Why I Went Mac But Still Keep My PC

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[citation][nom]tuannguyen[/nom]Thanks for the feedback!/ Tuan[/citation]
laodsfjlasdoflolol man, i lol'ed soooo hard when i read that. +1 for you lololol.
 
[citation][nom]omenowl[/nom]People think it is microsoft vs. apple and the reality it is Apple vs. dell, hp or gateway.[/citation]

Technically it's Apple vs M$ and Apple vs other hardware vendors. What makes it interesting is that Apple and M$ also work together to bring us Windows on the Mac. Furthermore, Apple buys the same parts as Dell and HP - they do not really make their own hardware, they just assemble it. Last I checked Apple didn't manufacture processors, ram, vid cards, etc.
 
I have one main computer at home, my wife has a computer and I have a laptop for travel. Here are my problems with MAC.

The cost, MAC is based on intel, and OSX is based on a free OS. Somehow the systems cost twice as much as PCs. I build my own system my needs were met for 900 dollars, I am not running games with a 900 dollar mac.

A mac can almost meet my game needs, it can almost meet my development needs, it can almost meet my work needs, and it costs twice as much. After I get a mac I can pay for an additional os license and run windows so I can have all my work tools (maybe VPN on virtual systems is no guarantee) But wait I can hook up my IPHONE... yet another piece of over priced hardware that will not let me do what I want.. NOT USE AT&T.

I like macs I like nix systems, I just need a system that meets my needs not my ipods needs. Macs are always portrayed as the anti establishment computer. I find it odd they are the ones that are the most restrictive.
 
I love how they mention that Apple does not play the backwards compatibility game...and no one cares. In fact...it's oh-so-forward thinking. Yet, if MS even feigned interest in such a move, they would be crucified in a matter of minutes by all corners of the media. Apple has the advantage in being small with such a small user base. MS on the other hand has to take into account the bazillion people using their shizz. MS ain't perfect, but GD they aren't the evil empire they once even tried to be on their own.

I do think Apple innovates at times, but Steve Jobs forced mantra is a bit much. Exhibit A: the cheap Sprint phone my wife picked up that does about 8 things the expensive IPhone doesn't. Apple seems to operate carte blanche while MS bears the cross.
 
THIS IS A RANT.

Considering that:

Tom's Hardware > Articles > How To > Build Your Own > Why I Went Mac But Still Keep My PC

and there isn't content related to it's filing.

I've come to two conclusions, either/or/both:

One

Apple must have sent a fat check your way, or did they buy you all that gear for you to sing their praises and make cheap jabs at windows like that(funny you had nothing to say about linux). It's almost nothing but cliche Apple propaganda.

Two

Your e-peen need some stimulation

After page 8, it where I about lost it, it appeared as if a you were do something interesting...no, page 8 onwards turns out to be nothing more than 'hey check out my expensive gear' and more cock-stroking.

"...I’m not really a hardcore PC guy..." Yeah, your not. Being able to afford high-end equipment does not make you hardcore, whatever the hell that means, but you are definitely in the croc shoes and obnoxious sunglasses 'me-too' crowd.

 
First off the writer of this article should have expected alot of flaming as the majority of Tom's readers are by nature PC users (like myself. Unfortunately I have yet to see one single instance in my life or anyone I really know for that matter who has any use for apple except for IPODS and IPhones. Granted both of these devices are excellent in quality and function, but when I walk into the Macintosh store and know I can build a PC twice as fast as any MAC computer sold there for half the cost, it makes me all warm and fuzzy inside.

I just smile at all the MAC guys spending their money on what they want and I spend mine On what I want. Im a PC enthusiast, a gamer, a graphic designer ( freelance), I listen to music, I watch movies, and I do anything else that any of those MAC guys do on their systems. And I do it knowing that when I walk into the software Isle, I'll have choices..many, Not one, and I will have support from 98% of the worlds software developers. I won't be wondering when my favorite software will (if ever) finally be compatible with my MAC that cost me 4,000, 4 years ago, and I still cant afford to upgrade it to this day. I wont be going to best buy, or newegg, or other electronic purchasing venues only to find that they dont sell what I am looking for, for my MAC, the few accessories that are available for it.

I dont have to worry, because I use a PC. I know what I am doing with it, unlike the PC guy the MAC commercials portray as the average WINDOWS USER, who gets flustered because he cant figure out how to configure his Windows install to work for him, with too much security, or when he catches a virus, or whatever else they have been putting in the commercials.

