Re: Apple GUI Bug

From	Brock McNuggets <brock.mcnuggets@gmail.com>
Newsgroups	comp.os.linux.advocacy, comp.sys.mac.advocacy
Subject	Re: Apple GUI Bug
Organization	Southern Nevada Institute of Technology
References	<10tqodl$kc60$3@dont-email.me> <6a022720$0$27$882e4bbb@reader.netnews.com> <6a022d22$0$22$882e4bbb@reader.netnews.com> <XnsB449DC9F858F81982100000@62.164.182.26>
Date	2026-05-12 01:45 +0000
Message-ID	<6a028624$0$18$882e4bbb@reader.netnews.com> (permalink)

Cross-posted to 2 groups.

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On May 11, 2026 at 6:41:17 PM MST, "Chris" wrote
<XnsB449DC9F858F81982100000@62.164.182.26>:

> Brock McNuggets <Brock.McNuggets@gmail.com> wrote in
> news:6a022d22$0$22$882e4bbb@reader.netnews.com:
> 
>> Brock McNuggets <Brock.McNuggets@gmail.com> wrote:
>>> Brock McNuggets <Brock.McNuggets@gmail.com> wrote:
>>>> Alan <nuh-uh@nope.com> wrote:
>>>>> On 2026-05-10 22:42, Lawrence D’Oliveiro wrote:
>>>>>> On 11 May 2026 05:18:19 GMT, Brock McNuggets wrote:
>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> On May 10, 2026 at 8:27:58 PM MST, "Lawrence D´Oliveiro" wrote
>>>>>>> <10tribu$r55l$1@dont-email.me>:
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>> On Sun, 10 May 2026 22:56:32 -0400, Nick Charles wrote:
>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>>> On 2026/5/10 4:05 PM, Lawrence D’Oliveiro wrote:
>>>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>>>> You would expect B1 to be the active window now. And in all
>>>>>>>>>> normal multiwindow GUIs (including regular Unix and Linux
>>>>>>>>>> ones), this would be true. But on macOS, it’s not: instead,
>>>>>>>>>> the next window to become active is the next window from the
>>>>>>>>>> same app, namely A1!
>>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>>> Its not a bug, its a design choice.
>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>> What is the rationale behind that choice, can you enlighten us?
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> Unlike Windows and Linux, macOS is -- in terms of windows --
>>>>>>> application centric. It is not going to jump you to another
>>>>>>> application unless you specifically say you want to go to that
>>>>>>> application (or quit the app you are in). This is possible
>>>>>>> because macOS has the ability to have document focused apps be
>>>>>>> open with no application at all.
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> For a company which was such a stickler for intuitive UIs in its
>>>>>> early days, with clear cues to the user as to what is happening at
>>>>>> any moment, that seems very unintuitive -- obscure, even. Also,
>>>>>> remember they were champions of a more document-centric approach,
>>>>>> consciously moving away from an application-centric focus, at one
>>>>>> point. Which kind of compounds the mystery of why they would
>>>>>> embrace such a seemingly perverse idea.
>>>>> 
>>>>> 1. You mistake something you're not used to for "unintuitive".
>>>>> 
>>>>> 2. I don't remember any "document-centric approach". Perhaps you
>>>>> could elucidate...
>>>>> 
>>>>> ...or just admit it's something you made up to make your whole
>>>>> argument look better?
>>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> I think it makes sense if you go from document / window A to B and
>>>> then close B to expect to go back to A. At least for my way of
>>>> thinking. Others might think more in terms of apps.
>>>> 
>>>> With tabs I don’t expect to jump to another app when I close a doc
>>>> — so maybe that is tied to it.
>>>> 
>>> 
>>> This is what AI says of the research. To me it makes sense and fits
>>> my experience.
>>> 
>>> ——-
>>> 
>>> Cognitive research on task switching shows that adaptive behavior
>>> requires both the ability to focus on a task and protect it from
>>> distraction (cognitive stability) and to rapidly switch when
>>> circumstances change (cognitive flexibility) — and crucially, these
>>> are governed by a recency heuristic, where the system nudges control
>>> based on the recent history of task demands. 
>>> 
>>> In plain terms: your most recent context is the most cognitively
>>> “loaded” one. Returning to the last-used document after a close
>>> respects that — it puts you back where your working memory was
>>> focused.
>>> 
>>> The macOS behavior (stay in same app) has a principled defense, but
>>> it’s philosophical not empirical
>>> The macOS argument is: “If I’m working in an app and I finish
>>> using a document, I generally wish to stay in that app to create
>>> another document.” The OS treats the application as the primary
>>> actor, not the document or the prior context. 
>>> 
>>> That’s coherent within a document-centric model, but it assumes you
>>> closed that window within a workflow in that app — which isn’t
>>> the case in your scenario. You explicitly switched apps, then closed.
>>> The key variable: user intent at the moment of close
>>> 
>>> The research on mental models is most directly applicable here. When
>>> a user:
>>>      1.     Is in App A
>>>      2.     Switches to App B
>>>      3.     Closes a window in App B
>>> …the most plausible intent is “I’m done with this thing in App
>>> B.” Returning to App A honors the navigation they initiated.
>>> Staying in App B requires the OS to assume the app-switch was
>>> incidental, which is a much bigger assumption.
>>> 
>>> Bottom line: The Windows behavior is better supported by the evidence
>>> on how people actually track task context. The macOS behavior is
>>> internally consistent but only correct if you never switch apps
>>> before closing — a narrow and increasingly uncommon use case. The
>>> research on recency heuristics and mental models both favor returning
>>> to the prior context rather than anchoring to the current
>>> app.
>>> 
>> 
>> Asked another AI. To me this is interesting.
> 
> Interesting.
> here is what Ai thinks of you snit.
> 
> https://chatgpt.com/s/t_6a0283ad2c6081919c0160005c3d8484
> 
> https://chatgpt.com/s/t_6a02851b8ea08191ba3c25d928e3b2d2

Notice it does not offer MIDs or quotes. What it is doing is being impacted by
those of you with SDS. That is a YOU issue... nothing to do with me.

-- 
It's impossible for someone who is at war with themselves to be at peace with you.

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Apple GUI Bug Lawrence D’Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> - 2026-05-10 20:05 +0000
  Re: Apple GUI Bug Brock McNuggets <brock.mcnuggets@gmail.com> - 2026-05-10 20:34 +0000
    Re: Apple GUI Bug Lawrence D’Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> - 2026-05-10 22:41 +0000
      Re: Apple GUI Bug Brock McNuggets <brock.mcnuggets@gmail.com> - 2026-05-10 22:58 +0000
        Re: Apple GUI Bug Lawrence D’Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> - 2026-05-10 23:07 +0000
          Re: Apple GUI Bug Brock McNuggets <brock.mcnuggets@gmail.com> - 2026-05-10 23:42 +0000
  Re: Apple GUI Bug CrudeSausage <crude@sausa.ge> - 2026-05-10 17:45 -0400
    Re: Apple GUI Bug Brock McNuggets <brock.mcnuggets@gmail.com> - 2026-05-10 22:36 +0000
      Re: Apple GUI Bug Lawrence D’Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> - 2026-05-10 22:38 +0000
        Re: Apple GUI Bug Brock McNuggets <brock.mcnuggets@gmail.com> - 2026-05-10 23:03 +0000
          Re: Apple GUI Bug Jim <slimjimmy1959@yahoomail.com> - 2026-05-10 23:47 +0000
            Re: Apple GUI Bug Brock McNuggets <brock.mcnuggets@gmail.com> - 2026-05-11 00:08 +0000
  Re: Apple GUI Bug Nick Charles <none@none.none> - 2026-05-10 22:56 -0400
    Re: Apple GUI Bug Brock McNuggets <brock.mcnuggets@gmail.com> - 2026-05-11 03:26 +0000
    Re: Apple GUI Bug Lawrence D’Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> - 2026-05-11 03:27 +0000
      Re: Apple GUI Bug Brock McNuggets <brock.mcnuggets@gmail.com> - 2026-05-11 05:18 +0000
        Re: Apple GUI Bug Lawrence D’Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> - 2026-05-11 05:42 +0000
          Re: Apple GUI Bug Brock McNuggets <brock.mcnuggets@gmail.com> - 2026-05-11 05:50 +0000
            Re: Apple GUI Bug Lawrence D’Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> - 2026-05-11 06:19 +0000
              Re: Apple GUI Bug Brock McNuggets <brock.mcnuggets@gmail.com> - 2026-05-11 06:44 +0000
                Re: Apple GUI Bug Lawrence D’Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> - 2026-05-12 02:46 +0000
                Re: Apple GUI Bug Brock McNuggets <Brock.McNuggets@gmail.com> - 2026-05-12 03:04 +0000
          Re: Apple GUI Bug Alan <nuh-uh@nope.com> - 2026-05-11 11:34 -0700
            Re: Apple GUI Bug Brock McNuggets <Brock.McNuggets@gmail.com> - 2026-05-11 18:47 +0000
              Re: Apple GUI Bug Brock McNuggets <Brock.McNuggets@gmail.com> - 2026-05-11 18:59 +0000
                Re: Apple GUI Bug Brock McNuggets <Brock.McNuggets@gmail.com> - 2026-05-11 19:25 +0000
                Re: Apple GUI Bug Lawrence D’Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> - 2026-05-11 22:40 +0000
                Re: Apple GUI Bug Brock McNuggets <brock.mcnuggets@gmail.com> - 2026-05-11 22:53 +0000
                Re: Apple GUI Bug Lawrence D’Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> - 2026-05-12 02:50 +0000
                Re: Apple GUI Bug Brock McNuggets <Brock.McNuggets@gmail.com> - 2026-05-12 03:07 +0000
                Re: Apple GUI Bug Lawrence D’Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> - 2026-05-12 07:09 +0000
                Re: Apple GUI Bug Brock McNuggets <Brock.McNuggets@gmail.com> - 2026-05-12 21:36 +0000
                Re: Apple GUI Bug Chris <Christech@protonmail.com> - 2026-05-12 01:41 +0000
                Re: Apple GUI Bug Brock McNuggets <brock.mcnuggets@gmail.com> - 2026-05-12 01:45 +0000
  Re: Apple GUI Bug Alan <nuh-uh@nope.com> - 2026-05-10 21:42 -0700

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