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Why I left Mac for Windows: Apple has given up

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521–530 of 790 posts

Re: Why I left Mac for Windows: Apple has given up

#521

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I can't agree here. Windows 8 was not usable as a web developer, for me. Windows 10 is something I don't mind using as my experimental box (I still use OSX for day-job tasks).

Windows 8 was worse than Windows 10 which is worse than 7. I should have specified-to me Windows 8 and 10 are both poor, both much worse than 7. To be honest, I had an EASIER time with Windows 8 (company provided laptop) than Windows 10. Windows 7 was the pinnacle windows experience for me and it has gotten worse ever since.

[deleted]

Re: Why I left Mac for Windows: Apple has given up

#522

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Buy a breakable USB cable? I've had MacBooks for 10 years, and I'm ecstatic to see MagSafe gone. Apple chargers have always been shit, and Apple laptops have never been compatible with off the shelf battery packs. Moving to USB-C and detachable, replaceable cables, is a huge step forward. Also, what PC alternative has a MagSafe equivalent?

People complain that Apple uses proprietary ports. They ditched MagSafe for USB-C and people still complained.

Apple could keep usb-c and MagSafe, but they didn't.

Re: Why I left Mac for Windows: Apple has given up

#523

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I too have become annoyed recently at really basic stuff not working in macOS, like I can't drag and drop a picture out of Photos app into Pixelmator to edit. In fact, dragging and dropping a picture out of Photos into any application is completely broken and doesn't work. Its as-if the Apple QA team no longer tests to make sure their applications play nice with each other in a way that has been fundamental to deskto…

> really basic stuff not working Try selecting text in a Windows dialog box, such as the "About" box. It doesn't work, it never did as far as I can tell.

Ctrl-c works though.

Re: Why I left Mac for Windows: Apple has given up

#524

Well, okay, Windows is getting bash support. But is it getting the rest of the Linux toolkit? Are we getting real symbolic links and named pipes?

WSL isn't "bash support," it's a full Ubuntu userland running on a Linux kernel syscall emulator sitting right on top of the NT kernel (so NOT touching the Win32 userland). There are bugs, but the idea is to continue to improve things so that anything you can apt get on a regular Ubuntu install, you can apt get on WSL.

Re: Why I left Mac for Windows: Apple has given up

#526

I used to be hardcore windows guy... Then 10 years ago I got a mac. I never went back.. But what am I saving money for right now? To build a nice PC again. Mostly because of the exact reasons in the article. I have a fondness for apple... but they have definitely lost their way. First, they were a computer company driven by a man who loved computers ("first" here is the Jobs return era) ... then they became a Compute…

> Then they became a phone company who also made computers and tablets.

You're describing the changing world we're living in. Apple is merely reflecting it.

Re: Why I left Mac for Windows: Apple has given up

#527
post #370

I used to be hardcore windows guy... Then 10 years ago I got a mac. I never went back.. But what am I saving money for right now? To build a nice PC again. Mostly because of the exact reasons in the article. I have a fondness for apple... but they have definitely lost their way. First, they were a computer company driven by a man who loved computers ("first" here is the Jobs return era) ... then they became a Compute…

Apple is a still computer company, because Phones ARE computers. For the majority of the population in developed countries, and almost all of the population of developing countries, smartphones are the only computer people have or need. I agree that Apple have shifted focus away from "making tools for people to create things and solve problems" towards consumption-oriented mobile devices. But those devices are still…

I live in developing countries. It's true that smartphones are the only computer people have or need, which is a problem.

Mobile devices are still consumption devices. It's hard to create complex, multi-layer structures on phones: the screen is too small, the processor is too underpowered... take your pick. But creating a good SaaS or a good UX on a phone is darn tough.

Here comes speculation:

Websites/services in developing countries are painfully bad.

This is due to a number of factors outside technology, but it's also true that universities here graduate people who never grew up with big screens and unwalled gardens, never grew up creating rather than consuming, and don't have a sense of what it's like to go from blank screen to working prototype to polished platform.

Neither do most people in developed countries.

But at least computers are widely available in developed countries so that the x% of kids who have an affinity for these things end up getting started early.

Someday mobile devices will match and surpass desktops and laptops. But that day is not today, and meanwhile developing countries are years behind not only in physical infrastructure, but in online infrastructure as well.

Re: Why I left Mac for Windows: Apple has given up

#528

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I too have become annoyed recently at really basic stuff not working in macOS, like I can't drag and drop a picture out of Photos app into Pixelmator to edit. In fact, dragging and dropping a picture out of Photos into any application is completely broken and doesn't work. Its as-if the Apple QA team no longer tests to make sure their applications play nice with each other in a way that has been fundamental to deskto…

Is dragging a photo to the Desktop and then into the app really a huge deal? Just curious, because that works fine for me.

Ah, that Apple mantra. It's not hard because it's hard, it's hard because you don't do it OUR WAY. Do it OUR WAY and everything is easy.

Re: Why I left Mac for Windows: Apple has given up

#529
post #370

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Apple is a still computer company, because Phones ARE computers. For the majority of the population in developed countries, and almost all of the population of developing countries, smartphones are the only computer people have or need. I agree that Apple have shifted focus away from "making tools for people to create things and solve problems" towards consumption-oriented mobile devices. But those devices are still…

> because Phones ARE computers. This is like saying trucks are cars, too. Different form factor for different purpose.

Yes, this, thank you. The "but it's a computer!" sophistry falls apart the moment you take one look at the user interface. The reason people are starting to get annoyed with Apple is their continued phone-ification of the desktop.

It. Doesn't. Work.

Re: Why I left Mac for Windows: Apple has given up

#530

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> If Apple devoted their focus to products in proportion to their revenue, then they would be putting 12x as much effort into the iPhone than they would for the entire Mac lineup. True. However, creators and developers (who, in my experience, almost always use a desktop) are important for the iOS platform. Someone has to write those native apps. Therefore it doesn't make sense to ignore them for too long.

Developers flock to the platform with more users. Which means Apple actually does need to focus on iOS to get more people to keep using mac. Those of us who are ios developers will keep bitching about it but have no alternative so will keep on using macs as long as their iOS ecosystem is doing great.

While this is generally true, it's a little more nuanced. For example: Android has a larger market share (by a lot globally), but apps are frequently developed for iOS first. Why? Because it's easier. Device fragmentation plays a large role in that, but part of the cost of the project is dealing with the development ecosystem (good or bad). As Apple makes the development less appealing (because of sub standard hardware / OSX) android will seem like a better option.
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