
Why Apple Eventually Lost Me and I’m Switching Back to Windows - AliCollins
https://medium.com/mark-dalton-photography/why-apple-has-eventually-lost-me-and-im-switching-back-to-windows-17ed90e760f2
======
velobro
Just another run off the mill "I'm not getting another mac" complaint article.

1) Introduce myself by explaining how emotionally attached I was to the first
Macs I bought

2) Complain about price

3) Complain about price some more

4) Did I mention price?

5) Windows has caught up to MacOS (which assumes Mac was ever ahead of Windows
to begin with)

6) I'm an "x", and I do "y". I can do "y" just as well on Windows

7) Since I can "y" on Windows, let me bring up again how Macs are expensive
and how I shouldn't have to drop that kinda of money for one

~~~
StreakyCobra
Concerning the price I don't think it is a strong argument. I have never been
a mac user, but I have friends who had quite old macs that were still
performant enough after 8 years for running recent software. They paid more,
but it lasted more.

Also for me spending time on a computer _is_ my job, so I don't mind spending
some money on this for having good and professional material. I just bought a
Dell Precision 5520 — 1TB SSD, 16GB RAM extendable to 32GB, UHD touchscreen,
8-10h battery lifetime, professional series, linux-compatiable
[http://dell.com/developer](http://dell.com/developer) — that cost me at least
as much as the equivalent by Apple I guess. But with such laptop I can be
productive and I'm probably fine for years to come. It is worth investing in
your professional tools IMHO.

~~~
simion314
>but I have friends who had quite old macs that were still performant enough
after 8 years for running recent software. They paid more, but it lasted more.

The article is about building a desktop, I do not see how building a desktop
with latest components and maybe getting double RAM and HDD with the same
money you pay for a Mac will last less then the Mac.

Sure buying the cheapest laptop will last less then buying an expensive
laptop.

------
m_mueller
I've done it since this summer, going from a 2012 rMBP to a near-maxed out
Thinkpad 480s (1 TB SSD, 24GB RAM for USD 2300? hell yeah..).

Let me tell you though that as a mac user going to windows 10 you give up much
more than a bit of polish - it's really cutting into your productivity. Just
one tiny (but anger inducing) example: You can have either Windows Defender
_or_ a hangup-free Windows Explorer, but not both (and I'm talking hangups
that sometimes can leave you waiting for minutes until you see your files).

To sum it all up, Windows is (a) way way less responsive to UI inputs and (b)
way way less consistent how to get things done, but you _can_ certainly get
things done. (a) means a constant but small tax on productivity, (b) means
that you waste a lot of time initially until you've figured out all the edge
cases.

Whether or not this all justifies the Apple tax, everyone (or their
organisation) has to decide, but let me just give this warning as a power user
/ software dev who did the transition.

~~~
dTal
If you're willing to put up with inconsistency and a time-wasting learning
curve, value responsiveness, and have no attachment to Windows software (which
seems likely if you're coming from a Mac) - why not Linux?

~~~
m_mueller
fear of driver issues. I've kept mental tabs on how many people

(a) tell me that everything went smooth but on further inquiries admit that
there were actually a number of issues, some of them unresolved

(b) admit (and complain about) issues outright

(c) _actually_ have had everything going smooth

For laptops I've yet to talk to someone in category (c).

~~~
Nerdfest
I've been a Linux user for about 10 years. The only hardware I've had trouble
with after setting up dozens of machines for myself and friends has been Wifi
devices from RTLink. They were solvable, but requires an actual recompile of
drivers after kernel updates.

I've had a couple of experiences in the other direction though, including a
Sony Viao laptop where neither the wired or wireless network worked after
Window 7 install. With Linux (Kubuntu), everything worked flawlessly. This was
not some strange one-off laptop manufacturer.

The other thing won't matter to many, but the install time for Windows was
almost three hours, while Linux (and all it's accompanying office software,
etc) took about 20 minutes. Updates are similar though, so there is some value
there.

Just a few more data points, but I, and many others find that Linux is far
easier to use than Windows these days as well.

~~~
eitland
Same here:

For the last 10 years mainstream linux distros has been less hassle than
hunting down Windows drivers, removing bundled bloatware etc.

Mac was awesome in this regard, but after I still struggled with alt-tab after
3 years I have up.

------
edoo
I've been on a linux desktop for several years now. I use a VM for any windows
dev I have to do. I should have made the switch sooner. Consider that instead
of windows.

~~~
szemet
I'm using Linux on desktop for more then 10 years now. I guess the main reason
is that after a few years you just can't leave it - due to the IKEA effect ;)
(same with using Emacs) And even if the desktop situation gets worse (so you
have to fix something) you just bond more: Catch-22...

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IKEA_effect](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IKEA_effect)

~~~
beatgammit
Huh, I didn't realize that was a thing.

