Comments on: Religion aside, is Mac better than Windows?

That age-old question is as relevant as ever. And there are some nuts-and-bolts things that make the transition a challenge.

[MauMan]

My attitude about the whole thing is all the platforms suck but for _my particular needs_ MacOS sucks less :-)

Seriously; worry less about the platform and pick the tool that you are comfortable with and solves the problem at hand. The point of these things is getting the job done; Windows/MacOS/Linux/whatever; pick the one that gets the least in the way of your problem set...

[Sharntel]

This article is interesting. Most of the information I did not know. I too am one that switched from a PC to Mac. Matter of fact mine is a Gateway. Although there are so many things that I love about Mac ( I have the powerbook G4) I have had to go back to my Gateway a few times. For instance:

1. I am a fantasy football player and when it is draft time, It is best to use my mac because for somereason, all of the information that is displayed about the players..i.e. injury status, some stats etc. do not display. this really killed my draft last season.

2. I tried to complete some documents online and could not because the site was not compatible.

3. mwav doesn't exist so I can't see certain video footage sent to me.

My Gateway is old and needs to be destroyed LOL however I don't want to have to buy another PC just to have in case there is something the Mac can't do but that seems to be where we are.

Also, the only other thing that gets me about Mac is that they are so darn expensive. I mean really $2500 for the Macbook Pro?

Sharntel, NC

[kcotham]

1. Web site is using non-standard code, not rendered by browser and client that aren't using Microsoft-specific code.

2. See number one

3. akin to numbers 1 and 2. There are third party video codecs available for QuickTime that can view just about anything out there. I, however, demand that my friends send me standards compliant videos. But if you want to just accept any old Windows-only file, you can download VLC at http://www.videolan.org/vlc/download-macosx.html
It handles just about anything.

[pithenumber]

@kcotham
who caused the problem with the websites doesn't matter
the fact that there is a problem does

[kcotham]

@3.141592653589793...
Until the problem goes away, we all lose no matter what operating system or web browser we use. We need to change the attitudes of web designers to adhere to standards. That goes for content providers as well. Don't post files in non-standard formats if you even think there might be someone out there without Windows or IE or Windows Media Player.

[Cube Over]

I am happy with Entourage 2004. Maybe I'm doing something wrong, but I'm running it on PowerMac, and only when I want my corporate mail. The former helps to speed it up; the latter gives me separation between personal contacts, tasks, e-mails - and the corpo stuff. No complaints, not even need to upgrade to Office:2008

[orlandorr]

It was thanks to Vista that I considered buying a Mac for the first time. But Microsoft did the homework with Windows 7, I think it's the best Windows ever and I no longer see a reason to change my OS.

[kcotham]

Do yourself a favour and look at the Mac OS again. Windows 7 is still very Vista-like. Windows 7 is better, but still carries a lot of the same faults with it.

If possible, borrow a Macintosh for a while. Go over to a friend that is knowledgeable about Macs house. Play around with it for a few days. Chances are, you'll renew your interest in Macintoshes.

[u2mr2os2]

I'm not going to tell you to go back to Windows, but I'm going to tell you that you need to not expect the Mac to be just like Windows. I see this so much, with Linux users too, expecting the Mac OS X unix to be just like their favorite Linux distro, then complain endlessly when it's not. If you bought it purely for the hardware, then you can install Windows and be happy.

I totally agree when there are legitimate gripes like the lack of a laptop dock, but when it's clear that people spent about 5 minutes looking for the Windows way and then go write a complaining blog post about the missing feature, I have no sympathy.

I saw nothing about how the Mac behaved with an external display for you. You described how an HP handles it in a dock. All the time I plug in an external display (projector), and it mirrors the display, adjusting the resolution down to the projector. If I want something else, I can change that in the display preferences (option+brightness). If I do it a lot, then I can keep a display menu in the menu bar as an option.

