It’s a tragedy when two people grow apart. I met my wife in third grade, and I thought I knew her well, but I have learned just this week that she…swings the other way. Bats for the other team. Has desires that I cannot satisfy. I am simply shattered.
She has bought a computer for herself, and it is a Windows PC.
Will our marriage survive this? Hell, I’m not even sure if our marriage is legal anymore. Has the Supreme Court ruled on the legitimacy of PC/Mac marriages?
Oh, no. What will I tell the kids?
I think they call them Mixed-Operating-System Marriages, and some manage to be very successful! Best of luck, PZ!
See if any of them are running Ubuntu, obv.
Could be worse… could be Linux
I, myself, have an iMac. But I’m pretty sure my next computer will be a PC. I could list all my reasons, but I’m pretty sure you will hear those same reasons from your wife.
Not just any Windows, but Windows 8. Eiiiiiiiiight. Divorce. Irreconcilable differences.
You can now do “I’m a Mac and I’m a PC” videos together!
Just going to offer this:
http://www.smbc-comics.com/index.php?id=3747
I’m pretty sure my daughter will corrupt her further and teach her how to install Linux.
It could indeed be worse – I’m in a Windows-Linux cohabitation situation (and somebody here has them both on the same computer. For shame!).
I feel you, man. My brother looks at me with quiet contempt ever since he found out I play with inverted Y-axis for aiming/looking.
This is an outrage! Doesn’t she realize that she can dual boot? Boot into Windows from an actual Mac? I used to do the reverse when I had the time to mess around with my Hackintosh, it was pretty handy.
For the sake of your relationship you must try to gain some common ground. Make a point of spending quality time together.
May I suggest you make use of the 1 to 4 hours per week when her PC will be virtually unusable due to its being bogged down applying the latest Windows security updates.
Welcome to the world of polyamorOS relationships.
My wife bought a Surface Pro this week. I am aghast. We’re a Linux shop!
I hope she doesn’t write fiction. It’s annoying to put curly close-quotes after an em-dash when working on a PC.
it’s very nice of you to exploit generations of queer’s people pain to make a cheap MAC vs. PC joke. much social justice. very inclusive.
My girlfriend gladly switched to Mac when we started dating and has never regretted it once, but my daughter wants to play all kinds of games that only run on Windows (single platform is generally a sign it’s not going to be a good game, which she’s beginning to learn). I told her as soon as she can afford to buy her own computer she can get a Windows one and the upkeep of it is entirely her problem. I’m not a total monster though, in the meantime I set her up with VMWare so she can play the games still…
#16 Mike Smith:
I don’t get it, where’s the exploitation?
We all have Macs…three MacBook Airs to precise. Then my upstart son goes and builds his own…PEEE CEEE!…so he can play games. Hell, I’ve worked for Apple off-and-on for 30+ years, so you can just imagine. Where did I go wrong!?
Also, a year ago my wife took a business software course through City College so she could put “Microsoft Office” on her resume. Best emetic ever.
opposablethumbs,
I have them both on the same computer and I find it works great. When Windows inevitably die, I’ll just keep using the Linux half.
The last time I had issues with Windows, I used Linux and could open all the folders from the other partition. (doesn’t work the other way around)
My wife and I have two Apple Mini’s for desktops and my two daughters have PC laptops. But three of us have Ipad Mini’s and the fourth hopes to get one too. My son is Apple all the way, like me.
Whew.
For a second there, I thought PZ was going to reveal that his wife wanted to se Pixels.
robro@19
thanks for the earworm, man!
We are an all Mac house. Laptops, iPads, iPods. Haven’t had a Windows machine since 21 years ago when it was Windows 3.1. Leaving that world to get a Mac was a happy change.
Not sure why I’d bother with Linux now since every Mac is a UNIX machine anyway. I’m sure most people on Macs never launch Terminal, but those of us who use it daily appreciate that crunchy UNIX goodness.
I was floored when my own mom declared she’d bought a mac. Couldn’t believe it.
