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Disadvantges of Mac OS X`

E

eothun123

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Sep 16, 2008
3
0
Hello all,

After the release of the new Macbooks and new Macbook Pro's, I'm planning to buy an all new shiny Macbook Pro. But: Are there any downsides to OS X? What is there that is better in Windows?

Also, how many of you had to return their mac to Apple for reparations? IN the first year that you had it then.

Thanks!

Eothun123
 
Congrats to your decision to switch to mac!
I'm quite sure you won't have any troubles with your new mac. If you have some, Apple will take care. Don't think, just because you are reading of so many problems on mac sites this represents reality.

OS X = do your work, don't care about the system os ≠ Windows
 
eothun123 said:
What is there that is better in Windows?
Click to expand...

Oh... golly.

Downsides? Hmm... lack of games if you're a gamer, slightly less support worldwide (but it's getting far better), lack of GPU support (but that only matters to the Mac Proers).

Don't waste your money on Mac anti-virus. It only slows your system down and doesn't do anything for you. Don't waste your money on system optimizers, and don't ask about defragging; you don't need to. All that I do is repair permissions in Disk Utility once every couple of months.
 
Okay thanks. So I also heard that if you burn cd or dvd's on a mac, a Windows or Linux system can't read them. Is this true? That would not be a good thing if you ask me :(

Used Windows for a long time now, I even have Rocket Dock and a mac theme complete with boot screen to pretend it's a mac :p
 
Not true.

You might find one or two applications that you can't run, but theres normally always an equivalent or the same application available.
 
Somewhat trivial, but it irks me that OSX you can only resize a window from the bottom right corner. In Windows you can do from any edge. I’ll take that pill everyday though for all the other upsides.
 
My biggest beef with OS X so far: Finder scuks, or at least parts of it do. Especially when you're trying to organize direcories with 1000s of files.
The biggest problem obviously being that it is not possible to sort directories at the top. (no I don't want to put spaces in front of the names or sort by type) And no, scrolling down is not fun, and using spotlight only makes it less of a pain, but it is still a pain. Also, that you can't search just for secondary attributes (like image size) you first have to search for part of the name (say "."). No proper tree view. (and no, putting some folder in the finder sidebar is not the same).
I've tried some 3rd party file management programs, but so far I didn't really like them, either to minimal or too bloated.
Also, it would be very much appreciated if apple could fix their handling in case a directory of file already exists. For files, display both the origin and the destination (with preview if applicable, and let me decide, like vista does for image files for example) for directories, I'm under the impression that if finder asks me "directory bla already exists" and I click on "replace/overwrite" or what it's called, it doesn't just replace duplicate files inside the directory and copies the others, lives non-duplicates in the destination alone (expected behaviour) but it deletes the destination, and then copies the origin (I'm not entirely sure about the last one)
I also might start a seperate thread about it. Don't get me wrong, I really like my mac, but when you have a lot of files that you want organized (without iphoto or some such thing) these issues come up.
 
My mac's given me plenty of grief in the year that I've owned it (hardware wise) but I've never had to send it back... when I get a 2nd computer I'm going to get them to go over it though, there's just too much going on with it (dirt under the screen, bent metal, lose screen, charger light that doesn't light), but nothing that makes it unusable.

While I've never had issues like this on previous laptops, they've all always had at least one major issue within the first year of ownership, so I consider this good? :confused:
 
The only thing I really miss is my Windows games, which isn't a problem if you just put a copy of XP on your computer with Bootcamp. Personally, I'm just too cheap to buy Windows and too much of a purist to use Bootcamp. But software-wise, that's my only complaint--too few games. (They are many, many Mac games, just not nearly the Windows selection.)

Hardware-wise, I wish my MacBook had a better GPU. Integrated graphics is kind of lame, but hasn't been much of a problem since I'm not a serious gamer.

As for repairs? The only thing is about a half-year after I got it, the edge of palmrest started cracking a little. Like this:

2392510796_498e8e9d08.jpg


From what I hear, these days they'll fix it for you for free, usually within a couple hours. I've been too lazy to take my MacBook in, though, since it's a completely cosmetic issue to me, hasn't gotten any worse, and doesn't really hinder the machine in any way. I've also had the power cord fraying issue, but they'll replace those free for you too, now. I plan to take my charger in next time I'm near an Apple store.

All in all, get a Mac. It's completely worth it, and you'll never look back.
 
eothun123 said:
Hello all,

After the release of the new Macbooks and new Macbook Pro's, I'm planning to buy an all new shiny Macbook Pro. But: Are there any downsides to OS X? What is there that is better in Windows?