I admit that the Finder search box defaulting to searching all folders is annoying to me since I would use the global spotlight if I wanted that. So, you have to press the button after starting the search to limit it to that folder. Sounds like the Genius was confused or wrong, and you've not told us exactly what you were trying to do, but if the folder contains mixed types, and you only want to search one, like images, you could type as your search, "foo kind:image" or "foo kind:jpg".

Entourage. Yep, it's not Outlook or it would be called Outlook. Not really Apple's fault, but then I understand how PC users just say "yes, but that doesn't matter - the Mac still doesn't have Outlook".

Hardware compatibility is annoying at times, but most times, it's fine - it's just that the manufacturer doesn't state it'll work. They usually state you need Windows only because they include software that requires Windows, which they included only because Windows doesn't have software to use with that hardware out of the box. A salesman is almost always just going to look at the requirements on the box just like you could do.

[kcotham]

EXACTLY! Thank you for stating all of that in one place for Mr. Crothers. I had forgotten that Spotlight can filter inline and use Boolean expressions as well.

[jumpjetta]

I think you just have some learning curve issues for some of the points you make. Take, for example, the external display issue. F7 (or the key with the double monitor icon) on any recent Mac portable will toggle between extended desktop and mirrored mode. Should you want to run just the external monitor, plug it in, close your Macbook, and tap a key or the mouse to wake it back up. It really doesn't get more intuitive than that. (Maybe your HP has been easy to deal with external monitors, but that's not the case with all Windows machines, even laptops. Far too many have no idea they can run in widescreen until you track down some obscure driver. Or they generally refuse to use the external monitor. And I say this as someone who has to configure random Macs and Windows machines all the time as part of my job).

Oh, and another option for video compatibility is add the free Perian. More codecs than Flip4Mac. Or good as a complement. (I never know which is actually playing non-QT video on my Macs, it just works).

[kcotham]

You can find links to third party codecs that aren't included in Mac OS X by opening System Preferences, clicking on the QuickTime pane, and clicking on the Update tab. Click "Install..." and it will open this page, http://www.apple.com/quicktime/resources/components.html You can find just about anything you need through this portal. The web is full of other codecs if you need something else. I had to add a codec to view .ogg videos on Wikipedia. Downloaded the codec, now the videos just play. It's usually that transparent.

[ikramerica--2008]

Wow, been using Macs forever and I didn't know about this preemptive strike approach to installing the plugins. I usually just clicked on the link provided once I was told i didn't have a particular plugin. Going to install all the components I can now. Divx looks really great after install.

[kelmon]

To be honest, I find this to be a silly article post today when WWDC and the expected Snow Leopard presentation is tomorrow. That said, I am in full agreement that the lack of docking solutions for the Mac laptops (I don't consider the Bookendz things as real docking stations) is bizarre and rather annoying.

At the moment I think the situation is pretty much even pegging. I switched to the Mac about 7-years ago when XP was driving me nuts and the Mac certainly had Windows licked for many years. However, I am quite prepared to admit that I probably would not have switched to the Mac had Windows 7 been around since it addresses many of the things that drove me barking. It's not enough to make me switch back, not least because doing so would be damned expensive, but I expect it will be enough to stem the flow of switchers.

Finally, I'd just like to say how much I hate Outlook. I need to use it for work but Apple's Mail is so much faster. I'll be very interested to see how the Exchange integration goes with 10.6 since if they get it right then maybe I can dump Outlook entirely.

[kcotham]

You should be able to dump Outlook. I don't miss it in the slightest. By the way, you pointed out an interesting fact, Microsoft seems to be about 7 years behind the curve. If Windows 7 had been out in 2002, they'd be on par with Apple.

[ikramerica--2008]

Why don't you consider the bookendz a docking station? Because the mac doesn't have a "dock" port replicator? Apple puts all the connectors on one side of the macbook just for this reason.

10 years ago I used a similar dock for my PowerBook 1400. It worked great.

Again, this complaint is based on the "because many windows machines have X instead of Y, that's how it SHOULD be" argument. That's not a valid argument unless you can prove that belief is true.

