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The official I hate PCs discussion
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Have fun! My uncle says bet on the horse that empties its bladder the last, because it weighs the least! (or maybe that was for greyhound racing...)
Like jimw said, computers are tools, and different people prefer different types of tools; it all boils down to your own preference. I like PCs, you like macs. Mayhaps it's prime time to come down from up there and realize that just because something works best for you dosn't mean it's best for the world.
I did lol at that zip reference though!
i can't give u ONE thing, cause there isn't one. there are many small things that collectively enhance the experience.
In Mac OS X it's Shift-Command-N. This is actually wrong. It should be Shift-N like the command was in OS 9. Shift-N by default opens a new Finder window. So I use Menu Master (unsanity.com) to change it.**
Yet, I can make a new folder with a keystroke command. That used to be a forte of Windows (menu commands having keyboard mappings).
Does this make Macs better than PCs? No. Huh? What are you talking about? I just wanted to know how to make a new folder in XP without having to wait 5 seconds for the right-click contextual menu to show up! :P
Actually I do think Macs are better than PCs. Here's a few reasons:
The Mac OS has been getting better and better with each release.** Faster even on older hardware. Major structural improvements, the underpinings of future innovations. Vista is still in the holding pen. That after having its feature set hacked apart worse than the Texas Chainsaw Massacre.
Better security: Not that if you know what you're doing on a PC you can be clear of viruses, etc. as has been validly pointed out. Rather, it is very easy to get a PC to such an infected state that the quickest and easiest option is just wiping the HD and reintalling. There is an argument to be made for some people being too dumb to know how to use a computer. Nevertheless, OS X has been out there for years now and we're still short of any credible virus on the platform. (This latest Symantec PR move doesn't count. Die, Symantec, die.)
"Oh, but you just wait till Macs are everywhere, then someone will write a virus and take them all out." Mmm-hmmm... How is this supposed to happen when everyone knows Apple is going to go out of business, why, any week now? Like they have been for over two decades. Same old story.
The lack of having to deal with the PC virus/worm/spyware universe just adds to an already good experience on the Mac of using a computer.
Uninstall an app on the Mac: drag the application icon to the trash. Empty trash. Gone. Uninstall an app on Windows: run the uninstall program and hope it doesn't delete anything needed by another app.
Windows: "There are unused icons on your desktop." "There are unused icons on your desktop." "There are..." and any number of nagging system messages. "The option you selected will do action X. Do you want to do this?" Yes. "Are you sure?" Yes! "Are you really sure?" Yes, damnit!
They once thought Clippy was the future. I could stop right here. :P
With the Intel Macs, install Windows and dual boot (or use Parallels and run side by side). Play games and do the things you must or are terribly used to in Windows. Then switch to Mac and play around. While you're at it, bring your two buttoned mouse along for the ride (don't fall for that Mighty Mouse nonsense). You have two computers for the price of one (well, one and an overpriced Win OS). After a bit in both worlds, ask yourself why you kinda like the Mac side now.
**The Mac Finder, while still good overall is sadly not there yet. Apple really dropped the ball in the move from OS 9 to OS X. Trash is still the removable drive eject, when it would have been very easy with everything being changed to separate the two functions, say, into two different icons. They force that damn Dock on you and you can't get completely rid of it. And it is very difficult though not impossible to theme. I've bought it and it's mine now Apple. Let me do what I want with it. Thank you.
@pbear: so basically your arguments boil down to: better than old mac releases, better out-of-the-box security, easier uninstalling, and some smaller annoyances. So firstly, annoyances are an opinion (come on, that icons thing pops up like, what, once every three months, then goes away after five seconds?), and can typically be disabled. A lack of keyboard shortcuts can easily be fixed, I'm sure, by a freeware application. Your 'better' argument is in relation to previous mac releases, and not only is that sort of a no-brainer (of course it's probably going to be better than a previous release, why release if it's not?), what's that got to do with windows releases? XP runs quite fast and smoothly on my modest hardware, and has been for years. And a bad uninstaller is the fault of the program in question and its maker, not the OS.
True, for a lot of completely oblivious users it's nice to have out-of-the-box, don't-have-to-give-it-a-single-thought security, but really you only need an ounce of common sense to avoid >99.999% of potential windows problems. Keep auto-updates on, use a decent browser, don't download random email attachments, etc... And besides, there are a heck of a lot more dangers in life than there are in a computer -- eg. cross a street at the wrong time and you're toast, slip on the stairs and end up in the hospital, ... -- so why is it such a big deal to treat your computer responsibly when living is not? Ok, working on a computer might not be as natural as living to many, but just approach it with an open mind and compute responsibly/with common sense and little to no harm can come of it. Personally I prefer to (easily) avoid problems with windows and a) be compatible with the vast majority of games, b) experiment with the win32 api, c) use what I'm most comfortable with, d) install it on the hardware I choose, not what I can buy from Apple, etc...
Furthermore, I thought this was concerning IBM PCs in general and Apple computers. IBM PCs, in this case, are just hardware and don't necessarily have to run a certain OS on it.
