I'm thinking of moving to Windows: Shock Horror!

[Melrose]

I have Yosemite since it came out on MBP (clean install), it's not that great, at least in my experience. I get graphical glitches, hangups and poor performance on i5 Quad Core with 8Gb of RAM...I also don't find Windows as bloated as it used to be, provided you use a Microsoft disc instead of an OEM disc.
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For the OP, no shock and no horror there. You're not alone and I bet more people are feeling the same way. I hate this path Apple is taking, soldering everything and going thinner and thinner. The way things are, if ANYTHING fails after the warranty, that basically means a getting new machine. It's ridiculous, we can't even upgrade the RAM or HDD/SSD!

I'm going back to Windows/PC soon, it's just a matter of how much more time can my iMac survive. I've been trying Windows 10 for quite some time and quite honestly I find it very good. It's clean, fast and performs very well (Cortana is great). Windows 10 will be out soon, so that's the version I'm going for.

I like gaming, but I was limited to the games available for Mac (I was never a fan of Bootcamp - booting from one side to the other all the time really got on my nerves - and a virtual machine eats too much performance for gaming). With Windows/PC, I'm going to do more gaming soon, sooo many good titles I haven't tried, I have a lot of catching to do haha

As for the machine, if I take the 1550€ for the high end 21.5" iMac and use them for a PC, I can build a machine A LOT more powerful...really A LOT more powerful! And with the advantage of being able to replace any faulty part or upgrade the machine according to my needs.

I won't lie, I will miss some things on OSX, but the way things are, I just can't buy another Mac...

I'm fortunate enough, I guess, that I don't need to have a terribly powerful computer anymore. I used to need higher end machines for hi-res Photoshop work, but now it's all SEO, web programming and Wordpress-type development... not much call for super beefy specs for that type of work, only that I tend to like faster computers than I realistically need.

....albeit, I can certainly see it's irritating at best with the way Apple's gone the last couple years. We saw it coming with the Air, I s'pose. Everything glued in and super slim. I'll always pay the premium for a Mac because I love it, but I'm not fond of the way they're taking things.

 

[dXTC]

why not rather switch to ubuntu 14 lts, everything just works out of the box, it's as easy as windows to install and it's free. pretty cool......

Funny, yet apropos, that you should bring up a GNU/Linux distribution in this case. I've been the lucky recipient of a good handful of hand-me-down PCs recently, and I've installed Linux Mint 17 (based on Ubuntu 14 LTS) on three of them. They serve me quite well now-- almost as well as my iMac with Snow Leopard, and better than my MBP now that I've slowed it down with Mavericks.

If iTunes had a native Linux version, I'd be really happy. Of course, that's not going to happen anytime soon, what with Apple being notoriously closed-source and all.

 

[maflynn]

I'm going back to Windows/PC soon, it's just a matter of how much more time can my iMac survive.

FWIW, I was all set to buy a retina iMac, but I'm on the fence at this point.

I can spend 2,500+ on a computer that should hopefully last 3+ years or I can buy a PC (similarly spec'd other then the 5k display) for anywhere around 1,200 dollars with the expectation it should last 3+ years.

Basically spend half as much for an All-In-One computer and yet it should last the same length of time.

True,I can spend even less and build one myself, but I'm just comparing apples to apples as much as I can.

My point is that I'm finding less value in what makes Apple special and if that's the case, why spend the $$

 

[iFitzgerald]

I'm fortunate enough, I guess, that I don't need to have a terribly powerful computer anymore. I used to need higher end machines for hi-res Photoshop work, but now it's all SEO, web programming and Wordpress-type development... not much call for super beefy specs for that type of work, only that I tend to like faster computers than I realistically need.

It's funny that you mentioned Photoshop and in my post I only mentioned gaming, forgetting to mention that I work with a lot of Adobe's tools including Photoshop as well as After Effects and Premiere, so yeah, I need the horsepower lol

 

[iFitzgerald]

My point is that I'm finding less value in what makes Apple special and if that's the case, why spend the $$

I think that last sentence resumes my current feelings regarding Macs as well. I question myself, Macs are great machines, but are they that great to justify paying twice as much for them when compared to a similarly spec'd "regular PC"? :/

 

[ardchoille50]

Being that this user has only one post in his post history, and the fact that he hasn't returned to reply to this somewhat important topic, I am left to wonder if this thread was created solely for its controversial effect or if it was a psychological study of some kind.

 

[mobilehaathi]

Being that this user has only one post in his post history, and the fact that he hasn't returned to reply to this somewhat important topic, I am left to wonder if this thread was created solely for its controversial effect or if it was a psychological study of some kind.

Hmmm, good point. I suppose they didn't stir the kind of trouble they were expecting.

