Is it true that Macs are not "serious" computers?

[applefan289]

I have a Mac and love it (I think it's so much better than the clunky Windows). But I sometimes read that the Mac OS is not "serious", and that Macs are better suited to home environments or in the graphics and design industry.

Do you believe this? What makes a PC with Windows better suited towards "serious" tasks like Cisco networking and things like that?

 

[GGJstudios]

But I sometimes read that the Mac OS is not "serious", and that Macs are better suited to home environments or in the graphics and design industry.

Don't believe everything you read. There's a lot of nonsense out there. Be discerning enough to weed out the garbage.

 

[Hellhammer]

Software. There is a lot software available for Windows which isn't for OS X. In most cases, there are alternatives but not always, especially not good ones. Macs use the same hardware as PCs so a Mac running Windows will be as good as similarly specced PC.

 

[S.B.G]

It's all personal preference. I have a MBP and Win7 computer sitting on my office desk and I use my Mac far more than the Win7 PC. Mac's are just as good at networking and sometimes easier to set up than their Windows counterparts. They integrate well in most cases to the business environment. While it is more true that the Mac is a home computer more than an office one, the exception is in media development. Hollywood and other media studios use Mac's for production way more than Windows PC's.

 

[eawmp1]

Seriously?
Heck, on every TV show I watch Macs are doing serious work. They are not the Fisher Price of computers.

 

[applefan289]

Seriously?
Heck, on every TV show I watch Macs are doing serious work. They are not the Fisher Price of computers.

lol I have a feeling people mistake simplicity for "not serious"?

At one of my schools nearby, they have a room full of Macs for the graphic design class, but a room full of PC with Windows for their networking class.

 

[waynep]

I got a MBP (my first Mac ever) about 8 weeks ago. I love it. Until then I have been a Windows users and a DOS user before that. I have never looked hard at Macs until recently. Now that I have one, it's every bit as "serious" as a Windows machine.

I am also a Unix guy at work. With OSX's heritage being BSD (a unix flavor) I find myself at home and easily able to do more than a "DOS" prompt on a Win machine. I am learning Objective C and writing program for that on my MBP as do a lot of people. I found GeekTools to customize my desktop. I am finding it's easier to get "geekier" with my Mac than with my Win machines.

I have become a Mac convert. It's simple in ways, but very capable at the same time.

wayne

 

[roadbloc]

Entirely depends what you wish to do on them.

Multimedia work and iOS/Mac development they are serious computers.
Gaming, office work, development they lack.
General use they work just as well, if not better.

 

[applefan289]

Gaming, office work, development they lack.

I'm guessing this is because of lack of software? If more software were to be developed for Mac, then I would guess it would be good in that area too.

 

[Makosuke]

I thought people had given up on that moderately preposterous belief years ago, but I guess it's still around. The answer, of course, is that it's a perfectly serious computer. I'd say anything with a full UNIX environment on hand and full multiuser UNIX server capabilities installed out of the box is a lot more "serious" than what Windows will give you in the consumer version, if not the Server version as well.

Not universally perfect--not every piece of special-purpose or industrial software is available for the MacOS, and Apple doesn't make industrial or embedded computers required for certain things--but then, Windows has support gaps as well, depending on what you want to do.

...office work...

Huh? Gaming, you'd be hard to argue Windows doesn't have an advantage, but last I checked the average office worker rarely required much more than a word processor, spreadsheet, Powerpoint-equivalent, and maybe a database and calendaring app. All of which are available in a variety of flavors on the Mac. Heck, MS Office--which used to be the definition of what an "office worker" needed--is better on the Mac than Windows, if you ask me. There are less CRM packages available for the Mac, but those are used by a tiny minority of office workers, and most of the recent solutions are web-based anyway.

You want "serious," I work at an energy research lab where we have twenty people and some bonus grad students doing heavy scientific number crunching, data analysis, data visualization, mathematical modeling, technical presentations, publishing papers, applying for patents, and more. Macs at desktops outnumber PCs 5 to 1, and although I use Windows-based machines for the data collection and process control software I write, so I can buy industrial motherboards or rackmount systems with a half-dozen available motherboard slots, the software package IS available for the Mac. In fact, due to the push toward USB-based DAQ hardware, it's actually getting EASIER to do things Mac-based than in the recent past (farther back, we had 68k Macs for the same purpose), and I may well consider switching some of our systems over eventually. Oh, our server is also a Mac.

