How Mac Changed Your Life?

[greenwizard88]

You're doing it totally wrong, if you are serious, most of what you're trying to accomplish can be done via scripts. A few lines of codes (which should be no issue since you're an acclaimed developer) would save you any hassle you're complaining about.

What can be accomplished via scripts? apt-get on Ubuntu (my company's distro of choice), or updating OS X and Xcode, VMWare, and the litany of other updates that drop this time of the year?

[DevTech]

What can be accomplished via scripts? apt-get on Ubuntu (my company's distro of choice), or updating OS X and Xcode, VMWare, and the litany of other updates that drop this time of the year?

Oh that was too much. It is amusing that a Mac user accuses you of being too lazy to code up some scripts, yet every workflow advantage of Macs over Windows that they bring up could easily be made the same if they weren't too lazy to install suitable programs and scripts in Windows.

This reads a lot like the Atheism discussion. People decide for some accidental reason that they like one way of doing things (i.e believing things) and then they make up technical reasons (on both sides) for choosing the shiney metal object that attracted them.

Particurly the people that are developers. Seriously? The Mac terminal window is the most advanced shell? Too lazy to try PowerShell? And all sorts of other shells out there you can install on either system.

And stuff crashing? I can't say about Macs but any decent developer can diagnose and track down stability issues on Windows until there are none.

Apple's IOS requirement for a MAc was a stroke of marketing genius that forced practically any modern developer to own a Mac. Should Google require everyone to own a ChromeBook? Should Microsoft require everyone to own Windows? As a developer, the arrogance of Apple is slightly off-putting (maybe a lot off-putting actually) and also as a developer, the ability to configure and transform a Windows dev machine into anything I want is a breath of fresh air.

 

[binaryzero]

LOL Changed your life. 

AppleTalk - thankgod that's dead. That was a POS.

Enjoy computing in general, not Operating Systems lol. 

And the random crashes etc? Probably your hardware... I've got Windows boxes that have been up for a year no wakkas. 

[+Zagadka Subscriber²]

I've worked on Macs (pre-2000) in support/repair and educational uses (tracking student records and such), then post-2000 in video editing. I've always been a PC person, but at the time, Final Cut Pro was THE source for editing (then again, we still used tape decks). Since then, things have evened out quite a bit.

I wouldn't say that Macs have or have not changed my life. If I take into account training, it has been productive.

[Barney T. Administrators]

Moved to Mac Area

[Dot Matrix]

So, over the years I've used Windows 98, XP, Vista, and 7 significantly. The common problem I ran into has always been random crashes, bugginess, and the constant need to scan and optimize the file system or the registry.

I'm a Windows user all my life. I've never had to do this.  

[DConnell Member]

I'm a Windows user all my life. I've never had to do this.  

 

You make it sound like Windows never requires any maintenance. We both know that isn't the case, although recent versions do the maintenance automatically.

[Max Norris]

You make it sound like Windows never requires any maintenance. We both know that isn't the case, although recent versions do the maintenance automatically.

And most agenda pushers make it sound like it needs it every 15 minutes, and we both know that also isn't the case.. they tend to grossly exaggerate things.  And as far as random crashes and buggyness goes, that is soooo not unique to Windows, never mind the OS itself is rock stable, last time I personally had a kernel splat that wasn't hardware related was way back in the XP days. (XP seemed to do that when it got bored.)  Fun fact, I have to do the occasional cleanup on my *Nix boxes too, and shocker, software crashes.  Some of it quite regularly.  Promoting your OS of choice I've no problem with... but keep the BS out of it. Having to make the competition look bad to promote your point is just weak and frankly a turnoff.  

As far as OSX goes.. I respect it, I can see why some people prefer it, but it's not for me, have a setup here that rarely gets used, just don't care for it. Not a criticism, just not my thing.

