Apple Anxiety simonmumbles.micro.blog

@simonwoods This is exactly what pushed me away from Apple over the years. I used to be a total Apple fanboy but I hate not being able to do what I want with the software I paid for.

I wish I had good advice for you Simon. All I can say is after 18 years of not using Windows, Windows 10 isn't terrible so long as you have enough RAM and have enough protective defenses. Windows provides me with the sparkles Linux lacks.

OTOH, Linux provides rock solid stability equal to macOS, but few sparkles. There may be a company in the UK that takes new old stock (unsold) Windows machines wipes them and installs Linux. That's where you can get a good deal.

@bradenslen Yeah, what you said about Windows sounds about right and we do have some indie stores around here for computer stuff.

The point of friction for me is what I'm starting to need; with regard to power, we have a decent desktop -- although the power has revealed how shamefully hostile Microsoft's efforts with Windos truly is and I couldn't imagine how bad it is for a novice or "average consumer" to deal with -- but now for mobility and needed power... it's a laptop upgrade I am looking at. IDK maybe I'll just go for a lower end Windows machine for the short term.

@simonwoods I've got all three OS's and they each have their strengths and weaknesses. Having a Windows machine opens up a lot of specialized niche software that is never going to be available for Linux and maybe not for Mac. That said, Windows continues to be a memory hog so if you go Windows get something that you can expand the RAM on or just get 16GB right from the start.

FWIW this is the place I go to for cheap machines with Linux preinstalled: linucity.com/Scripts/d... there has to be somebody in the UK doing the same.

@bradenslen If Microsoft had the spine to truly convert all of the old power-user settings into their modern UI then perhaps we be on the path to gaining some user-friendly software with which to work. I am quite comfortable digging around software but I'm not stupid enough to waste my time on managing my tools and it'd be nice if Microsoft respected that.

Seriously, Apple have basically stalled for the past 10 years and the reaction from Microsoft has been to double down on the most obnoxious parts of their software culture.

Starting to think I should chuck it all in and convert to an all-analogue lifestyle -- live as a monk!

@simonwoods But of course, they are Microsoft, just because Balmer is gone doesn't mean they suddenly got smarter.

@simonwoods nah Microsoft have been moving all their enterprise software (which hundreds/thousands? Of companies rely on) straight into the cloud. Slack, trello, Dropbox, docs all have MS alternatives. The consumer space was never their biggest draw

@simonwoods

“Apple have basically stalled for the past 10 years”

... in what way?

@bradenslen no - but it does mean that the CEO did ... by a couple of orders of magnitude!

@bradenslen @kaa I wrote a whole rant! Instead I'll say, yep, I agree and also they are stupid. 😂

@JohnPhilpin Laptops, Mac Pro, iPad Pro, Apple Watch... only the iPhone has shown life comparible to the second Jobs era, and even then it's a mixed bag reflecting a company that you would not guess has the instutional knowledge of decades in the tech industry. It's not enough to be the cleanest turd, not for a premium label.

@simonwoods so unless apple delivers something as successful as a product that repeats the success of a prior product that pretty much all in the industry agrees is unparalleled in terms of success than any other product ever produced ... they are stalled?

(Did that make sense?)

@JohnPhilpin It makes sense but that's not what I'm saying.

Turns out I have too much to say on this subject.

@JohnPhilpin Cool. Whilst I'm still here, a headline I just saw:

Apple CEO Tim Cook is touring Idaho schools with Ivanka Trump a day after her father threatened to slap tariffs on the iPhone

@JohnPhilpin True. Actually MS has gotten smarter, but I was painting with a broad brush.

@bradenslen Thanks for that Linucity link, sir. 🍻 🖥

@grayareas You're welcome. Good company but consider upgrading shipping if you buy. Their base shipping is by US mail pack mule.

@bradenslen government mule then ? 🎶🎶🎹🎹🎶🎶

@bradenslen I am surprised with that recommendation to go with 16GB of RAM. Is Windows 10 still such bad a memory hog? I use a Windows machine at work and have found 8GB is more than enough. But then it's only in it's 2nd year of use.

My biggest issue with Windows machine has been longevity. I've experienced that they tend to fall apart post their warranty period - so appropriate RAM would be an important decision. Wish Apple hadn't left its laptop offerings so muddled.

@amit Oh 8GB would probably do for surfing the web. But each update to Windows 10 seems to add more bloat and Chromium (Blink) based browsers keep bloating out too. I noticed on my Asus notebook, everything just ran smoother after I increased the RAM to 16GB. You're right Amit, for the lifespan of your average Win10 notebook you could probably get by with 8GB.

@bradenslen @amit Meanwhile, Manton has spoken about building the whole of Micro.blog on his 8GB MacBook Pro.

@simonwoods @amit Very true. Both macOS and Linux are much more frugal on RAM. This reminds me, if the hardware is still good on an old Windows computer but not worth upgrading RAM or processor, you can often give it a second life by overwriting Windows with Linux on it.