Ernie The Attorney: The Joys of Apple Computers

Last night I was thinking it might be cool to talk to some well known bloggers who use Macs and ask them why. This morning I wake up and see that Ernie The Attorney has beaten me to the punch and publically declaired his love of the Mac. He wrote a pretty good rant on the subject, but this is the part I echo to all my PC using friends and family when they start compaining about some mis-configured / crashing problem.

Call me crazy, but I think that computers should be so easy to use that the word ‘configuration’ becomes obsolete as a computer term. There are so many things about Apple computers that make life easier (e.g. they rarely crash, rarely need rebooting, and simply don’t need to have the OS reinstalled every year as part of ‘routine maintenance’). Macs are more secure, and not just because people don’t write viruses for them. I could go on with all of the things I’ve learned about Macs in the past year. But I’m really wasting my time here because if you have a Mac and run OS X then you already know what I’m talking about. And if you only use PCs then you are going to have to defend your choice (which for many, many people isn’t a real choice because they just bought what the herd was buying; at least that’s what I did up until a year ago).

But no one can dispute this statement: computers should be easy to use and they should, as much as possible, configure themselves. Having used Macs and PCs extensively over the past 10 years, I can tell you it’s not even a close contest. Apple computers are easier to use and configure.

Bingo. Most of the people I know who use PCs use them because that’s what they always used, and all their reasons for not using a Mac come from what they heard someone else say, since they never actually used one themselves. In fact, I’d say 9 out of 10 of those people who in the last 4-5 years were given the opportunity to use a Mac switched. My mother-in-law uses a computer for e-mail, web surfing, and printing pictures from her digital camera, yet scoffs at the idea of using an Apple. She doesn’t know much easier her life would be.

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Last night I was thinking it might be cool to talk to some well known bloggers who use Macs and ask them why. This morning I wake up and...

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Sean Bonner

thanks for the comments Mr. I'm to scared to use my real name.

April 19 2004 at 2:33 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

anon

i bet you people really miss the days when you woke up in the morning and your mommy had your outfit for the day layed out on the bed. not to mention the she packed your lunch, the bus driver took you to school, the teach taught you, the bus driver took you home, your mommy made you dinner, gave you a bath and put you to bed. hmmmm, doesn't seem like you did a lot. made any of your own choices. Apple, the computer for people who can't think for themselves. "uhh, i don't want to have to set any options", "i shouldn't have to configure anything", i want to drone around like everyone else!!!! oh yeah, btw, i dont' like mac's.

April 19 2004 at 10:29 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

Sean Bonner

thomas - pretty much everything you've complained about is either a system preference that you can change (the icons on the dock don't HAVE to change size, you just have it set that way) or a problem with the program, not the OS (it's not Apple's fault if Adobe's key commands are different than Macromedias). I've talked about Jef on here before and his complaints are more in the line of wishing he could hit one menu option to complete a task such as rebuilding the desktop rather than restarting holding down certain keys - seems very different than your argument.

April 18 2004 at 11:33 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

thomas

the grass is always greener on the Apple side... i for one bought a 12" PowerBook thinking that i would be able to switch away from Windows for good, and run all the Linux software i use on the same machine. it's not happening. UI consistency and intelligent OS design are of extreme importance to me. Windows and Linux offer neither of those things. yet Mac OS X is full of inconsistencies and just plain stupid interface problems. i'm not alone in this - the father of the Mac, Jef Raskin, seems to be of the same mindset ( http://ist-socrates.berkeley.edu/~frank/BerkeleyGroks_Raskin.htm ). the interface is just all over the place. some apps from Apple have different keyboard shortcuts for the same operation (Preferences). the Dock is not so great - icons change is size... can you hit a moving target? i was fed up with the Mac after just a couple of weeks and finally sold it. fortunately i bought the computer with an educational discount, so i didn't lose much money. after this experience i'm convinced that there's not a truly excellent OS in existence - the OS has become a barrier, rather than a facilitator and experience-enhancer... just another thing that's in the way of getting work done. Mac OS X, with all its "media event" gee-whiz eye candy, is just not professional enough for me to use on a daily basis. Windows sucks, but at least i won't have to buy all my software again.

April 17 2004 at 10:52 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

James Mohler

Can you get KDE work right on my computer?

April 16 2004 at 3:33 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

Kevin

I agree with the earlier post. But Apple's OS X put the excitement back into computing for me. I have tons of more options just on a regular network that I don't have with a PC. I can print to any printer and no drivers to load. I just use the IP address of the printer. This improved communication not only is true for the Mac software but the X11 software. We have a great choice and more freedom. We can run office or run AbiWord and other Opensource applications. Other manufacturers have just turned their back on Open Source (Microsoft). We have the ability to run and develop Java programs. Other operating systems make you download a Java package. Mac OS has the ability to run timely programs and keep itself up to date. Furthermore, as an OS X user you are free to set your system up the way you want not waiting for this upgrade or that upgrade for a driver, Operating System, or MS Fix Patch. Mac OS X has refined the words of plug and play to plug and do or plug and go. You can use an iPod, a camera with flawless performance. I would even go so far to say that Mac OS X has brought freedom of choice and function into my computing environment.

April 16 2004 at 2:26 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

James Mohler

I could go on and on about why I am happier with my Mac than I ever was with my PC. The short version is, "It just works". The thing is PCs don't just work. PC users become acustomed to things not being quite right.

April 16 2004 at 12:35 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply