There’s no one standalone reason why I think macOS is better than Windows for productivity. Instead of a single killer blow, it’s death by a series of smaller wounds.
The only real way of describing it. So many little niceties from decades of attentiveness, even if things have been backsliding in recent years.
Fantastic description! This is an issue that made it difficult to justify to my management to allow them to allow Macs, but thankfully Apple Silicon was big enough of a game changer to sway the decision
This was the reason I switched to Mac for work related stuff, the performance is insane for most of the stuff I need it to do.
I much prefer MacOS over windows due to the spotlight search. The only thing I wish was added is a detailed audio interface. It’s frustrating having to go to a app to turn it up or down.
There are power toys for windows which add the spotlight search functionality as well as ear trumpet which is amazing for turning specific apps up and down by themselves just from a single menu
This could be a game changer, as i didn’t know these existed. Thank you!
Yeah ear trumpet I’ve been using for years but somehow never see anyone mention it. Maybe there’s a better tool that I don’t know about. But the spotlight function in power toys is amazing since when I switched to Windows from Mac I missed that a lot.
this is one of those subjective things that highly depend on what your job actually entails
Kde plasma is working great for me! Just upgraded to bookworm. I’m definitely not going back to a proprietary system.
I’m glad they mentioned rectangle, I found that app amazing. I have however upgraded to Amethyst for my app tiling though.
I’m a dev, so if I’m not doing .NET development. I found windows quite limiting. The new terminal stuff is nice but it’s native on a mac. I’m not sure about Docker because that really spins the fans on my 16 Intel Pro.
Also, things like Spaces and virtual desktops have been pretty sweet for a long time now. Windows, I can’t recall but it’s been a horribly broken PowerToy for so long. I can’t believe people were to recommending it. I think some people were telling me it’s native now, but like, it’s crazy how it wasn’t done properly years ago.
macOS is a great OS, and I’ve used it pretty extensively now. Every time I try to make it my primary OS I end up wanting to go back to Windows soon after. And this is from a die hard Linux advocate. Part of the issue is the cost and lack of easy upgrades for the hardware, the other is I just find macOS to be frustrating for anything but normal “user” stuff. So for me: Linux for servers and hobbyist stuff, macOS if no other option, Windows for just about everything else.
It’s basically good there’s choice. I run Linux exclusively on my gaming laptop, with the improvements in Proton I can now game on it as well as everything else such as desktop productivity/photo editing/Rust programming. I also enjoy MacOS (and love what they have done with the Mx series) but can’t afford a Mac and well, I game a lot.
I can use Windows (My career started with TWM, so I can use anything) but it annoys me so I tend to avoid it.
This is how I first moved over as well. I got a job in a small office that used iMacs and over time I grew to love it. Windows 7 was my last edition of Windows.
I moved from a desktop PC to a 2015 MBP and I’ve been extremely satisfied with it. It’s nothing short of a miracle how little issues I’ve had with it. It’s fast and everything just work. Was expensive as hell but worth every penny.
That being said my next laptop is probably not going to me a MacBook but the Framework laptop. Not only do I not like Apple as a company but I also want to support what Framework is doing and the only way to do that is by putting money where my mouth is.
And not to forget the little Finder function that allows you to create a new folder with all of the items you’ve selected, which are automatically moved into it.
Oh how I wish windows could or would add this. And hitting the space bar in the Finder to look at a file without opening the requisite app. And just Preview. He’s right, there are tons of little QoL improvements that make macOS feel so superior.
Peek, another powertoys util, attempts to fill this gap using ^+space https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/powertoys/peek
I use both MacOS and Windows.
I think both have their uses and strengths. I don’t really like putting one down over the other.
Same. I usually say “they both suck.” Neither one really meets my expectations for what a desktop operating system should be able to do these days. Every now and then I find myself wishing for some little feature enhancement in Finder and shucks… that’s just never going to happen, is it?
I had to use mac for the last month because my Linux laptop broke… I want to die
I ran arch (btw) for years on my XPS. Just grabbed the new Air 15 and I don’t think I could go back. Considered trying Asahi, but I just don’t see a reason to.
That’s how most users feel about Linux.
Except they never used it. I used mac for years…
I’m a SysAdmin for a large university and work with our loan services team quite often to get faculty and staff loaner machines for various reasons. They typically stock Win, Mac, and Linux laptops for users. The number of Windows and Mac users that complain about the Linux experience in our surveys is off the charts. The Macs get the highest praise, with Windows right behind it and Linux systems are typically trashed in the surveys. It’s reached a point that team plans to reimagine the Linux to systems Windows and investing in more Macs.
Linux is quite a spectrum, I wonder what Desktop Environments they use like KDE or Gnome.
This article is ridiculous because it doesn’t mention why these differences exist at all. Like for example Macs don’t have window snapping because Microsoft patented that feature back in the Windows Vista days. & Batch file renaming is a Unix thing. I have always liked Exposé and hot corners and also mission control, but many windows users hate it. It’s entirely subjective and not at all rational. I guess that’s the point of an opinion piece but it really lacks the context that would have made this article informative, just a little research would have been cool.
It seems wild that something like dragging a window to the corner to snap it into place is patented. The one feature I long for on Mac.
Install Rectangle.
