Make the swap to Mac?

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300bhp/ton

Original Poster:

41,030 posts

189 months

Friday 27th May 2016
quotequote all
Yes wink

I've always been a long term Windows users, largely due to work. I'm a software tester/engineer. And many of the companies I've worked for have been MS Gold partners. I also grew up using Windows for gaming PC's and the like.


But I bought myself a Mac Mini a couple of years back for use at home. And now for work I've managed to swap my Windows desktop for a MacBook Pro. And I can tell you, the swap is well worth it.


I'm not a Windows hater. In fact I think Win7 is a very nice operating system by and large. But I cannot stand Windows 8!!!! It frustrates me every time I have to use a machine running it. I haven't really used Win 10 much, it's maybe not as bad as 8, but certainly seems a backwards step from Win7.

I also use things like Ubuntu and Fedora. I like these on the whole, although they can be hard work sometimes, requiring more effort to keep them working well and as a software tester, some of the rough edges drive me nuts.


So no, this isn't actually a question. It's more a declaration. If you are debating upgrading to Windows 10 or not. Step back and have a real think first. My advice would be to seriously consider a Mac. It's not perfect, but it's very very good. And as Win7 marches towards being no longer supported by MS, it makes sense to move to something that is current.

nitrodave

1,262 posts

137 months

Friday 27th May 2016
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I made the switch back in 2003 when i found a G4 desktop in a skip.

Took it home, rebooted the OS and the mighty 500mhz it had way outperformed the 2ghz pentium4 in my PC at the time.

Never again will I own a Microsoft PC.

ZesPak

24,421 posts

195 months

Friday 27th May 2016
quotequote all
300bhp/ton said:
I haven't really used Win 10 much, it's maybe not as bad as 8, but certainly seems a backwards step from Win7.
It really isn't.

300bhp/ton said:
So no, this isn't actually a question. It's more a declaration. If you are debating upgrading to Windows 10 or not. Step back and have a real think first.
That's rich from someone who admits not having used Win 10 that much.

300bhp/ton said:
My advice would be to seriously consider a Mac. It's not perfect, but it's very very good.
Good point, but can be extended upon.
Every new machine I take a look at what the market offers, very few people seem to do this and just dismiss one or the other (sometimes with good reasons, others often unfounded).

That said, the MacBook Pro range is a good laptop range with decent value for money. For me, at this point, most other devices in the Apple portfolio seem vastly overpriced.

In the end, they're all just laptops and computers. The only difference is the OS. And if you have the opportunity to "try out new waters", by all means! I've just ordered a new one and I just came to the conclusion that a £1000 Dell XPS 15 offers me a lot more than a new MacBook in that price range will.


PS: Windows 7 is still supported for at least another 4 years. Macs are usually supported 4-6 years.

Edited by ZesPak on Friday 27th May 11:25

300bhp/ton

Original Poster:

41,030 posts

189 months

Friday 27th May 2016
quotequote all
As a front line development env, Win7 has a somewhat less life expectancy, unless you will be working on legacy applications.

And the wonders of VM's mean getting an alternative env is quick and easy these days. But it's the day to day niceties that make the difference.

And while I'd not have believed it, it's more than just the OS on the Mac. It's the feel of the machine, quality aluminum, the keyboard layout, the track pad. It has less buttons than my old Dell Win 7 laptop (that I still have). But somehow is much quicker and easier to do lots of things that just seemed more hard work on the Dell.

But yes, the OS does make a big difference.

ZesPak

24,421 posts

195 months

Friday 27th May 2016
quotequote all
300bhp/ton said:
And while I'd not have believed it, it's more than just the OS on the Mac. It's the feel of the machine, quality aluminum, the keyboard layout, the track pad. It has less buttons than my old Dell Win 7 laptop (that I still have). But somehow is much quicker and easier to do lots of things that just seemed more hard work on the Dell.
It's a nice machine with an OS on it.
Grab a £1500 laptop and compare it to your macbook. Some will be plastic powerhouses, some will be machined aluminium with a better keyboard than the mac, other will have a numpad.

It takes all sorts, but to me the only big difference is the os.
My previous machine (well, 2 machine ago if the XPS arrives) was a MBP. It was a nice enough machine but frustrating to work with when on windows (keyboard layout), seemingly quite fragile (collecting scratches and "spots" a lot easier than my other machines) and quite prone to overheating. In the end I nearly didn't use OSX anymore which for me showed it was the machine's raison d'être.
What I'm saying is you don't need a MacBook if you want a good looking machine with a good track pad.

AJB88

12,266 posts

170 months

Friday 27th May 2016
quotequote all
I always find in the Mac vs Windows debate the person who is often giving it the "I switched to Mac and its the best thing ever" is often a person who used to spend £200-£300 on a Windows Laptop from Tesco etc and has now bought a £1200 Macbook.

I switched from Windows around 1999 when I was just starting High School, I moved to Linux (Mandrake originally) and have never looked back. I use a Mixture of Ubuntu and ChromeOS these days.

I haven't really used Windows since XP (I use Windows XP and 7 at work) but find using mum and dads machine at home (Windows 10) a right nightmare as I'm not used to it now.

Ken Figenus

5,678 posts

116 months

Friday 27th May 2016
quotequote all
Just assembled together a powerfully built X99 hex core edit PC and was dreading Win10 as I disliked 8 on the laptop (until I 'bought' a START button) but Win10 - is great. Fast and reliable and as its a Professional version (rather than Home) I can use 'group policy' to control updates and not be forced to have the wrong (if latest) drivers for everything. I have no issues with it.

