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Apple putting me in a bad situation for laptops
- Thread starter lasuther
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First I want to say I am a Mac guy...
I am also a Linux guy
I am also a Windows guy..
BSD isnt bad either...
What I'm always surprised at is the amount of people who have problems with Windows and have said as much in this thread. I have four in my household alone and have absolutely zero problems. Just as anything in this world if you dont take care of it and treat it right it will fail.
Its just amazing to me to see how many people will try to remind people of the 'problems they have with Windows'. I guess I just dont see that many.
Aside from a packard bell I bought back in 95 that came with a burned out com port and an emachines that had a bad power supply the only other computer that I have bought that had a hardware failure was my iBook. Yes, apple handled it VERY well and I got a factory installed bigger hard drive for no cost to me.
Flame away....
I am also a Linux guy
I am also a Windows guy..
BSD isnt bad either...
What I'm always surprised at is the amount of people who have problems with Windows and have said as much in this thread. I have four in my household alone and have absolutely zero problems. Just as anything in this world if you dont take care of it and treat it right it will fail.
Its just amazing to me to see how many people will try to remind people of the 'problems they have with Windows'. I guess I just dont see that many.
Aside from a packard bell I bought back in 95 that came with a burned out com port and an emachines that had a bad power supply the only other computer that I have bought that had a hardware failure was my iBook. Yes, apple handled it VERY well and I got a factory installed bigger hard drive for no cost to me.
Flame away....
As much as I am a fan of Apple, I think Thinkpads have the best build quality of all notebooks and carry the best warranty and service/support. Additionally, they are not as expensive as Powerbooks as some have suggested.
At this stage I would choose a PC laptop over a mac laptop, despite the fact that I hate Windows. The tech in Powerbooks is just too far behind the current PC laptop offerings, especially given the price.
Having said that, I'm hopping on the new Intel powerbooks as soon as they are released.
At this stage I would choose a PC laptop over a mac laptop, despite the fact that I hate Windows. The tech in Powerbooks is just too far behind the current PC laptop offerings, especially given the price.
Having said that, I'm hopping on the new Intel powerbooks as soon as they are released.
I've got to argree with Arcus on this one. I have used Windows, in various incarnations, for the past eight years without using an anti virus program. I have gotten one virus in that time and that was the dreaded Blaster worm. I plugged the security hole with a patch, removed the worm and have had zero problems since.
Here are three simple things to think about:
- Don't download software from unknown/shady sources. Stay off DC and the likes. I know this may be hard for the software pirates out there, but what can I say? Buy your software instead.
- Don't go all crazy with the porn surfing. Just stick to larger, more reputable sites and stay off all these TGP sites and what not. There's mostly no content on those sites anyway (just links, links, links)...
- Use Firefox or another third party browser. Simply dump IE.
If you aren't a software pirate, don't fancy shady porn sites and can accept an alternative browser, these things shouldn't be a problem.
So, what do you gain by following these things? Well, as I said earlier, I have pretty much zero problems with viruses. Blaster is the only one since '96-'97 something. I haven't gotten ANY spyware since I got Firefox (yes, I surf porn sites too, but not the shadiest ones...).
To top this off, I can also say that my XP installation simply never crashes. I have used WindowsXP on several home machines since it was released and to be completely honest I don't think I have had one crash that wasn't caused by my own overclocking of the hardware.
The three office machines at our business has clocked in approximately 20 000 hours without any crashes. They are not maintained either. They just work. I have never defragged them or done any other maintenance on them and they've been running for years. Despite this, the systems work extremely well.
Having had no stability issues with any of my machines, I can only conclude that WindowsXP as an OS is very stable. It is the malware/spyware etc. that causes instability if there is any and the solution really is as simple as the three points I outlined above.
