I’m talking here about their hardware (MacBook, iPhone, iPad, iWatch) and software (iCloud, Apple One, mail, passwords, wallet, other apps), in terms of owning all of that.

What’s your opinion on using everything that comes from Apple? Is there anything that you would throw away from the “basket” full of apples? If yes, then what would be that and why?

  • claycle@lemm.ee
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    1 year ago

    Yes, but.

    Overall, yes, leverage the Apple Ecosystem as far as you can - and you can quite far before “needing” alternatives. I have several Apple devices are various stripes and the integration between them is very good/nice. I have a PC (strictly for gaming) and I made some efforts to integrate it with my Apple devices, but as I don’t use it much except as a launch pad into Steam, it really doesn’t matter much.

    • I use Apple Mail and probably always will. I have tried several options, but find Apple Mail works very well “for me”.
    • I use Apple Calendar and probably always will. Works fine “for me”.
    • I use Apple Notes for quick jots of generally disconnected information. I have tried many other Notes apps, and so many are just “too much” (Obsidian, for example, is an operating system masquerading as a note app :-) /s). I am happy that Bear recently upgraded to the long-awaited Version 2 and for my heavy-duty note lifting and writing, it’s now my go-to.
    • I use Pages, Numbers, and Keynote. I have used Keynote to build mid-5-figure and low-6-figure productions (I charged) for large events. It never broke on me during a run, it never crashed, and I made some good dough with it.
    • I have used Final Cut Pro X and Motion to edit and release a feature length film. I actually migrated from pre-FCPX (8? 9?) to Adobe Premiere in 2010, used Adobe’s terrible products diligently for almost a decadebecause I thought I had to, but finally ditched that shit for alternatives (Final Cut Pro, Motion, Blender, Logic Pro, Affinity Suite, primarily). I just last month finally cut off our Adobe CC subs for the production company, although we kept the Adobe Stock sub.
    • I use 1Password for cross-platform password management, but more-often-than-not I don’t actually use it and rely on iCloud passwords, which work perfectly fine “for me”, to the point that I am wondering if when the next rev of the OS comes out if I can ditch 1Password…
    • I have iCloud+/AppleOne because 1. I wanted 2TB of iCloud storage 2. I wanted Hide My Email and VPN 3. I wanted unfettered access to AppleTV (which is great, and I am in the business anyway) and Apple Arcade (which is pretty good, awkually).
    • I used to use Dropbox for professional file sharing, but after some privacy snafus on their part, I flirted with pCloud for a while (until I learned that you couldn’t “ln -s aName aNotherName” in the pCloud file system). We now have Sync.com as a non-US-based, zero-knowledge encrypted professional file sharing service and I couldn’t be happier with it. It is cheaper and more secure than Dropbox.
    • I travel extensively and I use Apple Maps almost to exclusion. I also use apps like inRoute and Scenic (I ride motorcycle long-distances sometimes). I have Google Maps on my devices, but never use it (I have de-Googled myself in general, though incompletely).
    • I use iMessage and FaceTime extensively and have never had a problem sending or receiving messages (that I am aware of). I especially like handing off phone calls to my other devices (for example, sitting at my laptop or desktop and my phone in the other room rings and I can call or answer on my computer).
    • I use Nova (and its sister app, Transmit) for website creation (using Hugo+Bootstrap) and other low-level programming/text operations. I did use VSCode previously, but I am quite satisfied with Nova and happy to support small MacOS developers with $.
    • I use Safari almost to exclusion, but Firefox in a pinch and exclusively on Windows.

    I have used Linux (at one time I would build my own boxes), Windows (professionally), and macOS for decades relatively interchangeably, but in my dotage I am more and more becoming a MacOS-only user.

    • TenderfootGungi@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      Amazing list. I use the iCloud download extension (not iTunes) on my gaming pc to back up photos. Although, it now has an annoying pop up every time it runs.

    • mnrockclimber@lemmy.sdf.org
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      1 year ago

      Used to love 1Password through version 7. When it was a standalone, Apple-first, single purchase program.

      Now it’s an electron cross platform app, features come to the macOS version last, and it’s a subscription.

      I’m just using keychain now. Screw those guys.

      I haven’t used Nova but I’m going to check that out. I’ve been using RapidWeaver for small static site design.

      • claycle@lemm.ee
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        1 year ago

        I have made several sites (and maintain one) with RWC. However, I found that using Hugo (installed with Homebrew) for static sites was worth the effort learning Hugo. It’s just more fun to me to actually write HTML (et al) and watch Hugo compile everything into a site that sit so high and remote in RWC (plus, if I can pass the site off easily to anyone).

        • mnrockclimber@lemmy.sdf.org
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          1 year ago

          Hadn’t heard of Hugo. I’m going to grab it now. Sounds fun. For retro sites/vintage stuff I like firing up NetObjects Fusion on my old 90’s PowerMac and uploading to neocities.