Dear God Why

I guess I'm the Mopar guy in this Ford vs. Chevy debate. I use Linux because I'm too cheap to ever buy a Mac and I'm sick of Windoze' various and annoying shortcomings. I set up my newest computer in a dual-boot configuration thinking I'd use both Ubuntu Linux and Windows 7 Home Premium. Win7 actually seems pretty stable, but the simple fact is that I almost never use it. Ubuntu is that good.

93EXCivic wrote: Would a sane person pay for a Mac? I was at Best Buy and looked at the specs on them. You can get twice the computer for half the price with a PC. I mean an Apple with the same specs as my HP (which I got 2 years ago for $800) is $1000. I guess they are like the Harleys of the computer world.

Specs don't tell the whole story. I find that every part of a MAC is designed to work together, and in harmony with its software. A MAC with half the specs of a PC still runs as fast. With equal specs, it runs twice as fast. When I sit down to my Mac for an hour, I use it for an hour. When I used to sit down at a PC for an hour, I spent 45 minutes restarting, installing, waiting, crashing, reading help menus, installing programs to get other programs to work, transferring files manually between programs and swearing. Then 15 minutes cursing and hitting the damn thing before agreeing to pay for some new version of Windows that was "finally going to be as good as a Mac" and then waiting two days for it to install. Never again.

With a Mac, my productivity has tripled, my stress levels have been eliminated, and everything just works. And my iPhone, iPad, Laptop, Desktop and Television all play nicely together. Faster, better, more stable, more adaptable, more useful...the BMW K-1600 of computers perhaps.

What I can't figure out is why some people get all worked up about what other people own...whether it's a computer, a car or anything else.

ultraclyde wrote: I'm the defacto IT guy here and at times have had to maintain a few MACs and a lot of PCs. When someone asks me which they should buy, I use this analagy: If you buy a car and all you know is where the gas goes in - you want a MAC. If you are the kind of person that changes their own oil or is okay changing an alternator when it dies - save your money and buy PC.

I think of it in similar terms. I am an ASE certified mechanic. I can fix most anything an engineer can do to a car. Does that mean I want to spend every Saturday fixing my car so I can go to work Monday? No. I use the expertise and knowledge I have gained to buy the cars that don't need fixing no a regular basis. My first Mac was awesome. I never shut it down (a few times a year tops), never updated it, never upgraded it, never maintained it except for deleting old files and the like and it just kept working. I could burn a DVD, while d'loaded video and surfing the net at the same time and it just plugged along. I wouldn't even try that on a windows machine.
Someone hit the nail on the head. Everything inside my mac is designed to work with everything else inside the computer. I think that's the biggest part of the puzzle. I know Microsoft has sets of criteria that hardware and software makers have to meet in order to sell something for a PC. I'm sure that list is long and exhausting. It just doesn't look like there is adequate policing and they will allow anyone to sell junk. When said junk doesn't work with the OS or another component it reflects bad on the computer.

-pinchvalve- amen bruddah!

stuart in mn wrote: What I can't figure out is why some people get all worked up about what other people own...whether it's a computer, a car or anything else.

This.

Mac's are for people that are ignorant or refuse to learn simple things about computers. They're for people that click on stupid porn links or run every .exe file they come across. Mac owners are typically (some of them aren't) the equivalent of appliance drivers.

rotard wrote: Mac's are for people that are ignorant or refuse to learn simple things about computers. They're for people that click on stupid porn links or run every .exe file they come across. Mac owners are typically (some of them aren't) the equivalent of appliance drivers.

BullE36 M3. Simple bullE36 M3. But thanks so much for buying into an incorrect stereotype that was outdated 15 years ago.

I'm not a computer professional but I know far more about Windows than many users. Far and away more than most people I've worked with in my career and we all use computers every day. I'm the guy that people bring their stupid Windows issues to so I can figure out what's not working right and teach for the 407th time how to fix their stupid formatting problems in Word and why it won't print right from Acrobat. I've been on the IT staff of every place I've ever worked.

I currently have 4 Macs networked in my house and am about to buy 2 more. I've owned at least 9 over the last 25 years. I'll go into why later.

rotard wrote: Mac's are for people that are ignorant or refuse to learn simple things about computers. They're for people that click on stupid porn links or run every .exe file they come across. Mac owners are typically (some of them aren't) the equivalent of appliance drivers.