My wife and I continue to buy unassembled products because:

\- price \- we like assembling stuff \- our sedan is enough to buy furniture
\- cheaper, unassembled furniture presents less commitment

We've replaced Ikea furniture without any attachment issues that I can detect
other than the sunk cost fallacy, but that seems to be more prevalent in our
more expensive purchases. I didn't realize that so many people because
attached to Ikea stuff.

------
Hippocrates
"Look at the iMac line in 2018 and the specs, tell me if the value is there."

Every time I see one of these posts complaining about the value of Apple
machines I want to scream. They are _very_ competitively priced. (one could
argue that is a matter of fact, by their success alone)

You can compare common "hard specs" about the processor, ram, video card-- and
within that narrow field of vision I bet you _can_ find yourself a "better" PC
for the price. But try putting a value on these things and see where that
lands you:

\- (decent) Webcam \- High-End 5k display (for iMac, or comparable quality
display on the laptops) \- High-end wireless keyboard/mouse or trackpad \-
Decent speakers \- Metal construction in a (subjectively) attractive and
minimalist package \- Well designed (e.g. folding, portable, detachable
extension) power brick

These things more than seal the deal for me, and I am convinced there is no
better value out there. Maybe for the photo/video editor one would _need_ to
make concessions to afford the extra CPU/GPU/Memory in lieu of some other
niceties.

~~~
8fingerlouie
I'm constantly met with "you can get a just as good PC for half the price",
and when i ask them to prove it they usually come up short. They either find
some inferior model, or a similarly specced model which ends up costing the
same or more.

Apple also actively works to improve OS X performance on older hardware. They
did with Snow Leopard, and they recently did with Mojave. What other operation
systems does that ? for free ?

Their support is also seriously great. I have a 27" iMac from 2008 at home,
and somewhere around 2012 a manufacturing problem was found in the Seagate
drives they originally shipped with, so _4_ years later i could get my
harddrive replaced for free. Name me any other hardware manufacturer that does
that.

The attention to details with Mac builds are out of this world. Or at least it
used to be (haven't bought new a mac in 4 years)

* Every MacBook can be opened with 1 hand. The counterbalance of the metal body vs the resistance of the hinges is matched. This goes for the 15" as well as the 11" Air.

* The sleep light is matched to the frequency of the breath of a sleeping human. Not particularly useful, just fun fact.

------
Severian
Louis Rossmann, a well known advocate for right-to-repair and a repair shop
owner has a lot to say about Apple's build quality.

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AUaJ8pDlxi8](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AUaJ8pDlxi8)

His videos are a great rabbit hole to go down, if you are interested in laptop
repair methods. He knows his stuff.

------
8fingerlouie
I've never been a Windows user.

I mean I've used windows at work for close to 2 decades, and i still hate it
every bit as much as the first time i started up Windows 3.1.

I've been using all sorts of operating systems, from OS/2 in the 90s, to BeOS
4 and 5 (on x86), and Linux (Gnome).

Finally i make the switch to Mac around 2005. I've been a Unix user since 1991
(First Linux was Yggdrasil Plug & Play Linux Fall '93). I wanted the beautiful
and functional desktop experience of OS X, coupled with the Unix subsystem.

Later on i noticed that Mac applications (official and 3rd party) usually have
a much more "finished" feeling to them. Even shareware (is that even a thing
anymore ?) felt much more complete on OS X. Linux applications had the
technical groundwork in place, but as soon as it became graphical, things
started to fall apart.

And here we are, 13 years later, and i'm thinking about buying a ThinkPad
instead as a replacement for my MacBook Pro 13" Retina. My wife recently got
one from work, and I'd forgotten how great a decent keyboard is to type on.
It's been a few years since i last had that on any laptop. Apple appears to be
stuck in a loop where everything must become slimmer, functionality be damned.

On the software side OS X is still king. I know evil voices say that
eventually OS X will devolve into a an advanced iOS clone, but for now it's
very functional, and miles ahead of Gnome on Linux.

As for Windows 10... I'll pass. An operating system that pushes out "free"
apps along with reporting everything back to Microsoft, and by default shares
my WLAN password with "friends of friends", allowing me to opt out by renaming
my WLAN. Whoever thought that was a great idea ?

------
crististm
Personal opinion. I've never used MACs before and just two months ago I've
been given a brand new 2018 MACBook pro to do work on. Long story short, after
giving time to work out differences to Windows and XCFE, I still don't
understand what people see in them other than looks:

\- It _crashed_ Virtualbox while a 200GB VM copied files close to max capacity
(10 GB free on host). No RAM problems there

\- It stuttered the Settings window for close to 10 seconds while doing some
sound configs

\- It does not like and does not show some "nonameish" USB2 flash drives

\- (My) Safari does not like me setting home page other than apple.com

\- The keyboard is crazy flat. I don't feel it at all, and can't touch type on
it. There is no HOME or END buttons for command line editing. I've attached a
UNICOMP for a change

\- Apple doesn't like non-LLVM compilers and I'm stuck with what homebrew
provides.

\- Virtualbox with Linux has _unusable_ mouse/keyboard _after_ installing the
drivers. Ubuntu 14 is the only one that works as it should.

\- It has only four USB-C and I have a bunch of converters to connect stuff
like headphones, keyboard, mouse and eth adapter. Yes, they take up table
space.

\- It is above Windows 10 in terms of interface, and looks nice and pleasant
to touch (except keyboard)

