Mac Users Who Doesn't Like To Use a Mac, Why ??

[Ryan1524]

i have a friend whose school uses Macs and always has been. it's running the new iMacs with OS X, assuming it's Jag. he's also been a long time PC user alongside his use of Mac.
despite hearing the great things about Mac. he told me that his experiences with it is not all that.

why is this? is it true? are there any mac users who is not 'that' satisfied with their macs? any mac users who actually switched to a pc??

any comments are appreciated. thx.

 

[mymemory]

To be honest...

I have been using Mac for 10 years now and right now I'm writting you with IE using 9.2.2 (not clasic).

OSX is a "have to" for me, specially because the nvigation is messy and it takes longer to get a file under than OSX file system than under 9. OSX can be more organize but organization doesn't allways mean efficiency.

The rest of the OSX is finem I hate not to be able to manipulate the new Apple Menu Items, it just moved all my menues one space to the right to fit a not costumisable Apple Menu that rather than simplify is redundant. The Apple Menu and Finder could be togather under the same menu.

For me as a regular user OSX closed some doors to me this time, I'm like a fish in the water with OS9 (I have a nother computer with OSX) and even I can reconized the impruvments OSX still not my best option yet.

 

[bennetsaysargh]

all of my PC friends hate macs because they use 233 bondi blue iMacs with OS 9.0.0. i never heard of anyone switching from mac to PC though.

 

[mymemory]

If I ever get a PC it is because to have a bit of everything but forget about leaving a Mac for a PC.

 

[alia]

I switched!

Here's an interesting (maybe not) story. The first computer my family had was an Apple IIgs. After that, we had a 486 dx33. Well, by the time I left for college in 1995, I was very comfortable with Win 3.1 and that was what I was used to. My mom used Macs at work, however, and she really, really loved them, so that's what she got me when I went away to college, despite my adamant protests AGAINST using a mac. It was a Performa 5200 CD, one of the first Power PC macs.

I didn't really have any problems with it, despite the lack of finding some software. This was right when Windows 95 came out, also, so x86ers were moving from a 16 bit to 32 bit operating system. I used that computer for about 4 years.

In 1999, I convinced my Dad to buy me a shiny new PII 400, and that's what I still use today. I'm ready for a new computer now, though, and I'm definitely going to be making the switch back! It's OS X that's doing it for me.

I like it a LOT better than the classic mac OS. Of course, the last OS I used regularly was 7.5. I wasn't too keen on my mom's imac though until she upgraded to OS X.

Anyway, I look forward to getting my 15" PB in the next few months.

Hope that wasn't TOO boring a story,



Alia

 

[donigian]

Originally posted by bennetsaysargh
all of my PC friends hate macs because they use 233 bondi blue iMacs with OS 9.0.0. i never heard of anyone switching from mac to PC though.

Hey, that's my only decent Mac. But you did make a very good point, most people at my school that don't like Macs say it's because they are so slow, and they aren't Megahertz Myth type people, that is their experience with them. My school uses old 5200/100s, PowerMac G3 All-In-Ones, and most of the different variations of G3 iMacs, as well as most other Macs in betwen (all though, the only PowerMac tower is a Blue & White 350 MHz.) The computer lab is full of 500 MHz G3 iMacs. People that use those and then return to their homes with even 1GHz PCs feel a noticable difference.

They don't care too much about the "great software" out there for the Mac because we're stuck in a OS 8.6 or 9.2 world. If Apple wants to reach to more, younger people who will be buying computers some day on their own, they should make software like Safari, iChat, and the newest versions of the other iApps available for OS 9, at least academically.

 

[tjwett]

I have a friend who is a production manager for a print house. he's used Mac for the last 10 years and he HATES them so much. I've never seen someone with such hatred for a computer. He uses both OS 9 and OS X and runs Indesign and Quark mainly. He has Windows machines at home and cringes at the site of a Mac. He says that "Macs are stupid". I think maybe he just hates his job and equates it with the computer, and rightfully so. When I was in highschool I was a seafood butcher and it was awful. I gagged everytime I saw a fish for 2 years after that job.

