[voja]

Personally I would recommend LibreWolf over Waterfox, Waterfox was sold in 2020 to an ad company, System1

Ahhh, I wish I still had energy for that =)

I gave up on the privacy war. I just sort of surrendered and let go of it — I accept that everything I do is being tracked and used for marketing & other purposes. I don't know about others, but it drains so much energy to be fighting for something that should be standard... Like, you have to go quite out of your way to find a way to stay private and safe.

 

[carbonchris]

Ahhh, I wish I still had energy for that =)

I gave up on the privacy war. I just sort of surrendered and let go of it — I accept that everything I do is being tracked and used for marketing & other purposes. I don't know about others, but it drains so much energy to be fighting for something that should be standard... Like, you have to go quite out of your way to find a way to stay private and safe.

I agree that it drains so much energy, I don't go as far as I used to with it. I do try to do simple things like switching my browser since its something I install once and then it just works. Privacy is not easy these days for sure.

 

[Trihexagonal]

I’ve been a professional commercial/graphic artist since 1995. I’ve worked on many flavors of Windows, UNIX, Linux and ChromeOS platforms. Back in the late 90s I even developed Web sites and graphics from a bash command line. Early in my career the only real choice for creatives was the Mac. So naturally I used the Mac platform from the get go.

I learned to write XHTML and CSS by hand at W3Schools.com in 1999 and have never used anything but a text editor to write markup. Notepad on WIndows and went to LeafPad when I switched to Linux/BSD without skipping a beat.

Before GeoCities closed down I put up a core page of my site at angelfire in 2000 that is still up today:

https://www.angelfire.com/geek/solarstormmonitor/

Half my NASA and NOAA satellite links went dead over time.
I recently updated it with fresh links and resurrected it on my domain, it's not quite done:

https://eclipse.trihexagonal.org/

Now a days a graphic artist (or really just about any kind of content creator) can use either Windows or Mac with no notable limitations. Adobe’s creative suite for example is virtually the same on both platforms. But ultimately I’m in a very long term relationship with the Apple ecosystem at this point so for me the answer to your question is “Mac.”

I started using Gimp when I started using Linux over 20 years ago. It took me longer to get the hang of Gimp than it did to learn how to run Linux and FreeBSD.

FreeBSD what I'm using now and rarely a day goes by I don't use Gimp. It's a real source of enjoyment for me and I make all my own wallpapers, this is Poppy:

 

[afgani]

I see no reason to buy anything other than a macbook

I don't see myself going back.

agree
if apple products cost less money it would be generally good

 

[blaked]

These days I kind of hate all of them.

I used to be a fairly devoted fan of the Mac and used them as my home machine for about 25 years. I had good reason to prefer them since I worked primarily with Windows machines professionally (maintaining servers and associated networks), and I knew what a royal pain Windows could be from personal experience.

But honestly? I feel like macOS has been steadily declining in quality since Snow Leopard. That was the peak for me. Since then it feels less reliable and buggy.

Oddly, my position is reversed now. My employer supplies me with a Macbook Pro (useful because I can cover all bases with it; I run Windows in a virtual machine when I need it, which isn't often), but at home I've been on Windows for over two years now.

I actually spent a few years running a Hackintosh. While I like our iPhones and Apple TV, Apple hasn't made a computer truly tailored to me as an audience for a while. I would like a machine I could open and customize while not costing the GDP of a small country. Apple hasn't made such a thing in years. Computers have become appliances to them, and I hate that.

Eventually I decided the hassle of keeping a Hackintosh running wasn't worth it anymore, so I defected to Windows.

There are some things I miss. PDF management is way easier out of the box on a Mac. And photo management? Sorry, but I've probably tried over a dozen photo management apps -- some of which I purchased -- and none of them come remotely close to holding a candle to the old iPhoto (or just "Photos", as they call it now). The chronological work flow, organization, and general ease of use of that app is still a standout. If anything ever drives me back to the Mac platform, it would probably be that. Managing family photos and home videos is a big deal for me, and no one else has truly gotten that "right". Google's cloud service is probably the closest, but it doesn't thrill me. Phototheca is a Windows app that tries to mimic the iPhoto feel and does so reasonably well, but it still feels like a different app wearing a mask.

I'm also a fan of Linux in principle, but not as much in actual practice. I keep an installation of Ubuntu and/or Mint running in a VM for the odd task here and there, but, while I've had weeks-long attempts to move full time to Linux, I've never lasted. There's always something that just doesn't do it for me. And this is from a guy who actually likes using vi for text editing.

