Comments on: A sign of Macs to come

Apple advocates have always promoted the Mac as a better computing platform. Now, however, we actually have "gateway drugs" to get people hooked on the beautiful aesthetics, ease of use, and coolness of Apple technology through the iPhone, iPod, etc. We

[ace10134]

I always thought those cutter kids and emos were weird, but now i feel their pain after using Mac computers at school. I'm actually considering turning into a shadow kid since i have used a Mac. I'm never switching to an Apple, their just so useless. And have you used Office 2007? It's brilliant. Has a great interface, and nothing that Apple has can match it. I cant live without Office 2007. Thanks Microsoft.

[jolysmoke]

Presumably if wierdly enough you have Macs at school, they are a couple of generations old or more. Ever heard of a school that updates its machines more often than the education bureaucrats allow, i.e. 5-10 years if you're lucky!

[BostonMacker]

Old information. That used to be true, but since Apple started using Intel chips and a Unix-based operating system, Mac users have the best of both worlds. There is no need to buy a PC to make use of Windows software.

[jahn105]

Why Macs cannot even get close to PCs.
As a business traveler, protecting my computer is of utmost importance.
Currently, Macs do NOT offer accident coverage and their applecare protection is extremely limited. I have a Macbook Pro and in terms of quality it's awesome. But in terms of protection, apple doesn't do much after selling their products. Compared to IBM ThinkPads (Lenovo) I used to have or Toshiba that I considered, Apple does not provide enough hardware support. With ThinkPads or Toshiba, if malfunction occurs, they will replace the computer for you.

[jolysmoke]

-you can ensure your mac privately against accidents, as u can your glasses!

[dpi5004]

If you're cool with paying a significant amount more for a system that you can run way fewer applications on, customize hardly at all, and has the same specs as a significantly cheaper PC, then have fun!

Of course, with boot camp, you can now run Windows. I guess Apple finally realized their own OS is useless to anyone who uses a computer for something other than web browsing and multimedia production.

For a little while, I considered getting a mac, but then I realized I actually like freedom.

[jolysmoke]

I guess this means that Apple Macs are useless for office work, and then that great Gates product, MS Office for Mac 2004 (& now 2008) must be useless too, and the cause of the said inefficiency. Some people will say and believe anything, in permanent contradiction with themselves.

[eddydavik]

If you're a gamer, Apple may not be your answer. But look at it this way, you wanna swap cards, do upgrades on your own within the mac lineup? Buy a Mac Pro desktop (or stick to your PC). For those that don't want to mess with that stuff (which is a majority of PC users), look at the Mac lineup. The MacBook Pro runs MS Windows faster than any other notebook out there.

[jolysmoke]

What is freedom? Linux, perhaps yes. But Windows, unless you get your kicks from masochistically kissing Gates' feet or other....? In the trade they call it a money domina.

[cocopuffz]

I've had to fix both Mac's and PC's for friends. If the end user doesn't know what their doing, then their experience with the machine will reflect that. If you don't know how to use it, it's going to suck. These machines are built for the masses after all and the masses are usually the same people who still can't figure out how to change the clock on the DVD player.

Keep in mind that most end users use the Mac/PC as an appliance. It checks email, surfs the web, types reports and gives them access to their music. In that case, usually the Mac user will have a better experience out of the box as most PC OEM's do suck (bloat ware, preinstalled trial crap) unless you pay more money.

Us PC enthusiasts are a different breed though. We build to our own specs, install what we want, how we want, when we want. Whether it's trying out a linux distro on a old p3 machine (just to see if it works), or custom modding your case, building a OC'ed quad core, 4 gig, 9800 GTX x2, running Ubuntu 8.04, XP and Vista (and in virtual box for kicks...). We're not who the typical OEM's and Macs are selling to. So we really shouldn't come down on either. To us... they both suck. lol.

As for work, I know I could never use a Mac. I don't see enough legacy support for interfacing with routers and other server side hardware. Do Macbooks have old serial ports for interfacing with hardware via terminal? I don't know. Does any hardcore work get done on a Mac (banking, data centers, ISP & hosting, & all that server side yummy stuff )?
I'd be interested in finding out what machines are actually hosting all that lovely Itunes material. Unix?

