I hate Macs
I hate Macs. I have always hated Macs. I hate people who use Macs. I even hate people who don't use Macs but sometimes wish they did. Macs are glorified Fisher-Price activity centres for adults; computers for scaredy cats too nervous to learn how proper computers work; computers for people who earnestly believe in feng shui.
PCs have charm; Macs ooze pretension. When I sit down to use a Mac, the first thing I think is, "I hate Macs", and then I think, "Why has this rubbish aspirational ornament only got one mouse button?" Losing that second mouse button feels like losing a limb.
Oh yes... it's sooooo good.
14 comments:
For me it's the beta vs. vhs controversy all over again. Macs are usually better performing... like a premade PC with real parts instead of the stripped-down OEM parts that Dell and Compaq use. They've been pretested to death for interoperability, so you never run into bizarre issues like your new sound card driver interfering with your 3d graphics until 6 months pass and someone writes a driver update.
PCs, on the other hand, have more software for them and it usually costs less. Plus you can decide you're okay with a really crummy computer that has the world's best graphics card in it.
On the other hand, you're stuck with either Microsoft or a community operating system that ends up taking constant tinkering time like a 1970's era Harley. It's not as bad as a few years ago when every new program or game required a retooling of the config.sys file in order to function... but Mac's are still more reliable in the OS area.
If only someone hadn't decided to spend years and years marketing Macs as a serious business machine only...
So, right now, Macs are too costly (software-wise), too limited for computer gamers (they've got most of the rest of it down), and too tinker proof for those of us who'd rather upgrade our computers one part at a time as we can afford it. PCs, on the other hand, still have a little bit of the duct-tape and baling while feel to 'em. If you get a slight thrill when everything is running correctly, then there's really is something wrong with the machine design.
Perhaps its because most Mac users are Libs?
It stems from the Import Car Only (hate the USA) syndrome.
I hate people who drive the Prius.
I'm conservative, but I use a Mac because life is too short to spend it tinkering with the computer or worrying about malicious software. Easy to use? The standard for easy-to-use is the telephone. Now, that's easy to use!
It's really about what you like. For Journalism, design... heck, anything multimedia, Macs are hands down the way to go. The software for Macs regarding these fields is much better than that of PCs. Adobe and Macromedia products were designed for Macs and ported to PCs almost as an afterthought. Besides, OS X is a much more stable OS than WinXP and Vista (but we'll have to wait until Vista has been out for a few years until we can really see).
PCs are great if you are doing corporate level business management work. Some of the Microsoft office products, such as Excel, take better advantage of the Windows. If you are into gaming, than PC should be your platform of choice over any platform (XBOX 360 and PS2 included).
Daniel,
Preach it brother, preach it!
I am originally from Silicon Valley and grew up smack dab in the middle of the Mac v. PC debate.
I fully agree w/ the comments made by others about pretentiousness being a prerequisite for Mac ownership too.
The giant banners Mac would hang from their headquarters trumpeting how cool and in touch they were for all driving by on HWY 280 always hacked me off.
So death to Macs! I just wish I could find the video clip of the guy who did the review of the IMac when it first came out.
Let us just say he delivered his verdict on the pistol range...
tsk...tsk...tsk.
So close minded...not healthy, Daniel.
Since I consider myself "right-leaning" (translation: a right-wing-nut-job), I do take offense to "anonymous'" comments on libness and Macs.
I use a Mac, because I'm just tired. Tired of paying the PC tax of a couple of thousand a year just to keep up on hardware. Tired of having to reformat once a year just to keep it running. Tired of knowing that if I could just turn my antivirus off, maybe I wouldn't have a CRAWLING computer. Tired of the bugs, the updates, the service packs, the beta versions, the utter flipping nonsense.
PCs simply are completely and utterly poorly designed. Maybe they're VHS to Mac's Beta, but we're not talking about porn movies (porn is why cheaper VHS won that fight, and why HD-DVD will win the fight with blu-ray), we're talking about an operating system.
I used to say the same thing about Macs (and Mac users) until I just got fed up and gave it a try.
But Eddie, I can't see how Mac could ever be viewed as being marketed as a serious business machine (unless you're in publishing or graphics)...my main gripe with Mac is that they are INSANELY NOT business-friendly. Finding good CRM software took me months, and there is no such thing as a docking station, etc. NOT business friendly at all. And not having a mid-level Mac desktop is aggravating (Mini for $700 or "MEGA" for about $2500 and NOTHING in between).
But I'll be DAMNED if I don't have to reboot it all the time.and reformat it every year.
Conservatives can use Macs but only liberals will make a big deal out of it. It's the same with the Windows vs. Linux debate. I use both but it's not religion to me. Some Linux people would crucify you for using Windows. And I think the same applies to politics in general, conservatives are just more tolerant of others.
actually, porn is having a real hard time (no pun intended) arousing (no pun intended) interest in HD formats. why? because with higher resolution, people can now see a lot more unsightly blemishes on the models, and it is actually turning people off.
what will really drive the HD-DVD v BluRay war will be game systems, and Sony is doing it right by subsidizing BluRay in the form of a $599 PS3 that uses the same BluRay television circuits as their $1000 player. Even the high-end lunatic fringe audio/videophile world is looking at PS3 for home theater in lieu of multi-thousand dollar uber high end players.
