New computer questions: Mac vs. Windows & OS Options

[Rob Battisti]

So I'm in the market for a new laptop which will be primarily used for work. Mostly excel and access work. I've worked on Macs before and enjoyed them mostly for the fact I don't have to upgrade my systems every 2 minutes.

So question 1: does anyone experience any issues utilizing excel on a mac regarding compatibility problems?

Question 2: do standard HP or Dells keep up with performance speeds compared to Macs?

Question 3: is it difficult to change Windows OS? I believe I was working with windows 7 at work previous (fairly confident but not 100% sure) and everything I hear about newer OS like 10 is that they are slow and full of useless features.

So, Sherbros, what options do I have? I leave it entirely in your hands.

 

[John Wang]

For working with Excel and Access, I'd definitely recommend Windows over Mac. The desktop Office suite works much better on Windows (obvi) and you will not have to spend so much on a computer.

If you were going to be doing video/photo editing as part of your job, I'd say go the Mac route, but not for basic applications like Office.

As far as Windows 7 vs Windows 10 goes - I used to despise Windows 10 and was pro Win7 for everything, but I eventually switched to Win10 Pro and have not had any problems. Now all 4 of my laptops are Windows 10 and once you're used to it, you'll be fine.

Another note: one user of ours kept having problems with his windows 7 computer - slow and laggy, the screen would freeze up a lot and he'd reboot often... his computer upgraded him to windows 10 overnight one night and he hasn't had any problems with it since.

 

[John Wang]

Another note: our only Mac user here has problems with her Outlook often. Just upgraded her to Office 2016 from 2011, but it is too early to tell if her problems persist.

 

[Guestx]

So question 1: does anyone experience any issues utilizing excel on a mac regarding compatibility problems?

There's a Mac version of Office. I don't see why you'd run into any problems with it.

Question 2: do standard HP or Dells keep up with performance speeds compared to Macs?

It all has to do with the hardware. If there is superior hardware in the HP or the Dell then it will outperform the Mac.

Question 3: is it difficult to change Windows OS? I believe I was working with windows 7 at work previous (fairly confident but not 100% sure) and everything I hear about newer OS like 10 is that they are slow and full of useless features.

Windows 10 works great for me in terms of stability and functionality, but there's a lot of privacy invasion shit that you have to turn off. That part pisses me off. Then again, I think that's just the way things are going with all of the major for-profit companies: Microsoft, Apple, Google, etc. They're all doing it. If you really want to be safe in terms of your privacy, Linux is the only way to go.

 

[Chesten_Hesten]

So I'm in the market for a new laptop which will be primarily used for work. Mostly excel and access work. I've worked on Macs before and enjoyed them mostly for the fact I don't have to upgrade my systems every 2 minutes.

So question 1: does anyone experience any issues utilizing excel on a mac regarding compatibility problems?

Question 2: do standard HP or Dells keep up with performance speeds compared to Macs?

Question 3: is it difficult to change Windows OS? I believe I was working with windows 7 at work previous (fairly confident but not 100% sure) and everything I hear about newer OS like 10 is that they are slow and full of useless features.

So, Sherbros, what options do I have? I leave it entirely in your hands.

Macs generally come on better hardware. I believe if you bought a $3000 Windows laptop you'd have a very close comparison.

Like you I've used Macs, (own one a MacBook Air) But I feel they're overpriced and cumbersome to fuck with on things I need which tend to be windows apps. Win 8-10 blows for the layout and bullshit you speak of.

I've been looking to buy an HP mobile Workstation, (business laptop) with Win 7 pro on it. Like their Probook Series.

Just haven't pulled the trigger yet for the $900-$1600 I see them going for. 16gbs of RAM, 500GB SSD I-7 processor and all that jazz. 15.6 monitor.

Fuck, I'm still on XP pro at home.

Now that I've basically said a bunch of nothing, good luck in your shopping!

 

[marioh]

There's a Mac version of Office. I don't see why you'd run into any problems with it.

You'd think so, but that is far from true, even with the 2016 O365 versions on both mac and PC.
The main thing that I've seen, as recently as Friday, are Powerpoint presentations that are made on mac tend to not look the same when run on a PC. Particularly if you're using custom fonts or using transitional effects. Same applies the other way, PC to mac. If you don't plan on showing presentations on a Win OS, then the mac version is acceptable.
As for Excel, if you plan on running macros or any addins (like TM1, SmartView, etc), forget about it on the mac. Same applies if you want to do Excel with external data sources, particularly databases. Basic spreadsheet stuff is typically fine.
Word seems to work well on both platforms.
Access, I don't know. But i suspect you'd have similar problems as you would with Excel.

 

[Guestx]

You'd think so, but that is far from true, even with the 2016 O365 versions on both mac and PC.
The main thing that I've seen, as recently as Friday, are Powerpoint presentations that are made on mac tend to not look the same when run on a PC. Particularly if you're using custom fonts or using transitional effects. Same applies the other way, PC to mac. If you don't plan on showing presentations on a Win OS, then the mac version is acceptable.
As for Excel, if you plan on running macros or any addins (like TM1, SmartView, etc), forget about it on the mac. Stick to PC's if you do. Basic spreadsheet stuff is typically fine.
Word seems to work well on both platforms.
Access, I don't know. But i suspect you'd have similar problems as you would with Excel.

Interesting. That's weird. I can't say I've heard about any of those issues before, but then again, I haven't looked too deeply into the woes of Mac MS Office users either.

It seems like Microsoft would make that shit uniform.

 

[marioh]

Interesting. That's weird. I can't say I've heard about any of those issues before, but then again, I haven't looked too deeply into the woes of Mac MS Office users either.

It seems like Microsoft would make that shit uniform.

In Microsoft's defense, Office for Mac has come a long way since the 2011 version. 2011 was just awful, MS should never have released it.

I see the issues, particularly the Powerpoint issues, alot since part of my job involves running AV at events. Half of my reviewing content revolves around testing the same presentation side by side on pc and mac. That's when you see the issues. Custom fonts, certain transitional effects, charts/tables, certain embedded items. Shit drives me nuts and makes me alter how i do things in order to make it work the way the person expects it to.

 

[bubbleboyjones]

I would easily take Windows over Mac if Excel was my biggest use out of it. There is a certain feel to Windows which I like if I am doing heavy spreadsheet usage but even besides that Windows Office apps are ported better for Windows. It really depends what you are doing and there is plenty you can't do with a Mac version on the corporate level. There could be plugin compatibility issues hooking into data sources or Sharepoint integration that will give problems on OSX.

 

[FyrFytr998]

All I can add is that I switched to Mac in 2005 and have never had an issue with computers since. In fact, I haven't needed a computer since 2005, whereas I was buying one every couple years with PC.

Don't even remember what the BSoD looks like.