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I'm not trying to stir up too much conflict, but...

N

neon indian

macrumors newbie
Original poster
so, a lot of tech sites i go to are very anti-apple, and often poke fun at sites like macrumors for being so biased toward apple products. what i can't tell from the limited amount of information i see in the screenshots, threads and such that are posted, however, is whether or not macrumors members are actually so biased in their purchases, so i wanted to see if it was true.

so, i'd like to ask a few questions, to see if the stereotypes of mac fans are true

1. What do you like most about your apple products?
2. What do you find to be the largest advantage of your apple products over comparable products from other companies?
3. Do you find this advantage, among others you may see, to be worth the mark-up for the apple product over the alternative?
4. Why might you find OS X to be a superior OS to Ubuntu or Fedora, or any linux distribution? why might you prefer it to Windows?
5. Why might you prefer iOS to Android, Windows Phone 7, Meego or WebOS?
6. This one's the kicker
If a non-apple company was to put out a product with equal specs to an apple one, with a similar, "minimal" design (think cr-48), and the only real differences were that the alternative product is cheaper and that it doesn't have the apple logo on it, which would you buy?

thanks for answering, if you do. I just want an unbiased look at mac users, i can't believe that they're as bad as some sites say (fyi, i'm not an anti-apple zealot either, i own an iPod Classic as well as a used Macbook Air)
 
I'll bite...

1. What do you like most about your apple products?
The reason I use Apple products is for the ecosystem - not the OS or the hardware, but the way Apple integrates their different products with one another. I guess that's an advantage of being a company that creates their own software AND hardware.

2. What do you find to be the largest advantage of your apple products over comparable products from other companies?
As above. The integration. I like being able to have my contacts, calendars, etc, automatically synced via the cloud between my Mac, iPhone and iPad without the need for any 3rd party software.

3. Do you find this advantage, among others you may see, to be worth the mark-up for the apple product over the alternative?
Probably not, but in the end if you want those features then you're going to have to pay up.

4. Why might you find OS X to be a superior OS to Ubuntu or Fedora, or any linux distribution? why might you prefer it to Windows?
That the hardware and software are created to work as one, not like how Windows (and I guess Linux, Chrome OS, etc) are just licensed out and loaded on whatever machines the manufacturer wishes. I just find it easier to do what I want on a Mac - some people complain when they make the switch that it's much more complicated than Windows, but I honestly think the complete opposite. Something as little as Expose (er, Mission Control) is enough to keep me on the Mac side for now - window management in Windows is a nightmare, IMO.

5. Why might you prefer iOS to Android, Windows Phone 7, Meego or WebOS?
I'll be honest, I have both an iPhone 4 and a Galaxy S II. I like both for different reasons, but in the end the reason I switched back to the iPhone was because of the aforementioned cloud integration. Trying to sync my content from my computer to my Android device was a pain in the neck (though as for the phones themselves, I prefer the S II over the iPhone).

6. This one's the kicker
If a non-apple company was to put out a product with equal specs to an apple one, with a similar, "minimal" design (think cr-48), and the only real differences were that the alternative product is cheaper and that it doesn't have the apple logo on it, which would you buy?
If the alternative was capable of performing the same tasks as a Mac, then definitely. I'm not a sucker for a brand, I prefer function over form, and if a cheaper solution came along then I would consider it.
 
^^

Also, this is a MAC site, so it's not a question of bias.....It does what it say's on the tin.

If you bother to browse, you will also find many people use both Mac and PC, bootcamp is well supported too.

Maybe the "Bias" is on the other foot?
 
WillEH said:
You stir like a chicken noodle!
Click to expand...
not too much!

Macman45 said:
^^

Also, this is a MAC site, so it's not a question of bias.....It does what it say's on the tin.

If you bother to browse, you will also find many people use both Mac and PC, bootcamp is well supported too.

Maybe the "Bias" is on the other foot?
Click to expand...
i'm just wondering if the stereotypes i've seen of mac users are true (things like buying $30 apple battery chargers because they're made by apple, or claiming that a mac pro would be superior to a self-built desktop for anything but running OS X)
 
Nope, we all look for alternatives....Have a browse through the threads, and come to your own conclusion....It's the best way to gain opinion.

