Sick of Windows PCs, tell me about Macs (Page 1 of 2)
Posted: 5/14/2026 9:54:46 PM EDT
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BLUF: I am sick and tired of Windows PCs for my own personal laptop. I would like to try a MacBook of some level but I have questions I need answers to before dropping coin. Since getting my first laptop back in college in like 2005/6, it seems like somewhere between 2-4 years they just get progressively slower…and slower…and slower, until I get sick of it and pony up and buy a new laptop. My current laptop is at that point now. I think it’s close to 5 years old at this point, but without exaggeration, to go from shut down, to a “normal” speed and opening documents or browsing the web, is a solid 15+ minutes. Microsoft Teams opens. Steam opens. Command prompt opens and closes. A thousand different background processes have weaseled their way onto it and despite my best efforts they just won’t. Go. Away. It’s like a cold-blooded diesel engine trying to get going at -20 and needs all that time to fucking warm up before being useful. I’ve asked a couple IT guys at work before, and one told me that I need to uninstall and reinstall windows once a year. I’m computer literate but that’s not something I want to teach myself how to do. Another one told me that Windows PCs only keep operating at respectable speeds and capabilities over longer timelines than your standard personal Windows laptop, is because they’re supported by IT departments. Constant patches, updates, etc keep them from bogging down. I set my parents up with a brand new laptop maybe 3 years ago. They do only the most BASIC of use. Gmail, occasional Amazon order, look at pictures people email them, print stuff. I put the whole Avast suite on it too, and it’s almost as slow as mine is to actually get going. It’s maddening. I swear my college laptop lasted longer before getting to that point, the planned maintenance obsolescence timeline must have been a little longer in the early 2000s. I remember hearing years ago that Macs don’t (or didn’t, back then) have a lot of these types of issues. You don’t need a special extra subscription based antivirus to keep it from getting bogged down with malware. They didn’t slow down nearly as quickly compared to Windows. Faster boot times. Etc. What has kept me from getting a Mac before though is file comparability. I have a huge amount of stuff from the military, and other Windows files, I want to be able to maintain usage and access to. Word docs, pdfs, PowerPoints, deployment photos and videos. 2 main questions - I have several external hard drives full of stuff that was created and on Windows computers and programs. Do new, current Macs have the ability to open, view, edit, etc that stuff? And 2, do the new Macs fare any better over the medium term of single-digit number of years without slowing down to dial-up speeds to do anything? Thanks for reading my rant and if anyone has made this jump, let me know how it went. |
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Avast is a huge mistake. You don't need anti-malware - haven't for nearly a decade. That's bloatware that slows everything down. The majority of the laptops running in my household are 6-10 years old. ALL run windows 11. As long as they have enough ram, and a SSD for the storage, they are still plenty fast, or at least as fast as they were the day windows 11 was installed. I don't run garbage antivirus though, Windows 11 comes with defender and I haven't needed anything else. |
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Mac opens all of the common file types. Unless you have software that is windows only or play video games it’s superior for a home user. I upgraded from a Windows 10 machine back in August because of Microsoft forcing us to Windows 11. Went with an iMac M4 as my desk space is really tight. I’m happy with it, still learning some things but it’s super fast and easy. |
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Originally Posted By FALARAK: Avast is a huge mistake. You don't need anti-malware - haven't for nearly a decade. That's bloatware that slows everything down. The majority of the laptops running in my household are 6-10 years old. ALL run windows 11. As long as they have enough ram, and a SSD for the storage, they are still plenty fast, or at least as fast as they were the day windows 11 was installed. I don't run garbage antivirus though, Windows 11 comes with defender and I haven't needed anything else. See, this is why I’m sick of windows. “Upgrade to a new version of windows. You are VULNERABLE TO ATTACK if you don’t and your pc is now OBSOLETE. Use antivirus. DON’T use antivirus. Install this patch. Uninstall the default programs. Don’t even think about using Microsoft edge, you need Firefox. No, Chrome. Now install this plugin so Chrome can work properly.” I’m not throwing shade at you, just these Microsoft goblins. If I uninstalled my antivirus I bet it wouldn’t speed my laptop up one iota. |
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I don't have any of those issues. I use whatever browser I want. It's pretty easy, to me. That laptop I am using right now is almost 3.5 years old..... I use it every day and nothing has changed or slowed down. I keep browser extensions to a minimum. Everything you add on, is overhead. Enough ram for the OS and apps you use, a semi-decent CPU, and (most important) the storage must be SSD. All my laptops over the past 12 years, this was all true. And we are still using them. |
