Welcome (back) to Macintosh

Original Article ↗ Hacker News Discussion ↗

Time Machine and Backup Reliability

  • Many report Time Machine as effectively abandonware: corrupting over time, especially on network shares (NAS/SMB, sparse bundles), forcing full reset/erase.
  • Some long‑time support folks say they rarely see corruption and view frequent failures as environment‑specific (bad disks/cables), but others counter that failures often appear only after years.
  • Trust in Time Machine has eroded; several have switched to restic, Carbon Copy Cloner, ChronoSync, Backblaze, or manual strategies and emphasize regularly testing restores.

macOS Tahoe (26) Stability, Performance, and UI

  • Large contingent describes Tahoe as unstable, “death by a thousand paper cuts”: Finder hangs or fails to refresh, Spotlight/tag indexing glitches, UI lag (especially with external 4K displays), weird window resize hitboxes, and DisplayPort/monitor issues.
  • Others report Tahoe as broadly “fine,” with no major bugs beyond prior releases and acceptable performance on newer M‑series Macs.
  • The new “liquid glass” UI is widely disliked: inconsistent iconography, changing corner radii, transparency over content, and perceived regressions in built‑in apps (Music, Mail controls moved/removed, Reminders typing lag).
  • Some see accumulated cruft and config corruption over years/migrations; clean installs reportedly behave better.

iOS/watchOS 26 and Ecosystem Sentiment

  • iOS 26 and watchOS 26 draw heavy criticism: sluggishness, UI glitches, anti‑user choices, harder‑to‑read watch UI, degraded keyboard behavior, iPadOS performance regressions.
  • Several long‑time, deeply invested Apple users say this is the first time they are seriously planning to leave the ecosystem.

Linux and Windows as Alternatives

  • Many are actively migrating workloads to Linux (Fedora, Debian, Pop!_OS/COSMIC, KDE, ElementaryOS, cachyOS, etc.), citing control, fixability, and open source.
  • Others warn that Linux desktop still has rough edges (Wayland breakage, audio/BT, sleep, drivers) and will disappoint users expecting “just works” Apple‑style polish.
  • Windows 11 is described as “fine” but with its own UX and telemetry issues; some find SMB/networking and certain apps better there.

Networking, SMB, Printing, Enterprise

  • Persistent complaints about macOS SMB: slow/broken compared to Windows, problematic with NAS and creative workflows; Apple’s in‑house SMB stack blamed.
  • Printer stack and CUPS changes reportedly broke drivers, label printers, job management, and increased flakiness.
  • In business contexts, some IT professionals say Macs’ network/file‑share quirks can harm non‑technical users’ reputations at work.

Apple’s Strategy, Culture, and Trust

  • Recurrent themes: Apple prioritizing flashy UI churn, services, and lock‑in (iCloud, notarization, JIT restrictions, Rosetta phase‑out) over reliability and user needs.
  • Several longtime fans feel Apple’s hallmark care for users has decayed into indifference or contempt; others argue hardware (Apple Silicon) still excels and hope software will course‑correct, perhaps via a “Snow Leopard‑style” bug‑fix release.