FWIW I was a Windows person once....I'm glad I'm not now, but I don't take every chance to knock the platform.
 
1. What do you like most about your apple products?
Mostly? Mac OS X. The hardware is nice too.

2. What do you find to be the largest advantage of your apple products over comparable products from other companies?
Mac OS X.

3. Do you find this advantage, among others you may see, to be worth the mark-up for the apple product over the alternative?
Having owned a mix of Apple computers, self-built desktops, and other companies' laptops.. yes. It is worth it. IF I can afford it 😉

4. Why might you find OS X to be a superior OS to Ubuntu or Fedora, or any linux distribution? why might you prefer it to Windows?
Absolutely. Mac OS X is like a Linux (well, FreeBSD) distro that can run commercial software that only exists on Windows otherwise. That, and it's one of the few good commercial *nix distros left!

The problem with smaller community-sourced distros is the people that tend to lead them act like 5 year olds; They insist that their favorite X11 UI is the one everyone should be using, even at the bane of their customerbase (see Unity on Ubuntu). This causes a sprawl of alternative distros and people branching off in different directions instead of making a concentrated effort on making the world a better place. go figure right?

Like I said, there are some downsides to the Apple Way (lots, in fact).. but for now OS X is still awesome in my eyes.

5. Why might you prefer iOS to Android, Windows Phone 7, Meego or WebOS?
I do not. I actually have an Android phone and an HP Touchpad. In my opinion, iOS should look like WebOS does on the touchpad. *dons flame suit* The grid of icons thing works just fine for iPhones though.

6. This one's the kicker
If a non-apple company was to put out a product with equal specs to an apple one, with a similar, "minimal" design (think cr-48), and the only real differences were that the alternative product is cheaper and that it doesn't have the apple logo on it, which would you buy?

If Microsoft decided to come out with a version of Windows that was essentially Ubuntu with Aero on top of it, and their entire suite of software - and they ported DirectX to Linux and made a decent product? I'd probably stop buying Macs.
 
neon indian said:
so, a lot of tech sites i go to are very anti-apple, and often poke fun at sites like macrumors for being so biased toward apple products. what i can't tell from the limited amount of information i see in the screenshots, threads and such that are posted, however, is whether or not macrumors members are actually so biased in their purchases, so i wanted to see if it was true.

so, i'd like to ask a few questions, to see if the stereotypes of mac fans are true

1. What do you like most about your apple products?
2. What do you find to be the largest advantage of your apple products over comparable products from other companies?
3. Do you find this advantage, among others you may see, to be worth the mark-up for the apple product over the alternative?
4. Why might you find OS X to be a superior OS to Ubuntu or Fedora, or any linux distribution? why might you prefer it to Windows?
5. Why might you prefer iOS to Android, Windows Phone 7, Meego or WebOS?
6. This one's the kicker
If a non-apple company was to put out a product with equal specs to an apple one, with a similar, "minimal" design (think cr-48), and the only real differences were that the alternative product is cheaper and that it doesn't have the apple logo on it, which would you buy?

thanks for answering, if you do. I just want an unbiased look at mac users, i can't believe that they're as bad as some sites say (fyi, i'm not an anti-apple zealot either, i own an iPod Classic as well as a used Macbook Air)
Click to expand...

try searching the Forum ... your questions have all been posted and answered many many times before
 
^^

What he said, look around and draw your own conclusions, nobody is forcing you to use MR, it's up to you!
 
neon indian said:
1. What do you like most about your apple products?
2. What do you find to be the largest advantage of your apple products over comparable products from other companies?
3. Do you find this advantage, among others you may see, to be worth the mark-up for the apple product over the alternative?
4. Why might you find OS X to be a superior OS to Ubuntu or Fedora, or any linux distribution? why might you prefer it to Windows?
5. Why might you prefer iOS to Android, Windows Phone 7, Meego or WebOS?
6. This one's the kicker
If a non-apple company was to put out a product with equal specs to an apple one, with a similar, "minimal" design (think cr-48), and the only real differences were that the alternative product is cheaper and that it doesn't have the apple logo on it, which would you buy?
Click to expand...

