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Whats your story????

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d_saum

d_saum

macrumors 6502
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Jun 14, 2005
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Hey all,

Been reading here forever and finally signed up. Just wondering what everyones story is as to how they came to the Mac side? Did someone show you a mac? Did you just get tired of windows sucking so bad? Viruses? Spyware? Whats your story?

Mine is backwards from most peoples I think. I first learned about computers when I got hired by a company that used nothing but sun. So I learned command line Unix and some gui solaris and loved it. Then, I had a friend who was selling a Mac clone. It was a Motorola Starmax 3000 with 180Mhz processor and I think 16MB of ram (I think)... and it was running 7.6.1.

I had that computer for a few years, upgraded the ram, HD, and loved it the whole time. It did everything so well. I had messed with windows on occasion, but wasnt really impressed with it at all. Then finally, my friends convinced me to get a Windows machine so I could play games with them at LAN parties so I went out and spent $1500 on a 500Mhz gateway with monitor and speakers. Within the first 20 minutes of using it, I knew I made a mistake. A brand new peeceee and video was already choppy? as the weeks went by and the crashes started to appear along with the BSOD I was really aggravated with windows, but I did learn alot about how you should back up data and re-install windows every few months.

Anyway, a couple of years ago, I got back to Mac when I bought my 700Mhz iBook G3 and am now am totally addicted to mac. I also bought a used 350Mhz blue and white tower that I still use and it works great! I still use windows just to stay current and for whatever I cant do on the mac (which isnt much) but since the iBook purchase, I have converted at least 20 people to mac users from windows!

Anyway, sorry for the long post but I would love to read all your posts on how everyone became a mac user! :D
 
I had my LC when i was a kid and it worked great, but as a grew up my brother wanted more of the games so we got windoze. We were so fed up with all the crap that we went back and i haven't been happier.
 
Well 4-5 years ago I was 14 or 15(can't remember) we had a old pc running win95 that looked like a microwave! We decided to get a new computer and a combination of my uncle and a friend (who works for a school district maintaining macs!) convinced my mother and I(mostly my mother) to get an imac(in my sig).

It was before OSX came out and I was not thrilled with OS9 and was convinced that when I got a new computer it would be a PC. But then OSX came out and and I upgraded to 10.2 whenever that came out. I fell in love with OSX and now vow not to buy a PC! Now the imac is too slow/old etc so yesterday I ordered a 12" powerbook :D

Now isn't that a happy ending ;)
 
My story is similar to Pukhead:

Had a Mac SE for MacPaint in late 80's, and then we got a COLOR computer! A Macintosh LC. We had the brand new System 7 and Vette! by Spectrum Holobyte. Wow, that game was memory intensive we had to max out the RAM at 8 MB. That computer taught me to become a power user, after constantly breaking it, and ruining the system with too many CDEV's (control panels) and extensions.

We upgraded when I was 14 or 15 to a 7500/100 w/ a whopping 16mb of RAM. I got AOL and started downloading software, and never looked back.

Oh and when that crazy idea the iPod came out, I was the first to have one. I'm quite proud of that.
I've never owned a PC and never will.
 
We had an original Macintosh in 1985, which lasted us a few years, my dad converted the whole family (with violent protest) to Winblows, so I used those for a while.

When I got back into photography and writing in 1999, I bought a B&W 300MHz G3 and the rest is history.
 
Back in 1998, I walked into a CompUSA and said to the first salesman I saw, I want a computer for the internet and word processing. He pointed me to the new bondi blue iMac and told me it was cheap, easy to set up, simple to operate and plenty fast. Sold.
 
About 2 years ago i saw the iBook line and was in love!!! they looked great and they had rave reviews in all the magazines and on the net. SO i had my heart set on a G3 iBook, which i got in the summer of 2003 since then i havent looked back whenever i use windoze i feel limited and bored the world of mac is so much more exiting...

ShadOW :p
 
I had various toy computers like a Sinclair Spectrum in the 80s. I moved to a 386 with Windows 3/1 in 1993. In 96 I was given a Pentium with Win 95, but that was a horrible experience (I had to write coursebooks on it), so they gave me the secretary's old Performa.

Never looked back.
 
I started using Apple's at school back in 1993 as well as a friend's Macintosh Plus. Then a family friend convinced the family to buy a Mac for Christmas (1993). And so arrived the LCII - a computer I recently looked up its specs and had a chuckle. I remember thinking I would NEVER fill the 80MB HD and thought my computer was powerful because, thanks to RAM Doubler, had 8MB RAM. Oh how times have changed.

When the LCII went tits us (about 1996), the HD was put inside a 2nd hand LC 475. In 2002, when the battery and original monitor started to die in the LC475, I realised it would be smarter just to buy a second hand Mac so I bought a PowerMac 7200/90 vowing when I finished university I would finally be able to buy a new Mac.

