I work in IT and I have committed myself to using a Mac for day to day tasks so that I can be more familiar with MacOS whenever one of our few Mac users needs help.
Our mac users are pretty simple they just need access to Okta SSO, a few SMB shares, and an intranet system. We’re deploying Threatlocker so we don’t have to give them local Admin anymore for installing software.One of the problems we’re having is getting the laptops set up on Active Directory. The method we used previously locked the laptops to the local network. So when they tried to go WFH they couldn’t log in to the computer to access the VPN. This happened before I got there so I can’t give any details on what they did right or wrong, but if there’s any suggestions on how to set up a mac onto an Active Directory domain that avoids it, please let me know.
Anyways, I’ve been doing this challenge for months and I kinda really hate using MacOS just because my normal flows are so drastically challenged. I’m looking for tips to get better at MacOS so I don’t hate it as much.
Problems:
I don’t have access to Active Directory Manager - This is both kinda big and not an issue. My fix is having an RDP connection to my Windows work laptop or using AD Manager on the browser, but I prefer both local app access and none web apps. This is also my problem with all Windows server management stuff like DNS and DHCP work. Again, both my biggest problem and also something I don’t think is going to work anywhere as easily as just remoting into my windows PC or a VM.
Screenshots - I know how to make a snippet and I might just be stupid, but I can’t CMD+V to paste it into teams or whatever. I have to time it with the pop up in the bottom right and drag it into teams from there.
Tiling - Holy shit is window management awful. I have 2x2k monitors. The left monitor is always Firefox with Okta+Tickets+Intranet with my right monitor being Outlook on one half the screen, teams in the top right, VOIP in the bottom right. I never turn off the mac and just leave it like this, painfully spaced manually to the way I like it (Something that was in powertoys in 10 and is BUILT IN to 11 also works great on my PopOS computer with tiling). That set up is fine, however, I have been working on a project needing to swap between excel, firefox, a VM to remote into switches and swap to a different RDP session. Doesn’t matter, it’s a mess and I can’t alt tab or easily swap between them other than clicking the icons from the dock.
SMB Shares - Does Mac just suck for this? I constantly need access to like 4-6 different SMB shares for testing and share of files and I’m CONSTANTLY re-adding these shares. it’s not permanent but it saves it in finder. so I can connect to server and it will do it with save credentials. It’s just that on windows its
Open Explorer > Click share
But mac its
Open Finder > Click Go > click Connect to Server > Click SMB share > Click file I want to get into >it opens in Finder
This sucks and I don’t know if its a skill issue.
ANYWAYS, I assume a lot of my issues aren’t going to get resolved, but I would still like what everyone does in MacOS and how they optimize their work flow. Please talk about how you optimize Mac for IT work.
I always found trying to get MacOS to talk to AD was a losing battle, but that’s no real help to you. I do have a couple of other suggestions. The latest version of MacOS (Sequoia aka version 15) offers some tiling support, as outlined here: https://www.apple.com/macos/macos-sequoia/pdf/macOS_All_New_Features_Sept_2024.pdf#page=7
Where updating to the latest version may not be possible, there are third party options for tiling though they will typically be paid.
An option you may want to consider is installing a Windows for ARM VM on your personal Mac. Windows for ARM compatibility is very good, and from what I’ve heard Parallels runs the ARM version of Windows better in emulation than native hardware (e.g. various Qualcomm powered laptops.) VMware Fusion is also available absolutely free*, though performance and compatibility isn’t quite as good as Parallels.
For quickly connecting to SMB shares, you can try the keyboard shortcut Cmd-K. One trick to using it is to make sure that you’re already in FInder (i.e., it is the foreground application) when invoking the shortcut.
Screenshots aren’t typically copied to the clipboard, but instead immediately dumped as image files to a pre-determined location (in my case, the desktop.) You’ll need to open the image in a viewer first before copying it to the clipboard. Or you can drag and drop it into a document, chat session, etc.
* I should qualify that by saying the free version of VMware Fusion might not be for business use. As always, read the fine print.
I have a Mac I use for development at work, so I have encountered some similar issues
I launch screenshot from launchpad using raycast, but Apple suggests including control to the screenshot combo this key combo Control-Shift-Command-$Number
I might change the app shortcut so that windows+shift+s will open launcher for screenshots
Iirc Microsoft had a patent for Windows snapping, so Apple hasn’t officially added window snapping/tiling. I personally use rectangle. I miss using grid-move, but rectangle is a suitable replacement
I recommend using Alfred as a replacement for spotlight. I bought their lifetime “Powerpack” back in the day, but I don’t remember using any of the advanced features. It helps me avoid using finder, which I loath…
I found Hammerspoon a couple years ago. I mostly use it for custom hotkeys to launch programs / scripts. It definitely overlaps with Alfred’s paid feature-set, but I like scripting in Lua sometimes…
Actually, up until about a week ago, you were completely correct, however apparently they now offer Fusion and Player completely free for commerical use, as well. Of course, as you correctly stated, it’s still best to read the fine print.