1. I like my MacBook Pro because it does what I want it to, and it has the exact design that I like. (Greys, Cool Whites, and Blacks)

2. It was all Steve Jobs. If you read his Biography you'd understand. He's the reason why Apple is so high.

3. Well, in terms of computers, you're buying an Apple computer because you want the design. If you're wanting more power/functionality, you get more bang for your buck with the alternative. As for their mobile products, it's all about being popular really, so yes.

4. I don't think it's superior, I just think it has Pros and Cons. Windows has Pros and Cons, and Linux Distros have Pros and Cons.

5. I don't. I actually prefer Windows Phone 7 to iOS.

6. CR-48 was a terrible example to compare to Apple products. Compare something like the upcoming Intel Ultrabooks or Vizio's upcoming computers. If I like it enough, then yes, I probably would.
 
1. What do you like most about your apple products?
OS X (not iOS).

2. What do you find to be the largest advantage of your apple products over comparable products from other companies?
Maintenance free. OS X is well thought throughout.

3. Do you find this advantage, among others you may see, to be worth the mark-up for the apple product over the alternative?
Hell yeah! My main home computer is a six year old iMac.

4. Why might you find OS X to be a superior OS to Ubuntu or Fedora, or any linux distribution? why might you prefer it to Windows?
See #2 + Design (not only aesthetically) + industry standard. few crashes. Once you've used it for a few days you realize someone has put a lot of thought in making it.

5. Why might you prefer iOS to Android, Windows Phone 7, Meego or WebOS?
I does the job. It's well integrated with everything else. I haven't tried anything else. If they were much cheaper than iPhones, I might give the a try. For the same price, I'll keep going Apple, thanks.

6. This one's the kicker
If a non-apple company was to put out a product with equal specs to an apple one, with a similar, "minimal" design (think cr-48), and the only real differences were that the alternative product is cheaper and that it doesn't have the apple logo on it, which would you buy?

IT'S NOT ABOUT THE SPECS! It sounds cliché, but it's true. Put native OS X on another cheaper computer and I'll be all over it!

Disclaimer: I also have a high end PC. I work in 2D/3D animation on OS X/Win 7
 
1. What do you like most about your apple products?

The only Apple specific thing I can think of is being able to have both Windows and OSX on the same HD. My laptop is too old to use VMWare or Parallels (at least for what I want to do), so I'm not sure from that experience, but it is a bit annoying to have to reboot between the two.

2. What do you find to be the largest advantage of your apple products over comparable products from other companies?

Apple Stores. Not their quality of service or anything, but just the fact that you can walk it into somewhere and talk to someone one on one.

3. Do you find this advantage, among others you may see, to be worth the mark-up for the apple product over the alternative?

No. Many of Apple's products (see: MBPs, Displays) are up to 2x the price to comparable Windows products. Good products won't even need servicing (had a Toshiba laptop for 2 years, no problems. Had an HP for 4.5 years next, no problems until the very end).

4. Why might you find OS X to be a superior OS to Ubuntu or Fedora, or any linux distribution? why might you prefer it to Windows?

Don't need to do commands to do a basic task. As a common user, having the drivers in the OS and the ease of installing peripherals (printers and such) was a great ease. However, Win7 does that pretty much equally as well.

5. Why might you prefer iOS to Android, Windows Phone 7, Meego or WebOS?

I actually dislike iOS completely. I have an Android phone. Not married to it, but my small carrier only has Android smartphones. Windows Phone is the most appealing to me.

6. This one's the kicker
If a non-apple company was to put out a product with equal specs to an apple one, with a similar, "minimal" design (think cr-48), and the only real differences were that the alternative product is cheaper and that it doesn't have the apple logo on it, which would you buy?

Without a doubt the cheaper product. There already are many instances of this - HP Envy, Dell XPS series, Lenovo laptops, and now the Ultrabook rush. I'm not tied to one brand and I'm at a point in my life (recent college graduate working) where a price premium cannot be justified past a certain point, and Apple crosses that line. I treat my devices with the utmost care and whatever has the best bang for the buck is what I want.
 
Another tech site called MacRumors biased towards Apple products? Weird! Point me to the owner of that site, I'd like to shake is ignorant hand. What would lead anyone to believe that MacRumors wouldn't be biased towards Apple products?!

