build quality generation after generation got worse.
os efficiency, my iPad is TERRIBLE…
They actively sabotage old devices to make their performance and battery life /worse/ so it makes new devices feel better…
then you say “best value”. that’s some major copium. what value is there in a $2000 device with $180 worth of components, a locked down ecosystem that tracks everything you do, scans all your data and sabotages your applications…
I remember first gen iPhones. I had one. I still have lots of classic apple hardware. you are literally sounding like a apple care technician.
They got pretty bad in the mid to late 10s, but build quality is a lot better now. No iPhone bend-gate level stuff in a while.
This did happen. Supposedly they stopped after they got fined. You can say liquid glass is a less blatant version of that hidden as a feature, but as far as I can tell they don’t directly do the “slow down” button for new hardware. And if we’re going to talk bloat, Microsoft is far worse. Linux is holding out for us.
You can get an M5 Air for under a thousand bucks with an education discount, which isn’t verified. I’d go for the 24 GB RAM 512 storagw version which would bring you to 1200. Might be able to snag an M4 for even cheaper if they’re trying to dump inventory. The Neo has a better chip than anything close to its price range of $500. You won’t be able to find better build quality OR specs for either of those 2 price ranges, let alone both. Believe me, I remember when they were overpriced 2k Intel machines. They’re not that anymore, they’re the gold standard, and looking even better with how Windows laptop manufacturers have gotten so greedy. You can barely find anything at all decent that’s x86 for under 1k. There’s a point where it doesn’t make sense to go Apple if you need a ton of RAM and local storage, but most people aren’t going to get a 128 GB RAM Macbook Pro.
macOS is demonstrably better for privacy than Windows. Better than Linux? Of course not. Sabotaging apps? Huh?
At the end of the day, I try to get whoever I can convince to go to Linux. I try to convince whoever I can to get a desktop instead of a laptop, especially for gaming. But if they NEED a laptop, or if they NEED apps that aren’t on Linux, especially creative apps like Adobe and CAD, I’m sure not going to recommend Windows, from any perspective, hardware or software. Microsoft is just awful these days, and has no redeeming qualities left, with Proton being as good as it is for games. So its going to be a Macbook. If they’re a student or general user with a budget that doesn’t need a lot of performance, get whatever refurbished business laptop you can get a good deal on with 16 GB RAM, 32 if you can swing it, for like 300 bucks, and put Linux on it.
what are you talking about.
Ux/UI has slipped over the last decade.
build quality generation after generation got worse.
os efficiency, my iPad is TERRIBLE…
They actively sabotage old devices to make their performance and battery life /worse/ so it makes new devices feel better…
then you say “best value”. that’s some major copium. what value is there in a $2000 device with $180 worth of components, a locked down ecosystem that tracks everything you do, scans all your data and sabotages your applications…
I remember first gen iPhones. I had one. I still have lots of classic apple hardware. you are literally sounding like a apple care technician.
They got pretty bad in the mid to late 10s, but build quality is a lot better now. No iPhone bend-gate level stuff in a while.
This did happen. Supposedly they stopped after they got fined. You can say liquid glass is a less blatant version of that hidden as a feature, but as far as I can tell they don’t directly do the “slow down” button for new hardware. And if we’re going to talk bloat, Microsoft is far worse. Linux is holding out for us.
You can get an M5 Air for under a thousand bucks with an education discount, which isn’t verified. I’d go for the 24 GB RAM 512 storagw version which would bring you to 1200. Might be able to snag an M4 for even cheaper if they’re trying to dump inventory. The Neo has a better chip than anything close to its price range of $500. You won’t be able to find better build quality OR specs for either of those 2 price ranges, let alone both. Believe me, I remember when they were overpriced 2k Intel machines. They’re not that anymore, they’re the gold standard, and looking even better with how Windows laptop manufacturers have gotten so greedy. You can barely find anything at all decent that’s x86 for under 1k. There’s a point where it doesn’t make sense to go Apple if you need a ton of RAM and local storage, but most people aren’t going to get a 128 GB RAM Macbook Pro.
macOS is demonstrably better for privacy than Windows. Better than Linux? Of course not. Sabotaging apps? Huh?
At the end of the day, I try to get whoever I can convince to go to Linux. I try to convince whoever I can to get a desktop instead of a laptop, especially for gaming. But if they NEED a laptop, or if they NEED apps that aren’t on Linux, especially creative apps like Adobe and CAD, I’m sure not going to recommend Windows, from any perspective, hardware or software. Microsoft is just awful these days, and has no redeeming qualities left, with Proton being as good as it is for games. So its going to be a Macbook. If they’re a student or general user with a budget that doesn’t need a lot of performance, get whatever refurbished business laptop you can get a good deal on with 16 GB RAM, 32 if you can swing it, for like 300 bucks, and put Linux on it.