Gudehus Loc: Oregon and California

Mac user since late 1980s. I have PCs but they don't get used much.

blackest Loc: Ireland

What do you find confusing? It seems straight forward enough to me but maybe I am missing something.

neil459

Yep, if you care about any professional functionality like this, Apple has pretty much decided that you need to use Windows. Yes, if you search hard enough and pay enough money you can probably find a solution. But next week it will probably not be supported or available. Or, Apple will kill it off with no forethought what-so-ever.

Apple apparently does not care about anything with regard to users except the bog standard stuff a teenager does, which is roughly web browsing, iTunes/music subscriptions, light document editing, social sharing, tweeting, reddit'ing, snap chatting, social causes, etc. Now, this works for a lot of people so they are profitable and able to spend a lot of money on marketing. But that profitability is based on an image of technical leadership that is no longer supported by their actions or their hardware. The stuff a typical teenager needs in a computer or phone does not require a lot of technology and Apple does not provide it.

For a long time Apple was a technology leader and the set the market standard even if they were not the most popular, but that ended with the onset of Jobs' health problems and the success of the iPhone. Today they are just milking the cow, so to speak. Jobs wanted the best products possible, Cook, the current CEO (who was the CFO), wants the most money possible. They still make a good iPhone (but it has not been a technology leader for several years, since they started having to play catchup with Samsung). They have become a two product company; iPhone and macOS on below average hardware. macOS is an excellent product (IMO the best OS for the desktop bar none), but getting worse with each passing year, due to neglect and the lack of understanding that it was key to what made Apple for a long time. Windows is a terrible product getting better with each passing year.

Most current Mac hardware has a 1 or 2 repairability rating from MacFixit on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the best. When Apple products fail or are obsolete (about 3 years now, because Apple will make new software that does not work on your old hardware), your only choice is to throw them away and buy new. This is how Apple is able to put billions into offshore accounts.

Most people do not realize that SSD drives have a limited life. In general terms, each storage cell in the SSD can be written to about ~1000 times, then that cell is no longer usable. The OS uses software to manage this and move stuff around to average out the decay, but from day 1 your SSD is reducing the amount of real storage available. The OS will always report the full size, but your SSD is slowly degrading. For a lot of people this is no big deal, because when it fails you can simply replace it just like you did with the old Hard Drive. But with Apple products the SSD are increasing soldered in and only replaceable by Apple at Apple product and service rates (not cheap), so if you do buy an Apple product and want it to last 5 or 10 years with any significant usage buy the largest SSD available. Apple does NOT want you or them to repair their products. Of course, Apple knows this and is quite happy to overcharge you for the original larger SSD (between 1.5 and 2 times the non-Apple costs). Its either that or buy a new computer, because that will be cheaper than the upgrade to the SSD when considering the software obsolescence built in by Apple. They've got you. That is the new Apple. No choice, no options, just spend, spend, spend if you have problems.

therwol Loc: USA

What you really need with an SSD is headroom. It's a bad idea to store data on the SSD you're using for your OS. The more empty space you have, the less the individual unused cells will be written on. The OS won't have to keep writing on the same ones over and over to the point of early failure. I put a 256 gig SSD in one of my computers 4 years ago. With only the OS and installed programs, I've only used about 100 gigs, and it should last a long time. I use external storage. (No room in the computer for a second hard drive.)

blackest Loc: Ireland

This page should be interesting

http://techreport.com/review/27909/the-ssd-endurance-experiment-theyre-all-dead

They all exceeded their design life some more than others by a long long way. One reaching 2.5PB or 2500 TB of writes. These were around 250 GB in size.