As for your questions OP, they've been asked and answered many times before. I like what I like and that's about it. Nothing I say will change someone else's mind about what they want to buy and I wouldn't want to try.
 
neon indian said:
so, i'd like to ask a few questions, to see if the stereotypes of mac fans are true

1. What do you like most about your apple products?
Click to expand...

They're so pretty.

2. What do you find to be the largest advantage of your apple products over comparable products from other companies?
Click to expand...

Chicks dig them.

3. Do you find this advantage, among others you may see, to be worth the mark-up for the apple product over the alternative?
Click to expand...

Of course. It makes us better than users of other devices.

4. Why might you find OS X to be a superior OS to Ubuntu or Fedora, or any linux distribution? why might you prefer it to Windows?
Click to expand...

Finder! Simply the most elegant file manger ever.

5. Why might you prefer iOS to Android, Windows Phone 7, Meego or WebOS?
Click to expand...

I like to be able to customize my phone and you can't so that with the others.

6. This one's the kicker
If a non-apple company was to put out a product with equal specs to an apple one, with a similar, "minimal" design (think cr-48), and the only real differences were that the alternative product is cheaper and that it doesn't have the apple logo on it, which would you buy?
Click to expand...

No way, see my answers above.

(fyi, i'm not an anti-apple zealot either, i own an iPod Classic as well as a used Macbook Air)
Click to expand...

I bet you have black friends too. 🙄
 
neon indian said:
... or claiming that a mac pro would be superior to a self-built desktop for anything but running OS X)
Click to expand...

This type of comment always sets me off. Commonly the argument is that you can build something faster/stronger/bigger than a MacPro yourself for cheaper - without ever factoring in time it takes to research, build, debug, and maintain a home-built system.

For some people, yes a homebuilt system makes sense. For the majority of people - the time spent to get a homebuilt system working reliably more than off-sets any $dollar savings. And most people don't push their MacPro to 100% capacity very often.

Do you build your own stove or refrigerator? Think of how much money you could save by salvaging (free) old refrigerators and combining them into a new one. No.... you just want an appliance to work.

My MacPro is an appliance. I turn it on.... it works, I work.

And for the record, I used to build all of my own systems - so I know what is involved. I have better things to do with my time now..... but, if you still like building your own Macs-equivalents - that's great. More power to you... but it's not a viable solution for the majority of people who need an appliance, and your comment implies that we appliance-users are somehow inferior. It may not have been intentional - but that is the implication.

As for your other questions.... As others have stated.... I use Apple products because they combine together easily. I can get my work done (photography) on my Macs, and I can share my work with others.

I haven't had any direct experience with Windows for - a very long time. Indirectly I sometimes have to help support my wife's Windows installation on her Mac (using a VM. Often I am in a meeting with mixed Windows and Mac laptops (volunteer non-profit groups). Often, we Mac users are doing things with our documents (PDFing them, sharing them, printing them, etc) and then being asked by our Windows colleagues "how do you do that?" I don't know... we just do... we drag and drop an icon, click a box, or whatever... we just do it.

I consider myself an advanced user - but the other users at the Board table are just ordinary folk... I'm not saying that you can't do these things in Windows - but I what I see is that figuring out these things seems to be easier on OS X.

For the record I don't have an iPhone, 'cause I don't need it.
 
neon indian said:
thanks for answering, if you do. I just want an unbiased look at mac users, i can't believe that they're as bad as some sites say (fyi, i'm not an anti-apple zealot either, i own an iPod Classic as well as a used Macbook Air)
Click to expand...

Apple products work well, have consistently had a better GUI for most of the last 30 years, and require less heart ache to use, providing a consistently better user experience.

I started with Apple in 1983 (AppleII), went to Mac 1992 after comparing MacOS 7 with Windows 3. After the Mac got left behind for gaming, got a Windows Machine/Win95 in 1995 (for gaming) and have been running Mac (7/8/9/10- current Snow Leopard) and Windows (95/98/XP/Vista/7) since them.