~~~
crististm
Yes, the high DPI screen is very good!

------
have_faith
I use MacOS and Windows at home. I want to switch to Windows exclusively just
so I can have more control over the hardware but using my windows machine for
the occasional gaming gives me enough reasons not to want to switch
completely. No standout problems, it's death by a thousand cuts.

~~~
LaGrange
The incompatibility between the Windows and *nix filesystems is doing that to
me. Running Vagrant or Docker based development on Windows turns quickly to
nightmare, not because the tools are bad, but because mapping your dev
directory to the vm side is non-trivial.

I've tried the linux subsystem, but the result was also disappointing. The one
way I could see it working would be if I switched back from VS Code to vim,
and use that inside the linux subsystem. Which means that a Microsoft product
is keeping me on the Mac right now.

~~~
WordSkill
There is a Linux version of VS Code.

------
settsu
> Over the years I upgraded to a MacBook Pro, then the MacBook Pro touchbar
> and in the middle of that I bought a 27inch iMac.

Frankly, the sudden price sensitivity seems odd. Is there something else going
on?

> With the work I do on photo/video editing and my love for flight
> simulators...

Aye, there’s the rub.

> Another reason to bail is the expense in repairs, particularly living in a
> country where there is no official Apple store. Apple has these machines
> made so that if something breaks you are basically fucked and the only
> choice is to take it to get repaired.

Probably the strongest objective statement in the whole post. Until…

> If things break on the custom build I am working on then I can easily fix
> without it costing me a fortune.

Except the total cost (price+time) of replacements in a custom build can go UP
after just 2–4 years if you didn’t buy into the latest spec for a given
component, undercutting the value argument.

> Apple once catered to creatives and when I first used a Mac I was amazed by
> the creative tool suite they had.

Additionally, the rest of that paragraph is, contextually, a strawman. ———-
I’ve worked on both OSes for 20+ years (graphic design, photo editing, video
editing, web development.) Microsoft has closed the gap. So, unfortunately,
has Apple. But the view that Windows 10 has changed the game is myopic. Bottom
line, the whole Mac vs. PC thing has been tired for well over a decade.

The way I think of it is _similar_ to the idea in photography that a great
photographer doesn’t require expensive equipment to produce great photographs.

Choose the best tools for your craft that you can afford and be deliberate in
making the best possible use of them.

------
randomsearch
\- Linux for all things technical - coding, sysadmin

\- Windows for the office: Mail, documents

\- OS X for a good, imperfect, compromise between the two.

Can’t see this changing any time soon. Windows bash etc are an add-on.

Linux sure as hell is better than a Mac for geek stuff, but for simple things
like email it completely sucks.

I’ve spent months recently using a Linux machine for non-work dev. I have
tried every email client I could find. I am buying a MacBook Air as soon as
apple announce.

I’ve been helping someone who works on Windows with tech issues. Not going
near it.

~~~
neverminder
If you are thinking about the MB Air, I would also consider a chromebook (like
Google Pixelbook). Lately enabled Linux app support makes it best of both
worlds.

~~~
randomsearch
Hadn't consider that, thank you! I will definitely take a look.

------
hn_user2
There are many reasons to chose Mac or Windows. I would expect an article
about why someone switched to be more nuanced than price.

