Windows 8 & 10 Versus Mac

[GuingesRock]

How are people finding windows 10? Windows keeps flashing that I can download it free. My laptop has been really annoying me lately and I'm tempted to press the download button for better or worse.

My son has Windows 8 and I don't like that one. I've been sticking with 7.

[Broob]

Get a Mac

[GuingesRock]

Get a Mac

I don't remember the last time 3 short words got me thinking so much. I never had a MAc.

There are windows people and Mac people. Are all the windows people now tearing their hear out with the 8 and 10 platforms. I am. I feel like my head is being fucked with.

I might be about to become a Mac person ...but first! what is like on the other side. Is it a good life?

[LeafMan66_67]

Our office stuck with Windows 7 - we will consider 10 after its been out in the wild for a year or so.

[GuingesRock]

I put a poll/questionnaire in the first post here. Select as many options as you like. Also you can change your vote any time.

[jeffsmith]

I think you're going to find many polarizing opinions when it comes to Windows vs Mac. All depends on what you're looking for. All of my employees use Macs and that's what we use personally. I'm a big fan of Apple's no fuss warranty program, especially where our team is spread out across North America.

[Halifax_Jeff]

I use Ubuntu.. it's not going to work for everyone but I find it suits my needs and its very smooth on older machines.

[LiverDance]

I use Ubuntu.. it's not going to work for everyone but I find it suits my needs and its very smooth on older machines.

is that free?

[GuingesRock]

I think you're going to find many polarizing opinions when it comes to Windows vs Mac..

I'm keen to see this. I think the windows polarity might be dying like a dead battery because of Windows 8 and 10, but I could be totally wrong. Are people jumping on the windows bandwagon because of 8&10? is Windows more popular or less popular because of this? Is windows now more competitive with Mac, or has it made itself a poor cousin by trying to emulate Mac?

[Broob]

I used to be quite anti-mac. I would call people who had macs "mac-snobs". "Look at my pretty computer". I would always feel like they looked down their noses at people who still used PCs. In about 2005 a buddy of mine was at my place and brought his macbook. Spent of few minutes with it and was intrigued. We got chatting about them and how his then 5 year old laptop was still running quick and smooth. Every year or so I would have to format the hard drive of my PC and reinstall windows because it would get so slow. I thought this was normal and acceptable with computers. Apparently not. So I bought a refurb iMac and was very happy. I've been a mac snob ever since.

[CartoonCod]

I use Ubuntu.. it's not going to work for everyone but I find it suits my needs and its very smooth on older machines.

is that free?

Yeah it's free. I even use a toned down version of Ubuntu called Lubuntu that has brought life back to my 2008 laptop. Now it can do all the basic web browsing stuff, even google docs.

[LeafMan66_67]

Ubuntu is definitely a great asset for reviving older machines.

[CorneliusAlphonse]

I think windows use is falling a bit just due to tablets ... A lot of people don't use computers much anymore.

To answer your question, I use Windows, mostly because I can do nerdy stuff on it ... Last night I used it to wipe my new Chinese cell phone, I wouldn't have have the first clue how to do this on a mac

[the-mailman]

Windows 10 is definitely better than 8 for me. Similar enough to Windows 7 to be familiar and seems faster on both my laptop and desktop. Haven't found anything that doesn't work both software and hardware so I'm staying.

One thing I haven't figured out yet is since I didn't get any installation media, if I have to format and re-install Windows 7 will I be able to upgrade to 10 again for free.

[RubberToe]

I use Ubuntu.. it's not going to work for everyone but I find it suits my needs and its very smooth on older machines.

is that free?

Yeah it's free. I even use a toned down version of Ubuntu called Lubuntu that has brought life back to my 2008 laptop. Now it can do all the basic web browsing stuff, even google docs.

I'm with you guys. I've been free from Windows for over 15 years. However I'm a sysadmin and software developer. It's not for everyone but it's a lot easier these days to make the switch.

[mikeorr]

Windows 10 is definitely better than 8 for me. Similar enough to Windows 7 to be familiar and seems faster on both my laptop and desktop. Haven't found anything that doesn't work both software and hardware so I'm staying.

One thing I haven't figured out yet is since I didn't get any installation media, if I have to format and re-install Windows 7 will I be able to upgrade to 10 again for free.

Yes, you will (as long as your computer hardware hasn't substantially changed in the meantime) - when you did the free upgrade and your Windows 7 was determined to be "genuine", your hardware was registered with Microsoft so if you install Windows 10 on that PC again in the future, it will check in with Microsoft and automatically activate itself.

If you want to get installation media (probably a good idea), then use Microsoft's Media Creation Tool: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/softwar ... /windows10" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[the-mailman]

Windows 10 is definitely better than 8 for me. Similar enough to Windows 7 to be familiar and seems faster on both my laptop and desktop. Haven't found anything that doesn't work both software and hardware so I'm staying.

