Main Area and Open Discussion > General Software Discussion
Windows vs. Mac: I'm starting to change.
Innuendo:
There's another thing...what if I don't want to do research? What will I pick then? That's what a lot of people are doing.-superboyac (October 01, 2009, 10:54 AM)
--- End quote ---
That's a very good question & I have a very good answer for you. This "lot of people" who are picking Macs because of what the commercials are telling them because they are easier to use and more secure than "PCs" are going to to encounter some harsh realities that no one told them about I didn't touch on in my original post:
1) OS X while shiny, easy to use, and easy to learn is not nearly as customizable as a Windows machine. Part of what makes a Mac so easy to use and learn is the user interface that is universally the same (with minor differences) no matter what Mac you use. Some would say this is because Steve Jobs is a control freak and that he wants Mac users to work the way he wants them to. My guess is that the OS X programmers just want everything to be standardized for the most part so that if you know how to use one Mac you know how to use them all.
2) These people are going to either run into their friends raving about the newest game available or their kids are going to be begging to be bought the latest game their friends are playing. In either case, there's only one sad, disappointing outcome. The vast majority of games are not playable on a Mac.
3) These people are buying Macs on the premise that they are more secure and unfortunately, they are not. Security web sites that document such things have revealed that OS X has had several times security issues than Vista has had in the last two years & while MS has patched every one on the Windows side most on the OS X side remain unpatched with no word from Apple when they will be.
4) Those who are switching from PCs who are used to be able to buy a new case, PSU, or video card on a whim whether it to be an old unwanted or outdated component or because a component died on them will be in for a rude awakening. There are no third-party cases. Your Mac is going to look the same as everyone elses. Forever. There's no running out and buying any video card you want, either. Very few video cards have OS X drivers & even if the card is supported one has to buy a special Mac version of the card that has a Mac-aware BIOS on the video card. Need another PSU? Off you go to an Apple Store or ship it off to Apple for who knows how many weeks?
Switching from a PC to an Apple is switching from a very open, diverse architecture where any choice is possible to a very closed, narrow architecture where most of your choices, if any, are dictated to you.
This is not a slam towards Macs and don't let this dissuade you from getting one if that's what you really want to do, but living in the land of Mac is a very different world than living in the land of PC and you will lose a lot of your freedom that I'm sure a lot of us take for granted if you make the move.
40hz:
Macintosh? I was an early adopter:first a MacPlus, later an SE/30.
I've read all six volumes of Inside Macintosh. I've 'whined & dined' with Apple hipsters. I've attended Apple conferences. And I have used Macintosh computers with varying degrees of pleasure over the years.
But in the end - the Macintosh computer is still just another piece of technology. Something to learn; something to use; and something else to scrap when the time comes.
Maybe I'm just not that sophisticated, but I have yet to find anything I want, or need to do, that I can't also do on a Windows or NIX based PC.
Macs may be nice. But they're not essential.
At least not in my world. ;D
techidave:
They look good, they work without fussing around with it, and everything that it does is COOL. -superboyac (October 01, 2009, 02:13 AM)
--- End quote ---
Yes they do look good. But they don't always work without fussing around with them. I work in a K-12 school and we do have a few Intel Macbooks in our high school. One of the main reasons we got them were they would always "just work". Not true. We were told they would just work when you hooked up a projector to them... out of the box work. Nah, you have turn the "mirror" setting on under display preferences. And sometimes it loses that setting too.
The main apps we use on it are Indesign and Photoshop for our yearbook classes. I don't believe they are any faster than using it on their windows machines but they have an older version so am not comparing apples to apples. :P
I believe the pc world has made great strides to close the gap in graphic applications over the last few years. But unfortunately those who are mac people will refuse to admit it. Just like saying you cannot run a mac os on a windows machine. Not true either.
I know some who seem to think those iLife applications are free on a mac but in reality you pay for them.
And just when you thought that Apple gave education a break on software pricing, read thisabout their new program:
I just got a letter stating that Apple has a new Apple Education Licensing Program (AELP) that has replaced the previous Apple Maintenance Program (AMP) and Volume Licensing Programs.
Here is a link to the new program and cost of products under this program. new program
For the past couple of releases of iWork and iLife we've been able to get a school building site license for $250 per software title for up to 500 seats. It appears now that you won't be able to do this individually per software title anymore, but you are required to get these together with the OS for what they call Mac Software Collection. For 500 seats under the new program, it has a list price of $14,999 for 500 seats. Also if I am reading this correctly, this is $14,999 per year to stay current!
mrainey:
Also if I am reading this correctly, this is $14,999 per year to stay current!
--- End quote ---
Sounds like a bargain - they could have charged $15,000!
f0dder:
Also if I am reading this correctly, this is $14,999 per year to stay current!
--- End quote ---
Sounds like a bargain - they could have charged $15,000!
-mrainey (October 02, 2009, 06:51 AM)
--- End quote ---
AND you're escaping the clutches of evil monopolistic Microsoft and their insane overbloated prices!
Navigation
[0] Message Index
[#] Next page
[*] Previous page
Go to full version