[jolysmoke]

Unix, why not? It's safe, and that's why Mac OS is a Unix derivate!

[cpriz]

hmmmm... lets think about this one for second. PC: crashes, viruses, spyware, adware, worms, and the life expectancy of about 1-2 years (especially if you by a Dell). MAC: no system crashes, when was the last time you heard about a virus on an Apple?, absolutely no spyware or adware, oh.. and the life expectancy of about 8+ years.

Lets think about this one for a second....

Rightttttt.... Mac wins.

[jolysmoke]

No mate it doesn't! Don't u realize that half of these PC geeks actually want to go out and do battle against the crashes, viruses, spyware, adware, worms etc., and as they spend all their free money on their machines, they don't mind about the 1-2 year life expectancy. Anything longer or less dramatic they would find boring. With a Mac they would have to start thinking about what to do with their lives, actually get a life, and that would be the hard part.

[Rod Roddy]

The "Apple experience is just that...an experience. i have have seen the opposite happen at my work place where the majority of us use PC's. In fact the guys that use Macs have expressed interest in getting back on a PC (since most started on PCs to begin with). I'm not saying Macs are bad, but Apples' overbearing marketing has a way of drawing people in to thinking that Macs are cool, and you will be cool if your seen working on one. I find it humorous when I walk into a coffee place and see loyal "Macheads" typing away or just starring blankly at their screens perhaps pondering--"Dude, I need a Dell.

[jaxrad]

Mac envy

[jolysmoke]

You don't say where you work but from what you say about guys expressing interest it might well be Redmond. The derogatory racialist expression "Macheads" (like its linguistic ancestor ***********) is revealing too. Curiously enough, you never seem to see loyal PC men typing away in a coffee place or just staring blankly at their screens. Probably a sign of the times. They are a dying breed. Curious too that you claim to be able to read their minds, but at least you avoid megalomania but adding the proviso "perhaps". What they were more likely to be thinking was "Nude, she's beautiful, I need that gal".

[ktappe]

>"or you can assemble your own computer"
Maybe 1 in 1000 users assembles their own computer. If you're that one, great, go build your own PC 'cos Mac isn't for you. But that doesn't mean Mac isn't good for the other 99.9% of users. That makes this argument a non-starter, yet I see it trotted out every time the Mac/PC debate comes up. Put it to bed already.

[jolysmoke]

Bang on right!

[pjmaley]

Mac is closed for a reason...because it offers the best experience that way. You PC folks realize your sacred 'choices' are what cause your incompatibility problems, frequent crashes and 6 years (yes 6 years!) between OS releases. Apple is the only company that owns the Operating System, The Hardware and the Software....therefore...get ready.....it WORKS!!!
Switched to Apple 6 years ago and have personally switched dozens of people.

[jolysmoke]

Keep up the good work but don't try to convert a PC geek. He might commit suicide after conversion since all that tweaking is like crack, after a while u can't live without it.

[ltunes53]

the fact is that macs are becoming more popular. and yeah, pricing isn't apple's strong point, but their products do warrant their price. They just don't dumb down their machines to get to a certain price point, they put out something they are proud of, and that consumer would be proud to own. there is a reason why there a so many mac fanboys, and that is because it is enjoyable. No one operating system or computer is better for everyone. It just happens that apple is making headway.

[jolysmoke]

Quite so, but if what you say is true, perhaps then Apple's pricing is a stronger point than you first admitted. After all u can be proud u can pay the price for a Porsche, and not be seen with a cheapskate machine that will have to be replaced after two years, and in the long run, will be more expensive.

[bleech]

It is a very well known fact that the Mac environment [as user experience] has an inverted learning curve. As such, it is very easy to start using them. But that makes them very difficult as a heavy productivity tools, as for image treatment, and other computing tools heavily based on eye-hand detachment.

Thing is: the more movements and visual interface you have [such as swashing commands, and so on], the less productive the tool tends to be.

And for that, I did switch from Mac into Windows.

[jolysmoke]

Sad that this "well-known fact" seems to be so rarely seen and heard.