 

[Ryan1524]

Originally posted by bennetsaysargh
all of my PC friends hate macs because they use 233 bondi blue iMacs with OS 9.0.0. i never heard of anyone switching from mac to PC though.

yes, but his school just got upgraded and everything's now the new FP iMacs with OS X. according to most people here, it should be a pretty good experience, much better than the old 233MHzs used by other cheap schools that won't upgrade. so he's comparing it fairly, with him using a quite up to date PC (vs. the new iMac.)
but he still insists that he doesn't like OS X 'that' much. and he's using it all the time and alot at school. so i think both platform is getting enough exposure.

 

[donigian]

Originally posted by Ryan1524
it should be a pretty good experience, much better than the old 233MHzs used by other cheap schools that won't upgrade.

Won't upgrade??? Most schools can't afford old G3 iMacs, most schools can't afford brand-new FP iMacs. Most schools are constrained by however much money the county/city school board gives them or how much they can raise through fund-raisers or donations. Most schools are in a major budget crunch right now that doesn't include new computer purchases.

 

[areyouwishing]

I dated this girl for a while, and all I did was talk up macs, showed her OS X, showed her the ipod, the ibook, etc. etc. she thought they were really cool, she liked the dock, etc etc. but when she actually sat down and used one at her school, she didn't like them.

She is a very smart person, but I think for most people who are not framilar with computers, the first thing they ask is, "Where do I Start." Microsoft answers that question the best, not to mention if there are no aliases on the desktop for word, the internet, email, etc. then there are no text descriptions for the icons in the dock, so people looking at the safari icon have no idea what that is, but in the start menu, its called "internet explorer" just seeing the name "internet" people will know what that has to do with.

Don't get me wrong, i think OS X is a much more glamorous/elegant OS, but XP is easier for people to use.

 

[Ryan1524]

Originally posted by donigian
Won't upgrade??? Most schools can't afford old G3 iMacs, most schools can't afford brand-new FP iMacs. Most schools are constrained by however much money the county/city school board gives them or how much they can raise through fund-raisers or donations. Most schools are in a major budget crunch right now that doesn't include new computer purchases.

i apologize if you're offended. i didn't mean the school 'won't' update. what i really meant was those underfunded schools that's not getting enough and as you put it, 'can't' upgrade. my school's experienceing this actually. the building's old. almost crumbling and our computer labs are equipped with old P2 166MHz.

 

[donigian]

Originally posted by Ryan1524
i apologize if you're offended. i didn't mean the school 'won't' update. what i really meant was those underfunded schools that's not getting enough and as you put it, 'can't' upgrade. my school's experienceing this actually. the building's old. almost crumbling and our computer labs are equipped with old P2 166MHz.

No offense taken, hey, at least we've got Macs, right?

 

[hvfsl]

I use my mac for creative stuff like photoshop, but I use my PC for mainly games and videoediting because I still use an analogue video camera.

I first had a 286, then got a 5200, then a PB G3, then a PC because I wanted to play games, now I have a top of the range PC and a PB G4 550.

 

[MorganX]

Re: Mac Users Who Doesn't Like To Use a Mac, Why ??

Originally posted by Ryan1524
i have a friend whose school uses Macs and always has been. it's running the new iMacs with OS X, assuming it's Jag. he's also been a long time PC user alongside his use of Mac.
despite hearing the great things about Mac. he told me that his experiences with it is not all that.

why is this? is it true? are there any mac users who is not 'that' satisfied with their macs? any mac users who actually switched to a pc??

any comments are appreciated. thx.

