A Mac as a work machine?

[SenKa]

16 minutes ago, Drak3 said:

Well, thankfully the Mac Mini and MBPs have twin TB controllers so at worse, extra cable to a TB HDD enclosure.

Very, very true. I am probably going to do exactly that.

 

31 minutes ago, Kavawuvi said:

But if Microsoft Office is needed for many people and you needed Microsoft Office on a Mac, wouldn't you have to pay for that?

Payed for by every situation it is required, as far as I know. It is in my case, anyways.

 

15 minutes ago, firelighter487 said:

yes i did  

 

i read quickly. 

 

but you are correct. if you are looking for a Mac you are either trying to get away from Windows or need it for a specific app or usecase that doesn't run on / isn't supported by Windows. there is no other reason. 

Or. You simply find the UI more suitable for your workflow (Multiple full screen tabs + 3 finger swipe is a godsend, for example). Or you appreciate the additional stability of macOS (the benefit to buying directly from the creators of your OS. Even if its locked down by said company, you get the best experience it has to offer).

 

Or, you own an iPhone and value the infinitely superior smart device integration.

 

The former is true for me, personally.

 

9 minutes ago, Kavawuvi said:

And that's really bad.

 

I couldn't use it for a lot of things in Microsoft Office on macOS because a lot of basic functionality resulted in freezing. For example, I tried to use the equation editor to write logic symbols, and I'd have to save and close the document every time I used that editor. If I didn't, it would freeze and lock up, requiring me to take a small visit to the Force Quit menu (eventually I learned that you could invoke shift-option-command-escape to kill the frontmost application).

I have never experienced this personally. I dont doubt it, but I haven't experienced it either. Ive experienced similar if not slightly better stability from MS Office on macOS than Windows.

[Drak3]

5 minutes ago, firelighter487 said:

what reason do you have then? 

MacBook Pro because I wanted a good laptop that could game without going back to < 3 hour battery life.

My first Mac mini was to get a taste of the Cook era Apple (the 2014 base models were hot garbage simply due to the crappy spinner).

My current 2018 Mac Mini i5 because I wanted a small desktop. Not 100% sure what exactly I'm going to do with it, either work station, lightweight gaming machine, offload recording/voice comms, or a combination of the 3.

[Ashley MLP Fangirl]

1 minute ago, SenpaiKaplan said:

Or. You simply find the UI more suitable for your workflow (Multiple full screen tabs + 3 finger swipe is a godsend, for example). Or you appreciate the additional stability of macOS (the benefit to buying directly from the creators of your OS. Even if its locked down by said company, you get the best experience it has to offer).

i did say wanting to get away from Windows is a reason. that is my reason too. i love macOS  

[SenKa]

Just now, firelighter487 said:

i did say wanting to get away from Windows is a reason. that is my reason too. i love macOS  

I mean. Its a bet generalized. Windows has its uses (like gaming, which will always be superior)

[Ashley MLP Fangirl]

Just now, SenpaiKaplan said:

I mean. Its a bet generalized. Windows has its uses (like gaming, which will always be superior)

and for that i use Windows. 

 

we're talking about the reasons to get a Mac. it doesn't have to be your only computer...

[SenKa]

Just now, firelighter487 said:

and for that i use Windows. 

 

we're talking about the reasons to get a Mac. it doesn't have to be your only computer...

Yep!

[SnowyMus]

1 minute ago, SenpaiKaplan said:

Or. You simply find the UI more suitable for your workflow (Multiple full screen tabs + 3 finger swipe is a godsend, for example). Or you appreciate the additional stability of macOS (the benefit to buying directly from the creators of your OS. Even if its locked down by said company, you get the best experience it has to offer).

 

Or, you own an iPhone and value the infinitely superior smart device integration.

 

The former is true for me, personally.

Oh yeah I do miss the touch gestures from my MacBook Air. I first used it with a mouse because I didn't want to deal with the Trackpad. The only reason I started using it was because I had to when I was on the go, as there was no way to use a mouse. Over time, I found the Trackpad to be more convenient for desktop usage and really only used a mouse for games.

 

Honestly, I think Windows 10 is also becoming more and more like a walled garden. Recently, they've been pushing people to get apps on the Microsoft Store by showing a prompt to ask you to get it on the store, instead, any time you open a downloaded application. It's just that with Windows, the walls are so far enough apart that many people can't tell it's walled.

