Apple celebrates 30 years
«Back to main storyDo you use a Mac? How about an iPod?
The things that Apple Computer sells aren't mere products--they're the stuff of fierce adoration by legions of fans, and to some, a litmus test of a person's tech savvy. Mac or PC? Windows or OS X? The iPod or--well, the only way to put it for now is, the also-rans.
Tell us what your choice is, and why.Through the years
Time line: Three decades of Apple innovation The products, people and events that shaped the Mac maker.
Photos: Birth of the Mac interface
Gallery 1: Early fonts, graphics Historic Polaroids chart evolution of the user interface.
Gallery 2: Radical shift Soft-key based UI becomes mouse/windows-based.
Gallery 3: Lisa desktop Creating double-click, menu bars and more.
Gallery 4: Sketching out the Mac Before MacPaint there was LisaGraf.
Photos: Mac fans unite
Postcards from the faithful What Apple products mean to CNET News.com readers.
Cult of Mac Apple devotees have a style all their own.
Videos:
Wozniak on early Apples Company co-founder talks about building computers with cheap parts.
'It was like working at Disneyland' Former Apple evangelist Guy Kawasaki on the company's early days.
Perspective:
Sizzle may be subjective, but Apple's definitely got it, says CNET News.com's Charles Cooper.
Poll
Credits
Editors: Leslie Katz, Scott Ard
Copy editors: Edward Moyer, Jennifer Guevin
Production: Bernie McGinn, Andrew Lottmann
Design: Michelle White, Ellen Ng
and now a shuffle too. Apple product are simply a pleasure to use
from beggining to end. Plus, Apple products are the coolest thing
to have on my college campus :)
Tell us about it.
feature (one of many I imagine to celebrate Apple's 30th birthday).
They're hardly asking you to write a 1200 word article are they.
iBook. I began messing around with some of the build in software
like iMovie, and before I new it I was editing video for a living. Now
I run a production company which runs entirely on Mac computers.
After using OSX, I cannot imagine going back to the Windows
platform. And I really feel sorry for anyone who still uses it. They
don't know what they're missing...I'll be enjoying Leopard when (if)
Vista ships in 2007.
but when I am asked my "personal preference" all I tell them,
"I USE Mac's and I FIX PC's". For the record I also own two iPod
5G's.
I have an ipod, but I don't use a Mac. My XP Media Center is way too useful and reliable to use anything else.
with both the Newton and the G4 Cube.
Until last month, I've been building web applications using a
3rd-tier laptop vendor (Hypersonic) on a Desktop-replacement
class machine.
The machine (an Aviator AX6) was a dog from day one. I
purchased it as my primary laptop. For the last six months, I
dealt with bluescreens, viruses (that blew past Norton) and
spyware. I got tired of it. When the MacBook Pro came out, I
decided to give Apple another shot.
The MacBook Pro has a lot of promise to bridge the gap --
extremely high-quality construction and tight OS integration
that Apple is known for AND the potential to run the few
applications that are XP-only (Visio being #1). We'll see where
that goes.
My wife laughs and says, "Now you're an Apple guy!" While I
resisted the label initially, I've come to embrace it. I will
maintain that I use the appropriate tool for the job, and it
became increasingly clear that a Mac WAS the appropriate tool
for what I do.
The Apple way continues to impress. Everything about this
machine is fantastic and simply gets out of my way. A great
example of the "Apple way" is when I bought my wife an iPod for
christmas about three years ago. When she was trying to figure
it out, she kept asking me how to do stuff. I'd never used one
but without checking the manual, I'd show her the solution
within a few moments. She asked me how I figured it out so
quickly -- so I told her to "think how YOU'D do it, and try that."
So, about 10 minutes later, I could see she was getting
frustrated again. Then she looked and held my gaze for a
moment, then back to her iPod and fiddled with it -- and lo, she
had solved the problem and gave me a big smile.
Realize that I am not some artist or creative-type. I am a 30-
year programmer who has done development on everything
from punch-cards to PDAs. I build PCs (Home-theater
machines) for fun. I chose the MacBook Pro for my work
because I got tired of having to tinker with my work machine,
just to be able to work.
G4s to a G5 and two PowerBooks. I have two iPods, both 60gb; one
is a photo model, the other a video model.
I must say Apple has provided me a lucrative career in IT; no one
else where I works understands them, and the user base is 15-20%!
maintaining our computer lab. Half of the computers were Macs,
and half were PCs.
Needless to say, when it came time for me to buy my own
computer, I choose the system that would be less of a problem.
I like tinkering, but I do not want to work for my computer. I
want my computer to work for me...and that is what my
powerbook does.
I transfer files effortlessly to colleagues... and have not lost ONE
document or piece of data in 5 years. That's five years with no
malware, viruses.....or destructive crashes. And I use this
computer at least 8 hours a day during the week, and about 4 on
the weekends.
In addition, little things about the os make a big difference.. .like
being able to save anything as a pdf, take real screenshots in
multiple formats, expose, spotlight...effortless networking,
multiple network location setting... you name it. Compared to
the people I work with (all PCs)... I never have problems.... and
that's the way it should be.
Now I run the Student Digital Labs for Brooks Institute of
Photography, where we have over 350 Mac's. it has been far easy
to maintain over the Last 8 years as we have grown. I love the
interface of OSX and the way I am treated as an adult. I get the
feeling when using Windows that I am being patronized.
Windows trys to hard or far to little when explaining something.
Apple gives you the information you need to get started then
explains where to go if you seek further help or assistance. My
personal Mac's, as well as my iPod, have become a part of my
life. The other day i was thinking; What would I do if I ever had
to switch to Windows, I came to the conclusion that I would
rather go back to reading the paper, and snail mail! I'm not
stating that Mac is the only way! this is America and freedom of
choice is paramount! All I am saying is, Mac is what works for
me.
years of working/fighting with PCs, DOS, Windows and all its
versions, viruses and security holes, I switched 3 years ago and I've
never felt better. I spend more time doing what I do best in
network management, writing scripts, etc. I let others now fight
with M$oft.
My iPod is a 40 GB model with now less than 8 GB left on it.
Apple rocks.
Which brings me to that one, crucial detail: Price. In order to get a Mac that is powered even nearly as well as my last PC, I would have had to pay almost 4 times as much. Sure, I could get a toy for a price comparable to a decent PC. But, what's the point of that?
So, color me a reluctant PC user.
iPod since they came out.
As for an iPod... No, I have no use for one. I have a stereo at home, I have a stereo in my car and I have a stereo at work. What use would I have for an iPod?
While my work requires that I use both PC and Mac, I will always side on the reliability of my Mac.
I've had a G4 at home for 6.5 years now and I'm still able to run on the latest OS without any hardware upgrades. Meanwhile, my parents have had to purchase 2 PCs and struggled with the Windows OS.
As many others have said, pricing is one thing that makes it hard to update your Mac. So I'm glad mine is still alive and kickin'. Happy Birthday Apple... I hope the best, so the prices will drop!
However, if that weren't the case, I would use my Mac fulltime. It's just a smoother experience. But again, apps make the difference.
Now when VM-Ware starts supporting the new Intel Macs.....
- Best value for my bucks!
- by theorell March 29, 2006 1:00 PM PST
- I bought my mac two months ago and received my nano ipod for
- Reply to this comment
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Showing 1 of 6 pages (210 Comments)christmas. I have been enjoying my laptop and ipod ever since! I
know OS X is a better operating system and I have never had a
problem with it and it is much easier to use. My ipod? I don't know
how to live without it. I am new to apple products but I am a
convert and it is worth the money I've spent.