[kelmon]

Have you seen the Bookendz docking stations? All they are are very expensive contraptions that plug into each physical port on a Mac laptop and then provide access to those ports. Not only are they a "fudge" to resolve the issue but they are also laptop-specific. Whenever Apple changes the form or port configuration on their laptops then you need a new Bookendz and have to part with $300+. In contrast, the Dell docks that we have in our office seem to work with any Dell laptop plugged into them that was built in the past 10-years or something.

I'm sorry but anyone who wants to suggest that the Bookendz system is a good solution to the problem needs a smack around the head. What is needed is for Apple to add a "do it all" connector to their laptops that is consistent throughout the models, both now and in the future, just like most other business laptops. This is not rocket science.

[atomicbomb156]

I avoid both and use Ubuntu 9.04. To me it works better than any other OS I've ever used. If I were to ever get a Mac it would only be for the design, nothing else.

[protagonistic]

I use Ubuntu 9.04 as well, but when it comes to audio/video editing it falls way short of OS X. It does work very nicely for almost anything else, though.

[tm_anon]

@protagonistic

What app are you using for audio/video editing? I've heard great things about kdenlive but haven't heard enough to be able to say definitively this is the one.

I'm not asking for myself. I just want to be able to try it out so I have an informed opinion in case it comes up.

[Thunkd]

I'm confused about the point of your article. It seems to me as though you are saying macs would be better (you switched after all) if only it could do some of the things that you are used to from the windows environment.

In the end this all comes down to personal preferences. For myself, I've spent years becoming a pc power-user. Sitting down at a mac is painful because I'm reduced to newbie and I have to spend minutes trying to figure out how to do something that would be simple for me on a pc (by simple, I mean something that is actually extremely complex, but easy as I've done hundreds of times before). Toss on top of that problems with getting programs and hardware to work with macs and the idea of switching is just a pile of frustration I don't need.

[kcotham]

Mr. Crothers and Mr. Needleman must share a cubicle or something.

[kcotham]

@Thunkd
If you weren't so ingrained into your Windows-only viewpoint, things wouldn't be so hard for you. I grew up using all sorts of different computers and am, as such, more flexible. The thing I've noticed about people that have fully invested their time into all things Microsoft is, their minds are very inflexible.

The "problems" you speak of are not really problems. I have no problems getting programs and hardware to work with any of my Macintoshes. If you put forth a little effort (you had to do this to learn all those Windows/PC ways didn't you?), you'd not be so frustrated. Stop trying to do things in only one, Windows/Microsoft way and your frustration will melt. You'd be just as frustrated with Linux or UNIX or any other system. Anything different is scary to someone that has been insulated by the masses of Microsoft adherents. Fact remains that for most tasks, they are actually more simply executed on a Macintosh. It's just not what you are used to.

[kelmon]

I'm very much pro-Mac but I'm in full agreement with Thunkd. There is absolutely no point in switching if you are happy with your current solution, not least because you will feel no incentive to do it. I switched because I went through a period of despising Windows but until that time I had no wish to switch (heck, I used to take the **** out the Mac). The only exception to this is that it is worth considering a switch if evidence is provided that shows that you would perform better using a Mac and that the hassle of switching would be worthwhile. Whether this evidence exists depends on what you do.

[windooor7]

People like things they can understand. And most folks have atleast, basic anatomy of a pc. either software or hardware. like, oh i know someone who can fix my pc around the corner ,or so and so knows how to set up my hotmail in my pc. oh my grandson can transfer pcitures from my pc. This memoranda of understanding of pc makes most people stick with what they know.just like a child avoids chucky dolls .on the other hand , Just the price of a mac Psychological, makes folks think of a mac as a very complicated machine. not to mention the dark desktop that brings eerie of incranation. However the only god thing with the mac is the outer casing that covers the cheap harware inside. Everything inside is as good as any other 500 dollar pc .If i was to buy a mac, it would be just for the outer case. i,m dying to get an outer case of a mac air and turn it into a window server 2008 rc. if i can. THE VERDICT IS if you are all about the IMage GO for mac . for all other needs windows as always been there for you. mac was built . base on chiken egg scenario .