Imagine the shock of an atheist child learning his mom, a devout catholic, had declared she had converted to islam. It was like that.
(I’ve used most major operating systems of their day since the late 1990s; whatever, it’s just an interface to get your work done in.)
pinky@13. Hilarious.
My wife posed this philosophical query to me. “Do assholes buy Macs? Or do Macs turn people into assholes?”
It’s 2015 and you aren’t in Alabama, so what is the problem?
Interoperating systems marriages have been legal since Gates versus Jobs was decided by the Supreme court. Sure it was 5 to 4 and Scalia wrote an angry dissent with a crayon on paper but it’s still the law.
I am a longtime Debian loyalist. There is but one distro and thou shalt have no others before it. Nonetheless, I can deal with my wife being a Mac person…
(/The fact that she assumes the children should also be, on the other hand…)
I attempted to use someone’s Apple laptop once when I was giving a presentation and hated it.
Hubby is a computer nerd and always uses PCs. However, he uses all kinds of Linux systems and keeps trying to get me to use one – yuk!
I’ll stick with windows, thank you. I do hate windows 8. We’ve already ordered my update to windows 10. I’m hoping that it will be more like windows 7. That system I could get along with.
I know the name of a great divorce attorney in your area. What’s your wife’s email address?
pinkey @13:
Are you sure you’re not the brain? That was some good snark!
****
Mike Smith @16:
I think you’re reading the joke the wrong way. But I’m only one gay person. Maybe I’m reading it the wrong way.
@magistramarla: I see Microsoft have got you into the “upgrade because I’m hoping the system might actually improve” groove.
As for Macs, I ditched them while they were still running “System 6” and while OSX is a good operating system I’ve never been tempted to go back to Macs. The vast majority of my work tools run under Linux and a small number of tools run under MSWin. Having no aesthetic sense means that I have the freedom to choose whatever ugly box I need to get a job done.
Fear not, Your Squidliness–my dear lady and I have just celebrated our 17th anniversary–she with Windows, me with Macs. It can be overcome! We each just go with what we are used to.
Why do I suspect Mary uses a PC at her work, and wants to be able to work from home (didn’t she have a long commute?), especially in winter. Zip drives can be wonderful devises.
Here a Casa la Pelirroja, the fight isn’t Mac/PC, it is simply user/non-user. Like this: RH, I can’t type. NoR, the iPad has a virtual keypad that needs only one finger. RH, I can’t……
Not only am I Windows-only, I am Trackpoint (i.e. IBM/Lenovo Thinkpad) only…
Hmm.
Maybe that’s why I’m still single…
Okay, so which of us is gonna tell Pee-Zed that Macs have been based on Intel x86-architecture since 2006?
Unless his Mac is more than a decade old, it *IS* a Windows PC. It’s just a Windows PC running the wrong OS.
We believe in diversity here. We have Windows, Mac OS, Linux, iOS, Android, BeOS, and other more obscure OSes. CPU architectures are not limited to just Intel and AMD, but also include Alpha, SPARC, MIPS, ARM, and PowerPC. Big endian, little endian, and even one computer that’s mixed endian. Keeps life interesting.
So alla you run some kind of easy ass OS and don’t actually code anything? Sheesh! Get offa my lawn!
http://xkcd.com/378/
You could escalate….and get a Raspberry Pi. Then see if she can find an actually functional machine that is smaller.
As for writing…my wife wrote a couple of novels and a bunch of short stories using vi, the ms macro package, and nroff on unix systems.
I bought a Mac a few months ago after sticking with Windows since 1995 because Win 8 is such a hideous clusterfuck and the Mac OS is now closer to the old Windows experience. The interface is minimalist¹ and you can navigate primarily via the keyboard if you want to whereas Windows is focusing more on touch screen even on desktops/laptops.
I do have to deal with Win 8 at work which is made even more annoying by the fact that the school doesn’t maintain their computers worth a damn, so the app versions of programs like Adobe Acrobat don’t work but are set as the default. (At least I could fix that for Acrobat.)
