I’m not saying there’s no free software. But for someone who’s used to apt install everything, the change takes some getting used to. Yeah, you can install Inkscape on a Mac, but frankly it runs much nicer on Linux.

I ended up with a mix and a lot more paid software than I expected.

I agree. Pricing is eyewatering. Business practices shady. But the laptop itself is fine.

I’ve been a long time Linux user. But in the end gave up. Bought a Mac precisely because it was a pain in the butt, or practically impossible to run certain proprietary software on Linux. In the end, I did not have nor the time nor willpower to fight against it.

Now, coming to Mac, there are some changes you can expect:

The good

1. Battery life is impressive. Of all the laptops, macs would hold charge for me the longest. Even Pros with lots of RAM and high performance CPUs.
2. Laptop is sturdy. Even after a couple of years of use, the lid still opens and closes as a new one. No squeaks. No loose ends.
3. CLI is great, iTerm2 is one of the best terminal emulators out there. And it’s free.
4. Homebrew helps a lot, you can install practically any (CLI) application you find on Linux.

The bad

1. UI takes some time getting used to. Some decisions feel weird. In a typical Apple fashion, it’s ‘my way or no way’. Luckily not as closed as iOS (yet). There are some tools which can help, such as BetterTouchTool, Rectangle, and similar.
2. It’s more difficult to find free software for macOS. Most is commercial and can range from a couple of $10s for a perpetual license to a couple of hundred for a yearly license.
3. Good luck running Linux on new macs. Ashanti works on M1, but some hardware is still not accessible.
4. Virtual machines run fine, but you’ll most likely need to shell out for Parallels.

The ugly

1. No USB-A. No Ethernet. Dongles are your life now.
2. Crazily expensive.
3. Not upgradeable. Need more RAM after a couple of years? Straight to the store for a new laptop. Bigger disk? Believe it or not, straight to the store.

This.

I did the same. Replaced all my comments with junk. Got banned from one sub because of this (something along the lines of ‘your comment is nonsense, we don’t allow this on our sub’) but who cares - the account is still there but inactive.

It was a browser extension, if I remember correctly, which clicks through your comments one by one and changes them.

Over 7 years of comments deleted. And I’m happy I did it. Suck on that, Gemini.

Well, first I hear of it.

Documentation - the worst part of programming.

Mikrotik and Ubiquity

Duh. Same goes for Steam games and most of digital content.

If you want to keep it, there’s usually always an option to sail the high seas.

No. They don’t and they wouldn’t.

None of this account for differences in purchasing power and phone price.

If you have an $150 Android device, I would of course expect you to spend way less on software than somebody with a $1500 iPhone.

I’m not saying ‘develop for Android only’ but if your business relies on one ecosystem only, you’re at a higher risk and you’re leaving money on the table.

Well, they have limited themselves to single point of failure.

That’s like selling only blue shoelaces and then crying faul when your only supplier stops making blue color.

If your livelihood depends on one account only, you are in great risk anyhow.

That sounds like anecdotal evidence. Android is more popular in more than half of the world and a lot of apps are successful and generate income on both platforms.

Pirate Party in Slovenia did not qualify for elections. They needed the support of 1.000 constituents, but when the officials did the count they only had 970 signatures.

What I’m saying is - your mileage my vary.