Apple V. Microsoft?

[kib]

To all those of you who were loyal to Apple products from the beginning, I applaud you, as they still seem to represent great quality and interfaces that work pretty decently from product to product even after 25+ years.

I started out as a windows / android user. Well actually a DOS / linux user. I still use word perfect. I regret that I didn't make the leap to Apple 20 years ago, but at this point I'm so dubious. How many tricks would this old dog need to learn? I'd be lost without my wordperfect tables ...

Also, does anyone go with apple for computing and cheap android for phones? How bad is that interface, or do you just keep them in separate cages at all times? Android can be so cheap, including the service plans. A friend told me they bundled their apple phone service plans and now they're paying less than $100 per person. mmmmm .... yes ... I'm paying less than $100 too. Per year.

Thots? What combination do you use? Do you have regrets?

[iris lilies]

I am in a miserable land of in between.

As of 7 days ago my Windows 7 machine isnt supported, the OS. I have a Mac
pro that I have barely used. I dread moving 100+ files to the Mac. I dread other aspects of Setting it up, But I know that once I get it all set up and things working it will be good.


I know that because I like my iPads very much I spent hours each day on iPadS.

[Alan]

I started out in DOS and initially made fun of those early Windows users for needing a graphical interface on top of their MS-DOS. I truly believed (and still do) the ease of use prevented new users from understanding what was happening in the background. I eventually became a Windows convert and spent several years digging, playing and breaking various Windows versions in an effort to truly understand how they worked. I never cared for Apple's OS because it was such a closed system, too hard to peek under the covers.

Around the Windows 95 era I decided to spend more time in the Linux and FreeBSD world and at one time had nearly a dozen machines running different OS's stacked on, under and beside my desk and several other open areas. I spent so much time become a generalist in many systems that I lost my mastery of any given one, and I've never recovered that.

These days I try not to break things and simply appreciate whatever works. My wife is an Apple fan-girl for all her computing and communication needs. I'm a Windows, Linux, Chrome and Android fan because I like my systems to be a little more open, even if I don't know how they work anymore.

[kib]

Your posts aren't super short, IL, do you type with your thumbs? I'm such a throwback, can't function without a keyboard. (Although maybe a little enforced terseness would do me good. )

[Teacher Terry]

Windows for my computer and switched to a Apple phone 2 years ago. Much easier to use and very intuitive.

[iris lilies]

Your posts aren't super short, IL, do you type with your thumbs? I'm such a throwback, can't function without a keyboard. (Although maybe a little enforced terseness would do me good. )

All the iPads have a popup keyboard. I also do a fair amount of dictation. Oh crap that reminds me when I last tried to set up dictation on the Mac I ran into some kind of problem and abandoned it

[kib]

Alan, yeah. I loved DOS and had the same reaction when my law firm decided this silly picture-based system was necessary, what were we, preschoolers? Everyone got a headache because they couldn't Do anything without staring at the screen every second. Still do miss being able to go in and insert code. I know that's not impossible even now, but it's way way wayyyyy beyond my skill level at this point, even following a recipe to update a registry makes me break out in a sweat. What am I doing, and WHY, and can I ever find my way back if it doesn't work?

I tried Apple when I was still a DOS user, and that's why I never went with it, it felt like nothing but pre-packaged pop kultcha. Lotsa pretty colors and for-purchase products. Now Windows is basically the same thing, and I'm regretting that I didn't throw in the towel back when all my brain cells worked and I didn't have neural paths like cement.

[kib]

All the iPads have a popup keyboard. I also do a fair amount of dictation. Oh crap that reminds me when I last tried to set up dictation on the Mac I ran into some kind of problem and abandoned it

. Have a new laptop coming in the mail, keep remembering that it's really not plug-n-play, takes at least a week of tweaking and downloading and bloat-clearing ...

My position of choice for all my computer work including letters and banking is slightly leaning back on the couch with the footrest up and the laptop balanced on one folded leg, mouse on the arm of the couch and a mason jar of tea resting between my foot and my thigh. It's like a yoga pose (maybe that's why I got a zenbook, ha ha.) When I think simplicity, I imagine myself just floating off into space in my couch-capsule.

[mschrisgo2]

I currently have a Windows laptop, HP, and I have an Android phone, Samsung. Totally satisfied with my “cheapie” phone, $120 one time cash payment, and unlimited everything with Verizon for $50/mo. I could save a few dollars if I changed my service plan, but I like the convenience of it. I can be fairly certain that it will work where ever I travel around in the West. My first cell phone back in 1996 was a Nokia, as were 3 or 4 after that. They all self destructed right at the 2 year mark, and my service was AT&T. I was selling textbooks in those days and my employer told me what to buy and they paid my bill.

A few years down the road, providers changed on me again, I was really unhappy with the phone that didn’t even make 2 years, so I went shopping. I ended up at Verizon, and buying a Samsung phone, then the next was a Samsung smart phone. And I’ve continued on. I see no reason to change to an iPhone, way too expensive, and too fragile, everyone I know who has one, breaks their screen!

Now, all that having been said, I am an Apple/Mac person. My first personal computer at home was an Apple IIGS, in about 1989. Being a teacher, I had Apples in my classroom. After my GS, I upgraded to a blue bubble iMac, then in 2006, I went to MacBook, which I loved! My MacBook died in 2017. Unsure of how much I’d use a laptop in retirement, and tripping over the price of nearly $2K, I bought a Samsung Chromebook as a stop gap, it was only $125.

Then a year ago, I started writing routinely again, and decided I really wanted a computer. So I bought the HP. And it’s nice and all that, but it’s not a Mac. I’m still feeling deprived, and want a MacBook. And I detest having to pay for Microsoft apps every year!

I have keep the phone and computer separate, they serve different purposes. I do have my email on both, but not synced, computer provides a backup if I accidentally delete something on my phone that I want/need later. And I have an iPad for “play”- internet browsing, social media, games, and photos. (My posts here come from my iPad).

[bae]

I use pretty much everything: Windows 10 machines, MacOS, Linux, iOS phones/pads, Android tablets, a Chromebook.

As a result, I've settled on doing most everything "in the cloud" using browser-based tools, so all my files are usable on all platforms and portable.