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Thread: Transition from windows computer to Apple computer

  1. #16
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jim Koepke View Post
    There are a lot of other tricks that make things simple for those who learn how to use them.
    I seem to recall hearing those exact words used to describe the 'vi' text editor, sometime in the 1980s, preceded by a conversation of the form:
    "That's easy, you just..."
    <17 steps later>
    "...and Bob's yer uncle. Did I mention it has macro capability?"
    Yoga class makes me feel like a total stud, mostly because I'm about as flexible as a 2x4.
    "Design"? Possibly. "Intelligent"? Sure doesn't look like it from this angle.
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  2. #17
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    I am using the hand me down,11 year old MacBook we bought our son for college. I like it but do not do any real computing. Our PC is 10 years old and is obsolete. I hope I have not waited too long to get all of our pictures and music off of it. Apple seems to be less invasive about cluttering the machine up with constant updates, or are they just sneakier about it? The PC vs Mac debate gets very personal almost to the level of religion, politics, sports, etc.
    Best Regards, Maurice

  3. #18
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    Apple seems to be less invasive about cluttering the machine up with constant updates, or are they just sneakier about it?
    The updates are announced on screen. The screen can be dismissed without updates taking place.

    It may be that Microsoft has more bug fixes to induce constant updates than Apple.

    My old Mac was working fine but it didn't have the 'horsepower' to install a new OS needed to use security features my banking required.

    Now my machine is working well, but Apple has moved on to 64 bit architecture and my machine is 32 bit. If I want to keep up it will be time to buy another machine in a few years. My current machine is only a little more than 6 years old.

    jtk
    "A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
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  4. #19
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    I'm not a windows fan. My 2015 mac mini still works great. I'll replace it with another at some point. If you dont need a desktop computer with a monitor, I'd suggest a chromebook.

  5. #20
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    User written macros will work on the Mac. I can not remember any specific functions that do not work there. The macro editor on the Mac is a little funky. There is the capability to debug but can’t do it line by line without setting stops. At least I did not find a built-in line by line debug option.

  6. #21
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    I've used both professionally, and I write software for a living. For most people either option is fine. I personally favor PCs since I'm cheap and Macs are not. Having used both, there isn't a lot you're actually getting for your money with the Mac. The designs are nice, but honestly I usually put my PC somewhere I can't see it anyway, and spend most of my time looking at the screen and working with the keyboard. Maybe I'd care if I used laptops, but I don't since I like lots of big monitors, and I drink coffee at home (Did I mention I'm cheap? )

    Also just a quick pop quiz, how many Mac users here know how to change a symbolic link? Ran into that one when I needed to update the Java library. It's a quick and simple installation on a PC, on a Mac, well good luck learning UNIX command line file operations if computers aren't your thing.

    Generally I think for most people you squint and you can't tell much difference. Doubly so now that most things are on the web.

  7. #22
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    I think I'll stay with Windows
    Dennis

  8. #23
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    Quote Originally Posted by Ronald Blue View Post
    If all you do is browse and access a few accounts it shouldn't be difficult. Funny that people say that Apple doesn't have issues with bots and viruses. Is that why they have had so many ios updates in the last few years? Some a couple weeks after the previous. The world still runs on Windows plain and simple. My previous employer switched to iPhones about 2015 because Blackberry lost their niche. Everything else was based on Windows. Every laptop and desk top was a Windows machine.
    The underpinnings of Apple's operating system is BSD, which is a 'flavor' of Unix. I don't know much about OSX or iOS but I suspect that like Linux, they prefer to repair the flaw rather than slap a 'bandaid' on it until they can make sure that the fix doesn't break too many applications. Sometimes that long term repair requires a second or third try. I liken it right or wrong to repairing a roof. You can either do what is necessary to make a long term repair (Apple/BSD/Linux) or slap some roofing tar on it (Windows) until the next reshingle/major rewrite. Windows does have many more applications to be affected by any significant system changes.
    Last edited by Curt Harms; 06-13-2022 at 8:02 AM.

