Yeah, I gave Apple a try over the last two years, largely because I was annoyed with Google and wanted to ditch Android. I’ve been fed up since about 6 months in, but gave it some more time, which led to an eventual waiting game to get the replacements I want.
I just picked up a Thinkpad P14s g4 AMD with a 7840u, 64GB of RAM, and a 3 year onsite warranty for $1270 after taxes. I added a 4TB Samsung 990 Pro for another $270. I can’t imagine spending more than that and only getting 8GB RAM (and less warranty), which is what I have assigned to the GPU. Plus I get to run Linux, which I really didn’t realize how much MacOS would leave me wanting.
The thing I’ll miss is the iPhone 13 Mini size. I found iOS to be absolute trash, but there’s just not an Android phone that’s a reasonable size. But at least I can run Calyx/Graphene on a Pixel and get a decent OS without spying.
I do like the M1 MBA form factor, too, but I’ll grab the Thinkpad X13s successor for portability and get a better keyboard. I don’t need top end performance out of that, I really just want battery life and passive cooling.
And don’t even get me started on the overpriced mess that are the Airpods Max. I much prefer the Audeze Maxwell and Sennheiser Momentum 4 I replaced them with.
I’ll say, I really like MacOS! I transitioned from Linux to MacOS X back in 10.2 days and kept with it until 2017 or so. Put homebrew on there and fill it up with a bunch of 'nix tools and you get a respectable unix. Plus you get access to a bunch of commercial software unavailable on Linux. I was very happy with this solution for well over a decade.
My problem came with Apple. Their hardware lock downs preventing upgrades and fixing stuff, plus the newer software lockdowns, all this nonsense just made it impossible for me to do my work. Like Microsoft, Apple imposes itself on my workflow. And while Linux doesn’t do stuff I’d like in the commercial realm, one thing it doesn’t do is stick its nose in my workflow. If something breaks I can fix it. I don’t have to deal with it demanding I reboot my machine for an update while the box is in the middle of a two week long render. I don’t have to be forced onto the network to login to a central Microsoft or Apple authentication server just to use my computer. I don’t have to deal with them bugging me to stick my clients’ data on their cloud services I signed an legal NDA promising to protect just because the company wants me to.
My issue is not with the software, even on Windows, it’s with the corporate practices! They get in my way. I bought this computer to make money with, not so they can make money off me and my clients! When you sign legal documents promising to not disclose confidential material related to a pending bid, and your OS vendor spies on you, I mean most people don’t seem to care about that but I sure do. lol
Yeah, I gave Apple a try over the last two years, largely because I was annoyed with Google and wanted to ditch Android. I’ve been fed up since about 6 months in, but gave it some more time, which led to an eventual waiting game to get the replacements I want.
I just picked up a Thinkpad P14s g4 AMD with a 7840u, 64GB of RAM, and a 3 year onsite warranty for $1270 after taxes. I added a 4TB Samsung 990 Pro for another $270. I can’t imagine spending more than that and only getting 8GB RAM (and less warranty), which is what I have assigned to the GPU. Plus I get to run Linux, which I really didn’t realize how much MacOS would leave me wanting.
The thing I’ll miss is the iPhone 13 Mini size. I found iOS to be absolute trash, but there’s just not an Android phone that’s a reasonable size. But at least I can run Calyx/Graphene on a Pixel and get a decent OS without spying.
I do like the M1 MBA form factor, too, but I’ll grab the Thinkpad X13s successor for portability and get a better keyboard. I don’t need top end performance out of that, I really just want battery life and passive cooling.
And don’t even get me started on the overpriced mess that are the Airpods Max. I much prefer the Audeze Maxwell and Sennheiser Momentum 4 I replaced them with.
I’ll say, I really like MacOS! I transitioned from Linux to MacOS X back in 10.2 days and kept with it until 2017 or so. Put homebrew on there and fill it up with a bunch of 'nix tools and you get a respectable unix. Plus you get access to a bunch of commercial software unavailable on Linux. I was very happy with this solution for well over a decade.
My problem came with Apple. Their hardware lock downs preventing upgrades and fixing stuff, plus the newer software lockdowns, all this nonsense just made it impossible for me to do my work. Like Microsoft, Apple imposes itself on my workflow. And while Linux doesn’t do stuff I’d like in the commercial realm, one thing it doesn’t do is stick its nose in my workflow. If something breaks I can fix it. I don’t have to deal with it demanding I reboot my machine for an update while the box is in the middle of a two week long render. I don’t have to be forced onto the network to login to a central Microsoft or Apple authentication server just to use my computer. I don’t have to deal with them bugging me to stick my clients’ data on their cloud services I signed an legal NDA promising to protect just because the company wants me to.
My issue is not with the software, even on Windows, it’s with the corporate practices! They get in my way. I bought this computer to make money with, not so they can make money off me and my clients! When you sign legal documents promising to not disclose confidential material related to a pending bid, and your OS vendor spies on you, I mean most people don’t seem to care about that but I sure do. lol