This Free App Fixes The Mac's Terrible Window Management

[@Chiefdog00x]

Hey man, I love your videos but I gotta say, this and the last one have felt more like they are fueled by someone trying to sell me something rather than your passion for the thing. Obviously, I am not being very constructive and the only subscriber base you are marketing for and having ads is fine. But if you are not passionate about your sponsor, then I think it’s fine to make a bigger distinction in the video to keep your essence 🤠

[@mozaic_channel]

Taxes are a burden in England 😂 any little bit helps but I see the pivot too.

[@pithgoblin]

I don't get this view, as long as what he's advertising isn't harmful, let the man get paid for the content that we all get to watch for free. You don't have to engage with the ad or buy what he's selling.

[@Chiefdog00x]

@@pithgoblin I agree! It is completely fine to have ads and I don’t mind them. My point was that there is a very noticeable change of tone for the ENTIRE video, thats very common for creators when they become more popular. Ben’s videos have always felt like a breath of fresh air. Because it’s very subjective, it’s hard to be constructive, that said, I think I am allowed to express my opinion as a viewer.

[@Chiefdog00x]

@@pithgoblin also of topic but nothing is free. By interacting with these platforms you are paying with your data. These companies earn so much of it that it is almost arguable to make a case that they should pay you for your interactions 😄

[@aru_cha]

literally 30% of the video is an ad for some drug 🗿

[@ajmash9745]

yup, but gotta make his bread some how, rest of vid is fire ngl

[@BenVallack]

@ajmash9745 Thank you!!

[@aru_cha]

@@ajmash9745 im sorry but it is really hard to forgive someone potentially wasting three whole minutes of my life on an ad for drugs that clearly have addictive properties

[@sighup124]

It’s kind of OK but for me at the border of what I can tolerate. Just saying, no criticism I understand you need to monetize this somehow. Otherwise great video as usual!

[@shazmimain8293]

uhh then just skip?? he evn provided the timestamps lol

[@gothicchocobo]

Can you make a better distinction between the video topic and the sponsor spot please? I don't begrudge you for having sponsors, but this felt deceptive, as if you were trying to make the sponsor sound like it was related to the video topic so people wouldn't realise it was a sponsor spot. You may genuinely love the product, but I now can't trust that. Sponsor spots aside, I enjoy your videos, and look forward to your next one.

[@Akegata42]

I'd recommend the browser plugin sponsorblock. I didn't even see the sponsor spot..

[@BenVallack]

How would you feel about membership if I put sponsor free (and add-free) versions in members only area?

[@gothicchocobo]

​@@BenVallack That would be good, though it's not something that is within my budget, I already pay for premium (because I watch so much KZbin and AdBlock was tedious and not always working) and I'm not in a financial position to support individual creators.

[@purplelord8531]

@@Akegata42 true but I wouldn't put this in youtube comments for obvious reasons

[@ExplicableCashew]

Yall hatin on the ad and I'm just happy bro's getting good deals, it's about damn time

[@BenVallack]

Thanks so much!

[@8Znv2kqWlBc6]

Yabai has been around for literal years; I love how people act as though aerospace is doing something no other app on the Mac has done thus far. That said, I have switched from Yabai to Aerospace and love not having to turn off macOS security features to use it. Also, I no longer need SKHD for key bindings.

[@BenVallack]

Yeah that's the point - I've dabbled with Yabai and Amethyst but have been totally freaked out. Aerospace just gets up and running with no drama.

[@mozaic_channel]

Yabai should not be installed on Corporate machines imho. I love it too, but …

[@JZL003]

@@mozaic_channel Copied from above but I love yabai It worked fine on my work computer, the main things I cared about didn't need SIP disabled. Some of the visual customization and like transparency don't work But tiling, changing focus, changing size, scratchpad, moving between workspaces (might use macos shortcuts built-in instead) all work. It's possible a more paranoid workplace would be angry about it but they did lock down many parts of this computer

[@gorgolyt]

Horrible transition to an obnoxious and over-long ad.

