PC Sales Are Up, Macs Getting Even More Popular

[r3t4rd]

[citation][nom]ap3x[/nom]Asus is fantastic. Reliable hardware with great design philosophy and they don't load a ton a BS in their Windows images.[/citation]
Well at least we are the only two having a decent civilized debate versus the frivolous Windows/Mac bashing. And it is as you stated, try Mac or Windows and if you don't like it move along. No one is telling you at gun point. And also, my reasons as the IT Guy in the family differs from your or the next person. As the example, Its about saving my family and friends money in buying a laptop/PC for what they need to do. But there is also another pirk that my family and friends get with thier Window PC purchases.....they get me as a 24/7 support and come over for a beer troubleshoot my PC line. Most people do not have knowledgeable IT Support person close to them. But I supposed also as you stated, its preference and familiarity.

The powerbook...I eventually installed Yellow Dog on it. Works great as well since I can't update to the later OSX versions. But my Hackintosh...awsome for what it does. Linux, WInodws, and Mac...all the flavors...enough to keep one going.

Its nice to know some people can still have decent debates these days. Cheers!

 

[r3t4rd]

Bah..wrong person quoted. I meant to quote "fellskrazykayaker".....from his reply to my post.

 

[saikyan]

Whenever I read Mac flames I wonder what kind of experience the author actually has with the Mac OS.

Based on the Mac discussions I've personally been involved in, it never turns out to be very much.

This situation is an outlier among Toms readers, normally pretty insightful and inquisitive people. When it comes to Mac OS, there is a kneejerk "APPLE= EVIL!" response that I find rather counter-intuitive for a group of people who are typically pretty enthusiastic learners.

Sort of reminds me of AMD/Intel or ATI/Nvidia... Who says you must choose a side and then you must adhere to it like a political agenda?

 

[fellskrazykayaker]

[citation][nom]r3t4rd[/nom]Bah..wrong person quoted. I meant to quote "fellskrazykayaker".....from his reply to my post.[/citation]

Thanks for restoring my faith in ability of Tom's readers to have an intelligent discussion.

I am also the IT guy in my family. Last week my aunt sent me an email saying she got the following message:

WINDOWS REQUIRES IMMEDIATE ATTENTION

ATTENTION ! Security Center has detected
malware on your computer !

Affected Software:

Microsoft Windows Vista
Microsoft Windows XP
Microsoft Windows 2000
Microsoft Windows Server 2003

Recommendation: Users running vulnerable version should install a
repair utility immediately

Your system IS affected, download the patch from the address below !
Failure to do so may result in severe computer malfunction.


She was on a Mac. She was fine.

My parents-in-law, despite my multiple times trying to explain internet security, clicked on a similar fake "Antivirus" popup. I had to spend several hours trying to remotely troubleshoot the issue on their Windows box. Nothing like spending hours on the phone with the in-laws! whoo... 😛

 

[FrPSh]

It's really disgusting how many mac haters there are on this forum.
Is anyone else tired of their constant mac-bashing?

 

[dangolo]

allow me to enlighten all you commenttards with the real world reason Mac sales are always 'surprisingly' strong in the 3rd quarter of every year since the macbook was invented: COLLEGE GIRLS.
If you were a dad, and you knew as little about computers as she does, you get her whatever looks shiniest because face value is the only criteria an idiot needs for decisionmaking. Same goes for Volkswagens.

 

[ap3x]

[citation][nom]dangolo[/nom]allow me to enlighten all you commenttards with the real world reason Mac sales are always 'surprisingly' strong in the 3rd quarter of every year since the macbook was invented: COLLEGE GIRLS.If you were a dad, and you knew as little about computers as she does, you get her whatever looks shiniest because face value is the only criteria an idiot needs for decisionmaking. Same goes for Volkswagens.[/citation]

Uhh, yea, that is why. Your wisdom is unparalleled. Well using that logic, I should include the ridicules notion that maybe also the people that likes GIRL's are buying them as well. Are you saying that you don't like College Girls? I will take a one of those over a Windows box all day long.

 

[Vladislaus]

[citation][nom]ap3x[/nom]I have more applications on my laptop than I do on my PC and although my laptop has less hardware than my PC it still boots exactly the same as when I first bought it (almost instantly). My PC with all top reviewed parts in it (Asus Commando mb, Corsair Dominator memory, Radeon card, Silverstone Power, and a Scythe Heatsink) takes all of 5 minutes to boot completely.[/citation]
5 Minutes? Perhaps you have some software that is bogging down windows startup. I have tons of programs installed on W7 and been using the OS since august last year and it doesn't take remotely that much time. Even my mother's netbook that only has 1Gb of ram and a first gen intel atom 1.6ghz boots faster than that.

 

[Mach5Motorsport]

Apple laptops with Intel core CPUs...don't forget that part. not Motorola

 

[Mach5Motorsport]

Apple/Mac laptops with Intel CPUs...don't forget. NOT Motorola. The so-called real Apple is dead! lol

 

[dalta centauri]

5 Minutes? Perhaps you have some software that is bogging down windows startup. I have tons of programs installed on W7 and been using the OS since august last year and it doesn't take remotely that much time. Even my mother's netbook that only has 1Gb of ram and a first gen intel atom 1.6ghz boots faster than that.

He's impatient, he says 5 minutes when it's really under 2.

 

[davewolfgang]

Thanks for restoring my faith in ability of Tom's readers to have an intelligent discussion.

I am also the IT guy in my family. Last week my aunt sent me an email saying she got the following message:

WINDOWS REQUIRES IMMEDIATE ATTENTION

ATTENTION ! Security Center has detected
malware on your computer !

Affected Software:

Microsoft Windows Vista
Microsoft Windows XP
Microsoft Windows 2000
Microsoft Windows Server 2003

Recommendation: Users running vulnerable version should install a
repair utility immediately

Your system IS affected, download the patch from the address below !
Failure to do so may result in severe computer malfunction.


She was on a Mac. She was fine.

My parents-in-law, despite my multiple times trying to explain internet security, clicked on a similar fake "Antivirus" popup. I had to spend several hours trying to remotely troubleshoot the issue on their Windows box. Nothing like spending hours on the phone with the in-laws! whoo... 😛

Actually if she got that pop-up - her computer is ALREADY infected. Sorry to break the news to you, but the only reason that MacOS doesn't have more hackers - is because it's not POPULAR enough and there's not enough $$$$$ in it for the hackers. Just wait until the hackers start writing stuff for MacOS - it will be sad, sorry, sweet "We told you so..."

 

[fellskrazykayaker]

Actually if she got that pop-up - her computer is ALREADY infected. Sorry to break the news to you, but the only reason that MacOS doesn't have more hackers - is because it's not POPULAR enough and there's not enough $$$$$ in it for the hackers. Just wait until the hackers start writing stuff for MacOS - it will be sad, sorry, sweet "We told you so..."

I'm not sure you understand what this is. This is a clearly a fake pop-up meant to entice a user to click the link which will download a Windows exe. It is likely one the fraudulent AV malwares or "hostageware". Even if she did click on the link, which she didn't, she would not be able to run the exe on OS X. Her machine is absolutely not infected.

You're exactly right that because of it's smaller market share, OS X is essentially ignored in terms of malware, which is nice. It's part of why I like OS X and I like Linux. I've never argued that OS X is intrinsically more secure than Windows. I think Apple needs to a better job with security on OS X. But the reality is Windows is a much, much greater risk of being infected with malware. I feel I'm generally very vigilante when it comes to security on any system, but more so on my Windows boxes.