Hands-On With macOS 10.14 Mojave: Dark Mode, Revamped Mac App Store, Desktop Stacks and More

[kazmac]

This is the first OS under Cook that I am actually intrigued by. If Desktop Stacks works that smoothly, it will be my dear, dear friend by wrangling all the chaotically placed universtiy files strewn across my desktop.

I hope my eyes will agree with dark mode.

 

[ThunderSkunk]

So far so good. I was so sick of Sierra/High's problems I haven't used this iMac more than a few times in the 8months since I bought it. I was either going to try Mojave and like it, or sell it. And now, it's good. Only issue so far, it breaks the Wacom drivers, but that's to be expected, because there is nothing more fragile in the world than a wacom driver. Opened up the magic mouse for the first time, and after a while of staring at it on its side while it charged, it was good to go. Dumb design Jony.

Nicest looking OS I've seen from Apple in a decade. If it never runs better than this, I won't even care.

 

[ChrisA]

So... it appears that Apple is likely dumping OpenGL and OpenCL with Mojave, or shortly thereafter..... anyone else think this is a huge mistake?

Yes, It will mean that a lot of graphics oriented software will not be ported to the Mac and some that already is will stop working.

Companies who port their openGL based games to MacOS do so it because it is relatively easy because Macs use an industry standard called openGL but now that Apple invented their own graphics API and drops support for the standard it will no longer be so easy. When you make it harder for people to do something fewer will do it.

 

[FNH15]

Can I turn off Desktop Stacks?
I've long since learned how I want to keep things organized on my desktop and am unwilling to brook any interference with the right way to do things.

You actually have to opt in to desktop stacks- if you don’t want it, you’ll never be prompted to activate it.


[doublepost=1528326086][/doublepost][doublepost=1528326048][/doublepost]
The announcement of auto-updating desktop backgrounds is not a good sign.

 

[Colonel Blimp]

So... it appears that Apple is likely dumping OpenGL and OpenCL with Mojave, or shortly thereafter..... anyone else think this is a huge mistake?

Apple is deprecating OpenGL and OpenCL in Mojave, not dumping them. OpenGL and OpenCL are both still present in Mojave.

Deprecation is a warning to developers to start moving to other APIs because Apple won't continue to improve the deprecated APIs and might dump them sometime in the future.

Apple won't remove OpenGL or OpenCL before macOS 10.15, and possibly not even then, but at that point most of our old OpenGL apps and games won't run anymore in any event because Apple is removing support for 32-bit apps in 10.15.

At which point those of us who care will have to keep a Mojave boot volume around, and eventually an older Mac that can boot from it (just as I have a mid-2010 iMac to run Snow Leopard for PPC games that require Rosetta, and a Power Mac G5 to run Tiger for games that require the Classic environment, and Power Mac G4 somewhere for games that require booting natively into Mac OS 9 - hardly any of which I ever bother booting up, to be honest), but so it goes.

(Please direct any and all comments about how Macs aren't suitable for gaming, which surely will have never occurred to me, to the new-Mac-Pro-shaped file under my desk, where I promise faithfully to give them all the consideration they deserve.)

marksatt, who's in a position actually to know what he's talking about, has an informed and helpful perspective on the impact of this deprecation in this post.

 

[badlydrawnboy]

I kind of want to buy an iMac Pro now just because dark mode looks so freaking good on it:

View attachment 765075

I had the same thought. Have to say, I'm more excited about Mojave than any recent OS X update. Dark Mode alone will be a killer feature for me. It's going to hugely reduce eye strain, especially at night.

 

[Rychiar]

How is Gallery Mode a new thing? It's there now. It's been there as far back as I can recall

 

[macduke]

I had the same thought. Have to say, I'm more excited about Mojave than any recent OS X update. Dark Mode alone will be a killer feature for me. It's going to hugely reduce eye strain, especially at night.

I always work with my light off, and if it’s night time I’ll just have a lamp shining at the wall to make a diffuse glow in the corner behind my display. Dark mode is going to kick ass and honestly if I had to pick which I’d rather have first, I’d pick macOS over iOS because I’m using my Mac all day to make money and it has the biggest blinding display.

 

[Macintoshrumors]

El Capitan is still treating my 2013 SSD i7 27" iMac right, but 3rd party support is starting to get a little long in the tooth.

Upgrading is always a trade off and a gamble when everything in your setup already works just the way you want it to.

No one is forcing you to update.