[@BenVallack]

I thought it was a pretty good transition!! 😂

[@peerbr7849]

That keyboard is fire 🔥

[@TAMusic]

I've always been very skeptical of tiling window managers for macos - I tried one a year or so ago and it felt very glitchy, not in line with how I think, and like it was taking over my desktop in some obscure way that would slow me down - had to get rid of it! But this video has inspired me to give it another shot, as I really do think I spend way too much time dragging round windows in unnecessary ways. One hurdle I have is that I often use my macbook on the go (with it's qwerty keyboard), but at home I use a corne... so it's a struggle to come up with keybindings such as vim style keybinds which will be reasonable in both these situations. I think this is also part of the reason I haven't yet made the jump to using vim for coding. Let me know if you have any ideas on this one! And thanks for making this brilliant video as always!

[@BenVallack]

Yeah my first experiences were bad too - this is a dream though! I think I'd be tempted to use arrow keys as the navigation keys if I was using a normal keyboard.

[@harrygdoubleg]

I ain’t reading all that yap

[@TAMusic]

@@harrygdoubleg lmfao

[@jackiedaytona1017]

I switched over from Magnet to Aerospace based on the recommendation from another KZbinr and because Magnet was causing a bug with a library I use in programming. Oh man… it’s amazing and very straightforward especially with a single monitor.

[@BenVallack]

It's a dream!

[@Markus-g9b]

I've been using Aerospace for a week, and I’ve encountered several issues: First, here’s the layout I’m aiming for with three windows open: - Split the screen into four equal parts. - The leftmost part is occupied by window one. - The rightmost part is occupied by window two. - The middle two parts are combined to display the main window three. How can I create this layout in a tiling window manager? Most tiling managers default to a center split, but I need my main window to occupy the central space naturally. Second issue: Sometimes I can have an app focused, but the window is in another space. When I focus an app It should automatically go to a space where that app is located. This might be a macOS bug, but it’s incredibly frustrating. Third issue: Related to the above, I constantly have to remember which letter/number space I put my apps in. Its alot of overhead. Fourth issue: I can assign apps to open automatically in a specific space using mnemonics (e.g., Terminal opens in space T). However, I can’t assign the same app to multiple spaces. For example, I might want Word next to Email in the browserin one space (50-50 split), but in another space have another browser window fullscreen in another-Aerospace doesn’t allow this flexibility. My solution: Go back to using Hammerspoon with its layout functions.

[@BenVallack]

1. You start with a 3 way split then just grow the middle one. Works perfectly. 2. The spaces always switch if you focus to a window in another space. You need to make sure you're not using the native macOS 'spaces' and only the Aerospace workspaces. 3. Yeah I think of them as broad mnemonic groups, Browser, Code, Messaging, Passwords, etc - sometimes these can include other apps that are related. You can also just use numbers. 4. You can do this but not on-launch. I routinely move single windows from one app to different workspaces though. I think it all works best when you forget about 'initial states' and just move windows about on the fly instead. Hope that helps!

[@Markus-g9b]

​@@BenVallack I'm giving aerospace another chance but: 1. In Hammerspoon this configuration is ONE hotkey. In Aerospace it is: three different hotkey combinations to open app 1, app 2 and app 3 PLUS one to bring focus to the middle windows, PLUS one repeated to increase the size of that window. 2. In having this bug specifically with Finder and Omnifocus. But it's probably unrelated to Aerospace. 3. Mnemonics is the key for this to work. I Use letters since it's faster. Numbers is on another layer (Charybdis Nano keyboard). 4. Me too. But say I have my browser in the "B - Browsing" space and also my Email (in the browser) in my "W - Work" space. I cant Assign my browser to default to both the Browsing and the Work layouts. The app, in this case Arc, can only be assigned one space. I can assign Arc to the Browsing space and then manually move the email window to the email space each time, but thats cumbersome. TO be fair hammerspoon has it's issues too: 1. Layouts/Spaces with multiple windows of the same apps is doable but a little hard to code (I can't really code lua well) 2. Manually resizing windows. But This is not only a flaw. sometimes I want one window but not fullscreen. And I want to do that with one keypress.

