Thanks Mark. I got a bit carried away in my last diatribe, but I
initially
was trying to make some general points about some of the new features in
Leopard that, in my opinion, didn't help Mac's image as a great
innovator,
but instead spent a lot of time and energy into being able to boot up
Windows
XP (Boot Camp). I've seen Steve Jobs go on about it and take some
unfounded
knocks at Vista (you may disagree) which to me doesn't sell OSX Leopard
or
Apple as an innovator. Instead, it makes Steve Jobs look childish and
Apple
as a chip-on-its-shoulder company. Not the image I would want for my
company.
My Power Mac 7300 from 1997 ran on OS 7.6 and I upgraded it to OS8 when
it
was released later that year. I have used and scrutinized later MacOS's
though. Chiefly, Panther and Tiger. I used Macs to help friends with
some
of their personal projects and Mac was their hardware/software of choice
and
it gave me the opportunity to see if things had in fact improved in
MacOS
since my past misfortune. I agree, the OS has come a long way from the
buggier times and runs very smoothly. I just don't like the overall
feel of
how the system kind of nursemaids you through it's operations...like,
"Pay no
attention to the man behind the curtain." I like that I can see the
bones,
cartilidge and muscle tissue of the Windows OS. That way, I feel more
connected to it and can comprehend how it works (like learning another
language - being able to think in that new language) and therefore be
able to
successfully solve problems myself and anticipate issues that might come
up
later, preempt and bypass a potential problem. I felt walled off from
the
beginning in the Mac OS and that's just my experience. Others may not
feel
that way.
I'm also not a big fan of their UI: abstract toolbars and the Brushed
Metal
skin (my iTunes in Windows XP) has that style imposed upon it and serves
as a
reminder to me of what I dislike about MacOS.
"Think different...but here are the strict parameters in which you
should do
that thinking" is the slogan that best descibes my vibe from Macs.
Tom
:
Tom,
I've attempted to keep my information fact based and avoid personal
attacks.
I also mentioned that I use/support various flavors of Windows everyday
to
pay the bills. I'm ok that you don't share my enthusiasm to use a
computer
that "just works" more often (in my case). I prefer to spend my own
time
and energy (off the clock) accomplishing things--rather than fixing and
maintaining my own things.
I'm certainly not saying the world should be all Apple all the time.
Obviously, you won't be first in line to buy one and that's ok. I'm
not
some blinded-by-the-light fanboy who follows Master Steve to drink the
koolaid. My opinions and preferences have been formed through my own
observations, tests and trials--I do not take someone else's word for
it--and I don't expect you to take mine. I personally don't believe
anyone
has the right to criticize, attack or recommend a platform unless they
have
spent extensive time working on it. Tom, I don't see how your
experience on
a Mac running OS 9 in 1997 is relavent to today. The Mac I spoke about
that
is still running from 1997 is a G3 and it is running 10.3.9 quite
happily
and capably as a webserver.
I'm not trying to evangelize--I didn't start this thread, afterall.
There
is obviously a lot of curiosity from the XP/Vista camp about OS X and
there
should be. A good IT person knows what is out there and well versed in
ALL
OSes.
If you're happy with what you are doing, by all means keep it up.
Regards,
Mark
Say what you want about stock price and quarterly increases that in
the
big
picture, don't say much. Apple has product placed and spent millions
of
dollars on advertising (and with the exception of the more recent
"I'm a
mog"
ads) have been quite good. Yet, they're still in that lower,
single-digit,
market share area that they've always been in since at least the late
80's...at about 3 to 5%.
I'm happy to hear that you haven't turned off your Mac since 1997,
because
that's when I bought a Mac too. I bought the Power Mac 7300 (with
the old
604e Power PC processor) just before they introduced the G3. What a
clunky
pile of junk that computer turned out to be. Not only was it at
least
$1500
more than a comparable PC, I additionally had to buy a CRT monitor
separately
(and this was during the era when Mac did license its
software...remember
the
Maclones?). The mouse was so slow and draggy and the OS was drab and
in
my
opion, put strict limits on what I was to know/comprehend about its
functioning. So when I had a problem with an application or
something, it
was this big mystery 'cause it wouldn't tell you whether you had a
faulty
driver, extension, etc. Instead, i would have to either reinstall
the
software or the OS and I got so sick of hearing that lame
"startup/showdown"
chord/sound droning over and over again. In a years time, after my
warranty
expired, the floppy drive gave out and the CD-ROM tray became
unreliable
even
though I hadn't used it much since they're wasn't much software out
there
for
MAC that interested me. I eventually threw the system in the garbage
within
three years, the last year of which I just held onto it needlessly
because
I
had spent so much money on it. Since then I've stuck with with PC's
and
have
never had a hardware problem that was the result of the manufacturer
or
windows software.