So for now I'm tolerating Windows. For audio I've mostly got a good work flow going. I use Exact Audio Copy when I need to rip a CD (as opposed to XLD on a Mac), Mp3tag to edit tags (Tagr on a Mac), CUEtools for file verification (Xact on a Mac), and fre:ac for codec conversions (Max on a Mac). So I've mostly replaced everything I needed.

I still use iTunes so I can use the Home Sharing feature and stream audio/video to my Apple TV from the computer, but iTunes for Windows can be terribly buggy, too. Once every couple of months or so I have to reinstall it and reboot because Home Sharing just stopped working for no obvious reason. (I can't begin to tell you how many times I've entered "netstat /an | findstr /c:"3689" just to see if the service is actually listening.)

I think maybe I've just reached an age where I don't care about the computer stuff anymore. I used to be an enthusiastic techie who relished diving into every detail of my hardware and OS. Now I just want it to work and then get the **** out of my way. No platform really does it for me anymore. Maybe someday one will again.

 

[Trihexagonal]

I'm also a fan of Linux in principle, but not as much in actual practice. I keep an installation of Ubuntu and/or Mint running in a VM for the odd task here and there, but, while I've had weeks-long attempts to move full time to Linux, I've never lasted. There's always something that just doesn't do it for me. And this is from a guy who actually likes using vi for text editing.

The last version of Windows I ran full-time was Vista. That came OEM on a Sony Viao my Mom bought me for my Bday in 2005 or 2006. It still runs, FreeBSD, 11.2, but is one of two 1386 machines I still have and don't use it or my IBM Thinkpad T41 very often.

I'm a user of FreeBSD and GNU/Linux in actual practice. I couldn't care less about FOSS as principal and had to look GNU up to refresh myself on what the difference was when I started using Kali GNU/Linux. However, we do things quite a bit differently.

I hate vi. I moved from NotePad to Leafpad without missing a beat me Leafpad and I can have 25 instances of it open on the desktop when writing markup. A text editor (I like using ee, or Easy Editor, from the terminal) a file manager and a terminal emulator and that could constitute a bare-bones working desktop for me.

I like gkrellm for system resource meters and listen to all my music on laptops so I would need audacious and eventually youtube, but Gimp is the only graphics manipulation program I need. It was easier for me to figure out Linux than Gimp and I'm still more knowledgeable of BSD and Linux than all the features Gimp has to offer

Sticking with it finally paid off with a Deviant Art account and stuff I did years ago is more popular than I even thought about being fit to post as art

I lost all interest in TV after I got sick and the Matrix Reloaded has been looping on the DVD player since Friiday morning. I'm not as OCD about computers as I was for years and social upheaval with the FreeBSD Chieftans being more featherbrained than honest injuns probably had a lot to do with it.

Google, in their infinate grace and wisdom has forgiven me my Sins and there's an Android app what my hheart used to be. I stopped worrying about them knowing what I did and gave them full control of my data As their supporter and a made man as a Google Product Expert and member of every Google Group there is.

At Large and wandering the help forums as I see fit helping people and tending the flock for your Robot Overlords. Worship me in their stead, that it may be well with thee...

 

[earmonger]

I have a pet DOS program I was running through the many iterations of Windows. But Windows 8 made it difficult and Windows 10, with all those stupid blinking tiles and multileveled menus you had to click through to do what was once one simple thing, completely drove me away. Don't get me started on Cortana the micro-surveillance regime. No I do not want Microsoft monitoring every keystroke.

I'm on Mac now, running my DOS program in a DOSBox modified for my pet program. It mostly "just works," though the clipboard function is a pain. Also, a recent Apple OS "upgrade" killed my mp3tag, the great free metadata program.

And then my MacBook Air battery started dying -- suddenly, with zero warning -- at 45% charge. That is Apple's built-in obsolescence. I have NEVER had a Windows computer battery suddenly require "servicing" that will cost $250 and take away the computer for weeks. Apple "just works" because they control both hardware and software, unlike the more open architecture of Windows and Android. But sometimes its walled garden is a prison.

 

[bagwell359]

UNIX > OpenBSD >> Linux >> Apple (built on *ix) >>>>>> M$

 

[tdockweiler]

I don't buy MAC computers because they're too hard to repair and upgrade. I remember I used to have an old Ibook G4 and I actually had to spend over 2 hours just to access the hard drive to replace it. There was even a print out to sort the 50+ screws I had to remove.

I also had a desktop G4 and the first Macbook Pro that had an Intel CPU. It was the one that had the really nice non-chiclet style keyboard.

If I was super rich and liked buying a new computer every year, then maybe i'd more easily want to buy a MAC.