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I'm afraid that going from windows to mac is akin to jumping from the pan into the fire. Have you considered some linux distro? I'm considering that when my current desktop (win 10), laptop (win 7) and tablet (win 8.1) finally hit the deck. My experience using an android tablet and phone isn't bad, hence I'm considering it. My experience with an iphone sometime ago was really bad. |
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Originally Posted By Rossi: I'm afraid that going from windows to mac is akin to jumping from the pan into the fire. Have you considered some linux distro? I'm considering that when my current desktop (win 10), laptop (win 7) and tablet (win 8.1) finally hit the deck. My experience using an android tablet and phone isn't bad, hence I'm considering it. My experience with an iphone sometime ago was really bad. I hadn’t, but maybe I’ll look into it. I’ve had iPhones and iPads for a long time now with no problems, and that’s partly why I’m considering a Mac laptop. My current laptop is Windows 10 as well and that system message that attempted to guilt-trip/scare/gaslight you into the 11 upgrade was just absurd. Also, fuck Bill Gates. He needs a pie to the face in public again. |
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Seems like you might not be looking for solutions.... you just seem to want to rant. 5 year old laptop, using an 11 year old OS, probably under spec and non-SSD, wonders why they are slow? You have unrealistic expectations for anything you get. Macs generally will run longer..... but they are higher end hardware and cost 2x to 3x. Good luck. |
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You’re basically paying a significant premium for a machine that may last somewhat longer, but I wouldn’t necessarily call it a clear upgrade. Just depends on what you value most. I’ve got Windows machines that are 10+ years old and still running perfectly fine. In my experience, longevity usually comes down more to maintenance and how the system is used than the OS itself. If you really dislike Windows, Linux is honestly worth considering. That said, if reinstalling Windows feels like too much of a hassle (it’s pretty straightforward these days), Linux may end up being frustrating too since it generally requires a bit more hands-on involvement. Macs can absolutely be a good fit, especially if you’re already invested in the iPhone/iPad ecosystem. The integration is excellent. You do tend to pay a premium for the hardware, though, and from a pure specs-for-dollar standpoint they’re not the best value. |
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The hardware quality and superb battery life over the course of ownership makes them a no brainer. I ditched Windows in 2011 and literally laugh at the thought of going back. Didn’t matter what laptop brand I bought. Some major component would inevitably fail within years 1-3, leaving me screwed at the worst possible time. Then, there’s the security aspect. I worked for a Fortune 500 company that sold enterprise level security software and device management solutions. If it weren’t for Windows PCs, that entire business arm wouldn’t have existed! I already knew before clicking this thread that it would be full of Windows/Linux fanboys telling OP how dumb he is for considering such a move. If you can afford a Mac, and if you don’t rely on a Windows-only application for your livelihood, I think you’d be crazy to continue putting up with Microsoft products in 2026. |
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Originally Posted By sdwornicki: What has kept me from getting a Mac before though is file comparability. I have a huge amount of stuff from the military, and other Windows files, I want to be able to maintain usage and access to. Word docs, pdfs, PowerPoints, deployment photos and videos. 2 main questions - I have several external hard drives full of stuff that was created and on Windows computers and programs. Do new, current Macs have the ability to open, view, edit, etc that stuff? And 2, do the new Macs fare any better over the medium term of single-digit number of years without slowing down to dial-up speeds to do anything? Thanks for reading my rant and if anyone has made this jump, let me know how it went. MS Office for Mac should open all standard Office file types. I haven't had any trouble but my experience is limited to Word, PPoint, and simple Excel sheets. Pdfs should be fine, as should standard photo and video file types. I can't promise that a mac will open EVERY file created on a PC, I have no idea about military stuff. If you go this route, some things to think about. Upgradeability is limited to nonexistent unless something has changed very recently. You pick the amount of RAM and the size of your storage drive when you buy and that's what you live with. And upgrades from the default configuration are very expensive (the "Apple tax"). That being said when I was in the market for a new laptop, when you load up a higher end Windows laptop they get expensive too. Also, MacOS is not Windows. File creation, navigation, folder organization, etc are slightly different. You will need to learn how to do things the Mac way. |
