u/BonbonUniverse42

I am using a Macbook for an few weeks now and I still struggle hard with window management. How do you do productive tasks?

For example:

Switching to the correct pdf from about 20 other opened pdf files. When I want to bring a specific pdf file into the foreground, I need to move the mouse to the preview icon on the dock. however, this does not provide preview images of all currently open pdfs. Why not?

When I do right click, I only see a list of names, which is often not sufficient to find the correct file, I need to see it. To use the 3 finger guesture to see all files currently open in the preview application I need to first click on the icon on the dock. However, this brings ALL pdf files into the foreground. Then I can find the pdf through the application specific Mission Control. now I have found my window which is now in the foreground but all other pdfs clutter my monitor as they lay on top of another application such as pages or my browser which I need simultaneously. So I move my foreground pdf to the side and minimize every other pdf file which takes forever. However, now the minimized pdf files are ignored in Mission Control which makes it impossible to find a second pdf which I want to see as well at the same time.

This behaviour drives me nuts.

I am wondering, will latex ever be replaced by a more modern, hassle free alternative? I am writing in latex since years now but it is a pain often. When you need something specific, I have to google or ask ai to build some wonky code to get a layout correct or whatever. latex just isn’t intuitive and its fragmented libraries which are in conflict all the time are just annoying. We need some modern python style replacement where tweaking the layout does not require obscure code from Stackoverflow or LLMs. Also error messages are often hard to diagnose.

However, since academic journals only accept latex, I don’t see any chance for a contender to really replace latex. Until then I also dont see any incentive to learn alternative tools.

I bought the Mac Neo but I am quite frustrated by the keyboard. The pressure when typing feels good and the pad is sturdy but the keys themselves feel horrible. The keys have way too sharp edges. Moving around with the fingers on the keyboard feels very uncomfortable as the edges on the keys are so incredibly sharp, they all have defined 90 degrees angles to the sides. Is this the case for all Mac books? The Neo is my first apple laptop.

On top of that, the case has this weird tingling feeling when plugged in as the usb charger is not grounded. I googled that this is a known issue since years. I can’t understand how such an obvious design flaw can get passed as ok.

In addition, the laptop has 2 very sharp corners on the front where the gap for the finger is embedded to grab the screen when the laptop is closed. These edges/corners are incredibly sharp and could lead to injuries when sliding along with the arm on the front. How can such a dangerous design be allowed?

I am new to mac. Do you use the search function on Mac? I find this approach extremely strange and irritating as my file structure is complex. As on windows I navigate through the file path through the Mac file explorer until I reach my destination. using the find function would feel unsafe as I have a lot of duplicates on my system due to backups. also I open applications through the menu.

actually I am wondering for what reason the search function (I think it is called spotlight) exists at all. I can’t image anyone really using it for accessing files dug deep in a complex folder structure.

I know this is an unpopular opinion but I think function block diagram and ladder logic are too outdated on modern PLCs and new plants. I have a programming background in c++ and working with PLCs is a big trouble for me. I am fully aware that plc programming require more than just writing code, such as all the safety considerations, but this is where I feel the old programming style in these visual languages falls short and even possesses risks.

in c++ I can debug and trace programming logic, I have a call stack and so on. In TIA portal everything is messy and unorganised, each function just accesses global databases, variables are defined redundantly all over the place and you can’t easily figure out where stuff is written and read from. But with this hard to see logical structure, logical errors can slip into the code making everything dangerous. When I see function block diagrams on running plants with 20 in and outputs, connected to many other blocks, these diagrams do not even fit on the screen completely. It is completely impossible to get a grasp of what is going on. I c++, I can verify the correctness of a function through unit tests, in TIA portal it feels like there is no robust encapsulation and no way to check each condition and if it will fail.

I am also not a fan of the argument that a technican should be able to solve a problem at 3 o’clock in the night. Never ever should anyone who doesn’t know exactly what the code does change anything in a running plant. This stuff is too dangerous to just change something when you have eg 50 sensors and actuators, complex interlock logic, vast alarm conditions (HH, H, L, LL) for every sensor and so on. Moreover, many functions just mix system logic with HMI logic on top of it. I think many programs I encountered on PLCs just aren’t designed in the same logical and structured way as C++ software projects. Everything appears messy and tacked on.

I think PLCs are stuck in the past, where writing and verifying robust code is inherent limited by the outdated programming paradigms and languages.

I am a somewhat experienced PLC engineer though I worked mostly on small mini plants and programmed plcs from ground up. now I am asked to fix a lot of problems on an existing plant that has an immense number of sensors and actuators with no documentation for the plc code. there are no comments. the original programmmers are not available any more to ask any questions. nobody has a clue but the plant runs since years and many features are tacked on over time. so it is a mess.

How do you approach this? the program logic seems mostly horrible as the code uses global scopes for variables and databases everywhere and uses many redundant variables. I just have a hard time understanding what all this should do. in addition the code is written in this messy block language, not in SCL; hence, it is extremely bloated und unreadable.

what is your strategy here? also I can’t simply comment out code or test the plant as the safety functions must run.

I am fairly new to MacOS and I have an open mind to new things but man, I can’t be productive on MacOS. What a horrible window management. How are you productive with this?

I need 3-4 vs code windows at once. from each of those I plot multiple diagram windows, at times up to 100 plot windows. now I need to arrange them all for visual comparison. I need browser and multiple pdf files, multiple text editors and command windows. I need to switch between windows all the time.

without a task bar that shows me all open windows in groups and miniature images I can’t find anything on Mac. It is incredibly frustrating to work with this operating system. I also tried stage manager which is terrible as it hides windows and jumps around without any logic at all.

How do you feel about the transition by TT games to move from their own proprietary engine to Unreal?

Was it worth it? Do animations or gameplay feel different due to the change in the underlying technology? Do you think the rendering pipeline of the Unreal engine breaks the distinctive look of the previous LEGO games, simply due to the specific light and rendering algorithms from the unreal engine? Does it look like any other Unreal game to you without its own artistic identity?

I never found any game than invokes the zen like feeling of botw. I like to just wander around in the world and collect koroks as my only task. This feels very relaxing and I just don’t know any other game the has this nature vibe which has this very calming effect when I am stressed or something. Playing botw is like mediation to me. Has anyone else this reaction?

This is also why I strongly dislike totk, it is just too loud, busy, noisy and stressful. Any recommendations, also including books or similar other media?

I never found any game than invokes the zen like feeling of botw. I like to just wander around in the world and collect koroks as my only task. This feels very relaxing and I just don’t know any other game the has this nature vibe which has this very calming effect when I am stressed or something. Playing botw is like mediation to me. Has anyone else this reaction?

This is also why I strongly dislike totk, it is just too loud, busy, noisy and stressful. Any recommendations, also including books or similar other media?