[@NilsEckelt]

I am using yabai with skhd and am a huge fan of it. But the yabais stacks are not nearly as powerful as you showed here in aerospace. I will look into it. Thanks a lot. One very powerful workflow I am using for a year now, is switching and starting my about 25 most used apps with meh and hyper keys plus one key on the right hand side of my keyboard. App switching is an ease with one hand and always directly to the intended app. I very rarely use cmd tab any more.

[@Marc-mo8bt]

The window management is only terrible if you like to clutter your workspace with a bunch of small windows. I prefer working with fullscreen apps in virtual desktops, maximizing the usable space and reduce distraction. Switching between them is easy and fast using the active corners in Mission Control, but you can also swipe or using keys. For Finder, Browsers and even VSCode tabs are way more practical than using windows anyway. And there are an endless number of apps that serve people who prefer to work like they used to do it in Windows.

[@BenVallack]

The trouble with the full screen idea is so many multi-app workflows get really clunky when apps are in full screen - this approach lets you enjoy full screen like experience if you want it, gives you way more workspaces and more hotkeys and still allows for multi window workflows as needed.

[@bawbsmith]

I use a decently sized monitor (32"), so the fullscreen paradigm wouldn't work for me. I'd imagine it's even worse for ultrawides and even bigger monitors (43"+), where it's begging for some sort of tiling. Even discounting that, I run into another issue - there's no way to switch directly to a fullscreen app via keyboard. You can assign keyboard shortcuts to spaces (ctrl + 1 - ctrl + 0 for spaces 1-10), but you can't do the same for fullscreen apps. So now you either have to switch between them one at a time in a list, or reach for your mouse and use mission control, since mission control has no keyboard functionality when you're in it. There's just a few questionable decisions here by Apple that make it hard to work without third-party apps. Also, tiling window managers are certainly not a Windows thing. I WISH Windows had a proper tiling manager, or at the very least have proper stacked and or tabbed layouts. It's frustrating that I can tile two windows side by side, but I have no way of visually seeing what other windows are under those two windows, so at that point I'm just alt-tabbing like before.

[@badhatharry4323]

rectangle is my fav for mac. Simple and free

[@atzedevries9563]

Yes Aerospace is great! Lets just hope Apple does not find ways to block its features.

[@BenVallack]

Yeah that would be a massive step too far!!

[@ZacharyHubbellCodes]

I don't even use a Mac, I just want to see what shenanigans Ben is up to this week 😅

[@BenVallack]

😂

[@Empty_Vima]

I've moved away from the concept of mounting the monitor on the wall... My eyes get tired. Mine is on a mechanical arm and facing a window, but at a distance so my face doesn't get washed out by the light. It's really comfortable to think, look out the window, and change the focus of my eyes. 24/7 is no longer a problem _)) The main thing is that my brain can handle it _)) A 21:9 4K monitor comfortably accommodates two 16:10 screens...))

[@kraxen72]

im running fedora linux with the KDE desktop environment, which is primarily based around floating windows. However, recently i installed an addon which allows me to define some custom screen splits for separate apps, and I definitely am starting to get what all the tiling wm people are talking about. Still not switching off of KDE though, haha.

[@ajmash9745]

love your keyboard/mac vids

[@BenVallack]

Cheers!

[@colinputney9095]

Hi Ben, does Aerospace replace Keyboard Maestro in your setup, or complement it? I imagine the meh shortcuts to workspaces replace shortcuts to apps.

[@BenVallack]

Correct - replaces it.

[@JamesLee-ko2pc]

Nice. I switched from yabai to aerospace a month or so back and I much prefer it. Coming from hyprland on Linux, the Mac always feels inferior but at least it’s almost bearable now.

[@soft-conf]

free app? fixing apple window management? never thought I'd see the day

[@BenVallack]

😂

[@BCannTV]

How did you get your vim to look like that? It almost looks like vscode running on hyprland linux with its transparent appearance. Is there a certain setting in the aerospace.toml file you used to get it to look like that?

[@0thLaw]

I can only change my main monitor to different workspaces. The other two are always set to Workspaces `10` and `11`, respectively. Now I'm not sure I need other displays anymore, but still at least need the macbook display open to use touchID. How do you deal with this, have you encountered the same?