[DConnell Member]

And most agenda pushers make it sound like it needs it every 15 minutes, and we both know that also isn't the case.. they tend to grossly exaggerate things.  And as far as random crashes and buggyness goes, that is soooo not unique to Windows, never mind the OS itself is rock stable, last time I personally had a kernel splat that wasn't hardware related was way back in the XP days. (XP seemed to do that when it got bored.)  Fun fact, I have to do the occasional cleanup on my *Nix boxes too, and shocker, software crashes.  Some of it quite regularly.  Promoting your OS of choice I've no problem with... but keep the BS out of it. Having to make the competition look bad to promote your point is just weak and frankly a turnoff.  

 

Agreed. I generally find Windows a problem-free OS, but others do have trouble with it. A lot of us here make a living fixing others' problems with their computers, or help friends & family with said problems.

But you're right - the truth of the matter - for either Windows or OSX - is more in the middle.

[ThreadAbort]

3. The peace of mind in terms of Mac security is great!

http://www.infoworld.com/article/2623038/hacking/apple-security-under-attack--the-view-from-windows.html

Several times I've seen Mac flaws and slow patches to them.  So, where does this peace of mind actually come from?  There are tons of articles about it.  I just gave one from a quick search.

[Sjokkel]

Mostly gave me Ulcers. I had several encounters with Macs dating from way way back up until last week.

I'm more of a generalist and would like to do many different things on my systems. Never found any workflow benifits in using Macs, mostly limitations.

AppleTalk was a disaster as was Finder. The latter is still alive and still quite bad. The window management on a Mac and general flow seems to put me back in my Atari days. Back then it was good, now it just causes frustration. I was an IT operations manager at a Mac only department. The amount of grey hair on my head doubled in that period. I'm sure lots of people are happy with the way OSX works and probably most of my frustrations with the OS have simple fixes ... but for me it just doesn't work.

I see many IT people returning from Macs & Iphones but certain die-hards tend to stick with it. This makes me want to give it another try once in a while so i can finally discover what keeps them on OSX/IOS. Gave it another swirl last week... back to using Maalox.

[roosevelt]

 

http://www.infoworld.com/article/2623038/hacking/apple-security-under-attack--the-view-from-windows.html

Several times I've seen Mac flaws and slow patches to them.  So, where does this peace of mind actually come from?  There are tons of articles about it.  I just gave one from a quick search.

Those who claim that you don't need to maintain your windows pc as much, I am curious what kind of tasks you usually do on a computer? Because if all you use is Microsoft Word, the browser and chat applications, then the odds are you don't have to do any of those things. But if you are/were a heavy PC gamer, did programming, tried out all kinds of software, then it's only matter of time you will start to notice how bad windows gets. There's a reason why Spybot, PCBugDoctor, and few other softwares that are big names in the Windows marketplace. There might be new ones out there but I mentioned the ones I've used and did notice significant change in boot time, how quickly windows responds to my actions, etc after applying the optimizations.

As for the peace of mind goes, say, you download an application from Download.com. Most, if not all, comes with installers that either install random toolbars, adwares and if you are in luck, some are kind enough to not force you to install them. The risks were much greater until Windows introduced User Account Control. Where in Mac, it by default doesn't allow you to run any apps without a digital signature.

[DConnell Member]

Those who claim that you don't need to maintain your windows pc as much, I am curious what kind of tasks you usually do on a computer? Because if all you use is Microsoft Word, the browser and chat applications, then the odds are you don't have to do any of those things. But if you are/were a heavy PC gamer, did programming, tried out all kinds of software, then it's only matter of time you will start to notice how bad windows gets. There's a reason why Spybot, PCBugDoctor, and few other softwares that are big names in the Windows marketplace. There might be new ones out there but I mentioned the ones I've used and did notice significant change in boot time, how quickly windows responds to my actions, etc after applying the optimizations.

