What convinced you to Apple?
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mysterytramp
macrumors 65816
In 1985, we wanted to buy a house but the only credit history I had was college loans. The loan officer groaned when I told her. Then she said borrow $2,000 and pay it back, then we might qualify for a mortgage.
Having $2,000 in my pocket, I convinced my wife we needed a computer. Researched the topic with all my friends. The Kaypro guy said get a Kaypro. The IBM compatible guy said get a clone (but Columbia had just folded). One Apple II guy said get an Apple II, but the other said he loved his II but I should look at a Mac instead.
So for $2,100, in February of 1985, I got a 128K Mac, external 400K drive, Imagewriter I, OS (don't think it had a number then, 1.1g came later), MacWrite and MacPaint. I splurged and spent $250 for Microsoft Word. (Fat Macs had just been released, and as I recall, the first Fat Macs offered nothing more than extra RAM. With a UniFinder interface, the extra RAM seemed a waste of money -- then.)
My only regret is that I wasted the money on Word. I wish I still had that Imagewriter I -- best printer ever made.
BTW, IBM and Compaq had models that would have cost scads more with 64K RAM, 360K disk drives and ugly green monitors. Printers were extra. Not sure when the Apple-costs-too-much diatribe started, but it wasn't at Frederick Computer Products in 1985.
mt
Having $2,000 in my pocket, I convinced my wife we needed a computer. Researched the topic with all my friends. The Kaypro guy said get a Kaypro. The IBM compatible guy said get a clone (but Columbia had just folded). One Apple II guy said get an Apple II, but the other said he loved his II but I should look at a Mac instead.
So for $2,100, in February of 1985, I got a 128K Mac, external 400K drive, Imagewriter I, OS (don't think it had a number then, 1.1g came later), MacWrite and MacPaint. I splurged and spent $250 for Microsoft Word. (Fat Macs had just been released, and as I recall, the first Fat Macs offered nothing more than extra RAM. With a UniFinder interface, the extra RAM seemed a waste of money -- then.)
My only regret is that I wasted the money on Word. I wish I still had that Imagewriter I -- best printer ever made.
BTW, IBM and Compaq had models that would have cost scads more with 64K RAM, 360K disk drives and ugly green monitors. Printers were extra. Not sure when the Apple-costs-too-much diatribe started, but it wasn't at Frederick Computer Products in 1985.
mt
jaikob
macrumors 6502
I was taken captive by a guy with a gun, he told me to spend my money on a mac, and if I didn't he was going to let Windows kill me first, then he would shoot my dead aching carcus that would be full of viruses and spam eating away at my most private memories, and send them to some Asian guy living in a Japanese style bomb shelter.
I willingly switched to a mac to avoid such a fate.
Windows ended up with a cure, Norton Anti-Virus, It was said to be 30% effective, some other cures are known, but not too effective.
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That was my imagination
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I really bought my mac because I liked the way it ran my Adobe products, and I liked how stable and widely supported the OS was. I also liked the fact that I can run a lot of open source software on it.
I willingly switched to a mac to avoid such a fate.
Windows ended up with a cure, Norton Anti-Virus, It was said to be 30% effective, some other cures are known, but not too effective.
-------------
That was my imagination
-------------
I really bought my mac because I liked the way it ran my Adobe products, and I liked how stable and widely supported the OS was. I also liked the fact that I can run a lot of open source software on it.
"liptonlover
macrumors 6502a
I got into macs... because that's what we've always had. I don't know why my dad got into macs but he did before I can even remember. At first it was just like, a mac is a computer. I didn't know anything different. But now, I'm convinced macs are better because I've looked at it objectively. I don't care if it's 3x more expensive, I'm sticking with macs.
In my high school days of the early 1980's my parents bought an Apple ][+ with a green screen and dual floppy drives. However, when I went off to college I bought a PC XT clone for myself my third year. I did get into a trend of non-MS OSes for a while - Interactive Unix, then Linux, then OS/2, before settling on Windows 95/98 and XP. I built my own PCs during those times. Since I enjoy PC games, Apples were just not on my radar.