Wow, I guess you aren't afraid of making bold statements and just offending folks left and right. You'll fit right in here

If I was still editing video.. I would be using a Mac. I have a friend who does edit video.. she uses her macs (plural) for that.. but PCs for everything else.

This current computer was build three years ago and is still running the copy of XP I put in it three years ago. It was built on the bones of an even older P3 machine that I built right after 9/11.. and ran continously 24/7 (aside from a few shut down times due to weather or moving) from then till 2008 all on the same build of windows.. no errors.. one virus I had to clean.. and a dead Powersupply.

I go through more keyboards and desk chairs than I go through computers

Hmm, I'm gonna sign off and go find me some porn now, this thread be way above my skill levels.

I've long since given up on trying to change people's mind on the Mac vs. PC debate.

I'm a happy Mac user. YMMV.

Granted this was started by a PC user.. but the thing that irks me most with the PC/Mac thing.. is the Mac users who insist on telling me how much better their computers are.

Buying a Mac netbook cured my IBS.

Seriously.... some of the claims both sides are making in this thread are utterly ridiculous. If you don't know how to use a computer or keep it running smoothly... then just don't.

<---- paid $400 for a base model Compaq laptop w/ AMD dual core 4 years ago. Still running strong. Has not had ONE virus, not ONE software issue. And yes, it's showing it's age, but will be rejuvinated with Windows 7 which will actually let it use all it's RAM.

I don't care in the slightest what other people use, but i'll be damned if i'm going to be told that i made the wrong choice by picking what i've always used for over a decade because not ONE of them has ever given me a problem, and it's ALWAYS been cheaper, without exception.

This is GRM. I buy cheap cars that work. I buy cheap computers that work.

And cats are better than dogs too!

I just want a PC sticker to put on my car so everyone knows what kind of computer I use.

Actually that would be a lie. Mac user here.

and Dogs>Cats by a long shot!

Duke wrote:

rotard wrote: Mac's are for people that are ignorant or refuse to learn simple things about computers. They're for people that click on stupid porn links or run every .exe file they come across. Mac owners are typically (some of them aren't) the equivalent of appliance drivers.

BullE36 M3. Simple bullE36 M3. But thanks so much for buying into an incorrect stereotype that was outdated 15 years ago. I'm not a computer professional but I know far more about Windows than many users. Far and away more than most people I've worked with in my career and we all use computers every day. I'm the guy that people bring their stupid Windows issues to so I can figure out what's not working right and teach for the 407th time how to fix their stupid formatting problems in Word and why it won't print right from Acrobat. I've been on the IT staff of every place I've ever worked. I currently have 4 Macs networked in my house and am about to buy 2 more. I've owned at least 9 over the last 25 years. I'll go into why later.

If this makes you feel better for falling into a generalized stereotype, continue to be condescending. The truth hurts sometimes. It seems that it stung a bit more than usual on your end.

Also notable that Macs are now entirely PC hardware underneath. So the distinctions are getting quite blurred.

Again, I understand why people Macs. But the Mac fanboyz (not all Mac users are) get on my nerves about like Prius drivers. I get tired of hearing how unreliable my computers are and how much work I have to do on them. I've been running the same machines for over three years, and they were used when I bought them. It's like an Audi driver calling my Miata unreliable because he doesn't need to spend as much time working on his car as I do.

I can understand how people kill their computers too. I looked at my mom's PC when visiting her a week ago and the nav bar in explorer was filled with every imaginable plug in that every piece of 3rd party software installs if you don't take 3 seconds to click the button to tell it not to. Her average desktop PC lasts about 2 years.

I'm fine with people who "kill" their PCs with junk. I kept myself in decent computers for years thanks to those people. I get someone's old machine that's "gotten too old", slap in a year-old graphics card, some extra RAM, and a new power supply, then do a fresh install of the OS, and end up with a solid computer for about $100.

donalson wrote:

Lesley wrote: Ahem. I bought my Macbook 2.4 Core2 duo off Kijiji for $600. 3 months old.

sounds like the 3 year old mac holding 50% of it's value theory was just killed ;-)

My 3 year old Macbook Pro has comparable performance to all but the most recent regular Macbooks, so it's still got value. Also, metal chassis models hold value better than the plastic ones. But honestly, I've used macs since the late '80s, and every time I've owned a PC it's been a pain to use in comparison, so I will continue to buy what works, on a less frequent upgrade schedule than most PC users follow. Anyone who has a problem with me or anyone else doing that has some seriously misaligned priorities, and should probably reconsider the manner in which they are dealing with their fellow humans.