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Originally Posted By CPshooter1: If you can afford a Mac, and if you don’t rely on a Windows-only application for your livelihood, I think you’d be crazy to continue putting up with Microsoft products in 2026. Precisely. I ordered a hot shit Dell machine that was delivered DOA. After living on the phone with Dell all the next day, I told them to come get the thing and went out and bought a Mac. So much easier, so much less chicken shit. On the few occasions I am forced to use a Windows machine now it is almost physically painful. You should switch. You won’t regret it. |
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I have been building my own desktops for 30 years. And have had a slew of work supplied laptops. Here is what I have found: 1. Programs like Avast will drag your system down. Run Windows 11 and use their built in Defender as previously stated. 2. Periodically use something like CC Defender to clean up cookies and tracking - but remember a deep clean can wipe some of your saved info for websites. 3. Your laptop needs at least 16G of ram. I run 64G on my desktop and 16G on my work laptop. 4. Any laptop is a compromise compared to a desktop as far as speed and performance. 5. We are currently issued Dells. They are all supposed to be identical so IT and install shit that slows them down. They are not all the same. 6. I use Revo uninstaller on my work and personal computers. I find it does a decent job of really cleaning out crap. 7. MacBooks - I think they better built that most Windows based laptops. My wife has one that is around 8 years old. It has the screws on the bottom that allows me access. I have replaced the hard drive with a SSD drive and added memory. Apple replaced the battery a few years ago. Dang thing keeps on running. New MacBooks are sealed - so you need to spec out memory and drive size before buying. Good luck with your decision. |
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Originally Posted By FALARAK: Avast is a huge mistake. You don't need anti-malware - haven't for nearly a decade. That's bloatware that slows everything down. The majority of the laptops running in my household are 6-10 years old. ALL run windows 11. As long as they have enough ram, and a SSD for the storage, they are still plenty fast, or at least as fast as they were the day windows 11 was installed. I don't run garbage antivirus though, Windows 11 comes with defender and I haven't needed anything else. This. Apple quietly removed their claim.of no viruses and malware from their website a few years back. I loled. They are now just barley big enough to be a target. Plenty of malware for apple out there. At work we run AV software which I'm sure is no better for the system than avast or the virus of Norton. On Windows just run defender. Linux needs and runs nothing. Copy.fail is patched. Don't worry about it. Your IT guys are full of shit about yearly reinstalls too. If it's a testing system or someone installs every toolbar known the man, sure. The rest of us? Na. My desktop is a beast and about 2 years old now. My primary CAD and gaming box. Win 11. It's fine. Just as snappy as the day I built it. It still boots faster than the monitor can boot. My laptop is some 6-7 years old. It's fine. Run Zorin Linux now with Win 10 in a VM. Never had to reinstall windows before I went to Linux. Ran fine. Just don't like the BS apple and M$ pull so I have gone away from them every chance I can. My wife has an older Intel macbook. It's a POS. Can't even reliably get it to connect to her iPod or iPhone. Usually it sends the iPhone into a "trust this device?" Death spiral. Most, if not all, of the software she needs daily won't run on macos. I built her a mild little desktop with an i5 and a 1650super running Zorin. It's way quicker than expected. She uses it for work and loves it. Hates the POS dell homeowner grade laptop work have her to use. My work almost exclusively uses Mac. It's honestly a shitshow. If you want to do really anything technical, good luck. The one on my desk is a POS. Some studio thing they paid way too much for. The USB ports are flaky, the software is flaky, it can't even switch desktops without stuttering and 2FPS. Even little issues like if a USB drive is plugged in before the user logs in it will NOT acknowledge it. Apple Mail is broken and cannot export an email account in a way anything else can read it so we've lost a LOT of important emails with people trying to go to other things like thunderbird after outlook support ended. Dammed thing does weird shit with updates too. Just basically crashes out than takes 5-10 minutes to boot which is how I know it updated over the night when I come in in the morning. We also lost most of the software we needed that was Mac compatible when apple yet again screwed everyone with an architecture change going to ARM. If you want to burn the cash, grab a Framework laptop and toss Mint or Zorin on it. That is literally what I've been doing. It's keeping the production plant running. Hell, my backup laptop is a Malibal P150hm1. It's 15 years old and runs fine. Second gen i4, 12GB RAM and a GTX560! Buying quality gear helps. |
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Originally Posted By FALARAK: https://i.postimg.cc/CL6p4Rx0/screenshot-1646.jpg 
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"The trouble with our liberal friends is not that they're ignorant, it's just that they know so much that isn't so."
--RWR, 1964
Bigger than France.
"The trouble with our liberal friends is not that they're ignorant, it's just that they know so much that isn't so."
