There is a difference between being useful and an inconvenience. There's a reason there aren't touchscreens on the Mac.
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Why would anyone buy a Retina Macbook Pro vs Dell XPS 15?
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There is a difference between being useful and an inconvenience. There's a reason there aren't touchscreens on the Mac.
Well to be fair touch on Windows is only an inconvenience because of the UI disaster MS built to support it. If they'd been smart and had "touch" and "traditional" interface modes you could switch between then users who don't want touch could just switch to "traditional" and ignore the functionality entirely. Then there'd be no negative side; people who want it would have the support, and people who don't wouldn't compromise on their UI. There are no relevant impacts to screen quality, brightness, or cost from including touch circuitry at this point.
I'm not saying I specifically want it... I have enough trouble keeping my greasy finger smears off the screen as is... but I don't think it's innately a loss if it's handled well.
I'm both a Windows user (for now) and an iPhone user.
After using an iPhone I'll definitely go for the Mac. Even if the specs aren't better, the design itself is. And that applies not only to the computer but also to the OS. That is the main reason why you should buy an Apple product.
After using an iPhone I'll definitely go for the Mac. Even if the specs aren't better, the design itself is. And that applies not only to the computer but also to the OS. That is the main reason why you should buy an Apple product.
touchscreens on laptops are a novelty. many will use it the first couple of weeks and realize how tedious it is to keep reaching to touch it.
Like Doward already pointed out, current Windows codebase is not derived from DOS, but NT. It was a completely new codebase, separate from old DOS code, and saw its initial release in 1993.
OS X on the other hand is a direct descendant of NextSTEP, which was initially released in 1989. And NextSTEP was based on BSD, first parts of which were released in 1977
Thanks for your insightful post!
I was browsing some forums and found out that the Lenovo Yoga 2 Pro display panel has a pentile subpixel configuration. Meaning that there are only 2 subpixels in a pixel, alternating RG and BW subpixels in a checkerboard configuration. Isn't the XPS 15 using the same display panel?
So, a 3200x1800 panel in pentile RGBW would contain 2880000 red subpixels, while the 2880x1800 RGB panel in rMBP 15" contains 5184000 red subpixels.
And the 3200x1800 pentile panel would have about 11.5 megapixels in total (as subpixels) whereas the 2880x1800 RGB panel has 15.5 megapixels in total (as subpixels).
Dell XPS 15 has nice specs...no denying that. Problem is where I am (New Zealand) premium Dell laptops like the XPS are actually more expensive than Apple. Saying that though, Dell gives me a 12% education discount for their premium stuff and Apple is pretty cheap with only 5%.
I don't really care what OS my laptop runs. I'm skilled at both and like both of them. For Windows 8.1, once you set it to boot directly into the desktop it's pretty nice. Nice and sleek.
I don't really care what OS my laptop runs. I'm skilled at both and like both of them. For Windows 8.1, once you set it to boot directly into the desktop it's pretty nice. Nice and sleek.
Thats not really the point. No matter the kernel, the basic API is still(!!) the crappy win32.
OS X on the other hand is a direct descendant of NextSTEP, which was initially released in 1989. And NextSTEP was based on BSD, first parts of which were released in 1977
And NextSTEP heavily builds on the ideas of Smalltalk and other staff Xerox PARC did. Who cares. From the design perspective, NextSTEP and subsequently Cocoa is still ahead what everyone else does. Microsoft started copying some of this stuff with .NET, and AFAIK, they still didn't manage to copy everything
The entire thread could have ended after this phrase - nothing more needs to be said.
And NextSTEP heavily builds on the ideas of Smalltalk and other staff Xerox PARC did. Who cares. From the design perspective, NextSTEP and subsequently Cocoa is still ahead what everyone else does. Microsoft started copying some of this stuff with .NET, and AFAIK, they still didn't manage to copy everything
That bolded part was exactly my point
I'll give you my answer as to why people would by the macbook pro retina.
Operating System-people who have used OSX generally find OSX enjoyable to use. Windows, on the other hand, can be a nightmare.
OSX has the same user friendly feel to it that iOS does, which brings us to another point, which I will raise later.
Hardware-although it looks like (for the same price) the specs are inferior to the XPS 15, in real life conditions, the Macbook Pro will be able to perform just as well as the XPS 15. I still have a 2010 white macbook, and that runs iMovie more fluidly than my friend's Dell XPS 14.