  9. #24
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    There are virus and bots for Unix and BSD and yes, Mac OS. Just like a lot of the other MacOS eco-system there just aren't as many because Macs are ~5% of the market. Software goes where the money is, including viruses.

  10. #25
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    Quote Originally Posted by Andrew More View Post
    Also just a quick pop quiz, how many Mac users here know how to change a symbolic link? Ran into that one when I needed to update the Java library. It's a quick and simple installation on a PC, on a Mac, well good luck learning UNIX command line file operations if computers aren't your thing.
    Then again, what percentage of "normal" computer users ever have a need for this kind of thing...I'm only mentioning it that because it's not all that relevant to "the masses". Honestly, casual users can often "get away" with something quite simple, including devices like Chromebooks and tablets, even if the latter is equipped with a separate keyboard.

    I think the bottom line is that at this point in time the Windows vs MacOS decision is more subjective than objective and I really don't feel that the "learning curve" for a switch is very big. Like you, I can bounce between the two almost without thinking. So I agree with your last statement...most people will see little difference in actual use. And that's even more so with Win11 adopting the "dock".
    --

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

  11. #26
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jim Becker View Post
    Then again, what percentage of "normal" computer users ever have a need for this kind of thing...I'm only mentioning it that because it's not all that relevant to "the masses".
    Too true. In an era when "most" people think of their phone as their computer a relatively shallow depth will satisfy "most" users. As Macs got more unix-like they got more friendly for me. I think the expectation for one thing to act just like another causes a lot of the OS dissatisfaction some folks have. They are different so . . . they are different ;-)
    "A hen is only an egg's way of making another egg".


    – Samuel Butler

  12. #27
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jim Becker View Post
    Then again, what percentage of "normal" computer users ever have a need for this kind of thing...I'm only mentioning it that because it's not all that relevant to "the masses".
    Anybody trying to run a Java based application. It's obviously going to vary for users, based on their usage, but it's a pretty normal expectation that this should _not_ require advanced knowledge of the Unix command line to get applications to run. Particularly not for a company that prides itself on being easy to use. Should be drag and drop like the other applications on MacOS, or Windows. A bit like expecting somebody to completely disassemble their table saw to change over to a dado stack.
    Last edited by Andrew More; 06-13-2022 at 10:38 AM.

  13. #28
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    Interestingly, in my 38+ years of IT and Telecom work in technical roles prior to retirement a few years ago, I've never had to do that.
    --

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

  14. #29
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jim Becker View Post
    Interestingly, in my 38+ years of IT and Telecom work in technical roles prior to retirement a few years ago, I've never had to do that.
    You're very lucky then. My previous job work for Siemens PLM on their CAD software was a very Java intense environment. A few of my buddies have also had development roles at banks, insurance companies and the like where Java is pretty much the only language being used. In case you run into the issue yourself here's a link: https://medium.com/notes-for-geeks/j...s-f246cab643bd

  15. #30
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    Quote Originally Posted by Andrew More View Post
    Anybody trying to run a Java based application. It's obviously going to vary for users, based on their usage, but it's a pretty normal expectation that this should _not_ require advanced knowledge of the Unix command line to get applications to run. Particularly not for a company that prides itself on being easy to use. Should be drag and drop like the other applications on MacOS, or Windows. A bit like expecting somebody to completely disassemble their table saw to change over to a dado stack.
    There is another school of thought regarding use of the command line and support. Using a GUI it's "click here, click 'next' click there click 'next', then click over here etc etc.

    Using the command line, the person requiring help can open a terminal on the same screen as the browser or email client. Copy this line and paste it into the command line. Press enter. Copy the second line and paste it into the command line. Press enter. Close the terminal. Done. It goes without saying that the source of the commands needs to be trustworthy. I did this pretty frequently when wifi device support was even worse than it is today in Linux world. Why was this even necessary? Ask RealTek (in my case) or any other device manufacturer that is not helpful.
    Last edited by Curt Harms; 06-14-2022 at 8:57 AM.

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