I decided to shake things up and try out a fancy HP Spectre laptop with Windows for a week. Stepping away from my comfy MacBook felt like diving into a whole new world. Here's what I discovered:
Windows had its quirks that made me miss my MacBook. Waking up from sleep mode felt like watching paint dry, and the fan was way too loud. Plus, the battery didn't last nearly as long. Managing files without Finder was like trying to solve a puzzle blindfolded, and there was no system-wide spell check like on my MacBook.
Using NVDA for accessibility had its ups and downs. Sometimes it stopped working when I needed it most. And the keyboard wasn't as nice to type on.
But there were some things that Windows did really well. Editing text was easy, and I found some cool add-ons for NVDA. Windows had fun stuff like games and great apps for reading books. Reading books on my MacBook was always a headache, so that was a nice change. And as someone who speaks different languages, Windows handled that better too.
One thing that stood out on Windows was its braille support. It was fantastic! Windows made it easy for me to read and navigate using braille, which was something I struggled with on my MacBook.
However, one thing Windows didn't do well was search. Compared to the super-fast and easy Spotlight on my MacBook, Windows search was slow and not very helpful. It often didn't find what I was looking for, which was frustrating.
My week with Windows had its ups and downs. It was different from what I'm used to, but I found some things I liked. Maybe with more time, I could get used to it. But for now, I'll stick with my trusty MacBook and its reliable Spotlight search.
By Maldalain, 22 April, 2024
Forum
Windows
Comments
Did you use copilot?
If you had windows 11, did you use copilot? That is actually a huge game changer. Many things become very, very easy to do because you could just tell copilot to turn something on or off or find something for you. I use it literally every day at this point
Interesting.
I don't think i'd use this every day but it's improved a lot.
I can now actually type in the box and it actually goes to youtube if I ask it to.
It can't seam to open file paths just yet but it did open explorer for me.
A lot of your issues areβ¦
A lot of your issues are hardware specific. I don't doubt there are better laptops out there with quieter fans, better keyboards, faster wake from sleep, etc, but this is another gap between mac and windows. The mac experience, in theory, is the same across all mac devices, choosing a windows machine is a much more difficult proposition due to the number of options and wild variation in price and quality.
I'd be interested to read a comparison based purely on the OS though do realise it will be hard to do this comparison in isolation.
As someone who has used bothβ¦
As someone who has used both systems, and is quite comfortable with both, I can say that your experience will largely be based on hardware. I am currently back on Windows exclusively, and with an Android phone, specifically the Galaxy S22 ultra, and with the Microsoft phone link app, we get a very similar experience to the integration of Apple devices. There are a few things that brought me back to Windows full time. First, being that I run an online radio station, all the good radio automation is Windows based. Second, I really didn't like virtualization on a mac, and even when I got an older macbook that would still let me do Bootcamp, I found myself mostly inside Windows anyway. So, while there are things I absolutely love about the Mac, for me, Windows just makes more sense.
Right there with Justin Harris
While I still have my old MBP, I have not touched it in over a month. I too am using a new HP PC and do not have any of the issues mentioned in the OP.
Sad to say, but it sounds like you got a bad build with your Spectre. If there is one universal truth regarding Windows-based PCs, it would be that build matters. π£
Funny that we both rock HP, but so did Maldalain,
I love my HP desktop. Hardware technically isn't up to Windows 11 standards, but a little tinkering and it was up and running. I will also say, doing that hack didn't seem nearly as hard as putting Mac OS on unsupported hardware. So that model has a 6th gen I5, 32 gb ram and a 512 gb ssd. Also, using the ElBraille 40 (2018 model). Specs on that aren't anything all that impressive, but I was able to trade a friend for it, and wanted it mostly for the Focus 40. Once I get my iPhone 13 pro sold, I have my eye on a renewed HP Elitebook. I can't afford anything brand new, and even though those Elitebooks have really decent specs, they get resold for super cheap. Those have good enough specs on them that I could run all my radio stuff from the laptop. Most of my automation is done in the cloud these days, so just need to be able to handle live broadcasts. I like the idea of being able to hook up to a dock while in studio to use my broadcast console, better webcam, etc, but then from the same computer be able to go do a remote event somewhere, with more portable equipment, or also be able to edit audio while sitting in my recliner. If I can get something with decent enough specs, it will be so nice not having to worry about having both a studio desktop as well as a travel machine, remoting in, keeping files all synced up.
Start Menu: Search Files and Folders, applications, mails etc.