Most users would write a few TB a year If we call it 10TB then the best would be looking at a 250 year life span, even a 100 TB life would be 10 years

Orso Loc: St. Augustine, FL

Try them both and and see which feels right for you. I happened to be a Mac person. I used Windows for years at work, but not for photography. Also Windows computers at home for personal work and photography. It seemed like the tech guys had to be called in frequently to handle virus problems and other issues at work. We kept the important things on a very old B&W Macintosh. The only problem with the old Mac was the tech guys hated it. It lasted over 20 years until the techs "accidentally" dropped it off the cart while moving it to another office. I disliked the Windows machines I used at home. There were frequent freeze ups and other problems. Granted, some were probably due to more than two of us using it. I switched to a Mac for home use in 2002 and never had a problem. I updated to a new Mac in 2015 and prefer it to any other computer. I've got friends who swear by Windows. But everyone who's switched to the Mac seem to love them.

Orso Loc: St. Augustine, FL

Try them both and and see which feels right for you. I happened to be a Mac person. I used Windows for years at work, but not for photography. Also Windows computers at home for personal work and photography. It seemed like the tech guys had to be called in frequently to handle virus problems and other issues at work. We kept the important things on a very old B&W Macintosh. The only problem with the old Mac was the tech guys hated it. It lasted over 20 years until the techs "accidentally" dropped it off the cart while moving it to another office. I disliked the Windows machines I used at home. There were frequent freeze ups and other problems. Granted, some were probably due to more than two of us using it. I switched to a Mac for home use in 2002 and never had a problem. I updated to a new Mac in 2015 and prefer it to any other computer. I've got friends who swear by Windows. But everyone who's switched to the Mac seem to love them.

valley4photo Loc: Lemon Grove, Ca. 91945

I can't get a picture on my viewing screen, view finder ok. Canon SX50

cochese

Had not heard of that one but am on a constant lookout for something that works well enough for me o give up windows completely. I have used primarily Linux Mint for nearly a decade now and would not go back to mac or windows for any reason.

cochese

Just as an afterthought, I have an old HP desktop that only gets used as a print server of sorts. How old you ask? I bought it brand new in 1999, never had a problem, never a virus, no hardware issues. By todays standards it is slow as death, but does what is asked every time without fail. For many years my lady used it as her main work machine when her mac laptop bit the dust... she is a newspaper reporter by trade and sometimes may write 4 or 5 articles in the space of a few hours, never a problem. Kinda like a Timex...takes a lickin' and keeps on tickin'!

Paris Hanson

Thanks to all who replied, there was a ton of GREAT INFO on this thread and I learned a lot, It is so nice to have a site where, while opinions vary, everyone who is chiming in is trying to help you make a smart decision, I have been researching based on what I have heard on this thread the last few days so much that my eyes hurt!!!! I have decided to stick with PC, It really has been a big help from this great community, This was a hard decision, like deciding on changing camera brands when you are invested in a lot of glass, Technology moves so fast these days it pays to research and talk with people who are using it everyday, THANKS AGAIN one and all

cboysen Loc: Homewood, IL

We have used iMac for years and love it.

blackest Loc: Ireland

You don't see it the other way round.

cjc2 Loc: Hellertown PA

Absolutely the BEST answer so far!

CookieRahll Loc: Brasher Falls,NY

Never give up my Macs...had a problem on my 3 yr old Mac Book Pro 17" and while visiting dad in Florida I stopped in the Galaria in Ft Lauderdale and the Genius'did a data migration....and upgraded to Sierra, version 10.12.2, the track pad entered at will all the time...anyway that was the good news...thats when I bought my new Nikon D810 and realized the CD-rom would not work with my NEW 10.12.2,,,,many emails between Nikon and B&H....in a nut shell Nikon said we're working on it.....but don t use View NX-i,Nikon Transfer 2 to transfer images,viewNX 2,ETC. Not compatible with macOS Sierra version 10.12.1 or later . Anyway I looking into another tyle of software thats compatible for my photos....not employed, retired, photo for myself and family and friends.

I've always received great assistance from Mac when I had a problem it was usually my lack of experience or DSL(pain in the A__)..my old Dell is now just a gamer....period.

I really enjoy everyone's input, I'm still learning, thanks to all!!!!

Cookie