Let's forget about the device specific things (eg battery life or price) and just focus on the features/characteristics of each OS - what's your preference and why?
I'll go first, I use a Mac for work but I can't get over the fact that on Windows I can easily snap windows onto the sides/corners! So good for productivity sometimes…
And does anyone know of a good notepad++ alternative on the Mac that is not heavy/clunky?
Windows - versatile and flexible ecosystem. Hate the idea of finding everything exclusive to one system, be it a charger, a software or even a seller. I don't want to get started about the pricing.
Primary school (89-95) was a Apple school, for a tiny country town of 400 people we had an amazing computer room. I remember when we went from the Apple IIe with the green lit monitors to Mac Classics. Also had LC at home so was Apple through and through.
High school in 1996 introduced me to the PC for the first time and it took me ages to get used to (especially the right click) but now can't see myself ever going back. Whenever I use a workmate's Mac I get super frustrated
Grew up with windows. Had experienced using linux as well. Loved tinkering with hardware too, overclock, modding etc.
Switching to mac was hard, kept installing windows through bootcamp for first few months, but once I learned hot to navigate mac etc I never look back. It just works everytime just open the lid and you're ready to go - hardly have to turn off / restart. And when I'm done just close the lid. Done.
With mac I can just focus my time on doing things and none of fixing problems etc. I do miss tinkering sometimes but it's a good trade-off for ease of use and increased productivity.
They all suck in their own ways. They’ve all got their edge for certain uses. I wish one was outright better for all circumstances but that hasn’t really been the case for a long time.
Windows is destroying itself with bloat and telemetry, Mac OS still ignores some of the fundamentals and can’t quite make up the difference with third party software. Linux just doesn’t have the installed user base to make finding the right software for niche use cases easy and seamless.
I’ve been trying to switch away from
Windows pretty actively since Windows 10, and passively before that, but even without playing games it’s still the only one I wouldn’t hate exclusively using forever. As it stands some kind of hybrid approach is the best IMO, though you can survive 98% with any and most average users could survive (games aside) with any 99.999% of the time.
Some of the Mac integration with iOS devices makes it much easier to use. But to get the most out of the Mac you really really need to dig deep into setting it up because the complexity is well hidden. Try using a modern windows version with a slow internet connection and it’s extremely slow, fine with no internet, fine with fast internet, but whatever it needs to send telemetry about grinds the whole OS to a halt on a slow connection. Windows Explorer is far more robust and flexible than Finder even though it’s not great itself either. Utilities like Everything by VoidTools make up the difference.
If I was only doing very simple things and wanted it to work 99.99% of the time I’d use Mac OS. But I’ll be using all three for the foreseeable future.
I use all 3. Surface Book for work, MacBook for personal use, CentOS for personal websites.
I will never ever buy any apple products.
Years ago I bought the Kids IPODS for xmas , spent hours and hours pre loading them with music , after they connected them to their own personal computers it refused to use the library I pre loaded and forced them to wipe their IPODS and start again because of their bloody stupid closed system , never ever again , I should be able to do what I want with the product and not have the brand dictate how I can use it , they can go screw themselves and I will always advise against purchasing any apple products ever.
Way over priced and there is no way I am locking into a one brand ecosystem.
Ive used a single win7 license key (now win10) over 14years and about 12 different hardware.
Its been a good run, and what i consider a golden era.
Not looking forward to an OS as a subscription or a virtual OS in the future.
Negative, I am a meat popsicle
Nah I’m a dad joke person.
I love my Mac's as they don't have bitlocker - my friend had to dump his 6 month old HP windows laptop because he was unable to unlock the drive, as a result of Bitlocker encryption (after a hardware repair) He tried to get support from microsoft but they were unable to unlock the drive…
Got to make sure those encryption keys are backed up regardless of whether it's Windows/Bitlocker or Mac/Filevault.
You don’t need bitlocker and there’s exactly the same encryption option on MacOS. Bitlocker doesn’t render a computer unusable either, you just have to wipe it if you forget / lose the key. On the other hand there’s apple hardware that does become a paperweight if you lose your password, so it’s weird to switch to the Apple ecosystem to avoid something that only exists as a potential issue in the Apple ecosystem.
If you don’t use some form of disk encryption, anyone that steals your computer can access anything on it. So it’s not a great thing to avoid.
Where’s the option for both MacOS and Windows?
WHy not both?
Just bought my first Macbook ever - For the m1 performance and known durability of MACS. My Brothers lasted 10 years.
Hping Mine does that too.
Still have a gaming PC with windows though.
Have a windows work laptop etc.
OpenVMS and templeOS are my goto
Both Mac and Windows
Windows for WSLg.
Macs are sick to look at but a pig to use. MacOSX blows goats.
but a pig to use.
Same for anyone who is familiar or more familiar with only one platform.