 

[maflynn]

Being that this user has only one post in his post history, and the fact that he hasn't returned to reply to this somewhat important topic, I am left to wonder if this thread was created solely for its controversial effect or if it was a psychological study of some kind.

Perhaps, yet I think its a good discussion to have as people vet out their reasons to buy Macs and for some to change platforms.

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I question myself, Macs are great machines, but are they that great to justify paying twice as much for them when compared to a similarly spec'd "regular PC"? :/

As I mentioned in my post above, that's the problem I'm having. I'm getting ready to perhaps buy a new computer later this year. My funds are tight so I need to make a choice that best fits my budget and my short and long term goals.

 

[IamDave]

I'm thinking of moving to Windows: Shock Horror!

As others have said its a personal decision and I wouldn't call anyone stupid for doing it. I am still relatively new to the world of Apple I bought my first Mac in 2012 after a friend recommended them and things are still going well. The only disappointment I've found is the fan started taking off and it takes a while to boot (I have plans for that but it doesn't bother me much anyway).

I personally (at this point) am still convinced I will be sticking with Mac for a while based purely on my previous experiences with windows. I made the mistake of using vista which drove me to the edge and although windows 7 was an improvement the blue screen of death was a regular occurrence and lots of little things.

There's a possibility though, in the future I may return to windows. When this Mac needs replacing I still don't know if I can justify the price tag for my uses but time will tell!

 

[Melrose]

As I mentioned in my post above, that's the problem I'm having. I'm getting ready to perhaps buy a new computer later this year. My funds are tight so I need to make a choice that best fits my budget and my short and long term goals.

I'm also frustrated that Apple has created such a quandary; Take for example the new MacBook. You pay for (a) a teensy profile, and (b) bling - that's all it has. It has no expandability and no real power. I was at the Apple store a week ago and asked about it, and the rep says "for running anything other than Safari, Preview, or Mail don't even look at the new MacBook." I love the honesty, but then why wouldn't I buy the Air - which does absolutely fine for those things, costs like $200 less, has more expansion, and tbh is every bit as thin for me, who honestly is less forgiving about appearance than most buyers. Apple's getting "Gold iPhone" syndrome with all their products.

I kind of wondered if it would get this bad when they ditched the 17" and started making Retina MBPs; I get the 17" didn't sell as well as others in the lineup, but then the obsession with "small & thin" kind of went wild. Whoever they have that's making the decision "does it have enough power? No? Well, is it thin? It is? Okay: green light" needs to either be demoted or wake up.

 

[Jazper]

There was about a year when I was forced to go from Mac to Windows, but I then was able to purchase myself a new Mac.

Although I do prefer Mac over Windows, I do completely agree with a lot of the comments on this thread. I really do wish they stopped focusing so much on making everything thinner. I'd rather have a better components over weigh/size.

 

[JGRE]

I don't own any iOS devices and don't want my desktop looking like a tablet thank you very much.

If this is a important reason for you, never switch Windows with its tiles.

 

[bingeciren]

I'm an old time Windows user but have been using OS X as my primary OS since 2006.

While I first complained about Jony's "flat" design on the Yosemite, after previewing Windows 10, I decided to shut my mouth.

I use both OS X and Windows comfortably for my needs, however, I don't like the weak infrastructure of Windows. i.e. Registry, dll files being spread all over and being shared by different programs etc.

All I notice these days with OS X is the fact that "it just doesn't always work". OS X has more bugs than it should.

Seem like Microsoft is firing people and Apple is hiring them.

 

[Renzatic]

I use both OS X and Windows comfortably for my needs, however, I don't like the weak infrastructure of Windows. i.e. Registry, dll files being spread all over and being shared by different programs etc.

These days, all .dll files that are shared by multiple programs are grouped in Win32 or WoW64. Special .dll files that are used by a specific program are located in their own folders. It's really not that much different than the 'nix way of doing things to me.

 

[maflynn]

While I first complained about Jony's "flat" design on the Yosemite, after previewing Windows 10, I decided to shut my mouth.

Flat design is in vogue at the moment. I generally like windows 10's implementation somewhat. I'm not really jazzed up over some of the icons. The entire OS is a lot more contrasty then Yosemite is, which makes it visually easier to work with - at least for me. Plus with Windows, you can change the theme quiet easily. With OS X, you're extremely limited.

I use both OS X and Windows comfortably for my needs, however, I don't like the weak infrastructure of Windows. i.e. Registry, dll files being spread all over and being shared by different programs etc.

Same here, and in fact I support Windows servers and desktops (desktops are running win7). I think the days of DLL hell are long gone, I've not seen too many issues with DLLs, or even the registry. Do I like the registry, sometimes, because its easy to make a change if there is an issue. Its harder to do something similar in OS X.