Apple sells fully featured computers? Sure, but at a premium and
with
very
little choice. The Mac Book has less features than my HP ZV6000, but
costs
more and only gives you a 12 or 13" screen. Add a couple hundred
dollars
more and I could get it that puny computer in Black...ooooh. If I
don't
like
the look of the MacBook (white/black), then my next option for a
laptop
would
be the MacBook Pro which is a jump in price of at least $700-$1500.
And
what
if I don't like that drab and cold aluminmum case, well then I guess
I'm
out
of luck, 'cause that's all there is. Having different PC
manufacturers
provides diversity of styles and competitive pricing (not rock bottom
quality...unless that's what you want because it would YOUR choice,
not
Apple's).
As for this Boot Camp thing...doesn't that, in a way, make OSX
superfluous?
and make Apple just another PC manufacturer? (albeit, an expensive,
over-hyped one at that).
Again with regard to the OS security issue: What hacker would invest
so
much time and effort into hacking an OS that only 5% of the entire
personal
computer market uses. That would be a waste.
And if you're so proud of your precious "OSX" that you so adamantly
defend,
what are you doing on the Windows Vista help and Support website in
the
first
place? Go back to your "la la" world of overpriced, overhyped,
overheating
Macs and listen to more childish, "chip on his shoulder" speeches by
Steve
Jobs about how Vista is a copycat when, at the same time, he calls
Leopar
"Vista 2.0." Huh?
I guess when there's no new innovation, Apple just starts up the mud
slinginger 2.0.
OSX SUX!
:
Why then is Apple's stock price the ONLY PC manufacturer with
positive
earnings in the last 12 quarters? Why is their stock price the only
one
that is not in the crapper? Why is their market share growing
faster
than
any other PC manufacturer? The short answer is they have chosen not
to
be a
bargain basement seller but focused on quality, longevity and value.
Dell
has run out of room to compete in the discount sector--they are
scrambling
to upscale to recoup falling market share and presence.
Compare "apples to apples" and you will see that Apple's hardware is
not
really more expensive, especially when you factor in the quality of
components and support. [speaking of quality components--I have a
Mac I
bought in 1997 and it has not been turned off since first plugged
in.
All
original components--still serving up thousands daily!] Apple sells
fully
featured computers while most everyone else sells them bare bones so
they
look cheaper and then kill you with up-selling options (Dell is the
worst
in
this regard).
I'm happy to run XP in Parallels (for those few things I need XP
for) and
I'll happily pay an upgrade tax about yearly. Each of the upgrades
since
10.1 have dramatically increased speed. Can you say that about XP
SP2
and
all the millions of lines of bloat?
Say what you want about vulnerabilities, but in over five YEARS of
OS X
use,
I've yet to get ONE virus, trojan or exploit without any protection
whatsoever. Can you say this? And going back to Parallels, I have
an
instance of XP saved on another hard drive so that whenever XP gets
killed
due to virus or its own ineptitude, all I need to do is delete that
instance
and reload the one saved from disk. Total time to restore ALL apps
and
OS?.......10 minutes tops. If I needed game functionality, I'd boot
into
XP
with bootcamp. I'm no longer much of a gamer, so not needed.
Parallels
is
a great way to run any other OS on OS X.
I think you are disallusioned and not willing to learn what Apple
has to
offer. I work in corporate america and work with windows machines
all
day
long, but I prefer to spend my hard earned money on an Apple.
Before you dismiss Apple and Macs, just learn a few things. If you
have,
then you can say what you want.
--Mark
Hell no. The overpriced proprietary hardware, the abstract UI
(they'd
call
"simplified"...I'd call "dull". And this Boot Camp
"innovation"-please!
If
OSX so much better, why are they breaking their backs to come up
with
these
"innovations" on how to run Windows XP?
And the OS "software upgrade" is not cheaper unless you like
paying
$130
for
what is more like a service pack that Windows gives out for free.
The system vulnerability of OSX cannot be compared to Windows
unless of
course Apple had 95% of the PC market, making it the target
hackers all
around the world. The only apparent protection the Mac has
from
hackers
is its overall unpopularity in the personal computer market.
I could go on, but I see that I already did...
:
Hey folks
Looking at OSX Leapord
http://www.apple.com/macosx/leopard/ makes
me
want
to
switch to mac apart from the price of the hardware.
If Apple decided to release OSX for any pc (or as close as), do
you
think
you would ditch widows altogether?
I would like to see how many people would actually take the
plunge. As
you
can clearly see, with the superb streamline support and all the
extras,
and
MUCH cheaper software it already slams Vista in the face.
Common folks, be honest, i'm a pc user too, but i have to say
that if
i
could install this baby, instead of vista, i would be there in a
shot!