Windows vs MacOS laptops

[Bryn]

Having just spent the last week sorting out my wife's MBP, I honestly can't understand what is so great about MacOS. I made a time machine backup to the NAS, which was successful. Upgraded (fresh install) to MacOS Big Sur and then tried to get her data back from time machine . Nope not working can't use with big Sur. You would have thought they would at least allow you to open old versions. Thankfully, Had also made a backup of docs and desktop using onedrive.

Then told my wife that she should just use OneDrive as her doc storage location. Fsck knows what Microsoft has done with OneDrive client for MacOS. 8 hours later, only 6GB of docs downloaded out of 35GB. The Windows PC downloaded that in 2 hours.

Also what the F is wrong with Mac os , why are all emails saved as individual files instead of in a container like PST, etc ?

Anyway , gave up on OneDrive for MacOS and now anted up for iCloud 200GB storage. Seriously believe Apple ensures that other providers like Outlook and OneDrive don't work well on their OS. Told my wife, if she continues to want support on her tech, this is her last Mac and iPhone.

However, the hardware is amazing. She won't let me put win10 on it .haha

I'm not sure anyone has accused macOS of being perfect. But it's also not a bug-riddled mess for the most part.

- OneDrive is obviously not ideal for a Mac user. Get in touch with MS support and complain to them, but it's unlikely anything will come of it. Use Dropbox or Google Drive for a proper cross-platform cloud storage solution.
- macOS is not an email client. Don't use the Mail app if you don't like it. I use Google Workspace and use my email on the web.
- Not going to repeat some of what Sauron said, you get the idea.

The Apple ecosystem is precisely that, an Apple one. If you're using some combination of a Mac, an iPhone, an iPad, Apple Watch, wireless Apple earphones or headphones, iCloud, Apple Music etc. then you're probably going to have a great time.

 

[s0lar]

Having just spent the last week sorting out my wife's MBP, I honestly can't understand what is so great about MacOS. I made a time machine backup to the NAS, which was successful. Upgraded (fresh install) to MacOS Big Sur and then tried to get her data back from time machine . Nope not working can't use with big Sur. You would have thought they would at least allow you to open old versions. Thankfully, Had also made a backup of docs and desktop using onedrive.

Then told my wife that she should just use OneDrive as her doc storage location. Fsck knows what Microsoft has done with OneDrive client for MacOS. 8 hours later, only 6GB of docs downloaded out of 35GB. The Windows PC downloaded that in 2 hours.

Also what the F is wrong with Mac os , why are all emails saved as individual files instead of in a container like PST, etc ?

Anyway , gave up on OneDrive for MacOS and now anted up for iCloud 200GB storage. Seriously believe Apple ensures that other providers like Outlook and OneDrive don't work well on their OS. Told my wife, if she continues to want support on her tech, this is her last Mac and iPhone.

However, the hardware is amazing. She won't let me put win10 on it .haha

Strange, have been using Mac OS since MacOS 8. That’s before the NEXT subsystem and have never done an OS reinstall in all those years.

My story is opposite wife always complained about windows issues I got sick of reinstalling, dealing with driver’s, registry etc that I bought her a Mac and haven’t looked back. Did the same for my daughter, the last thing I want to do is be the home IT tech.

 

[Botha22]

Seems the go to thing when someone feels like their point is not getting across is to pull out an anecdote - "my wife's Windows laptop - constantly reinstalling Windows, drivers, registry issues blah blah".
Sometimes the tech support becomes part of the problem.

Would Windows still be in existence if this really was the daily experience of millions of users (both business & consumer market) worldwide?

 

[boboudts]

What is cheaper in south africa except bear and wine?

Your life?

 

[s0lar]

Seems the go to thing when someone feels like their point is not getting across is to pull out an anecdote - "my wife's Windows laptop - constantly reinstalling Windows, drivers, registry issues blah blah".
Sometimes the tech support becomes part of the problem.

Would Windows still be in existence if this really was the daily experience of millions of users (both business & consumer market) worldwide?

It’s my experience. If windows is your thing cool for you. Doesn’t work for me. I really don’t care if your running VAX on a potato powered mainframe.

