple Silicon era, it's not as bad in terms of wasting resources, but that may be why it's even worse at actually doing what it's supposed to do (find my shit quickly). If anyone's mail search still works for them, I'd love to hear what voodoo they're employing to make that happen.

    That off my chest, I'd like to un-thread-jack and second the OP's question. I didn't even notice clipboard history mentioned in the keynote, but is it Mac exclusive or shared over iCloud to all devices? I've found clipboard sharing to be somewhat unreliable over handoff/continuity, but if the history syncs via iCloud that could be quite interesting. I use Macs and iPads together all day but it's been frustrating that only the Macs (via a third party app) could reach back into their clipboard history. How is it accessed in the UI?
    watto_cobra

  • macOS 26 Tahoe Phone app greatly improves taking calls on your Mac

    brianusbrianus
    Any time I've ever tried to make a call from my Mac or iPad, not only has the connection been really unreliable and/or with a significant delay, but almost every time the person on the other end complains that I "sound far away", whatever that means. It's basically made it a useless feature for me even though it's now been around for years. Are they ever going to fix the basic usability issues?
    williamlondon