Applepeels on those times we're glad we got a Mac

I switched about a year and a half ago. So I am used to how the install process is on Windows. So when I first got my PowerBook and was installing a program. I opened the disk image and was instructed to drag the program to the Application folder. I did that and then was expecting it to do something else. I was waiting for an installation setup, nothing. I looked around in the App. folder and launched the program and it ran like it should. I was almost dumbfounded that it would be so easy. No restarts, no time consuming install windows, it just works.

I will have to seconds Narco's comment about the OS/computer working for you and not the other way around. I mean this is why we strive to build faster computers. So they will do are tasks for us faster. But it seems that other companies dont get this.

Dave

Im with 33. If you know what youre doing the computer runs perfect.

Wow, I must have one helluva Windows machine. And firstly, no, I don't come here to bash. I really do like Macs even though I'm running XP MCE 2005. I've read through the comments and some problems about XP I've read about are:

"It was a bitch getting files off of my friend's digital camera." Well, my Sony has a built in card reader that accepts many formats. I pop my CF card in and it's Photoshop time instantly.

"Flash drives take forever to load!" I'm on a 3.8 Ghz P4 processor with 1 GB of RAM. Flash drives are recognized very quickly on my machine. Is your friend on a P2 or something?

"Vista f**ked up my friend's Windows machine." And it's a beta. Need I say more? When I ran Windows Millennium, I admit it sucked worse than anything else available. It literally froze 3 times a day. However, my XP machine freezes about once every 2 months, and that's usually because I do something stupid.

General complaint I hear:
"Windows has tons of viruses! Mac has none lol." Here's a secret; If you know what you're doing on the internet and have a couple free programs, you'll stay virus-free. At least, I have. And, if I do manage to get a virus, it's automatically deleted before it can mess up my machine. (PS: IE sucks, and I never use it. That's probably the wisest thing I've done).

Also, I have a question for the Mac people; How come Macs are seen as the standard for graphic design and video editing? I am asking this in all seriousness and am not trying to be a douche.

I'm not saying that Mac is bad in any way, I actually appreciate it a lot. I just think Mac owners tend to think a little to highly of Stevie J's work.

My brother writes for some computer magazines and he told me once that any time he writes *anything* bad about Apple he receives an unprecedented amount of rabid email from fanboys. Reading this blog entry reminds me of this.

I've just bought an iMac after a fair amount of dithering. This isn't my first experience of Apple. I had a G3 iBook and I used Macs almost exclusively at Uni.

The iMac and Mac OS X are both pretty good pieces of hardware and software but by no means are they leaps and bounds ahead of Windows or any other OS. I think the fundamental difference between the two is the fact that it is much harder (although not impossible) to temporarily elevate priveledges which linux and os X do OK. I don't find this OS much more stable. I've had multiple programs crash out on me for no reason (with even less explanation than Windows gives). My iBook is almost unusable most of the time with frequent (and unexplained kernel panics) and I haven't had the time or inclination to completely wipe it. My brother's powerbook was prone to kernel panics too.

There are a couple of things here:

Mac are better because you can do everything "out of the box". That's because Microsoft are being sued for bundling software because it is considered anti-competitive. Apple apparently don't do that. Apple aren't ligitious like Microsoft either. Also Apple believe in consumer rights. iTunes DRM anyone?

Face it - Apple are a big multinational corporation no different from any other. They would happily sell your granny to bump the share price.

The comments here are mainly b*llocks. "Windows XP can't do zip files without third party software" - Yes it can. "When you print nothing appears to allow you to cancel it without going through lots of menus" - yes it does, look in the bottom right of the taskbar. "Windows asks me what I want to do with the files on a pendrive" - how rude! "It doesn't appear as a drive on the desktop" - Personally, I don't want it to.

A mac user (which everyone here will be) will always find it a little harder to find things in Windows, and conversely a windows user may get confused by a mac (don't kid yourself that the mac is easy to use if you're used to windows) Macs are not necessarily easier to fix than PCs as they aren't. (I am a computer engineer in a multi-platform environment) To the guy who reckons nobody will call him for advice if they had a mac - not true.

Macs and PCs are different. Get over it.

BTW - I will never agree that the mighty mouse is a good mouse. Apple keyboards rock but that mouse is rotten. ;-D

Play nice.

Solo,

I can only call 'em as I see 'em. XP should support my Fujifilm S5000, and yet I tried two different systems and I had to install drivers both times. Will this always happen? No.
Is it really irritating when it does? Yes.
I've had the same problem with an Epson Stylus 825 and a few HP printers. And, I see a lot of problems with drivers that on paper shouldn't happen, but nevertheless do.

C'mon, this is mostly bullshit. I use & love my Mac, but XP handles photos and cameras pretty decently. And the built in image viewer is alot more Mac-like than the mess that is iPhoto.

To zip a file or folder in XP, right click the file or folder, then select "Send To/Compressed (zipped) Folder." Voila. No need for Winzip in Windows. Funny, I had the oppposite problem recently. I was frustrated by my inability to find an equivalent utility on my Macbook, and finally downloaded Dropzip. I must have missed this "Create archive" option.

I had to help a WinXP user over the phone last night for a good 45 minutes. All she needed to do was create a .zip archive, but with no preinstalled utility she had to search the net for WinZIP, and had a terrible time finding and using the app.

The "Create Archive" option in the OS X Finder is super-handy.

Marc,

I couldn't disagree with you more, I've used every flavor of Windows since 95, and because I know what I'm doing I find Windows damned frustrating. But, more importantly, what do I find that's so great about OSX?

X11.
PDFs on the fly.
ZIP files with just a few mouse clicks.
Instant connectivity with cameras, USB drives, printers.
Ridiculously easy wireless connectivity. (I spent a good chunk of time last week pounding four Windows computers into submission to work with a router; Norton Antivirus 2006 was part of the problem).
FileVault, Secure Empty Trash, and Keychain. Or three ways to make your system secure without having a compsci degree.
Spotlight.
Expose.
And, easy drop-n-drop install/uninstall for nearly every application.

As for the CD problem, that's a hardware fault (a plastic toothpick in the right place can fix this) and I've seen a Sony VAIO and a Dell Precision jam up in interesting ways too.
No one should say Macs are bulletproof, but I think it's a perfectly acceptable opinion to like the Mac better without being called a 'fluffy airhead.'

Back when my sister was a PC user, I remember once she bought a card modem to put in her computer. It was so complex and hard to use, and the drivers so damned poorly written, that she ended up just putting it off to the side and never using it.

Um, if that happens even 2% of the time, I have to ask you, WHICH computer platform is a better value???