I get the feeling that the only reason people get macs is because windows is horrible now, I mean I’ve heard there’s better editing tools and all but surely they don’t give a huge advantage over editing tools for windows right?

Because of the brand.

@electrineer but what does that mean? Better security, tech support etc?

I don't use a mac or know many people who do but I'd like to know this as well since (I've used it for a month a few years back) I find macs insanely annoying to use.

@pandasama brand means marketing

@linuxxx same, mine even crashes if I have an IDE and a video call open at once, it lags every now and then too and this has max specs since it’s my office mac

@electrineer so there’s no real benefit :/

@pandasama I honestly don't know since I don't use windows. Linux works perfectly fine for me and has for the past 10 years. My choice is based on morals, ethics, security, privacy and usability.

I haven't used windows properly enough to know whether it'd work for me.

@linuxxx oh windows is horrible these days I mostly have it for some applications and gaming, I’d swap to Linux in a heartbeat if all games worked on it at peak performance, but I just want to know if macs have anything outstanding about them instead of just being better than windows in its current state

@pandasama brand is a real benefit, just not a technical one.

I don't think that's the reason, macOS is even more horrible.

Source: For work I have a MacBook Pro myself. And besides that, I genuinely hate the unpleasant always-cold-to-the-touch aluminium body. Worst laptop building material ever. There's a good chance I'll ask for a Windows laptop when a replacement is due next year.

@electrineer Are you referring to their support as well or?

@linuxxx well, what I've learned from Louis Rossman's videos is that support is not a benefit in the case of Apple

@VaderNT haha I like it when it heats up in the winters XD makes my hands warm again

@electrineer Yeah I know a few people who aren't keen on apples 'support' as well

@linuxxx if that’s the case, why do so many companies work on Apple computers?

you can buy Mac not talent
😜

@pandasama I have no clue. I just know this from some people, that's all.

@Jilano that’s sad :(

@import-fun haha XD

@pandasama For development I prefer to buy a Mac when I’m spending my own money or given an option. Mainly for the hardware but secondarily for the software.

If you buy a MacBook Pro it will be solidly constructed and won’t have a major flaw with the build. You will be able to carry it and use it away from a desk. Battery life will be fine. Buying a decent Windows laptop is annoyingly difficult and the machine you pick always has trade offs. You can buy a $3500 piece of junk that looks good on paper.

You don’t have driver issues. You get easy to install software. You get consistent keyboard shortcuts across apps. You get a real terminal and shell access out of the box. Minimal fight is required to make the OS behave in a way that you want. Less time setting up development environments.

If I add the time that i spend searching for laptop computers and attach my salary numbers to it a MacBook is lower cost for me in the end.

@irene it’s understandable that they can save effort in finding drivers etc but I think given some Linux distros like Ubuntu have a big user base and plenty of support with the added benefit of being user friendly and easy to install on a system. I won’t even try to say it’s on the same level of easiness as a Mac, but I believe it can be far cheaper and also preserve a lot of battery life and be quick and smooth

@pandasama Oh. For my desktop computer I pick Linux every time. You don’t have to think about the integration of software and hardware nearly as much.

For a laptop you do. Which is why a MacBook saves so much time. People talk about trackpad drivers a lot but what about the drivers that balance the load on your batteries? Would you even notice if your computer was discharging cells wrong? The more complex and high end the laptop hardware is the more likely you will have unsupported drivers in the invisible places.

@irene hmm I never thought about it to that extent, interesting point

@pandasama In all fairness there are a few linux laptop makers like Purism or System76 that seem to look at the hardware and drivers closely. This said I can't really pick a machine for development unless I know that it will run all of the software I need without complaining.

Compared to a simple Linux machine. The PineBook Pro is simple in design for all hardware, the main internals are an already supported single board computer. The system as a whole ends up being worth more than the sum of its parts. I have lots of respect for the Pine64 effort.

@irene oof. In the nineties Macs were the shit, but let's be real here.

Hardware has a solid chance for failures in any generation (keyboard breaking from dust was major) and trade offs (for how long have people wanted a top spec MacBook Pro with regular F keys? Or matte screens?).
Apple's hardware is okay, but doesn't particularly stand out quality wise.

Same with software. Abysmal window management for an "intuitive" GUI, inconsistent shortcuts (cmd vs control, various different key combinations to switch tabs), nobody cares about the HIG, including Apple. Bugs, failing updates, security issues happen like with any other OS.

Keep in mind, I only highlighted the ugly parts. All in all, like with the hardware, macOS is ok... Just not special. Those times are over.

@VaderNT that’s true man