All I notice these days with OS X is the fact that "it just doesn't always work". OS X has more bugs than it should.

No, but its still a fairly solid OS, and I'm hoping that this coming WWDC, Apple will look to stabilize and improve OS X rather then roll out a brand new version with even more features (before they've even had a chance to fix the current version)

 

[Huntn]

Windows is good for one thing, gaming. I really dislike Windows 8. Windows 7 is better, although I have a slew of utilities I have to run to keep it functional, which is not necessary with MacOS, in contrast a slam dunk, for stability and security. Although from a pure performance standard, you can pay half and get better horse power on a PC.

 

[gregrose]

Mac has become junk. Windows is 10x better

 

[Renzatic]

Windows is good for one thing, gaming. I really dislike Windows 8. Windows 7 is better, although I have a slew of utilities I have to run to keep it functional, which is not necessary with MacOS, in contrast a slam dunk, for stability and security. Although from a pure performance standard, you can pay half and get better horse power on a PC.

I still say you don't need all those utilities to keep Windows running. I use CCleaner and Revo Uninstaller, and that's it. The former just because it's a more convenient cache cleaner than the ones built into Windows, and the latter because I'm apparently anal retentive. I don't worry about any of those PC performance optimizers, because they usually don't do much of anything I can't do myself in 30 seconds, and sometimes tend to be more trouble than they're worth.

The only complaint I have about Windows, and this is more a problem with developers than the OS itself, is that just about everyone and their grandma wants to make it so their app boots at startup, and continuously run in the background. This is the major cause of all PC stability problems and boot issues. From what I've seen, this isn't a problem on OSX, since the devs there tend to have a little more respect for the platform.

 

[Huntn]

I still say you don't need all those utilities to keep Windows running. I use CCleaner and Revo Uninstaller, and that's it. The former just because it's a more convenient cache cleaner than the ones built into Windows, and the latter because I'm apparently anal retentive. I don't worry about any of those PC performance optimizers, because they usually don't do much of anything I can't do myself in 30 seconds, and sometimes tend to be more trouble than they're worth.

The only complaint I have about Windows, and this is more a problem with developers than the OS itself, is that just about everyone and their grandma wants to make it so their app boots at startup, and continuously run in the background. This is the major cause of all PC stability problems and boot issues. From what I've seen, this isn't a problem on OSX, since the devs there tend to have a little more respect for the platform.

Last week I used malware bytes to remove some terrible search engine hijacker.

 

[Renzatic]

Last week I used malware bytes to remove some terrible search engine hijacker.

Yeah, I keep Malwarebytes around just in case.

Though how'd you get the hijacker? Unless you're on XP, you don't get those on drive-bys anymore. They usually sneak in alongside other programs, or ask you for permission.

 

[Meister]

OP, I recommend you switch to windows.

It'll teach you a lesson to appreciate

 

[wepiii]

If it hasn't already been mentioned, you should look into building a hackintosh (PC hardware capable of running OSX). It is honestly very simple to set up. Check out tonymac.com for lots of guides and resources. You can build a great windows machine capable of whatever you need for 1/3 the cost of a comparable Mac Pro. And then just set it up to use a bootloader that lets you choose windows or Mac when you boot.

 

[Huntn]

Yeah, I keep Malwarebytes around just in case.

Though how'd you get the hijacker? Unless you're on XP, you don't get those on drive-bys anymore. They usually sneak in alongside other programs, or ask you for permission.

No clue how it appeared.

 

[Tech198]

it is a shock ya, particular since its a mac forum (no pun intended.)

What about a middle ground..., install Bootcamp and use it,,, keep OS X round to see how much of it you use, and see it you free up more and more of Windows or reduce the partition of OS X, than u'll know.

On a side-note, before u do this, erase, and clean install os x.. You will find it may clear those glitches.

 

[maflynn]

What about a middle ground..., install Bootcamp and use it,,, keep OS X round to see how much of it you use, and see it you free up more and more of Windows or reduce the partition of OS X, than u'll know.

I've done that, but when the Surface Pro 3 came around, I picked up that bad Larry That gave me the advantage of running my Mac with just OS X freeing up space and running windows on its own machine.

Iv'e had some issues with sound and other drivers from time to time with bootcamp (not sure why) but no issues with the SP3.

Both platforms have advantages and disadvantages. At this point, the Windows platform is rock solid, issues with malware is relatively low, but you still need antivirus software to be safe. OS X, has some bugs/stability issues, which I really hope get resolved in WWDC. My point is both have short comings.

What I'm not sure about is the direction that apple is moving in, and what advantages I have with Apple given the Apple tax you pay.