Truth is: PC's are better, faster, more configurable, and upgradable, making them more future proof and easier to use and maintain over the long haul. The software development being done for PC's compared to MAC just makes me laugh when I think of all those poor MAC guys, who will never play the games I play, use the software I use, or be able to afford the systems I can build, becuase they spent too much on a paperweight with an APPLE symbol on it. The Networking support for mac's is a joke, and finding performance parts, or even regular parts is a laughing matter because no develops parts for the pieces of crap. The smartest thing STEVE JOBS ever did was turn to Intel for their system construction, and the funny thing is that all his loyal MAC users still claim their product is better, even though now it's just a PC in more expensive packaging.
 
Uhhhh it seems a lot of people are not understanding an iPhone.... I have a 16GB iPhone and you can remote control your Vista x64 with it too.... you don't need an overpriced MAC. I just don't see the point in going MAC because of cost. I am a gamer and my rig runs great. E8400 @ 3.8GHz 2x 8800GT in SLI, raid 0 HDD, 4GB ram, Vista x64 on 30" Samsung 2560x1600
 
Yea like others I can't justify spending the money on a mac... If Apple made it to where I could install Mac OSX on my pc that I built I would use it in a heart beat, but until then I will be running either XP, Vista, or Ubuntu Linux.
 
Hi,

Thanks for a good article. I'll be certainly looking forward to seeing your next article on MacOS. I am going to buy a new notebook soon and I want to make it a dual-boot system with MacOS and Vista (or customized, stripped down Windows Server 2008 instead). For now installing MacOS on a ramdom PC may be daunting due to the lack of drivers but I am ready to risk Hackintosh. I also hope that Apple would add support for more hardware including latest mobile quad-core Penryn and video cards.

You are certainly right about the premium price tag on current Macs and Macbooks albeit with a very limited choice of configurable options. Apple could facilitate the transition for many Windows users by providing better driver support but stopping short of becoming a direct competitor to Microsoft. We all know what Microsoft can do to a competitor: Netscape, Wordperfect, Real Player and VmWare next - are the just very few names that pop up in my mind.

 
Hmmmm... I just figured out a way that Apple could get me to buy their system and possibly increase their market share - compete against Dell, HP, Gateway, an so forth by volume licensing Windows and either Parallels and/or Fusion.

With a volume license, that would be a minor cost increase. I can see the campaign now... Mac vs PC... they come out fighting... then it pans out to a woman on a computer saying "hey, why fight when you can be friends?"... she makes a few clicks in her adobe image editor and the two fuse together into some comical blend that would give Conan O'Brien nightmares... and ends with the Mac vs PC logo and red pens changing vs to + with a voice over "Mac plus PC - the best of both the worlds in one box".

Later campaigns can add a nerdy little linux guy jumping up and down saying "oh! oh! me too!!!".

Now that would either be marketing genius or a bigger flop than Vista...
 
Lol, I understand what you are talking about with MACs being better, but they are better for casual users, meaning word prcessing, photo editing, videos. but gaming? no no, PCs dominate that area, sure they have MAC games but you are not gonna see a tricked out SLi\Crossfire MAC with a OCed CPU at 4Ghz that handles crysis at 50FPS all VH settings at 1600x1200 or w\e res are you?

My opinion, not that anyone cares but if you want a computer for basic needs or college go for a MAC. If yo uwant some hard care gaming and some of the former go for a PC, the only ting that annoys me about MACs is how clickign the red dot or w\e it is on the window does not close the program, you have to go to file adn quit or press Apple + Q, i prefer the good ol' drag your mosue to the top right and click once trick lol
 
[citation][nom]randomizer[/nom]If PC was all that you wouldn't need to get a Mac in the first place. In the end it comes down to preference and/or use. Buying a Mac would be a waste of money for me because I wouldn't know what to do with it, but that doesn't make it inherently useless. It's my fault
I got a 1997 Star Trek game to work on Vista, I think you should give it a go. Admittedly I got occasional BSODs when trying 6xAA at 640x480 but dropping to 4xAA mostly fixed that up.[/citation]

to ur 1997 game, i got sum old games to work as well, actually I didnt have t get them to work they just did 😛 I put my good l Star Wars Dark Forces II on from, i think early 90's cant rememebr (1994?) no issues, i dotn understadn what pp lcomplai nabotu vista, i only had a surroudn sound issue but I resolved that
 
Come on man. We all love to rant, but this is just stupid. The Mac experience... because it works with my iphone and ipod and oh yeah i can do calculations in the search bar and make it talk nerdy to me late at night. Don't quit your day job.
 
[citation][nom]phantom93[/nom]Lol, I understand what you are talking about with MACs being better, but they are better for casual users, meaning word prcessing, photo editing, videos...if you want a computer for basic needs or college go for a MAC. If yo uwant some hard core gaming and some of the former go for a PC[/citation] Disagree completely: why would you spend twice as much $ to do "casual users, meaning word prcessing, photo editing, videos"? No way. MAC is better than MS Word, hell no. Mac is an expensive toy.
 
