by lapcat | 2025-09-25 00:14:49+00:00
> This is just "I'm not making an argument that they're merging, I'm stating it as an underlying assumption" which, again, distinction-without-a-difference.

In retrospect, if there's one thing missing from the post, it's an elaboration of how terrible it is to dim the videos. I thought that would go without saying. The terribleness of dimming videos is the elephant in the room.

When the post is viewed in this light (pun intended), the fundamental question becomes, why did Apple make this change? The post is not trying to argue for the thesis that iOS and macOS are merging; rather, the post is trying to explain why we got video dimming on macOS.

At first I thought it was just part of Liquid Glass, which wouldn't be surprising, because Liquid Glass makes a lot of things harder to see. Video dimming would be a natural accompaniment. However, I then discovered that video dimming in iOS predated Liquid Glass by years, so the explanation was apparently not Liquid Glass. Thus, I concluded that video dimming was added to macOS to copy iOS, as Apple has done with many other features.

If there's an argument in the article, that's it.

> I don't think me disagreeing with you about the validity of your arguments violates any HN guidelines

That's not what I said.

My point is that you did not respond to the strongest plausible interpretation of what I said but rather a weaker one that's easier to criticize. Specifically, the following is a stupid argument that only a stupid person would make: "The argument apparently being that any change at all, if it was first made on iOS, must inherently be a sign that the two platforms are merging." Your reply treated me like an idiot.

> I don't think I've ever seen you in HN comments for one of your posts not being somewhat-upset about people's responses to them.

There's a logical explanation: the post itself already says what I wanted to say, so there's no reason for me to comment on my own post except to correct misinterpretations of the post. If the conversation is going well, and people understand what I wrote, then there's nothing for me to add.

I upvote some comments, but you wouldn't see that.

> it's the reduction of the visual impact of the button-borders that really speeds my comprehension up

Ok, but I'm not sure why this couldn't be achieved without dimming the video.

In any case, have you ever complained about the video controls until now? I've never heard anyone make this complaint before. Who was asking for this change before it happened?

I would emphasize that the goal is to watch the video, not to watch the controls. Apple could make it even easier for you to process the controls by completely blanking out the video, leaving only the controls, but that would be even worse, not better.

> They vanish instantly when you move the cursor off the video

This is an inconvenient workaround and not a solution to the problem.

It's not just the vanish time, though. There's no reason to darken the video when you're adjusting the volume. And if you want to pause a video and look at the still frame, it's darkened unless you move the mouse away, then you have to move the mouse back. And if you're moving the video timeline control, the video is darkened the whole time.