Mac v the pc

[sophia jane]

"Welcome, Sister Sophia, Welcome!" (Opens garden gate to secret grotto of waterfalls, lush trees, swings, pools and spring flowers). "Welcome at last to the Land o' Mac!"

One of us! One of us!

Yeah, I'm a Mac Cultist and proud of it. I watch every keynote from Steve Jobs and I've waited in line outside the Mac Store for a first look at new products. Man, I miss those event nights!

I've never owned a PC. It's been Mac and Mac related products all the way. In fact, there are three Macs in my house. An iMac (our base station), my husband's Macbook Pro and my black Macbook.

Sooo? What did you get? Details, details! (Yes, we in the Land O' Mac are actually interested in your specs).

That's one of the things I love about Apple- the devoted really are devoted. So many pc users are just users, but they're not in love with it. I LOVE my Apple.
I got the MacBook with the gig of Ram. I have all the typical specs on it- no need for me to upgrade anything. The only thing I bought separately was iWork 06 because I needed a word processing program, and I really didn't want to have to buy Office for Mac.
Fwiw, I love the OS too. It's so easy to use and so solid.
Another thing I really love about Apple as a company is their interest in the customer. I'd saved a shopping cart on the Apple site and they called after a few days to see if I had questions. I got an email back on a basic question within about fifteen minutes. Plus, just from the apple menu (what's it called?), I can find all my computer info and download software, etc. I LOVE Apple's pages with software downloads links-so easy to find anything.
I've only had it since Wednesday, so I'm still a bit excited.

 

[SimonBrooke]

UNIX is why I didn't upgrade to OS X for years. I loathed UNIX.

Remember what I said about priests? Well UNIX and C++ are the Latin of the computer world.

It's spoken amongst the priesthood so they can show how superior to the poor peasants they rule. And it lets them keep their power as Latin/UNIX is required for anything useful to be done.

I'll say it again. I loathe UNIX. I was so relieved I don't have to have anything to do with it when I went to OS X.

If you're using MacOS X, it is UNIX. It's UNIX with a foolish pointy-clicky shell on top of it, but it's still UNIX. Don't get me wrong - I'd agree there's a lot wrong with UNIX. But, like democracy, it's just better than any of the other alternatives.

I had to reboot my desktop machine today, because the graphics card crashed. That's the first time it's needed to be rebooted in 286 days.

 

[Equinoxe]

*insert nostalgic smile and sigh here*

Exactly!


I've been feeling nostalgic today about everything.

 

[3113]

I've only had it since Wednesday, so I'm still a bit excited.

Well, I can't speak for anyone else, but for me the excitement has never gone away

 

[Vermilion]

I love my Macs, was brought up on Macs, only ever had Macs until recently when I realised that all my useful techie friends could fix PCs but not Macs and Macs were more expensive to start with. So I switched. I miss my Mac graphics and being part of the club, but everything does seem a bit easier as a PC user.

x
V

 

[3113]

Oh, and just in case, here's the Apple Discussions site:

Apple Discussions

In case you have any questions or problems at all--or just want to learn some cool tips and trick. Users help users and they're really knowledgable. Saves you from having to call up Apple Care.

 

[Lisa Denton]

The metaphor I came up with is Catholicism and Protestantism.

The PC world is Catholicism. You must have priests on hand in order for you to have a relationship with God. And the priests work very hard to make sure the religion is structured that way.

The Mac world is Protestantism. You don't need a priest to have a relationship with God. The priests are there, but only to advise, not dictate. You can figure out your own relationship with God.

After a tremendously loud lightning strike we all stand around silently lookin at the smokin hole in the ground that used to be RG.


I am not sure about your religeous metaphor but won't argue your points, I wouldn't know a Mac if it bit me. Never touched one, and hear both sides bellowing about pros and cons, and I come out without any desire to become
mac-curious, so to speak.

As for Vista, I tested a beta version, and wrote a review.

I forget the link, and it was one where I toned down my personal feelings.

But in a nutshell, and with my personal feelings:

Vista is 9 gigs of crap wallowing around on your computer with no purpose other than to be called COMPLETELY NEW.

They threw out everthing that had been tried and tested in XP and came up with NEW versions. Most of which sucks, technically speakin.

I was way above all minimum requirements with hardware. I gave it a shot, and another shot, and another. I messed with it a long time before throwing it out as garbage. I posted in forums with other reviewers and even Microfuck reps.

Example: The new Windows Picture and Fax Viewer has a nifty new thingie to "take out the red eye" which is great. But the COMPLETELY NEW version has controls which take up half the freakin page and cannot be removed. So you either have a resized pic damn near the size of a thumbnail, or have to scroll up and down to see the pic.

Vista missed the personal launch date, bombed totally with the business version launch, and are stuck with a brand new, 9 freakin gigs, of crap that peoples don't want. XP will still be available on a new machine. Thats what I told a Microfuck rep, he disagreed, and has been proven wrong, because thats what the public wants.

The ONLY upside I saw with Vista, is that if you sit and stare at your desktop for hours, it does have some nice new graphics. Which are only good staring at your desktop.

Just My Opinion.

 

[TheeGoatPig]

It is a Microsoft world as far as many of the programs I run. I personally don't care what OS I run, it is more the programs that run on top of it that concern me, whether that be Windows based, MAC or Linux.

As far as Vista, I think I am going to do what much of the world is going to do and wait for the first service pack before considering a migration.

There was a nasty rumor about Vista that it did a snapshot of the system when loaded and established a baseline of the hardware. If sufficient changes were made to the hardware of the system, then it would shut down assuming that it had been loaded onto a second computer. The magic number I remember reading is three hardware changes, so if you changed video card, audio card and added a second NIC, then it would lock up and say call home. But that is a memory and my memory is not always so good or to be trusted.

Windows XP does that too. I've known people that have had problems with it.

 

[Stella_Omega]

I'm on a mac, and I am, now the only mac user in the house. The biz needed an InCad program. The kids needed as much computer as they could possibly get for their bucks, and that means Craigslist and so each of them has something that was hot-rodded by someone. that means that I have had to find myself one of those High Priests Of Windows. Luckily, and I DO mean luckily- I found a terrific one.


Unfortunately, I am still the IT woman around here. Onlt now, the questions and complaints are about a system that I don't really know.

We are sticking with XP my son had a beta of vista on his machine when he got it and it sucked like a hoover.

 

[Jenny_Jackson]

My first computer was an Apple IIe. I loved it, but it was slow has hell. When Jobs and Wozniac had their falling out over the Lisa, I bought my first IBM PC. Loved that even more. Been on a PC ever since.

Vista? Why would I want my PC to look like a MAC? I'm running XP Media Edition and it works just fine.

 

[R. Richard]

So, I've just bought my first Mac and it's like finding a new religion. I'm curious how many others use a Mac (I know Rob does). And if not, why not? And while we're on the topic of pcs, what's everyone think of Vista- anyone install it yet? I think we'll be waiting a long time to put it on our pc for lots of reasons, not the least of which is our illegal copy of XP that means we'll have to buy the full version at waaaay too much money.

Anyway thoughts on Macs? Pcs? Vista?

(and yes, I've got nothing better to do right now)

If you are going to stay with a PC, you really have little choice but to upgrade to Vista. In the past many have chosen to stay with an older MicroSoft operating system. The result is always growing incompatiblity issues and a forced upgrade to the lastest MicroSoft operating system.

 

[Jenny_Jackson]

If you're using MacOS X, it is UNIX. It's UNIX with a foolish pointy-clicky shell on top of it, but it's still UNIX. Don't get me wrong - I'd agree there's a lot wrong with UNIX. But, like democracy, it's just better than any of the other alternatives.

I had to reboot my desktop machine today, because the graphics card crashed. That's the first time it's needed to be rebooted in 286 days.

By the way, UNIX is owned by Bill Gates. It was developed back in the 60's by a couple guys at AT&T and had a foul logic error in it they couldn't fix. It's now gone through seven or eight rewrites and the logic error is still there.

The error: Everything Unix does is broken down into processes. Each process is operated separately. When the program ends, all the processes are deleted - BUT NOT ALWAYS for some odd reason. Eventually, it overruns your memory and the computer crashes and has to be restarted.

My understanding is MACos does the same thing if you leave it on long enough - time depending on the RAM memory available.

 

[rgraham666]

OS X may be UNIX, but I don't have to know UNIX to make it work.

No more rm *.* mistakes for me. When you're as bad a typist as I am you need an undo.

The second I need a BSc in computer science to do something useful with my computer is the day I stop using computers.

And Simon? I would characterize UNIX as libertarian, that is anarchist, rather than democratic.

 

[Liar]

If you are going to stay with a PC, you really have little choice but to upgrade to Vista. In the past many have chosen to stay with an older MicroSoft operating system. The result is always growing incompatiblity issues and a forced upgrade to the lastest MicroSoft operating system.

A question for the Mac people: Isn't this the same thing with new MacOS generations?