 

Also, Windows 10 can be restrictive on what you can do and what stuff you can change, and it can be even more restrictive when you buy the Home version of Windows 10. macOS, from my experiences with it, does not have that problem.

[SenKa]

1 minute ago, Kavawuvi said:

Oh yeah I do miss the touch gestures from my MacBook Air. I first used it with a mouse because I didn't want to deal with the Trackpad. The only reason I started using it was because I had to when I was on the go, as there was no way to use a mouse. Over time, I found the Trackpad to be more convenient for desktop usage and really only used a mouse for games.

 

Honestly, I think Windows 10 is also becoming more and more like a walled garden. Recently, they've been pushing people to get apps on the Microsoft Store by showing a prompt to ask you to get it on the store, instead, any time you open a downloaded application. It's just that with Windows, the walls are so far enough apart that many people can't tell it's walled.

 

Also, Windows 10 can be restrictive on what you can do and what stuff you can change, and it can be even more restrictive when you buy the Home version of Windows 10. macOS, from my experiences with it, does not have that problem.

I have noticed the same thing, personally. Im running an older build of W10 on my PC's just to avoid this restriction. 

[Ashley MLP Fangirl]

6 minutes ago, valdyrgramr said:

Actually, I've gone on Apple's website and some of their recent pricing is kinda stupid.  One example was when I was looking at the air.  They wanted hundreds more for a slightly larger SSD while keeping all the other specs the same.  A slightly larger SSD in that form would not costs hundreds more maybe 50 at best.  Still hasn't changed for the air.  All the specs are the same the only change is 128gb to a 256gb and the price difference is 200 bucks.  That's just bad pricing.

yeah their pricing for upgrades are madness. there is a reason why my newest Mac is from 2012  

[Ashley MLP Fangirl]

Just now, valdyrgramr said:

That and the fact that blender and other tools working best on Linux is why I tend to avoid Apple.  Ubuntu is kinda pissing me off right now, but I can live without WINE considering I dual boot.  Win 10 Pro on my m.2 and Ubuntu 18.04 on my SATA SSD.  Their OSes are at least well optimized like Linux compared to the congestion fuckery that is Windows.  XD

i avoid Ubuntu like the plague. i've had some systems brick themselves, and they started to do telemetry crap as of 18.04. 

 

all the stuff i need Linux for i can do in a VM, so i don't really need to dual-boot. i can live with using a VM for inkscape (the macOS version sucks) and a html editor that i sometimes use that is linux only. 

 

other than that i don't need it. 

[FuzzyYellow]

23 minutes ago, firelighter487 said:

yup you do. 

 

but the macOS version of MS Office is awful, and i've sworn to never use it again because word didn't save a document even after clicking save like 10 times when it started acting weird, it required me to force quit it, and even though i clicked save 10+ times it didn't save ... 2 hours of work lost. 

that's terrible. I use Word for Mac and I don't have many issues at all.

19 minutes ago, firelighter487 said:

what reason do you have then? 

 I have a Mac because I simply can't stand windows. so many things about it are so bass ackwards. two places to get to settings, forced updates at the worst possible times, random things breaking, beta updates pushed if you click "check for updates" etc...

[Ashley MLP Fangirl]

2 minutes ago, FuzzyYellow said:

that's terrible. I use Word for Mac and I don't have many issues at all.

i don't have many issues either, but the issues i do have cause me to lose hours of work... so i don't use it anymore  

 

2 minutes ago, FuzzyYellow said:

I have a Mac because I simply can't stand windows. so many things about it are so bass ackwards. two places to get to settings, forced updates at the worst possible times, random things breaking, beta updates pushed if you click "check for updates" etc...

i listed that as a valid reason  

[Drak3]

Just now, valdyrgramr said:

still have one beef with it where it forces you to use a pin now.

No it doesn't.

[Sauron]

4 hours ago, Benjeh said:

Not sure how Mac OS is any better than windows in typing out code or running vitural servers. I know a bloke who set up a web and graphic design agency a few years back and most his employees use windows pcs the very few use macs as its all down to preference, the old days of if you're a designer you need a mac are gone, old boys running studios will make you run Mac because its all they know.

 

Having used both I can't stand my macbook, its been shelved for the last 3 years and i don't miss anything about it.

It depends specifically on what you do. Web designers often do all their work inside the adobe suite or an equivalent - at which point what operating system you're using doesn't matter. If instead you regularly interact with the operating system, the differences become more marked. I used windows all my life and until about 4 years ago I never had a problem with the user experience.