Wax1234

515 posts

173 months

Friday 27th May 2016
quotequote all
300bhp/ton said:
It has less buttons than my old Dell Win 7 laptop (that I still have). But somehow is much quicker and easier to do lots of things that just seemed more hard work on the Dell.

But yes, the OS does make a big difference.
How does the number of buttons have an impact on the speed of the machine?

You're comparing old hardware with new and are surprised the new machine is quicker...

ZesPak

24,421 posts

195 months

Friday 27th May 2016
quotequote all
Wax1234 said:
How does the number of buttons have an impact on the speed of the machine?

You're comparing old hardware with new and are surprised the new machine is quicker...
I think he meant that, despite having fewer buttons, he could do the same tasks faster.
That's still odd as when I used OSX, it felt like less commands were linked to shortcut keys (which I use all the time in Windows), so more things required the trackpad.

Wax1234

515 posts

173 months

Friday 27th May 2016
quotequote all
Ah, that makes sense.

130R

6,807 posts

205 months

Friday 27th May 2016
quotequote all
Useless for gaming though.

Also I'm sure commands like Command-Option-V to cut and paste in Finder is natural to someone that has used OS X for years and years but not necessarily for someone that uses windows most of the time ..

ZesPak

24,421 posts

195 months

Friday 27th May 2016
quotequote all
Same thing other way around, or with wp/android/ios, could be a reason not to switch but not why one is better than the other though.

anonymous-user

53 months

Friday 27th May 2016
quotequote all
I have a Dell XPS15 and it I considered a Mac but the same spec/price ratio is not possible on a mac. I needed something fast but equally I know that it is a commodity and only really for work so something which serves the purpose is all I need. It runs Adobe suite flawlessly, office, outlook, video editing and has a 4k screen so its nice to use. Macs look great and I am sure they are a good product but I am yet to meet someone who uses one for anything more than an expensive facebook viewing machine with the odd swishy swooshy hand gesture to flip between the open tabs. Woopdedoo.

ZesPak

24,421 posts

195 months

Friday 27th May 2016
quotequote all
hehe

Wouldn't cut it like that but hey ho-

How are you finding the XPS15? I've just ordered one and can't wait for it to arrive. Since I work with some legacy and server software, I've decided on the full hd one though as the 4K one renders the older software unusable :/

But yes, the 4k one was about £1300 while the entry level MBPR was £1500 iirc, which was a £200 hike for a rather significant downgrade.
I orderd the full HD one which was sub £1100 over here.

feef

5,206 posts

182 months

Friday 27th May 2016
quotequote all
I went from Windows to Linux as a developer and DBA, and now use Mac

It gives me the best combination of a usable interface but with all the handy command line tools that I used when running Ubuntu

I'm not a massive gamer, but there are sufficient games available on OSX to keep me occupied, I've got a Playstation for gaming

My Macbook Pro is now over 5 years old, has been used all day, every day for both work and pleasure it hasn't missed a beat nor required any rebuilds or repairs (actually, the full-stop key is a bit flaky, so I might get that fixed)

I stuck some more RAM in in a couple of years ago, that's about it

I have an old Dell windows laptop running Windows XP for the software for the Emerald ECU in the MX5, the Husqvarna ECU on the race bike and the Lexia diagnostics software for the C6, but that's all I use Windows for now

AJB88

12,266 posts

170 months

Friday 27th May 2016
quotequote all
bulldong said:
but I am yet to meet someone who uses one for anything more than an expensive facebook viewing machine with the odd swishy swooshy hand gesture to flip between the open tabs. Woopdedoo.
Haha I can agree with this, Only person I've ever seen use one properly was in a music studio. The rest do seem to be the look at me I'm using a Macbook on the train type.

anonymous-user

53 months

Friday 27th May 2016
quotequote all
At the time, the one I ordered was €1500 or something compared to €2600 for the equivalent MBP. Honestly, it is just a business tool with occasional playing on it like dicking about with gopro videos and stuff but it works well. It's a nice machine as it is light and starts in 15 seconds and has done since I got it which I think is down to the SSD. I slightly regret upgrading to Windows 10 as soon as it came out because they're still making some of the drivers. Windows 8 drivers do work but sometimes crash but don't require a restart or loss of work and so I don't really mind waiting for the drivers.

Even my step brother who is mac fanboy to the max and has everything mac and buys it as soon as it is released in every iteration, admits that the xps is nice.

ZesPak

24,421 posts

195 months

Friday 27th May 2016
quotequote all
Is it the new one with the "infinity display"?
Have to admit that pulled me over the line, saw it between the other laptops and immediately caught my eye.

anonymous-user

53 months

Friday 27th May 2016
quotequote all
I have a 27" iMac running El Capitan and a Dell laptop running Windows 10.

They are both great at what they do smile

Ken Figenus

5,678 posts

116 months

Friday 27th May 2016
quotequote all
V unfair on MAC's chaps - know lots that use them very successfully for video editing and sound editing using professional industry standard software like Avid and Pro Tools etc They are very solid and can be very fast (seen that round tube one flying).

As a business tool though far prefer the value of PC's - this one is running 6 cores at 4.4GHz and I can muck about under the bonnet to my heart's content. £1000 for Win10 on a 250Gb 2000Mbps OS M.2 drive, the mobo, cpu & cooler and 32Gb RAM. Then add 6 HDDs in RAID10 at 500Mbps throughput and never mention a £2500 MAC to me again... smile