Truth. Third party software for trackpad. Third party software for mouse. Third party software for window management. Third party software for Spotlight replacement. Third party software to support a second external display.

The third party software is really good, but come on, Apple, take a hint.

That's basically the problem of today's Apple, and it won't get fixed because they have an incentive to let the 3rd parties fix those problems (they win both by taking a cut of software sales in the app store and selling more Macs while costing less dev money).

I doubt anything is going to get fixed, and Apple's hardware crown isn't as strong as before. But they like selling "services," so...

This is partly because of the culture of hacking the GUI started back in the 80s with original Mac OS. Extending the OS beyond base capabilities is fun, but Apple also is usually selling an 'as is' experience like a high end chef. You can add ketchup to your stake, but they aren't going to do it for you.

And, as I said, I really only needed the software once I got an (ultra)ultrawide monitor, and it could be the info it is sending is also non-standard in some way.

Tim Cook runs a well oiled machine. At some point, leadership will change. And I don’t think it is as simple as, “Just keep going what Tim was doing.” There are so many moving parts that it is nigh certain Apple will go through a period of brand damage when things begin to fall through the cracks. Will that fall be dramatic? Probably not. But I think you underestimate just how much a shift in leadership can tip the scales.