Luckily, before I graduated I found a good job and bought my first ever new computer (Sept 2002), the iMac G4 which I am using right now. And I'll be buying an iBook soon too. The only reason for the new purchase is I need to go portable. If I didn't, I'd probably just upgrade the RAM in this because it still works perfectly.

I will always be a Mac user. Sure, they cost a little bit more but they last. The LC475 and PowerMac 7200 are still in my cupboard and still work! They are worth nothing but I just can't bring myself to throw them out. It's pathetic, I know. :eek:
 
Been using Macs since my parents bought an original 128k Mac not long after they came out in 1984... they upgraded it to 512k which seemed like a ton of memory. I used that until I could afford to buy a used IIsi, then bought a PowerMac 6100 for cheap that needed some minor repairs. That lasted me until 5 years ago, when I bought a 500MHz Pismo... and last year I passed the Pismo on to my wife who still uses it, and I bought a 1.5Ghz PowerBook.

I've also used various PC's with Windows/Linux... but very much prefer Macs (especially now with OS X, it's so much better than the dark days of OS 7/8/9). :cool:
 
My family used old command line operating systems while I grew up. At some point we had Windows 95, then Windows ME. During the WinME stint, Jeremiah and I became best friends. I can precisely recall the time when he showed me his new graphite clamshell iBook. We watched parts of "The Matrix" at lunch and wowed several people with a computer that looked so amazing. Later, he would show off Expose which was a clincher for me.

Last year, even during my collegiate poverty, I bought a used G3 iBook. I can't imagine any case or circumstance that would make me give up OS X.

Now, there's a 12" PB on the way.
 
I never quite understand why people's PCs are constantly crashing. What the hell do you guys do and not do?

I do plan on buying a PB when I go off to college. Not because I hate Windows, not because Im not satisfied with it, and definately not because it keeps crashing on me or giving me problems. Its simply because I like exploring of the different options out there. Whether it be a Mac, Linux, or whatever. I have arleady experimented a little with Linux however was too complicated for my taste since I didnt know much command lines and the GUI couldnt get me too far.

Windows is a GREAT operating system, that is if you know how to use it and take care of it. I think most problems occur is because due to lack of education. Windows is definately not for the weak hearted, you have to have a few years of experience before you understand how to use it properly.

In most cases its because alot of people neglect to stop start up applications when it boots. This can SEVERLY screw up your machine big time. For one it takes ALOT of memory, processing power, and basically time. This is one of the biggest problems to PC noobs is because if you have enough start up apps and you have so much RAM you will start using Virtual RAM and gives a very likely chance of your system locking up and crashing.

Another common problem is people not actually maintaing the system. I have had friends come up to me with their "broken" computer and a simple defrag and clearing out temp. files clears up all their problems. I dont know about Macs yet but defragging is another big thing. If you dont atleast do it once every six months you are going to start running into alot of problems. I dont know why the hell the computer does this but basically it makes your computer take much more time and resources to retrieve files. Sometimes it may not get everything causing crashes and what not. If you defrag atleast once every 6 months you can see a big difference.

Finally another common problem is the occasional and often spyware and viruses. Both of them are extremely annoying because spyware is constantly mining for information which consumes resources. I have experienced one which was actually making my system into like a Hub where I was doing work for some random company. And viruses I dont think I need to go further. They can really mess things up.

I have been using Windows for a long time and at first I remember I always tackled alot of problems. But in the end I found out it was simply my own fault for not knowing was needed and what was going on. To put it simply Windows is like a baby, it needs alot attention, if you slip up, something bad may get in yoru system and screw it up. Its not Windows fault.
 
Way Back

My dad was a developer for the Apple Lisa. We had one in the den in 1982. I remember him saying, "they call this a mouse."

He only works on PC's now, but I never looked back. At this very moment I'm playing hooky from work, awaiting delivery of my new imac 2.0 20 incher.

:D
 
Got a Laser computer in the early '80s, did some (very) basic coding (pun intended). Then I got an Amiga 500 around 1990, but that was essentially a Game console (Pirates, Lemmings, etc). So in 1994 when I felt it was time to get a "real" computer, I browsed around a bit.

At the time I had the choice between a 386 or 486 PC running Windows 3.11 or a Mac Performa, Quadra or LC running OS 7.1. The choice was fairly simple and I spend a small fortune on a Performa 630CD with a 14" screen and a small HP deskjet colour printer. An awesome machine, with advanced multimedia capabilities (for the price), in 1994. I was hooked.