[kcotham]

Windooor7, that is is the most unintelligible piece of dreck I've had the misfortune of seeing on here in a long time. You obviously no nothing of Macintoshes whatsoever. Please stick with what you know, whatever that is. And for the love of God, please learn how to write intelligible English.

I agree completely. The only thing a mac has going for it is, its looks. Lian-Li makes some really attractive cases, most, if not all, are all aluminium. They are also very builder friendly.

@kcotham kcotham=fanboy Is that intelligible enough for you?

[pithenumber]

@whoev posted before me
whatup? the comment isn't "by" anybody

[kcotham]

Anonymous poster = troll

[kelmon]

Remember: the internal components of a computer are not important (go with me on this one). What is important is the software that runs on it and the software for the Mac is quite different to that for Windows, for better or for worse. The idea that a Mac is just like a Windows PC is nonsense simply because the software is different.

Buy the computer for the software, not for the hardware.

[tipoo_]

Well I for one am never "constantly on Virus/Worm/Malware alert", but otherwise its a fair article.

[empirestatebuddy]

It's very telling that the best-selling software for a Mac is... Microsoft Office. lol

[kcotham]

That's because every Microsoft-centric IT person, teacher or professor, and office lackey thinks Microsoft Office is the only office suite out there. It's good, I admit. But it's overkill for 99% of users' needs. There are plenty of alternatives out there. Most are less expensive, some free. And a lot of them can create and read Office files without a problem.

I am getting to like iWork much better. Keynote is far easier to use and produces much better looking content than PowerPoint. Numbers is about a million times easier to use than Excel. And Pages is fantastic for creating complex graphics heavy documents.

[ikramerica--2008]

Yep, I have the first OSX version of Office from way back when, and it still does the job when I must, must use Office because someone is forcing me to.

But for what most every day users want to do, iWork does it and makes it easier to make things look presentable. And it's much cheaper. Student/teacher addition of Office may not be expensive, but you also don't have the "right" to use it for anything professional. That costs 3x more.

[monkeyfun14]

This article just stinks with the stench of flamebait

[pithenumber]

every Apple or MS related article smells of flamebait

[KimTaylor aka Finiky]

I understand where you are coming from. I switched a little over a year ago and never looked back. I only encounter the - windows only- app or whatever too on occasion. Having recently bought and returned a Blackberry Storm - for lack of support for OS X - (why yes I am stubborn) I think I summed it up like this.

Back in the day.... before Firefox and a wider distribution of Safari - there was IE and Netscape. Then IE became the #1 browser. Most websites being built were built to be viewed in IE. Over the years it became best practice to build for all browsers. (in short)

So over the last what ..... 4 or 5 years or so, some of us began to buy iPods - or as I call it a windows users introduction to Apple. With certain applications and products - even high profile gadgets- we still see the last smidge of built for windows only. Like streaming video that for some reason on a Mac is harder - plugin's or whatever aside.

Once in a while I wish I could do something I could easily do in windows, but for me the ease of everything else outweighs the once in a while issue. Will I get a box with Win 7? I don't know. I suppose it's useful to keep a cheap windows box around for the once in a while need.

So I think we are seeing the last of the built for .... only pieces and parts. But for me... I wish I would have switched a long time ago.

[kcotham]

For those 'once in a while' times that you absolutely, positively, have to have Windows moments, just run a VM like Sun's free VirtualBox. Or if you need full speed, just use Boot Camp and install Windows on a partition. There's no need for a second computer.

[bigpicture]

I am not a Mac user, just Windows and Linux. But I am not going to knock any of the products, just make a comment that some of the producers have their own business models and philosophies that are not necessarily in the consumers best interests.

But to frame the streaming video issue, this is a classic case of open "standards" issues that have now been going on for years. In that we can't have closed or proprietary standards for any kind of "content" including web pages, streaming video, documents, photos, audio etc. etc. None of this should be controllable by any particular OS.

