A Journey of 100 Feet - Windows to Apple

[Tom Bender]

When I retired 4 years ago and turned in my company laptop I switched to Apple.

Pro
Many problems disappeared. Some were things like malware and some were related to the new software work was constantly pushing out for my convenience.

Was worried about tech support but Apple help is very good. Not as committed as we had at work but good enough so far. Not sure what I would have had with Windows.

Con
I had to learn to use another big load of software (Apple). I will never be as capable with it as I was with Windows but I don't need to be.

Could not live without Excel and missed Word and Powerpoint so I bought these to run inside Apple. They open slowly but they work.

A Journey of 100 Feet is one of my favorite movies.

[Ralph Okonieski]

I was in same situation a few years ago but with perseverance proficiency comes. The filing system used by Apple was the biggest challenge. Some things like “time machine” I use, but still do not quite like how it works. Anyway, I am happy that the switch to Apple was made.

[mike stenson]

The easiest thing is to just let it be what it is. If you try and make it windows it'll be painful.

FWIW, Office was available on Apple based computers before PCs :)

[Dave Zellers]

Lots of good things to like about Mac computers but my favorite is the ability to choose your boot drive at startup.

So if you keep a current external clone (or 2) and your main computer's HD fails, you can boot from the clone- even as an external disk- and keep on keepin' on.

[Dan Friedrichs]

I thought about switching, once, and visited an Apple store.

They had a chihuahua...wearing a very small (chihuahua-sized) Apple store employee T-shirt?

I picked up a laptop, couldn't figure out how to turn it on, accidentally set off the security alarm in the process, and the dog started barking at me.

I decided that I was fine with my PC.

[Mike Henderson]

I went to work for a company many years ago and they used Apple computers. The one I had was very slow. But I found it pretty easy to switch from Windows to the Apple - the basic concepts were the same.

But then the company switched to Windows PCs. Not sure why but one day they replaced my Apple with a PC. I was experienced on a PC so no problems for me.

Since then I've stayed with the PC although I have a Apple iPhone and use iCloud for both the iPhone and the PC.

One thing I found is that it's slow and difficult to get pictures directly off the iPhone (through a USB cable) but the phone uploads the pictures fairly quickly to iCloud and I can get the pictures off iCloud through a browser.

Mike

[Kev Williams]

The only Apple computers I've ever had are the two Apple IIe's that came with my first 2 computer driven engravers back in the early 80's. They'll likely be the last Apples too. I have 11 CNC rotary tool engravers, 4 C02 lasers, 3 fiber lasers and a vinyl cutter in my house, and I don't think a one of 'em will run on an Apple. Maybe the fibers, not sure really. But there's one thing about Apple that just irks me: They build a pretty good computer, I-pads are nice, but their I-phones... They're great as 'smart' devices go, they have a pretty good camera, do lots of cool things, but as TELEPHONES go, they're in DEAD LAST place. People talking on I-phones, to my ears, sound like they're inside a sheet metal box being dragged down a highway littered with mattress springs. After 13 years, why can't they make the phone talk decent? So- I have to wonder what Apple has 'let slide' about their computers over the years?

That said, it's not like I have any shining reviews for Windows, what with 'forced obsolescence' being their main business model. What I find hard to believe, is that Microsoft hasn't figured out how much more money they could make by simply collecting subscription money people like me would gladly pay for ongoing automatic updates for XP and 7, rather than being forced into the Win10 black hole...

Computers... http://www.engraver1.com/gifs/pullinghair.gifhttp://www.engraver1.com/gifs/banghead.gifhttp://www.engraver1.com/gifs/nilly.gif

[Brian Elfert]

The biggest issue with Apple Mac computers for most consumers is they cost so darn much compared to a Windows PC. There are lots of pros and some cons for buying a Mac.

[mike stenson]

People talking on I-phones, to my ears, sound like they're inside a sheet metal box being dragged down a highway littered with mattress springs. After 13 years, why can't they make the phone talk decent? So- I have to wonder what Apple has 'let slide' about their computers over the years?


I haven't really noticed that, other than people who put it on speaker then hold the phone right in front of their face. But using the phone as a handset (and not smashed into their cheek), or with a normal headset.. it seems to be fine.