So when it all comes together OS X is better than a windows platform because it's a dumbed down version of a linux distro, and on top of that even crashes from time to time (unlike most linux distro's I've tried) and doesn't offer support for legacy stuff? A bit far fetched really.
I see why people without a budget can choose os x - they'll just buy a new scanner if the old one isn't supported, or a new whatever-it-is-and-does piece of soft or hardware. But for most people under the age of 30, I think a macbook with windows is the only way a mac is useful, as it offers at least some gaming and entertainment possibilities.

I'm not always a big fan of microsoft's windows, but I have to say, that as long as I can play bubble bobble and crysis on my vista, or wow while watching gilmore girls on the other monitor, I won't complain about its slightly inferior responsivenes when compared to a linux, or linux based os.
 
ok, I'll toss my 2 cents in.

Yes, I get that you've semi-retired from geekdom and no longer wish to tweak your system.

I really do get that.

OSX is your sweat pants and mini van.

The network I manage has both Macs and PC's on it.

When I started with my current employer I was asked if it was ok with me if some of the people used macs.

Now, I've never liked macs much, because I had the privilege of learning windows architecture properly when win95 launched (thanks Doc Foster - wherever you are...)

I explained to my employer that it wasn't my place to dictate OS choice, just to explain the costs/differences and then to support the choices they make.

BOFH is a fun read - but not a wise career strategy.

The folks saying OSX isn't useful for business clearly have no professional experience.

It's what our sales people use, and some other people too.

I've found that it's no more reliable as wintel.

In the last year, we've had a failure rate (defined by me as anything requiring hardware replacement or in depth OS troubleshooting to correct a work-stopping fault) of about 50%.

One dead display.
One system that refused to boot.
One failed optical drive.

We have 5 macbooks and one macbook pro.

Support has been hit and miss.

The pro is the one that had the most problems, requiring multiple stays at the Apple Store.

It was kind of fun hanging out and waiting for my turn at the Genius Bar.

Nice background music, plenty of demo machines to screw with while I waited, and plenty of store employees asking if I required assistance.

The customers were funny to watch.

I've never seen a more thoroughly clueless bunch.

The guys working the counter were friendly, knowledgeable, and didn't seem to mind being quizzed by a pc guy.

But it still meant several hours out of my day.

And they never told me what the problem was - they just kept reinstalling until the problem went away.

So, from a support standpoint, the macs are a money/time wasting hole.

Contrast that to my typical PC service call.

Oh wait - I've never had one of those.

I did have a stick of bad ram in a pc we bought from a local shop.
It was replaced in a few minutes.

Are there things I like about OSX?

Well, being able to get to a real terminal window instead of having to load third party applets was a nice change from OS9.

I'd mention that Entourage does a much better job with IMAP than does Outlook, plus it does OWA within the client, but they're both MS products.

The more important question is - can I relate to the article?

Have I ever been tempted to go Mac?

Sure - but usually not for more than a few seconds.

I'm not quite 50 yet - maybe I'll go mac next year.
 
[citation][nom]tuannguyen[/nom]See you bring up an interesting point, which is what I talked about in my article. Now with all the Intel Macs, you can do a native Windows install and back to work you go. Software compatibility solved.(I use VMWare Fusion and it's fast enough that I never find myself rebooting to Boot Camp to do what I need to do -- other users' experiences with their own apps may vary.)[/citation]


NO! Software compatibility is not solved!

In any layer of virtualization there will be performance loss. Also, Macs do not support the hardware required for high end games or other graphic intensive applications such as Pro Engineer/AutoCAD. Currently, the best video card you can get in a Mac is ATI's 2900 series, which is a joke compared to now. Bootcamp is good for browsing the internet in Windows, and that's about it. Kind of pointless though when you think about it.

Its not that we hate Macs for being Macs. Most of us do not like them because we know the Mac and OS X is an inferior product to the computers we can build and whichever version of Windows we prefer. It is inferior because we cannot do what we would like to do with the Mac.

This is a hardware enthusiast forum. What did you expect?

 
Oh, I tried to visit the OSx86 site:

"OSx86 has a problem

Sorry! This site is experiencing technical difficulties.

Try waiting a few minutes and reloading.

(Can't contact the database server: Lost connection to MySQL server during query (insanesql.bunker.fubra.net))"
 
Good thing they have two sites - or not.
Here's the other one:

" IPS Driver Error
There appears to be an error with the database.
You can try to refresh the page by clicking here "
 
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