 

[RedViking]

What is cheaper in south africa except bear and wine?

Do we even have bears in South Africa? I'm sure they will come at quite a high price on the black market.


The only bear we can afford is the bear necessities.

 

[SAguy]

I'm not sure I know what the point of this article is supposed to be... don't even think the author knows.

Next article, you can buy faster cheaper cars than a bmw

 

[bwana]

Having just spent the last week sorting out my wife's MBP, I honestly can't understand what is so great about MacOS. I made a time machine backup to the NAS, which was successful. Upgraded (fresh install) to MacOS Big Sur and then tried to get her data back from time machine . Nope not working can't use with big Sur. You would have thought they would at least allow you to open old versions. Thankfully, Had also made a backup of docs and desktop using onedrive.

Since your difficulties stem from this single decision... why?

 

[TedLasso]

The problem is most likely the NAS running an old version of Time Machine needs updating and hence it doesn’t interface with Big Sur.



Again, sounds more like a third party problem.



Because massive files like PST’s **** the bed and get corrupted and duck themselves up all the time.



Quite honest doesn’t sound like she needed any support in the first place. All the problems were caused by your support.

Why did it need a clean install of Big Sur? That’s broken Windows logic right there.

None of the other issues would be present without your intervention.

Could it just maybe be that your lack of understanding is making it seem like it needs special support?

The fact that it’s taken a week kind of says it all...

Yup found that out too late.

Issue why I had to get involved was her computer complained for months that it was out of space and the real cause of it could not be found. Deleting none essential apps saved some space but not enough.

Couldn't work out what the F was going on (think it was mail client) and we did not have enough space to do an upgrade. Hence time machine backup and the clean install.

I am pretty pissed at Microsoft for one drive Mac performance ,.you would think it would work like their other software. Have never locked ourselves into one ecosystem so we use cross platform tools where possible (Spotify, OneDrive , Garmin over Apple watch) . In any case, apple won , now we pay for another cloud subscription.

But I call bullshit on big ost files borking systems. Most ost files nowadays are just clones of online mailboxes and if they go (and I have 50gb versions of mailboxes and they work on supposedly shitty NTFS well) it would not be the end of the world.

I'm not sure anyone has accused macOS of being perfect. But it's also not a bug-riddled mess for the most part.

- OneDrive is obviously not ideal for a Mac user. Get in touch with MS support and complain to them, but it's unlikely anything will come of it. Use Dropbox or Google Drive for a proper cross-platform cloud storage solution.
- macOS is not an email client. Don't use the Mail app if you don't like it. I use Google Workspace and use my email on the web.
- Not going to repeat some of what Sauron said, you get the idea.

The Apple ecosystem is precisely that, an Apple one. If you're using some combination of a Mac, an iPhone, an iPad, Apple Watch, wireless Apple earphones or headphones, iCloud, Apple Music etc. then you're probably going to have a great time.

I would love to know what advantages MacOS has over windows or linux except for tight integration if you completely buy into their ecosystem.

PS, can one do time machine backup to iCloud? Since my NAS is too old to upgrade to a newer version of time machine and o don't want to spin up a Ubuntu server to get it , since we paying for iCloud now, just want her full PC to backup. Have told her that she now needs at a minimum to save all her files so they backed up.


PS:- I love my apple TV

 

[Thor]

Apples vs Oranges comparassion

Apple is a software company, you are not buying the mac for the specs, you buy it for the OS & Ecosystem, something Android / Windows will NEVER have because it is not central.

 

[SauRoNZA]

Yup found that out too late.

Issue why I had to get involved was her computer complained for months that it was out of space and the real cause of it could not be found. Deleting none essential apps saved some space but not enough.

Couldn't work out what the F was going on (think it was mail client) and we did not have enough space to do an upgrade. Hence time machine backup and the clean install.

I am pretty pissed at Microsoft for one drive Mac performance ,.you would think it would work like their other software. Have never locked ourselves into one ecosystem so we use cross platform tools where possible (Spotify, OneDrive , Garmin over Apple watch) . In any case, apple won , now we pay for another cloud subscription.