As for the peace of mind goes, say, you download an application from Download.com. Most, if not all, comes with installers that either install random toolbars, adwares and if you are in luck, some are kind enough to not force you to install them. The risks were much greater until Windows introduced User Account Control. Where in Mac, it by default doesn't allow you to run any apps without a digital signature.

Games, virtual machines, video editing/serving. I do install & uninstall a lot of stuff as well.

Been using the same Win8.x install (kept up to date) since Nov 2012. Had little to no trouble, and the system works as well as it did on the day I set it up. Winrot hasn't been an issue, at least for me, since the XP days, and even then not as bad as with 9x. I recall having to reinstall 98 every couple months - I could practically schedule the registry getting corrupted on my calendar! But these days Windows is rock solid, well at least 8.x is.

[ThreadAbort]

Those who claim that you don't need to maintain your windows pc as much, I am curious what kind of tasks you usually do on a computer? Because if all you use is Microsoft Word, the browser and chat applications, then the odds are you don't have to do any of those things. But if you are/were a heavy PC gamer, did programming, tried out all kinds of software, then it's only matter of time you will start to notice how bad windows gets. There's a reason why Spybot, PCBugDoctor, and few other softwares that are big names in the Windows marketplace. There might be new ones out there but I mentioned the ones I've used and did notice significant change in boot time, how quickly windows responds to my actions, etc after applying the optimizations.

As for the peace of mind goes, say, you download an application from Download.com. Most, if not all, comes with installers that either install random toolbars, adwares and if you are in luck, some are kind enough to not force you to install them. The risks were much greater until Windows introduced User Account Control. Where in Mac, it by default doesn't allow you to run any apps without a digital signature.

 

I am also a programmer and have little to no trouble.  I don't understand why you think Digitally signed software is safe?  I could write a program that is digitally signed that has malicious content.  It's not really that hard.  Download.com and sites like that are not something I frequent.  If I am worried about the program, I will use hyper-v or something else. 

I just don't understand again why you consider Mac to be secure by default.  It has had many browser flaws and other issues.  I'm not saying that Window's doesn't have it's flaws.  Just that having that attitude towards your computer could be dangerous for you.  I can promise you that it is not secure if it is hooked to a network.

[SoCalRox]

Having Macs allowed me to cure cancer, solve problems with World Hunger, build a home which is energy neutral, and I now have shoes which are always polished and shiny. When I used Windows, I found I was killing baby dolphins. 

[SoCalRox]

It also helped me avoid posting the same thing twice.

 

It also helped me avoid posting the same thing twice.

[greenwizard88]

snip

The funny thing is, I used to love my mac. I was what you would call a die-hard OS X fanatic. There was nothing Windows could do right, while OS X could do no wrong.

Then Microsoft released Windows 7, my PC started working well, and Apple released 10.6 and my mac started having problems. After 5 OS's and 3+ macs, I still find OS X more... annoying to use, for a lack of a better word. If I could choose between 10.3 or Windows 10, I would probably choose 10.3. I loved the "lickability" of Aqua. But the OS is just so dull, yet with so much "stuff" crammed into it... Whereas at least on Windows, I can do what I want, when I want, without having to bow to the whims of Apple.

[Quillz]

Has it changed my life? No, not really. I started using OS X back in 2007, but never stopped using Windows, Linux, or any other operating system.

I like OS X but it's hardly been a life changer for me.

[123456789A]

1. Smoothness. Applications rarely crash or freeze on a Mac.
2. The advanced guestures, productivity applications, and powerful accessories like the mouse or trackpads are outstanding.
3. The peace of mind in terms of Mac security is great!
4. The Linux terminal. You can't beat that!
5. Opensource solutions seem to compliment Macs very well. Made me lots of money .
6. The apps designed for a Mac, have a very different cool factor to it. Makes it easier to focus on work

As a user of both systems, I'll respond to your points.

1. Applications crash about the same on either system.  

2. The trackpads are good. I haven't tried any of the newer Windows 10 devices but I hear the gestures are improved and various flavors of Linux also have good gesture support.

