The Laptop Thread

[Blumlein 88]

Windows 11 being the counter example. Then again a while back it became tricky to keep LMS running on a Via C3, and linux does remove code when there's nothing left to test it on.

No actually I had Win 11 in mind when I said the hardware no longer supports it. Also do I need to point out use longer is equivalent to use forever?

 

[somebodyelse]

I'd argue Win11 dropping support for hardware without TPM2 and certain other CPU requirements is more like Apple dropping support for older Mac models like the previously mentioned 2014 model that's only supported up to Monterey. The hardware they're choosing to drop is much more recent than that. The approach in earlier Windows versions would have been to let you install it anyway and just not have the features that required newer hardware - the old Aero Glass UI for example. The impending end of support for Win10 will end support from MS for hardware that's still plenty fast enough to be of use. IIRC you need to be an enterprise customer to pay for extended support. Individuals and small companies will have to run without security updates, buy new hardware or (less likely) change to an alternative OS.

 

[maverickronin]

All that dropping hardware support in W11 is fake anyway. A few commands on in the install wizard and it runs just fine.

Plus there's always W10 LTSC 2018/2019 which get security updates until the beginning of 2029.

 

[Ron Texas]

I'd argue Win11 dropping support for hardware without TPM2 and certain other CPU requirements is more like Apple dropping support for older Mac models like the previously mentioned 2014 model that's only supported up to Monterey. The hardware they're choosing to drop is much more recent than that. The approach in earlier Windows versions would have been to let you install it anyway and just not have the features that required newer hardware - the old Aero Glass UI for example. The impending end of support for Win10 will end support from MS for hardware that's still plenty fast enough to be of use. IIRC you need to be an enterprise customer to pay for extended support. Individuals and small companies will have to run without security updates, buy new hardware or (less likely) change to an alternative OS.

I believe you are correct about enterprise support for Win 10. Many think Win 10 will get an extension. Those complaining about the 2014 cutoff at Apple should note it's 2017 for Windows. Older hardware is of use, but use cases are somewhat limited. Of course laptops with IGPU's were crippled with GPU accelerated applications. The improvement promised by 2024 intel laptop CPU/GPU parts is minor as I have noticed with 155h benchmark results at Puget.

 

[Ron Texas]

I am still an Olympus (aka OM Systems) shooter and their OM Workspace app is pretty great, and if I need to, Photoshop Elements does the little editing I need, and in any case, the processing time is completely acceptable for me - when I need it. I actually like camera shots, just how I took them, as a rule.

Your mention of Olympus makes me wonder how long I will keep shooting my heavy Nikon D850.

 

[pablolie]

Your mention of Olympus makes me wonder how long I will keep shooting my heavy Nikon D850.

I also have a 6x6 camera, but to my utmost shame admit I have not used it in years. I use my OM Systems OM1 extensively, but mostly with very high aperture lenses, macros or teles... to do stuff I can't do with the excellent S23Ultra in a million years.

 

[Ron Texas]

I also have a 6x6 camera, but to my utmost shame admit I have not used it in years. I use my OM Systems OM1 extensively, but mostly with very high aperture lenses, macros or teles... to do stuff I can't do with the excellent S23Ultra in a million years.

I assume your 6X6 shoots hard to get and harder to process film.

 

[mhardy6647]

Our son's 4 x 5 inch Kalimar view camera is in our basement (not that I am entirely sure why) -- oh -- or do you mean 6 x 6 cm?

 

[Ron Texas]

Our son's 4 x 5 inch Kalimar view camera is in our basement (not that I am entirely sure why) -- oh -- or do you mean 6 x 6 cm?

Sheet film is still available. Only black and white is amenable to DIY processing.

 

[pablolie]

Sheet film is still available. Only black and white is amenable to DIY processing.

Black and white looks spectacular on 6x6 indeed.

 

[DWPress]

I've been a pretty steady Mac user since the 80's but fluent enough with Windows and Linux to have dual boot/separate dedicated machines for each. I've still got a little digital signage mini, an AOpen C2D running WinXP for a few tools that deal with older machine bios programing that were never ported beyond XP.

I also abandoned Mac and became quite active in the Hackintosh scene when Mac's offerings in the mid 2000's were behind what Intel and AMD were producing. I can tell you from that experience why Mac has the reputation for "they just work" - Mac has a relatively closed hardware system as far as the OS is concerned and completely closed now that they've embraced ARM. With Windows, ground level support and vulnerabilities are baked in to embrace whatever hardware and crazily written driver you throw at it - some RAM from here, GPU from there, other brands of MB, CPU and maybe some Aliexpress no name 2.5" bay multi card reader jammed in there and Windows will support it (or throw up) somehow if you try hard enough. Mac has traditionally had limited vendors so drivers and hardware support were also limited though there were ways around some of those obstacles as well. You turn them on and they (mostly most of the time) just work.

