One of the best features of macOS, by some distance

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mathepac

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Spotlight is activated by clicking on the search icon (magnifying glass) to the right of the screen. You can also use F4 on the function keys or by pressing Command+Space Bar to activate it. Any of those actions bring up an unprepossessing dialog box to search for "stuff", but is that all there is to it?

Read on and be amazed! Apologies for not highlighting it before. https://www.pocket-lint.com/macos-spotlight-tips-and-tricks/
 
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Why are you saying this:
One of the best features of macOS, by some distance
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but then following up with this?
Any of those actions bring up an unprepossessing dialog box to search for "stuff", but is that all there is to it?
Click to expand...
How can you assert that it's one of the best features of macOS if you don't even really seem to know what it does?

Smacks of clickbait...
Read on and be amazed!
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There are various alternatives on Linux (which is free and open source).
This is the one I use - https://ulauncher.io

I'm sure there are alternatives for WIndows also.
 
I'm sure there are and feel free to start your own thread about handy shortcuts and utilities where the users of those other OSes will be sure to find them. They're unlikely to look in a thread-headed "macOS" for tips about their favourite operating systems, free or otherwise.

BTW, you'll be gratified to hear that macOS is also free, bundeled with Apple hardware!
 
Whether it is the "best" feature of MacOS or not is subjective.

I was trying to point out that the feature is not exclusive to MacOS. This functionality is available to users of other operating systems. It's only natural for a reader of this thread who doesn't have a Mac to seek to have the same functionality on their own computer.
 
OK, so what do you think is the best feature of macOS? Just to get an on-topic discussion going.
 
Previously have a Mac book pro a few years ago I had absolutely no knowledge on how too use its many features,I actually considered taking a course on how too use it.
Same situation now with the new iPhone while the mac book sits in a drawer at home,never used.
 
That's a pity as both offer a rich and rewarding user experience. Have you tried any of the ".... For Dummies" books for example?
 

iPhone User Guide

Here’s everything you need to know about iPhone, straight from Apple. This definitive guide helps you get started using iPhone and discover all the amazing things it can do.
support.apple.com

Table of Contents

Click on link above to see "Table of Contents"

Get started with your Mac

You can set up and start using your new Mac in no time. Sign in with your Apple ID, choose a desktop look, change common settings and more.
support.apple.com

Click on link above to see Get Started with Your Mac and other links.
 
Pinoy adventure said:
Previously have a Mac book pro a few years ago I had absolutely no knowledge on how too use its many features,I actually considered taking a course on how too use it.
Same situation now with the new iPhone while the mac book sits in a drawer at home,never used.
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I have one I'm not using as well. Got a M1 Macbook to try it. Every day I use it, I feel I'm back in kindergarten. Mostly I just use it for browsing the web. Anytime I've work to do I go back to Windows.
 
Pinoy adventure said:
Previously have a Mac book pro a few years ago I had absolutely no knowledge on how too use its many features,I actually considered taking a course on how too use it.
Same situation now with the new iPhone while the mac book sits in a drawer at home,never used.
Click to expand...

AlbacoreA said:
I have one I'm not using as well. Got a M1 Macbook to try it. Every day I use it, I feel I'm back in kindergarten. Mostly I just use it for browsing the web. Anytime I've work to do I go back to Windows.
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What sorts of trouble are you both having with mac?

I use a MacBook as my laptop and have a PC desktop and find the experience on both is very similar but MacBook is generally a cleaner interface...
 
It doesn't support my logic mouse properly. Reverses the scroll wheel. Similar hassle with the keyboard.

Only common disk format between OsX and windows seems to be exFat. But it randomly gives errors writing to, some thing about read only mode. Got it working with a common encryption app Veracrypt but thats not as simple as bitlocker for the less technical in the house.

Shortcut keys are different, but it's a mix a apple key and something or the option key and something. Quite inconsistent. Window management simply a pain. Disk management same. Though granted these are things I'd get with practice. Shortcut keys for browsing at least in Chrome are better than windows..

Lack of ports and storage. My Windows laptop has 2 usb c and 4 usb a. 2x Memory slots and 2x NVME slots. The Mac Air is very limited. Different form factors for sure. Fanless is nice, screen, keyboard and battery fantastic on the Mac.

I was hoping performance would be better on the M1 and most of the time it's just the same as my Windows laptop, and much worse for anything graphical. For video editing occasionally the Mac is better occasionally the PC. But that seems to more about how optimised the specific app is. Some apps do some jobs much better than others.

I bought the air as a high end netbook/chrome book. Its a beautiful device for that. But I find I rarely use it. I just haven't moved any of my workflow to it. I'm not sure I'll keep it tbh.

I suspect if you were 100% in the Apple ecosystem it makes more sense. But for someone where most of the family and myself are in Windows for work, college and school it has limitations. I really don't want to go down the parallels route. I'll probably give it till the end of the summer to decide.
 
