Apple vs. PC

The whole 'Apples are the best thing in the world' issue has been bugging me for a while, so I thought I'd take this opportunity to rant

I don't get it! I really don't. They are a PC. A PC that can run a proprietary OS, that is similar to most others out there - better than Windows, worse than some LINUX ones. They make you pay through the nose for a little badge saying you have an Apple... that's the only difference I can see. It's like wanting a pair of designer jeans, just cause they're expensive - they might look nicer than the majority of others out there, but you might suit an entirely cheaper style and look 100x better! Or for a more relevant example - Alienware - you pay loads for a little badge (and some weird testing, that I wouldn't want done to my lovely new computer!)

None of my die hard Mac friends can give me a reason why their machine differs & is so much better. Some of them listed a few apps they preferred on the Mac, apps are apps, anyone can knock up something better - and if it's not cross platform, then it can't be that impressive!

I've had to use Macs and found them alright, I didn't notice much difference at all once I got used to the different UI (except that there was only one button on my mouse - but I do realize you can mod that).

Anyway, I'm interested to hear your arguments, Mac lovers, as to why you're not geek sheep, into expensive fashion...

Eagerly Awaiting your Responses,
Snow

WHAT??...have you flipping gone MAD?? I am not even going to respond to this post...until I can get control of my anger/laughter...lol

Crazy mac person...

I could never use a Mac on principle.

I like a computer that i can open up and mess around with.

Plus that one button mouse thing has me confused.

Can you play counterstrike on a Mac ???

not going to respond? surely you have contradicted yourself by posting?

Okay, I'll get into it. First of all, the one button thing is bunk. All you have to do is plug a two button mouse into any ol' USB port and a right click opens up a contextual menu just as it does in Windows. There is no need for any mods. I switched to Mac after using Windows for years, and on my laptop, there is no effort involved in hitting control and clicking for the contextual menu.

As for paying through the nose. I don't think so! Macs aren't your bottom of the line PC's. They're top notch machines decked out with the best and latest hardware. Find a comparable PC and you'll see that the Mac will most likely be cheaper. Do anything else but compare similar machines (like most people do) and you might as well say that a Car with a puny I4 is better than a 400 hp Z06 Corvette because it's cheaper. The final argument for price is this: How much is Windows Vista going to cost? $399 for the top of the line version. You may say, "Well, that's the top of the line version, though!" Well, the OS X top of the line version costs $129 dollars. That's cheaper than the cheapest, crappiest Windows Vista upgrade. There are no OS X upgrade versions or a cheaper version with less features. Releasing several versions of an OS is got to be one of the dumbest things I've ever heard. At any rate, that's 270 dollars to the OS only.

As for software. There are two things that stick out in my mind immediate that make OS X Tiger such a pleasure to use where there is nothing comparable to in XP. Vista supposedly has them, but Tiger has for almost two years. Spotlight: The instant search. The search as you type genius little app built right in. I press command-space and start typing the name of any application, filename (or the contents of a file with text in it such as PSDs, Word docs or PDF files), folders or preferences. The results pop up almost instantly on my 3 year old Mac (which for everyone's knowledge has never needed to be serviced despite how many times it's been dropped). The second is called Exposé. The two settings I use are 'show desktop' and 'show all windows'. When I move my mouse to a corner of my screen or press a certain function key, all the windows will slide off my screen so I can access my desktop, or all the windows will organize themself on the screen so I can see them all. Those two things programs more time than you could possibly imagine. Not to mention, Apple computers come with iLife, the amazing suite of applications for movies, music and photos. They also come with Safari, my favorite browser of all time. Mail (sort of like Outlook, only better). Automator, which is a useful application for creating all kinds of workflows in an easy drag and drop interface. iChat, an MSN Messenger, AIM and .Mac chatting program all in one with beautiful graphics and amazing video conferencing features. And of course, QuickTime, which unfortunately isn't free for the Pro version. What useful programs come with Windows? I can only think of Windows Media Player, to be honest.

Finally, all I have to say is ease of use. How many times have you struggled with connecting to a wireless network? How about getting that printer to work properly (or wirelessly)? What about connecting that digital camera? Well, on the Mac, a printer takes a minute to setup, cameras don't need any drivers and Internet Connect, the wireless internet utility, makes it a cinch to connect and it will never switch between signals.

I'm going to skip reliability for the most part here. I really didn't have too many problems with XP crashing, but my Mac crashes about once a year, seriously. When an app does freeze, though, sorting it out in Tiger is much easier, however.

I'm going to bed now.

Oh yeah, and Macs are magnets for extremely sexy women. That's probably the most important thing.

So you use your Mac to go on the pull ???

I didn't say, lets compare OSx with XP/Vista... I was comparing machines. There's a whole range of OSs out there for both, if Apple choose to only supply their OS to their machines, that's their decision. That does mean that you can cite OSx as a reason for liking Macs, but please compare to the features offered by other OSs if you do. It may seem like a one horse race, but for the discerning few, it isn't.

And I looked at comparable machines, and their prices seem totally shocking (Except the 12' laptops - I don't know why all the rest of the world goes up in price when you get to 12' and Apple goes down... that's a cool deal).

And I'm not completely against buying a Mac... if they were cheap for what you got, I'd be in there (well, depending on how much I was using .net at the time ). But there seems to be this die hard snobbery amongst Mac lovers that I don't quite get... They're just another system, with a little name on them.

Anyhow,
I'm interested to hear your arguments,

Snow

Its called "Brand Brain Washing" !!

It's completely unfair to just argue the hardware! As it is a proprietary OS, hell, I can't even think of an analogy to show how absurd it is to try and say Macs aren't better because of hardware.

Yes macs can run counter strike source. In fact Macs can run any windows software natively tee hee.

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So the reason everyone is crazy for Macs is OSx - you'd all be happy buying another PC system if Apple decided that they weren't going to restrict their OS.

Makes sense...

Snow

Nope, I buy them for the quality. Apple hardware is simply ace. I only buy the portables though. i.e. Macbook Pro, before that a powerbook etc etc.. Feature per feature you can't beat apples laptops. They are 1" thick, weigh 5lbs, are sexy looking, and work better than you expect. It is consistently a joy to use and I find the over all look, feel and behavior to be absolutely awesome. Its just a better way of computing imo.

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I'm completely in love with my little IBM - I guess I'm biased too!

Nah you just have lower standards and are willing to accept things "that work well enough."

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Haha, my IBM works beautifully thank you... and it gives me new little surprises almost every day about how wonderful it is. Saying that - if I had enough cash to buy a tablet, I'd ditch it in a flash

To each their own. I have used thinkpads etc.. Its a brick o slug. Not a fan but I like nice thing heh. Hell I have even worked on SGI's. I just always come back to the haughty mac world. And yes my Macs have gotten me some boo-tay. Chicks dig em. I have had a few women walk up and say "Nice laptop." and it goes on from there.

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Sad women... Actually my friends that are girls would probably be impressed -- freaks.

My IBM is tiny and light. It's a T40 - I know they aren't all - but some comparable sized thinkpads weigh & have v. similar dimensions to iBooks. And I prefer the look of mine - I think it looks like a hard hitting dev machine!

I bet the girls that like iBooks want sensitive guys that cry at movies... sissys.