--RWR, 1964
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Windows is fine. A lot of people fuck it up over time and then blame Windows for user error. - Don't use a third party AV - Don't install programs to "clean" Windows - Use a very clean / low overhead ad blocker like uBlock Origin (uBO Lite for Chrome) in whatever browser you use - Keep it up to date and look over your update options - Re-installing Windows is not that hard but if you can't do that don't mess around with Linux - Don't go to sketchy websites, don't try to download free stuff - Don't over fill your storage. A lot of people buy cheap low capacity laptops, fill them up over 90%, and then wonder why their PC runs like shit As far as MacBooks and MacOS it has it's own quirks. I used it for many years and I am back on Windows. My philosophy is the OS should get out of the way and provide the basic platform for what you need a computer to do. The basics like a web browser or office quite are largely the same. Where Macs work great on the consumer side is if you buy into the Apple ecosystem the way different products work together is really smooth, and unmatched by other platforms. If you use an iPhone already it's a pretty seamless integration to a Mac. I do think MacBooks are still the gold standard for laptops, and I'd use one in a heartbeat if I needed a laptop regularly. Windows laptops of similar quality are every bit as expensive, and most of them now have soldered RAM and storage themselves. If you do decide to go with a Mac I would go to YouTube and find some recent videos on the basics like keyboard shortcuts, how to navigate Finder and the other basic built in apps, and how to do things like configure the dock and trackpad. Oh and not all IT people are really that good about consumer stuff. They are used to and trained on corporate managed devices. Windows is still largely preferred in that world because it's way easier to manage, and they can flash a fresh Windows image to a troublesome PC pretty easily. Windows is easier to lock down so users have a harder time F'ing around in the OS 
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Originally Posted By Rebel31: Windows is easier to lock down so users have a harder time F'ing around in the OS My mother nor my children are admins on their own laptops. They cannot install software or do anything that requires administrative access. Their laptops stay perfectly clean because of this. |
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Some stuff from Apple on moving from Windows to Mac, keyboard shortcuts, etc. https://support.apple.com/en-us/102323 https://support.apple.com/guide/mac-help/whats-it-called-on-my-mac-cpmh0038/mac For those who want to switch to Mac and don't want to pay $1100 for a new MacBook Air, you might look at the Neo, which is $700 for the model with more storage and Touch ID (yes, you want Touch ID). It runs on an iPhone chip, but for people who do email, YouTube, online banking, or stuff like Google Docs in a browser, this is apparently a game changer. I bought my goddaughter one for her 21st birthday (she asked for pink) in June and I ordered it in April to have it in time, since some people are reporting at least several weeks lead time. If you already have an iPhone, it's a no-brainer to move to Mac. |
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I'm an IT professional with over 25 years experience in the data center with windows/linux, and I honestly call BS on the idea that people constantly "need" to reinstall their OS. Most of the time, it comes down to lack of experience, poor maintenance, or downloading sketchy stuff. I've been running Windows 11 since launch and haven't reinstalled it once. It's still purring like a kitten. My setup: Intel 14900K, 64GB RAM, five 2TB NVMe drives, and a 5060 Ti GPU and the whole build only cost me around $1.1K total. Honestly, if you're still running on spinning drives, switching to an SSD will make a massive difference alone. Your boot times and overall responsiveness will improve immediately. I don't run any antivirus besides what Microsoft already provides. My secret? I simply avoid clicking giant glowing buttons that scream "DOWNLOAD NOW!!!" Side note: I'm also running a 20-year-old Dell in the garage with Linux, 16GB RAM, and an SSD and that thing still refuses to die. 2nd Site Note: My wife is the OSX (Apple/MAC) Expert ...she does her thing and I don't even help her ...unless she really botched it up. |
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I came up through the engineering ranks (Win- and Unix-dominated) and use only Macs now. You can buy an upper mid range Mac now and it will be good for 10-15 years. I sold both my laptop and desktop decade+ old Macs two years ago to move to Apple silicon. Both were running fine, just getting a little behind for some of the higher end stuff that I do. I originally made the switch because a good friend is a prominent IT security guy (appears as a talking head on MSM when there are big breeches, has written two books) told me years ago "You're a target (I was an exec for a public company) and you need to move all your personal stuff to the highest security platform - the iOS". Years later, two weeks after I stepped into a new exec job, my new company was hit by a ransomware attack. In a mixed environment, every single Windows machine and the linux servers got taken out, but not a single Mac was affected. I was predisposed toward it from having used them in grad school. We had 8 PCs, three unix machines, and 6 Macs in our lab. Each Unix and Win machine had a dedicated system manager (who was also a FT engineering grad student), but all 6 Macs were easily managed by one guy. Just ignore all the wireheads here and do it OP, you will never regret it. The seamless integration with the iPhone is also a huge bonus. |