Now, from a development standpoint.. it's literally impossible to maintain 20 year old operating systems indefinitely.

[Doug Dawson]

The biggest issue with Apple Mac computers for most consumers is they cost so darn much compared to a Windows PC. There are lots of pros and some cons for buying a Mac.

I agree. The computers are pretty, but obscenely expensive, and the internal build quality is atrocious, at least partly by design. Check out Louis Rossmann’s repair videos. Unfortunately, Mac OS X is the best (mainstream) OS in the business by far (and my experience with Linux variations and Windows stretches from the present back through the mists of time.) So I’m kind of stuck with that.

[Kev Williams]

...and the internal build quality is atrocious, at least partly by design. Check out Louis Rossmann’s repair videos.
So this at least partly answers my 'what has Apple has let slide' question ;)

[mike stenson]

I agree. The computers are pretty, but obscenely expensive, and the internal build quality is atrocious, at least partly by design. Check out Louis Rossmann’s repair videos. Unfortunately, Mac OS X is the best (mainstream) OS in the business by far (and my experience with Linux variations and Windows stretches from the present back through the mists of time.) So I’m kind of stuck with that.

It's fully application supported Unix, and I love it for that.

[ChrisA Edwards]

I'm a retired software developer. I started back in the '70s on IBM mainframes, moved to HP mini's in the early 80's and since the mid 80's to around 2010 have been developing DOS and Window based software using various computer languages.

Around 2010, the wife persuaded me to get an Apple laptop. I'd probably used an Apple computer for all of about 30 minutes in the prior 30 years.

It was a bit of a learning curve, but I don't miss my old Window platforms.

I do feel a bit removed from the workings of the software, maybe because I've never developed on IOS.

I'm on my second MacBook Pro and I guess we have drunk the Apple KoolAid and have a house littered with iPhones, iPads, etc..

[Jim Becker]

I switched back in 2010 at home and two years later switched for work via approved BYOD. I was constantly having all kinds of frustrating things with the company provided laptops including both hardware and software issues. They all went away when I bought that MBPr13. For the few things I needed to use Windows for, I just ran it in a VM via Parallels. I got my own Office 365 subscription and used that for Word, PowerPoint and Excel...and there was zero slowness. In fact, that machine was noticeably faster than any of the Windows machines I had been issued by the company. My Mid-2010 iMac still runs almost like new and is kept as a spare in my office. My primary machine is now a 2019 Macbook Pro 15" and I still use the mid-2012 Macbook Pro 13" retina in my shop as a second machine when I don't want to stand and use the CNC machine for looking things up, etc. They all "just work" and I've also had good support experiences the few times I had to use it. The only "repair" has been a new battery for the 2012 MBPr13 and they conveniently swapped out a few other things at no charge at the same time they were doing the battery replacement which involved a new top case because it's a fixed battery.

Younger daughter uses a Macbook Air that she got when she was 16 and she's now about to turn 21. It still runs and looks like new. And we're all iPhone/iPad/AppleTV here, too. Stuff just works.

[Doug Dawson]

I switched back in 2010 at home and two years later switched for work via approved BYOD. I was constantly having all kinds of frustrating things with the company provided laptops including both hardware and software issues. They all went away when I bought that MBPr13. For the few things I needed to use Windows for, I just ran it in a VM via Parallels. I got my own Office 365 subscription and used that for Word, PowerPoint and Excel...and there was zero slowness. In fact, that machine was noticeably faster than any of the Windows machines I had been issued by the company. My Mid-2010 iMac still runs almost like new and is kept as a spare in my office. My primary machine is now a 2019 Macbook Pro 15" and I still use the mid-2012 Macbook Pro 13" retina in my shop as a second machine when I don't want to stand and use the CNC machine for looking things up, etc. They all "just work" and I've also had good support experiences the few times I had to use it. The only "repair" has been a new battery for the 2012 MBPr13 and they conveniently swapped out a few other things at no charge at the same time they were doing the battery replacement which involved a new top case because it's a fixed battery.

