Disappointed early impression

[Spyhop]

For me, spec-wise "value for money" of a computer (specifically laptops, I don't think buy a desktop again) is way down the list of factors when deciding what to buy. I will spend so much time using a computer, the extent to which I enjoy using the hardware and software blows all other factors out of the water. I enjoy OS X and Mac hardware more than anything else I've used.

It's a bit scary that Windows is so pervasive that this deviant behaviour must be dissected and justified to a far greater extent than most other consumer choices.

 

[jaybee]

It's because this forum is often visited by bored apple bashers like yourself. Most likely upset by the fact that apple's general prescence is increasing at a somewhat rapid pace in the computer world. Your arguments and 'complaints' are tired and old.

Have you considered that people use the "New Posts" button at the top of these forums rather than spend their life seeking out a specific mac forum to bash macs? I've got better things to do personally but just happened to see this thread and popped in. So sue me.

Perhaps I have better things to be doing with my time then try and justify MY [highly researched and considered] purchases to some people who clearly don't have a clue?

Either way, I use XP/W7/OS X on a daily basis and am certainly more qualified to comment on the pros/cons of both systems than 99% of people.

Anyone is "qualified" to give an opinon about an experience on an internet forum. Be it about a mac or whatever. Mac owners get so upset and feel they have to defend something they bought into, almost as if you are guilty. I'm saying if you considered to discuss it and put forward some constructive reasons as to why it is better than Windows, this would provide welcome discussion for the OP I'm sure. Instead it seems to turn into people pointing out that any opinion siding with Windows is "wrong" or "trolling". Maybe you should focus your efforts into some good information about macs.

For me, spec-wise "value for money" of a computer (specifically laptops, I don't think buy a desktop again) is way down the list of factors when deciding what to buy. I will spend so much time using a computer, the extent to which I enjoy using the hardware and software blows all other factors out of the water. I enjoy OS X and Mac hardware more than anything else I've used.

It's a bit scary that Windows is so pervasive that this deviant behaviour must be dissected and justified to a far greater extent than most other consumer choices.

That's a fair point well made, but to me, happiness in using software and an OS is equal to the productivity and ease of use/integration you get from it. So for me, I couldn't invest my time/money/learning to something that did something in a more "fun" way, if it did an inferior job getting from A to B.

 

[joey1211]

Cat amongst the pigeons...

Should Apple be classed as an ocuk competitor?

 

[Spyhop]

That's a fair point well made, but to me, happiness in using software and an OS is equal to the productivity and ease of use/integration you get from it. So for me, I couldn't invest my time/money/learning to something that did something in a more "fun" way, if it did an inferior job getting from A to B.

Would you agree that, price of entry aside, OS X is the best desktop Unix? The existence of Windows is irrelevant to many "A to B" journeys being taken.

 

[FreeStream]

Anyone is "qualified" to give an opinon about an experience on an internet forum. Be it about a mac or whatever. Mac owners get so upset and feel they have to defend something they bought into, almost as if you are guilty. I'm saying if you considered to discuss it and put forward some constructive reasons as to why it is better than Windows, this would provide welcome discussion for the OP I'm sure. Instead it seems to turn into people pointing out that any opinion siding with Windows is "wrong" or "trolling". Maybe you should focus your efforts into some good information about macs.

It's been done before. Search these very forums.

 

[Macro]

Either way, I use XP/W7/OS X on a daily basis and am certainly more qualified to comment on the pros/cons of both systems than 99% of people.

Really? Great example of the attitude that seems to go hand in glove with some Apple "devotees" and get's them a bad name.

In any case, it's interesting to hear the mutterings in the industry about Apple moving further to iOS based systems on the desktop in the future and away from OSX/Unix based OS. Ultimately although whether that pans out that way is anyones guess. Historically System 7 was abandoned (people seem to forget OSX didn't originate with Apple, it was bought in from Nextstep once Jobs returned to Apple) so I don't doubt Apple will drop OSX if they thought iOS was the future as the "true" pure Apple OS. Having said that it'd be a sad day to see Apple go too far down the "Ezmode" road.

Apples increased market cap and success it shouldn't be forgotten, is almost exclusively down to iOS, the iPhone and iPad. Mac and OSX revenue changes in the market have contributed much less and for the first time in a long time OSX has a worthy competitor in Windows 7.

Good to see Apple continue to innovate and give the rest of the market a run for it's money. Competition is good for everyone, including Microsoft. It took OSX 10.3 (or 4 maybe) to get them to focus on Windows 7 and Firefox/Chrome to focus on IE9 (which despite the rantings of fanboys is generally accepted to be one of the more promising of the imminent browsers). Vista and IE6 are a great example of how it goes wrong when there is no competition in the market.

There's no doubt about the quality of Apple equipment, it's never likely to be mainstream because it's image and desirability is in large part due to it being more expensive and a little more niche. A great example of this is the iPhone. A couple of years on with little change, the world and his wife has one and it lost it's "magic" exclusivity and desirability leaving the door open for Android to take chunks out of it's market. If anything Apple became the "Microsoft" of the smartphone market, when was the last time anyone said "you've got an iPhone? Wow! Let's have a look!"

As an aside I'd love to see Microsoft and Apple work closer together again on some common ground to take on the like of Google who run the risk of being the new "evil empire", but that's a debate for another thread, I've side tracked this one too much already.

 

[Buchanan0204]

Perhaps I have better things to be doing with my time then try and justify MY [highly researched and considered] purchases to some people who clearly don't have a clue?

This Apple Vs. PC argument rages every day across the world and to be honest I can't be bothered now to spell out my reasons for having a mac anymore.

Either way, I use XP/W7/OS X on a daily basis and am certainly more qualified to comment on the pros/cons of both systems than 99% of people.

What annoys me is that people brand people like me who have kit for valid reasons as idiots with money/fanboys or something equally ridiculous.

Now, back to the topic...

Someone thinks highly of themselves.

 

[Spyhop]

Really? Great example of the arrogance that seems to go hand in glove with being an Apple devotee and get's them the bad name they tend to have.

It's true though. A lot of Mac bashing tends to come from people who almost certainly have little or no real experience with OS X, thus they aren't qualified to assess it. Keep an eye on "General Discussion" for examples the next time the periodic ruckus unfolds.

On the other hand, most OS X users on here also have extensive experience with Windows.

 

[FreeStream]

Really? Great example of the arrogance that seems to go hand in glove with being an Apple devotee and get's them the bad name they tend to have.

Someone thinks highly of themselves.

My comment refers to people commenting because they have spent 10 minutes using Apple kit where as i've spent all my life using pretty much everything up from an Amstrad.

Using a device for 10 minutes at your mates/in a shop/wherever does not give you the ability to comment on anything apart from maybe build quality.

The problem is many people have some irrational hatred of Apple/Apple kit and thus must have a go at anyone for absolutely any reason a Mac owner gives to owning one.

Your basically saying I'm up myself for my experience, maybe so. But what if I came along and said "I bought a Mac Pro because I can", gets me no credibility at all either?

We are stuck between a rock and a hard place. Either I'm a fool with more money than sense or someone who is up himself for considering all the options, fantastic.

 

[Macro]

My comment refers to people commenting because they have spent 10 minutes using Apple kit where as i've spent all my life using pretty much everything up from an Amstrad.

Using a device for 10 minutes at your mates/in a shop/wherever does not give you the ability to comment on anything apart from maybe build quality.

The problem is many people have some irrational hatred of Apple/Apple kit and thus must have a go at anyone for absolutely any reason a Mac owner gives to owning one.

Your basically saying I'm up myself for my experience, maybe so. But what if I came along and said "I bought a Mac Pro because I can", gets me no credibility at all either?

We are stuck between a rock and a hard place. Either I'm a fool with more money than sense or someone who is up himself for considering all the options, fantastic.

To be fair I did go back and edit my post before I read your most recent (above), it was a little harsh and I apologise if it was a little personal. Having said that, there is a middle ground and your 99% quote was somewhat extreme one way. I'm both an Apple certified engineer and Microsoft MSCE for example although granted that may not be the most common combination of qualifications

 

[FreeStream]

To be fair I did go back and edit my post before I read your most recent (above), it was a little harsh and I apologise if it was a little personal. Having said that, there is a middle ground. I'm both an Apple certified engineer and Microsoft MSCE for example although granted that may not be the most common combination of qualifications

No problem

Why have you got both!?

 

[Macro]

No problem

Why have you got both!?

To be honest both platforms have more common ground than people tend to think. My career has led me through being a generalist to a specialist in both platforms (although at different times) over the years.

FWIW anyone who enjoys a Apple vs Microsoft argument should watch "pirates of silicon valley" if they've not seen it.

 

[FreeStream]

To be honest both platforms have more common ground than people tend to think. My career has led me through being a generalist to a specialist in both platforms (although at different times) over the years.

FWIW anyone who enjoys a Apple vs Microsoft argument should watch "pirates of silicon valley" if they've not seen it.

Watching it now

And I couldn't agree more, mostly I find that people don't like change, and won't accept that actually the differences between doing basic operations isn't that different.

I don't bat an eyelid when swapping from Windows to OS X but it causes some people to have nightmares

 

[Faustus]

First off Athanor in post 66 made some excellent points - very good post.

I'm not sure the OP will warm to OS X. I felt as he does almost from the start with my iMac and OS X and twelve months on that feeling hasn't changed. I still have the iMac and still have a Windows PC but my computer of choice is almost always Windows 7.

If you were to ask me why I like W7 and not OS X the answer would be that I can't really tell you as I find it hard to put my finger on the reason. Why do you love one person and not another? It's a question I can't answer and it's the same with W7 and OS X. Perhaps I'm more familiar with Windows? I don't say OS X is bad because it clearly isn't but the bottom line is that I just prefer the Windows way of doing things.

Is this trolling, I hope people don't think so as I'm trying to be totally honest.

 

[JonnyGLC]

It does.

Firefox takes bloody ages to start and is generally poor on my Mac Pro 2009 (SSD) or MBP (2010) or my old 2007 MBP or my dads iBook.

I haven't used Chrome but Safari works fine for me with the added extensions.

I very very rarely use Firefox.

Yes but Concorde, we all know how hilarous your mac ventures are.

It was once the norm to come into one of the mac forums and see a new topic every day about something else that has gone wrong with one of your macs, so it's hard to evaulate the performance of anything based off of your experiences.

Firefox opens instantly for me on a 2009 MBP with an SSD, that's from boot.

 

[_TubbZ_]

My friend was in the same boat as the OP. First he loved his mac, then he seemed to hate it and now he has gone out and also brought a macbook air to use as a sort of geeky chiwawa like accessory. He takes it to out to sit with it and drink coffee while messing around on facebook. Knob.

Personally I feel that I know so much about a windows system that it just works for me. Workwise I have used several incarnations of linux and got on with Ubuntu and CentOS rather well. But then again I could happily live with Apple's hardware.

My advice, stick with it for a few more weeks you might like it and have a eureka moment. If you still don't like it by then, take it back - nothing lost. (A work colleague of mine did exactly this)

 

[FreeStream]

Yes but Concorde, we all know how hilarous your mac ventures are.

It was once the norm to come into one of the mac forums and see a new topic every day about something else that has gone wrong with one of your macs, so it's hard to evaulate the performance of anything based off of your experiences.

Firefox opens instantly for me on a 2009 MBP with an SSD, that's from boot.

True, however only one related to the operating system (MP2009) which was fixed, eventually.

I will reduce my overall opinion and experiences down to this: The amount of things which frustrate me on a daily basis when using Windows far outweighs the Mac Pro 2009 issue which has been my main gripe over the last 3 years of owning an Intel based mac.

Also, in your opinion why should one use Firefox 4b4 over Safari 5 when it does everything I ask it to?

 

[jaybee]

That's funny someone mentioned Pirates of Silicone Valley as I got that out to watch the other day. Maybe that's why I drifted in here. Anyway, coming back to the topic, someone above said one of the things macs are good for is the quality of build and hardware. Whilst I would agree with the build quality statement, in terms of physical underlying hardware surely there is nothing special about the components used inside a mac other than that they are over priced if you source them through official Apple routes. A bit like if you buy a "Microsoft Xbox" hard disk as opposed to..."a" hard disk. Would this be fair to say?

 

[Housey]

To me OSX and my MacBook Pro are where I spend my personal browsing and general 'stuff' time, gaming, business and trying stuff are where I spend my PC time. Both have merits but once I became familiar with the OSX way of doing things, the feel of the MacBook (screen, mousepad, keyboard, pure sex of its build) I really feel my laptops pale in comparison. I still have to reboot an application on my PC's most weeks, I never have to on my MacBook, not so far.

I don't do fanboy, I'm an adult older enough to most of your dads but to me the Mac after millions of years using tech (ok, that's is an exaggeration) is nicer and I don't give a flying **** which is the most secure, best for running stuff I never use, best to write for, best because, well it's so clever because.....I simply want to open the lid and do stuff and for that the MacBook craps on my PC's......well unless I want to game then it loses, BIG.

 

[FreeStream]

That's funny someone mentioned Pirates of Silicone Valley as I got that out to watch the other day. Maybe that's why I drifted in here. Anyway, coming back to the topic, someone above said one of the things macs are good for is the quality of build and hardware. Whilst I would agree with the build quality statement, in terms of physical underlying hardware surely there is nothing special about the components used inside a mac other than that they are over priced if you source them through official Apple routes. A bit like if you buy a "Microsoft Xbox" hard disk as opposed to..."a" hard disk. Would this be fair to say?

It would be fair to say that.

Build Quality + OS X = Worth the extra money in my view. Esp if you grab a bargain like I did with my 2010 MBP!