Likely it was the local Time Machine snapshots taking up space and reporting inaccurately I’ve seen that happens sometimes.

PS, can one do time machine backup to iCloud? Since my NAS is too old to upgrade to a newer version of time machine and o don't want to spin up a Ubuntu server to get it , since we paying for iCloud now, just want her full PC to backup. Have told her that she now needs at a minimum to save all her files so they backed up.

That would be a silly duplication.

Rather just use iCloud the way it was envisioned across the system and you’ll no longer need the Time Machine backups.

Another option could be CrashPlan or similar to one of your own systems?

 

[charlieharper]

While everyone talking about system backups, Blackblaze is pretty good and fairly cheap.

 

[SAguy]

Yup found that out too late.

Issue why I had to get involved was her computer complained for months that it was out of space and the real cause of it could not be found. Deleting none essential apps saved some space but not enough.

Couldn't work out what the F was going on (think it was mail client) and we did not have enough space to do an upgrade. Hence time machine backup and the clean install.

I am pretty pissed at Microsoft for one drive Mac performance ,.you would think it would work like their other software. Have never locked ourselves into one ecosystem so we use cross platform tools where possible (Spotify, OneDrive , Garmin over Apple watch) . In any case, apple won , now we pay for another cloud subscription.

But I call bullshit on big ost files borking systems. Most ost files nowadays are just clones of online mailboxes and if they go (and I have 50gb versions of mailboxes and they work on supposedly shitty NTFS well) it would not be the end of the world.


I would love to know what advantages MacOS has over windows or linux except for tight integration if you completely buy into their ecosystem.

PS, can one do time machine backup to iCloud? Since my NAS is too old to upgrade to a newer version of time machine and o don't want to spin up a Ubuntu server to get it , since we paying for iCloud now, just want her full PC to backup. Have told her that she now needs at a minimum to save all her files so they backed up.


PS:- I love my apple TV

My reason for using macos is because of dev and sysadmin work on Linux remote servers.

It's a more natural environment to work in as a linux person, but with the benefit of being able to install commercially available software as well.

So in a way, macos is my favourite "linux distro" with a user interface...

And the trackpad.. all other trackpads hang their heads in shame when stacked up against it. My wife has an x1 carbon, the trackpad feels like it came off a kids toy.

 

[Bryn]

Yup found that out too late.

Issue why I had to get involved was her computer complained for months that it was out of space and the real cause of it could not be found. Deleting none essential apps saved some space but not enough.

Couldn't work out what the F was going on (think it was mail client) and we did not have enough space to do an upgrade. Hence time machine backup and the clean install.

I am pretty pissed at Microsoft for one drive Mac performance ,.you would think it would work like their other software. Have never locked ourselves into one ecosystem so we use cross platform tools where possible (Spotify, OneDrive , Garmin over Apple watch) . In any case, apple won , now we pay for another cloud subscription.

But I call bullshit on big ost files borking systems. Most ost files nowadays are just clones of online mailboxes and if they go (and I have 50gb versions of mailboxes and they work on supposedly shitty NTFS well) it would not be the end of the world.


I would love to know what advantages MacOS has over windows or linux except for tight integration if you completely buy into their ecosystem.

PS, can one do time machine backup to iCloud? Since my NAS is too old to upgrade to a newer version of time machine and o don't want to spin up a Ubuntu server to get it , since we paying for iCloud now, just want her full PC to backup. Have told her that she now needs at a minimum to save all her files so they backed up.


PS:- I love my apple TV

For the specific workflow and apps that I use as a web developer, Safari on an M1 Mac opens some stuff in 5 seconds compared to 30-60 seconds on any other machine. And it gives you access to all major web browsers, which is pretty important for people like me. It's a very significant productivity boost.

And if something like load shedding appears and I have a deadline the following day, an M1 MacBook lasts for well over 10 hours on battery whilst providing a colour accurate and reasonably high-resolution display. And I do a lot of Google Meet and Zoom calls, which means big benefit from the crystal clear microphones.

 

[RedViking]

Really funny how "everyone" is trying to defend Apple or Microsoft, as if y'all are part of the developing crew.