Anyway, I really don't have any bias either pc or mac. There are pros and cons to both. Performance wise there's no real difference and both OS has their sore rubs. I like the freedom to fuck around that a PC gives me, but the freedom to fuck around also gives me the freedom to fuck up, which happens now and then. I stay with PC though, because Mac doesn't support stuff I need, like certain music production software-n-hardware, and the occasional game.

 

[SimonBrooke]

If you are going to stay with a PC, you really have little choice but to upgrade to Vista. In the past many have chosen to stay with an older MicroSoft operating system. The result is always growing incompatiblity issues and a forced upgrade to the lastest MicroSoft operating system.

Nonsense.

All you need is love.

Stick it in, turn it on, sorted.

 

[SimonBrooke]

By the way, UNIX is owned by Bill Gates. It was developed back in the 60's by a couple guys at AT&T and had a foul logic error in it they couldn't fix. It's now gone through seven or eight rewrites and the logic error is still there.

The error: Everything Unix does is broken down into processes. Each process is operated separately. When the program ends, all the processes are deleted - BUT NOT ALWAYS for some odd reason. Eventually, it overruns your memory and the computer crashes and has to be restarted.

My understanding is MACos does the same thing if you leave it on long enough - time depending on the RAM memory available.

I've been running UNIX systems for twenty years now; it's at least ten since I saw a zombie process. I have servers that have been running continuously for four years without rebooting, or any other maintenance.

People like to believe scare stories. They like to believe there's something wrong on the other side of the fence. They don't like to believe that the grass really is greener. Which is fine.

 

[rgraham666]

A question for the Mac people: Isn't this the same thing with new MacOS generations?


Anyway, I really don't have any bias either pc or mac. There are pros and cons to both. Performance wise there's no real difference and both OS has their sore rubs. I like the freedom to fuck around that a PC gives me, but the freedom to fuck around also gives me the freedom to fuck up, which happens now and then. I stay with PC though, because Mac doesn't support stuff I need, like certain music production software-n-hardware, and the occasional game.

Somewhat.

The break between OS 9 and OS X was very sharp. Before that software stayed compatible for a very long time. I ran some apps for over ten years despite upgrades to the operating system.

 

[Lisa Denton]

If you are going to stay with a PC, you really have little choice but to upgrade to Vista. In the past many have chosen to stay with an older MicroSoft operating system. The result is always growing incompatiblity issues and a forced upgrade to the lastest MicroSoft operating system.

Yes but XP ain't exactly Windows95.

Vista is a resource hog before it boots.

The times they are achangin, and Microfucks latest OS called Vista is gonna be left on the side of the road like the garbage it is. The public speaks, we are not the ignorant masses, we are the PAYING masses. The Vista business edition was thrown out by many companies right after install.

Did Microfuck notice? Yes, because the orders didn't come rollin in.

Will the Vista Ultimate personal version be a big hit if most peoples throw it out?

In this case, money talks, and Vista better walk away.

I told that Rep they better come up with a revised XP with some of the options they went standardized in Vista. He said the public will love Vista.

When reality sets in, Microfuck has to wake up.

Just my opinion.

 

[Dr_Strabismus]

So, I've just bought my first Mac and it's like finding a new religion. I'm curious how many others use a Mac (I know Rob does). And if not, why not? And while we're on the topic of pcs, what's everyone think of Vista- anyone install it yet? I think we'll be waiting a long time to put it on our pc for lots of reasons, not the least of which is our illegal copy of XP that means we'll have to buy the full version at waaaay too much money.

Anyway thoughts on Macs? Pcs? Vista?

(and yes, I've got nothing better to do right now)

I have one of each. I guess I must be bi.

 

[Frank Noir]

So, I've just bought my first Mac and it's like finding a new religion. I'm curious how many others use a Mac (I know Rob does). And if not, why not? And while we're on the topic of pcs, what's everyone think of Vista- anyone install it yet? I think we'll be waiting a long time to put it on our pc for lots of reasons, not the least of which is our illegal copy of XP that means we'll have to buy the full version at waaaay too much money.

Anyway thoughts on Macs? Pcs? Vista?

(and yes, I've got nothing better to do right now)

I work on a pc, because my daytime job involves testing websites on the OS that most people use.

I hated Windows 98, but have been something like 99% satisfied with XP. Therefore I'm not tempted by Vista (especially since Micro$oft usually roll up their new products at least a year before they're ready.

Perhaps I'll get a Mac for doing music on one day. Currently we're recording on my pc laptop and mixing on a Mac. I like the interface, but it doesn't have anything that makes me say "Wow! I gotta have that!"

My only beef with computer users (pc and Mac) is their tendency to get religious about their OS. I just need a computer that works, I don't want to join a cult, thank you very much...