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Originally Posted By Rossi: I'm afraid that going from windows to mac is akin to jumping from the pan into the fire. Have you considered some linux distro? I'm considering that when my current desktop (win 10), laptop (win 7) and tablet (win 8.1) finally hit the deck. My experience using an android tablet and phone isn't bad, hence I'm considering it. My experience with an iphone sometime ago was really bad. Ahh yes, jump into the linux quagmire. People want stuff that works. That you don't have to go to a command line to do simple tasks. Just get a Mac OP. Buy once cry once. You can get a Mac Neo for $600 or spend a few hundred more and get WAY more machine for $1000 with an M4 or M5 chip. Those will easily last you 10 years. People still rock Intel based Macbook pros and those haven't been in production for 7 years. |
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I grew up in a dos environment, then windows, windows 95, etc. About 15 years ago I bought a nice imac, and a MacBook pro. For the most part they were awesome. They upgraded to the latest version of Mac os when necessary. The MacBook pro eventually failed - something on the motherboard fried itself. It was old enough to be not worth the cost to repair. The imac still works fine - but its no longer compatible with the current mac os and can no longer be updated. So I get continual warnings about software being out of date - Microsoft office for mac won't update etc. So I don't use it anymore. Wouldn't mind another MacBook, but I really don't need it. I need a browser, email, Microsoft word and excel, and a windows based computer to run some shoot management software. We eventually bought an i7 based hp laptop for windows 11 compatibility. Its OK. Im not interested in trying to learn Linux. I can't imagine trying to teach my in-laws how to use Linux or windows or mac os. They can't figure out how to listen to messages and clear them on their phones. |
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Originally Posted By BooJangles: Ahh yes, jump into the linux quagmire. People want stuff that works. That you don't have to go to a command line to do simple tasks. Just get a Mac OP. Buy once cry once. You can get a Mac Neo for $600 or spend a few hundred more and get WAY more machine for $1000 with an M4 or M5 chip. Those will easily last you 10 years. People still rock Intel based Macbook pros and those haven't been in production for 7 years. This isn't 2003. Mainstream distros don't require users to open a terminal prompt for everyday things. |
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Originally Posted By Moondog: This isn't 2003. Mainstream distros don't require users to open a terminal prompt for everyday things. That may be true, but lately AI hack farms are really exposing the FOSS house of cards for what it is. I would be hesitant to go all-in on Linux until they get a handle on the amount of kernel-level CVEs that are actively being discovered and exploited. |
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All three operating systems have their positives and negatives. I run all three and prefer MacOS over Windows 11 and Linux. One of the problems with Linux is that there are so many different distributions and each major one has different ways to install programs. And even though Linux has gotten better, you still have to run command line for certain things. I ditched Windows years ago when I Microsoft forced me to upgrade from Windows 7 to Windows 8.1. The only reason that I have a W11 computer now is that some programs that I need from amateur radio and model trains will only run on Windows. And I don't care for running virtual machines or dual booting. My Dell OptiPlex 7010 was a memory hog and ran slow even with 64 GB of RAM until I de-bloated Windows. All of the AI and telemetry stuff absolutely will slow your W 11 computer down. I only use Windows Defender. Yes most third party antivirus programs are junk and ill slow even the best/fastest computers down. One of the biggest memory hogs is the update feature that allows your computer to download or share updates with other computers. Turning this off will definitely reduce RAM usage. For the OP, it sounds like a Mac will suit him fine, especially since he already has an iPhone and an iPad. I currently have a M4 Mac mini, MacBook Neo, M3 iPad Air and iPhone 17. They all work great together and I haven't had any issues The MacBook Neo is fine for casual daily uses such as surfing the web, watching videos, and checking email. If you do a lot of photo/video editing or programming then step up to the MacBook Air. I do have a background in IT and I have had to administrate Linux, Mac and Windows systems. Windows wins for the wide availability of software. Mac and Linux are more secure and more stable. Mac is just as good as Windows for the casual user. Linux is getting better but has a ways to go yet to become truly mainstream. |
