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Microsoft: more people are switching from Macs to Surface than ever before

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Re: Microsoft: more people are switching from Macs to Surface than ever before

#61

Post by H4CK3RM4N »

mi100hael wrote: post #26
artursapek wrote: post #16

I believe it. I just abandoned Apple after years of loyalty. I looked hard at Surfaces and after considering them for a while I decided they weren't ready to be my main dev machine, so I went with a Thinkpad. But Microsoft is doing great stuff with its hardware lately.

Same, I bailed for a Dell Precision this year, though I'm running Fedora, not Windows. Apple has steadily lost direction over the past 5 or so years and it shows. There's no way I'd buy a new laptop with nothing but USB-C, a headphone jack, and a million dongles.

But one TB3 port can run a dock with more ports than previous MacBooks.

Re: Microsoft: more people are switching from Macs to Surface than ever before

#62

Post by jetti »

vidarh wrote: post #23
jetti wrote: post #3

I just can't get behind either the Surface or Macbook Pro. I had a Macbook that my wife has taken over and I'm currently rockin' an Asus ultrabook that has a 15" screen. I love the bigger screens and 13" is just way to small for me. For the price of a Surface Book I could get a Dell/HP/Lenovo with a 15" screen, 32GB of memory and a large SSD.

15" is way too small for me. Basically it boils down to differences in usage patterns. For my part I have a 17" laptop that is almost exclusively for home office use, a 11" chromebook for meetings or light work away from home, and an 8" tablet for entertainment and the odd emergency ssh session (I can fix servers over ssh from my phone too, but it's not exactly a fun experience). The way I see it, there's no single f…

I'm curious as to why you don't just have a desktop for home office.

I wouldn't be able to use the 11" chromebook, especially coming from a 17" screen.

Re: Microsoft: more people are switching from Macs to Surface than ever before

#63

Post by H4CK3RM4N »

lmm wrote: post #10
jetti wrote: post #3

I just can't get behind either the Surface or Macbook Pro. I had a Macbook that my wife has taken over and I'm currently rockin' an Asus ultrabook that has a 15" screen. I love the bigger screens and 13" is just way to small for me. For the price of a Surface Book I could get a Dell/HP/Lenovo with a 15" screen, 32GB of memory and a large SSD.

13.5" is great for portability - my surface book is small enough to slip into a satchel in a way that a larger laptop wouldn't, and light enough to do that with. Before I got it I used to have two laptops (an 11" ultrabook for travel and an 18" gaming laptop), but the surface book replaces both - powerful enough to game on but small enough to transport. I used to be a big fan of the big screens, but you adjust quickl…

But the equivalent MacBook is thinner than a lecture pad, and more powerful at most price points.

Re: Microsoft: more people are switching from Macs to Surface than ever before

#64

Post by astrodust »

erokar wrote: post #34
martijn_himself wrote: post #18

I can't believe anyone using macOS for their professional workflow would consider switching to Windows 10 despite all the criticism leveled at Apple's hardware (most of which I think is totally justified). I use Windows professionally (for .NET development) and I think Windows 10 is still light-years behind, with an unstable, jarring OS experience full of bugs and niggles and unloved and underdeveloped touch interfac…

If by "professional workflow" you mean programming, I agree. But I'd have no problem using Linux for that instead of MacOS. However, for many "professional workflow" means using the MS Office suite and a browser. For that use, Windows 10 is not only adequate but better than MacOS.

Visual Studio for Windows applications and XCode for iOS ones pin you to particular platforms.

> For that use, Windows 10 is not only adequate but better than MacOS.

"Denny's is as good as any Michelin Star restaurant."

Re: Microsoft: more people are switching from Macs to Surface than ever before

#65

Post by Aldo_MX »

H4CK3RM4N wrote: post #54
erokar wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If by "professional workflow" you mean programming, I agree. But I'd have no problem using Linux for that instead of MacOS. However, for many "professional workflow" means using the MS Office suite and a browser. For that use, Windows 10 is not only adequate but better than MacOS.