I think of my macos devices as a really powerful kvm. I like that my kvm is unix…well Darwin but close enough
Back in ye olden days I was a computer lab manager, and I’ve daily driven a Mac professionally since 2014.
I hated Apple before this. And I still do for the same reasons. But I see the value and I’ve drank the koolaid.
I use VMWare Workstation and RDP (now The Windows App) to connect to Windows servers.
I use Parsec to connect/control to my windows workstation (RSAT tools, among other Windows specific things) Very good performance
WebSSH for all my various needs and keeping things organized
Homebrew green terminal bash (fk zsh) shell because green
You could replace the above with parallels if you want a more native experience for RSAT. I used Parallels for years in my daily drivers. I used to prefer the native Office suite apps but that’s changed after 2016…so I don’t care enough to run a vm on the Mac itself any more
I use Amphetamine to keep my Mac from falling asleep
I use BetterSnapTool because tiling sucks
I use Bartender because the default bar behavior sucks.
I have various Finder tweaks and startup scripts (Yay Munki hosting remote scripts)
I use Nomad and Noload for AD integration
I use MacFanControl because Apple will always prioritize quietness over temperature and I will always prioritize performance over noise.
Are you happy with the new app? Im currently using the old one (from the AppStore) and I am scared that it is trash like all new things from MS and I can’t go back to my old app.
I find LibreOffice or even Writer to be far superior to MS office.
True, but in my opinion fixed with macOS 15.
You still have fans /s
On a serious note, is this still needed for M1? I thought that MacBook Pro does not thermal throttle anymore.
From what I’ve heard, while newer Apple hardware doesn’t throttle as much as the old 16" Intel MacBook Pros any more, they still like to push their CPUs/SoCs to stupid high temps. Hence some people (such as myself) still like to force the fans on before the processor hits the boiling point.
Caveat - Newer versions of MacOS (Sequoia 15.1, and recent updates to Sonoma) hobble fan control programs.
Even if the silicon can take it, that doesn’t mean that the nearby solder joints, battery, SSDs or PCB can take it. Perhaps Apple has built better tolerances in these days (doubt it), but high temperatures like 100C can cause solder to fail, computer boards to warp and battery damage over time.
These components (besides the battery) can take heat even better.
Old Macbook were notorious for running the Intel CPUs at 100° and lasted for decades.
I get if the heat annoys you, because you have the laptop on your lap. But saying that 100° is stupid high is not universally true. I would argue that running stuff way below the thermal throttle limit (which is different from vendor to vendor) is stupid, because it creates unnecessary noise.
My bar for an acceptable laptop to be used for real work is:
Battery must last for a day’s work
Fans should kick in only if I do something silly like a burn in test (or 3d rendering, or running benchmarks) and not be high pitch/annoying
The second one so far has excluded all Windows based laptops since the last 10 years or so … and yes, I am often in meetings with plenty of people and plenty of hardware, and so far I haven’t met a windows laptop that doesn’t fall in the ‘I am not really doing anything at the moment, let’s just kick in the fan to annoy everyone in a 3 meter radius …’ category …
I always smile when a new ‘this is the macbook killer’ video comes out, and I go and watch it, fast forward to the perfromance/noise part, listen to the whine, and kill the video …
I will take a 30% geekbench score on a silent laptop at 90% power over one where geekbench is through the roof but the fan kicks in at idle …
Oh boy. Time for a history lesson. Back in 2008 I had a shiny new Intel (not PowerPC) Macbook Pro. A few months after getting the laptop, I started noticing lines on the screen. Took it the Apple Store, the tech didn’t say much, but authorized a logic board replacement. I’ll fast forward to save us both time…I had to have the logic board replaced four times over a year and a half.
I can hear you arguing ‘but that wasn’t caused by an Apple designed part.’ The problem with that argument is Apple’s propensity to design Macbooks to run silent until they melt. Yes, that '08 Macbook Pro was frequently running at close to 100C, and had Apple not implemented a ‘quiet but hot’ fan curve, many owners would have likely been saved the pain of logic board replacements. And I’ve had many other Macs in the intervening years with persistent thermal issues. So no matter what Apple claims, I still run my Macbooks (and even desktop Macs) as cool as possible.
It can’t, at least not long term; with the current level of diffusion barrier technology compared to the feature sizes that are common in TSMC’s more advanced design libraries.
If run at these temperatures long term, these chips will not last as long as previous products that capped out at more sane temperatures.
Even if your example is valid, you offered one example.
My counterexample would be the Macbook 2013 series that sold more unites and run for decades without issues.
Since we’re running the risk of hijacking this thread, I’ll try to keep this brief. This is an excellent summary of some of Apple’s engineering failures (the examples you requested) and their attempts to avoid responsibility:
It is a long video; I suggest looking at the video description for a summary of the issues. They include thermal design flaws, as well as other problems.
And I hardly think trying to extend the life of a US$2000 or $3000 device is ‘stupid’ for a little extra fan noise. There are some Mac form factors I’ve never had issues with, so I try to stick with Macbook Airs and Mac minis.
