I think Apple native package version control is worse than IIS pre-version 7, and that's saying something (maybe it's better now, but that used to be the worse).
Apple computers now use more or less the same architecture as their phones, based on ARM. That is why you can install most iPad apps on macOS, and they typically work surprisingly well without any customization. Shared GPU and RAM are a game-changer for efficiency, speed, and battery life.
What is the distinction between computers and phones/tablets you're referring to?
PS FWIW I've used IIS all the way back in Windows XP days. It worked well enough for my needs at that point to run a basic web server from my home computer!
Exactly. That mean that if you have two ruby versions, or god's forbid, two Php version (along with php server dependencies), and don't have brew, you're basically fucked. It's unusable. Shoot out to brew developers, they made mac usable.
Let's say i have spent a lot of time setting up Hadoops, installing different ETLs developped on different platforms, and application version control without brew on Mac is still one of the most excruciating thing i've ever done (not difficult, just randomly hard and time consuming. Also hellish to debug)
> What is the distinction between computers and phones/tablets you're referring to?
Can't install anything one phone and tablets. Phones i don't care, because i understand why some user want a walled garden, and you have other choices. Tablets, i don't get. You don't have any terminal access, you can't do anything on it. Maybe new version have changed, but each time my father ask me to fix something on his mac tablet, it's hours of finding the issues. On Mac i usually find/fix the issue in minutes (last time was picture ordering). You also have to run a webkit browser, so you have a way inferior adblock, which make the web less usable.
> FWIW I've used IIS all the way back in Windows XP days. It worked well enough for my needs at that point to run a basic web server from my home computer!
I'm sure it was great for personnal project, as long as you don't have to run multiple versions of software. I had to run php4 alongside php 5.1 (or 5.3, not sure) and php 5.6, with different crypt libraries and different everything, it was hell. Less hellish than running two different versions of Ruby on Mac without brew though, and ruby is more opiniated than php about how it is installed, so it is generally easier to manage dependencies, to my original point.
“It’s not exactly the same as Linux” is not a valid complaint for me, in case that’s the root cause of concern. Yes it’s not, and never tried to be. If “near full” isolation is the goal, Docker-style containers are always an option. Then it’s basically the same as Linux.
Also, Python is notoriously finicky with the slight differences between versions. I mostly use the JVM nowadays and that’s a breeze to run any version on the same macOS using a tool like jenv (which is available for Linux, macOS, etc). I believe Python has some of those tools also to make isolated “environments”.
PS In terms of block ads: I literally just “solved this”. I used to run the likes of AdGuard which works decently but I never felt too good about it because it’s a bit opaque about how it actually works. Here’s how you can get your own DNS-based adblock on Mac for free, in just a few minutes:
1. Install dnsmasq https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dnsmasq
2. Get a dnsmasq-compatible .conf blocklist from https://github.com/hagezi/dns-blocklists
Sample dnsmasq config:
listen-address=127.0.0.1
conf-file=/path/to/chosen_blocklist.conf
#google dns or pick your own
server=8.8.8.8
server=8.8.4.4
3. In your Network settings, set the DNS to 127.0.0.1 This will pass all DNS requests through dnsmasq first
4. Enjoy system-wide (including native apps!) ad-free experience