Flip Flopping between macOS and Windows

[maflynn]

Oh I don't think either, that's some flat earth level conspiracy going on. I'm not doubting the demand has sky rocketed,, there's always been a need for hard drives, particularly in the enterprise sector but now thanks to AI, its increased even further. My point is that this news blurb will have no impact on most consumers. I saw a similar article about it earlier this morning and I was largely - meh.

 

[pshufd]

Oh I don't think either, that's some flat earth level conspiracy going on. I'm not doubting the demand has sky rocketed,, there's always been a need for hard drives, particularly in the enterprise sector but now thanks to AI, its increased even further. My point is that this news blurb will have no impact on most consumers. I saw a similar article about it earlier this morning and I was largely - meh.

Here's an article if anyone wants a link without the attached conspiracy theory.

I often run into the Mac user that has a storage issue and no backup. I'd guess that the majority of Mac users don't have backup solutions nor do they really understand the idea of backup as some ask which SSD they should get for it. Consumers usually start doing backup once they've been burned.

It's already had an impact on consumers. Before late 2025, the discounts on WD Element drives were up to 33%. When I went to buy in January, there were no discounts at all and far fewer options for sizes.

AI boom triggers hard drive shortage — Western Digital says supply is gone for 2026

AI hard drive shortage 2026: Western Digital has sold out its hard drive storage capacity for 2026 amid booming demand from AI companies, leading to potential price increases and shortages for consumers looking to buy new hard drives.

economictimes.indiatimes.com

 

[maflynn]

Here's an article if anyone wants a link without the attached conspiracy theory.

I'm not doubting the lack of availability, I said as much in my prior posts. Its the conspiracy theory is that this happening to force consumers to the cloud.

 

[pshufd]

I'm not doubting the lack of availability, I said as much in my prior posts. Its the conspiracy theory is that this happening to force consumers to the cloud.

I don't believe that.

Our son sent me an email with the link or an image and I just reposted that.

 

[maflynn]

I love this guy's videos and quite apropos

 

[pshufd]

I just want Paint to be the Paint from 20-30 years ago. If I want to do fancier image-editing, I'll use a tool with more power. On the macOS side, it's getting more insistent on upgrading to Tahoe. I didn't see a way to turn off the reminders but I'll try to google it.

 

[pshufd]

The MacBook Neo is out and is impressive but I'm disappointed that the weight is the same as the MacBook Air 13.

 

[LiE_]

Was waiting to see if the Studio Display 2 was upgraded to 120hz, but alas that’s saved for the £3,000 XDR.

So I’ve put an order in for the Asus XG27JCG from Amazon for £698. Arrives Saturday. I know my m4 mini will manage 5k120 fine, just not sure about my Dell Latitude 7450 - Dell docs aren’t great. Seems to suggest I can do 8k60 so 5k120 should be doable. It runs my 4k monitor at 165hz ok currently. The other question mark is how well the KVM works in the Asus.

Been eager to come back to 5k ever since having an iMac and Studio Display, just couldn’t stomach going back to 60hz.

 

[maflynn]

The MacBook Neo is out and is impressive but I'm disappointed that the weight is the same as the MacBook Air 13.

For me, its really underwhelming, I see no use case in my mind that a A processor makes any sense in a laptop

 

[pshufd]

For me, its really underwhelming, I see no use case in my mind that a A processor makes any sense in a laptop

I'm looking for something for the gym or while waiting for appointments. Superlight and small. Not used for work or anything intensive.

I can use an iPad but I sometimes like to type a lot in these contexts.

Right now the leading contender is the Thinkpad X1 Carbon Gen 14.

 

[LeeW]

For me, its really underwhelming, I see no use case in my mind that a A processor makes any sense in a laptop

I think it's ideal for the masses who are doing basic tasks. It's got its downsides, but many won't even know what they are missing, especially if it's their first.

 

[maflynn]

I think it's ideal for the masses who are doing basic tasks. It's got its downsides, but many won't even know what they are missing, especially if it's their first.

Unlike the new XDR displays, this new class of machines seems to be well received.

I think I largely failed to take my personal biases and desire for high performance machines out of the equation, and consider how this could be useful a class of consumers that I clearly don't fall into

 

[LeeW]

I think I largely failed to take my personal biases and desire for high performance machines out of the equation, and consider how this could be useful a class of consumers that I clearly don't fall into

I mentioned in another thread that my wife has the original M1 MacBook Air, 8GB, 256GB SSD. She refuses to give it up, it's too good, she says, still getting days out of battery for her use. It's a big target market I think.

 

[maflynn]

Right now the leading contender is the Thinkpad X1 Carbon Gen 14.

If I'm understanding you, you're considering a premium thinkpad laptop or the Macbook neo for a secondary (or tertiary) device. The X1 Carbon will beat out the neo in every metric, other then price. If its something throw in a gym bag or carry to doctor's appointments the neo does make sense. I'd rather spend 500 dollars instead of 2,000

 

[pshufd]

If I'm understanding you, you're considering a premium thinkpad laptop or the Macbook neo for a secondary (or tertiary) device. The X1 Carbon will beat out the neo in every metric, other then price. If its something throw in a gym bag or carry to doctor's appointments the neo does make sense. I'd rather spend 500 dollars instead of 2,000

The Thinkpad would replace my Lunar Lake Yoga for portable use. That is it would be my primary laptop. The Lunar Lake would replace my home Windows desktop - it would get hooked up to KVM as a desktop.