Over the years, Windows has been a consistent mess, starting in 1992 when Windows could not compete with the MacOS, not to mention the horrid registry and the requirement to constantly run utilities to keep Windows functional. Vista was not so bad, and so far Win7 has been behaving itself, although I feel a constant threat there and consistently run a utility (Tuneup Utilities) on it. Now is that still required or is that a Windows prejudice I have? Vista ran well for me for 3 years until one day it refused to go online. So it's hard to say. I've only been using Win7 for about 9 months. 😉

I travel half of every month and am still a gamer, hence the need for a machine that runs both Mac and Windows. The Mac is the only hardware that does this. I have Windows (only) programs that are glitchy, and Windows networking on the road can be a pain in the ass. It's not something I have to deal with the MacOS- which just works.

Your kicker hypothetical question means absolutely nothing, because it's hypothetical. 🙂
 
Last edited:
neon indian said:
so, a lot of tech sites i go to are very anti-apple, and often poke fun at sites like macrumors for being so biased toward apple products. what i can't tell from the limited amount of information i see in the screenshots, threads and such that are posted, however, is whether or not macrumors members are actually so biased in their purchases, so i wanted to see if it was true.

so, i'd like to ask a few questions, to see if the stereotypes of mac fans are true

1. I like the hardware/software integration and overall stability, for lack of a better term. Meaning never having to worry about malware (10+ years malware free) never having to hunt for drivers, and that overall it's a user friendly and a plug-and-play experience.
2. Pretty much the same as above, and that I just find Apple products enjoyable to use.
3. I'm willing to pay more for a computer I enjoy using. I've looked around at windows machines, and will continue to check out new technology, but I always end up buying a Mac.
4. I like the way the OS is laid out. It's straightforward and intuitive to me.
5. Same: I like the way it functions. It's intuitive, simple to work with. It may lack some of the capabilities of the other mobile platforms, but I'm happier with my iOS device than I was with Android.
6. Well, no: Products like this already exist. Matter of fact, MacBook Pro clones exist that are cheaper than Apple products. The hardware choice is missing the point: When I go to buy a computer, I'm not looking for the fastest machine available with the highest hardware specs. Clock speed isn't everything to me. Granted, there are technically better, cheaper machines out there. But I've been very happy buying the best Apple portable I can afford, and using it for 4-6 years, usually with minimal to no issues.

I enjoy using MacOS, so while I may look at and even consider buying a windows machine once in a while, it's just not what I would prefer for daily use. I'd rather spend a little more and be happy with my purchase.

It's difficult to quantify to someone who isn't as enamored with MacOS or the hardware as a lot of longtime Mac users are. To me, it's the difference between settling, and buying a machine with great tech specs and an OS I can't stand, or a machine I'm going to love, with adequate specs that is custom built to run the OS I love to use daily.

Strange, but true.
Click to expand...
 
Real fanatics who blindly buy on brand alone would not look for suitable or even better alternatives. Although the core of the ecosystem is Apple-branded, many here use Dell monitors and Logitech or Microsoft keyboards and mice, routers by Netgear or Linksys, etc. Use what works best for you.
 
Wirelessly posted (iPhone 4s: Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_2_1 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8C148 Safari/6533.18.5)

flopticalcube said:
Real fanatics who blindly buy on brand alone would not look for suitable or even better alternatives. Although the core of the ecosystem is Apple-branded, many here use Dell monitors and Logitech or Microsoft keyboards and mice, routers by Netgear or Linksys, etc. Use what works best for you.
Click to expand...

Word. All my peripherals are Logitech, because I prefer the G9x mouse and Illuminated keyboard to Apple's offerings. Having an Apple logo isn't reason enough for me to buy a piece of hardware.

On the other hand, I will continue to buy Apple computers because I like the OS. If another company came along and offered superior hardware (meaning design and specs) designed to run Mac OS, I would check it out and decide what I want to buy. There was actually a spinoff company that did just that in the 90's, and it's too bad they failed. Competition is a good thing.

In my household, we have a newer HP laptop, several net books, and a custom-built laptop running Ubuntu. When I moved in about a year back, I fielded some questions about why I spent so much more on my MacBook Pro compared to the other hardware. FF a year or so later, and my roommate with the custom PC just bought an iPhone 4s and loves it, and is considering replacing her laptop with a Mac.