When your hard drive fails in one can they even replace the hard drive these days if you have an extended warranty? Or do they give you an entirely new MAC? I imagine the NVMEs they use are now soldered on.

I really do now believe Windows 10 is basically spyware though. My version was an upgrade from Windows 7 and seemed to retain most of it's settings. It was less apparent when I installed it this way.

I did a clean install the other day of Windows 10 on a laptop and was shocked how far they went to invade a person's privacy.

During install I activate Wi-Fi and it actually forced me to sign in or create a Microsoft email account! I couldn't click cancel or do it later. Maybe if I had not first activated WiFi I could bypass it.

After you enter your email I was able to change to a local account.

Then it requires me to use a pin instead of a password! What the heck.

After this I load Microsoft Edge to install Firefox and it requires my pin (linked to my email) to use Edge.
I was able to disable this "feature" in config.

Another surprise is all that bloatware ads to the start menu and to the taskbar.
They even think I want to see News from my taskbar.

Is there an app that goes through and disables all the Microsoft Marketing and spyware features? There should be!

You know what made me hate Apple even more?
Signing up for Apple TV+ when I'm not an Apple product owner and couldn't remember my password.
Such a nightmare! They even required me to sign up for Itunes.
I had the old account where they gave you 3 questions, like name of first car, pet or mother's maiden name.
There was basically no way to reset or access my old account and I lost my whole Itunes collection.


BTW I did love the old Mechnical drive Ipods though!
I still have my 2G Monochrome version with the touch wheel!
Requires a Firewire charger kit, but can copy music to it over USB.

 

[Trihexagonal]

I did a clean install the other day of Windows 10 on a laptop and was shocked how far they went to invade a person's privacy.

The IBM X61-Tablet I recently purchased came with Win10Pro and I had to set it up. I didn't set up a Live email account and used my gmail account. It kept wanting me to activate it, I kept ignoring it and finaly settled for half of what it wanted and activated it.

Then I powered it off, turned it over, loosened one screw to remove the cover and pulled the SSD out of side of the laptop, housed in a nice Thinkpad caddy with rubber baby buggy bumpers on the sides.

Then I pulled the HDD out my old X61, slid it in the tablet and fired up FreeBSD 11.1. Both boxen had Intel video chips and it took off where it left off. With 306 days uptime logged on that disk, ready for another go at it.

Try blocking TCP/UDP port 0 (zero) in and out with the onboard firewall to stop updates from happening till you want them to..

 

[afgani]

every time I boot into windows for work, I feel how much slower the application software works, especially everything related to updates, unlike my new mac

 

[SilverEars]

One thing I wish Android devices has is magsafe. It seems so practical since the magnets line up exactly, and it can be used as magnet to for car mount and also charge at the same time. Such a great idea, but I'm sure Apple patented it and owns the rights.

I like to get in my car and just mount it into magsafe. Very convenient.

 

[SilverEars]

They just added USB-C. lol and it's USB 2.0 speed. I don't use Apple for a lot of reasons, the magsafe alone can't pull me to the iphone.

 

[Surf Monkey]

They just added USB-C. lol and it's USB 2.0 speed. I don't use Apple for a lot of reasons, the magsafe alone can't pull me to the iphone.

Apple should have added a thunderbolt port instead, but it is what it is. Fully expect Apple to make a big stink next year about how they’re “upgrading” the USB C port to 3.0.

 

[SilverEars]

Apple should have added a thunderbolt port instead, but it is what it is. Fully expect Apple to make a big stink next year about how they’re “upgrading” the USB C port to 3.0.

Oh and when Iphone X came out, I've had AMOLED Samsung for years. lol

Main reason why I don't use Apple computers is that I game, and Apple are not built for gaming. I will admit there are some very nice conveniences to Apple products if you are in the ecosystem, but for my personal usage, doesn't outweigh some of the stuff I do not like about Apple.

And their overpriced displays made by LG or Samsung? Also, PC gaming has gone RGB crazy with customizations, and I'm drawn to that a lot more. Although, I will admit, gaming PCs are power hogs (I'm pretty sure TOTL Nvidia card combo with i9 CPU are drawing like 800W peak, which is nuts! That's more than a portable AC guys!), and Apple has always been power efficient systems. If somebody doesn't game, and still need a powerful PC, I can see Apple being a draw. I know Apple is a bit overpriced, but their M series chips are efficient power wise.

If it's Apple vs MS OS. I hate MS Windows 11 with a passion! It gives me so many problems! I only use due to gaming. Otherwise I'd rather use MAC OS if Apple were gaming PCs.