Which Operating System

After proclaiming my MacOS/iOS/WatchOS affection, I must say that I cant afford the hardware anymore. I just recently installed Linux Mint into Virtualbox on my Macbook (the 2010 model not the recent one) and I do like it. I liked Ubuntu, too, until Unity. I think I’ll be moving to that, once MacOS is out of reach or when what I want to do no longer works with current hardware. I’ll get a Windows laptop and replace Windows with Linux.
 
All this talk about Operating Systems has me thinking about how I use computers. My laptop has been living on borrowed time for a couple years. But all I ever really do is use the internet and email...and sometimes some spreadsheets for work. I think to save money, I may try a Chromebook this time around. I still have a PC I can use if I don't love it.
 
I could live with this, I think.

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Can I just interject to say a small cheer for the fact that for days we have been able to conduct a civilised and informative discussion about a topic that some regard as a matter of faith. I have seen similar threads in lesser forums spiral into insults and catcalls within half a dozen posts.

Bravo!
 
Can I just interject to say a small cheer for the fact that for days we have been able to conduct a civilised and informative discussion about a topic that some regard as a matter of faith. I have seen similar threads in lesser forums spiral into insults and catcalls within half a dozen posts.

Bravo!

Screw you! My choice of operating system makes me smarter and handsomer than you!
 
I've been all Apple for at least 15 years - not a fanboi, mind you. It's just that the ecosystem has worked well for me and I have enjoyed the relative security of Mac/iOS vs. Windows. I run an iMac desktop (2012 model that still works fine with its i7 chip), a 10.5-inch iPad Pro and an iPhone 6s.

Like others, I left Windows primarily because I found myself spending too much time and effort avoiding viruses and dealing with freezes and crashes (although Windows has gotten a lot better on this last point over the years).

I still use Windows at work because I have to. And I have tried to like some recent hardware from Microsoft. My wife had a Windows phone that she liked, so I picked up a Surface 2 tablet for her. It wasn't bad but we were both highly annoyed to find that it required constant charging because its battery would run flat within two days - even if you weren't using it. Fails like that are simply not an issue with, say, an iPad.

And, just so we don't leave out Android, my wife replaced her aging Windows phone with a Motorola G4 - unlocked and compatible with all GSM and CDMA carriers - for $139 at Best Buy. It runs a nice, clean, pure version of Android and offers weather resistance and a 5-inch screen. It's a great phone if you don't need the latest and greatest.

It was true in the 90s and oughts and is still true more or less today: If you like the build/tinker with your own PC - or you're working on a tight budget - go with Windows. If your devices tend to be tools and a means to an end - and you can afford to pay a bit more - go with Apple.

All this said, the price of Apple hardware is going up and I can see a point not too far down the road when it will be a problem for the company. Granted, there is still a very nice, basic 9.7-inch iPad for $329 and the iPhone SE and 6s, which are considerably less expensive than the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus - and the iPhone X, with its eye-watering $1000 price tag. There is some validity to criticisms that Apple is rapidly evolving into a lifestyle company.

But there are ways around problems. Luke mentioned that he essentially only requires his laptop to do Web browsing, email and spreadsheets. The new iPad Pros are about as powerful as proper laptops now. A 12.9-inch iPad Pro with 64gb of storage runs $699 (a 10.5-inch model is less). Add a folding keyboard/cover (I like Logitech's backlit one even better than Apple's own) and you've got a very nice laptop replacement that's smaller and lighter than a "real" laptop and costs hundreds of dollars less than any MacBook.

Of course, there are even less expensive Windows options. But I personally find most unsatisfying. If you simply prefer Windows and can deal roughly in the same price range as Apple, H-P offers some very nice desktop all-in-ones and convertible laptops.
 
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I had used Windows (XP) when I worked but bought a MacBook Pro a few years before I retired. The elegance and simplicity of Mac OS was a pleasant contrast to Windows systems and app agglomerations. Since retiring I have continued with the Apple ‘universe’ (computer, phone, tablet) and encourage anyone who asks to make the move to Apple. It might cost a bit more but the advantage is evident.
 
The new iPad Pros are about as powerful as proper laptops now. A 12.9-inch iPad Pro with 64gb of storage runs $699 (a 10.5-inch model is less).