Also, how many of you had to return their mac to Apple for reparations? IN the first year that you had it then.

Thanks!

Eothun123
Click to expand...

There are no downsides to OS X when compared to Windows.
 
dukebound85 said:
except games, hardware support, engineering applications, etc:rolleyes:
Click to expand...

Indeed, nothing is perfect and OS X is no exception. (Which some people just can't seem to comprehend.)

Disadvantages of OS X, hmm. Well, there's the obvious lack of games, for one.
I don't really like the way the windows in OS X function, but I'm beginning to think I'm the only one who doesn't...

Hardware wise, one of the main complaints is that Macs are more expensive. This horse has been beaten to death, but to put it simply: yes, Macs are usually more expensive then a PC of the same specs, but you're paying for a better experience.
 
being called a fanboy when your happy with your os.


(along with things like lack of games, if your a gamer.)
 
Just on Apple's website it looks like there are about 600 OS X games to download. I'm not into games these days but if I were I would not run out and get Windows machine with all these choices. I'd probably get a game console.
 
Not to mention games, such as the one I made, that aren't listed on Apple's website ;)

Anyway, back on topic... you can't, without a hack, make folders display before files. Windows does this, but not Mac OS X. For some people, especially switchers used to the Windows way, this is somewhat irritating.
 
eothun123 said:
Hello all,

After the release of the new Macbooks and new Macbook Pro's, I'm planning to buy an all new shiny Macbook Pro. But: Are there any downsides to OS X? What is there that is better in Windows?

Also, how many of you had to return their mac to Apple for reparations? IN the first year that you had it then.

Thanks!

Eothun123
Click to expand...

Not enough time to figure out how awesome it is!
 
EV0LUTION said:
Not enough time to figure out how awesome it is!
Click to expand...

Are you for real?

OS X is a compromise for sure. In particular, be prepared for limited and delayed support for new hardware (phones etc.). Nobody would release a mainstream product without Windows support, but support for Mac is not seen as essential (at least at first). OSX is essentially a subscription service too; if you want to keep using the latest hardware/software you will have to pay your subs every time a new release comes out. The interface is, at the very best, confusing for a Windows user; at worst, prepare to be infuriated.
 
Rather than go into a long description about this I just thought i'd get to the point :p

For the most part, what a Mac can do it can do incredibly well.

BUT, Windows can still do everything your Mac can do, and more, but most of the time in a less pretty/fluid/easy/"Oh Steve Jobs I Love You" way.

As said just above, it is a compromise. You lack some features for being able to do others easier/better. And yes, you pretty much have to keep up with the latest release of Mac OS X as developers leave the old version behind quite quickly.
 
There is only one thing that irks me about Mac OS X - and to be fair its a royalpaininthearse issue that has only just been fixed by Microsoft in Vista.

When you copy a bunch of files and for some reason a file fails, the entire copy fails. This is stoopid - and I hope its going to be fixed soon.

Now when vista fails a copy you get the option to skip, cancel etc (and to apply the same choice to remaining issues) - now for someone that does a lot of file copying/moving its a godsend (esp when recovering files from clients dead PC's).

Otherwise I love mac os x and am very happy that I changed.

(for the record I am not a vista hater also (75% of people I know who say vista sucks have never used it!)- I like Vista as an OS, it has bugs but what software doesn't?)
 
DSG said:
Are you for real?

OS X is a compromise for sure. In particular, be prepared for limited and delayed support for new hardware (phones etc.). Nobody would release a mainstream product without Windows support, but support for Mac is not seen as essential (at least at first). OSX is essentially a subscription service too; if you want to keep using the latest hardware/software you will have to pay your subs every time a new release comes out. The interface is, at the very best, confusing for a Windows user; at worst, prepare to be infuriated.
Click to expand...


I switched from windows to Mac and haven't looked back. I have had no problem getting my windows mobile products working with my Mac (I have a Motorola Q). The OS does have a learning curve of about a day at worst.

Everything will become much easier if you just think simple, and treat your desktop as the desktop, not a place for a applications. Coming from windows I was use to having to dig into the My Computer folder for drive access, with the mac everything just pops up on the desktop.

Being a web designer the programs that I used a lot on windows (Dreamweaver, photoshop, Firefox, ect.) became much more streamlined on OSX and everything else was just easier to use.

If you are thinking of switching then do it. You will not be infuriated but extremely happy with your choice. The major software you use is most likely supported anyways.

The only con I can think of is the amount of money you have to shell out for accessories. But I did find the software I wanted from apple (mainly iWork) was much cheaper than Office and it too was easier to use.

And my girl friend loves my mac book pro :p
 
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