Now, about iOS. This is just like an iPhone 5S vs Galaxy S4 thread, which inevitably brings up the iOS vs Android. Android and Windows are developed to be a good OS for many, many devices. Obviously, the number of devices you develop your OS for is indirectly proportionate to how much optimisation there is for all of the components of those various devices.
Windows is made to be used for virtually any PC made with modern components, and Android does so for phones. So although there has been loads of bashing windows and its problems on this thread, it is inevitable that some of these problems will happen if it is being used so much.
With OSX and iOS Apple have their own ecosystem, where they can optimise their OS as much as they want for their own components. Because of this both iOS and OSX are very fast to use.
Operating System-people who have used OSX generally find OSX enjoyable to use. Windows, on the other hand, can be a nightmare.
OSX has the same user friendly feel to it that iOS does, which brings us to another point, which I will raise later.
Hardware-although it looks like (for the same price) the specs are inferior to the XPS 15, in real life conditions, the Macbook Pro will be able to perform just as well as the XPS 15. I still have a 2010 white macbook, and that runs iMovie more fluidly than my friend's Dell XPS 14.
Now, about iOS. This is just like an iPhone 5S vs Galaxy S4 thread, which inevitably brings up the iOS vs Android. Android and Windows are developed to be a good OS for many, many devices. Obviously, the number of devices you develop your OS for is indirectly proportionate to how much optimisation there is for all of the components of those various devices.
Windows is made to be used for virtually any PC made with modern components, and Android does so for phones. So although there has been loads of bashing windows and its problems on this thread, it is inevitable that some of these problems will happen if it is being used so much.
With OSX and iOS Apple have their own ecosystem, where they can optimise their OS as much as they want for their own components. Because of this both iOS and OSX are very fast to use.
What you are suggesting is your opinion, which you are entirely entitled to, but that does not make it fact. Nobody who actually uses computers for real work and not just fooling around cares anymore about what OS is better, they care about which gets their work done faster, and in some cases OS X does that better, in others Windows is better. The rest of you who keep bringing this up really need to wake up and realize that nobody who knows what they are talking about cares anymore about which OS is "better". This is a hardware to hardware comparison about two computers. If you MUST use OS X, your decision is already made, and hence your opinion on the subject irrelevant.
First of all, I don't know how can you operate hardware without software...
What you're basically saying is, people don't care what OS is better, but which one does the work faster. By saying "X" OS is faster to get things done than "Y", you're unconsciously implying X has to be better than Y.
Therefore, you're qualifying things, and therefore you're contradicting yourself.
That is exactly what I'm implying, but based specifically on certain tasks. For example, windows is better for gaming, there is no argument about that. On the other hand mac is better for certain visual operations, namely in the arts. While this isn't as significant a differentiation as it used to be, it's still somewhat true, and there are other things it does better as well. Linux is far better in some fields, for some very specific tasks. My point is we don't live in a perfect world, it doesn't matter what OS you wish was best, because it's not. It comes down to the best tool for the job and what you're used to. It seems every time I read a forum on here at some point someone has to voice how x is better than y operating system. It gets old and generally, it's misguided.
In real world IT, more people are switching over to OSX clients... Linux is a terrible hodgepodge and mostly useful for server builds and appliances, not as a desktop OS. OSX is still Unix at the heart of it.
Windows is still used as a platform, if people have to develop for .NET and such... but the flexibility of running Windows on a Mac and the easy availability of VMs plus OSX being a good host OS platform to run VMs means that if given a choice, most people would gladly take a Mac as their development platform.
There's little reason left to bother with stuff like Dells except for servers... unless one happens to be developing touchscreen apps for Windows. Which has NO future... the Surface is just a total abysmal failure!
As for PC gaming - get a desktop. High-end GPUs and high clock speeds requires a lot of power and cooling capacity... laptops just can't keep up, and aren't economical. My gaming desktop makes the Razer Blade look like a joke... yet it costs a whole lot less.
I think its subjective. Where I work, in an education facility, dell is the main supplier of computers for campus activity, and the apple computers have a tendency to cause more headaches than they solve. Usually that's due to networking a mac on a mainly windows campus, as well as certain individuals resistance to use windows when necessary, but I have to admit that setting the windows computers up on large networks and making sure everything works without any huge headaches is quite a bit easier.
