I sold my MacBook in anticipation of the new ones and then decided I liked having the money in the bank more than I want a new Mac. (First time in 25 year I don't have a Mac.)


I'd go back to Mac if they came out with a mini with 16GB ram, a 500SSD and a 8600 or 8700 for a grand - which won't happen.

So I just have a PC tower now. I bought Paragon's HFS+ reading software so I could access my old Mac drives when needed.

For anti-virus I have Windows Defender and MalwareBytes.

Microsoft Office works on both. Same with Photoshop.

Went with SublimeText instead of BBedit.

The only program I can't figure an alternative to is iPhoto. (I installed Google backup and sync so all my existing photos are on Google Photos.)

Anything else I should know?

Windows 10 has a store which means it's possible to have two versions of the same app (Todoist for example has a Windows store version and a regular .exe)

Windows as a service is a thing so you can't easily stop yourself from getting updates:

https://www.computerworld.com/article/3215108/microsoft-windows/windows-as-a-service-in-a-nutshell-explained.html

Windows 10 has the metro ui, so you have the regular control panel, and then you have Windows Settings. This among other stuff.

For the most part if you're familiar with windows then you'll be able to get around Win 10 fine though

https://decentsecurity.com/#/securing-your-computer/

windows is fairly straightforward these days, defender gives you the best protection as long as you have it on and updated, and the store gives a safe source for apps.



www.engadgethd.com - the other stuff i'm looking at

I think we are officially in the upside down.

But seriously, Windows 10 is a pretty good OS. Really stable and has features like the virtual desktops and a red shifter for the screen at night.

You mentioned BBedit, so I'm assuming your a front-end developer / web designer. Look into Virtual Studio Code. You may have heard about it already since MS made a version for Mac, but it's a code editor that includes quite a number of features. Things like support for SASS and emmet functionality (I can't think of the proper name for emmet features.) and also a compiler that can work with Google Chrome if you're testing JS. If you would need something more robust, Eclipse or the full Visual Studio IDE may work for you.

I've haven't used Creative Suite for Mac in a long time, but I'd think there isn't much variation in terms of functionality. To the best of my knowledge, the PC and Mac versions share the same code, so you likely won't have to make many changes to your workflow.

Gaming of course is better on a PC. And Windows now includes support for VR headsets.

Cortana is pretty cool, if you want a digital assistant. I haven't used it very often since not too long after Windows 10 was released but it's handy for getting notifications on your PC when you get texts.

On an aside, since you wanted to save money, have you thought about getting a Hackintosh? I don't think you could probably build a laptop for under 1K, but I'd think you could get pretty close to that.

I know Steve-O-Tron built one a number of years ago so you may want to communicate with him to get his take.

I did do some of the things that guy suggested in RJCC's post above.

But I did update my bios --and somehow munge/destroy my SSD.

The re-installation of Windows went a LOT faster than it used to - it required maybe 3 reboots - which is vastly improved over the 10 or more it used to take. (My system is about 15 months old so the psychical CD that came with it is pretty out of date.)

I've always had a PC but I used to be Mac used to be 90% of my "productivity" work.

So my PC build is a Powerspec G405 (http://www.microcenter.com/product/475438/powerspec-g405-desktop-computer) basically a prebuilt i7- 7700k with 16GB of DDR-3000 ram, a 512 gb SSD, 600W power supply, an okay MSI PCMate motherboard -- and comes with Windows Home - which cost $899. (I couldn't have built one by hand for cheaper.)

I added in an MSI Founders Edition GTX 1080 ti , a Blu-ray writer (from an older machine), and a 2TB internal HD.

A Dell UP3216Q UltraSharp 4k UHD 32" IPS Monitor rounds it out.

I also have an Oculus Rift which is under used.


Note: I have a webcam and camera in a box if I need them - but I don't trust windows enough to leave them connected.

What I miss from Mac (and can probably replace):
Expose windowing actions - the Windows version is wonky and not smooth.

Notes - synced with the cloud.

Time Machine - I need to understand the difference between restore points and real backups - and how real backups are stored and how you can recover from them.

iTunes is much better on Mac.

Garage band is fun as hell. (Still have it on my iPad.)


Windows stuff that seems better:
Un-raring/un-parring seems way quicker on Windows.

Paragon HFS+ software seems way better mount HFS+ than the NTFS version fro mac did with NTFS.

Chrome seems faster.

Love the 8 USB ports on the machine and that hubs seems to be rock solid -- whereas on the Mac had issues. The transfer speeds to external USB are rock solid - sometimes my mac would write really slow to them - due to hubs.

So after a few weeks I am not JONESING for a Mac - I thought I would be.

I could never get into iPhoto. I didn't like/trust OSX "managing" where my pictures were stored. Lightroom has a catalog too...but your photos are stored wherever you desire and the catalog reads from wherever you initially establish your photo storage.
My pics always reside on an external hard drive. If push comes to shove, I can connect that harddrive to anything and go directly to a picture independent of Lightroom. iPhoto wouldn't allow for that.


"Get ready....for your blessing....."

The closest thing to Lightroom was Aperture and that died a while ago.

I wouldn't use Windows for $20 million.

I wouldn't use windows if someone put a gun to my head and told me to eat out Roseanne.

I wouldn't use windows for one year of the Trump Foundation's NOPAT.

Come back to the best platform in the fall with the new Mac Minis.

I don't like any one the choices Apple is presenting right now.

I kind of was wrong - I discovered I have a PowerMac G5 and a white Powerbook G4 in the storage unit, so I could probably run Leopard on them :)

Other than moving photos from iPhone to iPhoto , and iTunes running SLOW, it's been fine for me.

I have both Macs and Windows PCs at home. More PCs than Macs due to being a sysadmin for the last 4 years. RJCC's link has what you need. Getting apps from the store will keep you safer than getting apps in the wild.

https://www.techradar.com/reviews/huawei-matebook-x-pro

People say imitation is a form of flattery, but what do you call it when that imitation surpasses the original? In the case of Apple's MacBook, it's called the Huawei MateBook X.

I bought an older model and its great.