Why is it that computer science PhDs use Macs?
Don't they know they get much more bang for the buck with a self-built rig, overclocked CPU, a powerful GPU that smokes every Mac in a nice windowed HAF case?
>>52391804
I work in higher ed. / research doing IT desktop support ask me anything.
To answer your question OP they are incompetent and they think macs are better but will also talk a big Linux game.
>fell for the haf meme
hate me 912, might as well used a metal crate with how much it vibrates
>>52391804
they get them for free
>>52392555
That's not true, they use their research funding to buy them. I had a PI that spent over $2500 on one. You have to remember these people are professional researchers. They know the material, but their real expertise is research design and getting grant money. If they were good at anything else they'd probably work in industry.
>>52391804
They dont need the speed, or at least its not their main concern. What they want is something that they dont have to fuck with, thats easy to use. Have you seen timemachine? That alone is worth it.
>>52391804
>bang for the buck
school pays for it and apple gives them deals
>>52392632
>timemachine
>killer of more partitions than I can count
>>52392675
Oh goody, lets play anecdotes!
I've been using it for 5 years with no problem!
>>52391804
Because they're not gaymers, they spend their time getting shit done instead of worrying about muh CPU clock speed.
Literal dinosaurs whose only understanding of modern hardware is the size of the keyboard.
>>52391804
>nice
>windowed HAF case
Choose precisely one
>>52392682
poorfag detected
>>52392938
>vga adapter
kek
Reminder that if you don't build your own rigs, you're a retard
>>52392949
I have a HAF case. It's nice. You don't need a $300 case.
>>52391804
He did a followup video where he said he doesn't use the mac
Because they are clueless to the outside world. Professors, at least.
>>52391804
If I was on my desktop I would get the names and links, but: pic related computerphile Mr ARM doesn't actually use the macs on his desk. It's just the computer which is around on the desk where they film
>>52392938
>lovely air
>vga adapter
>>52391804
caring about hardware specs is for gaymers/lowly IT staff
>/g/ is smarter than computer science PhDs
Yeah why don't reputable scientists use this???
>>52393029
I didn't say you do.
I just said that the HAF isn't nice.
It's Bulky and outdated
I work at a large NASA site. We are all Mac and Linux. Most researchers have Macs because they need a Linux-y laptop to take with them. All the big data computations are done on Linux, so it's an easy transition. They also have to do a lot of reports and papers, which Mac is better than Linux. CLI is important when automating things and doing a lot of analysis.
>>52393241
how does IT manage macs?
>inb4 mac server
>>52393265
Not him but this is how Google manages 43000 Macs:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yUkI1po9gdw
>>52393265
I havent seen a huge shop, but in small teams they dont really need admining.
>>52393301
>applel support is such a colossal joke we had to completely create an entire department and spent millions to write a suite of management tools
How horrifying.
>>52393351
Apparently it's still very profitable to employ developers who prefer Macs.
>>52391804
Because one, most CS Ph.D do bunch of theoretical works and concepts that's more about solving math problem than some system level stuff about making things faster by optimizing code, rather, they work on algorithm to auto optimize and stuff. I know a Ph.D guy at google who literally haven't coded anything for like a year, just bunch of equation on the white board.
Another is the fact that they get buttload of grant money, literally million bucks so they just spend it on whatever they want, so they just buy mac since admittedly, the track pads and GUIs and things are easy to use and it's not like they're paying for them.
>>52393241
wtf? are you at JPL's computation group or something? Cuz most of us are poor as shit and most of our test equipments are literally still running off windows 95 (well, also the fact that nobody knows how the fuck to transport the programs and rewire the cable maze hooked up to to the old computer to the new computers) Admittedly each site and groups are vastly different. Sounds like you're one of the machine learning group or something.
>>52393265
Tech at a large university here, we use Casper by jamf software.pretty nice software for labs and faculty/staff computers. Lots of control. Before that we used a combination of >>52393301
nagios/ard/scripts
>>52393518
Didn't mean to quote that guy mid response.
>>52393301
>>52393315
>>52393518
Thanks, Ill have to watch that long ass vid later though.