I know that a lot of people do have problems with WindowsXP. What I'm trying to say is that it doesn't take a genius or a total computer wiz to run WindowsXP succesfully. Here we have a guy that can save $2000 on getting a much faster machine from Dell. Sure, he will have to put up with a less streamlined and well thought out user interface/experience. BUT he doesn't have to experience all the horror stories you are telling and he doesn't even need antivirus/spyware software to prevent it.
I know some of you still probably think I'm pulling this out of my a$$. Just trust me when I say that me and my business are far too dependent on well functioning computers to put up with the horrors you're describing. I spend close to zero time on maintaining my computers, just as it should be. Windows may not provide the best user experience around, but it does work and it works well.
I also realise that this post will brand me as a PC/Windows fanboy, but I don't care. I like PCs, I like Macs. This post is not one versus the other. I just get sick and tired of reading about how a computer with Windows is pretty much useless.
Here are three simple things to think about:
- Don't download software from unknown/shady sources. Stay off DC and the likes. I know this may be hard for the software pirates out there, but what can I say? Buy your software instead.
- Don't go all crazy with the porn surfing. Just stick to larger, more reputable sites and stay off all these TGP sites and what not. There's mostly no content on those sites anyway (just links, links, links)...
- Use Firefox or another third party browser. Simply dump IE.
If you aren't a software pirate, don't fancy shady porn sites and can accept an alternative browser, these things shouldn't be a problem.
So, what do you gain by following these things? Well, as I said earlier, I have pretty much zero problems with viruses. Blaster is the only one since '96-'97 something. I haven't gotten ANY spyware since I got Firefox (yes, I surf porn sites too, but not the shadiest ones...).
To top this off, I can also say that my XP installation simply never crashes. I have used WindowsXP on several home machines since it was released and to be completely honest I don't think I have had one crash that wasn't caused by my own overclocking of the hardware.
The three office machines at our business has clocked in approximately 20 000 hours without any crashes. They are not maintained either. They just work. I have never defragged them or done any other maintenance on them and they've been running for years. Despite this, the systems work extremely well.
Having had no stability issues with any of my machines, I can only conclude that WindowsXP as an OS is very stable. It is the malware/spyware etc. that causes instability if there is any and the solution really is as simple as the three points I outlined above.
I know that a lot of people do have problems with WindowsXP. What I'm trying to say is that it doesn't take a genius or a total computer wiz to run WindowsXP succesfully. Here we have a guy that can save $2000 on getting a much faster machine from Dell. Sure, he will have to put up with a less streamlined and well thought out user interface/experience. BUT he doesn't have to experience all the horror stories you are telling and he doesn't even need antivirus/spyware software to prevent it.
I know some of you still probably think I'm pulling this out of my a$$. Just trust me when I say that me and my business are far too dependent on well functioning computers to put up with the horrors you're describing. I spend close to zero time on maintaining my computers, just as it should be. Windows may not provide the best user experience around, but it does work and it works well.
I also realise that this post will brand me as a PC/Windows fanboy, but I don't care. I like PCs, I like Macs. This post is not one versus the other. I just get sick and tired of reading about how a computer with Windows is pretty much useless.
Then you are one of the lucky Windows users. I had virus protection and stuck to those rules you mentioned (actually mine were a little stricter) and had my Windows computer crash on me several times. By the Way, I had an up-to-date virus protection program (McAfee) and it didn't help. Wether or not it was a virus or not, I don't know, but then it's just Windows fault.
EricNau said:
I must be one lucky Windows user as well. I had never had any serious issues with my Windows computer, but I'm switching soon (whenever Apple releases the new PBs) and I'm looking forward to it. Now I will finally get a computer that doesn't require me to upgrade my soundcard driver just to make it work. And what the hell is a PCI-conflict anyway? I think the user shouldn't be bothered by issues like that. If you want options get a PC, if you want a troublefree working enviroment get a Mac.
McAfee is terrible, download AVG Free Edition. Run Firefox with cookies disabled (and an exceptions list of course), and stay up to date with Windows Updates, you should be in good shape 99% of the time.
