Amen! Fortunately, I haven't had too many problems since I got the mac in terms of people asking stupid questions or trying to say their PC is better. One of my friend hates the Mac but has no problems using it when he's over. He's just odd. Another friend has showed great interest and plans to purchase one at some point. So it hasn't been too hard... I just make a point of pointing out all my friends who have broken PC's at the moment.

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A while back I decided that if I can't make some money on converting them (through the sale or the support) than I won't convince them.

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There's no point trying to convert people. Everyone already has their mind made up on the Apple vs PC debate, and no amount of reasoning will ever convince them otherwise. We just have to sit there smugly (but quietly) and look on as they get viruses, adware and we'll be working while they're doing the bi-annual reformat.

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I too am getting heartily sick of the "oh lolz Macs can use multi-button mice?"-type Windows-warriors. I had a Mac+PC setup at my previous workplace, and asked the admins whether I could have a standard two-button USB mouse for my Mac. "What?! You want to attach a PC mouse to your Mac?!?", they all had a jolly good laugh.

Thankfully, I don't work there anymore.

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No kidding. I mean, when you consider all the Windows users with the anti-virus junk you have to put up with, all the blue screen crashes, the number of steps it takes just to burn a DVD, the spyware, all the clutter on the internet browsers, the anoying shortcuts on the desktop, and on and on--such a hassle for a piece of junk. It seems PC's are mainly good for gaming; but even then you have to spend so much money to beef up your machine that you go broke in the process. To me, in the end, there's FOUR main types of people in the PC/Mac "debate" (if you will): 1. Those who own a Mac and have seen the light; 2. Those who own a Mac, but keep a PC around for work purposes and such; 3. Those who own a PC but don't know any better (i.e. would convert to Mac if they knew about the features); and 4. Those who just have a sadistic pleasure in living in chaos/slavery and are so stuck in their PC world that they aren't even willing to look at the evidence. They're like people choosing to drive on a toll road which also happens to take longer and has more traffic than the non-toll road. Common sense and innovation points to the Mac world. Money drain and frustration points to the world of Windows.
Now, whenever people complain to me about their Windows machine having all these problems, I just grin and say, "You should've bought a Mac." Interestingly, I have friends who have told me "I should have bought a Mac, but this PC was on sale and I just went for it." Like short-term pleasures, they'll pay for it later.
So go buy your PC, along with your Anti-Virus, your spyware, your Window Washer, and all the other disjointed software melted into the pot of PC incoherence. God has given you the freedom to choose your machine, just like He gives us freedom to choose or reject Himself. Just don't expect sympathy from me when you willingly and knowlingly choose unwisely.

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I am a recent convert from PC to MAC. I have been a coder and web designer for over 20 years (I have a Commodore VIC20 in a storage garage somewhere)! By new MacBook is on order and should be here in February.

It is my belief that the evangelist's of Apple products should keep on singing the praises- just at a higher level. At some point in everyone’s career (such as mine) people come to realize that quality and productivity trumps technology itself.

Technology for technology sake (Windows OS most definitely "feels" this way at least to me) is not a productive or useful device. Computers should actually help us achieve our given tasks in a positive and productive way- regardless of platform. As a coder myself, I understand the inclination to provide a feature rich application that does many things for many people. Productivity in reality usually takes mundane tasks and focuses on singular issues making them faster, easier and better with respect to customer experience (ie: Amazon.com one-click checkout).

Without the evangelists, the new generation of future super stars will continue to believe that the more superfluous features you have access to the "more you can do". It's not an argument really; it's a young and inexperienced point of view really. The truth is that increased productivity is a direct result of less "features" and more "ease of use".

Apple clearly brings this to the table with a combination of hardware and software- not just software as the PC platform clearly relies upon. The great debate will certainly continue for years to come. For this coder, I prefer the quality hardware/software combination that by default allows me to create quality customer experience in my own projects.

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I'm sorry if this is not related, but I am now reading allmost all my tuaw-posts in newsnetwire and I can't seem to se the author of the texts in my rss feed. Is it there or will you include it?

