I refuse to upgrade to 10, so when this dies, and it will be soon, I’m wondering what folks know about an Apple Mac? I know they’re expensive, but I’m ok with that as long as it’s a simple platform. Thoughts?
If you want simple, just go with Linux. I run Debian and Ubuntu on my Rasberry Pi’s and file server. I use Windows 10 on my main machine. My home machine hasn’t had the Search problem (I turned off all the Cortana stuff a long time ago) but the work laptop did.
A used Mac can be very affordable. I’m using one. Upgrading to a solid state drive vastly improved the speed. Doing that when you first get it would pretty much eliminate any concerns about bad things lingering on the old hard drive.
I want two things...smooth, elegant, reliable, and simplicity.
I’ve used Macs and Windows machines for over 30 years in both work and home environments. Right now, I’m at home using a 2014 MacBook Pro. A couple weeks ago, I bought an HP Windows 10 machine to run some health apps that don’t run on my Mac (no, I didn’t want to use Boot Camp or Parallels for many reasons).
I’m amazed at how crude and clunky Windows feels to me. The basic Windows platform has not improved or evolved from that clunky, poorly designed feeling in 30 years. The hardware/software integration still seems primitive. The Win10 UI is an indecipherable mess with inconsistencies in every context.
What should be simple is extremely hard - for example, just try renaming, rearranging or removing your pinned items on the left sidebar in File Explorer. I gave up on that and just live with an aggravating mess I created.
The Mac just works and I never have to “get under the hood” to fix something or make it operate the way I want.
I know many or most will disagree with me and that’s no big deal. Fighting over what’s best is a silly, childish game from decades ago. I’m just writing about what works for me.
Good luck in your decision.
PS. If you want simple, get as far away from Linux as you can, especially if you don’t want to invest scores of hours to become an expert to make things work. I’ve got Linux running on probably 15 to 20 home appliances and smartphone things, so it does run reliably and well. I just don’t want to have to spend the time to figure out how to use it as my “daily driver” when the Mac (and IOS devices) work so well and are so simple.
“ I’m wondering what folks know about an Apple Mac? ”
8 years ago, in the dead of night, I packed up my data and slipped off the MSFT Plantation.
Oh, they had me good for decades!
Too many windows machines in my office, too many forced Office updates, too many reinstalls when windows crashed! Then the painstaking reinstall of drivers.
I was forced to be an unpaid Microsoft tech support person.
I was bled dry financially.
I got viruses, malware, headaches.
I was told all that was normal.
Then one day, I realized I was just a dairy cow in the MSFT herd, being milked continually.
Not wanting to become a MSFT beef cow, I waited until a dark night, slipped the chains, and fled.
Bought a Mac. Had a small learning curve. No big deal.
In the 8 years, I’ve never paid for an update, nor installed a driver, nor ever had a virus, nor malware, nor paid for the Mac version of office, nor spent hours trying to fix anything.
Every free system update has installed easily.
All I can tell you is that I’d never go back to the Plantation.
I like my freedom.
^+1^
Is a Mac the best long-term solution to Windows problems?
If I can get a Mac to speak and share with Win7, I’d be in computer utopia for a good long time.
< insert YUGE smiley face here >
Overall TCO (Total Cost of Ownership) is about the same for a Mac as for a hardware-equivalent Windows PC, and in many cases it's actually lower (i.e. the Mac is less expensive overall). The common belief that Apple gear costs more is because the initial purchase price appears high. There are two reasons for this: 1) Apple doesn't produce low-end (cheap) hardware, so their "entry-level" offerings are generally higher than cheap entry-level PCs, and 2) Macs come with a lot of features and software that you have to pay for separately in a Windows PC.
Mac is a pretty simple platform. It's a somewhat different model of interaction from what you're used to with a Windows PC, but it's not difficult or lengthy to switch over. Whether you find it to your liking is a matter of personal taste; like anything else, some swear by it, others swear at it. :-)
Personally I use a Mac as my primary workstation at home, with a Windows VM (virtual machine) inside the Mac. At my dayjob I use Linux as my primary workstation, with a Windows VM (virtual machine) inside the Linux box.