patrick.net

SubOink says

If you were a pro-computer user for the last 15 years and were there from the beginning then you would understand it very easily.

I am still shocked that people put up with PC's aka Windows. It's pathetic.

LOL now you are just being silly. "Pathetic" is judging someone by the OS that they use lol. Windows and Mac users always spout this nonsense out about how the other OS is user-unfriendly or inhibits control too much. Frankly, I have never had a productivity issue on either one. Web browsing and light "soccer mom" usage can be accomplished on either with equal ease. When it comes down to real business / engineering computing, Windows wins hands-down simply because of software availability. Try running Pro/E in a VM...it sucks.

It USED to be true that video & photo editing was way better in the Mac OS because it had better software, but that is no longer the case since everything is available for both platforms. Anyway, I don't get the issues that Mac folks always say that Windows has. On Win7 I have not had a single blue screen crash since i switched ~3 years ago. Not a single virus, and I do not even HAVE anti-virus installed. The machine will still go from a cold boot to browsing in Chrome in 43 seconds (including the time to type in my password), and it is a Thinkpad from 2007. Yeah, most people are not as anal retentive about system maintenance as I am, but I spend maybe 10 minutes a month doing it. The people that have incessant virus & crash problems are people that have no idea what they are doing and download pirated content from sketchy sites without thinking about it.

Similarly, Windows users always complain that OSX doesn't allow you to control it enough. Well, it does, you just need to know where to look & how to use the terminal. OSX does have a smoother feel to it, and is more stylistically pleasing than Windows. I am not sure how people equate that to "more productive," but to each their own.

The OS I have had issues with is Linux, actually. It has proven unreliable each time that I tried to switch to it. I have tried a few times since I DO like the feel of it (when it is working). Driver support for older machines sucks, particularly in the graphics department, which is a total deal breaker. Yeah, I could write my own driver...uhhhh, no thanks.

SubOink says

You guys are nuts!

http://chart.finance.yahoo.com/z?s=AAPL&t=my&q=l&l=on&z=l&a=v&p=s&lang=en-US&region=US

SubOink says

wthrfrk80 says

I don't own AAPL because I don't understand it.

If you were a pro-computer user for the last 15 years and were there from the beginning then you would understand it very easily.

I am still shocked that people put up with PC's aka Windows. It's pathetic.

Its more pathetic to pay 2x the price for something with equal performance just so you can feel better about yourself and be associated with a particular brand.

Usability wise.. Windows have close the gap. I'm ambivalent on either companies since they both have questionable business tactics.

yes. Apple products in general have a slicker feel, but I'm not paying 2x for something that is still made in China. Itunes still sucks ballz

Meh. I've been a unix/linux admin since 95 and I don't really use it on the desktop anymore; though I still mange a couple hundred on the server side (all in run level 3 btw).

I still don't see it as really viable on the desktop in a business environment (for small companies and for certain functions, sure). For home use? Depends on what you use the machine for. Browsing, mail, music, photos, sure, it works great. Regardless, linux has come a LONG ways since Yggdrasil plug in play Linux.

The Windows/OSX debate is not really useful. Windows has vastly more commercial and open source software written for it. Windows 7 and Windows 2008 both work quite well and are quite stable. Large Microsoft environments certainly have their challenges but it's much better than it used to be. OSX doesn't have this issue since their are no large deployments of OSX (nobody uses OSX en mass in a business environment, except for the IT guys, graphic designers, the CEO and the other wannabe execs that don't know shit to begin with). The server side market for OSX is non-existent.

Apple itself is mixed environment BTW (Linux, Windows and OSX).

bmwman91 says

LOL now you are just being silly. "Pathetic" is judging someone by the OS that they use lol. Windows and Mac users always spout this nonsense out about how the other OS is user-unfriendly or inhibits control too much. Frankly, I have never had a productivity issue on either one. Web browsing and light "soccer mom" usage can be accomplished on either with equal ease. When it comes down to real business / engineering computing, Windows wins hands-down simply because of software availability. Try running Pro/E in a VM...it sucks.

it's about using the right tool(ie OS) for the job.

linux sucks as a desktop. can't be beat as a server or software development environment.
windows is best in a business environment because of its ubiquity.
os-x is awesome for personal/home use.

to say any one OS is "the best"; is kind of like saying the hammer is the best without saying what job it's best for.

I work entirely on Linux, since I have my laptop set up just like the Patrick.net server. I test everything locally and then push it to the server and know for sure that it will run. Linux is really great for web development that way.

CrazyMan says

Regardless, linux has come a LONG ways since Yggdrasil plug in play Linux.

Ubuntu+Fedora works for me.

Hysteresis says

to say any one OS is "the best"; is kind of like saying the hammer is the best without saying what job it's best for.

Very true.

I keep forgetting that a lot of people on here are web & software developers. Certainly, your needs are pretty different than mine as a MechE. There definitely is no "one size fits all" OS out there.