I would also point out that office is significantly better on Windows than the version offered on macOS. Only when I went back to Windows last year did I discover this.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
MacOS vs Linux vs Windows
- Thread starter muimui
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
I would also point out that office is significantly better on Windows than the version offered on macOS. Only when I went back to Windows last year did I discover this.
I know why this happened, because of the M1 Macs. Otherwise, Windows on ARM would still be a wasteland.
All these years devs and MS had the time to improve WOA, but as soon as M1 Macs launch WOA development has been accelerating. Which is good as this means more competition in the ARM laptop market is good.
Um, I would want it be better on Windows than macOS, after all MS makes Office and Windows.
For the avg user Office on Mac is enough but for enterprise Windows Office is much better.
If you work in application software for a big company, you want as much success as possible on any platform.
It depends on what you want. Office works great for me on Mac. But if I need Solver in excel, I use my windows box.
macOS. Feels more stable than Windows that I use for work, but then again that might just be my IT dept's configuration. I would give Linux a serious look if it had all the apps that I needed. The two main ones missing are Office and TurboTax.
Last edited:
Intuit's solution is to run a Windows 10 Virtual Machine under VMware Player. This is a free solution as VMware Player is free for non-commercial use and you can just use Windows 10 unlicensed. You could also run a Windows 10 Virtual Machine under KVM/QEMU. And you could always use TurboTax Online though I prefer the installed version myself.
My experience supporting Macs at my company has been the polar opposite. Not that its been bad, but its clear Macs don't play nice with a lot of the enterprise software we use.
I looked at Linux and really wanted to embrace that as well, but for me, my company's VPN was Mac/Win only. I could have used GotoMyPC as well, but again, Mac and Win only. Then there's software for my personal use, such as Lightroom, and many of the games I like to play.
VPN is like lots of other software. There's a version for it but you have to jump through some hoops to get it to work. This is how it worked in my last job. Synergy is like this too. It's really easy to get it running on Windows or macOS. I never got it working on Linux - I'm sure I could get it to work with enough effort - but there's too much like this in the Linux world. Fortunately VMs make it easy to run stuff on one OS if you need to. M1 changes the ability to do that right now though I'd like to see if we eventually get QEMU to do a respectable job at x86.
Well, having some frustrations with Linux setting in once again. Had a crash in the system log, tried to find out more about it by clicking it and it said something else about not being able to read it unless I downloaded something else to read it.
Was thinking about using Linux as a base for KVM set up but hesitant. I don't understand most of what goes on under it's hood and oftentimes I just want to do something and use the computer instead of tending to it.
Was thinking about using Linux as a base for KVM set up but hesitant. I don't understand most of what goes on under it's hood and oftentimes I just want to do something and use the computer instead of tending to it.
We are way ahead from the old days of instant hack on a Windows 95 machine the minute it is connected to the net. OS X and Linux have built-in precautions due to non-admin accounts. But imo the biggest contributor to better security is the use of NAT routers. This by itself cut down a ton of direct attacks. It also helps when Microsoft built in Firewall and Windows defender on Windows. Nowadays, most security issues come from either social engineering (phissing scams), or software bugs (eg. kernel bugs). I think it's quite rare for a typical user to experience a direct non-user initiated attacks nowadays.
Macos is far smoother than any other OS on the market, both from installing and use. But, for a casual programmer, Xcode changes far too often to keep up with. Back in the day of books, when Xcode 5 came out, you might as well toss all of your $50 books about V4 and buy new. Then again with 6, 7 and so on. Linux on the other hand (or *nix in general) is far less 'smooth' but if you could use Kate or Emacs and Gcc years ago, you can sit down now after a long absence and easily begin again without surfing for hours to find what has changed.
So, my Macs are used for normal stuff, and my Linux box for my programming. Oh, and Minecraft, that I use for a mind clearing session on occasion when I am stuck on some routine. The M1 mini runs that kind of game very well, as opposed to my old 6 core mini with the integrated and apparently unoiled mechanical Intel graphics, but the 4 core Intel on the Linux machine with the cheapo Radon something or other add on, is considerably faster.
Windows? Haven't used it for years - since the beginning of XP. What was that? About 2001 or so?
So, my Macs are used for normal stuff, and my Linux box for my programming. Oh, and Minecraft, that I use for a mind clearing session on occasion when I am stuck on some routine. The M1 mini runs that kind of game very well, as opposed to my old 6 core mini with the integrated and apparently unoiled mechanical Intel graphics, but the 4 core Intel on the Linux machine with the cheapo Radon something or other add on, is considerably faster.
Windows? Haven't used it for years - since the beginning of XP. What was that? About 2001 or so?
Disagree.. I use both fairly often and Windows 10 is very smooth. It's easy to use and much faster to install. Ease of use? If someone has never used a computer before then macOS may be easier but if they have use a computer before then Windows is pretty easy to use..
I am guessing this might have something to do with why you made the above quoted comment and think that macOS is smoother and better...
Well, as this is a Mac website I probably wouldn't post glowing praises of Windows, but I have to admit that my experiences with Redmond products were bad and worse. However, it has been so long since my last use that any opinion from me about Windows would just be trolling.
But I have to say that my watching of youtube webcasts (twit-tv and such) gives the the impression that Windows in any form is far from smooth or stable. And very far from that last. But, I am relying on opinions other than my own - maybe they are indeed trolling.
But I have to say that my watching of youtube webcasts (twit-tv and such) gives the the impression that Windows in any form is far from smooth or stable. And very far from that last. But, I am relying on opinions other than my own - maybe they are indeed trolling.
