@Calum: sorry, but I do not agree. I have used Focus-Follows-Mouse on Mac OS X (using CodeTek Virtual Desktop Pro), and it worked perfectly! It worked consistently with all apps, and switching apps, moving windows to different workspaces, and navigating workspaces worked much easier than how it is implemented in the latest OS X 10.6.7. Discover the innovative world of Apple and shop everything iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, Mac, and Apple TV, plus explore accessories, entertainment, and expert device support. Bricks Breaking is a nice application about destroying bricks and blocks. You are challenged to break the bricks, empty the cache, in order to become the magical master of the cubes. In this game, you will be given a large grid which contains numerous blocks of different colors, and your goal is to empty the grid by removing all bricks.
Update: For those joining in late 2017, I've been hunting for a laptop with limited success. Read on for what I've settled on, or discuss on HN.
If you ask anyone who knows me, I'm probably the biggest Apple fan they know. Ask for a suggestion of what computer to get, and I'll almost certainly either tell you the MacBook Pro, or to wait, because Apple is about to update its hardware finally.
But recently, I realized I'd gotten tired of Apple's attitude toward the desktop. The progress in macOS land has basically been dead since Yosemite, two years ago, and Apple's updates to the platform have been incredibly small. I'm a developer, and it seems to me Apple doesn't pay any attention to its software or care about the hundreds of thousands of developers that have embraced the Mac as their go-to platform.
Take a look at Sierra: the only feature of note is Siri, which is half-baked as it is, and the things that did get ported over from iOS are half-done too. On the developer side? Nothing, unless you use XCode — the same story it's been for years.
The only reason it's still even viable as a platform for web developers at all is because of the incredible work the open source community does on the Mac toolchain (take a look at how easy it is to use Node, npm, Yarn or any of the other relatively new tools out there).
Bloomberg reported in late 2016 that Apple had dismantled the Mac team, rolling it into the iOS team, and it shows. The new MacBook Pros, released in late 2016, where interesting, but something of a half-hearted shrug in the direction of users: they're okaymachines, but they sure aren't interesting at all. Their hardware is underpowered, focusing on thinness and a gimmicky touch bar rather than power or functionality, the previous tentpoles of the Mac.
'In another sign that the company has prioritized the iPhone, Apple re-organized its software engineering department so there's no longer a dedicated Mac operating system team.'
To tell the truth, I'm a life-long Windows user that grew to be disillusioned by Microsoft after Windows Vista. It was obvious the company had no strategy or vision, and while Windows 7 smoothed things over a little, Apple's side had something I wanted: everything worked together nicely.
You could send iMessages from your computer or phone, answer calls wherever you were, and throw files to other devices with ease — and so I was tempted away in early 2013 when Apple released its second-generation 15' Retina MacBook Pro.
That machine was my first real taste of Apple's world, and I loved it. Everything was designed nicely, and worked well together. Apple's deep roots in Unix meant I actually finally picked up web development for the first time, learnt how to use the terminal deeply, and even gave back to some open-source projects.
But, about the time I joined Apple's world, the company's attention pivoted. The Mac was no longer important, as the iPhone, iPad and then the iPad Pro became the focus of the company. The message was simple: why do you even need a computer when a tablet and phone can do it all anyway?
As a result, Apple's focus on the Mac waned: the hardware didn't receive an update for over four years, and then OS X, once regularly updated with interesting features, now only receives the scraps from iOS. If you want to see this in action, check out iMessage on Mac: the flagship feature of iOS, iMessage stickers, barely works on Mac.
You started seeing this in almost everything: Airdrop, Apple's much-touted feature that lets you easily beam files between computer and phone was my first taste of the company's 'just works' mentality — about 30% of the time it worked every time, and the rest of the time you couldn't connect at all. Then there was handoff, the heralded feature that let you work on one device, then seamlessly move to another. I don't know if I ever got it to work with any sense of reliability.
I'm out of apologia juice for defending Apple going with 4 USB-C ports on the new MacBook over a useful mix and keeping the MagSafe. 🍎👎
— DHH (@dhh) October 28, 2016
Meanwhile, Microsoft had licked its wounds inflicted by Windows 8, found a passionate new CEO in Satya Nadella, and started doing something interesting with Windows 10: it actually started listening, and implementing, features people wanted.
I mostly ignored the Windows world until late last year when Microsoft introduced the Windows Linux Subsystem — basically a way to use a Linux terminal natively in Windows — which made me realize that development on Windows might actually be pleasant eventually. I wrote back then that even this was enough to tempt me back to Windows, and it was a game changer:
'At its core, Bash support on Windows is both exciting and an incredible feat of engineering. As a front-end developer, I'd now consider buying a Windows machine to replace my Macbook, where I wouldn't have in the past.'