 

[Charlie Sheen]

For me unix is the only real OS base. Thats why i think that windows is not a serious OS.

Ps. I count linux to the unix family.

 

[Phil A.]

IMO, the biggest issue is the weak support for Active Directory integration and GPOs (Group Policy Objects).

Large enterprises tend to like their computers locked down through GPOs and access controlled through Active Directory. This is not very well supported in OS X, although you can get third part applications to improve the situation

 

[Apple OC]

Graphic Arts Design and Printing ... Macintosh is "seriously" dominant

 

[applefan289]

Interesting answers.

On a side note, I just got back from the Apple Store to test the iPad 2 in person, and I have to say it feels much better to hold than the iPad 1. I have the first iPad, but don't think it's worth upgrading. For anyone who doesn't have an iPad yet, I would say it's a must-buy, though.

Apple doesn't make industrial or embedded computers required for certain things

This is really the only thing that Windows has going for it, in my opinion. Embedded software is needed for specialized devices, such as arcade game boards and other things, and Apple doesn't offer it.

 

[ozred]

Seriously?
Heck, on every TV show I watch Macs are doing serious work. They are not the Fisher Price of computers.

The truth, which seems to be excruciating for Mac lovers to accept, is that Apple Pays Big Bucks for "Product Placement Ads & Exposure"

If you watch very closely. Movies often will show a MBP with the camera carefully aimed to show the Apple logo.

If in that same movie there's another computer that's a PC, the shot will be quick and never show a logo or brand. Ever.

Never underestimate the great lengths that Apple will go to for exposure. They spend an endless amount of money and give away a huge number of computers to be seen everywhere.

Apple is the most clever and creative self promoting, Marketing driven company of all.

 

[ozred]

For anyone who doesn't have an iPad yet, I would say it's a must-buy, though.

This seems to be an "off the cuff" remark.

Why oh why, is an iPad a "must buy"?

Where did you ever dream up this idea?

Surely you're just joking.

 

[applefan289]

The truth, which seems to be excruciating for Mac lovers to accept, is that Apple Pays Big Bucks for "Product Placement Ads & Exposure"

If you watch very closely. Movies often will show a MBP with the camera carefully aimed to show the Apple logo.

If in that same movie there's another computer that's a PC, the shot will be quick and never show a logo or brand. Ever.

Never underestimate the great lengths that Apple will go to for exposure. They spend an endless amount of money and give away a huge number of computers to be seen everywhere.

Apple is the most clever and creative self promoting, Marketing driven company of all.

They really know how to market. But that doesn't mean their products are not worthy.

When you have this equation, a company will usually be unbeatable:

SOLID MARKETING + SOLID PRODUCTS = SOLID BUSINESS

This seems to be an "off the cuff" remark.

Why oh why, is an iPad a "must buy"?

Where did you ever dream up this idea?

Surely you're just joking.

I really do think the iPad 2 is a must buy if you're looking for a portable device and don't already have the first iPad. I don't quite feel the need to upgrade my current one though.

 

[63dot]

I have a Mac and love it (I think it's so much better than the clunky Windows). But I sometimes read that the Mac OS is not "serious", and that Macs are better suited to home environments or in the graphics and design industry.

Do you believe this? What makes a PC with Windows better suited towards "serious" tasks like Cisco networking and things like that?

I have both types and they both have their strengths.

As for networking with Windows 2003 and Windows 2008 R2 Server, Macs are basically OK but Leopard (10.5) does not play well with those, and had some issues with Cisco. However, all is forgiven with Snow Leopard. I saw Leopard, from a techie's point of view, as Apple's crappy attempt to make something as buggy as Windows Vista. As mentioned above, Leopard had serious issues with GPOs and security? ... what's that? and as for Leopard and AD, I won't even ********ing go there. Frick, frick, super frick.

But that's the only hiccup in OS X besides way back in the first year of OS X which was painful at times. The loss of data and falling off a Windows Server environment of a Leopard workstation could be a Microsoft issue, too so all the blame isn't on Apple. But I still prefer Windows for local and wide area networks and for business applications. Some say Windows is boring, much like business, but the two go hand in hand. Windows, outside of Vista, has been pretty good after the failure of Windows ME.

For home computing and graphics, Macs are far better than Windows PCs and its where Apple really shines. I can't see Apple moving into the business OS market and I wouldn't want to see them go there.

