A lot of my users have iPhones. On Windows & OSX they at least have the option to use iTunes (bleh) to backup/transfer/restore their devices. Some people don't want to pay for apples cloud storage. Tell me how I can accomplish this task on Linux without virtualization?
Are you saying that people that run Premeire/photoshop/illustrator/etc are just "limiting" themselves? Windows and OSX can run them fine. What about QuickBooks?
@scottalanmiller I couldn't work exclusively from Linux for a year. Too many applications I use don't run on it and I don't want to screw around with Wine. I just want to work - efficiently.
I should add - I've recommended Chrome OS to lots of people who can live entirely in Google's cloud.
@scottalanmiller I have a Mac mini running Mac OS, an Ubuntu desktop I use for running ddrescue for data recovery, and my Windows laptop right next to me. I use them all. For the completely computer illiterate my favorite OS is hands down OSX right now.
@scottalanmiller So you're saying you don't want the ability to remotely help your grandparents when they can't figure something out? You would rather try and walk them through the terminal commands?
Also, when my grandmothers machine running Mint has issues - where can she take it to get it fixed? Lots of my clients just walk into any Mac store and walk out with their issue resolved. I'm sorry...but to argue that Linux has better usability than OSX is crazy to me.
@scottalanmiller If you think Ubuntu is easier than OSX.....One tiny example - installing my untended ScreenConnect* software on Ubuntu vs OSX/Windows.
BTW I do have LOTS of older clients that I still support that are home users. A lot of them are on OSX. Its a piece of cake and they love it. They love the fun photo apps. The OS easily updates itself.
@scottalanmiller So you think the average grandfather will find Ubuntu easier/friendlier than OSX? Really?
@scottalanmiller What OS would you have my grandparents use? Chrome OS? Certainly not Ubuntu. The only option is OSX or Windows...period. When my grandmother decides she wants to scan old photos and send them to their friends what OS will the scanners support? BTW My grandma really did that - she wasn't half bad at working on Windows.
@scottalanmiller I understand 2012 to 2012 r2 was a full update. That's also a server OS. Again, I'm talking about looking at this entirely from the end user perspective. The Grandfathers/mothers of the world. That's all.
@scottalanmiller I for the most part agree with your premise. Trust me - I told lots of my clients to not install Windows 10 (in fact I disabled the update in most cases) on their older hardware because I knew & didn't expect a lot of support for drivers. Having said that I look at the Windows 8.1 update differently. You can think I'm completely wrong. I'm okay with that.
@scottalanmiller I feel you're looking at this from someone who works in IT. A prompt that says, "please update to get the latest features" is not the same as someone who says, lets go buy a new OS. For example, my grandpa would do the former, and has no clue about the latter.
@scottalanmiller I'm trying to point out - specifically from an end user perspective - the 8.1 update isn't the same as saying, "Hey lets go down to Fry's and buy this new OS & install it." Windows 8.1 wasn't a mystery that you had to search for to find - Microsoft was prompting people to install it. As a result a lot of users are going to end up installing it, and I feel like if Asus was already testing it for their new hardware that was yet to be released, they should have back tracked and supported already released hardware that came with Windows 8. That's just how I see it.
Again - we all have different experiences. I hate all Lenovo products that aren't a T/X series and have never recommended them. And for the most part I only recommend Dell's latitude lineup to my customers.
@scottalanmiller I've personally have had an X61, X200, X220, X230 and I've usually been able to go from one windows version to the next with excellent driver support. The X220 wasn't windows 10 capable, but when you consider it's release date vs when windows 10 was available I can't blame them for that.
@scottalanmiller What about Windows 10? Everyone should probably disable Windows update. All of those major OS updates will probably break something, and even if it's within a year of purchase - the Manufacturer shouldn't expect to support the product.
@scottalanmiller I would agree that a lot of sites can be skewed or very uniformed, but take a look at this:
I would challenge you to find a site that takes a deeper look at laptops than this review. They look at everything - I even know that the panel inside the X1 Carbon doesn't utilize PWM to dim the screen - which is nice.
@scottalanmiller Oh come on man! Dell/Lenovo would never do that to people. I supported LOTS of clients in their move to windows 8 to 8.1 and while some manufacturers took a month or two to get updated drivers to fix certain things...Asus was the only company to drop the ball. While windows 8.1 was a larger update...it was not a entirely different OS.
If you were a general consumer that just bought a computer, and a few months later Microsoft released and update that was highly recommended from a usability/security standpoint you would want/need to install it. It's not crazy to expect the manufacturer to release a driver update for something especially if it's within the warranty period.
@scottalanmiller I'll never buy another Asus. To give you an idea how about their support is - my wife bought a Asus laptop a few years back with Windows 8. When 8.1 came out her trackpad stopped scrolling. Asus never released an update to fix it. That's crazy to me. We're not talking about going from Windows 7 to windows 10...windows 8 to 8.1.
eople all over the internet were complaining and it was at least a year or two until someone discovered a driver for another laptop model would work on the Asus laptops.
@coliver I've deployed 2 different SurfaceBooks (not a lot I'll grant you) and both of them had issues. One had to be sent back to Microsoft as the screen release system didn't work, and the other one would just periodically lock up ( fixed through updates eventually).
The XPS is a good machine though. Besides not having a dock connection, the main downside as I see it - it doesn't have a trackpoint keyboard...which is what I've used for the last 10 years.