You're talking about someone who uses PCs. So, I would guess that the following 3 things are probably bothering him given his limited usage:

1) For a PC user, going to a 1 button mouse is imbecillic and a waste of time. Using direct language to impart what a shock it is to go from a two-button environment with pervasive context-sensitive menus to a 1-button environment with limited context sensitive menus. You should be able to cleanup or arrange a folder, while your cursor is still in there, not go to the finder menu. Even if it was a context option, you would have to use two-hands. Given schools budgets, i doubt they replaced all their mice.

2) Finder's horizontal orientation, is a drag. As a switcher I still find Explorer much more effecient.

3) Having the finder be the universal applicaton menu is disorienting. Windows MDI has no equivalent in OS X and is one of the harder things to get used to.

4) No easy way to arrange/organize multiple open Windows (i.e. Tile, Cascade, minimize all, etc.)

I would imagine those are the primary stumbling blocks for someone still using a PC who has no significant motivation to switch.

I switch because the corporate world was boring me. The MS enterprise machine was/is boring me. Too many years I guess. Because MS was taking too long to add hardware acceleration to the UI though the plumbing has been there for a few years now. I don't do Stardock add-ons. The final kickers were:

1) I saw default Windows icons one time too many on a very capable custom built PC. With all that horsepower you still see default icons in XP during startup and various other occasions. That is unacceptable.

2) I wanted iTunes and a FP iMac to go with my iPod. And now, I don't like the new iPod design. I'll probably stay with OS X and Apple till Longhorn without purchasing a new Mac unless there's something really compelling.

All those reasons, and the 1Ghz 17" iMac at a close to reasonable price, balanced the tradeoffs I feel I made. For someone that doesn't have additional reasons, or additional money it's a tough sell if you already have a PC. A very tough sell.

 

[Jeromino]

This is interesting..

I used PC's first, and still do the majority of my job-printwork (well, if you can call projects we've creatively designed around MS Publisher 98's free-object-movement 'printwork') and my internet surfing on my PC and my PC-Laptop. I also usually end up writing papers on the PC, and by seniority I still use my tower for MP3 downloading and CD-burning.

Meanwhile, I've got two Macs - an iMac 800 FP SuperDrive, and a TiBook 866. I initially bought the iMac for Video Editing (which quickly became a new obsession with FCP3) and I bought the TiBook for a power/style/portability boost. I should mention that I also do some graphic design, web design, and other 'creative' type activities. Most of them were on the PC platform at first.

I've slowly begun to migrate my web-imaging-etc work over to the Powerbook (and the iMac) via Photoshop, Pagemaker, and the Studio MX Suite. I like the way Macs work for the 'creative' tasks, and decided to buy my new software on the Mac platform. I'm designing a private studio right now for my basement, and I'm envisioning 3 computers down there. The TiBook will be the centerpiece (All multimedia applications, paired with a Cinema Display and the nifty peripherals to maximize the effect). The iMac will serve as the Multimedia-2 machine (For DVD Burning, and all the things the TiBook can do, when the TiBook is occupied or rendering or whatever.) The third machine, which I will purchase when I put this all together, will be a decent PC. The PC will serve the 'craptime' things (Browsing the net, IM, word, etc.) and will probably be hooked into a Stereo/5.1 receiver for MP3 playback, DVD's and whatnot.

So, as I come into my own (getting ready to start a major new project) and break down just what I need/want, and how to use it, I find the macs strong and reliable for the gruntwork of multimedia. Meanwhile, I want a PC there to pick up the rest of the computing slack... otherwise known as the areas I get annoyed with my Mac. For general use, like when I'm typing on this forum and nothing's too pressing, I prefer using my PC. As someone once said on here a long time ago, "PC's just feel snappier for general use." And that's what I want in general use, the quick-response trigger-finger style.

Of course, when you're crafting a scene in a film or a video, or designing your big website, you don't mind the elegant feel of OSX, and to me it seems to add to the experience. The stability also helps a great deal as well. And we all know you can't use Final Cut on an AMD Athlon.