I mean price is a valid reason too, but not very insightful.

~~~
puranjay
I used to balk at the Macbook price. Then I realized I spent nearly 10 hours a
day on my laptop, that it was the source of my livelihood, and that I'd lost
hours in frustration at the Windows experience.

Price makes sense as a complaint for most people, but for professionals whose
job depends on their tools, I'd say it is worth it to splurge for a better
experience.

------
manicdee
What’s driving me away from the Mac ecosystem:

Loss of iOS sync from iTunes with no replacement. I used to sync two phones
and two iPads through iTunes in order to reduce bandwidth use (Australian
internet sucks). I can now use Internet Sharing options, maybe, but I have to
plug the iOS device in to the Mac rather than sync over WiFi while the device
is charging on my nightstand.

Forcing me to use iCloud for iBooks sync, so my 12GB collections of books (E O
Wilson’s life on Earth plus dozens of PDFs for things like programming,
hardware manuals, standards documents, data sheets) filled the free drive and
I get persistent nags about running out of space. Apple basically wants me to
rent my library from them.

Removal of MagSafe from laptops. It has only saved my laptop a few dozen times
over 8 years but it effectively saved me replacing the laptop a few dozen
times.

Switch to USB-C with no USB-A port. Between removal of ports and removal of
MagSafe, there is little incentive for me to upgrade from a 2010 11” MBA to
the MacBook. The 13” MBA doesn’t fit in my camera bags. Copying 16GB of photos
to USB disks over USB 2 is painful but at least I can do it without extra
dongles.

iBooks randomly deleting books from my devices. Sure, I can redownload from
iCloud or the Apple Bookstore, but only if I have internet connectivity
(there’s a reason the books are on the iPad in the first place rather than
using a web browser to read stuff).

The cost is not a barrier for me. Jony Ives’ fascination with thinness and
lack of holes in the chassis is a barrier for me.

------
circles_for-day
People have written this article for 25 years. I think it’s surprising they
keep doing it.

~~~
pjmlp
If Apple had not had successes like iPod and iPhone, there wasn't much left to
write about.

------
corobo
The price, to save you a click

------
simonh
The motivation for me to switch in 2007 was living the virus nightmare on
Windows, time machine backups and access to really great photo management and
video editing software preinstalled given I’d just had kids.

My most recent Mac was a 27” 5k when 4K monitors were on the cusp of being a
thing, given the whole Mac was the same price as a high end 4K monitor - just
the monitor - at the time. Love fusion drives as well.

Those were contingent on the times though. Nowadays there are decent software
options on Windows, backups are still a pain but there are decent cloud
options, I don’t know. Up to now the Mac has given me things you couldn’t
really get on Windows. If that’s not the case when my current max expires I
might consider Windows again but it would be a wrench to go back.

------
carlosrdrz
For me it's been the opposite, actually. I use Mac, Windows 10 and Ubuntu for
different use cases, and I keep finding Mac more appealing. I have to work
around Ubuntu to make some stuff work sometimes. I really like Windows 10, but
I have issues occasionally as well. With OS X, most of the stuff I try to do
just work.

A few years back, I'd prefer to buy my own hardware, build my own PC and run
Windows to save some cash and have a powerful PC. I would need to work a bit
to make it work, sure, but I'd save some money. Now, I'd rather get an Mac,
which is more expensive, but for which I have to worry about much fewer
hardware and software issues.

I wonder if getting one of those Microsoft Surface Laptops would give me a
similar experience with Windows 10, though.

------
scarface74
As far as price, I was looking into getting a 5K iMac in a year specifically
because of the price.

It doesn’t seem like anyone sells a 5K monitor anymore except for LG and those
go for $1300.

$2300 for a decently equipped iMac 5K (16GB of RAM, 256GB SSD) is not bad.

~~~
gruez
I don't get this line of logic (if you want to get a comparable Linux/windows
laptop with retinia/5k display, it will cost you just as much as a Mac, so
macs are pretty reasonably priced) when justifying Mac purchases. why are you
so dead set on getting a 5k display when you can get a comparable 4k display
for $600? is the 25% increase in pixel density really that important?

~~~
scarface74
The other side of the question, is why wouldn’t I spend an extra $600 for
something that I’m going to use everyday that can easily last for 5 years?

------
wc_cs
I only bought a Mac because I like the experience and unix utilities for
programming. I still use Windows when I want to game on PC. Presumably this is
the case for a lot of developers?

~~~
beatgammit
Have you tried Steam Play? It has worked quite well for me on Linux, and I
know Proton works on macOS (not sure if you still have to build from source),
but it could be enough to get you away from dual booting.

I dual boot Windows and Linux, but since I default to Linux, I find myself
choosing to do stuff on Linux instead of rebooting (even though rebooting
takes ~10s). Only rarely do I get a hankering for a Windows-only game.

I wonder if Valve's initiative will get enough games to work that people
increasingly switch to Linux/macOS for gaming.

------
S_A_P
Serious question- is this a famous photographer or otherwise celebrity? I have
no idea. I fully support anyone using the computer that works best for them. I
even concede that Apple is not making their best stuff right now. I don’t
understand why people write these types of essays. Are they trying to convince
others to make the same decision? Are they looking for validation? I can see
how this comes across as snark but I really don’t understand the motivation.

