Another question for the brain trust - Mac computers

[MAS956]

Originally Posted by id10t

My only Mac experience is with making them run Linux (which they typically do quite well) ...

Linux Mint is an answer to your issue. Dick around with it, it'll pay off. Start off with the OS on a USB stick if skeptical. No affiliation other than delighted end user.

[berettafan]

I like the equipment and software. Have come to despise dealing with Apple service in any capacity. Have had to deal with them on phones, a studio monitor and most recently my Apple Card (disputed charge) and in every single case the experience was infuriating. To the point I've been thinking I should be shorting Apple stock cause at some point the world is going to find out nobody's home at Apple and the previous culture of premium products AND service has been abandoned in a big way.

[wdfifteen]

Originally Posted by masraum

As others have posted, the USB thing should be a non-issue with several possible solutions. I didn't search specifically for Anker stuff, but they do make high quality stuff and stand behind it, so it may not be the cheapest, but it should be high quality.

See, this is why I come here. When I searched “USB compatibility” I got a bunch of jargon about pass through rates blah, blah and not one thing about there being an adapter.

I like USB C. It’s one of the few computer-world updates that’s actually felt like an improvement. There is a story going around, no doubt true, that the inventor of the rectangular USB died, and when they tried to bury him, they had to pull him out and turn him over.

[Shaun @ Tru6]

The last Intel based 27" iMac was the i9 sold through 2022 making it fairly modern. I'm going search on a weekly basis for one on FBMP. My i7 is fine but might be nice to get something new with even more RAM and a huge HD.

[wdfifteen]

Originally Posted by Jeff Higgins

I'm in the same boat, Patrick. My Mac is over ten years old. There are now an increasing number of websites that are no longer compatible with the newest version of Safari that my Mac will accept. I go back and forth between Safari and Firefox depending on which sites will open with which.

This is me. I have a MacBook Air that I don’t use much. Im much more comfortable with a big screen and full sized keyboard- because I’m a cranky old curmudgeon who drives a car with a clutch and curses at the clouds when they piss me off.

[id10t]

Originally Posted by Alan A

macos is linux under the covers.

it's just ringfenced to stop most seat to keyboard interface problems - meaning you can't screw it up so bad it won't boot unless you are really trying.

unlike debian - where i needed a windows computer and IE to tell me how to fix the gpu drivers after every "update"...

No it isn't. It is a BSD kernel (microkernel vs. monolithing but still under a Free license). On top of that, it doesn't adhere to the "all of the users files shall be in their home directory" concept, especially for configuration/preferences files for like your Firefox profile, etc... In fact, it seems to take pleasure in mixing *nix and Windows design into how it works and does things....

And kernel upgrades works fine in Linux if you would use Free drivers instead of something with a proprietary binary blob (NVidia cards...)

[Alan A]

Originally Posted by id10t

No it isn't. It is a BSD kernel (microkernel vs. monolithing but still under a Free license). On top of that, it doesn't adhere to the "all of the users files shall be in their home directory" concept, especially for configuration/preferences files for like your Firefox profile, etc... In fact, it seems to take pleasure in mixing *nix and Windows design into how it works and does things....

And kernel upgrades works fine in Linux if you would use Free drivers instead of something with a proprietary binary blob (NVidia cards...)

You are arguing semantics. They are both *nix based. The CLI commands - the ones i use at least - work on both.

I use RHEL at work plenty. That's all I need linux for.
You couldn't pay me to have a linux machine as a laptop. Debian on a desktop cured me of that idea. the "if" in "kernel upgrades work fine if.." killed it. I don't want to buy different hardware to run what's touted as standard software.

And to my mind suggesting the I need a web browser and word crowd use same is get a 10 ton press and learn it so you can crack a walnut. How are they going to click and play games? WSL, VirtualBox?

My MIL's primary interface with the web is a tablet (yes - it's an iPad).
For 99% of the planet, I'm willing to assert that that (with a keyboard if you are writing long documents) is more than enough compute, and it has an API that most can manage.

Unless you are actually doing something I'm always going to say start with one of those...

[wdfifteen]

This is what I keep running in to. So far I don't need any of the functions that aren't available, but I'm not sure how long that will last. Microsoft is already telling me they can't update Word and Excel, but they still work fine.

[dad911]

Originally Posted by wdfifteen

This is me. I have a MacBook Air that I don’t use much. Im much more comfortable with a big screen and full sized keyboard- because I’m a cranky old curmudgeon who drives a car with a clutch and curses at the clouds when they piss me off.

Screen and keyboard are an easy add to a mb air. Nice thing about working on a laptop is the 'built-in' battery backup. You won't lose work if the power glitches.

[Deschodt]

Originally Posted by wdfifteen

And honestly, the biggest hurdle is I don't want to dick around setting up a new system. If I had to upgrade a perfectly working car every 10 years because it's "no longer supported," I swear I'd start walking everywhere. (Yes, I know that is exactly what is coming) I'm going to hang on to this baby as long as I can, but I'm afraid someday soon my hand will be forced.

So - what are my Apple options?

In a way it's a blessing in disguise that new OS'es aren't supported on your older system, Apple is infamous for slowing down the old machines with their updates (not just accidentally or due to new tech, they got sued for that and lost). Even if you could upgrade that, don't.. Ditto on alternate softwar eif need be, Libre office works well, moneydance for quicken, etc...

There are adapters for usb to USBc... In fairness the upgrade from old mac to new mac is pretty sweet, last time I did this for the wife it took care of copying everything over, all by itself, with both machines side by side. It offered on startup. Took like 3-4 hours but I did nothing except buy a USBc card reader. So you could upgrade and be good for a bit.. If you don't mind the captive ecosystem and entering an apple Id every 10 minutes ;-)

[JavaBrewer]

Originally Posted by dad911

Screen and keyboard are an easy add to a mb air. Nice thing about working on a laptop is the 'built-in' battery backup. You won't lose work if the power glitches.

That has been my setup as well for many years. Laptop (now MBAir M2) connected to an external keyboard and mouse (bluetooth) driving a large LG monitor through hdmi cable.

I too use LibreOffice over paying for an office suite.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by Shaun @ Tru6

The last Intel based 27" iMac was the i9 sold through 2022 making it fairly modern. I'm going search on a weekly basis for one on FBMP. My i7 is fine but might be nice to get something new with even more RAM and a huge HD.

I've got a 2019 27", 3.7 GHz 6-Core Intel Core i5, 1TB HDD, and 40G RAM. I upgraded the RAM myself from 8GB by adding 32GB because it was a lot cheaper than having them populate the RAM. This is adequate for my needs. I'd love more processor. If I was going for more HDD, I'd probably just opt for the fastest external that I could get (SSD via USB 3 or lightning?).

[masraum]

Originally Posted by Deschodt

If you don't mind the captive ecosystem and entering an apple Id every 10 minutes ;-)

I almost never get asked for my ID. My wife, OTOH, does seem to get asked if not daily, then a few times per week.