If macOS is so easy to use, why do I hate using it so much?

6 hours ago 2

I am a developer who writes software for three major platforms: Linux, macOS, and Windows. I am a firm believer that it is the developer/designer's responsibility to cater to the end user. In this case, that's me! So, why am I having so much trouble using a Mac?

My biggest beef is with the keyboard. Windows and Linux have embraced usability and made the key mappings pretty much identical. Or, maybe Windows is the 800-lb gorilla, and Linux just followed its lead. Either way, I can go back and forth between the two platforms without upsetting my muscle memory. Then there is the Mac... "being different." Being different is a great plan for trying to entrap your users in your walled garden, but it's terrible for universal UX. How many IT people need to deal with different OSs? Pretty much all of them? Why must we be forced to change our mental programming whenever we need to touch a Mac?

Why must it have Cmd/Opt instead of the ubiquitous Ctrl/Alt? I don't actually care that you call them. But when I do ctrl-C, ctrl-V for copy and paste, those keys need to be in the same place. And Home/End? They are there, but do completely different things? Why do I need to do a 3-finger pretzel move for something I need to do all the time? I know you can remap opt-C to ctrl-C. But then, what if I am in the terminal and need ^C? It's messy. Where is the UX??? I have been fighting with Karabiner and VScode keymappings for years trying to come up with a universal recipe. But just end up hurting myself more. Why can't the macOS keyboard (and applications) respond to a universal keyboard mapping? You know, for us humans?

If Apple wants to increase its market share in the PC space, how about embracing usability? Please give us an option to put the keyboard into compatible or universal mode and make the device interoperable with the rest of the world.

If anyone has a universal recipe for addressing this problem, please let me know...

I could really love this thing if I didn't hate using it so much... Thanks for listening...

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