Younger daughter uses a Macbook Air that she got when she was 16 and she's now about to turn 21. It still runs and looks like new. And we're all iPhone/iPad/AppleTV here, too. Stuff just works.

In case you didn’t already know this, there’s a “secret” repair program that Apple has, to repair/replace the keyboards on late-2016+ 15” MBP’s (IOW. All of them for the past 4 years) for 4 years after date of purchase. I’m so grateful that I was able to mothball this Spawn Of Satan and buy a new 16” MBP. The keyboard was just that awful. I had to use an external for any serious work.

[Tony Zona]

What does the secret repair program cover and how do we take advantage of it?

[Tom Bender]

So nobody was impressed with the movie?

[Rod Sheridan]

I’m not computer literate, however last year I bought a Mac laptop and an IPad.

The IPad is great for this sort of use, and I’m using the laptop a lot now.

Learning the shortcuts took some time having spent so much time on Windows.

What really surprised me was the ease with which the IPad, IPod and computer integrate almost magically through my Apple ID.

That I think is the brilliant part of Apple’s approach

[Mike Kreinhop]

So nobody was impressed with the movie?

Do you mean the Helen Mirren movie The Hundred-Foot Journey? If so, I haven't seen it, but after viewing the trailers on YouTube, I will.

[Jim Becker]

In case you didn’t already know this, there’s a “secret” repair program that Apple has, to repair/replace the keyboards on late-2016+ 15” MBP’s (IOW. All of them for the past 4 years) for 4 years after date of purchase. I’m so grateful that I was able to mothball this Spawn Of Satan and buy a new 16” MBP. The keyboard was just that awful. I had to use an external for any serious work.

I actually don't use the keyboard "on" my 15" 2019 MBP very much...only when traveling. It's used like a desktop here in my office with a separate 27" high resolution monitor, an Apple wireless keyboard and an Apple wireless "MagicMouse". I agree that the keyboard on the laptop isn't ideal and that it might be frustrating to some folks. But honestly, I've hated the keyboards on nearly every laptop I've ever used, no matter what the brand and OS in play.

[Doug Dawson]

What does the secret repair program cover and how do we take advantage of it?

Google “Apple butterfly keyboard repair program”. BTW you have to replace the whole top of the machine w/those 15” MBP’s. Apparently even something as simple as pollen in the air can mess it up. Good riddance to it. And good riddance to Jonny Ives, who designed it.

[Stan Calow]

True. They made a mistake in assuming thin was more important than reliable. I am writing this on MacBook Pro, and have learned to keep a can of compressed air handy at all times. However, I still prefer the Apple integrated systems and won't go back to Windows.

[Tom Bender]

Yes, either they have changed the movie title or my memory has slipped a cog.

[Ronald Blue]

Some of my issues with Apple from back in the infancy of computers was their attempt to monopolize the market. Those old enough to remember that Apple went after any company that cloned one of their computers forcing them out of business. IBM on the other hand allowed every upstart to clone their PC's. As a result the market took off like a rocket and PC's became dominant. So they were only a tiny player for many years because of this. Why would hackers waste time on such a small percentage of the digital world. They have gained some traction slowly over the years and guess what. They now get some of the attention of the hackers and malware purveyors. But business still runs on Windows. My company while they switched to iPhone's for mobile communicating runs only Windows PC's whether in desktop or laptops. We have thousands by the way. The business world still runs on Windows.

[Bert Kemp]

I can't figure it out why people pay the prices they do for apple whats an Iphone cost 6 7 800 dollars my phone cost 129$ and my service plan is 18$ a month so tell me what your facny high priced phones and expensive service plans can do that mine can't. Fact is My daughter has an Iphone and we sat at the table one night comparing things our phones could do and mine will do things hers doesn't . this was last summer when I was visiting her . So don't ask me what I dont remember but really they both do just about everything. Oh maybe Iphone has a better camera but can you tell the difference between a photo my cam took and one an iphone took with your naked eye I doubt it

[Doug Dawson]

I can't figure it out why people pay the prices they do for apple whats an Iphone cost 6 7 800 dollars my phone cost 129$ and my service plan is 18$ a month so tell me what your facny high priced phones and expensive service plans can do that mine can't.

iPhones don’t have Android on them. Big security issue. I agree they’re way overpriced.