Minions.

 

[TedLasso]

I really do love Mac Hardware and you definitely get what you pay for. Wondering if surface hardware is at the same level? I need to replace my personal laptop which is now 10 years old but still running like a dream due to SSDs, etc. (I don't play games).

Had told my wife, that as long as she stays saving her files in iCloud folders then 'backups' are sorted automatically and time machine not required then as reinstall of OS or Apps would be easy. (My hope was OneDrive but it's totally shite on Mac) . And of course I have to hope she saves in iCloud or else I will be blamed 3 months from now. Us tech supports never win

What I have done is installed iCloud on my home management PC and it has a new job to clone her docs to the NAS (as a delayed snapshot - just in case)

I am paranoid about losing files on cloud (hacks , mistakes etc) - we lost all our wedding photos due to some unknown delete and we did not know they were gone until too late and nothing was left in cloud recycle bins

For me, I can't get used to macOS, but I wanna take up programming this year so perhaps it will finally make sense. Let's see

 

[Petec]

Misinformed headline, most buy Mac for the OS and associated productivity tooling. Us MacBook users most have a windows PC for gaming with way higher specs. It’s a work tool, not a gaming toy.

This. While I am gobsmacked at how Apple gets away with charging so much extra just for an Apple logo on the outside of their kit, most of the peeps I know with such Apple kit use it for a pure production purpose. In the regard of ecosystem designing, and whether you like/agree with it or not, there is still a big place for Apple.

 

[greg0205]

Just adding to the voices that say the article misses the point entirely.

Perhaps it’s a discussion for Windows folk thinking about buying their first Mac, but it certainly isn’t relevant to folk who’ve been on a Mac for a while.

The specs Mac folk think about are the screen size, SSD and RAM Apple offer for their machines at the time of purchase.

Apple

Offer.

Mac folk aren’t switching to PCs in droves... By and large, once you’ve made the switch to Apple, you never look back.

It’s always amuses me how folk who swear by the OS that makes up more than 90% of the market get so touchy about those of us that choose the other option ‘tho.

Can’t have a Mac thread here without a bunch of folk who miss the same point the OP has, wading in with a ‘well, you know, I can build blah, blah, blah.’

Good for you if you wanna build a gaming laptop rather than buy a Mac, but I have zero interest in doing the same.

None.

Nil.

My next machine will another MacBook, so will the one after that, and the one after that, and the one after that.

Anyway, perhaps one day MyBB could look at employing a staff writer with a history of Mac ownership, you know, for an actual Mac perspective.

Rather that than trying to square peg Windows guys into round hole Mac discussions to see if they fit...

 

[Rocket-Boy]

Having just spent the last week sorting out my wife's MBP, I honestly can't understand what is so great about MacOS. I made a time machine backup to the NAS, which was successful. Upgraded (fresh install) to MacOS Big Sur and then tried to get her data back from time machine . Nope not working can't use with big Sur. You would have thought they would at least allow you to open old versions. Thankfully, Had also made a backup of docs and desktop using onedrive.

Then told my wife that she should just use OneDrive as her doc storage location. Fsck knows what Microsoft has done with OneDrive client for MacOS. 8 hours later, only 6GB of docs downloaded out of 35GB. The Windows PC downloaded that in 2 hours.

Also what the F is wrong with Mac os , why are all emails saved as individual files instead of in a container like PST, etc ?

Anyway , gave up on OneDrive for MacOS and now anted up for iCloud 200GB storage. Seriously believe Apple ensures that other providers like Outlook and OneDrive don't work well on their OS. Told my wife, if she continues to want support on her tech, this is her last Mac and iPhone.

However, the hardware is amazing. She won't let me put win10 on it .haha

Some people love Mac OS for some unknown reason.
I have a MBP, Im typing this on it at the moment, Im not really a fan. The only reason I use it is the *nix backend which works very well for the functions I use for work.

In many ways Mac OS is old and clunky, in others its on point and great.
One of my pet peeves is the way Mac wants you to use the calendar to schedule tasks, what they were thinking with that is beyond me.