So I see the point.. were I continuing my current state (Not yet working on said project, and frankly farting around at the beginning of summer break) I'd want the PC, and I would grow frustrated with OSX. However, I think the Macs really shine, when you really get to work.

Purged of numerous Mac-Thoughts,
Steve

PS: 10.3 and a 970 that really screamed, might make me rethink some of the above. But I let the guys running this show do the speculating.

 

[tazo]

Re: Mac Users Who Doesn't Like To Use a Mac, Why ??

Originally posted by Ryan1524
i have a friend whose school uses Macs and always has been. it's running the new iMacs with OS X, assuming it's Jag. he's also been a long time PC user alongside his use of Mac.
despite hearing the great things about Mac. he told me that his experiences with it is not all that.

why is this? is it true? are there any mac users who is not 'that' satisfied with their macs? any mac users who actually switched to a pc??

any comments are appreciated. thx.

i have used OS X since it came out, and it runs plenty fine on my imac 600. I never liked OS 9, and was close to selling it and buying a pc

 

[dkeninitz]

Hmm...interesting thread. I contemplated becoming a switcher when I bought my TiBook a few months ago, but I've abandoned the idea. I'm going to stick with PC's Still, I don't hate my Mac; I think it's a cool machine with a slick user interface.

That said, the biggest benefit I see with OS X as compared to Windows XP Pro is that it is free from the hassles of drivers, registry issues, etc. I think the typical non-technical (read "home") user would be thrilled at how easy it is to get up and running with a Mac under OS X - much closer to true "plug 'n play".

However, I can see how a PC user would be somewhat disoriented by the transition. Mac loyalists may crow about the virtues of the one-button, wheeless mouse, but a lot of PC users swear by them and the right-click functionality they bring. Function keys are another PC virtue, or vice depending on your point of view. On my TiBook, I still miss the lack of a "true" delete key (as opposed to a "backspace" key, which is how the delete key appears to function to a PC user).

Also, to some (many?), Macs are slower. My 1ghz TiBook feels sluggish compared to my P3 867mhz Thinkpad and 933mhz Toshiba Satellite, and my 2ghz P4 Dell desktop kills it (though I guess the Dell really should be compared to a dual-processor PM). And that's AFTER upgrading the memory to 1gb.

Again, Mac users can shake their heads, but if you cut your teeth on a PC, a Mac can seem really different, and not necessarily better.

Now if your question was, "why don't PC users buy more Mac's", I have a few opinions, now that I've owned one for a while and had some dealings with Apple....

 

[jadariv]

I've always been comfortable in both pc and mac environments. I've gone back and forth for years. Currently, i have mac systems with one pc laptop (for emergencies when i just can't get a file open).

But, i definitely have been in a holding pattern for the last year since i haven't been able to upgrade my work systems to OSX because of cost. And for what i do, the pc's are getting so much faster (plus cheaper). If it comes down to it and the 970's don't appear in june (at a decent price point) i may have to go back to the pc. Oh well, at least i can try all those games i've been missing.

 

[voicegy]

Re: Mac Users Who Doesn't Like To Use a Mac, Why ??

Originally posted by Ryan1524
i have a friend whose school uses Macs and always has been. it's running the new iMacs with OS X, assuming it's Jag. he's also been a long time PC user alongside his use of Mac.
despite hearing the great things about Mac. he told me that his experiences with it is not all that.

Maybe it's not all that because of the possible contraints that schools usually put on computer access for students. Is the machine wide open, or under a Workgroup Management environment?

 

[donigian]

Re: Re: Mac Users Who Doesn't Like To Use a Mac, Why ??

Originally posted by voicegy
Maybe it's not all that because of the possible contraints that schools usually put on computer access for students. Is the machine wide open, or under a Workgroup Management environment?

Good point, my school uses OnGuard to prevent students from doing pretty much anything except using AppleWorks and Netscape. That doesn't foster a very good user experience or love of the computer because students blame it on the computer, not the school's software.