When it comes to passing on the torch, I am convinced that people will follow if you do not force them. My friends are slowly comming around. I changed soon to be two years ago.

My torch is slowly and quietly burning over here in Norway. Go Apple!

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I've had those experiences too. Even worse, now I hear comments like "Ooh didya know that the Mac is moving to Intel? Haha you're getting viruses too!" or "Say, I've heard on Engadget that QuickTime is full of leaks."

Obviously, I try to ignore such fools. Even if they have an MCSE. Just let them gloat over the perceived quality of Microsoft Windows.

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Tom wrote, "There's no point trying to convert people. Everyone already has their mind made up on the Apple vs PC debate, and no amount of reasoning will ever convince them otherwise."

I, personally, know this to be untrue.

For years, I was a dedicated Windows user. I wasn't necessarily anti-Mac, but I couldn't see the logic in embracing the Apple platform. Why would anyone want to use computers with such a limited market share? Why limit yourself to a relatively small library of software choices?

I was also pretty tired of smarmy Mac users -- like the ill-tempered head of our company's tech department -- who constantly bragged "If you were using a Mac, you could do X." Fact was, I was already using a Windows PC to do X, but the man was so completely out of touch with what Windows could do, he didn't know Windows had assimilated, to a remarkable degree, all the fuctions he believed were exclusively available on the Mac.

And then, I turned forty.

At forty, I see life differently. As before, I have a long list of things I want to achieve ... but now, I can actually see, up on the distant horizon, the End of the Line. And so, having arrived at forty, I started asking myself, "Do I want to spend the next hour trying to find a copy of an obscure .dll file so that the driver I downloaded for my new "Plug and Play" Windows peripherial will work ... or do I want to spend it writing?"

In short, with an eye toward getting things done, I began to be interested in a computer that would just work. I started researching my options ... and wound up switching. Friends -- many of whom were familiar with my general distaste for all things Apple -- were stunned.

So: people can be converted. People do change. I understand that folks can get tired of "The Debate," but I did want to point out that some of us (even some of us whose minds were made up years ago) are open to new information, new ideas, and new ways of working.

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Are you disillusioned after MacWorld? I sort of am, a bit. The iPhoto RSS non-standardness, the Frontpage-esque iWeb code... I was rather annoyed that I had to buy an A/V cable specific to the iBook, rather than being able to use the one that I already had for my digital camera.

I don't like what I see Apple doing in-general, or rather, I don't like the general direction I see them heading towards. I feel like they are dumbing things down for non-Power Users at the expense of Standards (at least in iLife '06), which is what I've always despised about Microsoft. Making your own standards without regard to the rest of the industry seems so short-sighted to me, as well as lazy.

I hope Apple doesn't head down this dark road and, until it does, I'm still going to suggest Macs whenever my friends ask me what computer they ought to buy.

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I think part of the problem of trying to get someone to convert is that most people are so scared of their computers as it is. Asking them to shell out anywhere from $500 - $1799 for an entry range Mac is kinda scary. I did it and I was happy with it, but naturally you could GIVE some people a Quad G5 with all the fixin's and they wouldn't be happy with it. Just the way things are. But, most people are just uneducated or don't have any experience with it. Thus their natural skepticism.

I have to admit that Apple has dropped the ball in one area that may have made some people aggravated with the Mac: the mouse. I'm sorry, but most people who would even consider switching who have to use a Mac with the one-button mouse might actually write the Mac off totally just because of that. They get annoyed (as I do) without having a scroll wheel, a right click button, or maybe even another programmable button or two. Throw that in with people who are naturally speculative of computers, especially one they aren't familiar with and you've got a tough sell. The mouse is the first thing a person touches and it is the way they interact with OSX. They are bound to get annoyed with it. Simplicity only goes so far.

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Karl, try changing your NNW theme. Not all themes show all metadata, etc. One of my recent favorite themes is "BD Aqua Floating," which displays the author name quite nicely.
Eric.

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Well I think both PCs and Macs have their places. I am a recent switcher, and if someone told me that I would be using a Mac as my primary computer 5 years ago I never would have beleived that.

