#windows vs mac

[silver-tangent]

Being a writer is a curse...

[applesferablog]

Laptops para teletrabajo: Guía honesta de calidad y precio

Laptops para teletrabajo. Hay un error fundamental en cómo buscamos este término. Solemos mirar el precio primero y la ficha técnica después, cuando el orden debería ser inverso si no quieres odiar tu herramienta de trabajo en seis meses. Laptops para teletrabajo hay miles, pero equipos que realmente aguanten el ritmo de ocho horas diarias sin colgarse en una videollamada, hay bastantes…

Laptops para teletrabajo: Guía honesta de calidad y precio

[onebloodsoakedlion]

Top 10 reasons to switch to a Mac... or not.

Back in the early 2000s, around the time of Windows XP, Apple compiled this list of ten reasons to switch from a PC to a Mac: https://web.archive.org/web/20050415011955/http://www.apple.com/switch/whyswitch/ But are these reasons warranted? Probably not.

1. “The Mac... it just works.” This point is basically that because Apple made the computers that Mac OS runs on, you don’t have to worry about drivers or whatnot. But noooope! What really happens with letting third parties make hardware for your software is actually upgradable computers (probably due to the fact that the vital parts like CPUs and RAM need to be able to fit PCs of multiple brands) or specialised computers, such as gaming computers. Another benefit has been the inclusion of special features in some PCs, even way back when this was written. Sure, hardware manufacturers have to fight tooth and nail to get drivers that work well and don’t cause crashes, but hey, having an upgradable computer with niche features that can last for a long time with little more than RAM upgrades is worth it, right?

2. “It doesn’t crash” Ha ha... AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Like that actually means so much in the grand scheme of things! Now let’s just say that Mac OS X came out in 2001. Before then, Bomb Screens were a thing. And they were everywhere. Due to the Macintosh’s terrible memory protection (as well as a very small amount of memory to begin with) meant that the simplest errors in an application (such as a divide by 0 error) would cause the entire system to crash. As the Angry Video Game Nerd loves to say, what a shitload of fuck. Windows, on the other hand, would only completely crash on serious errors. In Windows 9x, it was possible to resume after a BSOD which, like the bomb screen, applied to program errors as well as system errors. In Windows 3.11, you could get a BSOD just for pressing Ctrl-Alt-Delete! It was in Windows NT, including Windows XP and later, that the BSOD was reserved for errors you couldn’t recover from. In Windows, the majority of crashes come from faulty third-party software, drivers or hardware, something that is to be expected. Meaning that there are few flaws within the OS itself. In the Mac, however, the only reason it can crash is due to a flaw in the OS (or maybe ruined hardware), due to the lack of third party contributions. Furthermore, while the Blue Screen of Death tells you exactly what happened with an error code (and sometimes even tell you which file or driver is responsible), as well as even giving you advice should the BSOD rear its ugly head again, Macs do very little of that, meaning that you may have no choice but to reinstall the OS.

3. “It’s a digital jukebox” Windows Media Player: Am I a joke to you? Moreover this reason is about the iPod, and Microsoft did not have an equivalent because they were focused on computers rather than portable devices. This is not a reason to switch to a mac. Also, there’s iTunes for Windows if you have an iPod you wish to manage songs on.

4. “Delivers The Promise Of Digital Photography” iPhoto is not the only thing that exists. There is a whole heap of freeware that exists that will do what iPhoto does and more. Paint.net and Windows Photo Viewer are just two of many. Also, with digital cameras, you need only have a compatiable USB cable, plug it in to your Windows XP computer and let it do the work. Because Windows XP can magically detect and adapt to hardware like that.

5. “Best Solution, In Fact, For All Things Digital” iLife more like iShit. Even Windows 98 could do everything iLife does with free third-party applications. Microsoft doesn’t put much on a clean installation of Windows because they know you’re gonna find a decent third party application for what you want that would quite possibly be better than what they can come up with.

6. “Built To Go Everywhere — Because That’s Where You’ll Want It” This argument is just so stupid, I swear to God... even ignoring the fact that laptops today can have massive hard drives and long battery lives Windows laptops are still pretty big contenders even back then. “capacious hard drives”? My old af Acer had 40 GB. Still fairly decent for the time. “built-in optical drives”? Oh please, it wasn’t until the Windows 8/10 era that I’ve ever seen a laptop without one. “USB”? My Acer has several! “Can your PC laptop go coast to coast with just one battery?” Well not anymore, because that battery is several years old but I bet it could in its day. “Can you put the system to sleep just by closing the lid? Does it wake up instantly?” No, because I told it not to! I wanted it to only go to sleep when I press the power button, so I can just put the lid down for a split second. “Can your PC laptop automatically switch between Ethernet, dial-up and wireless connections on the fly? Without a restart?” Yeah, what did you think the Network and Sharing Centre was for?

7. “The Internet Is Integrated” So you think it takes a heck of a long time to configure a PC for the internet. What!? “up-and-surfing within 15 minutes”? Jeez you set the bar low. An internet setup wizard can get the internet set up in under five. Also, as someone who has used VMs, all I’ve had to do it give a VM for an OS as old as Windows 98 the right internet adapter and immediately it would connect to the internet, generally to whatever network my host computer uses so I can assume that in Windows XP as well as some earlier Windows operating systems some components of internet connection are automatic.

