They are marginally more expensive, but they also very easy to sell second-hand. I'm speculating that the monthly cost is on par with a PC.
- The software is worse. Linux is better. Windows has much broader options. I run both.
- I game.
- Ideology? Yes, Apple is an awful company.
- Familiarity? I have used it enough to know it cannot do a lot of things I need, want, like, etc.
- Budget? Yes, but not because it is too expensive, but because it cannot do anywhere near what Linux and Windows can do (for me) for way less.
>I'm speculating that the monthly cost is on par with a PC.
What is the monthly cost of a Mac that can run games, run old software I require for work and hobbies and (importantly) isn't locked down in either hardware or software so I can use it for something completely different later in life?
Yeah, the Mac model for long term use is that you sell it later in life so you can get whatever it is that you need later in life. (Not saying that it is a good thing nor a bad thing).
They aren't marginally more expensive. I'm writing this on a Chromebook I bought for $300 before the pandemic. Including electricity, cables, etc., I figure it has cost me about $6.50/month.
Which mould though? I'd say most fit the Windows mould, but I'm guessing you mean the Apple mould.
Just to point out one fact -- people buy $289 Gateway laptops from Walmart and use it as their daily driver.
1. Better choice of desktop environment (KDE/GNOME vs OS X)
2. Wider/better selection of applications
3. Better development environment
4. Ease of deployment of your own apps
5. Better fit for your budget (why spend 3000 Euros on a limited set of features, when you can spend the same amount and get huge number of features/better features)
6. Capability to connect upto 3 external displays (which Macbook has got only recently)
#2 is untrue unless you're installing Windows. #3, well somehow there's no iTerm2 equivalent on Linux, and the terminal emu is one thing you'll always use even when SSHing elsewhere. #6 is a serious point, though.
The picky one is the death of Rosetta 1
Then they killed 32 bit binaries. This is the main reason the little Mac icon on steam is useless.
Then Arm processors and yet another recompile that was probably more than a recompile.
If you buy a windows machine, the last 30 or so years of gaming are available to you. And everything older can be emulated.
For me personally, it's a few things I dislike. I do computer graphics for fun. I like using OpenGL and Vulkan because it's the most accessible both in terms of audience and material available. Apple doesn't support either (OpenGL is deprecated, Vulkan only available via translation layer).
Additionally, and this is probably more problematic because I actually like Metal as an API, I don't live in the high income region of the US. I know I won't be happy with the default SSD. I know I want at least 16GB of RAM (can't run integration tests locally at work with 8). For a Windows laptop I go for 1TB SSD and 32GB RAM. But the added premium makes this really difficult. I'm in Germany so it's not like a Mac would eat up a year of my net wage but it's enough that I'd maybe rather go for the thinkpad.
And if I actually tried to get a bit more beef in my GPU and by a larger model because I think the 13 inch are a bit small, I'd probably spend 3k or 3.5k. That's a maxed out gaming laptop. Really hard to justify the price.
For my wife though? Base MBA all the way.
