Now Microsoft Windows and connected programs are so intrusive and AI-infested that I would like to use something else.
I have only used Macs on a few occasions (none of them up to date) and I did not like the way Mac OS works - and on my iPhone and iPad it seems that they have poorly-integrated versions of Office apps.
Also, my favourite browser, DuckDuckGo, does not work well on either Mac or Windows - as far as I have found.
Is Mac OS easy to use when you get used to it compared to Windows?
I have found Mac/MacOS easier to use than windows and much easier in terms of installation, networking setup, printer setup, and, very occasionally, driver installation, eg Naim OC firmware updates, across both Intel and Apple processor platforms.
A MacOS also includes a migration tool to help move from PC’s, or previous Mac.
Unless you are (very) computer savvy, Linux will be a PITA.
I have not long moved to a Windows 11 PC, from Windows 7. The PC was bought as a refurb on eBay. Came with SSD drive, Win 11 and Office 2019 - and cost less than £400.
At work I use Windows exclusively. It works well for what I need it for day to day - standard office applications and a few dedicated applications related to work.
At home, I use computers for different purposes and have used Macs for the last 20 odd years. I like the Apple ecosystem where everything works nicely together so everything syncs up between my Macbook, iPads and iPhone. I’d say if you’re happy with Windows and need to run specific applications that are more Windows centric then stick with what you know.
The Mac version of the Microsoft Office apps are fine. You don’t need to worry about integration.
The main thing you would need to check is that you can get Mac versions of any specially important software you need and I am aware of one piece of essential (to me) hardware that won’t work on Apple Silicon Macs, so running the windows only software on an emulator won’t help with the latest machines. So that would be something else to check.
Only if I have to. I have them on both my iPad and iPhone so I can do urgent stuff on the move if need be, but especially on the phone the screen isn’t big enough to do everything you would want.
I used Windows machines for years and years at work, and Apple machines for years and years at home. I prefer the Apple environment. There’s not much that the Apple office programs, which are included in Apple machine purchases, won’t do and if needed you can import and/or export to and from.
Having supported Windows all my life in work, I have used Mac at home since 2009. Typically back in those days a PC would last about 2-3 years before you needed to update it with a faster chip/memory. Mostly this was because MS (in my view) would bloat their products, so you never caught up, not to mention AntiVirus products slugging the CPU.
My 2009 Mac however was only changed earlier this year, however I still use it for Photoshop and a couple of other things that would mean buying a subscription for these days. So cost per year is probably less than a PC. Also my 2009 iMac had a 3.5K screen - even now they are only 4K - so you got a lot for your money.
One of other advantages at the time was that the hardware used was limited, but fully tested and known. The problem with PC’s is that there are so many motherboards/memory/cards from various suppliers, that stability wood always be an issue (of course the ability to run these varieties is also their strength).
Nowadays, I think PC’s have caught up, but I still believe that to own a PC you either need to be quite tech savvy, whereas a Mac less so. I also brought my Mum a Mac in 2010, and I can easily support her 240 miles away - I would not be able to do the same with a PC.
Finally if you have any Apple tablets/phones, then integration across all your devices is excellent.
@JimDog From the title I assume you are looking at privacy concerns as well as usability concerns. I use a mixed environment here at home, both Windows and Mac. Microsoft 365 work very well for me across both platforms. I do agree that screen size is important for some tasks such as bigger spreadsheets. The Microsoft 365 versions of apps work and synchronise easily between both environments. There is the odd quirk but nothing I have found to be a show stopper.
Privacy is a bit different. I use safari on Mac and Firefox on Windows with both browsers using Duck Duck Go as the search engine. iOS (not MacOS) does provide a nice option to hide your IP address (Relay) if you are concerned about that. If that is the case then you may want to look into VPNs to see if they are appropriate for your use case. Not required for everyone.
The other bit of advice would be to look at how to stay safe on the internet. There are many useful websites that can help with this. I’d start with National Cyber Security Centre
Apologies in advance if this is all old hat for you.
I initially used the MS Office for Mac suite, however, eventually I lapsed the subscription and migrated to the Pages, Numbers and, very occasionally, Keynote apps that come with MacOS, all of which can open their MS equivalent file types - probably depends on how much of an MS power user you are……?
Mac Mail appears to be an OK alternative to Outlook - I find mailing lists much easier to create and label print on the Mac platform.
I have used office for Mac for about 14.5 years now in my business. There are occasions when I am convinced that Microsoft is trying to make life different for Mac users but I absolutely hated windows computers (I used them for many, many years before 2009). And I bought my daughter a Microsoft edge tablet four years ago when she started at uni which is giving up the ghost whereas a MacBook Air I bought her about 8-9 years ago is still going strong
I replace my business Macs after three years keeping the previous one as backup for the following three years. In 13.5 years had one Mac that failed battery and keyboard and the customer service from Apple was more or less get lost we don’t want to know - but other than that no problems.
My experience of Apple after sales is somewhat different. Years ago I bought an Intel iMac and after a while the hard drive needed an upgrade to something bigger. I went to the Apple store it was bought from and asked if they could do the upgrade. The answer was no and they just told me to find a local Mac repair shop. The amount of times that thing just crashed with the spinning beach ball was way more than any Windows computer I ever used. I also found that the MS Office apps were a pain on MacOS compared to Windows and that productivity apps like Lightroom and Photoshop worked more or less the same as on Windows and in all the time I had it I never found anything that was easier/quicker/better than on Windows. Apart from Time Machine, that was excellent. But a Mac? Never again. Now I’m using a self-built desktop machine from 2016 and a Dell XPS laptop from 2018 and both are still going strong.
@JimDog Linux is a great OS, the internet more or less runs on it but as a desktop OS, although there are some very nice and easy to use distributions, it is ultimately hamstrung by the lack of software that a typical desktop will use unless your needs are very simple. The days of Linux distributions having trouble with certain hardware are long gone, it is just the lack of software that puts me off having it as my desktop OS. That said, anybody on here with a QNAP or Synology NAS is already running a Linux machine
Personally I’ve been using MacOS for over 10 years now. Having been trained as a .Net developer (used to be exclusively Windows) I’m still using Windows for work. But the ever increasing and annoying ads, spyware and silly updates have been making it increasingly hostile for home use (in the corporate world most of the ads is disabled usually).
I’m also quite keen on privacy and at this moment Kagi search really stands out. It’s search results are vastly superior to google and I’ve switched to a paid plan. I like it they make money of a subscription model rather than my search data / behaviour. Next to that I’m using the Arc Browser. Arc is a fresh take on how browsing can / should work and 5 months in, I’m hooked.
Now, given the original question (Mac / Windows), I would strongly suggest Mac. Not only does the hardware age well, it’s more stable and simply less fuss.
Also, especially now with the M1, M2 and M3 processors: Apple hardware runs almost silently and uses less energy. Not a lot, but the performance / Watt ratio is very good