Some Mac OS releases were not better than the previous version unfortunately (System 7.5 was it? so long ago...). And they were slower on the same hardware. Not that OS X hasn't fumbled. They dropped windowshade and tabbed folders past OS 9 and tried to force everyone to use the Dock. Ugh.
The OS X/Vista features point is that comparable improvements in Vista have been delayed or dropped while OS X has implemented similar things and is improving them. Jury's still out on whether or not Leopard will FTFF.
Minor annoyances are sufferable unless they're attached to common tasks you have to perform all the time. Windows seems to have an inordinate number of such annoyances. This need to confirm actions is one of them that seems to abound.
I still want to know what freeware application adds WinXP keyboard shortcuts. I have to run a Windows box here too!
I have built a few PC systems and I enjoyed it. No problems with viruses, etc. But I've also tried to help ordinary people with plenty of common sense figure out their PC and it's a nightmare. So I still think Macs are better than PCs.
Exactly. The same is true for the nightmare of IT support of ordinary people.
PCs have always been great fun for creative developer (not designer) types just because you can build your own and fool with all the wires (hardware/software). I suspect the very fact the wires have been (mostly) cunningly hidden in Mac UI turns some PC developers off. OSX has closed this gap for the most part. Alas, old perceptions take years to erase. The first Mac OS was closed to satisfy Jobs' control freakishness.
My first PC was ... the first PC. $3,000 bucks for a racehorse - 8088 processor; 64K memory; two (TWO!) 160K floppy-disk drives and a green character-oriented screen. Best of all, Wordstar was only $495. What a leap over the Trash-80 ;-).
My first Mac was ... the first Mac on the first day available. It was a ridiculously underpowered toy I fell in love with instantly. Still have it as a giant paperweight.
My first Amiga was ... the first Amiga. Looking back, it was a dumb purchase but it was a wicked cool little box.
That said, like many, my work life steered my use of hardware/OS. Guess what I used for twenty years and for good reason. Outside design, film, education, etc., Macs were more difficult to use and support than PCs. Then. Not now.
I find PCs too painful to use at this stage. It seems to me that the evolution-replacement of Windows has stalled very badly over the past few years and that OSX is increasing the usability gap in its favor each version. I see nothing which will halt this for the next two years, even (maybe, especially) Vista.
That said, the near-trolling on this discussion has been a real turn-off. I hope it doesn't become a fixture in this forum.
Number 43 in the Series...
PCs are Dumb - Macs are Smart
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On a PC - Creating a PDF...
1. Buy a shareware/commercial utility
2. Install the shareware/commercial utility
3. Blah, blah, blah...
4. Don't really know what else but it's lame
5. More useless stuff you don't need to do on OS X
6. Swear at Bill Gates for not building PDF output into the OS
On a Mac - Creating a PDF...
1. Use File menu -> Print...
2. Select Save as PDF...
3. There is no 3!
I didn't mention MS Word *chokes and coughs*
"...just download OpenOffice..." why not "...just not download anything..."
Why download and install another application you have to keep track of and keep compatible with your ever evolving OS?
PDF output is built-in to OS X like so many other features we take for granted.
System-wide, anywhere, native, by default, always there, no downloading, no installing, it's just there!
It's called elegance, functionality, standard ease-of-use, basic functionality!
This is the essence of the Mac / PC mentality difference.
A beautiful balance of what you provide versus what you charge extra for.
A balance of simple ease-of-use versus complication for the sake of it.
A balance of interface versus technical sh*t just because it's a computer.
Remember, the bulk of users are not super technically minded and surgically attached to their computers, they have a life, they use them for work, fun, education...
Someone once said: "Mediocrity is the enemy of all that is excellent and functional because it puts excellence and functionality that one more step removed from the masses."
By the way: Anything with "Microsoft" in its name is a piece of sh*t designed with only one prime objective; to keep the PC drones' minds off remembering they are individuals.
A bit like the bromide in the soldiers' tea during WW2 to keep their minds off sex!
You just keep on drinking that tea mates, sex isn't all it's cracked up to be is it?
I've said it before and I'll say it again. Different OSes cater to different users. Some people prefer to build up their OS features as they need them, whereas others like to have a 'pre-built' system of functionality sitting there to begin with, whether they need them or not. It's the same idea of Vanilla versus something like phpBB or vBulletin; with Vanilla users have to install what they want, but in the end they only have what they need on their forum, whereas with phpbb/vBulletin (clones), users don't have to bother with extensions, but may have extra functionality sitting around they don't need.
By the way: Anything with "Microsoft" in its name is a piece of sh*t designed with only one prime objective; to keep the PC drones' minds off remembering they are individuals.
O RLY?
Even though Apple is more of a monopoly than MS? You know, just because a lot of people use something, dosn't mean they're not individuals. For example, a lot of people use cars made by Ford (OMG *GASP* THEY'RE ALL USING THE SAME BRAND!!!1111), does automatically mean they're not individuals? No, of course not. Sounds more to me like you're the drone, droning endlessly, mindlessly on with (largely falsified) apple propoganda.
And I repeat, PC != computer w/ MS Windows, you're presuming that just because something isn't using apple their using a MS product.