[randomluck040]

I just got my first Mac ever: a MacBook Air M1. Coming from Arch I thought I would handle it easy. How bad can it be? It just works, right?… right?

So I wanted a laptop instead of a desktop computer and Framework isn’t available where I’m from so I went for the MacBook. In terms of performance, all is fine. Some OS based decisions make me want to put everything back into the packaging and send the thing back.

1) I might be alone with this but how is there no forward delete (del) button? I’ve never noticed but apparently I use it quite a lot. cmd + Backspace solves that.

2) The entire OS feels more trackpad-centric than other OS‘s I’ve used which confuses me. The gestures and the trackpad are top notch though.

3) I don’t understand the Option key. Overall the Command, Option and CTRL keys do weird things in my opinion and growing up with Windows and Linux, I don’t understand what command does either. Which leads me to…

4) The keyboard shortcuts feel complicated for the sake of complicatedness.

5) Why can I not click an app on the dock to minimise it into the dock?

6) The delete key, man.

This sounds negative but there’s a lot of positive stuff with that thing (I’m good with the display and keyboard, the battery life is crazy compared to laptops I’ve had before, …). I’m not sure yet if I want to learn a whole new OS though so I’m undecided if I want to keep it yet. The main downside of using Linux for me is Adobe (effing) Photoshop and Lightroom not working.

[least]

> The keyboard shortcuts feel complicated for the sake of complicatedness.

Mac's shortcut paradigms developed independently of IBM's CUA so they're definitely not complicated for the sake of complexity. I actually think for use with a unix-based operating system, they're much more sensible. There's no overlap with terminal commands that are mostly based on control, thus you don't need to remap basic things like pasting in the terminal to ctrl+shift+v.

> The delete key, man.

It doesn't exist as a physical key but it does work with an external keyboard. Alternatively, you might find something like Karabiner Elements [1] useful. You can make all sorts of arbitrary changes to the keyboard's behavior, including the built in one. This is sort of similar to setxkbmap, xcape, and interception-tools in linux land.

[1] https://karabiner-elements.pqrs.org/

[randomluck040]

I've discussed the shortcut thing with a friend who prefers the shortcuts on Mac, too. At the end it comes down to what you're used to and what you've learned and used for the past years I guess.

I'll definitely take a look at karabiner elements - I've seen it being mentioned in some kind of Apple subreddit as well alongside software for window snapping or at least "dividing" the screen as in Linux and Windows. Thanks for the answer!

[SxC97]

Fn+Backspace operates as forward delete and can be combined with shift, command, and option for text editing.

I’m pretty sure Option + Clicking on a dock icon will minimize it.

If you are confused with how the keyboard shortcuts work, here’s a quick guide.

The command key is the main operator for system wide shortcuts and major application shortcuts.

Command + shift is for secondary app shortcuts

Command + option is for rarely used app shortcuts

Option is for hidden options in applications and across the system. Try opening the application menu in the top bar and holding down option to see how many new shortcuts are available up there. Try option clicking or dragging things in the system to see how they react.

The control key is never used in applications and is rarely used in the system. It’s main function is in terminal applications.

Hope this helped!

[randomluck040]

Thanks for the "option + dock icon", that helps a lot!

I knew about the forward delete shortcut but it's just another shortcut I have to remember each time I want to use it. The only reason I don't get the design decision is because I've learned it in a different manner I guess.

Outside of that, thanks for the reply. I think I got the option key better. It just gives you alternative stuff you can do in the same menu/with the same shortcut. I don't even remember why I had to use control but the positioning is also very awkward in my opinion.

Thank you!