Alan.app – Add a Border to macOS Active Window

Original Article ↗ Hacker News Discussion ↗

Perceived problems with modern macOS UI (Tahoe/Sequoia)

  • Many commenters feel recent macOS UI is “hostile to users”:
    • Hard to distinguish overlapping or tiled windows; need for Alan.app seen as evidence.
    • Excess padding and low contrast reduce usable space and legibility.
  • Some say Apple has shifted from usability to visual appeal, and now achieves neither.
  • Others report no issues with Tahoe, suggesting experience may vary by workflow or sensitivity.

Responsibility and design culture at Apple

  • Debate over blaming a specific design executive vs recognizing broader organizational responsibility.
  • One side: executives have “command responsibility”; if interfaces worsen, the VP in charge should be accountable or replaced.
  • Other side: focusing on one person is simplistic; decisions involve many stakeholders and higher-level strategy.

Focus, input routing, and active-window issues

  • Complaints that after Cmd+Tab or desktop switching, input still goes to the previous app for tens–hundreds of ms, causing accidental quits or pastes.
  • Some non‑macOS users find this a potential dealbreaker; others note Windows has its own focus/stacking bugs.

Existing tools and alternatives

  • Multiple tools already solve similar problems: JankyBorders, BorderMe, HazeOver, tmux borders, Hammerspoon scripts, Pop!_OS Cosmic’s built‑in active-window border, and various Linux tiling WMs.
  • Comparison notes: JankyBorders’ border moves more smoothly with windows; Alan’s border lags more.
  • Several people are surprised such a basic feature isn’t in macOS Accessibility settings.

Implementation details and performance

  • One commenter infers, and the developer confirms, use of Accessibility APIs plus a transparent NSWindow overlay driven by notifications and a timer.
  • This design should be stable across OS updates but introduces visible lag, which some consider unacceptable, others minor.
  • Consensus that perfect tracking likely requires a first-party OS feature.

Accessibility, aging, and “app vs setting” debate

  • Older users describe needing cursor and focus aids; tools like HazeOver significantly reduce eye strain.
  • macOS “Increase contrast” can draw borders around windows, partially addressing the issue.
  • Some dislike tiny scrollbars and fixed shadows; others want less visual noise.
  • Brief argument over whether such tweaks should be standalone apps vs simple system settings or scripts.