Once upon a time they had exclusive hardware and and an exclusive operating system. Now they have x86 PC hardware that can as easily run Windows and an operating system that is based on a free kernel. The smug ones usually don't understand this, the less smug ones do and are not so smug. Apart from DK who is smug anyway but we love him.
My Acorns (and derivatives) — one still going strong after thirteen years — all have exclusive hardware including the ARM processors — now widely available, and in fact the most prolific CPU type on Planet earth.
However, instead of being appealing to hamsters, my Acorns attract squirrels…
Dizzy - you are right in that Macs are now x86 hardware; but Mac components are not as commoditised as say Dell or the lower end of the market.
I'd also say Macs are designed better - the new unibody laptop for example.
Plus - they rarely crash as the OS and hardware are put together by the same firm. I have a Macbook pro and an HP laptop; I curse the HP several times a day - I can't remember the last time my Mac crashed
Note, I have a high-end Dell laptop running Linux that who;s longest uptime - that being the length of time before I bothered turning it off or having to reboot it was eiht months and I only rebooted i when I updated the kernel.
I guess what I'm trying to point out here is that Mac vs PC has bugger all to do with the hardware. It's about the OS. Run a POSIX compliant OS, which OSX and Linux both are and rebooting because of crashing is not going to be likely. This is because the core operating system is not bound to the gui in the kernel like Windows.
As a recent Mac convert, I can say they're just a more pleasurable experience than Windows. I still have Windows XP bootcamped on it - as a primarily MS developer, OSX doesn't really 'do' .NET and SQL Server - which actually runs better and smoother on the Mac hardware than it ever has on the various builds I've had over the last couple of years.
I still loathe the mactards though - all this St Jobs bollocks, and the tinfoil hat excuses when Apple do something Redmond would be castigated for.
Apple do some really nice stuff, but they're just as big a bunch of bastards as MS, just with better PR and a cult of drooling numbnut apologistas.
Dizzy, I thought you were a good sort before, but now I think you are ace...
I have waited so long to hear someone say what you have, and I have been saying it for many a long year. I sold PC's and Macs for a long time, but quickly learned that Macs were by and large very expensive and not really that much better. The GUI was what made it one up from PC's. When someone goes on about the quality it makes me smile; a bit like a petrol head saying their Rolls is better than a Ford, when in fact it fucking well better should be given the price differential, and the Ford for all its foibles was perfectly good for 99% of the population. Sure there were crashes and hang ups, but without them, how many people would have gotten past the stage of simply switching on? PC enthusiasts developed skills way beyond what Mac enthusiasts were capable of...a trite observation but true nonetheless. As for Macs being reliable, hardware and software...no they aren't, just more reliable than a Windows based PC. You get a problem with a Mac and you have a problem. The GUI made them what they are, and nothing else. Linux should and would have killed them if it wasn't for anal enthusiasts who invested so much money in them they had to try and convince everyone they were wonderful.
I better stop there before I get on to St Jobs and his band of acolytes.
"Err the OS is essentially free to download. The only thing that is remotely proprietary is the X display manager."
Hmm. Suggest you go read more about Mac OS X.
1) the reason the kernal is free to download is that its derived from Open Source software - and so must itself be re-released as Open Source. It is free - but wouldn't exist if Apple didn't invest millions of dollars in it
2) To say that the rest is just the GUI is missing the point entirely. Mac OS X has some excellent development tools - free with Mac OS X. It has excellent utilities and applications that mean the Mac just works out of the box.
3) I've had a succession of Windows machines over the years - and liked XP when it first came out. I'm tired though of it just not working the way you want. I've yet to find a windows based laptop that gets going as quickly as my 4 year old Mac laptop does - seconds.
4) Mostly Mac OS X isn't in your face - it just gets on with it. I get tired of windows prompts for stuff.
5) If you look at the spec for Mac vs PCs, then yes - if you want a cheap at point of sale system then get a PC. If you want a higher spec system (like you need the power, the graphics and the disk space etc), get a Mac. There are plenty of like for like comparisons out there that show up how expensive PCs can be.
6) In four years of owning Macs I've not spent a penny on security software or the like. There are no Mac viruses out in the wild.
7) Linux would be a good bet for people - and it is for the 1/3 or so of netbook users that choose it - if only it were generally easier to use and get going with. Last time I tried with a couple of distributions a few years ago, it was still too much like hard work. Geeks need to get out of the way to make it usable.
If you like Windows and you're lucky enough to have a system that work for you, great. Stick with it. Leave the vitriol somewhere else though when it comes to those of us who made the switch for very valid reasons.
13 comments:
Can anybody explain the smug self-righteous attitude of Mac-users? It just makes me like Microsoft more.