I've both before my first Mac and in particular later mostly used Windows PC for work, and Windows/Linux PC for College/University, but I've always stuck to the Mac for my personal computing... ;)
 
wako said:
I never quite understand why people's PCs are constantly crashing. What the hell do you guys do and not do?

Windows is a GREAT operating system, that is if you know how to use it and take care of it. I think most problems occur is because due to lack of education. Windows is definately not for the weak hearted, you have to have a few years of experience before you understand how to use it properly.

To put it simply Windows is like a baby, it needs alot attention, if you slip up, something bad may get in yoru system and screw it up. Its not Windows fault.
Click to expand...

LOL... I'll tell you why people's PC's are constantly crashing. It's because Windows trys to be everything to all and fails miserably. In my opinion, windows is not a GREAT operating system. And yeah, it is windows fault. Simply defraging will not make your pc run that much better. One of the biggest problems windows has is the registry. If you install a program, then remove it, the registry never fully recovers from that. Thats also why you have to run an uninstall script VS just simply deleting a folder on a mac.

Also, you talk about having to know how to use windows and its "not for the weak of heart". Thats exactly how I would describe Linux, not an OS that tries to appeal to everyone as being simple and user friendly. Windows has sooooo many security holes, flaws, and memory leaks, and tries to support sooooo many pieces of hardware. The only way to have windows remain totally stable is to back up all your data and re-install the OS every 9 to 12 months.

Sure XP is way better than 98 and ME, but it still has a ton of issues. And Wronghorn... I mean Longhorn doesnt look like its going to be that much better. My iBook and my G3 BW tower have never had to have the OS re-installed, or the HD defragged or swept for spyware....EVER!!!

A Mac is exactly what a personal computer should be... turn it on and use it and enjoy it and not have to worry about performance/security/spyware/registry/viruses/defrag/etc etc etc.

I would bet a paycheck that if you sat someone down who never used a computer before and just showed them XP and OSX, they would absolutely choose OSX.
 
My aunt had a Mac TV (the black kind) back in the early 90's. My family bought our first Mac around 1995 I believe (I do have info somewhere, actually posted somewhere on this forum). Since then, it's been all Macs!
 
I never switched. First computer was a Mac SE and I have never looked back.

As I used to be a reseller, I still get a lot of people asking me what to buy. I always say the same thing. I sold computers for 12 years and am proficient on both Windows and Mac. I choose Macs. If you buy one, feel free to call on me anytime. If you buy a Windows PC, I get $75 an hour.
 
Was first introduced to Apple (Apple IIe) when I was in grammar school (they were teaching us BASIC at the time). Parents then bought my brother and I an Apple IIe about a year later, which was eventually returned and exchanged for the newer Apple IIc and a 9" green monitor. While doing the exchange, I remember taking a peek at the Macintosh 128K in another room, but was scared off by the unfamiliar GUI and mouse. It wasn't until a few years down the road (1988?) that I finally got my hands on a Macintosh SE. And the rest is history.
 
I may be a bit different to most people I moved from the Amiga to x86 but I skipped Windows and moved straight to Linux. From the mid 90s until 2003 I used various Linux distros, and forms of BSD I'd seen Macs during this time and have to say I was less impressed with the platform than I was with Windows.

When Apple announced OS X my UNIX like OS dork-a-meter started tweaking, and when Jaguar was announced I started buying Mac magazines and books.

Around October or November 2003 a Linux user I had known for years went out and bought a PowerBook the day he got it we sat there chatting on IRC about how great it was, I can't say I was convinced but he knew his stuff when it came to UNIX and UNIX like OSes so the next day I bought an iBook with Panther on it, for a couple of weeks I was like this is okay but it's nothing like Linux/*BSD then something clicked and I was like yeah this is nothing like Linux/*BSD and that is a good thing.

Around this time I gave my GF my Athlon XP2700+ with Debian on it, a while later I bought a Power Mac Dual G5 1.8 GHz, then I gave my iBook to my sister so I could get a PowerBoook G4 1.67 GHz, and a couple of months ago my GF and I sold the old Debian box and bought her an iMac G5 1.6 GHz.

So it's a little over 18 months since I got my first taste of Mac OS X and I really can't ever see myself going back to any other OS.
 
d_saum said:
LOL... I'll tell you why people's PC's are constantly crashing. It's because Windows trys to be everything to all and fails miserably. In my opinion, windows is not a GREAT operating system. And yeah, it is windows fault. Simply defraging will not make your pc run that much better. One of the biggest problems windows has is the registry. If you install a program, then remove it, the registry never fully recovers from that. Thats also why you have to run an uninstall script VS just simply deleting a folder on a mac.

Also, you talk about having to know how to use windows and its "not for the weak of heart". Thats exactly how I would describe Linux, not an OS that tries to appeal to everyone as being simple and user friendly. Windows has sooooo many security holes, flaws, and memory leaks, and tries to support sooooo many pieces of hardware. The only way to have windows remain totally stable is to back up all your data and re-install the OS every 9 to 12 months.