[@BenVallack]

Apple watch is the nicest way of dealing with auth on the mac (I'm actually selling mine though!)

[@emilianstoimenov737]

Any love for Alt-tab?

[@kevinespina3289]

what do you use to mount/cant your keyboard? do you have a link?

[@BenVallack]

next vid in the series kzbin.info/www/bejne/f3qWiKBrhZuZhbc

[@blakenator123]

i have a question about your keyboard setup. I have the same keyboard and have been wondering about getting the tripod as I also have a sitting/standaing/walking desk. But don't your arms/hands get sore from holding them up like that? When the keyboard is on the table my arms can totally relax, but it looks like for the tripod/in air setup you would have to hold your hands up off the keyboard?

[@BenVallack]

Yeah I'm hover typing but the trick is the elbow angle - my forearms are well below horizontal. Almost no effort to hold them there. The most comfortable way to use a keyboard I've found!

[@loop2427]

Interesting, I'll try to give it a go

[@0thLaw]

Interesting video and ad too. I think I'd make that ad a bit less dominant in the video. Here, algorithm, have a comment.

[@BenVallack]

Thanks! Next one will be shorter :)

[@stefumies]

So, 3.51 The actual relevant information starts.

[@BenVallack]

That depends on how familiar you are with barefoot shoes to start with!

[@owlmostdead9492]

Auto-tiling is the only window management I accept, everything else is a mistake and a waste of time. Imagine phones would use floating window management, the UX would be terrible.

[@brandon87281]

Long ad was really really awful. I don't think the correct response to this feedback is to immediately ask the folks leaving such feedback if they would pay for a membership. I don't think you are big enough or produce videos consistently enough to warrant this yet. (At least the KZbin algorithm doesn't feed me your videos consistently). Adding section titles to the video scrubber so we can skip the ad would be much appreciated.

[@BenVallack]

Chapters added, good feedback thanks!

[@MattyPS]

That was too technical for me haha, but I’ll watch the vid again in the future to better understand how this thing works!

[@BenVallack]

Yeah I think I'll do a more beginner friendly look at this!

[@MattyPS]

@@BenVallack Oh that'd be nice!

[@KC-hk2ub]

Thanks for the great vid.

[@BenVallack]

Thanks :)

[@purplelord8531]

what ad? but for real all built in video ads are skippable what are people on about

[@zette4273]

great video, but audio quality is so bad

[@BenVallack]

Can you compare with my latest one - back in the studio.

[@Samtagri]

I honestly didn’t get anything. And I am interested in this topic.

[@BenVallack]

You mean the video was hard to follow?

[@marcin.sobocinski]

24% od the video is an ad (not including product placement in your browser window)... sorry Ben... this is rubbish!

[@BenVallack]

Would you pay to become a channel member to see everything without ads or sponsors?

[@marcin.sobocinski]

@@BenVallack Depends on the fee. I support one creator on the Patreon already and I like his content very much. Of course I like yours but as a feedback for example I haven't received answer on the keyboard layout from you. All-in-all either you go full in and try to earn on your content but then you need to be more responsive, give for example your config files to the public and care much more on how the content is received (hence delivered) or you just do it as a side hassle or a hobby and then nobody cares if you have too much ads in the video or you do not reply to comments etc. For me personally mixing ads like this when they are not clearly marked in the video and the content is a little bit too fast and general it does not make sense to watch. I caught myself watching it till the end only to see how much ad you put there. And, yes, I am very interested in Aerospace for Mac, yes I have already watched the video of the other guy you've mentioned, and yes, I have already read the documentation... having said that I was curious how to use it in real life, how to setup Voyager for it etc. (BTW, I wish somebody made a video on config of Voyager with HRM as I struggle to make it usable due to delays and false positives... don't know even where to start to make it work.. typing with double role of the space button is a nightmare for me and don't know how to optimize it). That's all as feedback is concerned 😄

[@BenVallack]

@@marcin.sobocinski Really appreciate the feedback. One-to-one Q and A is definitely something I would do for members if I don't manage to reply to everything on the main videos. HRM is always a bit of a battle between speed to access the mod version vs preventing false positives. Here is my current voyager config: configure.zsa.io/voyager/layouts/XgZ46/latest/0 I'm wondering about making more detailed walkthrough type videos where I go into detail on configs etc and explain everything for beginners upwards.