One thing I haven't figured out yet is since I didn't get any installation media, if I have to format and re-install Windows 7 will I be able to upgrade to 10 again for free.

Yes, you will (as long as your computer hardware hasn't substantially changed in the meantime) - when you did the free upgrade and your Windows 7 was determined to be "genuine", your hardware was registered with Microsoft so if you install Windows 10 on that PC again in the future, it will check in with Microsoft and automatically activate itself.

If you want to get installation media (probably a good idea), then use Microsoft's Media Creation Tool: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/softwar ... /windows10" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Thanks, that should work and you don't need the license key if you installed the free upgrade.

[John G]

This is an interesting article. http://www.jamfsoftware.com/blog/mac-ib ... -6-months/

[Bowserm]

I am very happy with Windows 10. A few security tweeks here and there and you were good to go.

The way I explain to people when they ask if they should buy a mac is like this.. What are you using our for? Why pay the extra apple tax when you are not really going to use it much. A Windows computer with 4-8GB of memory plus an SSD upgrade is just as good as any macbook air for speed.

Ditch java and adobe flash, don't install toolbars, use adblock plus and purchase malwarebytes and you will never have an issue with viruses.

[mumblecrunch]

I grew up in an Apple (and then Mac) household. I switched to Windows in the late nineties (mostly to play games), but only long enough to determine I wanted nothing to do with it before switching to Linux pretty much as soon as it was viable ("viable" if you were willing to learn Unix, anyway, which I was). That was the case at least until taking this job where I was stuck with Windows for a couple years before convincing my employer that I would be more productive on a Mac. I still have a Windows virtual machine on my Mac in case client work demands it, but that's once in a blue moon.

I have used Linux, Windows and Mac professionally. I have supported Linux, Windows and Mac professionally. Windows will always be my third choice.

If you're at all interested in trying Linux I encourage you to do so. There are lots of distributions that you can run directly off a USB stick to try it out. It will be strange at first, but once you get the hang of it, it's mostly just learning how to do things a slightly different way. That's really no different from upgrading to Windows 10 or switching to Mac. Finding software to run on it can be a little more daunting, but that's part of the learning process (BeerSmith runs on all three, for what it's worth).

To those who suggest there's a "Mac tax" as in, it's more expensive to go Mac, well yeah, in terms of up front cost. But the machine is better designed and built, software tends to behave more consistently, warranty work is much easier to get (if you live reasonably close to an Apple store, anyway) and operating system upgrades tend to be free. I would argue TCO is much closer than the PC world would have you believe. I have encouraged several people for whom I am de facto tech support to switch to Mac; I don't tend to have to do much tech support for them anymore. That all said, if you really like Windows, why switch? I know plenty of people who don't like Mac (or Linux) and do great work on PCs running Windows. More power to them.

And the whole "Macs don't get viruses" thing is a total canard. ALL computers are susceptible to viruses and you should protect yourself on whatever platform you are using. Period.

[GuingesRock]

Thanks for all the great input. I clicked the button that said download windows 10 now free and I am glad I did. Was using Windows 7 and now have 10. My computer is set up exactly as it was, all my passwords are still there. All the links on my task bar and desktop are all still present and correct and working, and in the same place they were before. The same picture (picture of my beer) is still on my desktop. 2002 version of word excel etc work as usual. Beersmith works. Everything works faster. Only other difference I can see is if you click on the start menu a screen with a whole lot of available aps opens up, but you can still get into your old folders like my documents, my pictures, my music and everything is still there, present and correct and organized as it was. It looks like you can have several live desktops. I can still access remote computers in Halifax for my electronic medical records, so I can check results etc at home. Wireless printer works fine.

So far I think it was a very good move. Took about three hours to download and install. Very little setup, just gives you a couple of options for the way you want to set it up. I just went with default.

It does seem to be lightning fast now it has warmed up a bit.

Now using the Twitter ap. It's great. Click "all aps" in the start menu, scroll down, right click on Twitter ap and click pin to task bar.

[GuingesRock]

I still like Windows 10, it may be the best Windows yet. It has it's own built in virus protection so no need to keep buying that. It's much more user friendly. Lots of aps to download and play with or you can use it the same as before without aps.

[canuck]

Running in the house is currently four Windows desktops, three Windows laptops, and two MacBook Pros. I can say without onc ounce of a doubt that the Macs are the far superior machine. My Macbooks are way more stable and a shit ton faster at doing the exact same thing than on one of my comparable Windows machines. As my Windows desktops or laptops die, they'll be replaced with Macs. But I'm kinda weird because I much prefer an Android phone over an iPhone. Go figure.

[Juniper Hill]

I switched over to Mac about 5 years ago and haven't looked back. I'm on windows at work, and it just seems to slow down like crazy after a couple of years, where the macs just keep on going. I even upgraded the RAM in my old Mac Mini a few months back.

[GuingesRock]

I notice there's a button you can press on WIndows 10 to restore windows fresh, keeping all your programs and files in tact. Is that something new?