It’s not to say Mac OS is perfect. Hardly! But right now it’s easier to get along with and does less to get it its own way during casual use.
……………
¹ Sometimes more minimalist than Windows ever was. Spotlight Search is just delicious. And it’s especially nice how Home, Page Down, End, etc are integrated with the arrow keys.
Big Boppa wrote:
Well, that would be impressive, given that Microsoft releases updates only once per month.
magistramarla wrote:
I found Windows 10 to be fairly nice (although some of the art assets were pretty bad). The “return” of the start menu (although still very different from the Windows 7 start menu), and the fact the OS bundled applications can now be run in a window rather than always full screen makes the OS much more tolerable. It’s not perfect, but at least it doesn’t force you to operate it with your mouse and keyboard like it’s a tablet with a touchscreen. And the price of the upgrade is right – free.
Thank Apple for that one. Maverick, Yosemite, and soon El Cid, all FREE! Continuous improvement. Depends on your definition of improvement though.
With Steam games available on Linux, why someone would want Windows?
Nerd of Redhead, Dances OM Trolls wrote:
Oh, definitely. But there was also the fact Microsoft still can’t seem to get people to upgrade Windows XP machines. And to just make matters worse for them, plenty of people just aren’t buying PCs at all any more, and are just replacing them with iPads or just using their mobile phones (which are both markets they completely missed out on).
F.O. wrote:
There are 12,658 games available for Windows on Steam, 4333 games for MacOS, and a mere 2477 available for SteamOS/Linux. I dunno, perhaps someone would want to play one of those other 10,000 Steam games?
PZ is an Apple fanboi?
Damn, now I can’t read this blog anymore. :(
Windows, all the way. And yes, currently 8.1 and lovin’ it. (flips bird)
I love my Macbook. It runs Ubuntu. Erased all that Apple shit on day one. And what’s this Windows thing you mention?
Well you can always use bootcamp to get yourself started on the 12 step program away from the evil that is Apple. Do note that most people don’t get to step 12 which is to roll your own Linux kernel.
HeterOS.
Switch ‘hours’ to ‘minutes’ and ‘virtually unusable’ to ‘mildly slowed’ and I can agree. (Unless this is a Windows 8 specific joke? I’m still on 7.)
Shit… hopefully my offering in reply to #1 still holds it own!
^ …still holds it’s* own!
At #3–I’ll have you know that I introduced my husband to Linux and now? Now, he knows the joys!!! We swing alllllll ways in this household, buddy–OS X, Linux (2 flavors), MS, iOS, even TI Basic. We’re polycomputerist around these here parts. If only I could figure out where we could fit a PDP-10 in the house, my life would be complete. Well, that and a VAXen-boxxen….*sighs*
To PZ: I know you don’t believe in exorcisms, but it might be the only way.
You are all apostates. Obviously Android is the one true O/S.
God told me so.
Reply to Keith, #7, 22 July 2015 at 2:01 pm
Thank you. The cartoon gave me a big laugh. My wife thinks the same.
Regards,
Dear PZ,
I have the new Mac Pro. It is a tiny little thing and very fast. So far it has not demanded that I worship it but I am keeping my hand close to the power plug.
I converted my wife to a an iMac in 2008 and then converted myself in 2009. We have even stopped using the MS Office Suite. Our home is now filled with iThings and there seems to be a Zen peacefulness throughout the condo. However, she has to telework with a HP laptop provided by her office. The iThings seem to hiss whenever she brings it home.
May the Berkeley distribution be with you and yours.
Regards,
The only issue for me is that all the software I actually want to use is only on Windows, so’s I’m basically stuck with it. I say “stuck” but Windows has been a perfectly fine OS for many years now, a long ways from the days of Win9x and friends.