Josh wrote: My 3 year old gaming PC has comparable performance to all but the most recent regular desktops, so it's still got value. ... But honestly, I've used PCs since the late '80s, and every time I've used a Mac it's been a pain to use in comparison, so I will continue to buy what works, on a less frequent upgrade schedule than most computer users follow. Anyone who has a problem with me or anyone else doing that has some seriously misaligned priorities, and should probably reconsider the manner in which they are dealing with their fellow humans.

Edited that for you.

Only reason I've ever needed to replace a computer was because that hardware couldn't keep up with the games I wanted to play.

I see at as similar to the Ford vs. Chevy argument now. Differences between them has blurred. Most of the arguments against PC's are really outdated or people that don't know how to use what they have or try to do more than the machine was designed to do.
I've always been PC because that is what I used at work and school but considered going Mac a while back when I had problems with internet attacks and viruses but I got that sorted out and have good programs for that now. Most notably, found Firefox which is better to block that. I haven't had the stereotypical crashes that people complain about on PC's in quite a few years and I'm not running top of the line systems. My work machine (the one I'm using for this post) is a Dell laptop & docking station running Vista. At home, my wifes machine is a new HP and running Windows 7 and my machine is an older HP and running XP. Its downfall is low memory, fine for when new but is a few years old now and I sometimes have freezing issues caused by small memory. I plan on upgrading before the end of the year to a machine with loads of memory and windows 7. When I was learning to do a little programming I had to have a custom built machine but now that I don't do that anymore I just don't need the expense of a custom machine and find off the shelf machines will do anything I can throw at it. But then I don't do heavy computing anymore.

Zomby woof wrote: I'll tell you why I bought one. I'm not a computer guy. I don't want to be a computer guy. I work on windows machines at work. They are all slow, and retarded. Every single one of them has problems. I had them before too, and go tired of all those same little glitches, and problems. Can they be fixed? Sure they can (although the IT guys at work can't seem to make them work). Will the problems come back? You know they will. My Mac fires up every morning, and never gives me a single problem. No spyware, no glitches, no annoyances, and no viruses. I'm 50 years old. I have other things to do than learn how to fix a computer that will never work right. I am my neighbour who drives an appliance, but with computers, and I'm very happy with my Mac. It was expensive, but worth every penny I paid for it. It works flawlessly every time, and to me, that's worth something.

This is PRECISELY WHY the next new computer will be a Mac. My brother is a commercial graphic artist/designer.NEVER a problem. No virus, no crap to deal with...NO oops, we have a security problem from Microsoft, or can't run without the latest updates...There's cheap, and there's thrifty. Next computer won't be cheap, but it'll be thrifty in the long run.

rotard wrote: If this makes you feel better for falling into a generalized stereotype, continue to be condescending. The truth hurts sometimes. It seems that it stung a bit more than usual on your end.

You try hearing the same incorrect crap get spouted over and over for 25 years and see how happy you are to hear it a 26,000th time.

Lesley wrote: And cats are better than dogs too!

Really just depends on how you cook them.

Buuuut back on subject. I've got nothing against MACs personally, I had just really hoped that moving my wife to one would end my "tech support" carreer in our house. I spend just as much time listening to what's not working on the MAC as I did listening to what was wrong with the PC.

The only real difference is it's alot easier to find solutions for the PC becuase the user communities are willing to discuss what is wrong and offer solutions. The general opinion in the MAC community is "take it to the Genious bar", not very helpful for home repairs.

But again, more power to the folks that love them and use them. They dont bring anything to the table for me personally that I can't get for half the price somewhere else, but I certainly see the appeal for some users and they are definitely solid machines overall.

I have a problem with Macs! It's too darn difficult to take a couple year-old Mac and bring it up to spec with a couple new pieces of hardware. I can't take a cast off Mac and repurpose it for my uses. It's like a car going to the junkyard at 100k miles!