$1199 in Australia, but that does include our GST. 64GB would never be enough, though, if I am replacing my current laptop and ipad Air2, so I'd be wanting 512GB and thats $1719. 10.5" is less, but a those prices... meh.

Apple is simply returning to its roots where it was a system only for the very rich, except back then, macs were made in the USA. Its getting right up my nose, especially since we know that everything gets built in China where it costs no more to make Apple gear than it does other brands.
 
I've been all Apple for at least 15 years - not a fanboi, mind you. It's just that the ecosystem has worked well for me and I have enjoyed the relative security of Mac/iOS vs. Windows. I run an iMac desktop (2012 model that still works fine with its i7 chip), a 10.5-inch iPad Pro and an iPhone 6s.

Like others, I left Windows primarily because I found myself spending too much time and effort avoiding viruses and dealing with freezes and crashes (although Windows has gotten a lot better on this last point over the years).

I still use Windows at work because I have to. And I have tried to like some recent hardware from Microsoft. My wife had a Windows phone that she liked, so I picked up a Surface 2 tablet for her. It wasn't bad but we were both highly annoyed to find that it required constant charging because its battery would run flat within two days - even if you weren't using it. Fails like that are simply not an issue with, say, an iPad.

And, just so we don't leave out Android, my wife replaced her aging Windows phone with a Motorola G4 - unlocked and compatible with all GSM and CDMA carriers - for $139 at Best Buy. It runs a nice, clean, pure version of Android and offers weather resistance and a 5-inch screen. It's a great phone if you don't need the latest and greatest.

It was true in the 90s and oughts and is still true more or less today: If you like the build/tinker with your own PC - or you're working on a tight budget - go with Windows. If your devices tend to be tools and a means to an end - and you can afford to pay a bit more - go with Apple.

All this said, the price of Apple hardware is going up and I can see a point not too far down the road when it will be a problem for the company. Granted, there is still a very nice, basic 9.7-inch iPad for $329 and the iPhone SE and 6s, which are considerably less expensive than the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus - and the iPhone X, with its eye-watering $1000 price tag. There is some validity to criticisms that Apple is rapidly evolving into a lifestyle company.

But there are ways around problems. Luke mentioned that he essentially only requires his laptop to do Web browsing, email and spreadsheets. The new iPad Pros are about as powerful as proper laptops now. A 12.9-inch iPad Pro with 64gb of storage runs $699 (a 10.5-inch model is less). Add a folding keyboard/cover (I like Logitech's backlit one even better than Apple's own) and you've got a very nice laptop replacement that's smaller and lighter than a "real" laptop and costs hundreds of dollars less than any MacBook.

Of course, there are even less expensive Windows options. But I personally find most unsatisfying. If you simply prefer Windows and can deal roughly in the same price range as Apple, H-P offers some very nice desktop all-in-ones and convertible laptops.


Yours is a prime example. Whatever operating software you begin in is the one you usually stick with
 
Yours is a prime example. Whatever operating software you begin in is the one you usually stick with

No necessarily. I started with Commodore and then switched to Windows when the Commodore company went belly-up because of gross mismanagement. I was a latecomer to Mac, though I had a Mac Plus in the early 90s, the 9" BW screen gave me terrible headaches so I sold it on to a university colleague, and stuck with Windows, switching only as I said in an earlier post, because I was fed up with the time spent on keeping myself safe from intruders. I really like the Apple system, but have been less pleased with it in recent iterations. I have no plans to update to High Sierra, which completely changes the file system and breaks many of my apps. Hence my looking at alternatives in the Linux family.
 
No necessarily. I started with Commodore and then switched to Windows when the Commodore company went belly-up because of gross mismanagement. I was a latecomer to Mac, though I had a Mac Plus in the early 90s, the 9" BW screen gave me terrible headaches so I sold it on to a university colleague, and stuck with Windows, switching only as I said in an earlier post, because I was fed up with the time spent on keeping myself safe from intruders. I really like the Apple system, but have been less pleased with it in recent iterations. I have no plans to update to High Sierra, which completely changes the file system and breaks many of my apps. Hence my looking at alternatives in the Linux family.
Almost 20 year user of Macs here but yes, I'd be very much interested to see what Linux is offering these days.
 
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