My biggest issue with macs in a business setting is… they really don’t work very well there. Windows basically dominates that particular market, with a smattering of Unix here and there (Linux also has a strong contingent). Apple has essentially stopped supporting their mac servers and focused entirely on the home market. Some want to have macs in their work environment (for specific software that only exists on the mac platform), but that comes with a lot of network related concessions.
With all of this said, within their domains each OS is very well designed. For home use, I’d say it comes down to personal preference.
#24 congenital cynic
Have you read The Art of UNIX Programming by Eric S. Raymond (http://www.faqs.org/docs/artu/)? It is a UNIX philosophy book. I used to require my C programming students to read a chapter before each class meeting in prep for in class discussion.
Regards,
A. Noyd,
I just want to QFT this. Can’t be said often enough.
My home laptop came with that abomination of a OS. I bought it recently because I didn’t want to risk my really old laptop dying in the middle of thesis writing and leaving me with no quick option to resume work… only to discover the worst interface EVER for, you know, working. I suppose it’s acceptable if you only want to do one thing at a time and play around, but writing a thesis? On that thing? Not possible. I can’t even conceive it. I eventually decided to install ClassicShell, which allowed me to basically turn Win 8 into Win 7. It looks and behaves like 7 now and I’m reasonably happy with that workaround, but… such a hideous clusterfuck indeed.
@51 Holms
Agh! You have to have one more go at fixing that.
@59
No I don- FUCK
You know… I’ve lived and worked in many and varied business and home environments, dealt with every single OS and hardware system on the planet at one point or another.
But one thing I have noticed over the years…
I never, EVER, saw anyone in all my experience with PC users complain as much about Macs, as Mac users complain about well… basically everything else.
My only explanation is that it must be that Apple has targeted their marketing to attract certain personality types.
it’s not better hardware, it’s not better software.
I know, I’ve built every system you can imagine from fucking parts on up.
Apple users should be concerned if they feel such brand loyalty. It’s… worrisome.
Windows and Mac share a fundamental underlying problem: they are non-free. This is a pretty big ethical issue, especially from a global perspective. Computer systems are a shared infrastructure, but it’s currently dominated by two commercial US companies with a track record of extremely questionable business practices and a complete disregard of user freedom and privacy.
The problem comes when trying to get non-techies to understand why this is really important. Sometimes it feels hopeless in the face of brand loyalties, the love for capitalism and the fact that people seem unfazed by the Snowden revelations . But I do hope we may find some way of explaining it the future. Maybe in terms of making sure that we build our computer infrastructure as a joint project so that both poor and rich people get access to the very best tools. Or maybe scientists can start to understand it via the analogy of open publishing/data?
@52:
A former co-worker had an AS/400 and a micro-VAX……..
I think they ended up recycling them, though.
Mac OSX and iOS upgrades have been free since Maverick. This fall, I will upgrade to El Cid for free. Windows 10 is a free upgrade. The old paradigm of paying money for dubious upgrades has gone out the windows *so to speak*.
Gah, English is a terrible language. I’m talking about free as in freedom (libre), not free as in rootbeer (gratis). Either way, neither of those are gratis . You still pay for a license when buying your hardware.
But the fundamental problem lies in commercial companies having sole access to the code and sole rule over how the infrastructure is designed (including limiting what we can do and installing NSA-backdoors, etc.)
There are alternatives, and you know it. The OS world is not just PC or Mac. But the alternatives have their own problems. You just appear to have deep suspicions of for profit companies.
My old MacBook went toes-up after seven years, almost to the day. When the new one arrived, it took about 45 minutes to get up and running from the Time Machine backup. The new machine was essentially a super-clone of the old one; the only problem was that I had to contact the makers of two apps for new authorization codes. The next day I upgraded the OS to Yosemite in about an hour.
By contrast, my wife took weeks to get her new Windows machine tweaked to where she was happy with it, and she was upgrading from a 3-y/o machine that was still working, just not very well. It’s also a good thing that I made my living supporting Windows, just sayin’. The old slogan “It just works“ still applies to the Mac.