Andrew Richards
Forum Replies Created
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[Walter Soyka] “Criticizing Windows for blue screens, registry edits, and DLL hell is like criticizing OS X for kernel panics, Terminal hacks, and permissions repair. Sometimes bad things happen on both platforms, because modern computers are enormously complex systems with zillions of failure modes — but they’re not part of the ordinary, every day experience.”
Yeah, I was really reaching with those when I brought them up. The point I was struggling to make, which I still hold true, is that I dislike the architecture of Windows. It may be a totally subjective opinion at this point, since as you noted Win7 is at least as solid as OS X when assembled by a learned hand. But UNIX feels like a first language to me while Windows is more like a foreign tongue in which I can say “hello, good bye, please, thank you, where’s the toilet” and feel thoroughly awkward doing it.
Without fail, any time I need to figure something out in Windows, I curse Windows aloud because it is so unintuitive. I just don’t like it! I use it more now than I used to thanks to VMware, and all that frequent use serves to remind me how much I prefer OS X.
But maybe I feel it more since a lot of my work is in the OS, not immersed in creative apps that are nearly indistinguishable from platform to platform
Best,
Andy -
[Tim Wilson] “Ironically, what finally tipped the balance away from Mac for me after 20 years of active Windows-bashing was Fusion. Running Mac and Windows side-by-side made come to resent every moment I had to spend in the Mac OS.”
Just the opposite for me. Win7 in Fusion reminds me constantly that OS X is a vastly superior UX for me. Nearly everything about the Windows UX rubs me the wrong way, and though I have my complaints about OS X, I’ll take it any day of the week and twice on Sunday.
So like you said, YMMV.
Best,
Andy -
[Bret Williams] “Why would they support pice cards if none of their computers have pice slots?”
Even Macs without PCIe expansion slots use the bus for their GPUs and other internals. Thunderbolt uses PCIe such that according to Intel, PCIe and DisplayPort drivers are all an OS needs to address Thunderbolt-connected devices.
Best,
Andy -
[Shane Ross] “And that document was from 2010…when they were also probably still thinking of doing FCP 8…and not swerving off to the tangent that is FCX.”
The Xserve EOL came on November 5th, 2010. They showed FCPX (privately) for the first time on February 22nd, 2011, 3 months and 17 days later. They showed it publicly at NAB a few months after that. So no, there was no “swerving” at that time. FCPX was late in development when the Xserve EOL was announced.
Best,
Andy -
[Gary Huff] “That’s Microsoft Office, not Windows.”
Nope. That’s Windows Explorer in Windows 8. They are putting that train wreck of a UI on the whole OS.
Best,
Andy -
[Gary Huff] “What are you doing that requires you to mess around with DLL files?”
Mostly just FUD on my part. It reminds me of how much legacy junk is sitting beneath the surface on Windows.
[Gary Huff] “How frequently and why? I’ve hit up the Registry my fair share of times too, but only for special circumstances, and since Windows 7, it’s incredibly rare as well.”
I don’t deal with Windows unless something is broken, so it is an unfair sample. For me it is yet another reminder of how not-UNIX it is under there.
[Gary Huff] “I don’t really see this as a problem. I think Windows 7’s interface is actually kind of nice.”
I rest my case (yes, I know that is Win8). What a cluster-f.
[Gary Huff] “Ugly screen fonts: Never noticed this.”
I guess it is mostly subjective, but font rendering on OS X is anti-aliased and consistent with print, while on Windows it isn’t. Take a screenshot of Wikipedia on OS X and Windows and I can tell you which OS is which just from the font rendering. OS X is the one that looks nice.
Best,
Andy -
[Frank Gothmann] “But just out of curiosity – what is it that you prefer in OSX compared to windows beyond just being used to it more?”
I have an acute allergic reaction to backslashes.
(OK, that is a slight exaggeration).
But seriously, Windows is crummy in so many ways:
- DLL Hell
- The Registry (and the all too frequent necessity to muddle with it)
- Drive letter assignments (instead of proper UNIX arbitrary mounting)
- The Ribbon/Aero (talk about sloppy overwrought chrome)
- Convoluted control panels (or bafflingly absent ones, like NTP setup)
- Ugly screen fonts
…it just isn’t UNIX!
I’m much happier in Linux or FreeBSD than I am when I have to dip into the Windows sewer. OS X has its warts (HFS+, the networking foibles you noted, and seriously lagging OpenGL support), but they’ll get fixed long before any of my bullets above are dropped from Windows.
Best,
Andy -
[Craig Alan] “So is there a way I could type in the same passcode on all computers at once? It would be rather time consuming to log in 30 computers individually. Though even that is easier sitting at one computer than walking up to each and trying to not have the passcode stolen. “
Looks like you can script it. I haven’t ever done it though.
[Craig Alan] “I know nothing about servers and Open Directory on OS X Server. I was told I could control the computers using ARD so I ordered it.”
ARD does let you do that and more, and OD is a centralized set of users and groups that give you consistent permissions across all machines. You don’t need it, but I recommend it.
Best,
Andy -
[Craig Alan] “10 would be more secure than 5 I assume, but 5 retains more total space? Yes I think the included drives are enterprise class. “
You’ll yield 50% more usable space with RAID-5 over RAID-10. Use RAID-5. Drive failures will be rare with a Pegasus anyway.
[Craig Alan] “There is no way from the server computer that I can log in to each computer each period? I mean even without ARD I can set up two macs on the same network so that one can take over the desktop of the other and type in whatever. I thought for sure this would be possible.”
By local I mean by actually typing in a password. You can do that via screen sharing or on the real keyboard. But there isn’t a button in ARD to “Log In User” like there is for Log Out Current User” that you can apply to multiple Macs in one stroke.
[Craig Alan] “Still would need to log users in and out since we will also have research, scripts, and perhaps AVID files on these as well. “
For filesystem permissions to work at all, you need to have the students log in with unique accounts. Did you say if you were going to use Open Directory on OS X Server?
Best,
Andy -
[Helmut Kobler] “I think the fact that there’s been no new Mac Pro announced (even though new Xeons are available) AND there are rumors of matte-screen iMacs on the way cast a lot of doubt on the chances for a new Mac Pro. “
When was the last time Apple announced a new Mac ahead of its ship date? Macs are “announced” the same day they ship. And I put “announced” in quotes because all they will do is update the website, maybe even with a homepage badge to link to them. Oh, and refresh the brick and mortar store stocks and displays (what’s left of them).
Macs don’t get press events (or even press releases) anymore.
[Helmut Kobler] “One more Mac Pro with Thunderbolt would go a long way to appeasing long-time customers, and keep media professionals in the Apple camp.”
One more would be as bad as no more. Either build a chassis for the next several years or scuttle it. One more is not a commitment, one more is dead Mac walking.
[Helmut Kobler] “But Apple seems to be in such a hurry to dump the machine, just like it was in such a hurry to dump Final Cut Studio.”
If they were in a hurry, we’d already know for certain about an EOL. Seems to me they are taking their good sweet excruciating time.
Best,
Andy