AlbacoreA said:
It doesn't support my logic mouse properly. Reverses the scroll wheel. Similar hassle with the keyboard.
Click to expand...
I too suffer problems with my logi keyboard and mouse. I've pretty much written off the keyboard but the mouse is a truly useful addition and superior to most other devices I've used. However, I can't blame Apple for the fact that an accessory producer has failed to get its products to map to the OS protocols; that's cart before horse thinking.

AlbacoreA said:
Lack of ports and storage. My Windows laptop has 2 usb c and 4 usb a. 2x Memory slots and 2x NVME slots. The Mac Air is very limited. Different form factors for sure. Fanless is nice, screen, keyboard and battery fantastic on the Mac.
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Your MacBook AIr is designed to be light and portable and defaults to using networked peripherals. If you bought it expecting it to mimic the multi-port Windoze laptop, then I'm afraid you bought the wrong machine. Apples and watermelons, here I'm afraid.

AlbacoreA said:
Only common disk format between OsX and windows
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I wonder what version of Apple's desktop/laptop/server OS you are running. It's 8/9 years since it was rebranded macOS to fit in with tvOS, watchOS, etc
AlbacoreA said:
Only common disk format between OsX and windows seems to be exFat. But it randomly gives errors writing to, some thing about read only mode. Got it working with a common encryption app Veracrypt but thats not as simple as bitlocker for the less technical in the house.
Click to expand...
A bit of research could have helped here. Apple's native file system across all their devices is APFS, not natively compatible with Windoze. Apple switched to APFS (from HFS+) for Macs in 2017 for compatibility with the file-system on their other devices. However, exchanging documents from one application to another, via email for example, on either platform is seamless.

Larry O'Connor's company, Other World Computing, has this to offer for file system inter-operability (haven't used it recently though). https://www.owc.com/solutions/macdrive
 
Nivarg said:
Get scroll reverser. Apple should really make this a customisable option.

pilotmoon.com

Scroll Reverser

Per-device scrolling preferences for MacOS.
pilotmoon.com pilotmoon.com
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Its just a pain to switch between mice depending on what's near at the time and the scroll on one goes one way and the the other on a different one. I use a hub to switch between laptops or Desktops.
 
mathepac said:
I too suffer problems with my logi keyboard and mouse. I've pretty much written off the keyboard but the mouse is a truly useful addition and superior to most other devices I've used. However, I can't blame Apple for the fact that an accessory producer has failed to get its products to map to the OS protocols; that's cart before horse thinking.
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Apple has produced some infamously ergonomically disastrous mice.

I was asked what trouble I had with it, I'm simply answering that, don't shoot the messenger. I wouldn't be so sure its logitech issue either.

mathepac said:
Your MacBook AIr is designed to be light and portable and defaults to using networked peripherals. If you bought it expecting it to mimic the multi-port Windoze laptop, then I'm afraid you bought the wrong machine. Apples and watermelons, here I'm afraid.
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Hence I said it's a different form factor. That said even my roughly similar 13" Windows laptops have a much superior port connectivity, and expandability. The only reason seems to be for Apple to make money for charging you for dongles, and machine configurations. They kicked up such a fuss about USB C on the iPhone when its been on their MacBooks, MacStudio for years.

I dunno about buying the wrong machine. Its only one of many computers I have. I could buy the 15"MacBook Air and it would still only have two usb C ports. One of which used for charging. So in effect you have only have one. Of course you can buy hubs etc. I bought it to test and play with. I'm not going to buy a maxed out MacBook Pro for 4k just to play with.

mathepac said:
I wonder what version of Apple's desktop/laptop/server OS you are running. It's 8/9 years since it was rebranded macOS to fit in with tvOS, watchOS, etc
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Whatever was on the M1. Seems to be 14, Sonoma. Everything other System 6,7,8,9 is OSX to me. I last used Macs in the PowerPC era NEXT Cubes etc.

mathepac said:
A bit of research could have helped here. Apple's native file system across all their devices is APFS, not natively compatible with Windoze. Apple switched to APFS (from HFS+) for Macs in 2017 for compatibility with the file-system on their other devices. However, exchanging documents from one application to another, via email for example, on either platform is seamless.

Larry O'Connor's company, Other World Computing, has this to offer for file system inter-operability (haven't used it recently though). https://www.owc.com/solutions/macdrive
Click to expand...

Well aware of the file systems. But there isn't a lot of information online. Hence why I wanted to test a recent Mac. Like I said Apple works with extFAT. I assume linux also. Don't currently have a linux machine to test.

I'm not sending TBs of video and media via cloud or email lol. Office works well enough cross platform, but not VBA obviously. Online scripts really is too basic. (pun intented)

Thought of another thing. Doesn't support Android natively. But yes there's an App for that.
 
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