After waiting eagerly for the MacBook Pro refresh, then being utterly disappointed by what Apple actually shipped — a high-end priced laptop with poor performance — I started wondering if I could go back to Windows. Gaming on Mac, which initially showed promising signs of life had started dying in 2015, since Apple hadn't shipped any meaningful hardware bumps in years, and I was increasingly interested in Virtual Reality… but Oculus dropped support for the Mac in 2016 for the same reasons.
Then, in October 2016, Microsoft unveiled the next version of Windows: Creators Update out of nowhere. It brings dedicated gaming features, full OS-level VR support, color customization, a people bar for quick chat and a lot more in a free update.
I watched the event with my mouth open (it was the first time I'd tuned in to any Microsoft event in years), wondering how Microsoft was suddenly shipping awesome features out of nowhere.
This, and seeing all the progress Microsoft was making with the Linux subsystem, as well as Apple's lack of any meaningful progress, made me decide to make the jump back. I'm not a hater, I'm just tired of not being able to get a machine worth using.
'Those complaining about Apple's current Mac lineup are not haters, they're lovers. They've spent 10+ years and 5+ figures on Macs.'
It took me months to convince myself to do it, but I spent weeks poring over forum posts about computer specs and new hardware before realizing how far ahead the PC really is now: the NVIDIA GTX 1080 graphics card is an insane work-horse that can play any game — VR or otherwise — you can throw at it without breaking a sweat.
I realized I'm so damn tired of Apple's sheer mediocrity in both laptops and desktops, and started actually considering trying Windows again.
So, in February 2017, I found myself building a computer from scratch. I sold my 15' MacBook Pro (I now use a 12' MacBook for on-the-go productivity), and invested in building a desktop workhorse that would fit my needs and last for a long time.
I'll spare you too much detail, but if you're interested in my build you can see what parts I ordered here - the machine is a bit of overkill, but given I want to learn how to develop for VR, it seemed to be a good balance of power and price for the long haul.
Jekyll and Gulp living in harmonyNow I've been on Windows for about six weeks, and while I was expecting to hate it, I've found myself impressed. It's not perfect, but it's clear Microsoft is sweating the details for the first time in recent memory. I've got my development environment set up just the way I liked it on Mac, thanks to the Linux subsystem — everything from Jekyll to Gulp works exactly how I'd expect.
I'd been worried about Microsoft's high-density display support, since it was unusable in Windows 8 and even the original release of Windows 10, but Creator's Update seems to be able to finally handle 4K displays without things just getting weird.
On top of that? I can play recent games without the PC breaking a sweat, and I've started experimenting with VR. The HTC Vive is an incredible device, and I'm just at the start of figuring out Unity so I can actually create my own things for it.
The experience hasn't been all roses — I had forgotten drivers were a thing, and the quality of apps on Windows, while far better than I remember, is sorely lacking. This seems to be getting addressed quickly thanks to Electron apps: Slack, Nylas, Hyper and Visual Studio Code are awesome, and stand out in the Windows world for being fantastic.
I don't say this lightly, but Windows is back, and Microsoft is doing a great job. Microsoft is getting better, faster at making Windows good than Apple is getting better at doing anything to OS X.
There's a few things I sorely miss: Sketch, which I use a lot for quick design work, iMessage so I don't need to keep pulling out my phone and a handful of other things… but it's easy enough to live without them.
It's clear to me from Apple's language and sheer focus — cough killing the Airport cough — that all Apple cares about is iOS, and the iPhone. Maybe they'll ship something awesome out of nowhere that really brings back its 'productivity' play, but the company is busy trying to convince people that its ham-fisted iPad Pro is good for work.
Over the coming weeks I plan to write about the great parts of Windows, how I got my development environment set up, the apps I use, and, of course, the bad parts. I'll be honest, I can't bring myself to leave Mac at work yet, because I'm not convinced there's a good enough Windows laptop yet… but maybe that will change over time.
If you're a Mac user sitting, waiting for Apple to maybe release a real workhorse computer so you can actually do your work, stop what you're doing and take another look at Windows.
It's awesome, and now you'll be able to get something with incredible power for a great price that's actually worth using.
Sails of sea mac os. Update 11/10: For the last few months I've been looking for a laptop that can replace my trusty MBP and it's been more difficult than expected.
I tried the Razer Blade but the fan noise was a little much - but I've settled on the Dell XPS as a excellent Gender prison mac os. replacement and will post more soon (subscribe here to keep in the loop).