Then Vista came along with all of its baggage and disappointment. I vowed I was not going to use Vista on my home system. I experimented with Linux again, but there are certain apps I had to have functional on the computer that did not have native versions for Linux (QuickBooks and Slingbox Player mostly). Since there are native versions for OSX of those apps, that left me with getting a Mac. So, in late Feb. of this year I bought a 15" Macbook Pro the day the recent version came out. I have been quite pleased with my purchase since then. Other than games, only one application requires me to use Windows, and that is watching a streaming Netflix movie. Once that's available for OSX, only games are left for my Windows needs.
Since buying a Mac, I have also bought an iPod Nano and a Time Capsule. I intended to buy the Time Capsule even if I didn't get myself a Mac, but the iPod ended up being a more impulsive purchase when my Treo stopped being adequate for music. I'm also likely going to buy an iPhone soon, too, now that the App store is going and has equivalent apps I use on my Treo.
My wife is still using her XP PC, but I expect she'll be switched to a Mac when it comes time to replace it.
Then Vista came along with all of its baggage and disappointment. I vowed I was not going to use Vista on my home system. I experimented with Linux again, but there are certain apps I had to have functional on the computer that did not have native versions for Linux (QuickBooks and Slingbox Player mostly). Since there are native versions for OSX of those apps, that left me with getting a Mac. So, in late Feb. of this year I bought a 15" Macbook Pro the day the recent version came out. I have been quite pleased with my purchase since then. Other than games, only one application requires me to use Windows, and that is watching a streaming Netflix movie. Once that's available for OSX, only games are left for my Windows needs.
Since buying a Mac, I have also bought an iPod Nano and a Time Capsule. I intended to buy the Time Capsule even if I didn't get myself a Mac, but the iPod ended up being a more impulsive purchase when my Treo stopped being adequate for music. I'm also likely going to buy an iPhone soon, too, now that the App store is going and has equivalent apps I use on my Treo.
My wife is still using her XP PC, but I expect she'll be switched to a Mac when it comes time to replace it.
My Reason is a simple forumla really.
My Mac choice = Unix Core + Stability + User Interface + Simplicity - dll - registry
I work on a Windows machine all day long and I really don't like it, but when I get home every night I am so happy to see my Macs!!! I tried linux, but theyjust can not touch Apple with their User Interface and Simplicity!!!
-iGrant
My Mac choice = Unix Core + Stability + User Interface + Simplicity - dll - registry
I work on a Windows machine all day long and I really don't like it, but when I get home every night I am so happy to see my Macs!!! I tried linux, but theyjust can not touch Apple with their User Interface and Simplicity!!!
-iGrant
r0k
macrumors 68040
I ran Linux for quite a long time before coming to Apple. I ran command line mostly and every now and then I'd mess with the gui. Gnome and KDE seem so much like Windows and the sys admin gui support was spotty when I tried it. Once I tried OSX and saw that clean uncluttered gui along with all the command line tools I knew and loved from Linux, I was sold. It was only a matter of time to put the funds together to make the switch.
There is also the matter of doing business with Apple versus M$. If I have a support question with M$, It seems like I spend more time proving I'm not a criminal than I do on actually solving my issue.
With Apple, it seems like the priority is to make it work as advertised or provide a workaround. With M$, the priority is to pump out a standard product and redirect end users to "solution providers" when they need help.
With Apple, the priority is on ease of use. With M$, as long as it is technically feasible to do something even if it's 25 clicks or involves a registry editing session, that's good enough.
With Apple, the software is provided as a means of making the hardware valuable enough to turn a profit. With M$, the software is the product and if you don't like it, too bad. You aren't the customer, the OEM that made the Windows box is the customer.
M$ has very little incentive to make you happy after the sale. I have never heard of anyone getting a refund from M$ for money they paid for windows. Apple has a customer satisfaction policy that I think is either 14 or 30 days. Whatever it is, it's 100% longer than M$.
Edit:
Oops. I forgot the biggest nail in the M$ coffin for me: Vista. I was looking at new machines and I did not want to even think about paying for the level of hardware I would have needed to run Vista. And even now, after XP was supposedly taken off the market back in June, it is STILL outselling Vista. So says HP at least. Somebody needs to tap those folks up in Redmond on the shoulder and whisper... Bullying, lies and "Steer Manure" do not create good customer relationships.
There is also the matter of doing business with Apple versus M$. If I have a support question with M$, It seems like I spend more time proving I'm not a criminal than I do on actually solving my issue.
With Apple, it seems like the priority is to make it work as advertised or provide a workaround. With M$, the priority is to pump out a standard product and redirect end users to "solution providers" when they need help.