>>52391804
>computer science
>>52393022
and if you don't repair your own car, you're retarded
and if you don't plumb your own pipes, you're retarded
and if you don't wire your own home, you're retarded
and if you don't tailor your own clothes, you're retarded
and if you don't bake your own cakes, you're retarded
Could it be that mathematicians have more productive things to devote their time towards?
>>52393106
bingo
Look at this guy >>52391895 acting smug because he knows more about nuts and bolts than the professors at his school.
>>52393602
>comparing snapping together 5 lego blocks to skills that actually require years of training
>>52393675
Hemming the cuff of your pants is literally using scissors and running cloth under a machine.
Why are you too dumb to do it? I bet you don't even own a sewing machine.
Is it because you're a retard?
Or, maybe, you prioritize other things. What a concept.
>>52393054
post it
>>52393705
if you desperately want to find it, the guy's been in a bunch of videos on the channel
it's in one of the 'extra bits' ones iirc
might be this one but I'm not rewatching it to make sure
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HdModNEK_1U
>>52393756
thanks, I'll take a look
>>52392593
>>52392593
>but their real expertise is research design and getting grant money
Kek that's very true. Having gathered info from several friends doing research at PhD level they all tell me the same thing
>>52393700
>cutting off the excess
You would be a shiity seamster. While I agree that you reach a point in your life that it is easier to pay other people to do things than do it yourself, hemming and changing your oil are on two completely different levels.
>>52391804
Simple, Macs are more expensive and thus require more grant money for their "research" meaning grant writers insist on them.
Then being UNIX and having built in ssh and a usable terminal, perl, python, and c/c++ compiler means the CS professors can use them ootb as well for everything they need, or they can trivially remote in to any local uni Linux/UNIX systems at a whim.
But it's mostly for the grant money.
>>52392593
>If they were good at anything else they'd probably work in industry.
kek
So much this. One of the assistant profs in my CS dept said this exact thing. He quit and now makes $300,000 a year as a senior systems engineer. I kind wish I made that much, but I'm cool with how much I make and being able to work entirely from home.
>>52393858
Meant to type $200,000 not $300,000.
They have the money. Its a show off mechanic.
>>52391804
>Don't they know they get much more bang for the buck with a self-built rig, overclocked CPU, a powerful GPU that smokes every Mac in a nice windowed HAF case?
They don't care about shit like that. When you're making plenty of buck and the easy option has enough bang for your needs, you tend not to care about getting absolute optimal bang for buck. Especially if that involves time and effort that's better spent on other things. Overclocking, powerful GPU? Irrelevant. Windowed case? Only appealing to those wanting to show off what video card etc they've got at a LAN party.
>>52392938
> tfw one of the most influential computer scientists of all time uses macs and /g/ still insists on their chinkpads and wangblows gaymen machines
>>52393879
Macs are fancy to the same people who think the Olive Garden is fancy.
I don't think professors fall into that category.
>>52391804
Why would CS professors give a fuck about how fast their machine is? They just need an OS that's comfy to use and lets them concentrate on their research instead of dicking around trying to figure out why X crashed.
If they're crunching a lot of data, there's usually school servers with tons of power.
I hope this question is bait.
>>52394061
Windows is the best OS
>>52393351
google banned windows from their network completely, so take that as you will.
>>52394061
Of course it's bait.
If cs professors gave at all a shit about performance they wouldn't do all AI research in python
>>52394076
I work in a cognitive neuroscience lab and all of our machines run Windows. Half of the time my PI is stuck on something, it's due to Windows being unintuitive or just not working right.
>>52394076
It really isn't. It's the most convenient for people who've only ever used what comes with their PC and don't want to bother learning anything else. More games are made for it than other operating system.
But in just about every other way, you can make a pretty solid case for something else being a better fit for serious computer usage. Which other OS would be best depends on the specific needs or use case in question.
>>52391895
>I change toner cartridges
>>52393938
>> tfw one of the most influential computer scientists of all time uses macs only because it has a small keyboard while avoiding the osx completely for any real work and mactards still insist on their facebook homosex machines with fifty feet bezels that make 11" airs the same size as 13" xps
>>52394078
>le ebic maymays
http://www.wired.com/2012/05/google-and-windows/
>>52391804
Researchers want to spend more time on research.