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Originally Posted By Moondog: This isn't 2003. Mainstream distros don't require users to open a terminal prompt for everyday things. Oh contrare. I’m running Cachy Linux on a laptop and couldn’t get it to update Brave browser without going to terminal to update. It’s not a hard task, but it’s not just a simple as clicking upgrade. Trust me, I’d rather use Linux over windows, but Mac is where it’s at. As a windows user and someone paid to support it going back to 3.11, it is hot garbage now. Linux would have a chance of people stopped forking it and making new versions instead of pooling resources and making one kick ass build. |
| I'm a Director of IT at a NE FL corporation. Your IT guys are full of shit. Mac's are over-priced, under powered computers, for technophobes. If you buy the cheapest laptop it will be under-speced and will become obsolete fast. You get what you pay for. It sounds like you made poor decisions and are going to continue making poor decisions... |
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Originally Posted By thejokker: I'm a Director of IT at a NE FL corporation. Your IT guys are full of shit. Mac's are over-priced, under powered computers, for technophobes. If you buy the cheapest laptop it will be under-speced and will become obsolete fast. You get what you pay for. It sounds like you made poor decisions and are going to continue making poor decisions... I manage IT infrastructure for a Fortune 500 both on-premises in our own data centers as well as over 700 EKS clusters. My job is infinitely more enjoyable (as much as I hate it) on my work Mac. I listen to my team bitch all the time about their Windows machines. You can have my Macs when you pry them from my cold, dead hands. |
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Originally Posted By JaxShooter: In 2012 I was on a trip when my personal Windows laptop decided to shit the bed. It'd been nothing but trouble. I went to Best Buy and bought a Macbook. I haven't looked back. That same laptop lasted me until I decided to upgrade to a 16" laptop a few years ago and I'm writing this on a M3 which I love. I manage IT infrastructure for a Fortune 500 both on-premises in our own data centers as well as over 700 EKS clusters. My job is infinitely more enjoyable (as much as I hate it) on my work Mac. I listen to my team bitch all the time about their Windows machines. You can have my Macs when you pry them from my cold, dead hands. Originally Posted By JaxShooter: Originally Posted By thejokker: I'm a Director of IT at a NE FL corporation. Your IT guys are full of shit. Mac's are over-priced, under powered computers, for technophobes. If you buy the cheapest laptop it will be under-speced and will become obsolete fast. You get what you pay for. It sounds like you made poor decisions and are going to continue making poor decisions... I manage IT infrastructure for a Fortune 500 both on-premises in our own data centers as well as over 700 EKS clusters. My job is infinitely more enjoyable (as much as I hate it) on my work Mac. I listen to my team bitch all the time about their Windows machines. You can have my Macs when you pry them from my cold, dead hands. I have no idea how someone could call MacBooks under powered. When they were on Intel they used the same exact chips that went into Windows laptops. There wasn't some special Apple only series of Intel chips that were shitty SKU's. One of the biggest themes with Apple Silicon is really good performance while being more energy efficient which ARM based chips generally are. The higher end scaled up versions are strong performers in typical desktop productivity workloads. I think someone could buy a MBA/MBP right now, and expect a solid 10 years out it provided they treat it well. And 10 years from now it's obviously not going to run new OS's and apps as well as it does now but it will still be functional. I bought an Intel MBP in 2018 that I used for several years. My oldest two kids got it and used it for several years. My youngest kid now has it, and it runs fine. It was a base model 13" and has the dreaded butterfly keyboard. Even with two sets of kids using it only one key is a bit iffy. |
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I'm not going to contradict any of the opinions in this thread, but I'll just add my $0.02 from the POV of a Windows admin/user for decades, and my recent (2 years ago) jump into Mac world. For me it was pretty easy because as I started as a Windows admin in the 90s, and then transitioned into more Linux admin/engineering over the late 90s and 00's and 10's... I ended up just using more CLI professionally than anything with a GUI, and Windows just became a Powershell or other scripting box pretty much. Professionally, that made going to mac SUPER easy because of the CLI under the hood and the extensibility it gives. Personally, I hesitated just because - I'll admit it, Steam and games. That's it. That's the ONLY thing in my normal use of a machine at home that I had a question about on Mac. Software wise. Beyond that everything else I do... everything 95% of users do, day to day, is reliable and offered on the Mac platform. Hardware wise again, I'll caveat this as me being a Web/CLI guy 80% of my time on a keyboard, there was no hesitation. My new Macbook air outperforms my custom Windows 11 gaming rig in fact. And in the case of gaming, I honestly haven't hit anything that I play, that the Macbook hasn't been able to give me an acceptable experience on (Ready Or Not, NoMan's Sky, LEGO SW, GTAV, Ace Combat, Noita). The hardware is working great. It's quiet, fast, and feels sturdier than most other laptops I've ever had. I'm 1000% more paranoid about marking up the finish, not about the guts having any issues... which is stressful in other ways :) ... and in the end, I can always spin up a VM and run windows or Linux if I need something very specific for some testing case or something. But even though I can, I think I have... once, just to prove it worked. Never had to actually do it. |