Apologies to the crew up in Redmond, but I usually associate 'disasters after upgrading to a new version of an operating system' with Microsoft's giant feature releases for Windows 10. However, it's Apple's turn to enjoy some embarrassment this week: According tonumerousreports, upgrading to macOS Big Sur allegedly bricks late-2013 and early-2014 MacBook Pros.
Here's where it gets strange, though. The problems aren't exclusive to just these MacBooks. As one Reddit user wrote:
'I have a mid-2015 and it more or less did the same. Bricked at a black screen that does have my logon picture/name, a cyan-outlined black cursor (that one is weird) and a blinking text bar in the top left corner of the screen. Like I need to login with no way to do so.
Safe boot, verbose, single user, etc all do nothing. Eventually I got recovery boot to work and now, at the request of Apple support, am reinstalling Catalina again.'
This user was extremely lucky to find a resolution for the issues at hand. I've seen plenty of instances of those running 2013-2014 MacBooks who've ended up with bricked systems that no usual troubleshooting tricks seem to help, nor does Apple have good fix up its sleeve at the moment. As one owner wrote:
'My Macbook Pro Retina mid 2014 si dead after Big Sur update. After pressing the power button it remains on black screen. The Apple behind the display turns on, but Nottingham else happening.
I've already tried to reset PRAM or Booking in safe/recovery mode without result.
A.way mac os. What can I do?'
And another:
'Same issue here. After an hour online with Apple, they are blaming this on a ‘hardware Problem' on my laptop. They can do nothing. They will not give me a discount on a new computer and since the stores are closed, I am on my own. No way to even pull off the info on the computer.'
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Hold off on installing macOS Big Sur
Before we get to troubleshooting, let me be clear: Don't install macOS Big Sur on your older MacBook right now. If you simply can't wait, make sure you've backed up your entire system before doing so—and I truly hope you're not installing it on a system you need to use each day. Install it on your 'fun' MacBook, not the one you need for your job or to communicate with the outside world.
And if you've found that you've bricked your older MacBook by installing macOS Big Sur, start by contacting Apple Support for assistance. Though honestly, the issue is so new at this point, you might want to give it a little time until Apple comes up with an official fix, by which point you might be able to get the issue addressed for free. Apple might even have a solid solution you can use at home to get your MacBook working again (unless it's really dead in the water).
I Hate Bricks Mac Os 11
If disaster has already struck and you really need to get into your bricked laptop ASAP, you have a few options. (None of them are straightforward.)
How to fix an older MacBook bricked by Big Sur
As always, you can try the standard 'reset the NVRAM and PRAM' techniques to see if they do anything for you. Otherwise, you can try booting into macOS Recovery and reinstalling your operating system from scratch. I'm assuming, however, that you've already attempted these steps and they haven't helped.
Get your hands on another Mac—borrow one from a friend, if you have to—and connect your old Mac to this it via its FireWire or Thunderbolt ports. Turn on the other Mac and boot to its desktop. Then, boot up your old Mac while holding 'T' to launch it into target disk mode. If you're lucky, said disk should then appear on the borrowed Mac. Open up Disk Utility, erase the drive of your old Mac, and power it down. Disconnect the systems, power your old Mac up again, and hold Option+Command+R or Shift+Option+Command+R to launch macOS' 'Internet Recovery' feature. This should help. If not, you might be able to use normal Recovery Mode to revert back to an earlier version of macOS. Keep trying if it doesn't work the first time (or first few times.)
If you have a newer MacBook, you can also try 'reviving' the firmware of your Mac's T2 Security Chip. There's no guarantee this will work—and don't erase it unless you want to lose all the data on your Mac's drive, but it's worth a shot.
Otherwise, if you're handy, unplugging your MacBook's I/O board should get you working again—obviously, with the loss of many of your connections. To do that, you'll need to open up your MacBook, which rules out everyone but the truly desperate (who have pentalobe screwdrivers).
And.. that's it. I haven't encountered other fixes that reliably address the issue, let alone other desperate shots-in-the-dark. My best advice is to simply not upgrade to macOS Big Sur. Or, if you must, try upgrading to macOS Catalina first, see how that goes, make a full backup your system if you don't encounter any issues, and then go for macOS Big Sur.
I Hate Bricks Mac Os 10
Going forward, plant this in your mind: If your Mac is at the tail end of compatibility for a new OS—or, honestly, even if it's not—maybe it's best to wait a week or so before you upgrade, just in case Apple has a looming disaster on its hands. Don't be the guinea pig. You definitely don't want to have to hit up an Apple Genius Bar, especially during a pandemic.