Obviously.
So they get something that just werks.
And it does just werk.
>>52393602
I can do most of those things. Enough to put in some new pipes, sew on a new button, replace a broken lightswitch, diagnose a care problem and maybe fix it depending on what it is.
If it's too much of a hassle, I go to a professional.
Tailoring my own clothes is a hassle. Building my own house is a hassle.
The only "hassle" in building my own PC is selecting the parts, but that's just because I'm not a mindless consumer who buys whatever's on the first recommended list I see, but that hassle could be applied to any of those other things as well. Once you have the parts, turning to the page in the motherboard manual and plugging everything in where it tells you to takes 15 minutes. If that's a hassle you probably have ADHD.
>>52394489
>t that's just because I'm not a mindless consumer
>>52394300
He finds them aesthetically pleasing, finds OSX easy to use, and probably enjoys them because of "just werks". He also uses the Microsoft Office suite, which is currently natively unavailable on Linux.
And when that basically means that you're going to either use OS X or Windows, why the fuck would you choose Windows?
>>52391804
They just wurk
and student discount which is a big factor when your audience is poor as fuck.
>>52393545
this, people with jobs have better things to do IT tier computer assembly.
>>52394489
I think you misunderstand. For many of them, it's not that it's too much hassle to do at all, but it's not worth the time and effort spent versus the monetary cost of just buying something that'll work out of the box. "But it's just 15 minutes", you might say, which might be no time at all to you, but too much time away from something else for others.
>>52391804
because they have the insight to make the smarter choice
>>52394573
>you're going to either use OS X or Windows, why the fuck would you choose OSX?
Fixed.
>>52394632
Personally, I'd rather deal with OS X's flaws than Windows' flaws.
>>52394573
Bingo. Like it or not, OSX provides a simpler, less buggy Unix environment than Linux does at the moment, and it has more third party support. When was the last time someone tried using non windows dev tools on windows? It works, sometimes, but it's a pain. Truth is, if you don't care about gaming, price or other specialty software, macs are already the way to go.
I got a 2008 Macbook Pro 15 inch recently for $75, so that's why I own one.
>>52394730
>Truth is, if you don't care about gaming, price or other specialty software, chromebooks are already the way to go.
Fixed.
Literally useless facebook machines.
>>52391804
because at some point everyone realizes that high-end pc power is not really needed in everyday life. And if you work in anything even remotely connected with "science", you can easily get remote access to something way more powerful than "overclocked cpu and a powerful gpu".
>>52394768
Yes, but good luck doing dev work on a chrome book. Unless you run Linux on it, and at that point you might as well have just bought a pc. Using a mac gives you access to Unix tools within the natively supported Os.
Apple should really be doing more to make their platform more attractive as a Unix platform though. Shipping ancient versions of things like Bash, and not providing any kind of decent inbuilt package manager is a real pain.
Computers are more than just specs
It's not possible to get a legitimately great laptop anymore.
>>52391804
CS people aren't engineers and generally don't know shit about hardware, so it's not really surprising.
There are literally CS grads who only know Javascript and Matlab (and maybe some meme language like Haskell).
BECAUSE THEY DON'T GIVE A SHIT
You expect someone to be an expert on macro cellular dynamics AND computers?
No they just get a fucking apple and forget about it.
>>52391804
They're not smart in all fields anon
Everyone in academia is an insufferable manchild, that's why.
After years and years of fixing issues and diagnosing problems, they want a hassle free experience. After so long in the business you eventually reach a point where you don't need functionality or control. Office tools and a web browser become the most commonly used products.
I don't like macs but I recognize they're usefulness in a hassle free experience.
>>52391804
I love how /g/ can't accept that OS X is basically the best operating system out there or that Apple's hardware and software quality is superior to basically any other manufacturer or software company. Stay mad, poorfags.
>>52398596
>graph says linux has the highest iq
>most of /g/ uses linux
Stay mad
>>52398596
OS X and apple computers are the best packaged.