I'd say that macOS tends to be more stable, and The office suite has an actual price instead of a shitty subscription model.

Does it have a price? The last time I checked it was free.

OTOH, I don't see many professionals trusting Apple software in the long run (ex. Final Cut).

Re: Microsoft: more people are switching from Macs to Surface than ever before

#66

Post by astrodust »

Thaxll wrote: post #51
martijn_himself wrote: post #18

I can't believe anyone using macOS for their professional workflow would consider switching to Windows 10 despite all the criticism leveled at Apple's hardware (most of which I think is totally justified). I use Windows professionally (for .NET development) and I think Windows 10 is still light-years behind, with an unstable, jarring OS experience full of bugs and niggles and unloved and underdeveloped touch interfac…

Win10 is pretty stable, what issues are you referring to?

Windows itself isn't bad, but the driver ecosystem is completely rotten. Any muppet with a code signing certificate is apparently capable of writing driver code that gets injected into the kernel.

Re: Microsoft: more people are switching from Macs to Surface than ever before

#67

Post by badloginagain »

Maarten88 wrote: post #43
badloginagain wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

True, but seeing that trend upwards allows Microsoft to put more dollars towards developing Surface. I don't know if Microsoft has reached parity with Apple with professional development machines, but it does look like they've set themselves up to be a contender for next generations. With increased internal funding, they may actually achieve that goal.

> I don't know if Microsoft has reached parity with Apple with professional development machines I assume they are still way off, and may not catch up in the near future. But I also think for Microsoft that's not a problem: when professional developers buy a nice Dell or a Lenovo model instead of a Mac, and run it on Windows, that's still a win for Microsoft. Surface is also meant to show that PC's do not have to suc…

I have both a Asus ultrabook running Win10 and a Macbook Air. Win10 has a harder job to do because it has to work on third party hardware they don't have control over.

OSX has complete control over their hardware, so the overall impression I get is that more attention can be dedicated to the small details. I also prefer UNIX over CMD(?).

What I have noticed is a sense of diminishing returns from the Apple camp. There just haven't been any really compelling innovations for years now. Microsoft seems to have fixed its development processes to actually start building compelling technology, and since they have lagged behind the gains are bigger.

Personally, I think Apple needs a kick in the pants; the thought that Microsoft is positioning itself to be real competition hopefully pushes both companies to build better products. Capitalism, right?

*PS: Apple should be careful though, Microsoft knows how to exploit an opportunity.

Re: Microsoft: more people are switching from Macs to Surface than ever before

#68

Post by EasyTiger_ »

martijn_himself wrote: post #18

I can't believe anyone using macOS for their professional workflow would consider switching to Windows 10 despite all the criticism leveled at Apple's hardware (most of which I think is totally justified). I use Windows professionally (for .NET development) and I think Windows 10 is still light-years behind, with an unstable, jarring OS experience full of bugs and niggles and unloved and underdeveloped touch interfac…

I just installed Windows 10. My start menu by default was full of stuff I will never ever use. After deleting/uninstalling apps (where it would allow me) the OS decides to install Candy Crush and other games I never asked for. Unacceptable.

Re: Microsoft: more people are switching from Macs to Surface than ever before

#69

Post by Al-Khwarizmi »

delegate wrote: post #39

I've resuscitated an older Windows PC, after years of exclusive OSX.. I've changed the CPU cooler (Intel Q9550), added an SSD drive - and my old PC is back up, with the SSD it has enough juice to do the tasks I need it for - run Visual Studio 2015, browsing ... plus I can also play some (older) games on it, which is a lot of fun. I miss the old days of being able to play with the hardware, buy new video or sound card…

I think I have seen maybe 2 or 3 Windows BSODs in the last 5 years, and all of them due to hardware issues.

Re: Microsoft: more people are switching from Macs to Surface than ever before

#70

Post by chasing »

'Microsoft still isn’t providing sales numbers, but the company claims “more people are switching from Macs to Surface than ever before.”'

Maybe this article would be improved with a little journalism to maybe make an educated guess as to what these numbers might be? Something besides just retyping Microsoft's marketing press release?

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