 

[tjwett]

Originally posted by areyouwishing
I dated this girl for a while, and all I did was talk up macs, showed her OS X, showed her the ipod, the ibook, etc. etc. she thought they were really cool, she liked the dock, etc etc. but when she actually sat down and used one at her school, she didn't like them.

She is a very smart person, but I think for most people who are not framilar with computers, the first thing they ask is, "Where do I Start." Microsoft answers that question the best, not to mention if there are no aliases on the desktop for word, the internet, email, etc. then there are no text descriptions for the icons in the dock, so people looking at the safari icon have no idea what that is, but in the start menu, its called "internet explorer" just seeing the name "internet" people will know what that has to do with.

Don't get me wrong, i think OS X is a much more glamorous/elegant OS, but XP is easier for people to use.

i just switched my girlfriend as well, she bought a 900mhz iBook 12" and a new 10Gb iPod, kewl. i don't think she's really enjoying the Mac experience so far. she is confused by the interface and usually ends up with about 25 apps open at once. she is really bright and very computer-literate. i think it's the GUI like you mentioned. and she was asking "where is the C drive?". typical transitions for a switcher who's never used a Mac. i just hope i can convince her that the Mac way is better and not just different. she's only doing word processing, web surfing, iChat, general crap so i don't know if it will make a difference to her. so far her favorite thing about the switch is that everything matches, her iBook, her iPod, and her Palm are all white and "cute".

 

[Schiffi]

Well, sometimes ppl don't like one thing in something which causes them to hate everything. Maybe that person hates Macs because 3 years earlier he lost a 20 page report? Or because he can't play GTA:3?

 

[pseudobrit]

I didn't like OSX either at first. I refused to switch to it for awhile when it first came out, even though it came installed. I hated it. I found it counterintuitive and couldn't get it to work the way I thought a Mac should.

After awhile, the more I tried it, the more I liked it. I dabbled and dabbled and it progressively made more sense. More sense than OS9 after awhile, and now I only use 9 when I have to or when using an older machine. X might be slower, but it's much more usable, especially file navigation and productivity-wise.

The main thing that sold me from 9 to X -- NO MORE FREEZING AND CRASHING!!

That's my experience switching from Mac OS to Mac OS. I imagine the experience from someone proficient in Windows would be even more jarring.

 

[caveman_uk]

I would say the problem with switcjhing from windows to mac is not that it's harder - it isn't - it's just quite different to the windows way of doing things that's ingrained on people. Most windows folks have used windows at work/school/home for years and moving to OS X makes them feel like a newbie again. I came to OS X via Linux and so I'm quite Unix proficient and I'm used to geting used to new GUIs, but I still think in a windows way sometimes and I get frustrated until I think 'what would be the easiest way to do this' (like just dragging files or something onto apps) and usually that's how it IS done. I find myself looking in menus for stuff that is just a drag and drop....

I've tried OS 9 a bit but I hated it. It was even more foreign and now I don't even have classic.

The one button mouse is both cool and stupid at the same time. It looks nicer and is less likely to give you RSI. But if your GUI requires the mouse click to do more than one thing (modifier keys) then using the keyboard to do it is a bit dumb. Not that it bothers me that much. Hey, lets go to a Unix three button mouse and really confuse nearly everyone

 

[physicsnerd]

I just switched to macs a couple of months ago, and my biggest complaint is the tracking speed of the mouse. This is also why I think a lot of windows users feel that macs are slow. (yes I have the tracking speed set all the way up, but I still have to pick up my mouse to move it across the desktop. Granted I'm runing on a very high resolution on a big monitor, but I could get across the same monitor with a slight flick of the wrist on my windows box.) I've had several people tell me how using my mac feels slow. I think that's one of the bigger reasons they tell me that it's slow. Mac users never seam to notice it, but windows users do. If anyone knows how to speed up the mouse past what you can do in system preferences, please let me know.

Physicsnerd