Also, @ the OP: please ignore the folks ITT being rude and defensive. They think you're attacking their preferences or whatever. I don't think your questions are out of line at all. Thanks for posting a new thread instead of necroing an old one 🙂
 
flopticalcube said:
Real fanatics who blindly buy on brand alone would not look for suitable or even better alternatives. Although the core of the ecosystem is Apple-branded, many here use Dell monitors and Logitech or Microsoft keyboards and mice, routers by Netgear or Linksys, etc. Use what works best for you.
Click to expand...

I've got a neglected home built 3.1 Ghz, XP box, a 1.8Ghz G5 (which I use as my desktop when home), a MBP (for travel), an Optiquest monitor, Kensington Mouse, a Microsoft Trackball, a Razr Naga Mouse, Netgear Router, and a HP Printer.
 
1. They're easy to use, decent looking, and tend to last a long time.

2. Apple products, in my opinion, are easier to use and can still accomplish the same thing as a competing product. I think that's the biggest advantage their products have over the competition.

3. Absolutely, an easy to use but powerful product that lasts for several years is worth a few extra dollars. Sometimes it even saves me money in the long run.

4. Ubuntu's UI is very confusing to me. All of the settings are difficult to find and the little "dash" thing they have going on is hard to use. OS X puts all of the settings in one place and has everything the user needs within reach. As for Windows, I think Windows 7 is about as good as OS X, but I still think OS X is a bit more user-friendly.

5. I'd take iOS over Android because it's more secure, runs much more smoothly, is very easy to use, and rarely freezes up on me. I'd take Windows Phone over iOS any day, it has all of those mentioned above and more, but the phones it ends up on are so behind hardware-wise that it's not worth the purchase anymore.

6. Depends on what I'm buying. I've had so many good experiences with Apple that I'll always buy a Mac I need a new main computer. When it comes to anything else though, like a smartphone for example, I'd buy the alternative as long as it was just as good and had the same features as the Apple product.
 
Hastings101 said:
5. I'd take iOS over Android because it's more secure, runs much more smoothly, is very easy to use, and rarely freezes up on me. I'd take Windows Phone over iOS any day, it has all of those mentioned above and more, but the phones it ends up on are so behind hardware-wise that it's not worth the purchase anymore.
Click to expand...

I remember last Spring whoever oversees Andorid apps had to remove several hundred infected apps from their store. I don't believe as a rule that happens with Apple apps.
 
neon indian said:
1. What do you like most about your apple products?
Click to expand...
They are nice to look at.
2. What do you find to be the largest advantage of your apple products over comparable products from other companies?​
The OS.
3. Do you find this advantage, among others you may see, to be worth the mark-up for the apple product over the alternative?
Click to expand...
No.
4. Why might you find OS X to be a superior OS to Ubuntu or Fedora, or any linux distribution? why might you prefer it to Windows?
Click to expand...
Mac OS X is easy to use, it doesn't take that much time to solve a minor problem, and it still gives one the ability to use Terminal, in case one wants to frack up the computer gooood.
5. Why might you prefer iOS to Android, Windows Phone 7, Meego or WebOS?
Click to expand...
I prefer Android's concept (customisation and widgets), but the mobile handsets are quite inferior to the iPhone.
Which is likely due to iOS developed for one phone family, while Android is fragmentised more than Windows.
6. This one's the kicker
If a non-apple company was to put out a product with equal specs to an apple one, with a similar, "minimal" design (think cr-48), and the only real differences were that the alternative product is cheaper and that it doesn't have the apple logo on it, which would you buy?
Click to expand...
As I use my Macs for more than simple web browsing or creating text documents, and my applications are only available for Windows and Mac OS X, I am tied down to them.

Hastings101 said:
4. Ubuntu's UI is very confusing to me. All of the settings are difficult to find and the little "dash" thing they have going on is hard to use. OS X puts all of the settings in one place and has everything the user needs within reach. As for Windows, I think Windows 7 is about as good as OS X, but I still think OS X is a bit more user-friendly.
Click to expand...

Ubuntu has been getting better with that:
2012_02_06_pB1_Ubuntu_SystemSettings.jpg
 
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