something_else

I'm sorry, but this isn't the best place to go for help. Nobody here can really help you beyond basic self-help advice which won't cut it for you. You need to speak to lawyers and to a therapist, they will be able to give you much more useful advice specifically tailored to your situation.

I basically never use the minimise feature. Minimise is it’s own thing on MacOS, it works very differently from Windows. Just switch to whatever window you want to move to and forget about the whole concept of ‘minimising’ from Windows. The multiple desktop thing can be annoying. If you right click (two finger click) on the icon you can open a new version of the app from the context menu. After a while I found this more intuitive because when I click the icon in the dock 90% of the time I want to show the existing window, not open a new window. If you never minimise apps, all window management can be done via a combination of Mission Control, Cmd+Tab and Cmd+Period (alt tab but only between windows of the same app) I’ve had the M1 MacBook for like 5 years now and it’s never broken down, feels good as new. Idk if it’s true that they break down more often. Certain models of MacBooks are known for having very critical design flaws, but they’re all quite old models afaik. As a rule they’re all very bad for 3rd party repairs though which is not ideal

It’s good for developers, you get a very powerful terminal. That’s the main benefit. For an average non-technical user it doesn’t really matter

It just takes getting used to, there are different ways to do things compared to Windows. And you can absolutely do this on Mac. Swipe up with 3 fingers on the touch pad into what MacOS calls Mission Control, then you can see every single window and its contents. This is the equivalent to the Task View you're thinking of on Windows, but IMO it's better. It certainly feels smoother. You can also access this by pressing the F3 button on most modern macbooks. I mean fair enough, it makes sense that OneNote and Excel would both work better on a Microsoft OS. However as far as I know Excel works almost identically on Mac beyond one or two complex features. I've heard OneNote is a bit more temperamental. My company uses the google suite for everything which is identical on both Mac or PC, I'm not super familiar with MS Office software as I haven't used it regularly in years. I mean I'm a software engineer, at this very second I have 25 different windows open and about 20 chrome tabs across several chrome windows, I don't have an issue navigating. And I've never found any software I need for my technical job which didn't work on my Mac. The window management takes a bit of getting used to, but I suspect the only reason you don't like it is because it's not what you're used to. Technically it can do everything Windows can do. I could not even come close to doing my job on an iPad. iPads barely even have a filesystem, and they definitely don't have a terminal. In fact access to a Unix terminal is one of the things that makes a Mac so desirable for software engineers. Powershell on Windows is a shitshow by comparison.

Yes! I moved into a built-to-rent apartment recently and it's one of the best decisions I've ever made. This is like an apartment building which has a lot of shared spaces like a gym, coworking space, lounge and kitchen. They also regularly organise social events so you can meet others in the building. If you are a person who is trying to build a friend group or struggles to make friends, this is one of the best places you can ever move into. Most cities have them. They're often quite expensive, but very much worth it if you value the social aspect of it. Having a gym in your building is also super handy. I've also got a lot of experience staying in hostels while travelling, and I cannot speak highly enough of that lifestyle. Hostels are such easy places to meet people. It's almost impossible NOT to make friends. I have lifelong friends from the apartment building I live in, and many from travelling and staying in hostels. Would highly recommend.

I used to think MacOS sucked as well, but after switching to it for work a few years back I'd never return to Windows. I don't want adverts and Microsoft spyware baked into my OS. MacOS extremely popular among creative people and software engineers, and for good reason. It's really good for productivity. Especially on machines with the new M series chips, MacOS is insanely good. Pretty much the only thing it sucks for is running games. Or if you have some specific or obscure ancient software you need to run, but even then, you can dual boot Windows on a Mac or use a virtual machine.

From what I gather, conformity is largely about labels. You can run without identifying as a runner. You can workout without identifying as a gym bro. You can philosophise without identifying as a philosopher. If you think of a lot of the non-conformist people you know, they probably rarely ever describe themselves as any of these “-er” suffixed nouns. It can be very comforting to describe yourself as part of a group but it’s also very limiting.

There are core elements of PUA model that are valuable, but there is SO much bullshit and immorality. I've always framed it more as a journey to improve social skills and confidence, if I happen to get laid along the way then that's great. I think that's a much healthier way to view it than fully identifying with the pickup model or becoming a 'pickup artist'

Sorry, that was a typo on my part. I meant monarchy. And yea it reminds me of some of the ideas discussed in random political debates I had with mates in high school

The biggest thing that’s helped my confidence has been having friends I can be fully myself around without getting judged. It teaches you that showing your real personality is actually safe. When you’re younger, especially if you’re not neurotypical, you get punished or mocked for being yourself. You learn to filter everything and hide the parts that make you you. Having close friends with whom you can relax around and actually express your personality is huge for undoing that. You need people you trust, who’ll be honest with you but still kind. It also helps to go to busy, social places with those friends. You feel safe showing your real personality around new people because even if someone doesn’t like you or thinks you are weird, you’ve still got your solid base of friends to fall back on. And once you start doing this, you realise most people don’t think you’re weird at all. Those parts of yourself you used to hide end up being the things new people like the most.

Yea I recently went down the Curtis Yarvin rabbit hole too. His idea for a technocratic anarchy is FUCKING INSANE. And he seems to be a big influence on many powerful people in the US right now.

They’re actually both AI, I found the original source lol.

When you think about it there are things in the second one that make no sense. The layout of the bar is weird. Why is there such a narrow corridor to the left? Why are there wine glasses stored randomly on the bar? Why does she have a cup of tea/coffee and a cocktail, that’s an odd combo no? Visually it looks very real but there are parts of the scene that make little sense upon examination

Just use your best photos for now, then as you become more sociable use better pics

It might work, it could get you a few extra matches. But it’s better to just actually be sociable and get some organic photos that way. Otherwise you’re creating a false persona and you’ll feel pressure to maintain that inauthentic persona when you meet up in person, which is a recipe for disaster