Operating systems are tools. In fact, what we commonly refer to an operating system today would be better named an operating environment because it is about 20% OS and 80% utility and productivity apps. Use what is best for you. Avoid tribalism and criticising other's choices.
I use Macs/MacOS/Apple devices/iOS/iPadOS for personal life. I use Windows and various Unix like derivatives in my work and professional life. Used to play with other more obscure options but no longer have the time or interest to keep that up.
Why do I like Macs? Pretty seamless integration across the entire Apple ecosystem. Take a photo once, its on every device. Send a text message, its on every device. Receive a text message on any device. Receive a phone call on any device. It is very convenient and that has value for me.
Why do I like Windows? Hardware support, greater choice in more specialised software.
Why do I like Unix like operating systems? Accessibility and transparency of everything. Nothing deliberately hidden or made hard to access/configure.
From a performance and feature viewpoint they are all pretty much on par. You are basically splitting hairs when comparing them. Some due to dominating a particular market sector have advantages over others, eg. gaming.
Enjoy what you use, keep an open mind, be grateful for how far technology has come and keep dreaming and inventing for the future.
Avoid tribalism and criticising other's choices.
Good one 👍🏼 Wish there was more of this.
Putting down others for preferring / using another platform often gets so puerile. What a waste of time/emotion.
As I said earlier, I’m with the “use/enjoy what works well for you, cheer others who do different” crowd.
Linux.
Free, so much support and software.
Mac for multimedia and web browsing
Windows for professional use - the software I use simply does not exists for Mac - and the occaisonal gaming
Between the two I definitely prefer Mac, under almost every aspect - in particular from a buid quality standpoint, there is no comparison. And they retain their values for many years, better investment than say a Microsoft Surface which cost pretty much teh same and will be worth near nothing in 2-3 years. MacOs is just a smooth experience, that does not provoke the many headaches Windows gives when used intensively. And I really like the Mac clean aesthetics and design overall, for both harware and software.
Windows.
Bought a Macbook when the Mac guy at work left. It sits on the floor doing nothing. Might pick it up every 6 months to do something
i'll give you fiddy bucks for it
Windows/PC by a country mile.
mac for work, window for personal, linux for vms in my lab
I use a Mac for work but I can't get over the fact that on Windows I can easily snap windows onto the sides/corners! So good for productivity sometimes…
You should try out Tiles on Mac. It basically gives you the window snapping feature. Can't believe they never built that into macOS.
Windows for work
Windows for gaming, depending how steamOS grows and improves i might change this.
Linux (unraid, ubuntu, raspberry pi) for home server and personal projects
Mac, i dabbled with mac enough to know how to service them, also had one as a secondary machine (was in IT, and some of our workforce used macs).
-Mac/apple OS & software: honestly i can't hate on this, i can see the appeal, it's just not for me.
-Mac/apple Hardware: Honestly, this is something i can definitely hate on, it's complete dog doo doo for the price you are paying, It's anti consumer and takes advantage of brand loyalty. However i have not had hands on experience with the m1 or m2 chips, and i hear they are pretty good.
Windows for typical gaming and productivity stuff.
Also have a refurb Optiplex running Ubuntu. Serves multiple purposes for me:
As for macOS, never had a need to use it. My current setup has served me well so far.
I use Manjaro Linux exclusively. I love being able to left click and drag to highlight text, saving it to the buffer and then middle mouse click to paste.
I would only recommend Linux to patient people that are able to google solutions when something eventually breaks.
I understand why others just want something that works, but it's so nice to know that Apple an MS are not making money from my data.
I use Rectangle which is a free tool for window snapping to the edges. I also use Brackets which is my replacement for notepad++
Love their innovations a lot. Eg. retina display on 27-inch you can't get with windows pc, iOS UI, UE, etc…But freedom with Windows is the GOAT. So Windows for me.
mac. dev.
Mac or Linux for work/personal, I was forced to use Windows 11 for work and its a steaming POS
I'm performance per watt centric these days, with the hardware I use (mini sff pc, laptops etc). I cant wait to get my hands on a consumer RISC-V SFF Pc box.
In terms of OS, I use immutable Linux distros and Immutable ChromeOS or OS flex. I am trying my best to learn all there is to Freebsd and Openbsd, in the meantime.
For the average person… Immutable Distros are going to be a gamechanger.
I'm hyped for HoloOS by Steam devs. If they ever release it that is. They say they are going to… so far no more news.
I opened this with the expectation of seeing the Mac vs PC debate continue as it has from the 1990s.
It's awesome to see people now accept zealotry is NOT required for operating systems and they fit individual and differing requirements. Many replies reflect usage of 1, 2 or 3 different platforms (as I do).
Am I using a different Internet today? 😆
Windows for general use, and Linux for dev.
Although I imagine for many people, the decision is more to do with their workloads and use-cases.
Also, @immrnonamehello, what do you use Notepad++ for?
Windows/Linux. I play games also Mac is just too expensive for what it is.