Oh, and something like 80% of the source material is only on BluRay.
HD-DVD is doomed, and porn won't have dick to do with it. Pun intended.
All I really need a computer for is to write and process my photos.
Get a computer that is useful and practical for your needs. Everyone has their own personal preference in computer brand and requirements.
Now only if we can have a choice to choose between self-serve and mini-serve gasoline, instead of this solcialist state telling us we cannot pump our own gas when 48 other states can.
Logipundit, during the second big wave of Mac... when Jobs had left and the Macs were turning from self-contained screen/cpu units into something that looked like a PC... or no, more like a white xbox... the Mac marketing campaign was as a serious business machine. They brushed off the burgeoning, but still emerging, Mac game industry and focussed entirely on making Macs an office product.
Later, Jobs came back and the Mac somehow turned into a the high-tech sculpture, make picture/video/Ipod machine that it's currently being marketed as.
And yeah... it really is better for print graphic editing, and art work. However, the pc is actually better if you're doing that work for the Web, because you need to be able to see all the crummy options that people are going to be using to view your stuff.
On the other hand? if you work at most of the entertainment companies in So. Cal... you'd better be Mac-literate.
To repeat earlier comments:
I managed a call center that had a customer support contract with Apple several years ago. Shortly after we landed the contract we found out why Apple had outsourced their customer service call center.
Tens of thousands of their entry level Performa model computers were experiencing severe malfunctions due to faulty glue used in one of the chips on the motherboard. In the new CEO's race to cut costs and make Apple computers more competitive with PC's they had outsourced their manufacturing of the Performa line to China, with predictable results.
All of their extremely expensive ($4000 +) powerbook laptops had a design defect that caused the hinges to break after a few months of normal use.
Apple's strategy for dealing with the problems? Deny there were problems and let frustrated customers call and yell at my employees. For several months Apple refused to repair customers computers claiming "software issues" in the case of the Performas and "customer abuse" in the case of the powerbooks.
When it became obvious to everybody in the industry that there were real problems with these computers did Apple step up and repair or replace the computers promptly? No. In the case of the performa motherboards they chose to repair the boards in batches as they came in. They'd wait for a certain number of boards to come in from repair centers and then ship them off to the Chinese outsourcer for repair and then send them back to the repair shops once they were fixed. They pursued a similar strategy with the defective powerbooks; redesigning the cases but only manufacturing new ones for repair parts supply once a certain number were needed. As a result some customers waited up to NINE MONTHS for their computers to be repaired.
Wise heads would have manufactured new motherboards and powerbook cases as fast as possible to minimize customer downtime. Not Apple. As a result of this fiasco Apple's market share plunged from 12% to 3% in 18 months.
Before this experience I was a Mac fanatic, having owned 5 Macs costing a total of $17,000.
I will never buy another Apple product.
When there is only one source for parts you are at the mercy of the manufacturer. The only place you can get critical Apple repair parts is from Apple. If they don't have them or decide not to supply them, you're screwed.
If your PC breaks there are literally hundreds manufacturers and tens of thousands of retail outlets for repair parts.
Apples are also prohibitively expensive or impossible to upgrade. If I want to upgrade my PC I can get a new mother board for about $100 and a new, near top of the line processor for $300.
And, finally, let's not forget that there is very little software for Apples relative to the selection available for PCs.
Apple is simply a sucker bet.
Addendum: I use several pieces of professional level graphics software on my PC and have NO problems. Anyone who says graphics software runs better on a Mac simply doesn't know what they're talking about or is comparing a fully loaded Mac ($3000+) to an entry level PC ($600). PCs are far more stable than Macs. I have also yet to see a PC running Windows XP that crashes near as much as a Mac. My personal PC has so much software loaded on it's ridiculous. I often have six to eight applications open simultaneously. My PC crashed only once in 2006. Anytime you try to run more than three applications simultaneously on a mac it's crash-o-rama.
Eddie -
The big so-cal entertainment companies (Dreamworks, Pixar, etc.)are running Linux on PCs or SGI workstations. They have never used Macs.
"Adobe and Macromedia products were designed for Macs and ported to PCs almost as an afterthought."
I suppose this is why the Adobe products are coming out for PCs before Macs? Adobe cleaned up that attitude long ago, when they realized that the PC market was significantly larger than the Mac market, and there was more money to be had.
I'm surprised they don't charge more, claiming that they have run it on the Mac hardware, and certifying that it won't have as many problems as "that pesky PC hardware". Mac users would eat that up, and gladly pay double, maybe triple the cost for their special Mac version.
A properly build PC will cost half, or less, what a Mac of the same quality will, and will not have any issues. I run a PC with no anti-virus software, etc., without issue. I don't have much issue with drivers/compatibility, and if I do, it is easily resolved when it is first built.
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