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Multiple machines, multiple OSs, narrowing apps?
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Posted by MadaboutDana
Jun 13, 2019 at 07:51 AM
All Macs here, apart from an elderly Lenovo laptop that still runs Windows, but only gets taken out about once a year.
The couple of business apps I use in Windows I run in a virtual machine on a MacBook. I can thoroughly recommend the virtual machine approach to Windows (I think Paul does the same?); it’s so much less hassle than using Windows as one’s main operating system. Personally I use VirtualBox.
I also run Linux in a virtual machine (usually Xubuntu, which is very quick and elegant), but only to play with it. I like Linux, but can’t easily integrate it into a corporate workflow, unfortunately. And yes, I still have to use Microsoft Office, although I try hard to subvert it by using LibreOffice as often as possible. I’ve experimented with several alternatives (LibreOffice, SoftMaker Office, Apple iWork) but at the end of the day, familiarity and compatibility win out, even though I hate Excel with a deep and bitter loathing, and despise Word.
Having previously considered Chromebooks, I’ve lost all faith in Google. So that’s out of the equation.
The most notable observation about the transition to Macs? How much easier it’s made my life as our in-house computer administrator. Users no longer complain about crashes, about how to do stuff, about updates, about weird unexplained “events”... they just get on and work - and appear to enjoy it. In the 30 years or so since I started managing our computer systems, that’s a first. I’m not saying there are never any problems, but they only appear occasionally, and tend to disappear again. The one MacBook I’ve got regular problems with? It’s used by our FD to do accounts on, so runs in Windows (under BootCamp or whatever it’s called) most of the time…
The other thing: I haven’t had to rebuild a Mac computer ever. I mean, ever. Windows machines I used to rebuild (= reinstall) every couple of years, just to make sure they kept running efficiently.
Biased, moi?
xxx Bill
Posted by washere
Jun 14, 2019 at 08:07 PM
If the leaks from inside MS are correct, Windows will change in a few years in big ways, and will be in trouble. Mac and chrome are tinkering in major ways too and will change greatly if other reports are true. Google is experimenting a lot with other stuff too but both companies are very secretive and tight ships in their r&d.
Linux wise, mint has been going through a crisis of confidence and drama recently. There are three classes of Linux, light medium and server heavy. Then different scales in each too. Depends on user. Few exciting flavors getting really hot. And a couple in development might be really big in the next year or two for very good reasons.
It’s the big greedy tech giant corps vs open communities plus other big corps funding open source platforms to kill off MS/Apple/Google.
I’ve never succumbed to saying this before over the last twenty years, but finally I think the future of desktops is going to be Linux.
Posted by Andy Brice
Jun 14, 2019 at 09:10 PM
washere wrote:
>but finally I think the future of desktops is going to be Linux.
Right after commercial fusion and the paperless office. ;0)
—
Andy Brice
https://www.hyperplan.com
Posted by washere
Jun 14, 2019 at 11:10 PM
MS is not going to keep Windows as is if leaks are correct. Macs are retreating into graphic lands again as abandoned in favor of iPhones by the post Jobs powers that be. Google Chrome OS is making Orwell’s Big Brother look like an ACLU activist.
Also many of us have gone paperless beyond our libraries, music & film collections etc etc. and into a digital Minimalist lifestyle. It’s already happened for many.
Several startups funded in the valley are doing well in renting everything one can imagine under the sun for whatever duration as many professionals, many of whom are multi millionaires, are nomads and/or ultralight by choice.
I remember when people laughed at CD ROMs, multimedia, laptops, the new http protocol, mp3 players, broadband, streaming video, digital startups, AI, smart phones, tablets, e-commerce, online shopping etc etc.
They’re not laughing now, their leftovers reminiscent of natural history museum specimens. I never thought I’d say it but Linux will be king, there is a tectonic shift starting. I’ve never predicted wrongly so far, maybe this will be the first, but I don’t think so.
This guy was into his Zen minimalism almost fifty years ago which reshaped the modern world’s look, many cutting edge Digi innovators are following suit:
Posted by jaslar
Jun 15, 2019 at 05:19 PM
I’d argue that the general theme is convergence. People talk on this site, persuasively, about the many advantages of running Windows on a Mac. Now Windows 10 is launching a full Linux kernel (https://www.theverge.com/2019/5/6/18534687/microsoft-windows-10-linux-kernel-feature). Android and Linux apps are running on Chromebooks. Apple is working on single programs that will run on the Mac and the iPhone (https://www.zdnet.com/article/iphone-ipad-mac-apps-merging-apple-sdk-will-create-ios-apps-that-work-on-mac/).
That means convenience, and the software I use is clearly getting cheaper all around. (It’s true that subscriptions may wind up costing more than a one time software purchase—but if it means the product improves and the company stays in business, that’s a good thing.) Beyond convergence, convenience, and cost, however, is the fact that the user has become both the product and the commodity. *Privacy* is the challenge now. I need to get smarter about local encrypted storage and ssh connections, I suspect. I wouldn’t want my funny quotes and dad joke files to fall into the wrong hands.