But today, I would never go back to Windows only. It's true that Macs are somewhat more expensive that standard PCs (that is debatable since most PCs don't have the same build quality as the average Mac) but the way I see it, you pay more for the machine but you pay less for the OS. Since no one I know with a sane mind would use XP Home, you have to pay more for XP Pro, and that's a non negligible cost to me.

However, there is still something that disturbs me about Macs in general is the "closedness" of these machines except for the PowerMac G5. I already have a 20'' LCD, so why should I get an iMac when I'd just need the computer ?

In that regard I would really like to see Apple make a lower end "PowerMac", many people like me don't need a quad processor machine with 64bit buses and maximum of 32gb RAM or something. An "iMac in a tower" should be less expensive and would still be a Mac ...

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First, it's under 'penalty of death.' Perjury is testifying falsely under oath.

Second, re the limits of the Apple mouse: anyone switching from a Windows box can simply plug their old two-button USB mouse into a Mac and happily right-click away, keeping the Mac mouse as a backup. No reason to let a potential mouse purchase guide one's choice of computer.

Third, make that 'suspicious of computers,' not "speculative." (Maybe I should consider a career as an editor.)

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Gotta agree.
I've had enough of arguing with people over whether Windows is better. If I use Windows I will complain about why it isn't a Mac, but no longer am I outwardly defending the Mac when I am told to shut up.

One thing though, a couple of days ago, a teacher of mine told me they would be switching the video-editing suites to Macs. At that point I told her everything she wanted to, simply because if someone really is honestly interested it is nice to hear from a happy user, who knows what they are saying.

No more arguing about but the mac can do...

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This week the UPS brown shirt guy asked me to sign for my iLife '06 delivery. He said he noticed that I had a lot of deliveries from Apple. I said yes. He asked did I like macs. I said yes. The UPS guy then said he would probably go get one, he was tired of windows. So conversions can come when least expected.

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Good for you! Good for your sanity.

At this point, any honest (and specific) question can be via at the Apple website, at a store, via an Apple fan friend of yours or good ol' Google. Most of these dumb-ass questions come from funk-faking trolls.

Blood pressure increases aren't worth it. Hope you stick to your vow.

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Hooray! Now if only all the other zealots would hang up their "bibles", too!

All of my PCs have run trouble-free for years. And as I relearn how to care and feed for a Mac, my Macs are doing the same. Niether side wants to admit it, but all the major platforms have a place. None are inferior. It's just a matter of what you want to do with your computer.

If all the Mac zealots would ditch the snobbery, Apple would win a LOT of users. EVERY PC user I know who won't touch a Mac dislikes the snobby superiority that Mac users exude. And I have to admit, the thing I like least about rejoining the Mac community is being near all these people who turn up their nose at anything non-Apple. I understand the Mac community is a minority, and has a stick-together kind of mentality, but it makes the Mac community look like absolute morons to everyone else, and keeps a LOT of users away. If Vista weren't right around the corner, it would have kept ME away, too. My last Mac was a PowerMac 6100, and I was happily a Windows user until I heard MS's Trusted Computing plans for Vista.

Anyway, I'm glad to hear you're getting off the soapbox, David. If everyone else did the same and just USED their Macs and sung their praises instead of bashing everything else, Apple would lose its "cult of snobs" image and become something more broadly appealing. People should try to act more like a typical blissful Tivo user, and less like the card-carrying Slashdot MS haters. Honestly, not even religious zealotry is worth the amount of keyboard banging that the Mac vs Windows arguments have generated!

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"perjury of death"? Interesting. Maybe "penalty" fits better, huh?

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David. If everyone else did the same and just USED their Macs and sung their praises instead of bashing everything else.

I agree. I quietly win over my students with the proficiency of the product. I have a multimedia lab with over 30 macs. Kids come in and during the first week of class do nothing, but complain. By the middle of the semester they are working gangbusters. By the end of the semester they are buying Mac Laptops or iMacs for college. I have one boy who just told me yesterday how much he hated Macs before he started my class. Now he is fighting with his father to buy a Mac for their home and he is winning him over with the iLife Suite and the OSX operating system. We have every right to be smug, but you attract more flies with honey than vinegar.

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