[@marcin.sobocinski]

@@BenVallack Thank you very much. Again, much personal: One-to-one Q&A is a bit too much for me but even though I do not agree with you on some matters (like image quality of iPhone camera) I do appreciate your fresh and honest approach! I wish I could see more how-to videos. I am not a native English speaker and find your way of speaking a bit too fast but I wish I could sometimes replicate your setup to start with (BTW... I keep switching between Glove 80 and Voyager because typing on Voyager just feels great but I struggle with layout and find Glove 80 a bit of a backup when I get lost). For me any walkthrough video is a big plus. For example it's great when you have a review (or an opinion) on any hardware or software in a short (

[@howuseehim]

Are you serious with the ad ? That's way too much for a 10min video. i was wondering why am i watching a supplement video ?

[@GabrielSoldani]

Hey man, I know you’re just trying to make ends meet, but this and the last couple of videos sound like sponsorship first, substance second. Do you think these are products you would have bought on your own and used had they not been offered to you? If you do need to take these spots, please make them more clearly separate from what you’re actually passionate about presenting to the audience so it doesn’t undermine our trust for the rest of the video. Thanks \o

[@GabrielSoldani]

Not claiming to know you but I feel like based on your content, if you were to actually try nootropics you would take a more personalized approach according to your needs rather than a one size fits all mix of substances :)

[@BenVallack]

Nootropics is absolutely a totally new area for me. I've been very impressed with Magic Mind. Like the projector videos it's unlikely I could personally afford it at the moment but I've run out of my free ones and will be asking for more! It's a great product. Can definitely see the merit in customisation but for others that are also new to the whole thing like me I think it's a great product. I have seen the certificates of analysis and have also discussed doses of the key ingredients with them - it's a legit product so very happy to have them as a sponsor. Of course if they weren't sponsoring I wouldn't interrupt a video for 2 mins talking about it but I certainly would use it if that kind of subscription was in my budget! I'm not quite sure why people feel the projector vids feel like ads because they are just freebies for a review. i.e slightly positive just because I'm pleased to have been sent them but still a detailed review and discussing some key points that are useful to people new to the technology. Again if the screen and projector were in my budget I'd definitely buy them! It's pretty clear though people are getting more and more cynical of any situation where someone is sent something for free in spite of my best efforts to wrap it in a deep dive broad appeal 'story'. I have one more video based on free stuff but I was literally saving up for that and I approached them. After that I'll seriously consider how I deal with free stuff in the future.

[@GabrielSoldani]

@@BenVallack Thanks for accepting criticism and taking the time to respond. To be honest, I quite enjoyed the projector/screen videos and found them on par with your usual content, but your disclaimer at the start kinda ruined the credibility. You shouldn’t hold back on criticizing the products because they were sent to you for free. As an aside, if you do get into the rabbit hole of nootropics after this I’d love to hear what you’ve tried and landed on in another video :)

[@BenVallack]

@GabrielSoldani Thanks!

[@kidtheday]

why not yabai?😊

[@JZL003]

I bet he would love yabai, I know I do

[@tempsanity]

Used Yabai for a very long time and switched. AeroSpace is so much smoother. I recommend you try it!

[@GabrielSoldani]

Can’t turn off macOS security features on work-issued computers.

[@kidtheday]

@@GabrielSoldani ahh

[@JZL003]

@@kidtheday i was on a work computer, the main things I cared about didn't need SIP disabled. Some of the visual customization and like transparency don't work But tiling, changing focus, changing size, scratchpad, moving between workspaces (might use macos shortcuts built-in instead) all work

[@renn1057]

way to much ad, sorry thats an unsub for me

[@BenVallack]

KZbin is getting brutal these days!

[@BenVallack]

Would you pay a few dollars per month for membership to watch all my content without ads or sponsors?

[@Solsenderz]

Yabai is better.

[@GigaMarou]

first ;)