I have definitely seen this issue, especially in mail, with rotating disks especially slower 5400 RPM models. What can happen is the disk can become fragmented and while Mac OS is supposed to handle this on the fly, it doesn’t do a good job especially if you are near full or have lots of files. Sometimes, a backup and restore on anew formatted disk can make a world of difference. Or, just replace that disk with an SSD and be prepared to have your socks blown off.:)
> On Jul 7, 2016, at 3:02 PM, M. Taylor <mk...@ucla.edu> wrote: > > Hello Martin, > > First, let me say that the tips you received from Tim, in a previous reply to > your post, are excellent. > > Second, while I am certainly not an Apple fan-boy, as I use both Windows 7 > and Windows 10 on a daily basis, the fact that both you and your wife are > experiencing similar problems gives me pause. The truth is, your experience > is not typical. > > This is not to say that the OS is not without its bugs; however, I would > argue that what you are encountering is somewhat rare. > > In terms of the mail application, which I would argue is the best user-side > mail client, for managing huge amounts of messages, please keep in mind that > there are a great many factors that impact its performance. For example, the > speed and integrity of your network connection. Now in comparison to MS > Outlook for Windows, it takes much longer for Mac Mail to index large amounts > of messages. So, if you are used to Outlook for Windows, I can understand > how you may prefer it, at first, based on the speed at which it locks & > loads, so-to-speak. > > Rather than asking you questions, to which you may not know how to answer, I > would strongly suggest that you take your computers into an Apple Store for a > full diagnostic review. Assuming that you have Apple Care coverage, doing > this will not cost you any money. > > Again, this is just my recommendation for I would hate to think that your > opinion of VoiceOver, and to a lesser degree, the Mac, is based on some > glitch in your particular systems. > > Mark > > -----Original Message----- > From: macvisionaries@googlegroups.com > [mailto:macvisionaries@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Martin Brown > Sent: Thursday, July 07, 2016 3:07 AM > To: macvisionaries@googlegroups.com > Subject: The Mail App > > Hi Scott and others. > My Mac Mini has a 500GB hard drive, of which about 400GB is free disk. In > terms of memory, should again be sufficient with 4GB. > > I am sending this email from my Windows machine, as my Mac is still being a > bugger when trying to run the mail app. Had it on this morning, and it went > into a busy mode while doing straight forward tasks, e.g. reading and > deleting messages. In fact, I had to do a force quit to get my machine to > close down. So, as they say, we have a problem Houston. There are a few > things to try yet, but it may well be a case of a clean install. > > I can fully understand the list member who feels the Mac is not for him. > From the moment I switch on my machine I immediately run into what I assume > to be a bug. And, if it is a bug, then it is a long standing one. Namely, > nothing seems to have focus on the desk top. I have found ways around this, > of course, but for someone completely new to the Mac it is both confusing and > very challenging. Not the best introduction to a new operating system. > > > This is why at times I get disappointed with Voiceover. I am sure that others > have reported such issues to Apple, but nothing seems to get done. If I was > in a position to turn Voiceover off, then such problems, along with others, > would in all likelihood disappear. I am sure new problems would arise in such > a scenario, but as a sighted person I might be in a better position to deal > with them. > > My wife is very much an Apple person, as far as mobile devices go, i.e. > phones and tablets. She also has a desk top Mac and gets the same focus > problems that I have mentioned above. She has, in the past, reported bugs on > her iPhone. She no longer bothers as the standard reply was, 'we can't > reproduce your problem. Could you give us more information.' This reply > suggests that the problem is with the user and not the device and its > software. > > I have this rather simplistic view of how I might manage, for want of better > words, the Voiceover department of this huge company we have all come to know > as Apple. While sitting at my desk I would turn on my Mac with Voiceover > enabled. The first thing I would notice is, very possibly, that nothing has > focus. As this is not how things should be, I would be inclined to try to get > to the bottom of this. Sometimes solving little things can solve bigger > things as you delve deeper into what might be causing even bigger and more > problematic issues for the user. > > Well, there you have it. I am just a very simple minded person. > Kind Regards: > Martin > > -- > The following information is important for all members of the Mac Visionaries > list. > > If you have any questions or concerns about the running of this list, or if > you feel that a member's post is inappropriate, please contact the owners or > moderators directly rather than posting on the list itself. > > Your Mac Visionaries list moderator is Mark Taylor and your owner is Cara > Quinn - you can reach Cara at caraqu...@caraquinn.com > > The archives for this list can be searched at: > http://www.mail-archive.com/macvisionaries@googlegroups.com/ > --- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "MacVisionaries" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to macvisionaries+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. > To post to this group, send email to macvisionaries@googlegroups.com. > Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. > > -- > The following information is important for all members of the Mac Visionaries > list. > > If you have any questions or concerns about the running of this list, or if > you feel that a member's post is inappropriate, please contact the owners or > moderators directly rather than posting on the list itself. > > Your Mac Visionaries list moderator is Mark Taylor and your owner is Cara > Quinn - you can reach Cara at caraqu...@caraquinn.com > > The archives for this list can be searched at: > http://www.mail-archive.com/macvisionaries@googlegroups.com/ > --- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "MacVisionaries" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to macvisionaries+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. > To post to this group, send email to macvisionaries@googlegroups.com. > Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. -- The following information is important for all members of the Mac Visionaries list. If you have any questions or concerns about the running of this list, or if you feel that a member's post is inappropriate, please contact the owners or moderators directly rather than posting on the list itself. Your Mac Visionaries list moderator is Mark Taylor and your owner is Cara Quinn - you can reach Cara at caraqu...@caraquinn.com The archives for this list can be searched at: http://www.mail-archive.com/macvisionaries@googlegroups.com/ --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "MacVisionaries" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to macvisionaries+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to macvisionaries@googlegroups.com. Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