Once upon a time they had exclusive hardware and and an exclusive operating system. Now they have x86 PC hardware that can as easily run Windows and an operating system that is based on a free kernel. The smug ones usually don't understand this, the less smug ones do and are not so smug. Apart from DK who is smug anyway but we love him.
My Acorns (and derivatives) — one still going strong after thirteen years — all have exclusive hardware including the ARM processors — now widely available, and in fact the most prolific CPU type on Planet earth.
However, instead of being appealing to hamsters, my Acorns attract squirrels…
Dizzy - you are right in that Macs are now x86 hardware; but Mac components are not as commoditised as say Dell or the lower end of the market.
I'd also say Macs are designed better - the new unibody laptop for example.
Plus - they rarely crash as the OS and hardware are put together by the same firm. I have a Macbook pro and an HP laptop; I curse the HP several times a day - I can't remember the last time my Mac crashed
Err the OS is essentially free to download. The only thing that is remotely prorpietary is the X display manager.
Note, I have a high-end Dell laptop running Linux that who;s longest uptime - that being the length of time before I bothered turning it off or having to reboot it was eiht months and I only rebooted i when I updated the kernel.
I guess what I'm trying to point out here is that Mac vs PC has bugger all to do with the hardware. It's about the OS. Run a POSIX compliant OS, which OSX and Linux both are and rebooting because of crashing is not going to be likely. This is because the core operating system is not bound to the gui in the kernel like Windows.
do any of you really understand what you are on about ????
@no longer anonymous
As a recent Mac convert, I can say they're just a more pleasurable experience than Windows. I still have Windows XP bootcamped on it - as a primarily MS developer, OSX doesn't really 'do' .NET and SQL Server - which actually runs better and smoother on the Mac hardware than it ever has on the various builds I've had over the last couple of years.
I still loathe the mactards though - all this St Jobs bollocks, and the tinfoil hat excuses when Apple do something Redmond would be castigated for.
Apple do some really nice stuff, but they're just as big a bunch of bastards as MS, just with better PR and a cult of drooling numbnut apologistas.
Not if the subject is astrophysics
Obsidian... jedi knight is he
Dizzy, I thought you were a good sort before, but now I think you are ace...
I have waited so long to hear someone say what you have, and I have been saying it for many a long year. I sold PC's and Macs for a long time, but quickly learned that Macs were by and large very expensive and not really that much better. The GUI was what made it one up from PC's. When someone goes on about the quality it makes me smile; a bit like a petrol head saying their Rolls is better than a Ford, when in fact it fucking well better should be given the price differential, and the Ford for all its foibles was perfectly good for 99% of the population. Sure there were crashes and hang ups, but without them, how many people would have gotten past the stage of simply switching on? PC enthusiasts developed skills way beyond what Mac enthusiasts were capable of...a trite observation but true nonetheless. As for Macs being reliable, hardware and software...no they aren't, just more reliable than a Windows based PC. You get a problem with a Mac and you have a problem. The GUI made them what they are, and nothing else. Linux should and would have killed them if it wasn't for anal enthusiasts who invested so much money in them they had to try and convince everyone they were wonderful.
I better stop there before I get on to St Jobs and his band of acolytes.
"Err the OS is essentially free to download. The only thing that is remotely proprietary is the X display manager."
Hmm. Suggest you go read more about Mac OS X.
1) the reason the kernal is free to download is that its derived from Open Source software - and so must itself be re-released as Open Source. It is free - but wouldn't exist if Apple didn't invest millions of dollars in it
2) To say that the rest is just the GUI is missing the point entirely. Mac OS X has some excellent development tools - free with Mac OS X. It has excellent utilities and applications that mean the Mac just works out of the box.
3) I've had a succession of Windows machines over the years - and liked XP when it first came out. I'm tired though of it just not working the way you want. I've yet to find a windows based laptop that gets going as quickly as my 4 year old Mac laptop does - seconds.
4) Mostly Mac OS X isn't in your face - it just gets on with it. I get tired of windows prompts for stuff.
5) If you look at the spec for Mac vs PCs, then yes - if you want a cheap at point of sale system then get a PC. If you want a higher spec system (like you need the power, the graphics and the disk space etc), get a Mac. There are plenty of like for like comparisons out there that show up how expensive PCs can be.
6) In four years of owning Macs I've not spent a penny on security software or the like. There are no Mac viruses out in the wild.
7) Linux would be a good bet for people - and it is for the 1/3 or so of netbook users that choose it - if only it were generally easier to use and get going with. Last time I tried with a couple of distributions a few years ago, it was still too much like hard work. Geeks need to get out of the way to make it usable.
If you like Windows and you're lucky enough to have a system that work for you, great. Stick with it. Leave the vitriol somewhere else though when it comes to those of us who made the switch for very valid reasons.
Post a Comment