I'm one of the "lucky" Windows users as well, apparently.
I'm one of the "lucky" Windows users as well, apparently.
Having switched myself and gotten others to switch, I don't know why you would buy the Dell. My most recent switcher said he'll never go near Windows again and laments not switching sooner. That pretty much says it all in my book. I begged my mom to switch recently as she's always calling me with problems with Windows. What did she do? Bought another Windows machine. Guess what? She still calls with problems.
I know what you mean, leekohler. My mother's PC is about done for. I came to fix it and it was so far gone that I had to access the Recovery Console so that I could disable a few stalled services JUST so I could get into Safe Mode and begin fixing...
...turns out she doesn't have a clue what her admin password is, so no RC, no Safe Mode, no fix yet.
But, on the brighter side, she is buying a brand new iMac G5 in January thanks to my prodding.
...turns out she doesn't have a clue what her admin password is, so no RC, no Safe Mode, no fix yet.
But, on the brighter side, she is buying a brand new iMac G5 in January thanks to my prodding.
I guess it all boils down too if you know what your doing security wise, Windows can be a great OS. If you don't (such as all your mother's that you guys are complaining about) then windows is pretty much a death trap.
I am in the same position. Shortly, I will be beaving for school (overseas) and do not currently have a reliable notebook. Yet, I cannot bring myself to dump $3K on a powerbook that is screaming for updates. Only option I am currently considering (besides waiting) is picking up a low end iBook for now.
lasuther said:
I had to register for this forum just to comment on this post. To the less-hardcore Apple enthusiasts, you'd be insane to pick the G4 over the Dell. $1900 difference! (Naturally I'm sure the true enthusiasts don't look at the price tag--but I'm a student here) Sure Windows is insecure, but so what. I agree Mac OS is by far superior, but I don't mind running AV software with a small memory footprint. I'd be ignoring what OS I was using if it was a $1900 difference and purchasing a notebook was a necessity.
I am really looking to buy a Powerbook myself (would be my first Mac, and they are awesome machines--also explaining why I only recently registered here) but it's really hard to justify it with that sort of price. That said, I hear there is going to be a little update to the G4 books by the end of the month. Either way, no DDR2, no 64-bit.
lasuther, go with the Dell!
ok, i've had mac's all my life, everyone in my family has had a mac and they've all loved them. but now it seems that we're making a transition AWAY from apple. my brother recently got a new sony vaio desktop, he loves it, I love it too....there is also a dell inspiron notebook in the house now too. and just this afternoon i bought a souped up gaming pc. personally i don't see what the big deal against windows is. it works fine for me, theres just some things that OS X has that it doesn't and most of them are minor (to me at least) and lets be honest, no one wants both OS's to become one in the same. i would have bought a powermac were it not so F*&#ING EXPENSIVE, and since i'll basicly only b4e using it for games i won't have to deal with the windows GUI very much. the only thing i'm worried about is viruses, but even so i've never had any trouble with the current windows boxes so i'm not overly worried.
it seems that the main beef for would-be switchers, mac owners alike would be apple's pricing, they are way too overpriced and to spend an extra $1K on the operrating system (or so it would seem) is completely absurd, anyone who does this is downright insane because no matter which way you look at it, it just can't be worth it unless you have that kind of money to throw around.
i certainly hope apple get's its act together soon and hopefully with the new intel machines we will see some sort of price drop. if not, then the odds of me remaining with apple are geting slimmer with every passing day
it seems that the main beef for would-be switchers, mac owners alike would be apple's pricing, they are way too overpriced and to spend an extra $1K on the operrating system (or so it would seem) is completely absurd, anyone who does this is downright insane because no matter which way you look at it, it just can't be worth it unless you have that kind of money to throw around.
i certainly hope apple get's its act together soon and hopefully with the new intel machines we will see some sort of price drop. if not, then the odds of me remaining with apple are geting slimmer with every passing day