After dealing with the last couple of issues with Windows 10, I have thought about dumping windows completely and moving over to Apple. Keep in mind that my main OS is Linux Mint and I have used it for about 3 years now and I could not be happier with it. However, I have to have a operating system that is compatible with everything at school / work. Both use windows and Apple so making the switch to Apple would be ok. Also, I have a lot of experience with apple and it has programs that I need, mainly a good video / photo / audio editor.
So my question to everyone is, considering that I use Linux as my main operating system what are the pros and cons to switching from windows 10 to Apple's OSx for work / school. I am not a heavy gamer and what games I do play are played on HTPC and the big screen so thats no a consideration. Any help is appreciated.
Windows is just walled with a very badly maintained garden and very strange choices for flowers sometimes. If you do not care about games that much i think the transition would be an easy one. The only other awful issue is that the MS office port for MACos is crap. But you can solve this by using a simple VBox VM for office.
Since you know your way around Linux you can find a pretty decent CLI experience on MACOS as well.
In my opinion, MacOS is a dead end street. Just look at the lack of new systems released. Gradually, Apple is slowing the pace of development for MacOS. Steve Jobs original idea for the Mac was alwasy 'appliance computing' aka what iOS is. Apple resents the Mac user - the general purpose nature of the system allows too much user choice. Also, they like the walled garden where they are able to take a cut of every program in iOS. They like that they can prevent programs that they don't like from showing up in iOS. MacOS is antithetical to that mission, that profit , and that control.
The fact that you already use Linux for a large part of your computing is laudable. That's where I'd recommend you stay. But, in my opinion, Windows is the lesser of the two evils between Windows and MacOS. Sure, Microsoft is doing some pretty bad stuff lately, but at least there is a future in it - unlike MacOS. You have to remember that the #1 demographic for MacOS is girls under 20yo. That's hardly a sustainable demographic - and a demographic that would be just as happy using an iDevice. That demographic has little to no 'skin in the game' meaning they don't care about switching platforms - they aren't creating content, or have built a business around their computing.
MacOS is going to die. It's not a matter of if, but a matter of when. If you want to use a system that is getting fewer and fewer updates, that's your decision. But the writing is on the wall. And if you think that Apple is going to open source MacOS once they kill it, you haven't been watching how Apple operates.
Major apps do work on Mac so you wouldn't miss out on much but you will miss some games, big or small, because not all the games you've played on Windows might be on Mac. oh, and don't expect the same smoothness from Office apps the same way you do from Windows. Linux's Libre isn't really a perfect substitute, but i think you already know it.
This is a good solution. Better yet, get a Mac and dual or tri-boot, depending on what you need, or put VMs on it. I really like the way mac os works. Usability-wise, Windows is ok, too, but I find that it breaks itself quite often, whereas mac os only breaks if you don't do your homework before upgrading; i.e., checking for compatibility with each piece of software you use (something you do on any platform). As for being a "walled garden..." I'd rather it be open (or at least more available), but the OS is well-designed enough for me to use it, despite others' protest on principle. FYI, I'm using it for media production, so your mileage may vary based on what you're doing with it.
As for an office suite, I use libre office on os x, and it works fine. Same as with anything else. Iwork is nice, too. if you're not doing anything terribly complicated, it doesn't matter which you choose. In that case, go with which software is most stable for you.
Ehhhhh its a push pull. You get a lot of BSD stuff but theres stuff thats just a pain in the ass. For example, for whatever reason, you can't capture desktop audio natively in 10.11. You have to install superfliwer or whatever dumbass thing it was. If you buy new enough and get access to 10.12 you get Metal though so thats neat.
The triad of good and bad decisions for using linux mac or windows doesn't really exist anymore. We're at a point now where you could really use whatever the fuck you want.
I have been using all three for years now. I have Windows 10 on my main desktops, macOS on my MBP, and Linux on my servers.
I use each for what I need them for.
I don't agree with this. Did you see the iMac Pro announced this year at WWDC? sure it is nutjob expensive and I will never have one but the development is still there. They also finally completely overhauled the file system with APFS in High Sierra. Gaming on macOS is pretty much a dead stick though due to the lack of decent graphics in most systems. That is why my desktops are Windows 10 along with the need for my job requirements.
Thing is that Windows X is moving more and more towards the same model intentionally, since you use Linux as your main OS it really makes little difference which you choose but in my mind/world Windows X (today) is the more logical choice, if your not gaming in Windows or Apple it is just as easy to just run either in a VM for your compatibility needs.
By default, macOS prevents you from executing unsigned binaries. This is easily disabled with spctl --master-disable, but the fact remains that by default, it is a "walled garden".
The thing is that IMHO of the two when we talk about "Walled Gardens" it's not about which is a better OS, we all know that the MacOS is a better system, but just like Linux it has its limitations, but it's more about how many hoops you have to jump through, granted the MacOS isn't as bad as the iOS but it is still considered a walled garden.
This is only if you want to be in the Mac App Store. The MAS is a ghost town. There are hardly any apps left in there as most all have left and gone back to the old way of installing.
Just to be clear I am not a fanboy and my current MBP will most likely be my last due to other reasons but I just want the facts straight.
why not just wipe window$ and stay on this road?, most office programs, and what not you need for school/work is available for linux, albeit it does take a few workarounds unless your specific use case is using software like adobe and which ever other companies M$ has paid off to stay only on their platform. microsoft has an extremely aggressive way to forcing you to do what ever they seem fit, which is NOT a platform you wanna be stuck on. Apple is a walled garden, and is basically 90% linux anyways, except a few gems apple has proprietary ip on. Using apples platform in my oppinion(And i reeeeealy dislike apple so take it with a pinch of salt), would be you can ssh to your linux boxes todo real work.
Yeah. It's even more of a joke than the trash can Mac Pro. And at this point it's just vaporware. Let me know how sales do on an all-in-one 'pro' Mac without any upgradability. Whatever upgradability it is purported to have is an illusion, just like the upgradability of the MacPro trash can, which never saw a single upgraded video card from Apple or 3rd parties.
Considering that HFS+ was considered by some to be the worst mainstream filesysem out there, APFS sounds like an upgrade. However, there are some who think that APFS is even worse than HFS+. APFS isn't something to be proud of.