Can you imagine if the index or appendix at the end of a book was sorted by category and not alphabetically? That would make eyes mad.
But do you acknowledge how a book’s
table of contents is not arranged alphabetically? It (usually) follows either a storyline or is grouped by theme/subject, such as in science books.
I‘d argue that system settings is much more the equivalent of a book’s table of contents, rather than a glossary at the end of a book.
A glossary allows (and requires you) to look up specific terms that you
know. It is designed to be
comprehensive, to contain every single relevant term (the equivalent of a
single setting), not just their supercategories in which they’re located. And it often contaisn more than one entry or
synonyms for the
same thing. For example, does a (non-expert) user know whether he should look for an „Energy“, „Power“ or „Battery“ setting?*
What’s the equivalent of
glossaries in computer software? I‘d argue that it’s a
search box, not an alphabetical index.
* Side note: though why battery settings are wedged between screen saver and lock screen settings (see the screenshot in the MacRumors article is admittedly beyond me.
I just wish that macOS didn't have to head so much towards iPadOS/iOS
I always disliked particularly 10.7 for that. Felt as if they were shoehorning things to make them more like iOS. But this change to system preferences / settings I welcome.