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Originally Posted By Rossi: I'm afraid that going from windows to mac is akin to jumping from the pan into the fire. Have you considered some linux distro? I'm considering that when my current desktop (win 10), laptop (win 7) and tablet (win 8.1) finally hit the deck. My experience using an android tablet and phone isn't bad, hence I'm considering it. My experience with an iphone sometime ago was really bad. Linux? Anyone who would recommend that over Mac is either a zealot or badly uninformed. There are two desktop operating systems that are in normal consumer use. "Linux" isn't one of them. Linux is a shit copy of Unix, macOS is Unix. Also Android also isn't Linux in any meaningful fashion. It has almost nothing in common with a desktop OS. |
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Originally Posted By thejokker: I'm a Director of IT at a NE FL corporation. Your IT guys are full of shit. Mac's are over-priced, under powered computers, for technophobes. If you buy the cheapest laptop it will be under-speced and will become obsolete fast. You get what you pay for. It sounds like you made poor decisions and are going to continue making poor decisions... LOL |
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You sound like the guy who never changes his oil or does a tune-up and gets upset when the car breaks down. Also your IT guys are idiots. If you cannot do simple maintenance on your computer it is unlikely you will like Linux which requires a little more computer knowledge than a windows user. For years I have described Mac's as pretty shiny over-priced under-powered computers for technophobes. Bear in mind that Mac's are in the minority of computers. This is why it is less attacked by viruses because bad people want to create mass destruction and there just isn't enough Macs for that. Also you might discover there are a lot more Windows repair shop options than Mac repair shops if you need to get it fixed. Your option will be an Apple store and probably higher prices. Don't misunderstand what I am going to say. A person who is "computer stupid" isn't necessarily stupid. Just computer stupid. Mac's are for people who are computer stupid and don't want to change. |
byte-me
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2019 wants its meme back... |
Scepticism is an exercise, not a life; it is a discipline fit to purify the mind of prejudice and render it all the more apt, when the time comes, to believe and to act wisely. -- George Santayana
Never mistake a clear view for a short distance.
Never mistake a clear view for a short distance.
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You didn't get a very good car OR PC for that money. |
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Originally Posted By thejokker: Mac's are for people who are computer stupid and don't want to change. Originally Posted By thejokker: Mac's are for people who are computer stupid and don't want to change. Strong contender for one of the dumbest things I have read this year. Originally Posted By thejokker: I'm a Director of IT at a NE FL corporation. Your IT guys are full of shit. Mac's are over-priced, under powered computers, for technophobes. If you buy the cheapest laptop it will be under-speced and will become obsolete fast. You get what you pay for. It sounds like you made poor decisions and are going to continue making poor decisions... In bold actually is the dumbest thing I have read this year.  Oh, and I am the VP of IS at a mid sized corp. I have 35 years of experience in assembler, C, C++, Lisp, Scheme, Java, Python, C#, and Go (in approximate timeline order). Microcontrollers, PCB design. RSX-11 on a PDP-11, Early DOS, Windows 3, Novell, Linux, BSD, SunOS, NT, XP, etc. I went to Macs for my primary dev machines 10 years ago and will never go back to Windows. |
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Originally Posted By IPv6: Strong contender for one of the dumbest things I have read this year. In bold actually is the dumbest thing I have read this year. Oh, and I am the VP of IS at a mid sized corp. I have 35 years of experience in assembler, C, C++, Lisp, Scheme, Java, Python, C#, and Go (in approximate timeline order). Microcontrollers, PCB design. RSX-11 on a PDP-11, Early DOS, Windows 3, Novell, Linux, BSD, SunOS, NT, XP, etc. I went to Macs for my primary dev machines 10 years ago and will never go back to Windows. Most "Macs suck" posts are the equivalent of "M16s suck gibs M14" posts. |
Scepticism is an exercise, not a life; it is a discipline fit to purify the mind of prejudice and render it all the more apt, when the time comes, to believe and to act wisely. -- George Santayana
Never mistake a clear view for a short distance.