This is a really good website for Windows users, specially if you are just starting out. I did not have the time to go through the whole site, but I got this page for you to explore Windows Search feature. I have never used a Mac, don't think I will ever; not because I have anything against it but because I lived most of my life with a Windows Desktop PC. Hope this helps: https://edu.gcfglobal.org/en/windowsbasics/finding-files-on-your-computer/1/
I never really had anyβ¦
I never really had any issues with the start menu or search. I was not the biggest fan of the Windows 10 start, and would always install classic shell, but I actually really really like Windows 11. Being able to reorder items in the start menu is pretty nice.
maybe a week is too little
HI!
Well, I belong to that group of people who, after trying the Mac for a few months, really asked myself how it is possible that anyone could use it seriously.
So, I certainly can't say I'm objective.
You're absolutely right about one thing: Windows search is horrible.
Really.
It is not possible that if I press the start button and want to search for something, all the results relating to the web will come up.
Sure, it can be fixed a little, but not much. Better to use a different program like "everything".
However, generally speaking, I find that the advantage of Windows in everyday operations is so evident that, so to speak, I feel a bit of pity for the poor Macs.
And, of course, I'm certainly not talking about the hardware, where the Macs are simply a spectacle, the best of the best!
it's always the same old story, Voiceover is too far behind.
For me, reading books, audiobooks, and PDFs are things that, on a scale of 1 to 10, have 10 as importance.
And Windows lets me do all this on the fly.
However, it is perfectly right that you use the operating system that makes you feel better.
Just consider that maybe a week is too short, especially to learn NVDA add-ons and third-party software. In Windows, yes, it is important to install things different from what Microsoft offers, especially for reading, audio, etc.
My HP
Hey Justin,
That is interesting, how many of us use HP. I think Tara on here does as well. This is what I have. It was purchased for me by my states Dept. for the Blind, as I am now officially back in school, since February, working through multiple Certs via Cisco Networking Academy. Just finished Cyber Security and now working through a 6 month network Engineer Cert.
Good times.
Alas, below is my machine. Its not the greatest, but it is so much more powerful than my tired old MBP.
link https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0BY3PGDZR/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?
@Brian
Sounds like a good machine. My hp desktop is using an old i5 6th gen, 32 gb ram. I almost got an HP Elitebook 830 G6, which is a 13 inch laptop, business class, but that only has an 8th gen processor, but I was able to find a Dell Latitude 5320 with an 11th gen i7, 16 gb ram and 256 ssd, plus an sd card slot which the HP didn't have, and all that for pretty much the same price of $285, so couldn't pass up the newer machine, even if it isn't HP. I've also had good experiences with Dell.
Now just waiting for the new machine to come in.
The goal is to have something powerfull enough that I can replace the desktop, and when I'm doing radio stuff, since most of it is from the cloud, I don{t really need a desktop anymore. Only need something for live programs, and so a laptop will be better so I don't have to manage two computers, keep music synced between the two, etc.
Kinda excited because I was doing some research, and even though it's a mobile processor, that 11th gen blows the 6th gen in my desktop out of the water.
Dell makes great machines
My ex used to worship are the Altar of Dell. She swore by them.
Regarding my HP, it too has an SD slot, but between the 1TB SSD and the 1TB of OneDrive storage, I do not know if I will ever use it. π
I am hoping this machine can do some light to moderate gaming. Not sure if the link above mentioned this, but i am running a Radeon GPU on this laptop, so I am kinda excited to see if I can incorporate some of my fighting games from my Xbox to the HP.
Fingers crossed. π
Fighting games?
Not exactly on topic but are there any accessible wrestling games? I don't have any consoles but if there were good WWE or other wrestling games, I might have to change that, or even better if I could just run on the laptop.
In other news, laptop is set to arrive some time between Friday and Monday.
Hurray for Laptops
Ironically, why the hell do we call them "Laptops"? Ever sat one on your lap for any extended length of time?
Good way to burn your britches. . . π
As for 'accessible' wrestling games, I am unsure, but will keep a lookout for ya. I am not sure how much accessibility is out there for that particular sub genre, but games are ever so slowly begining to show promise. Just look at Mortal Kombat 1. Reportedly it has audio described cutscenes and finishing moves. As well as a fully functional TTS engine for menus, etc.
I play a lot of the earlier MK games on my Xbox, but the accessibility is little to non-existent. For me, it took a bit of note taking with a sighted friend to learn to count how many ticks per screen to access different menus, and a whole lot of patience.
I am persistent though, as I love fighting games.
Back to the OP topic, everyones experience with a computer, be it Windows-based or Mac, is going to be different. Having said that, I think Windows 11 is the best version of Windows ever. Cannot wait to see what Windows 12 is like. π
Dell Issue
Heard people complaining about sound issues with the Dells, not sure if this is ongoing though.
Noise
Not sure about sound issues, but it is entirely possible. I do know my ex used to complain about the loudness of her fans on her older Dell PCs, as they were earlier versions of AMD processors.
Maybe there is a correlation? π€·