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systemq
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Anon

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Re: Ready to dump Windows, is Mac or Linux better for me?

Unfortunately, it seems that Ubuntu / Linux will not work for me.

I opened up some XLS workbooks, and it does not work properly. Simple functions like indirect() do not work. Another workbook had a macro that gave errors and froze Calc with runtime errors. Writer opens my DOCX files, but does not appear identical in layout. They're not really compatible at all, especially Excel/Calc.

I also tried GIMP. While it's no Photoshop, it doesn't seem too difficult to apply Photoshop principles using that program. Also kinda odd that it's not one window. I'm sure someone can get adjusted to it, so GIMP is just okay.

And when I said that everything is fast a few posts back, I need to take that back. It is fast if you have one application open but it sucks with multitasking.

So I really can't switch to Linux unfortunately. I installed it on another computer with an i7 processor, 8 GB RAM. And it's still not up to par with Windows.

I need to seriously consider if it's worth my investment to get a Mac. Otherwise I guess I need to deal with Windows again and hopefully the Win/Office business model does not change much. Damn you Microsoft, I can never leave even though I try. LOL

Appreciate all the feedback given, they were very useful and informative, and hey, at least I tried Linux for the first time in my life.

runnoft
Premium Member
join:2003-10-14
Nags Head, NC

1 recommendation

runnoft

Premium Member

If you haven't tried a Mac, you really need to do this before buying one and for longer than 10 minutes in an Apple store. Find a friend or coworker with one.

I'm a Windows user and haven't tried a Mac for about 10 years, but at that time I put serious time into learning that particular Mac OS which was new at that time. I found it annoying way beyond what I expected. With Windows, there are typically half a dozen ways to accomplish the same task in the OS, and the user gets to choose. With Mac, it was Jobs' way or the highway. Some very simple and routine tasks that could be accomplished with one quick right-click menu choice in Windows would take three or four unintuitive steps in the Mac. The Apple OS also made it deliberately difficult or impossible to poke around under the hood in ways that Windows users take for granted. Now all this may have changed in the last decade. But back then, I personally thought the "user friendly" image of the Mac was more legend than fact. They designed the thing for idiot-proof lockdown security and very limited command choices for ease of technical support in the Mac versus lots of user customizability for Windows.

Also if you already have Photoshop and Office, you need to take into consideration the cost of switching your software to the Mac. If you have one of those new $@##! Adobe subscriptions for Photoshop, you may be able to transfer it to a Mac--I don't know one way or the other--check it out. But if you have disc-based or download-based non-subscription Photoshop software, it is probably not transferable (again: check this out--I am not an expert on this), and if it is not transferable, you would have to $tart over and re-buy Photo$hop. IIRC, Adobe Photoshop Lightroom can be moved to a Mac without rebuying, but not recent versions of Adobe Photoshop. Office would have to be repurchased in the Office-for-Mac version. Remember that the interface and command sequence is somewhat different and will require some relearning moving Photoshop and Office to the Mac.

Also remember to check the websites for all your peripheral devices to see which ones have Mac drivers to avoid other hardware rebuy$. Keep in mind that if you want to make hardware changes under the hood of a Mac as with video cards a few years down the road, if you do that sort of thing, your choices may be much more limited, even proprietary (you may be restricted to Apple models for some devices), and therefore more expensive.

Exodus
Your Daddy
Premium Member
join:2001-11-26
Earth

Exodus to systemq

Premium Member

to systemq
I'm pretty sure you could run WINE to install Office or use something like Virtualbox to have a virtual Windows instance. I guess that defeats the purpose, but if you're looking to replace the whole OS experience, that's the way to get around the bulk of your issues.

I ran Mint for a while with a Win7 VM on VirtualBox. From there, I could install and run anything. The only reason why I dumped Linux was because of the 3D gaming requirements. Most of the games I wanted to play could run, but I'm in a lull right now trying to find a new game to capture my interest, so things like Mech Warrrior Online wasn't going to work at all.