BTW, my unlimited cell phone plan costs $20/month for life (Altice) using AT&T’s network.

BTW BTW, Jupiter is the brightest star in the night sky right now, about 30 degrees above the southern horizon here at the latitude of San Antonio, Texas. Saturn is also visible to the naked eye a few degrees to the left of it, and Mars (it’s the red one) is visible about 15 degrees to the left of that along the ecliptic. A good reason to get up in the middle of the night. I highly recommend the iPhone/iPad app “Sky Guide” if you need more help. If you live in the city and can’t see them, that’s just horrible.

[Ronald Blue]

iPhones don’t have Android on them. Big security issue. I agree they’re way overpriced.

Doug do you know someone who has had an issue with security on their Android device? I don't. People who have trouble with security on their phone likely also have the same issue on a computer. Falling for every bogus email/link they receive or come across. Ironically my company as previously stated supplies us with iPhones. However almost all of us use Androids as our personal phones.

[Jim Becker]

Ron, there are a number of exploits that have hit Android devices, but that's generally from when folks "side-loaded" applications from sources other than the Google Play Store. That's not a risk with iOS because it's not possible to "side load" applications and even "jailbreaking" isn't a think anymore. Android's advantage is that it's licensed to run on devices from multiple manufacturers, although that's also a curse since pretty much only Google's phones have native, unadulterated Android on them. Phone manufacturers and carriers modify Android to their own whim and that makes OS upgrades difficult over time.

People are passionate about their preference for iOS or Android just like many folks prefer Windows over MacOS. And some are devoted to Linux. No problem. I'll take iOS any day over Android for a variety of reasons. Others will feel the same way about Android. I'm the same way for MacOS. I tolerate Windows (and honestly Win10, is a huge improvement over what came before it) but it's unlikely I'd go back to running a Windows environment as my default. I don't care about the initial cost of the devices because they last a long time in my experience as compared to all of the non-Apple computers I've owned over the years. And the combination of MacOS and iOS operates seamlessly for me as I move between devices. I appreciate and actually use that to my advantage.

[Curt Harms]

Doug do you know someone who has had an issue with security on their Android device? I don't. People who have trouble with security on their phone likely also have the same issue on a computer. Falling for every bogus email/link they receive or come across. Ironically my company as previously stated supplies us with iPhones. However almost all of us use Androids as our personal phones.

I too wonder if the security issues with Android are overstated -- as long as the Android version you're using is supported. An Android 5 phone will likely work just fine today but it hasn't seen a security update in probably a 2 - 3 years. So an Android 5 device will be susceptible to any exploits that have appeared since probably 2017 or so. I don't use a phone for anything beyond talk, text and basic web stuff. Anybody who hacks my Android phone isn't going to learn much beyond my contacts, And those can be found in the 'phone book'. No financial or health records to be found.

A related issue with Android is updates are the responsibility of the manufacturer and some are better than others. Google has the Android One program which guarantees security updates for a period of time if the manufacturer made it part of the phone. Beyond that the way to be sure of having currently supported Android phone is to be sure your current phone is still supported by its manufacturer. If it's not it's time to buy a new phone. And this is why Android phones are sometimes called "landfill phones".

[roger wiegand]

I've been a mac and unix user since ~1985, VMS before that. I've used plenty of Windows machines along the way, generally when some IT department required them. The Mac/Windows debate these days pales in comparison to the explosion that erupted when we bought a VAX and installed it with an ethernet cable running down our hallway in a previously pure IBM environment in a Fortune 100 company. You'd have thought the world was coming to an end. It got even worse when I put a Sun 1 workstation on my desk. A computer outside the data room? Horrors! Fortunately upper management (and it went to the top) understood and believed the business case we made for scientific computing having different requirements than the business side.

Anyway, the one time I got to be king and declare a platform for our company my answer was "whatever". People bought what they were comfortable using, we had a great IT contractor who handled everything without a glitch, they were of the opinion that there was no cost difference to having one, the other, or mixed. Some of our guys were actually doing some serious computation on their machines so the tricked out Lenovo laptops we bought were about the same price as Macs. In the final analysis the cost of laptops for users was dwarfed by the investment in the hardware in the server room. As far as I can tell everyone was happy, a situation I'd never seen with regard to a computing environment!

