4 ms·

You can imagine that controlling network traffic or upgrading RAM are not abilities that the vast majority of people are concerned about, even in tech.

quelsolaar 5y ago
Thats the thing, most people don't need those particular things. But a lot of people need something very particular that very few others need. The problem is not that apple doesn't support a particular use case, but that they cant support all niche cases. Microsoft / Linux doesn't do everything, but if you need something specific you can bet that there is someone out there that provides that functionality for those platforms.
unethical_ban 5y ago
They're concerned about it, but non-technical people get hooked on the familiar. They often don't want to learn a new UI when they know one already. I have a friend who has a 2015-ish Macbook with 4GB RAM - and she is getting into Photoshop. So her computer works well for her. The monitor is good enough, the CPU is good, and so on. 4GB just won't cut it. Since she can't upgrade her RAM for $150 like she should, she has to get a new computer. But she likes the trackpad and the Apple UI so much, she is going to get an iMac with 16GB RAM and 256GB SSD for $1600, instead of a Windows PC with a top-line processor, 32GB RAM, 27" screen and 1TB+ of SSD.
- gopher_space 5y ago
  If you want to do mouse-intensive work on a laptop the mac trackpad is the only way to go.
- motioncuty 5y ago
  The retina screen alone would cost $400+ for a windows. And the Mac is much more of a pro tool when doing creative work. My windows machines always crash on me.
  - stjohnswarts 5y ago
    I haven't had windows crash on me when I wasn't doing driver stuff in literally years. Something is wrong with your hardware, unless you're talking about the software that you are using on windows. If those crash it's not windows fault it's just bad programming.
    - ricardobeat 5y ago
      If that’s the case you are the lucky one. It’s surely not a coincidence that Windows software suffers from “bad programming” 50x more often. There is simply no contest in reliability, you’re always expecting a new problem with windows - just yesterday, in fact, an OS update disabled my network card and I had to reinstall everything to “fix” it. You can use a Mac for years without even knowing what a driver is.
      - watermelon0 5y ago
        I use both macOS and Windows daily, and I think I saw like one BSOD in the last year, and quite a lot more kernel panics on macOS. Regarding the software I use, I wouldn't say that it's any more stable on macOS than on Windows.
      - jonathantf2 5y ago
        Working in a company where I deal with equal amount of Macs an Windows, we spend a lot more time dealing with Mac issues that simply cannot be solved due to either hardware or software limitations Apple have put in place. Windows is very solid and we rarely see issues with it on decent hardware which still costs 1/2 of what a lower spec Mac equivalent.
sbarre 5y ago
Of course it's not a concern for all users, definitely the network one, but I think you're underestimating how commonplace RAM upgrades are. In my own circles (so anecdotally) I've had plenty of conversations over the last 20+ years about helping tech and non-tech people upgrade RAM on their computers, including laptops.. And in the last 5 years I've heard plenty of people be surprised (and bummed) that they can't upgrade the RAM on their Macs post-purchase anymore. And of course maxing out the RAM at purchase time is a complete rip-off compared to market prices. Every Mac I've owned (5 machines across desktops/laptops from 2006 through to 2016 I think), I eventually upgraded the RAM myself via aftermarket parts at reasonable market rates and it greatly extended the life of the computer. Given the premium cost you already pay for a Mac, not being able to do this anymore is a deal breaker, for me at least.

quelsolaar 5y ago

Thats the thing, most people don't need those particular things. But a lot of people need something very particular that very few others need. The problem is not that apple doesn't support a particular use case, but that they cant support all niche cases. Microsoft / Linux doesn't do everything, but if you need something specific you can bet that there is someone out there that provides that functionality for those platforms.

unethical_ban 5y ago

They're concerned about it, but non-technical people get hooked on the familiar. They often don't want to learn a new UI when they know one already. I have a friend who has a 2015-ish Macbook with 4GB RAM - and she is getting into Photoshop. So her computer works well for her. The monitor is good enough, the CPU is good, and so on. 4GB just won't cut it. Since she can't upgrade her RAM for $150 like she should, she has to get a new computer. But she likes the trackpad and the Apple UI so much, she is going to get an iMac with 16GB RAM and 256GB SSD for $1600, instead of a Windows PC with a top-line processor, 32GB RAM, 27" screen and 1TB+ of SSD.

gopher_space 5y ago
If you want to do mouse-intensive work on a laptop the mac trackpad is the only way to go.
motioncuty 5y ago
The retina screen alone would cost $400+ for a windows. And the Mac is much more of a pro tool when doing creative work. My windows machines always crash on me.
- stjohnswarts 5y ago
  I haven't had windows crash on me when I wasn't doing driver stuff in literally years. Something is wrong with your hardware, unless you're talking about the software that you are using on windows. If those crash it's not windows fault it's just bad programming.
  - ricardobeat 5y ago
    If that’s the case you are the lucky one. It’s surely not a coincidence that Windows software suffers from “bad programming” 50x more often. There is simply no contest in reliability, you’re always expecting a new problem with windows - just yesterday, in fact, an OS update disabled my network card and I had to reinstall everything to “fix” it. You can use a Mac for years without even knowing what a driver is.
    - watermelon0 5y ago
      I use both macOS and Windows daily, and I think I saw like one BSOD in the last year, and quite a lot more kernel panics on macOS. Regarding the software I use, I wouldn't say that it's any more stable on macOS than on Windows.
    - jonathantf2 5y ago
      Working in a company where I deal with equal amount of Macs an Windows, we spend a lot more time dealing with Mac issues that simply cannot be solved due to either hardware or software limitations Apple have put in place. Windows is very solid and we rarely see issues with it on decent hardware which still costs 1/2 of what a lower spec Mac equivalent.

sbarre 5y ago

Of course it's not a concern for all users, definitely the network one, but I think you're underestimating how commonplace RAM upgrades are. In my own circles (so anecdotally) I've had plenty of conversations over the last 20+ years about helping tech and non-tech people upgrade RAM on their computers, including laptops.. And in the last 5 years I've heard plenty of people be surprised (and bummed) that they can't upgrade the RAM on their Macs post-purchase anymore. And of course maxing out the RAM at purchase time is a complete rip-off compared to market prices. Every Mac I've owned (5 machines across desktops/laptops from 2006 through to 2016 I think), I eventually upgraded the RAM myself via aftermarket parts at reasonable market rates and it greatly extended the life of the computer. Given the premium cost you already pay for a Mac, not being able to do this anymore is a deal breaker, for me at least.