With Apple, the priority is on ease of use. With M$, as long as it is technically feasible to do something even if it's 25 clicks or involves a registry editing session, that's good enough.
With Apple, the software is provided as a means of making the hardware valuable enough to turn a profit. With M$, the software is the product and if you don't like it, too bad. You aren't the customer, the OEM that made the Windows box is the customer.
M$ has very little incentive to make you happy after the sale. I have never heard of anyone getting a refund from M$ for money they paid for windows. Apple has a customer satisfaction policy that I think is either 14 or 30 days. Whatever it is, it's 100% longer than M$.
Edit:
Oops. I forgot the biggest nail in the M$ coffin for me: Vista. I was looking at new machines and I did not want to even think about paying for the level of hardware I would have needed to run Vista. And even now, after XP was supposedly taken off the market back in June, it is STILL outselling Vista. So says HP at least. Somebody needs to tap those folks up in Redmond on the shoulder and whisper... Bullying, lies and "Steer Manure" do not create good customer relationships.
Started with Windows '95 and got pretty handy with Windows through the years. Eight years ago got a job working with PCs and Macs. It was time to replace my Dell about 6 months ago, so what did the trick?
Sometimes, I'm at a loss, because I used to spend so much time tweaking and fixing. The only thing I miss is being able to upgrade hardware with age, but the Pro (tower) models are too many $ for me. I hope software and other technology doesn't get too far ahead of my iMac before I can afford another.
- OS X gets better all the time, and I like to work in it much more than XP.
- Found out how to get Adobe to switch my all my software to Mac.
- XP's age and Vista's lack of support for legacy devices and software.
- Intel chips so I can still run those couple of apps that have no Mac version.
- Security
Sometimes, I'm at a loss, because I used to spend so much time tweaking and fixing. The only thing I miss is being able to upgrade hardware with age, but the Pro (tower) models are too many $ for me. I hope software and other technology doesn't get too far ahead of my iMac before I can afford another.
EV0LUTION
macrumors 6502
Nothing really drew me to apple, I still am an avid windows user, I use Vista and love it (its a nice and solid OS).
When my drivers decided to leave my desktop I got extremely frustrated, and starting doing some research into buying a new computer. I found that an apple is a much more secure platform to work on, and another plus there are no viruses (yet).
So I bought a MBP for school and have been amazed at the stream lined simplicity of the OS. I love the one click layout and working on a no worries laptop.
When my drivers decided to leave my desktop I got extremely frustrated, and starting doing some research into buying a new computer. I found that an apple is a much more secure platform to work on, and another plus there are no viruses (yet).
So I bought a MBP for school and have been amazed at the stream lined simplicity of the OS. I love the one click layout and working on a no worries laptop.
BSD Unix and Apple's Choice of Hardware Components
Wind River Systems acquired BSDi and their BSD/OS operating system. Several years later, they announced that they were discontinuing the commercial version of BSD/OS. At the time, we were using BSD/OS and its IPFW implementation to implement custom firewall solutions for our customers.
We tried several Linux distributions. IPCHAINS and IPTABLES implementations at the time simply couldn't do what we needed. When we discovered that Mac OS X had a BSD Unix under the hood and had IPFW, I and another engineer bought Apple systems to see if we could use Apple based systems for our custom firewall projects.
Apple's IPFW implementation wasn't up to the task. It lacked all of the IPFW features present in BSD/OS. It did, however, have a GUI environment which was, essentially, missing from BSD/OS.
When my BSD/OS home system was on its last legs, I went through a system engineering exercise to build a replacement system. After doing that, I looked at "off the shelf" systems from Apple, Compaq, Dell, HP, and SuperMicro. Apple's PowerMac G5 came closest to matching my "ideal" system and cost less. The only problem was the timing of my purchase. Apple switched from PowerPC to Intel processors 6 months later.
In 2008, I purchased a Mac Pro as a replacement for the PowerMac G5. Today, I find that I spend more time, now, using the Mac OS X GUI environment than the X-Windows environment. In another 5 years, I might even become a" Mac fanbois".
My only big gripe with Mac OS X is that it doesn't include all of the basic server tools in the distribution like BSD/OS did.
Wind River Systems acquired BSDi and their BSD/OS operating system. Several years later, they announced that they were discontinuing the commercial version of BSD/OS. At the time, we were using BSD/OS and its IPFW implementation to implement custom firewall solutions for our customers.