One of the overarching requirements of Windows is compatibility back to the 1990s. So you have a GUI mishmash and mishmashes in other areas. Lots of stuff bolted on like WSL as well.
Apple is free to start over with a blank slate every once in a while. Apple said no more 32-bits programs. Microsoft can't say that.
How can you make any comments on it since you said you have not used it since 2001?
Anyways, both OS's are fast and stable for me.. I like and use them both frequently. Neither in my opinion is better than the other, they just offer a different experience..
Am I the only one who windows 11 reminds me of vista? I mean it doesn't seem much of an upgrade, just shine and polish and needless effects much like vista was? But with more telemetry 🧐
macOS went from 10 to 11, so they needed to keep up.
On a more serious note, there are some substantial features like ability to run Android apps on both Intel & Arm machines.
25 Best New Windows 11 Features You Should Check Out
Windows 11 Insider Preview build 22000.51 has rolled out and here's a curated list of the best new Windows 11 features. Check out the list.
beebom.com
Well, as I've said elsewhere, LM is my main OS of choice and daily driver. Thanks to Valve and all the effort they're putting into Steam and behind Proton, I get the impression that the whole "native app" issue may become irrelevant. Now, I don't say that as though it's a good thing, particularly for Linux, but it certainly would take the wind out of most of the anti-Linux crowd's arguments. Plus, it's now widely documented how one can create an appropriate VM and get macOS to work on it. Then, of course, you can also run WINE, Crossover, and other things to make Win x86 and x86-64 apps run elsewhere.
Honestly, I've been really enjoying the heck out of my M1 MBA. Just got the update to 11.5.1, and it seems to be great.
Honestly, I've been really enjoying the heck out of my M1 MBA. Just got the update to 11.5.1, and it seems to be great.
W10 & macOS, in professional realms one is frequently dictated by the SW availability and client stipulations. Ideally on a project I prefer to use separate systems with separate operating systems as this engineers out many specific OS issues, malware attacks etc. This also brings the best of both worlds as long as you have a solid mechanism to synchronise data across both platforms.
Linux I very much like, yet remains specialised and or disregarded, nor ideal for notebooks. Bottom line is if the HW/SW has to work for me to generate revenue. Personally I've been moving as much as possible to open sources to avoid being locked in and locked out.
Q-6
Linux I very much like, yet remains specialised and or disregarded, nor ideal for notebooks. Bottom line is if the HW/SW has to work for me to generate revenue. Personally I've been moving as much as possible to open sources to avoid being locked in and locked out.
Q-6
As for the M1 MBP, first Mac I've remotely considered or bought since 2015. The 2016 MBP's were a fiasco only to be amplified by their poor design & reliability issues. The M1 notebooks still have an inadequate port diversity & quantity, equally presents ground breaking performance in a 13" format with class leading display, keyboard, SSD etc.
Linux should be possible in a VM, duel boot is gone for the present as far as I know.
Q-6
Linux should be possible in a VM, duel boot is gone for the present as far as I know.
Q-6
We all choose the path we're on and the things we accept as "necessities" of that particular reality.
If I may quote from Babylon 5:
Early last year before the pandemic had fully settled in and was in full swing, I had a job interview with a local employer which deals in networkable printers and copiers and related systems and services. I already had started getting kind of a "I'm not so sure about these folks" vibe and then someone there said that Linux was really on its way out, nobody cared about it or was interested in dealing with supporting it, and that (by implication) it's all a macOS and Windows world.
Suffice it to say, I didn't take the job. Particularly when you're dealing with a small, mom-n-pop type company which means the ownership/leadership of the company sits right above everyone's head, it's critical to know they actually know what the heck is going on out there. I really just didn't get that sense from them, even if it might be true that within their specific limited field of view what was said was true.
The graphic design world hasn't been a only-Mac or even mostly-Mac shop situation in decades now, thanks to improvements in Windows as well as the x86 hardware it's always run on. However, "most" of what's out there is actually Linux-driven. And the graphic design world? Well, it's not the same industry it used to be. Mostly, people these days don't give a s*** about print. Everything's online. Period.
So, when I hear people here (or anywhere) saying things like "I have to use the tools I have to use to do the job I do," then what I say in response is you're the one who's put yourself in that particular situation. Don't point the finger of blame at anyone else. Oh, and btw, often there are other tools out there you could use, whether libre-licensed open source, or proprietary (and typically commercial).
If I may quote from Babylon 5:
Early last year before the pandemic had fully settled in and was in full swing, I had a job interview with a local employer which deals in networkable printers and copiers and related systems and services. I already had started getting kind of a "I'm not so sure about these folks" vibe and then someone there said that Linux was really on its way out, nobody cared about it or was interested in dealing with supporting it, and that (by implication) it's all a macOS and Windows world.
Suffice it to say, I didn't take the job. Particularly when you're dealing with a small, mom-n-pop type company which means the ownership/leadership of the company sits right above everyone's head, it's critical to know they actually know what the heck is going on out there. I really just didn't get that sense from them, even if it might be true that within their specific limited field of view what was said was true.
The graphic design world hasn't been a only-Mac or even mostly-Mac shop situation in decades now, thanks to improvements in Windows as well as the x86 hardware it's always run on. However, "most" of what's out there is actually Linux-driven. And the graphic design world? Well, it's not the same industry it used to be. Mostly, people these days don't give a s*** about print. Everything's online. Period.
So, when I hear people here (or anywhere) saying things like "I have to use the tools I have to use to do the job I do," then what I say in response is you're the one who's put yourself in that particular situation. Don't point the finger of blame at anyone else. Oh, and btw, often there are other tools out there you could use, whether libre-licensed open source, or proprietary (and typically commercial).
Last edited: