PC to Mac: My Not-So-Genius Switch

[digitalfrog]

I agree with MoSXS, OSX is good if you are willing to make lot of sacrifices.

Since I switched, what I do with my computer is much more effective - I had to sacrifice been a mini systems administrator. Now I'm back to be a user ...

[krmathis]

^ Like doing real work, instead of updating the antivirus application.

[romanesq]

Originally Posted by digitalfrog

I agree with MoSXS, OSX is good if you are willing to make lot of sacrifices.

Since I switched, what I do with my computer is much more effective - I had to sacrifice been a mini systems administrator. Now I'm back to be a user ...

Not sure I understand this but I will say that it's somewhat baffling seeing folks go down the old mac vs. windows stuff.

Macs are now on the latest intel core duo chips and you can run Windoze very nicely should you need to with an odd program here and there. Some folks are doing that but less often as I understand they feel more productive on the Mac OS.

For obvious reasons.

[craiglester]

What obvious reasons? I fins myself as productive on a pc as a mac, when i HAVE to use one. In fact, because i know it better, I'd say i'm a little MORE productive on a PC, So where is all the increased productivity coming from?

All my AV software etc run and update automatically, as does my backup, defrag and other system utilities. My PC is fast enough for me not to even notice when that's happening anyway.

So what's the productivity sapping administration people are losing all this time over?

Maybe it's waiting for the interminably long start up time for itunes? That really IS poor compared to the Mac version. I wonder how deliberate that is?

[romanesq]

Originally Posted by craiglester

What obvious reasons?

So what's the productivity sapping administration people are losing all this time over?

Maybe it's waiting for the interminably long start up time for itunes? That really IS poor compared to the Mac version. I wonder how deliberate that is?

Hey sorry but I wouldn't know how long it takes to open an application, iTunes or another on windoze as I avoid it wherever possible. You'll have to ask other folks on their productivity experience on the Apple OS.

Helped a buddy out not long ago getting remarried and needed to clean up his machine. It was utterly taken over by <moderator edit> and such.

I've used both platforms going back to the mid 80s but now will only use windoze if needed on my MacBook Pro.

Start up? What's that? I have open a dozen applications and just shut the lid to my notebook and they are all available instantly.

If you are talking about booting up, I think I will do that twice this year.

[Kirosia]

I find this whole OS war thing infuriatingly hilarious. You have insecure hypocrites on both sides blasting the other for talking smack, then proceeding to do the exact same thing. And the few guys who ARE being reasonable just end up getting trolled. It's obvious an experienced person can be highly productive on either OS, just as an inexperienced one can screw up on both.

I have Windows. My neighbor has a Mac. She asked me for help once, and even though I didn't know the OS, I tried to help. (Wasn't that hard to grasp honestly) There was no condescension, mudslinging or knife-fights instigated by either person; no animosity at all. We even ate pretzels afterward. (No churros, those are for ignorant *****)

[dmashta]

limited in terms of choice and variety. i don't doubt that for any task you need to perform on a mac, you can always find an app to let you accomplish said task. but just cause you happily settled on a few available apps and don't feel hindered doesn't mean you weren't limited to begin with. you can't ignore the fact that for every application on the mac, there are tons more to choose from in windows. if i lived in a small town where the only car dealership is a ford, i would be perfectly fine driving a ford and won't feel limited in any sense of the word...just like everybody else driving a ford around town. now contrast that to living in a big city with multiple dealerships and all of a sudden, your choices open up. you can shop around for the best price, best gas mileage, performance, etc.

we all know apple dropped firewire on all macbooks other than the pro. so duet owners looking to upgrade their laptops are forced to go with a MBP if they want to continue using the duet. now you might be upgrading to a MBP anyway so you don't see a problem but that doesn't mean your options and upgrade path weren't any less limited or fixed.

the result of of all these limitations is rather apparent. the macs crowd is a homogenous bunch. everyone has their shiny, aluminum macbooks, running itunes, iphoto, imail, or iwhathaveyou. it's like a cult of drones.

needless to say, less options mean less complexity and simpler decisions which you can interpret as higher productivity. there are many who choose to trade in complexity of the big city for a simpler life in a small town. nothing wrong with that.

[Al4x]

Originally Posted by Kirosia

I find this whole OS war thing infuriatingly hilarious. You have insecure hypocrites on both sides blasting the other for talking smack, then proceeding to do the exact same thing. And the few guys who ARE being reasonable just end up getting trolled. It's obvious an experienced person can be highly productive on either OS, just as an inexperienced one can screw up on both.

I have Windows. My neighbor has a Mac. She asked me for help once, and even though I didn't know the OS, I tried to help. (Wasn't that hard to grasp honestly) There was no condescension, mudslinging or knife-fights instigated by either person; no animosity at all. We even ate pretzels afterward. (No churros, those are for ignorant *****)

nice comment,

imagine the vast armies youd have if it turned to war!

i have microsoft stuff just cause its cheaper and the whole games/program compatibility,
ive never used a mac cause of the cost so cant do any bashing [it does seem like im missing out tho] and i no noone with one

anyway, bash away

[dmashta]

Originally Posted by ajstark

To a certain extent what you say is true. But with the MAC/UNIX it is much harder to damage the operating system because the OS is run at higher privileges that a normal users account. A normal user does not have the rights to update the OS only admins can do that.

For example, my son is gamer. In order to play a game he needs admin rights on his PC. This implies that the game has modified the OS in someway. Why does a game need admin rights to function? This is a flaw in the OS - the OS should never let some third party update it.

Microsoft has always added features at the expense of security. They are an easier target to crack that a UNIX system.

i don't disagree and i do question the way microsoft does many things. but the security arguement that so many people conveniently use just isn't that valid in my opinion. using your example, windows is a popular gaming platform because microsoft chose to support gamers and make their OS more accessible to third-party game developers. inenvitably, they expose themselves to the risks that come with it, be it installing custom drivers or whatever i dunno. that's just par for the course. but if microsoft went the other way, in effect locking down their system and making it no less easy to support gaming than on the mac, then won't you say those complaints are irrelevant.

linux/unix is inherently more secure because they're usually tailored and built for specific tasks. unlike windows, which is more of a general purpose OS supporting different users for different purposes, on linux you don't have misc processes or services running. almost everything there was compiled and built for a purpose and as needed. you can say that windows try to be too many things for too many people and not surprisingly, that is its biggest strength and weakness.

[britishbane]

uh... did anyone look at that link in romanesq's post?

[digitalfrog]

Originally Posted by britishbane

uh... did anyone look at that link in romanesq's post?

I did now - it's ****, this has to be removed....

[immtbiker]

Instruction sets aside, can anyone tell me why Safari opens a webpage almost twice as fast as IE?
That is extremely useful, especially when cruising Head-Fi

[Kirosia]

Why are you using IE?

[immtbiker]

Because my XP laptop is corporate and our diagnostics won't work with any other GUI.

[Kirosia]

So you can't use Firefox or Opera? That.. definitely sucks.