[davidwb]

A major thread running through these comments started with a commend made by someone who pointed out that Mac users needed to keep a PC around the house but PC users don't need to keep a Mac around the house. On the face of it, this comment seems to make sense. But digging deeper I suspect we'll find the issue revolves around a specialized program or specialized use that is PC only. For example, today I use Windows for a single reason - because Microsoft's web browser is not standards compliant so I need to make certain my websites work with Explorer. This says nothing about the viability of the Mac and everything about the *&#$!@ of a Microsoft monopoly.

[kcotham]

If you had a Macintosh, you could just run VirtualBox or another VM to run IE for Windows. Ninety-nine percent of the time, you'll never even have to do that.

[ikramerica--2008]

You are right, it's because you need the windows environment for a specific tool/task. Thing is, it's still cheaper to by VMWare fusion and an OEM XP install for under $200 than to buy a PC to have around the house. If you already had one, cool, keep it around. But don't go buy one.

But honestly, VMWare Fusion running in "unity mode" puts those stubborn PC only apps in their own windows on your Mac. What's funny, is when you run windows apps that way, it becomes painfully obvious how clunky some of them are when running right next to the Mac software.

And if you want, upgrade to Windows 7 on VMWare in the future. No need to, but why not?

[fazalmajid]

VMware Fusion works very well, as does Parallels and the Free VirtualBox from Sun. MacBooks lack an Ins key, which can be problematic for Windows users (e.g. in Excel).

The lack of built-in 3G support is countered by the seamless Bluetooth support, which allows you to use your 3G phone as a modem. The same is possible in Windows but usually requires third-party software from Widcomm that is poorly integrated with the OS and is a nightmare to setup.

To limit search to JPEGs in a local folder, just enter ki

[rrod182]

I have Sony and JVC camcorders they work perfectly with mac. Firewire video is a standard (there are a couple control variants) but pretty much any FW device will work with make as will USB (even 3G modems).

[ikramerica--2008]

Newer MacBooks don't have FW anymore because all new camcorders come with USB. So legacy FW only camcorders won't work with a MacBook (but will with all other macs with FW ports).

[spinoza2]

I won't repeat what the others here have said, but will comment on the docking station issue: the docking station concept is distinctively Windows and has no place in the Mac world. Since Apple creates both the software and hardware for its computers, it has created the most seamless and reliable solution I've ever used with its Cinema Display / MacBook interface. With my external devices connected to my Cinema Display,it really can't get easier than this. I use the Apple Bluetooth Keyboard and Mouse, and Leopard instantly recognizes when I switch from one to other. What Windows setup automatically recognizea your native resolution and changes it accordingly when you switch displays? What Windows setup automaticall wakes up your laptop when you touch the external keyboard or mouse? And for that matter what Windows laptop can even reliably turn off and on from sleep mode? After several years of using my Cinema Display with my MacBook Pro, I could never imagine returning to the unreliable bad-old-days with Windows docking stations!

[kelmon]

Apologies but what a load of old tosh. The Apple Cinema Display is not a solution to the lack of a docking station, not least because it is damned expensive, requires the connection of multiple cables and may not satisfy your requirements (e.g. anyone who doesn't want a glossy screen). The Docking Station has every much a place in the Mac world as it does in the Windows world. Who the heck wants to plug in multiple cables?

I will also note that both the Apple Bluetooth Keyboard and Wireless Mighty Mouse suck. The keyboard is crippled by the lack of a numeric keypad (why this isn't at least an option is beyond me) and the Mighty Mouse's right-click function only works about 90% of the time.

Note: I'm a paid-up Apple fan with a MacBook Pro but not everything Apple does smells of roses and the docking station issue has annoyed me for years. Currently I am making do with a Griffin iCurve but still have to plug in between 6 and 7 cables each time I get into the office.

[i_sam]

Use Linux. Puppy linux 4.2 is like Vista with Rocket Docks. :D