I haven't really noticed an increased use in apple computers in the IT industry, especially in the global market. Then again, Windows 8 is pretty much worthless for enterprise work. As a desktop platform, if specialized software isn't required, I've found the Ubuntu distro to be very powerful, but linux isn't really used as a desktop OS in the enterprise world anyway.
Not sure why the distaste toward the Slate. I'd never buy one but I've seen a lot of people using them and they seem to be pretty cool...the first actual effective use of Windows 8's full potential.
I'm not trying to start an OS war, I'm making the point that we haven't reached a stage where we can simply state that one of the current OS platforms is better than any other outright, as it's simply not true. Unfortunately this is a mindset that infects Mac and Windows based forums (not even gonna start with Linux).
Yes its so much better compared OSX that 80% of business use windows and office
Dell's business model is based on selling mass quantities of junk laptops to corporations around the world. While the laptop referenced is nice, the fundamental business model of the company is to sell JUNK. Every Dell laptop I have had the miserable misfortune of using (using one right now), displays a consistent design philosophy of going cheap, cheap, and cheaper. One summer I repaired Dell desktops at all price points; the design philosophy was clearly eviden in how these desktops and workstations were built.
While Apple is not perfect and I have a few problems here and there, I had them resolved seamlessly. I still get a lot of use on my Mac Book Pro 3.1 (6 years?). I traveled 4 days a week for 3 years straight, bringing both my work laptop (Dell) and my MBP. I am on my FOURTH Dell laptop; my macbook pro still works great.
While Apple is not perfect and I have a few problems here and there, I had them resolved seamlessly. I still get a lot of use on my Mac Book Pro 3.1 (6 years?). I traveled 4 days a week for 3 years straight, bringing both my work laptop (Dell) and my MBP. I am on my FOURTH Dell laptop; my macbook pro still works great.
Design mainly CAD, CAM, FEA work.. Office 2013
OSX is no where near better in "Arts" in fact most photographers and video are switching to Windows Based system because Mac Pro, Imac is expensive and can't be upgraded.
Sure I'm Law firm edits couple documents and reads pdfs... better have that uber upgraded Imac because it looks nice on my desk.
Sure, you like apple that's fine but saying its better is not true.
Don't be comparing your $300 windows laptop to a $1400+ macbook
It's perceived as being better, and in the past, it actually was, due to the software the industry used (especially in video editing and film). This is no longer the case. I think you're responding to the wrong post. I don't have a $300 windows laptop, I have a $1200 windows gaming laptop, and I don't like Macs, it's just that at this point I don't care much either way as long as the price is right. My main computer (desktop) is a Windows machine and that's not going to change any time soon.
There is no real alternative for MS Office currently available, that is true. Whether that is because Office is good software, or just de facto, is a different question.
But businesses also tend to stick with the platform they have, not necessarily because it's the 'best' (whatever that means), but because they have invested in it. They don't want to throw away that investment and invest even more to another platform. The larger the company, the more reluctant they are to switch away from their current platform.
If a company has spent hundreds of thousands, or even millions of dollars to develop and maintain an ERP, an accounting or helpdesk system, etc, etc, whatever it is they need to run their business, they are not going to switch platforms. And it's not just software they need to think about, but hardware too. Switching to another platform might render a lot of their hardware useless. You'd be surprised how specific the hardware needs of some companies are, and how specific the software needed to run that hardware is.
Heck, businesses are't even going to upgrade, unless they are forced to. Just look at the share of Windows XP. It's twelve years old, and running out of support, but it still has 33,66% market share. Windows 3.11 support ended last year. Yeah, it really was an officially supported Windows version a year ago, believe or not. There are still countless POS systems, CNC machines, crimping starions, inventory systems, etc. that use it, and they won't be upgraded, because the hardware does not allow that.
(Edit: Add the cost and trouble of training users to a new system to all of the above.)
Businesses are stuck with what they once chose, and usually that is Windows.
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We have three cnc machines and they run windows 2000. Couple newer ones that run XP and the newest one runs Windows 7
I'm talking desktop/laptop workstations. Its dropping support which means you will lose XP.. So will a company go OSX or Windows 7/8?
Apple bread and butter is IOS.. Where I work we have 20 Ipads.
That seems to be normal from talking to customers and other vendors.. Iphones and Ipads
My company just brought a 5k Workstation for me. Guess what the OS is..