$14 USD for something which is standard in most Linux desktop environments? (And is probably standard in Windows, but I can't remember.)

This is exactly what people complain about. Yes, this stuff can be done, but you need to set a bunch of options via the command line (no problem, but annoying if you have lots of stuff you want tweaked); then set a bunch of program options; then install a bunch of apps (some of which need to be paid for).

It is baffling to me why I need to install 3rd party software just to stop my MacBookPro making the startup sound every time I turn it on. (The alternative is to remember to mute the sound every time I turn it off.)

Why do you turn your Mac on and off all the time? Sleep works fine. Just close the lid and stuff it in your bag, then open it up again. Yes I know it never worked on Windows. It works on a Mac.* The only reason I reboot is for an OS update or for the occasional installer that's too stupid to just launch the services it just threw into the "start this at launch" system.

* well eeeevery now and then shit gets in the way and breaks it, upgrading in place to Lion introduced some heisenbugs with regards to using my Air closed with an external monitor, but they vanished after a reinstall. And this was the first time I'd had sleep problems in the entire decade I've been using Macs.

Sleep has trouble with USB drives; sleep will just disconnect them uncleanly. Data loss and corrupt discs is not a feature of something that I would call "works fine".

There are other problems with sleep, but that's the most obvious.

Sleep works fine for me on windows.

I find it amusing that instead of addressing the problem and agreeing that OSX has a small usability wart you blame the user for using a feature built into the product, and instead suggest they do something quite different, which may or may not be appropriate for their situation.

> This is exactly what people complain about.

Well, this is what Linux users complain about. Windows users tend to complain about the lack of games or long-term support.

The problem is, Apple is able to do what it does specifically by not providing these things. If they were off in the weeds trying to make everyone happy, they wouldn't be able to create the streamlined experiences that have made them so successful.

I'm not sure how to respond.

This thread is full of people saying that Macs can be frustrating because they don't do certain things.

It's also full of people saying that those things are possible, and showing how.

And there are also people saying that not being able to do those things is why the Mac experience is so clean and simple.

It would be really refreshing if people just accepted that all OSs suck, and that some (not all!) of the stuff mentioned in this thread is sucky. (It'd also be great if people would stop ranting quite so hard about OS suckage, unless they're right. Yelling about some missing feature, only to be told that it's in the obvious preference pane, is just daft.)