There are at least half a dozen ways to do things on macOS, and I can't find a single one that I like to use.
Normally, my work setup begins with a Windows PC, which can be a single laptop screen, a desktop plugged into, or something in between. I am coming to you live from an M1 MacBook Air because of two drops of water making contact with an XPS 13 touchpad and a post- surgery cat. I don't like it
The redesign of the Air is comfortable to use. It is more than capable of doing all the things I want to do without stuttering and the battery life is amazing. The operating system has been the same for a long time.
Many people are able to do their work on Macs, but I am not one of them. I give Apple's desktop platform a try about every 18 months or so, and since I work in media, there are plenty of people around to explain what I'm doing wrong.
It's easy to find the right window with mission control settings.
If you install a dedicated app for every single thing you use, notifications aren't bad.
This is what they are telling me.
I don't have to install an app for everything, except on Windows, and the app store's selection is so bad that there aren't any apps I'd want to install
I don't use anything more complex than Alt+Tab to jump from one window to another, and using Command+Tab on a Mac feels like it should be the same experience, even though it isn't. I get icons for each program instead of previews of the window and what's inside it, and it can only hop from one app to another instead of letting me choose the specific browser window I'd like to open I can jump between them using Command+Tilde, but that is an extra step and an extra set of key presses to solve a problem that doesn't need to be a problem at all.
The advantage of using Mission Control is that it shows me everything on the screen, but it's in a layout that changes too much depending on what I have open, and apps that open full-screen are hidden behind another click. Keeping multiple windows in my line of sight is a challenge in a way that it just doesn't need to be and it's really bad when I'm trying to juggle several tabs
When it comes to notifications, my frustration is only going to get worse. There are more graphics and styling to note where the notifications came from in the systemUI on Windows. The OS will let me know how many of them I have without filling up my screen. I can see them when they come in and then deal with them later.
I can get a useful look into different apps by simply moving the pointer over that program's entry in the taskbar, and snapping the layout in a way that makes sense. It is easy to divide the screen space between different apps by using tools built into the operating system. I added the PowerToys window manager to give me more control over where programs snap to, but it is not necessary.
The solution to my frustration is just beyond the cliff of learning the proper combination of key commands; six-fingered gestures up, down, left, right, or diagonal; and installing an app made by a guy that will fix this.
I don't know if these are real products or if my coworkers are making fun of me, but it feels like I'm back on the phone. I would be open to changing my mind about macOS if I could find a setup that I liked, but so far it hasn't worked for me.
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