Sure XP is way better than 98 and ME, but it still has a ton of issues. And Wronghorn... I mean Longhorn doesnt look like its going to be that much better. My iBook and my G3 BW tower have never had to have the OS re-installed, or the HD defragged or swept for spyware....EVER!!!

A Mac is exactly what a personal computer should be... turn it on and use it and enjoy it and not have to worry about performance/security/spyware/registry/viruses/defrag/etc etc etc.

I would bet a paycheck that if you sat someone down who never used a computer before and just showed them XP and OSX, they would absolutely choose OSX.
Click to expand...

Man it sure is hard going to the registry and deleting the folder...

Again Apples and Windows is different. With Windows if you actually use it properly (and do the defragging and scans) you wont have a problem. Sure it might be easier to use a Mac because you dont have to do them, however thats just how Windows works. If you know how to use it, it wont bother you. Obviously you arent to educated in the Windows field.

OSX and Windows is designed for very different things. Windows I guess you can say is designed around the word network. The security holes that you see is because of the tons and tons of features that is built into Windows and by default is on. A few simple fixes (and trust me there are tons of guides on the web where you just go set the properties) so you wont have so many problems. OSX... i cant really say, since I dont have it yet. Maybe you can tell me.

From the looks of things though its more for usability. However I see many programs being sold on a Mac where on Windows is free. For example Remote Desktop which I use on a regularly basis is built in to Windows.... on a Mac I have to fork over 300 dollars and its VNC which is VERY insecure (there are programs that look for specific ports for the insecure protocol it uses!). Another thing is that I need to upgrade Quicktime so I can record, watch tv on my PC, etc etc? I CAN ALREADY DO THAT WITH WMP!

Windows is not a bad system at all. Again malicious things that gets into a PC isnt Window's fault. Blame the hackers that want to destroy your computer. If there werent any spyware, viruses, worms and what not around the net many people wouldnt care which they use. Hell Im sure if the tables were turned and OSX was the dominant OS then people would be clinging on to Windows.

Many people just dont know how to use Windows and take care of it. Only reason to take care of it is because of the malicious things that get into your system and the ill education people get when they get their system. Again its a baby and it requires alot of attention and if you slip it will goto the dark side (i just finished watching star wars :D ) and blow up in your face.

I been using Windows for a long time and had a few crashes, all of them were my fault because I was being reckless but were easily fixed because I knew what I was doing. Most people do not.
 
I don't know if I should be laughing or crying after reading that last post!

Windows is broken, sure it's getting fixed with stuff like SP2 - oh wow lets turn the firewall on by default, and close some ports! Um why were they open in the first place?

I could make a huge list here of reasons why Windows gets viruses and other OSes don't but I'll leave that to someone with time on their hands.
 
I still use Windows, but waiting for teh iBook rev.

Anyway, I tried Linux (Mandrake) some years ago and found it to be good & stable system which took little and gave much. Then I upgraded that machine Linux ran on with better soundcard and then came the problems. Audigy 2 Platinum was so new that it had zero drivers (still lacks linux drivers for the front panel, damned) and I was forced to switch back to Windows.

During that time I was on a holiday in USA and wandered into CompUSA to check out some games. There I saw the G4 flat-iMacs and eMacs and iBooks and pBooks... All the 21st century stuff. I had thought that Apple was dead & buried! After giving OS 10.2 a try I decided I'd buy one if they werent so ****ing expensive. I loved the uniquely easy Unix feel on them above everything!

Now prices are competitive and software kicks some major ass like never before. So here I come easy unix-world... If only Apple would advertise here in europe too. Many people think the company is dead. :(
 
risc said:
I don't know if I should be laughing or crying after reading that last post!

Windows is broken, sure it's getting fixed with stuff like SP2 - oh wow lets turn the firewall on by default, and close some ports! Um why were they open in the first place?

I could make a huge list here of reasons why Windows gets viruses and other OSes don't but I'll leave that to someone with time on their hands.
Click to expand...

Why? Its simply because hackers can find the exploits and instead of making viruses for Linux or Unix it would be more damaging if they made it for Windows because it would have a larger effect.

On another note though its not like Linux and Unix systems dont get hacked. Why do you find websites/servers down? Most of them use Linux or Unix...

And its not even the firewall that closes them, its the simple networking tools that Microsoft made that is left on. You obviously dont know much of what a firewall does
 
OSX vs XP

The difference:

XP: The user must take care of the OS. (The OS is dependent on the skills of its user. It is like a car which can only be driven by an mechanic )

OSX: The OS takes care of itself.
 
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