21 replies to this topic

[Acadia]

Hey, Scot, many years ago when you did your newsletter, you did a series where you compared the Apple OS to Windows.  I don't remember if you also compared Linux.  Eventually you came to the conclusion that you favored Apple.  Many years later, do you still favor Apple over Windows?

You don't need to answer this if you don't want to, thanks,
Acadia

[zlim]

You might not get an answer soon.
Scot was last here on Feb 17 2017.

His contact lists only a Twitter account
https://twitter.com/ScotFinnie

Edited by zlim, 30 November 2017 - 11:14 AM.

[Acadia]

Scot doesn't show up at his own forum?!?!

By the way, love your signature.  

Acadia

Edited by Acadia, 30 November 2017 - 12:22 PM.

[zlim]

Are you aware that Scot spends all his time at ComputerWorld? https://www.computerworld.com/

hmm I see that he was the editor in chief there
https://www.computer...or/scot-finnie/

I assume a job that needs your attention 24 x 7 eventually takes its toll.

He has articles to write and I assume edit for daily publication.
That's why he appointed administrators to run this site because he doesn't have the time to devote to a forum when he got promoted.

Edited by zlim, 01 December 2017 - 10:19 AM.

[Acadia]

Cool, I apologize, and with your information it makes sense.  After all, I cannot name another website that allows so many people, OS religious wise, to speak so openly no matter WHAT they use, Linux, Windows, or Apple.

Acadia

[V.T. Eric Layton]

Wow! I hadn't realized that Scot wasn't the Ed-In-Chief there anymore. He's got some interesting and current posts on that CW blog. Glad to see he still keeps his fingers in it.

[Ed_P]

According to your link zlim Scot is now a "freelance writer".  That usually implies unemployed.

[V.T. Eric Layton]

Ed_P, on 01 December 2017 - 06:58 PM, said:

That usually implies unemployed.

Oooh! I can be a free-lance writer then, too.

[zlim]

Yes, Josh explains all here http://forums.scotsn...ic=14074&st=150
Apparently in May, ComputerWorld went from 16 to 6.


It takes me a long time to notice some things. Apparently the ComputerWorld topics stopped in August and I didn't notice the change until December.

[Acadia]

Thanks everyone for all replies.  Despite purchasing three books to help me switch from Windows to Apple I will probably stay with Windows.
But will wait to purchase a new system for a while hoping MS gets its monthly updating worked out.
Acadia

[zlim]

I haven't used Apple anything since 1989! Since Windows 7 will be the last version of Windows I run, I started looking around for alternatives. Like you, I looked at Apple but I am too old and much too frugal to consider buying Apple hardware.

I'm pretty happy with my newest android tablet. 95% of what I do is surf and once I pull the Windows computers off the internet (but keep them so I can play the games that are on them), I think it will be okay. My newest tablet comes with some Office apps: Word, Excel, PowerPoint and One Note. Since my husband still needs Word and Excel, we should be okay using the tablet.

[Acadia]

zlim, I see that you are a Registered Linux User.  If you really know how to use Linux why would you need anything else?

Acadia

(by the way, still love your Signature)

[zlim]

I rarely use linux. I now prefer android, ready to go on a purchased device. As I get older (I'm now 70) I just want to use the device, not tweak all the time.

[Acadia]

zlim, on 04 December 2017 - 11:40 AM, said:

... I just want to use the device, not tweak all the time.

Boy, can I ever relate to that.  While testing Linux many years ago I was amused by the Linux fanboys who were complaining about all of the monthly Microsoft Windows updates.  Well, Linux constantly had many, many more updates than Windows, dozens more.  Maybe things have changed since back then, I don't know, but I simply want things to work.  As I too get older I live more and more by the motto: Keep It Simple Stupid; I only wish I knew more about the iMacs, are they simpler than Windows systems.
Acadia

Edited by Acadia, 05 December 2017 - 11:32 AM.

[zlim]

I suspect they are. I have a girlfriend who always used Windows computers. She got tired of the updates so she bought an iPhone (her first smartphone) and got an iMac. (She is 69 but has 2 daughters who can help lead her through the issues).  The only thing she had a question about was getting the printer to work. Fortunately, she lives close to an Apple store so she signed up for lessons and goes there to ask questions.

The closest Apple store to us is at least an hour away if the traffic is good but longer this time of year so it isn't practical for me.

[raymac46]

Not to get into a fanboi debate or anything but today you can choose a mainstream distro like Linux Mint 18 and set the update policy to be very conservative or very aggressive depending on your experience as a user. Updates don't take much time and if you go with "Just keep my computer safe" you'll have a pretty stable situation.
Of course if you want "death by update" I would recommend Debian Sid. Even that is a pretty stable system. Linux has come a long way and my Linux Mint 18 system just works - for me and the grandkids when they come over.

[ebrke]

I think only about one other person here besides me uses OpenSUSE, but for over 12 years it has "just worked" for me. YMMV, and I suspect it depends largely on what exactly you need to do, but it's been trouble-free for me with the exception of my last install when I foolishly overlooked the file system it defaulted to. That can be remedied next time without issue, however. I've never had a problem with security updates, which install silently and seamlessly.

[Peachy]

ebrke, on 06 December 2017 - 07:19 PM, said:

I think only about one other person here besides me uses OpenSUSE, but for over 12 years it has "just worked" for me.

I still dabble in openSUSE. I've been testing Leap on different hardware and I like the fact that it's VNC server works better than Ubuntu. Unity was a pain to get a desktop in VNC. With GNOME installed in Ubuntu it's better now.

Most of my Linux instances I run at work are in virtual machines in VMware vSphere. I have a few Raspberry Pi systems doing low-level service duty: DHCP, DNS, WiFi bridge, router.

[Scot]

Acadia, on 30 November 2017 - 08:03 AM, said:

Hey, Scot, many years ago when you did your newsletter, you did a series where you compared the Apple OS to Windows.  I don't remember if you also compared Linux.  Eventually you came to the conclusion that you favored Apple.  Many years later, do you still favor Apple over Windows?

You don't need to answer this if you don't want to, thanks,
Acadia

I use both Windows and the Mac every day. I went back to Windows when I became a heavy Dragon user. It works much better under Windows. But I never stopped loving the Mac. I've come to grudgingly like Windows 10 quite a bit. Microsoft does a lot of things right in this OS.

I use SugarSync to sync the desktop and a few other folders between my Dell XPS 9550 and my 2017 MacBook Pro Retina. So I'm always looking at the same set of files no matter what machine I open. I have a virtual machine of Windows 10 on my Mac using Parallels. Because of the way you can configure the Mac in your Windows virtual machine to share folders in Parallels, effectively I'm looking at the Mac desktop under Windows in terms of the files in folders it contains. That means that all three daily driver operating system installations see the same data at all times.

So that's how Scot rolls these days.

[crp]

Scot, on 07 December 2017 - 10:22 PM, said:

Acadia, on 30 November 2017 - 08:03 AM, said:

He lives!

[Acadia]

crp, on 08 December 2017 - 12:48 AM, said:

He lives!

Thank God and thank you, Scot, for the response.
Acadia

Edited by Acadia, 08 December 2017 - 10:58 AM.

[Acadia]

Deleted by original poster.

Edited by Acadia, 20 December 2017 - 02:48 PM.