~~~
ubercow13
People define themselves by what they buy. That's part of consumerism.
Articles like this are just people expressing themselves.

------
amnesiac_200
I like both types of PC I think apple decided performance was good enough at
some point and judging by how well my wife's mac book air works with imovie
they were right.. Meanwhile PCs carried on getting faster.. But only the
expensive ones. Windows 10 is OK, it has a nice crash screen I see about once
a week. Save work often. And enjoy the adds.

------
prepend
I have frustrations with Mac and really what I want is a good Unix laptop for
my work stuff. Any games that can run are a bonus.

I’ve tried Linux for 20 years and still have hope.

Windows 10 is my org’s basic workstation deployment so I have something that
sits on my desk for email and hr forms and stuff. It’s a horrible experience
as it’s slow, needs admin rights for basic user functions (install apps,
change screen saver, set notifications, etc).

Using windows vms for a few projects showed me that most of these annoyances
are actually my org’s configuration, not really flaws of Windows.

So now I try windows for my main laptop every year or so and give up because
Microsoft’s consumer distributors is too much of a pain to pare down. And some
of the configurations I want, I can only get through a business account
(office365 planner, excel forms- stuff I use macOS and google forms for).

It’s possible to set up what I want, but I have to be a Microsoft admin for
myself (time to renew my MCSE cert).

Comically, I can get a pirate iso that’s pretty nice, but it’s a hobby to keep
it cracked.

I hope Microsoft makes their own “pro” line that have a stripped down distro
targeted to developers or local root users with their own hardware.

Until then, I just bought a Mac book pro this Jan because it’s the best
available for me (sadly with only 16GB memory).

------
sys_64738
Windows 10 on the same hardware as Mac OS X is a revelation. Windows 10 on a
Core 2 Duo system is really speedy but Mac OS is very sluggish. In particular,
OS X on 2GB is almost grinds to a halt but Win 10 flies. Mac OS X seems to
require 2-4x the memory for the same application. E.g. running Firefox.

------
mindcrash
Add to the fact that Microsoft now has a hardware line which can keep up with
Apple on design, but running circles around its product line regarding
features/price.

Don't believe me? Go try a Surface Pro, Surface Book and/or Surface Studio.
They'll blow your mind.

------
tyingq
I believe Mac is around 9% of revenue for Apple now. And maybe at lower
margins than other products. I wouldn't be terribly surprised if they tweaked
iOS into providing a mediocre desktop/laptop variant and dropped MacOS
altogether.

------
amacbride
I think the other critiques of is article are on point, but there was one
quote that did resonate with me (as an Apple user and developer since the ][
):

“Seriously Apple, what is going on with the QA department there?”

~~~
vetinari
> “Seriously Apple, what is going on with the QA department there?”

Oh boy, he is in for a surprise on the Microsoft side of the fence...

------
wpdev_63
If you have a powerful desktop you can run osx in vmware with some less than
legal patches. It's not as responsive as a native setup but for ios
development, it's enough.

------
puranjay
I'll wait for the next piece in the series where the author trashes Windows
and switches back to Mac. Because Windows 10 is absolutely broken.

------
djaouen
My problem with Windows is that Emacs runs too sluggishly on it.

------
lproven
2 comments:

* Only a mug buys Apple kit new. Same as only a mug buys cars or motorbikes new. (Did you know that the word "gullible" isn't in the dictionary?)

* Wait 'til he gets a cryptolocker infection. Then we'll see how much he loves Windows.

------
typedef_struct
Why I Stopped Caring About Desktop OSes \- Me, circa 2006

------
felipelemos
I have some oldschool hardcore Apple fanboys that did the same in the past
couple of years. Who could imagine, 5 to 10 years ago, that such trend would
exist today?

~~~
jen729w
Whoa there, I get called a 'fanboi' (you appear to have mis-spelled it) _all
the time_ , and it's because of my unwavering, steadfast, absolutely
doesn't-matter-what-they-do loyalty to Apple. I mean, Tim Cook could murder my
dog, I literally do not give a shit.

You can't go calling these weak fools who've switched fanboys. They give us
fanbois a bad name!

/s