In short, choose the machine that works for your needs. I've a M2 silicon Mac mini for my work and audio but also a 2018 MacBook Air on intel that dual boots and more importantly still runs my licensed Adobe CS6 suite on OS Mojave (which got it's last security update last year).

Get what you need: Gamers gonna game, coders gonna code, creatives create.... The reality is 90% of the population could get by just fine with a Chromebook. Same people who are happy listening to music through their phone speakers I suppose.

 

[mhardy6647]

The reality is 90% of the population could get by just fine with a Chromebook.

I am one of them, at least in terms of non-professional use (and, truthfully, most of the 'pro' stuff I still do).
My beef with Chromebooks is that they cost virtually as much as a full laptop. I don't get the value proposition of the Chromebook -- other, I guess, than the use of, ahem, cloud-based applications (from Alphabet).

 

[Ron Texas]

I am one of them, at least in terms of non-professional use (and, truthfully, most of the 'pro' stuff I still do).
My beef with Chromebooks is that they cost virtually as much as a full laptop. I don't get the value proposition of the Chromebook -- other, I guess, than the use of, ahem, cloud-based applications (from Alphabet).

Chromebooks are used extensively by schools. They are easily locked down.

 

[Leporello]

Lenovo G580 still in use here, purchased in August 2012, upgraded to Win10 years ago. Replaced the hard disk two years ago. Still works like a charm with basic stuff like browsing, Netflix watching, Spotify and foobar2000.

 

[Leporello]

I'm not saying that Macs or Linux users don't have to worry about viruses. They do. Same as any other OS, including mobile OS's.
I'm saying that the degree of worry for a Windows virus is magnitudes more than other OS's.
My estimate is about 100x more.

Why 100x, why not 60x or 120x? What is your estimate based on?

 

[Deleted member 48726]

Why 100x, why not 60x or 120x? What is your estimate based on?

Popularity!?

 

[srrxr71]

There are several advantages to using macOS over Windows, including:

First AI said:


Second AI said:


There's plenty of advantages that Macs have over Windows.

I’ve been back and forth because I could never get used to Mac OS. However this new OS and that feature that puts your windows on the side of the screen made it much easier.

The biggest benefit to an iPhone user is the Touch ID keyboard and access to all your passwords and files in iCloud.

Yes there is iCloud for windows but it’s not very good.

Btw my Mac Mini is the source component for my audio system. Either via HDMI to TV to Blusound Node or direct to Topping D10s via USB.

 

[Ron Texas]

I’ve been back and forth because I could never get used to Mac OS. However this new OS and that feature that puts your windows on the side of the screen made it much easier.

The biggest benefit to an iPhone user is the Touch ID keyboard and access to all your passwords and files in iCloud.

Yes there is iCloud for windows but it’s not very good.

Mac's do have a lot of tie ins to the Apple ecosystem. Their use is optional. To move photos from my iPhone to a Windows computer I had to connect the phone to a cable. With the Mac those photos just show up in the Mac Photos app. iMessage and FaceTime are integrated with their iOS counterparts. My Apple Watch unlocks the Mac. Mac system settings has a lot of resemblance to its iOS counterpart. The App Store is the same. Microsoft has been trying to do something like this but is years behind Apple.

 

[srrxr71]

Mac's do have a lot of tie ins to the Apple ecosystem. Their use is optional. To move photos from my iPhone to a Windows computer I had to connect the phone to a cable. With the Mac those photos just show up in the Mac Photos app. iMessage and FaceTime are integrated with their iOS counterparts. My Apple Watch unlocks the Mac. Mac system settings has a lot of resemblance to its iOS counterpart. The App Store is the same. Microsoft has been trying to do something like this but is years behind Apple.

I’ve come to a point that I won’t put any sensitive stuff on my Windows gaming computer. No email even. Just keep that for gaming only.

So the Mac Mini is what I use for any banking, accounting, email etc.

I’ve already put all that data on my Apple phone so might as well just keep it there within the Apple ecosystem. No point putting of that data on a Windows PC.

Now if course since one still has to use excel sometimes for accounting MSFT still gets access to some of that data. Stuff gets sent to their cloud anyway.

 

[Ron Texas]

I’ve come to a point that I won’t put any sensitive stuff on my Windows gaming computer. No email even. Just keep that for gaming only.

So the Mac Mini is what I use for any banking, accounting, email etc.

I’ve already put all that data on my Apple phone so might as well just keep it there within the Apple ecosystem. No point putting of that data on a Windows PC.

Now if course since one still has to use excel sometimes for accounting MSFT still gets access to some of that data. Stuff gets sent to their cloud anyway.

It's hard to say what any of these big tech companies do with your data. The next best thing is to reduce the number of companies who have access to it. That's an advantage of staying in the Apple ecosystem with a Mac and iPhone. In that regard a Pixel phone is better than a Samsung phone as the later puts the user in a second ecosystem.

Since retiring I rarely need office style applications. If required I use the free Libre office.