We tried several Linux distributions. IPCHAINS and IPTABLES implementations at the time simply couldn't do what we needed. When we discovered that Mac OS X had a BSD Unix under the hood and had IPFW, I and another engineer bought Apple systems to see if we could use Apple based systems for our custom firewall projects.
Apple's IPFW implementation wasn't up to the task. It lacked all of the IPFW features present in BSD/OS. It did, however, have a GUI environment which was, essentially, missing from BSD/OS.
When my BSD/OS home system was on its last legs, I went through a system engineering exercise to build a replacement system. After doing that, I looked at "off the shelf" systems from Apple, Compaq, Dell, HP, and SuperMicro. Apple's PowerMac G5 came closest to matching my "ideal" system and cost less. The only problem was the timing of my purchase. Apple switched from PowerPC to Intel processors 6 months later.
In 2008, I purchased a Mac Pro as a replacement for the PowerMac G5. Today, I find that I spend more time, now, using the Mac OS X GUI environment than the X-Windows environment. In another 5 years, I might even become a" Mac fanbois".
My only big gripe with Mac OS X is that it doesn't include all of the basic server tools in the distribution like BSD/OS did.
kernkraft
macrumors 68020
The first one is always special. Mine was a crack addict.
I have been using Macs occasionally since 1994 and I kind of liked the interface. But what converted me was their late-2006 MacBook on higher education pricing. I was a university lecturer and I was looking for a portable but fast and stylish computer.
13" and around seemed to be a good compromise in size. At the time, computer manufacturers offered their 13" laptops at a premium. With Apple, it was and still is the opposite - the larger the screen, the more expensive the laptop. There was a Philips (licensed one, not real Philips-made) that I liked and a 2 GHz MacBook. In the end, I paid around £750, which was still over to what I should and could have, but it was in the same category as the Philips. In a year, I started noticing those Philips laptops appearing on Ebay with severe problems at a tiny fraction of their original price. Meanwhile, I sold my Crackbook for £550 almost two years later. Fortunately, my subsidised AppleCare covered the six or seven separate cracks and having almost all plastic parts being replaced.
It is kind of said that Apple still puts those C2D processors in the portables and that the MacBook with similar performance costs pretty much the same. In fact, the prestige of the white plastic MacBook is worse than it was at the time. If you want to get into the same category, the unibody costs a grand. So who the hell would claim that Apple computers are not overpriced.
When my girlfriend received our 15" MacBook Pro, I almost cried, it was so bloody expensive. It's not about the money, it's about the principle that for that money, people can expect a bit more than a weak battery and a faulty graphics card.
Since the CrackBook, I went through several Airs, unibodies and now I have three, including our 15" MBP. But honestly, the next time I will consider at least LOOKING at Windows computers.
I have been using Macs occasionally since 1994 and I kind of liked the interface. But what converted me was their late-2006 MacBook on higher education pricing. I was a university lecturer and I was looking for a portable but fast and stylish computer.
13" and around seemed to be a good compromise in size. At the time, computer manufacturers offered their 13" laptops at a premium. With Apple, it was and still is the opposite - the larger the screen, the more expensive the laptop. There was a Philips (licensed one, not real Philips-made) that I liked and a 2 GHz MacBook. In the end, I paid around £750, which was still over to what I should and could have, but it was in the same category as the Philips. In a year, I started noticing those Philips laptops appearing on Ebay with severe problems at a tiny fraction of their original price. Meanwhile, I sold my Crackbook for £550 almost two years later. Fortunately, my subsidised AppleCare covered the six or seven separate cracks and having almost all plastic parts being replaced.
It is kind of said that Apple still puts those C2D processors in the portables and that the MacBook with similar performance costs pretty much the same. In fact, the prestige of the white plastic MacBook is worse than it was at the time. If you want to get into the same category, the unibody costs a grand. So who the hell would claim that Apple computers are not overpriced.
When my girlfriend received our 15" MacBook Pro, I almost cried, it was so bloody expensive. It's not about the money, it's about the principle that for that money, people can expect a bit more than a weak battery and a faulty graphics card.
Since the CrackBook, I went through several Airs, unibodies and now I have three, including our 15" MBP. But honestly, the next time I will consider at least LOOKING at Windows computers.