 

[QuarterSwede]

For home computing and graphics, Macs are far better than Windows PCs and its where Apple really shines. I can't see Apple moving into the business OS market and I wouldn't want to see them go there.

After pulling X Serve and Apple already stating iOS devices are "post PC," I think Apple has found the big money and innovation is in computers as appliances not business tools. I think it's very safe to say that they're a consumer company more now than they ever have been. That trend will continue.

 

[ozred]

Don't believe everything you read. There's a lot of nonsense out there. Be discerning enough to weed out the garbage.

Excellent advice.

I'm platform neutral and use both.

Many years ago Macs were much easier for home users. However all that has changed as is typical. Nothing stays the same.

Today Windows 7 is just as easy and trouble free as a Mac. I enjoy them both immensely.

The additional benefit is now home users that can't afford Apples premium prices, can buy a very nice laptop for less than half the price of a Mac.

Choices are good, and there's never been more good choices than now.

 

[63dot]

After pulling X Serve and Apple already stating iOS devices are "post PC," I think Apple has found the big money and innovation is in computers as appliances not business tools. I think it's very safe to say that they're a consumer company more now than they ever have been. That trend will continue.

And I am a consumer and I love it. I never get that happy feeling from any Windows machine. Even when in PJs, I feel like I have a tie on and black shiny shoes when I boot up Windows 7. It's just not a comfy feeling.

I make my money as a certified evil empire techie, and it pays for stuff, like, well, Apple gear.

 

[QuarterSwede]

And I am a consumer and I love it. I never get that happy feeling from any Windows machine. Even when in PJs, I feel like I have a tie on and black shiny shoes when I boot up Windows 7. It's just not a comfy feeling.

I make my money as a certified evil empire techie, and it pays for stuff, like, well, Apple gear.

I was agreeing with you and expanding upon what you said.

Personally, for me, I dislike Windows because of the registry (which developers kludge up with garbage) and DLL Hell.

 

[63dot]

I was agreeing with you and expanding upon what you said.

Personally, for me, I dislike Windows because of the registry (which developers kludge up with garbage) and DLL Hell.

12 years in this biz, and I never got around to totally understanding the whole DLL thing. Well that and writing scripts. Blah, hate it. I like being as hardware related as possible but these days I have to know more about programming and in certain applications, about electronics and that sucks, too.

When I see DLL hell, I often think about the other hell, aka Dell Hell.

 

[Makosuke]

...Apple Pays Big Bucks for "Product Placement Ads & Exposure"

No, they do not. Macs are disproportionately represented in film and TV, but it's as much as anything because the graphic design departments often have them and like them, and because they tend to look flashy. Apple does, apparently, give away hardware to productions that will display it, but that does not qualify as "big bucks"--a few thousand dollars of hardware here and there is minuscule when it comes to advertising budgets for a company the size of Apple, or the productions in which their products appear.

It's not like Apple isn't a publicly traded company; you can look at what their advertising budget is, and get a general idea of where it goes--mostly TV, print, and billboard ads. Their budget was generally in the range of $500 million, up to about $690 million last year, which is about third of what MS spends, and somewhat less per-gross-revenue than what Dell, a similar-sized company based on sales, spends.

I'd wager it mostly comes down to the fact that the art department probably use Macs. When was the last time you heard an artist say "I love Windows" or "I love my Dell!" I do a lot of tech work for artistic types, and I've certainly NEVER heard one saying anything affectionate about their beige-box PC hardware. Certainly Japanese productions like GTO and Geobreeders never got a penny from Apple, but have prominently-displayed Apple gear.


On an unrelated note, I agree wholeheartedly that Apple is a very consumer-focused company, though they have been for most of their history, apart from a spate where the RISC hardware had them at the top of the performance game. Either way, just because they're consumer-focused doesn't make them not serious--I'd wager that in ten years half the work in the world gets done on either an iOS or Android machine, and certainly there's a lot more "serious" applications available now for iOS than there ever was for Windows CE, despite its heavy business focus. It just depends on what you're trying to do with the machine.

 

[FluJunkie]

It all depends on your arena I suppose. For a lot of scientific computing tasks, the UNIX backing in Mac OS is starting to make it the preferred platform (generally "Use Linux or a Mac") over Windows.

The notion that they're not serious computers is absurd. What I end up using my particular machine for is rarely "Home" use - DVDs, home video, etc. and much more likely to end in several terminal windows, a large data set and statistical software.