 

[Swift]

El Capitan is still treating my 2013 SSD i7 27" iMac right, but 3rd party support is starting to get a little long in the tooth.

Upgrading is always a trade off and a gamble when everything in your setup already works just the way you want it to.

Check how many 32-bit apps you have. The ones that tell you, "This app needs an upgrade." If you need these, see if there's an upgrade or an alternative. Otherwise, wait for the reviews and reactions. If no bigs, install it.

 

[WaxedJacket]

Here's hoping for a dark mode hack for the unsupported hardware.

 

[ike1707]

No one is forcing you to update.

Yeah, because that’s what I said

 

[G4DPII]

It's funny how everyone is talking about Apple dumping OpenCL and OpenGL, the whole industry is. The difference being everyone else is slowly moving to Vulcan API's, which do exactly the same stuff as Metal. Only difference being one is cross platform and one is Apple only.

Only one reason for Apple to do this, to eventually have complete control over hardware and software. As the last machine that had any hope of being user friendly was the next Mac Pro. This tells me it ain't going to be anything like what people are wanting or needing.

 

[pika2000]

So... it appears that Apple is likely dumping OpenGL and OpenCL with Mojave, or shortly thereafter..... anyone else think this is a huge mistake?

It’s not like Apple did much on OpenGL anyway, and they won’t just cut it off. They simply won’t do anything more to them. OpenGL apps will still work on Mojave.
The funny thing is openCL, since Apple was actually the one pushing it in the beginning. I guess it’s just the nature of tech moving forward. Reminds me of FireWire.
[doublepost=1528344912][/doublepost]I have good vibes on Mojave. The improvements seem small, but they all add to greater productivity experience (like the screenshot tools, stacks on desktop, powered up quicklook, etc)

Here’s hoping for a solid GM release so I don’t have to wait for a ..1 or ..2 releases.

 

[Wilburx3]

Whats the Airplay 2 situation in 10.14?

 

[loby]

For a DP1 is pretty stable but it would be utter lunacy to install macOS Mojave as your primary at this early stage.

I think people ask this to see if macOS Mojave takes High Sierra where it left off and just adds to it. If so, then it should be stable enough from the first beta...

But just as I have seen from the last few years, they seem to start over with every new OS.

 

[Tech198]

El Capitan is still treating my 2013 SSD i7 27" iMac right, but 3rd party support is starting to get a little long in the tooth.

Upgrading is always a trade off and a gamble when everything in your setup already works just the way you want it to.

AN upgrade Apple does it a trade off.. and more likely would break previous stuff. I know every time i upgrade or apply any security updates it breaks my Windows WINE based apps, particularly I use the older WINE engines that work just to get round the copy protection in windows games.

 

[SteveW928]

Funny how people say things like “most people don’t need...”
Apple collects data on app usage. They would not have bothered updating DVD Player unless they know people use it.
I am one who uses it and personally glad they did.

I think that statement (i.e. most people) is pretty accurate though. But, sure, if they keep it around longer, that's only a positive thing.

Anyone with Mojave noticed differences in graphics performance now? In UI smoothness in general? In Metal apps?
Are all apps/games using OpenCL and OpenGL still working?
I'm trying to find what are the concrete advantages/disadvantages of dropping OpenCL and OpenGL.

I think it's because iOS is Metal based and Apple just wants to consolidate. What worries me isn't games so much, as if a game dev is serious about the Mac they will use whatever gives the best results. What is more troubling is all the 3D/CAD, etc. apps out there that quite possibly won't make the jump. (Think stuff like: Maya, Houdini, Modo, SketchUp, Blender, AutoCAD, Vectorworks, etc. and scientific computing software, utilities, etc.)

If Desktop Stacks works that smoothly, it will be my dear, dear friend by wrangling all the chaotically placed universtiy files strewn across my desktop.

While I think we all struggle with desktop clutter, I don't think this will work very well at all. Most people work more in a 'project' paradigm than a file-type one. This is a similar problem that iOS had with iCloud storage. It works if you have a few files and really simple workflow. Beyond that, it's a pain.

So far so good. I was so sick of Sierra/High's problems I haven't used this iMac more than a few times in the 8months since I bought it. ... If it never runs better than this, I won't even care.

Hmm, you've gotten me curious what is so bad about Sierra/High Sierra, especially that Mojave solves.

One wonders why you are still here.

Probably the same reason I'm still here. Jumping platforms is a pretty big deal (especially after 30+ years on it), so we'd rather loudly complain and *hope* Apple does something before we do.