 

Then I tried compiling a C program without an IDE.

[Ashley MLP Fangirl]

1 minute ago, valdyrgramr said:

Ubuntu 18 isn't so bad

yes it is. 

 

1 minute ago, valdyrgramr said:

10 has gotten better

no it hasn't.

[FuzzyYellow]

1 minute ago, valdyrgramr said:

Ubuntu 18 isn't so bad, but SW for it doesn't always wanna work.  WINE isn't exactly created by Ubuntu's dev team.  I just use it for blender mostly, but I also had an SSD doing nothing.  So, instead of using a VM I just installed the OS there.

10 has gotten better, but it had a lot of issues for the first couple of months.  I still have one beef with it where it forces you to use a pin now.

my job is support about 25 or so windows 10 clients. it's still terrible. I've sworn off windows for the rest of my life.

[Drak3]

Just now, firelighter487 said:

no it hasn't.

Unless you're part of the fringe case, yes, it has.

[Drak3]

Just now, valdyrgramr said:

It forced me on 2 rigs to put in a pin to finish the install.  <.<

Did it force you or did you not see the 'skip this step' button?

[Ashley MLP Fangirl]

1 minute ago, Drak3 said:

Unless you're part of the fringe case, yes, it has.

no it hasn't. there are tons of bugs still, forced updates are still a thing, 1809 was a sh*tshow when it first released, clicking check for updates now gives you unstable beta updates....

 

do you need me to go on? 

[Benjeh]

7 minutes ago, Sauron said:

It depends specifically on what you do. Web designers often do all their work inside the adobe suite or an equivalent - at which point what operating system you're using doesn't matter. If instead you regularly interact with the operating system, the differences become more marked. I used windows all my life and until about 4 years ago I never had a problem with the user experience.

 

Then I tried compiling a C program without an IDE.

I don't know what an IDE is? could you explain? I use notepad++ for code, design is done in photoshop to grid up etc.

[Ashley MLP Fangirl]

2 minutes ago, valdyrgramr said:

What issues are you having with Ubuntu now?  I think 16 was the one that was having stability issues.  18 just doesn't like WINE. 

Wine is the least of my issues with 18. the nvidia drivers are unstable as all holy hell, my friends thinkpad actually bricked itself because of those drivers. it would only work if i removed the drivers. 

 

 

2 minutes ago, valdyrgramr said:

As for 10 it indeed did get better.

no it didn't. 

4 minutes ago, firelighter487 said:

there are tons of bugs still, forced updates are still a thing, 1809 was a sh*tshow when it first released, clicking check for updates now gives you unstable beta updates....

 

do you need me to go on? 

 

Edited February 25, 2019 by firelighter487

[Drak3]

Just now, firelighter487 said:

tons of bugs still

Most of which are driver related.

 

Just now, firelighter487 said:

forced updates are still a thing

Not a bad thing.

 

1 minute ago, firelighter487 said:

1809 was a sh*tshow when it first released

Until there is an establishable pattern, I'm not using one botched update asa metric to say an OS is bad, otherwise I would have abanonded OSX with High Sierra.

 

2 minutes ago, firelighter487 said:

clicking check for updates now gives you unstable beta updates....

They're not unstable and being beta doesn't mean all that much: one company's beta can easily be more stable than another's full release because the nomenclature isn't exactly standardized. I've seen nothing really suggesting that these "beta" updates are anything more than updates that haven't been tested on more fringe hardware and scenarios.

 

3 minutes ago, valdyrgramr said:

There was no "skip this step" button.

Then something got borked. But even if it becomes a requirement, it's no different than Linux and Unix also requiring passwords.

[Sauron]

20 hours ago, Benjeh said:

I don't know what an IDE is? could you explain? I use notepad++ for code, design is done in photoshop to grid up etc.

Integrated Development Environment. Think Visual Studio or Eclipse. Notepad++ has some IDE features, not as many as the larger ones though - and iirc you can't easily compile C code within it, not without mingw which is a pain in the butt compared to just having gcc (or clang or what have you) work natively OR opening Visual Studio for something that you can do with one terminal command on any unix or unix-like system.

[harryk]

4 hours ago, Sauron said:

opening Visual Studio for something that you can do with one terminal command on any unix or unix-like system.

My very first programming class was in C++ in Visual Studio and made me think coding was complicated and needed complex IDE software. Then I took a class on Linux. Now I wonder why anyone would code in Windows unless you are making a Windows program.