Trying to use a PC again. Not easy.

[Alex Snyder]

I've been using a Mac as my daily driver for over a decade. I have also been keeping up with my custom PC building because if I do play a game I want it to be amazing. But aside from the few times I did a little Photoshop editing on my Windows machine it hasn't seen much "productivity" in the last 10 years.

So I picked up a Windows 10 laptop as a light duty work machine to compliment my Mac when heavy-lifting isn't required. The idea is to get back into the PC world a little more, but damn this is not easy.

My last Mac purchase took about 2 hours of configuring before I was ready to roll. This PC setup has taken me nearly 4 days. Between removing the pre-installed garbage, partitioning drives as I wanted them, fixing the performance because Windows PC makers are in a marketing battle with how hardware looks on paper instead of how it actually performs, and then all the searching online to fix every stupid setup issue I had and all the driver change outs. What a chore.

And even though I now have everything working the way I like it I have to admit the Apple is still a better daily driver. How many of you are using a Mac in the dealership?

 

[Rick Buffkin]

How many of you are using a Mac in the dealership?

Sorry bud. I can't help you with that one. I don't use or recommend the use of inferior tools such as a Mac!!

Take a breath "mac users". I'm just kidding.

In all honesty, it's a programming thing for me. I've never tried to learn programming for Mac. I've always written scripts for windows.

 

[craigh]

I use both.

Work Office: 27" 5k iMac with 2 27" LG 4k displays
Home Desk 1: Macbook Pro 2017 with 30" 4k display
Home Desk 2: Fresh built Windows machine (my first build in over 5 years) running Windows 10

I don't use anything at the dealership, but I can tell you that when I travelled around I had many mac issues just trying to connect to dealership wifi or present using their VGA 480p projectors.

As far as Apple and Microsoft go, I am a firm believer that Windows is on it's way up in quality and Apple is going straight into the john.
I swear Apple's updates are getting worse, their security issues more common and their stability (on all devices) has taken a huge hit lately.
Microsoft is working hard to add new features, integrations, gaming, etc.

Apple needs more of this: http://www.idownloadblog.com/2018/0...tures-to-focus-on-reliability-and-performance

If I had to go one way or the other today, I'd still go Mac.. but it's getting really close.

 

[Jeff Kershner]

Mac does seem to be stumbling a bit but as of now if I were to make a new purchase, I would stick with Mac. I mostly use my Mac at the dealership but I do have a PC to the right of me for quick access to a few items like the DMS. Although, I used to run Parallels on my Mac and I swore Windows performed better on my Mac than on a PC. I'm sure it all depends on what you're using it for.

 

[ed.brooks]

Ten, fifteen years ago, PCs were staid business machines while Macs were for creativity. Today, not so much -

 

[Alexander Lau]

There are some ultra-shit PC brands out there and there are some very good ones and specific machines, IMO (ASUS, MS Surface, etc.).
Automotive standalone software (even now) is far behind and so much of it is Windows-only, which is sad.

 

[craigh]

There are some ultra-shit PC brands out there and there are some very good ones and specific machines, IMO (ASUS, MS Surface, etc.).
Automotive install software (even now) is still so far behind and so much of it is Windows-only, which is sad.

I think the Surface is way ahead of the entire Apple lineup.
Their portables are fantastic and their desk station is insanely cool.

If I had an unlimited budget, I'd be getting a Microsoft Surface Studio for sure.
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/surface/devices/surface-studio/overview

 

[Rick Buffkin]

Any of you mac guys tried using Amazon Workspaces?? It's not very expensive plus you get to choose either Win 7 or Win 10. They have software bundles you can include in your pkg or if you already own software licenses, simply use your existing license. I have a test account with it and it runs pretty smooth.

https://aws.amazon.com/workspaces/details/

 

[Alex Snyder]

I think the Surface is way ahead of the entire Apple lineup.
Their portables are fantastic and their desk station is insanely cool.

If I had an unlimited budget, I'd be getting a Microsoft Surface Studio for sure.
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/surface/devices/surface-studio/overview

Yup, agreed on all of that. I wish Apple had a precision touch screen you could use a pen with - that would be in my house in 2 seconds.

It does seem like Microsoft is making a play to take advantage of Steve Jobs no longer being around. And that last bit definitely explains what's wrong with Apple these days.

 

[Alexander Lau]

Yup, agreed on all of that. I wish Apple had a precision touch screen you could use a pen with - that would be in my house in 2 seconds.

It does seem like Microsoft is making a play to take advantage of Steve Jobs no longer being around. And that last bit definitely explains what's wrong with Apple these days.

I know this much, if MS doesn't parlay that model into something wider, they're morons.