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Re: Apple GUI Bug

Cross-posted to 2 groups.

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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.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

-- 
Personal attacks from those who troll show their own insecurity. They
cannot use reason to show the message to be wrong so they try to feel
somehow superior by attacking the messenger.

They cling to their attacks and ignore the message time and time again.

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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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