Never mistake a clear view for a short distance.
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Originally Posted By thejokker: You sound like the guy who never changes his oil or does a tune-up and gets upset when the car breaks down. Also your IT guys are idiots. If you cannot do simple maintenance on your computer it is unlikely you will like Linux which requires a little more computer knowledge than a windows user. For years I have described Mac's as pretty shiny over-priced under-powered computers for technophobes. Bear in mind that Mac's are in the minority of computers. This is why it is less attacked by viruses because bad people want to create mass destruction and there just isn't enough Macs for that. Also you might discover there are a lot more Windows repair shop options than Mac repair shops if you need to get it fixed. Your option will be an Apple store and probably higher prices. Don't misunderstand what I am going to say. A person who is "computer stupid" isn't necessarily stupid. Just computer stupid. Mac's are for people who are computer stupid and don't want to change. You really have no idea what you're talking about. Everywhere I have ever worked where people have a choice, everybody uses Macs. But I guess we're all "computer stupid" as we build some of the most amazing robotics and C2 systems that have ever been built. |
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Originally Posted By IPv6: Strong contender for one of the dumbest things I have read this year. In bold actually is the dumbest thing I have read this year. Oh, and I am the VP of IS at a mid sized corp. I have 35 years of experience in assembler, C, C++, Lisp, Scheme, Java, Python, C#, and Go (in approximate timeline order). Microcontrollers, PCB design. RSX-11 on a PDP-11, Early DOS, Windows 3, Novell, Linux, BSD, SunOS, NT, XP, etc. I went to Macs for my primary dev machines 10 years ago and will never go back to Windows. Originally Posted By IPv6: Originally Posted By thejokker: Mac's are for people who are computer stupid and don't want to change. Strong contender for one of the dumbest things I have read this year. Originally Posted By thejokker: I'm a Director of IT at a NE FL corporation. Your IT guys are full of shit. Mac's are over-priced, under powered computers, for technophobes. If you buy the cheapest laptop it will be under-speced and will become obsolete fast. You get what you pay for. It sounds like you made poor decisions and are going to continue making poor decisions... In bold actually is the dumbest thing I have read this year. Oh, and I am the VP of IS at a mid sized corp. I have 35 years of experience in assembler, C, C++, Lisp, Scheme, Java, Python, C#, and Go (in approximate timeline order). Microcontrollers, PCB design. RSX-11 on a PDP-11, Early DOS, Windows 3, Novell, Linux, BSD, SunOS, NT, XP, etc. I went to Macs for my primary dev machines 10 years ago and will never go back to Windows. The M-series chips set the standard for computing (which Qualcomm and others are now trying to emulate). Calling Macs "underpowered" is the most ridiculous thing I've seen written on this site in a while. |
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Yeah Mac's are definitely under powered 🤔Here are my Geekbench 6 results and the top three for single core scores are my M4 Mac mini, A18 Pro MacBook Neo and M3 iPad Air. My Minisforum MITX MB with the AMD Ryzen 9 8945HX comes in 4th for single core. The Minisforum beats the M4 Mac mini on multi core by only 864 points. Attached File |
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Originally Posted By chumpmiester: Yeah Mac's are definitely under powered 🤔Here are my Geekbench 6 results and the top three for single core scores are my M4 Mac mini, A18 Pro MacBook Neo and M3 iPad Air. My Minisforum MITX MB with the AMD Ryzen 9 8945HX comes in 4th for single core. The Minisforum beats the M4 Mac mini on multi core by only 864 points. https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/101824/Screenshot_2026-08-02_at_12_42_32_png-3804970.JPG |
byte-me
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Originally Posted By thejokker: The thing is I actually know something about computers and none of the top PC's are listed in your graph. In general you are going to be paying more for a Mac that is less powerful than a PC. Originally Posted By thejokker: Originally Posted By chumpmiester: Yeah Mac's are definitely under powered 🤔Here are my Geekbench 6 results and the top three for single core scores are my M4 Mac mini, A18 Pro MacBook Neo and M3 iPad Air. My Minisforum MITX MB with the AMD Ryzen 9 8945HX comes in 4th for single core. The Minisforum beats the M4 Mac mini on multi core by only 864 points. https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/101824/Screenshot_2026-08-02_at_12_42_32_png-3804970.JPG You don't know anything about computers. It's shocking how little you know for the job you pretend to hold. |