I’ve been a loyal System/MacOS/OS X/macOS user since System 6. From the first time I sat down at a Mac, it’s the only OS family that allows me to forget that I’m using a computer and just do things.
Architecturally the Classic MacOS was a hacked-together mess (though I was pretty good about managing my extensions, and I put together some pretty impressive uptime with my old Power Macs), but the UI was incredibly fast and responsive. Even on my M2 Pro Mini I don’t believe I can navigate my filesystem as quickly or as easily as I could on my OG iMac running 9.2. And I’d still love to visit an alternate universe where macOS evolved from the Server 1.0 UI rather than the Aqua UI.
OS X/macOS feels a little more cumbersome, a little less personal. I don’t always love all the new features Apple pushes in its new releases. (IDEK with the new Settings menu.) And I really didn’t love the hoops I had to jump through to get PHP running on my Mini (I could have gone with an all-Homebrew setup, but I wanted to keep things relatively uncomplicated). The last version of macOS I unabashedly loved was 10.14 Mojave. But in the end, I appreciate all the things that bringing Unix to the Mac allows me to do, and there’s enough of the old MacOS DNA that I’m still mostly able to sit down, forget I’m using a computer, and just get my work done. That’s what I look for in an OS.
I’ve been a loyal System/MacOS/OS X/macOS user since System 6. From the first time I sat down at a Mac, it’s the only OS family that allows me to forget that I’m using a computer and just do things.
Architecturally the Classic MacOS was a hacked-together mess (though I was pretty good about managing my extensions, and I put together some pretty impressive uptime with my old Power Macs), but the UI was incredibly fast and responsive. Even on my M2 Pro Mini I don’t believe I can navigate my filesystem as quickly or as easily as I could on my OG iMac running 9.2. And I’d still love to visit an alternate universe where macOS evolved from the Server 1.0 UI rather than the Aqua UI.
OS X/macOS feels a little more cumbersome, a little less personal. I don’t always love all the new features Apple pushes in its new releases. (IDEK with the new Settings menu.) And I really didn’t love the hoops I had to jump through to get PHP running on my Mini (I could have gone with an all-Homebrew setup, but I wanted to keep things relatively uncomplicated). The last version of macOS I unabashedly loved was 10.14 Mojave. But in the end, I appreciate all the things that bringing Unix to the Mac allows me to do, and there’s enough of the old MacOS DNA that I’m still mostly able to sit down, forget I’m using a computer, and just get my work done. That’s what I look for in an OS.