8. “Office is Office and then Some” This one is also stupid. If Office is the same on Mac as it is Windows, then why switch when you already have Office on Windows? Oh, but Office on Mac improves on its Windows counterpart. Yeah, how?

9. “It Works Effortlessly With PCs” Sure, but if every Windows user switches to a Mac, this point becomes completely redundant. What’s the use of ensuring compatiability with PCs if you want every PC user to switch to Mac? This should be a reason to get a Mac in the first place instead of switching to one.

10. “It’s Beautiful” ...And ergonomic as well, apparently.  Haha, no. Not with a single-button mouse and not with the massive af box that is the iMac. Not when PCs were starting to get the thin external monitors allowing you to set them up even on smaller desk spaces. Oh yeah, and the towers are easier to maintain. As for beauty, PCs have it too, including it in the software as well as the hardware, and in the sounds as well as the graphics. Ever heard the beautiful music that plays in the Windows XP Tour? My favourite is the music for Safe and Easy Personal Computing. What about the large variety of system sounds that play whenever something happens? What about the cute doggo that appears when you search for your files? If that isn’t beauty, then I dunno what is.

These “reasons” to switch to a Mac are so dumb and stupid and also prove that Apple knew very little about PCs when they worte that shit other than maybe the blue screen of death that has a chance of appearing a lot.

[shwaybotx-blog]

What makes you stay with an Operating System example (Windows, Mac, Linux)?

What makes you stay with an Operating System example (Windows, Mac, Linux)?

I’ve stayed with Linux for over 20 years. I don’t do Windows because I just do not like the threat of virus infection and the inability to customize the desktop like I can in Linux. I also don’t like having to go to various websites to download software that I have to trust. We never download software from other sites on a Linux system. I don’t do Mac because of all the proprietary software.

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[howsareeasy]

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Yesterday, I had the opportunity to record a short pod on a PC and it was a revelation*. PC users have been holding out on a sister. 

That’s... fine. I guess.

Coming from a macbook background, where it’s been a fight every step of the way, this was like... BUTTER, y’all! It is so easy to record, to edit. It’s not the best performance, but whatever. This was a quick and dirty experiment with someone else’s  computer, and I uploaded the file to mediafire because of ‘campsite rules’ : you leave the space how you found it.

Anyway, the quality is like bloody cheese and chalk. In order to get this quality on my mac, I have to do A LOT in pre and post production. This was just from one straightforward read with just ambient noise. No hiding under a duvet or drawing the blinds and door closed.

External mic, decent sound card, an actual set up space in the corner of their room. The process  as straightforward as sitting down and breathing.

Blimey.

This is what it feels like to be able to do things.  Without having to think about workarounds all the time. Even with relatively straightforward poetry recordings and edits on my macbook it feels like an effort at times (I tend to record in my car or on my bed most times).

*Aside: again, my own work. If you’re a football fandom writer with any works around 1.500 words and don’t mind me experimenting with your work please have BP and tell me which ones I can touch. Or not.

Or, for those with longer pieces of work, do you mind if I recorded say, 10 mins worth of work? Just to have a play around with this bloody thing.

[jessicamaccormackrmack]

[uniquesquared]

Should Musicians Upgrade To Windows 8?

So, Windows 8 is officially out for users to test, and naturally people (musicians and others) have already formed opinions about whether Windows 8 is worth upgrading, or even switching to.  For those who produce music on a Windows machine, they have already noted that Windows 8 is extremely stable compared to version 7.   Stability is paramount for DJs who use a Windows machine for live production or for processor heavy software like Traktor.  Some have even taken advantage of the touch screen technology using aftermarket 30” touch screens to do what an iPad does for the same cost. On the other side there are those that feel the only advantage Windows 8 machines have over Mac machines is the cost, and Macs are still superior when it comes to handling audio and video processing.  Others remark that Windows users are simply holding on to what they know, even though it is inferior to the interface of iOS 6.  Regardless of what camp you prefer, there are musicians and developers making stride on both sides of the line.  Apple was early into the game with raw innovation and motivation – but Windows being the wiser, has taken a step back to look at the situation, before determining what the best possible course of action is.  http://www.synthtopia.com/content/2012/11/17/should-musicians-upgrade-to-windows-8/

[uniquesquared]

Run Windows VST’s In Your Mac DAW

When the debate about Windows and Mac operating systems rears its ugly head again, there is no clear winner.  There are only whiners on each side and the head of whichever monster you choose to obey will not be slayed any time soon.  Truthfully speaking, there are few functions that one OS can do, that another cannot.  The real difference is in performance, or how well Mac runs program x versus program y.  I believe that most modern computer users will at some point, have experience using either OS (not saying that they’ll like it) and will be able to form their own coherent opinions as to why one is better than the other. For producers using full blown DAWs, the choice to use a Mac or a Windows machine really dictates what type of programs they can use.  Some can only run on windows and some are only ported for the Mac.  But even with each side choosing their respective camps, developers who make plug-ins do their best to keep each side happy.  It used to be that VST plug-ins were Mac only, or windows only – but thanks to Plugwire, Mac users can now run their Windows VST plug-ins on their Mac machines. http://www.synthtopia.com/content/2012/12/28/free-app-lets-you-run-windows-vsts-in-your-mac-daw/