Which Operating System

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.

I hear you. I find it interesting that Apple isn't asking me to download High Sierra on my 2012 iMac yet, especially since I already have Sierra. Of course, my traditional 1TB hard drive may be the reason. I've read one's files don't convert unless you have an SSD. I'd like to know what you decide about Linux. I think light Ubuntu is a good way to get a couple more years out of aging, slower hardware.
 
For fellow Mac users, there is a long-running and quite useful website called "Low End Mac" - Low End Mac - which is (and has been for some time) dedicated to the proposition that some older Macs (we're talking hardware, here), running various older Mac OS's (software) ... are in fact as good as if not better than some of the more recent iterations or improvements which Apple has wrought upon its users. As a professional writer, I'm obligated to occasionally upgrade both software (writing Apps that I use and depend on) and, occasionally, hardware as well - but in terms of OS, I rarely (if ever) have compelling reasons to upgrade to the latest OS versions. On my multiple desktop and portable Mac's, I'm running an older Mac OS (El Capitan) which in many geeky ways is, for me at least, significantly better than some of the more recent Apple 'upgrades'. Hardware-wise, my desktop sports an incredibly beautiful (and ancient, dinosaur-like) old-school Apple Cinema Display (the kind with the polycarbonate-plastic frames) which believe it or not were discontinued in 2004 - and which is still, to my geeky perspective, a work of art. But, yeah, different strokes for different folks. My gorgeous, ancient monitor is technically too slow for high-speed video editing - which I don't do anyway - but more than fast enough for streaming, video playback, etc.
 
But I actually started with both DOS and Windows... most of the 1990s and a year or two in the oughts.
Oh, yes. The days of fidgeting with interrupts and port addresses, and installing printer drivers not just for the OS, but for every program that had to print. And let's not forget autoexec.bat and config.sys files. It was fun at times, and maddening at other times.
 
The difference between Mac and Windows used to be a yawning chasm back in the 90s. These days they much closer; MacOS has become more complicated and Windows has become simpler.

If anyone is considering Windows, I highly recommend a "Signature Edition" from the Microsoft Store because it's a version free of manufacturer bloatware that takes up hard drive space and slows down the computer with excessive background tasks.
 
?...but in terms of OS, I rarely (if ever) have compelling reasons to upgrade to the latest OS versions.

Miguel, what do do you do in terms of security updates? Perhaps you're still getting them for El Capitan. Apple continues to support older OS's for a while (two years?) but not forever. In terms of its mobile systems, once a new version of iOS is out, you're out of luck with any older editions in terms of support or security patches.
 
I could live with this, I think.

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yeah, Linux can work fine. I've run several distros over the years. (Oh, the sheer nerdy joy of partitioning disks and recompiling the Linux kernel. Happy days. Pointless but happy.) I find Mint to be particularly nice from the current crop. From bitter experience I can caution that it is all to easy to complete b*gger up a Linux system if you try to do something in config files. Mind you, I also had to reinstall Windows 2008 after a total brain fade on the admin password, so perhaps that's just me :)
 
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Yes, it does. There's Google versions of Docs, Sheets and a number of ways to handle a PDF. There's also Android versions of Word, Excel, etc and Open Office. I wrote my book in Google Docs then transferred it into Word for print preparation.
 
Miguel, what do do you do in terms of security updates? Perhaps you're still getting them for El Capitan. Apple continues to support older OS's for a while (two years?) but not forever. In terms of its mobile systems, once a new version of iOS is out, you're out of luck with any older editions in terms of support or security patches.

Apple still occasionally issues security updates for El Capitan, which I have downloaded as they become available. Overall, though, I don't have extraordinary security measures. My home wifi network is password protected and private, and I attempt quasi religiously to avoid 'suspect' websites.

The other thing that helps is doing regular maintenance tuneups of one's system and HD. Onyx, a brilliant shareware program, is quite wonderful at this; and DiskWarrior, which has been around for generations, is equally powerful, capable and simple to use.

I also frequently backup (since my writing is my livelihood) - to backup disks - and frequently I backup between my desktop (a Mac Mini + monitor) and my two laptops - which in turn get backed up. That makes a total of almost 6 copies of anything that's important to me (documents, I mean) - because I am slightly paranoid about losing important pieces of writing to computer or software glitches. Basically if something can break down, it will - that's the rule of thumb I live by - so I learned the hard way to back up stuff that matters to me.

But apart from the regular security updates, I don't do much. And my slightly out-of-date Mac OS runs beautifully, powerfully, quickly and generally efficiently.

Oh, yes, the one other thing which is almost mandatory - is to have a good 'computer mechanic'. I have a great auto mechanic for my cars - and a pretty damn good motorcycle mechanic for my scooter - and having a smart independent 'Mac mechanic' is basically a godsend, so to speak. We aren't all lucky enough to live in proximity to our computer mechanics - but if you have a good one close by, count your lucky stars.
 