The factors are size and weight and they didn't reduce the size of the Neo and the weight is the same as the MacBook Air. I need to check the dimensions of the Neo vs the Thinkpad but I suspect that they are similar given the larger bezels on the Neo.

Your spend numbers may increase once you're done paying college expenses.

 

[LiE_]

Was waiting to see if the Studio Display 2 was upgraded to 120hz, but alas that’s saved for the £3,000 XDR.

So I’ve put an order in for the Asus XG27JCG from Amazon for £698. Arrives Saturday. I know my m4 mini will manage 5k120 fine, just not sure about my Dell Latitude 7450 - Dell docs aren’t great. Seems to suggest I can do 8k60 so 5k120 should be doable. It runs my 4k monitor at 165hz ok currently. The other question mark is how well the KVM works in the Asus.

Been eager to come back to 5k ever since having an iMac and Studio Display, just couldn’t stomach going back to 60hz.

Slept on it and decided that at my viewing distance I don't think I'd get a huge amount of value out of 5k 27". My Gigabyte M27UA 4k 160hz monitor works really well and I'm fussy. I don't want to go through the monitor lottery game again.

 

[pshufd]

Dave2D did a review on the Neo and noted that there was no mention of AI in Apple's ads:

He also thought that this device will be massive in displacing PCs over the long run.

 

[maflynn]

My Gigabyte M27UA 4k 160hz monitor works really well and I'm fussy.

Tbh, I feel like for a new product the new monitors are a step back. Yes, they have some new features like mini-led but overall if comparing it to the XDR model, its going from 6k to 5k, 32" to 27".

Yes apple calls them the XDR and its cheaper then original XDR but these monitors are ASD 2, not XDR 2

 

[LeeW]

He also thought that this device will be massive in displacing PCs over the long run.

I'm not convinced. They said this when Apple moved to M-series chips, but it didn't happen.

I certainly think it will do well, but it's less about the device and more about the OS. The average consumer wants Windows, not macOS. It's not a debate about what's better or worse; Windows remains the OS most are used to. A $599 MacBook is not going to have people rushing to change that.

 

[Romain_H]

The average consumer wants Windows, not macOS.

I doubt that.
Windows is the OS most cheaper laptops come with. Its accepted at best, not actually liked

 

[Madhatter32]

I'm not convinced. They said this when Apple moved to M-series chips, but it didn't happen.

I certainly think it will do well, but it's less about the device and more about the OS. The average consumer wants Windows, not macOS. It's not a debate about what's better or worse; Windows remains the OS most are used to. A $599 MacBook is not going to have people rushing to change that.

Two words: educational market. Schools will buy in the thousands at $499 a pop. MacOS is much better than ChromeOS.

 

[LeeW]

Two words: educational market. Schools will buy in the thousands at $499 a pop. MacOS is much better than ChromeOS.

In the US, sure, macOS is not dominant anywhere else, and the Neo won't change that. Is that going to move the dial? No.

I doubt that.
Windows is the OS most cheaper laptops come with. Its accepted at best, not actually liked

Numbers don't lie, again its not about best or accepted, you can try and make it look like anything other than macOS is not that popular, but that is the truth, and all the facts and figures out there prove that. Again, we keep hearing that the next thing Apple does will change market share, doesnt happen. The Neo is next up with that claim. It won't noticeably change market share, if at all. Might in the US, nowhere else.

 

[maflynn]

Windows is the OS most cheaper laptops come with. Its accepted at best, not actually liked

Windows is the OS for cheap, mid range and premium laptops. The market share that windows has, illustrates that its beyond mere acceptance and in fact well liked and for some beloved. There are huge swaths of PC and windows fans and its the platform for businesses, gamers, prosumers, and consumers.

While many of us enjoy Macos, and feel it has advantages, it would be myopic erroneous to think that windows is only tolerated if not hated by billions of its users.

 

[eltoslightfoot]

On that same note, I decided that since I was back to using alternatives to iWork (MS Office) and Pixelmator (Affinity), do I even need Mac anymore? The privacy stuff isn't that big of a deal since I strip out most of the telemetry anyway and I also use Nextcloud for my Unraid server. I am even on the Classic Office 365 with no Copilot for $99 a year--far cheaper than the iWork/Creative-whatever-it-is-called.

Problem is my tower (which to be fair was my wife's old PC except with a new RTX 5060Ti in it) died. I tracked it back to either the Motherboard or the Processor, so either way I was done. So I upgraded my kid's PC with the 5060Ti 16GB card (almost overkill for her LOL) and decided to get a gaming laptop before prices go up again.

So I chose a Lenovo Legion Pro 7 (which ended up having an RTX 5090 in it--long story) with an Intel 275HX, 32 GB DDR5-6400 RAM and 2 1 TB SSDs. The OLED screen is really nice, I must say. I don't think I am going back at this point.

I will just use the Surface Pro 9 at the Office, and use my Lenovo Legion when I travel, and I still have my iPhone 15 Plus.

Just tired of needing to maintain different OSes. Maybe I really don't.

 

[maflynn]

do I even need Mac anymore?

Yeah, the more Apple goes down the path of Microsoft the less appeal it has.

I'm still very happy with my Studio, but after loading cachyos on my desktop, it has breathed new life into it.

I'm not sold that Linux can be a long term solution. One of the concerns I have is updates breaking the system. I've had some pretty horrific issues occur after an update. With an Arch based system there's less big updates but the risk remains

https://www.reddit.com/r/cachyos/comments/1rm13wl/pacman_update_bricked_install