Also, the grass isn't yet greener, but we're lamenting the falling of our beloved platform.

 

[Saturn1217]

Hmmm...This update is actually tempting. Nothing major but every feature they highlighted is actually potentially of use to me rather than just being a way to use an iPhone easier with a Mac. I might finally upgrade off Sierra if under the hood changes aren't too disruptive.

Hopefully 3rd party apps (I'm looking at you Chrome) hope on the dark mode train ASAP!

 

[Greymacuser]

Abridged version of the video:
•Dark Mode: We had that in the 90's in Mac OS 8. It was called Kaleidoscope, and it could do more.
•Stacks: Worthless is you have multiple formats/dates/ect. of files that all have to do with the same project. That's what we have folders for.
•Gallery View: It already exists. it's called Bridge, thumbnails, and coverflow.
•Quick Actions: Not really handy for real projects. Just rotating the image in preview mode doesn't really do anything turning your head doesn't already do. (Insert Anakin saying "I'll try spinning, that's a good trick." joke here)
•Screenshot: Nothing new here. We already have all these features. They just redecorated existing functions.
•Desktop iOS apps: Programs you didn't want or use, stuffed into your hard drive, taking up valuable space you can't afford to squander. Especially considering how much Apple reams you on the cost of a drive. And here I thought Windows was the OS that had the bloatware.
•New App Store: Oh goodie. They made a new way for you to give them your money.

Summation: They really had no new ideas this round. Really disappointing.

 

[Colonel Blimp]

It's funny how everyone is talking about Apple dumping OpenCL and OpenGL, the whole industry is. The difference being everyone else is slowly moving to Vulcan API's, which do exactly the same stuff as Metal. Only difference being one is cross platform and one is Apple only.

As far as I can tell, the last version of OpenGL that Microsoft provided for Windows was OpenGL 1.1. Microsoft deprecated OpenGL some 20 years ago in favor of Direct3D.

For two decades now, OpenGL on Windows has been provided not by Microsoft, but by the third-party GPU manufacturers with their drivers - just like Vulkan is today.

Just something to bear in mind for the folks who might be tempted to contrast Apple with Microsoft in this regard.

 

[SteveW928]

Hmmm...This update is actually tempting. Nothing major but every feature they highlighted is actually potentially of use to me rather than just being a way to use an iPhone easier with a Mac. I might finally upgrade off Sierra if under the hood changes aren't too disruptive.

Hopefully 3rd party apps (I'm looking at you Chrome) hope on the dark mode train ASAP!

This is a bit perplexing to me. Aside from Dark Mode (which I think most of us welcome... assuming most of our used apps also re-theme)... what was exciting/tempting about Mojave?

Are they doing the same thorough focus on speed, QC, etc. they are doing on iOS? Otherwise, I didn't see much compelling stuff at all.

 

[jecowa]

El Capitan is still treating my 2013 SSD i7 27" iMac right, but 3rd party support is starting to get a little long in the tooth.

Upgrading is always a trade off and a gamble when everything in your setup already works just the way you want it to.

I don't blame you for sticking with El Capitan. El Capitan was the last version that wasn't too terrible. Sierra is pretty obnoxious with the Gatekeeper, and it's looking like the situation is going to continue to get worse. I'm worried the eventual goal is to force all apps to come through the app store. No apps will be distributed to Mac platforms unless someone pays a 99$ per annum tax to Apple. Free apps can go die in a fire. I feel like Apple is actively trying to push people away from the platform. I've been trying out some open-source operating systems, but they kind of suck. I'd really just like some updates to Snow Leopard so that it can run on the latest hardware and run the latest software.

 

[SteveW928]

Sierra is pretty obnoxious with the Gatekeeper, and it's looking like the situation is going to continue to get worse. I'm worried the eventual goal is to force all apps to come through the app store.

There was a discussion of this on the most recent MacBreak Weekly podcast/YouTube, and I think that sounds like the direction it is going if I recall the discussion correctly.

 

[G4DPII]

As far as I can tell, the last version of OpenGL that Microsoft provided for Windows was OpenGL 1.1. Microsoft deprecated OpenGL some 20 years ago in favor of Direct3D.

For two decades now, OpenGL on Windows has been provided not by Microsoft, but by the third-party GPU manufacturers with their drivers - just like Vulkan is today.

Just something to bear in mind for the folks who might be tempted to contrast Apple with Microsoft in this regard.

Why bring in Microsoft? They have nothing to do with it. This is purely about APPLE wanting total control. APPLE are the ones using a single platform API.