I've been seriously considering downgrading my OS to El Cap, I think thats the last one I actually liked. I have Yosemite (or maybe its El Cap) on my Mac Mini, and Sierra on my Macbook... the Macbook does hesitate at times, and really, thats what needs a downgrade, I have an SSD and 8GB now installed, and it runs OK, just, but it just has not been as comfortable with Sierra as it was with the previous. I've been contemplating swapping the drives and putting the SSD into the Mini and the 500GB into the Macbook. A bit of madness there, better to just go SSD all round, methinks. As for Mac Mechanics, I am it!
 
yeah, Linux can work fine. I've run several distros over the years. (Oh, the sheer nerdy joy of partitioning disks and recompiling the Linux kernel. Happy days. Pointless but happy.)

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From bitter experience I can caution that it is all to easy to complete b*gger up a Linux system if you try to do something in config files.

LOL! I can say I have never recompiled a kernel, I have nerdy friends who used to do that just because they could. I figured that it was my time being wasted and could not be bothered. I started playing with Linux at REdhat5, then Mandrake 9 which was rather nice but still not primetime. A couple of years back I played with a beta of ElementaryOS and I think its still in beta because its been so dumbed down, you cant even get at decent apps. It was so promising and now its just crap. Mint is what Ubuntu was, once. Thats been wrecked with the Unity UI and I havent played with it since. If I could get back to KDE or Gnome, I'd probably continue to play.

Linux will be a real alternative for me, once my hardware wears out, or the OS no longer supports my apps of choice... all the usual things. Currently, I can do everything I need to, with what I have. When thats no longer the case, I'll make the switch.

But... here I am on my iPad Air 2, which is my main device of late. I actually could quite easily do without the laptop or the Mini (but not both, I still run a PLex server).

Oh well, its all moot, really, isnt it.
 
Any Chrome OS fans here?
I have wanted to play with it but cannot get it working in Parrells on my Mac :(

MacOS at home and work (will probably go Windows at work next update of computers) and maybe the same at home. Apple is just getting too expensive for basically underpowered hardware IMO. My other frustration is that as I have a MacBook Pro Mid-2014 it apparently has a proprietary or uncommon SSD drive arrangement which makes upgrading the SSD to a larger one much more expensive and limited in choice. That one act of .... by Apple has pretty much killed my desired to stay with them.

Phone, tablet and watch are all Android. I have no intention of ever going back to IOS.
 
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I'd be interested to see if anyone here is operating a Linux system and, if so, how they edit their images. For me this would seem to involve a combination of Darktable (or Raw Therapee) and Gimp. I'm thinking this would be a different and more basic approach than Windows/Mac but probably just as effective in terms of image output.
 
That is precisely what I'm doing. Ubuntu 16.04 LTS, RawTherapee, and GIMP. To get the best contrast, I usually adjust Levels in GIMP after running a RAW file through RT. Auto Levels rarely works to my satisfaction; it usually causes a distasteful color shift. However, it takes just a few seconds with the Levels slider to adjust the histogram to improve the contrast. The output from RT can often be rather flat, yet there are other times no tweaking is needed at all. I've never figured out the pattern, if there is one.
 
That is precisely what I'm doing. Ubuntu 16.04 LTS, RawTherapee, and GIMP. To get the best contrast, I usually adjust Levels in GIMP after running a RAW file through RT. Auto Levels rarely works to my satisfaction; it usually causes a distasteful color shift. However, it takes just a few seconds with the Levels slider to adjust the histogram to improve the contrast. The output from RT can often be rather flat, yet there are other times no tweaking is needed at all. I've never figured out the pattern, if there is one.
Thanks Tony.
 
That is precisely what I'm doing. Ubuntu 16.04 LTS, RawTherapee, and GIMP. To get the best contrast, I usually adjust Levels in GIMP after running a RAW file through RT. Auto Levels rarely works to my satisfaction; it usually causes a distasteful color shift. However, it takes just a few seconds with the Levels slider to adjust the histogram to improve the contrast. The output from RT can often be rather flat, yet there are other times no tweaking is needed at all. I've never figured out the pattern, if there is one.

Does RawTherapee do image management? I've been very used to using Photos/Aperture/Lightroom to manage images and other apps for editing. My last foray into Ubuntu saw me playing with Shotwell which I thought was rather neat.
 
DOS 7.1 (win98/Bootgui=0) for real work, Windows 7 and XP for hobby.

Getting DOS to run on a 512GByte SATA drive using FAT-32 was a trick. PharLap extenders gives DOS access to a full 4GBytes of physical memory. DOS screams on a 2.2GHz Core 2. No need to upgrade past that. Panasonic CF-52 has native USB support under DOS.
 
Does RawTherapee do image management? I've been very used to using Photos/Aperture/Lightroom to manage images and other apps for editing. My last foray into Ubuntu saw me playing with Shotwell which I thought was rather neat.
You can apply filters and labels to images to group them, but I've never used those functions. I don't know if it has the same level of use as LR in that regard.
 
For the Linux crew, what distro' is recommended these days for an "Easy as possible install on an older Windows system so I can wipe the drive and do something with the hardware?" :D I've been tasked with helping my sister clear out some Windows 7 systems that my BIL had built and, in the last few years before he passed, he never upgraded to Win10 or upgraded beyond the initial build. My thinking is to wipe the drives by installing a Linux distro and either selling the systems cheap or donating them to any friends/family who might be interested in them. I figure doing a Linux distro on them would allow me to avoid having to deal with Win licenses.

... and a little flashback for my fellow C= fans :D

cameraderie_c64.png
 
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