[mike stenson]

Some of my issues with Apple from back in the infancy of computers was their attempt to monopolize the market. Those old enough to remember that Apple went after any company that cloned one of their computers forcing them out of business. IBM on the other hand allowed every upstart to clone their PC's. As a result the market took off like a rocket and PC's became dominant. So they were only a tiny player for many years because of this. Why would hackers waste time on such a small percentage of the digital world. They have gained some traction slowly over the years and guess what. They now get some of the attention of the hackers and malware purveyors. But business still runs on Windows. My company while they switched to iPhone's for mobile communicating runs only Windows PC's whether in desktop or laptops. We have thousands by the way. The business world still runs on Windows.

You'd hate the 'big iron' world then.

[Bert Kemp]

My biggest problem is the money can you really tell me it cost more to build a mac then a PC of course not . their computers and and have mostly the same components inside the big difference is the OS Same with the phones cost pretty much the same to build but apple charges double for their products. Just Like Harley they charge way more then the competition for basically the same product.I find that I can have pretty much all the conveniences of Apple or Harley while paying a lot lot less for them and in some case's getting better reliability .Its the same with just about anything theirs always gonna be companies out here charging way more for products that are pretty much the same.Tools is a prime example . Sure some cheap tools are cheap and won't stand up, but theres a lot of decent tools for half the money of the name brands.ok rant over LOL

[Jim Koepke]

Many years ago conversations were something like this in the PC vs Mac debate:

PC user: There are more programs for PCs.

Mac user: Every program you use is available for Mac.

PC user: Yeah, but you have to pay for them.


Some of my issues with Apple from back in the infancy of computers was their attempt to monopolize the market. Those old enough to remember that Apple went after any company that cloned one of their computers forcing them out of business. IBM on the other hand allowed every upstart to clone their PC's.

The problem with cloning Macs was the proprietary code in the Read Only Memory internal to the machine. It was protected by copyright.

The copyright on what ran the IBM platform was owned by Microsoft.

Apple was not trying to monopolize the market so much as they were protecting their investment.

For a short time Apple did allow the clones. It was a disaster for Apple and brought to a halt when the contracts expired.

Yes, my Macintoshes have cost me more than having a PC. They have also caused me less problems and generally lasted much longer than most of my friends PCs. My previous machine had to be replaced because of my bank no longer supported my old OS for security reasons. My current OS is 32 bit. My machine will support 64 bit OS, but my tendency is to hold back on upgrades until there is no longer a choice.

jtk

[Jim Becker]

I can appreciate that there are certainly quality Windows-based computers available. I bought one for Professor Dr. SWMBO last year as the university-issued machines were not all that reliable or powerful enough or light enough. She wanted to stay with Windows for now because some research stuff she uses would require re-licensing and for a few other personal reasons I'll not get into. The Dell machine I bought her is very similar in form factor to my 2019 Macbook Pro 15" and is a business focused machine, rather than a consumer model. It was not inexpensive, but certainly less than my machine. Will it last as long as my Apple computers have? I don't know and am not going to worry about it. It will most likely last longer than a consumer machine, however.

That said, what I find interesting around this subject of MacOS vs Windows is that it seems like a high percentage of folks who move from Windows to MacOS never go back other than running Windows in VMs when it's required. Like I mentioned earlier, I made the move in 2010. That machine still runs like a top, other than some uneven display brightness because of an aging backlight. The MY12 laptop runs like new and it got hard work an lots of travel when I was still working since it was my BYOD work machine. The only reason I bought the latest one was for more memory and a larger screen when I'm using it as a portable when traveling or outside of my office in the house. The old eyes are not what they used to me... :)

[Rollie Meyers]

My phone is a iPhone but that is the only Apple product I own, because Android is Google, I will never own a Android phone, don't use Google as search engine either, just bought a new cheap windows laptop, but may consider a Mac in the future.

[Jim Koepke]

The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

Computers are tools that some folks do purchase "cheaply" and often…

jtk