3. The peace of mind in Mac security thing is a myth. You should still practice the same common sense you would on a PC and you will be fine.

4. I don't think it's a "Linux terminal" but I know what you mean. It's good if you use that sort of thing. Windows has advanced command line interface too, and then of course you can get actual Linux.

5. I don't know what that means but there's open source solutions everywhere.

6. For the most part, third party apps certainly look cleaner on the Mac. That all comes down to developers taking advantage of what the OS has to offer instead of trying to make a one size fits all ugly Java looking application with Windows 95esque UIs. There are some good Windows applications and there are plenty of ugly ones, even more ugly ones in Linux.

[+E.Worm Jimmy Subscriber¹]

TL:DR  -   Mac did not change my life at all.

 

I used to do work with Final Cut pro in 2000.  so i used the mac at work, though, and i LOVED how much better the Final Cut pro was then anything else at the time.   it was amazing.

so, in 2010, i disliked Vista, sold my PC and got an iMac as my main computer for next 2 years.   
it was not bad, but some of the things about the OS were annoying with no way it change them. 

after windows 7 was released i went back to windows.   i still have the imac. it still works, but it is terribly slow and crashes all the time.   i think the hard disk might be damaged, because there is no way it should be this slow.  dvd drive also failed after 2 years, and does not recognize disks.   had to take it to apple store for repairs multiple times too, until my apple care run out. overall, not a great experience i hope it would be, though the imac looked amazing in aluminum at 2010. 

i wonder how much the OS changed in 5 years, as my imac was build in 2009 and does not support the latest os upgrades.
i might get one again, if i have spare money, but my primary OS will be windows, for quite a while, i think.  mac will be secondary, and i will only get it because of the looks.

[Shadrack]

What the? No...

I mean. Maybe in that now if I don't want to help someone with their mess in Windows I tell them "Sorry, I only know Macs." Which is a lie.

[game_over]

Not life changing, but my work flow has improved massively... It depends on what you are using it for but I know of 2 specific industries where Macs are the number one choice simply because they do just work.

[Kierax2016]

It's a product, more in depth it's a computer, and in the aspect of my point, it's a preference, not one is better than the other, each have flaws, each have benefits.  

[adrynalyne]

You make it sound like Windows never requires any maintenance. We both know that isn't the case, although recent versions do the maintenance automatically.

Same with OS X.

[adrynalyne]

Those who claim that you don't need to maintain your windows pc as much, I am curious what kind of tasks you usually do on a computer? Because if all you use is Microsoft Word, the browser and chat applications, then the odds are you don't have to do any of those things. But if you are/were a heavy PC gamer, did programming, tried out all kinds of software, then it's only matter of time you will start to notice how bad windows gets. There's a reason why Spybot, PCBugDoctor, and few other softwares that are big names in the Windows marketplace. There might be new ones out there but I mentioned the ones I've used and did notice significant change in boot time, how quickly windows responds to my actions, etc after applying the optimizations.

As for the peace of mind goes, say, you download an application from Download.com. Most, if not all, comes with installers that either install random toolbars, adwares and if you are in luck, some are kind enough to not force you to install them. The risks were much greater until Windows introduced User Account Control. Where in Mac, it by default doesn't allow you to run any apps without a digital signature.

On any given day I have VS 2015 opening and running on at least two projects and VS 2013 on projects I need to run remote debugging on (too lazy to install vs 2015 remote debugger), sublime text 3 with at least 5 tabs open to different css3, html5, or javascript files. I am constantly compiling, testing, coding, recompiling, and testing.

I also have SQL Server running as well as IIS. I have several chrome tabs open; I do the same with edge and firefox DE. Fiddler is running most times as well. 

How is that for usage, or is that too much MS Word for you?  The last time I reinstalled Windows was because my SSD failed.

As for your peace of mind comment, maybe you should blame the source and/or the user, and not the OS.