Why do PC users hate Macs?

[Fukui]

Re: Asian pespective on Mac user...

Originally posted by kaizer
Reason? It's expensive. Coz in asia, the price of clone computers is just too cheap compared to CBU Macs.

A P4 2G, 512Mb, 15 inch LCD cost round USD500 or so. Just can't justify to splurge thousands for a Mac, altough I'd love iMacs. That's reality for me.

Yea, I know what you mean. When I was in Taiwan, all I saw were very inexpensive "home made" boxes that are NOT BRAND NAME. Its very very difficult for anyone big company to compete in this market because (IMHO) people are conditioned to think of PC's as inexpensive tools and not luxury items. If apple wanted bigger market share, they'd have to have an expandable inexpensive tower or Mini-tower system for under 700 US and below....if only we had a steve jobs for every region....

 

[Mav451]

I think you guys misunderstand me when I say it is too expensive.

I built my computer for only 500 dollars. And is it downright close to the performance levels of factory overclocked machines from Alienware/Falconwest.

Can I build a Mac together for 500 dollars and come close to the top performing model? Nope.

It is b/c i build my own computers that i base everything entirely on the the price/performance ratio. If there were a "Newegg for Macs" site, I would definitely give this a try. People also factor in the repair cost, but for me that has only been a small amount of time (nearly 1/10 of the time i spent working on my 98 box). With the time i spend personally fixing it, means i KNOW how my system works (again, saving more from not taking into a local BB or Compusa where they charge hundreds for not doing much)--why not learn it for yourself so not only will you know how to fix it, but you can also help your friends/relatives/etc.?

...so that is also not a factor for me personally.

As an AMD user, i guess I've been spoiled with a ridiculous performance/price ratio for years now. I bought the 1600+ Athlon Palomino at 56 bucks. The current 2100+ at 87bucks. As you can see, i like having the ability to change processors at will, in regard to the changing market prices on these CPUs.

I wish there was an easier way for me to try out OSX without buying an "everything built already, add 100%-150% premium price for the Apple name".

If an Opteron 244 (dual 1.8ghz Cpus) only costs $440 rite now, the mobo an additional $150, the Apple equivalent should be alot closer to 1200 (HD/video card/ram add to around 500; OS? 100-150bucks? a guess), not the current $1700 price tag.

I am betting if people could purchase the mobo/cpu/video card separately, these costs would become cheaper.

Heck, imagine if Asus/Abit/(insert third top mobo maker) were competing for Mac boards marketshare! This is not the case however . There is only one mobo maker in Apple's lineup and Apple controls that by giving you a limited 3-model based systemcally. Thus there can be realistically no "Newegg for Macs", and thus, premium "Intel-like" prices for their product line.

I guess my dream for a "NewEgg for Mac" may never come true...maybe it is just the pot at the end of the rainbow.

 

[Rower_CPU]

Please list the parts you got and their prices.

I've built plenty of PCs and $500 bucks for a system comparable to those of Alienware/Falconwest is not do-able without having some parts ahead of time. And even then, it's not easy to do.

 

[jefhatfield]

Originally posted by Mav451
I think you guys misunderstand me when I say it is too expensive.

I built my computer for only 500 dollars. And is it downright close to the performance levels of factory overclocked machines from Alienware/Falconwest.

Can I build a Mac together for 500 dollars and come close to the top performing model? Nope.

It is b/c i build my own computers that i base everything entirely on the the price/performance ratio. If there were a "Newegg for Macs" site, I would definitely give this a try. People also factor in the repair cost, but for me that has only been a small amount of time (nearly 1/10 of the time i spent working on my 98 box). With the time i spend personally fixing it, means i KNOW how my system works (again, saving more from not taking into a local BB or Compusa where they charge hundreds for not doing much)--why not learn it for yourself so not only will you know how to fix it, but you can also help your friends/relatives/etc.?

...so that is also not a factor for me personally.

As an AMD user, i guess I've been spoiled with a ridiculous performance/price ratio for years now. I bought the 1600+ Athlon Palomino at 56 bucks. The current 2100+ at 87bucks. As you can see, i like having the ability to change processors at will, in regard to the changing market prices on these CPUs.

I wish there was an easier way for me to try out OSX without buying an "everything built already, add 100%-150% premium price for the Apple name".

If an Opteron 244 (dual 1.8ghz Cpus) only costs $440 rite now, the mobo an additional $150, the Apple equivalent should be alot closer to 1200 (HD/video card/ram add to around 500; OS? 100-150bucks? a guess), not the current $1700 price tag.

I am betting if people could purchase the mobo/cpu/video card separately, these costs would become cheaper.

Heck, imagine if Asus/Abit/(insert third top mobo maker) were competing for Mac boards marketshare! This is not the case however . There is only one mobo maker in Apple's lineup and Apple controls that by giving you a limited 3-model based systemcally. Thus there can be realistically no "Newegg for Macs", and thus, premium "Intel-like" prices for their product line.

I guess my dream for a "NewEgg for Mac" may never come true...maybe it is just the pot at the end of the rainbow.

as a pc tech, i understand your point of view

building machines is not a bargain anymore where i live (silicon valley) because you can get a great machine for gaming, office, or whatever very cheap right off the shelf already built by a computer store or from a major company on sale for as low as 299 to 349 usd

with 2600+ pc related companies in a five county region, the prices of computers, fully assembled, just makes it impossible to build a machine cheaper than a major company, and many are here, that can buy parts by the thousands and they get amazing volume discounts so they can build a machine cheaper than one can get if they bought the parts individually as a regular person

many of these computers don't even leave the region and i heard taiwan was also a place where high quality fully assembled machines could be had for very cheap...when i see what people in the rest of the country have to pay for pc boxes, i am shocked...i guess i am spoiled

some pc techs and hobbyists here still build a machine just for kicks and no matter what combination you can dream up, there is a store that has that very machine built way cheaper than you can build one

sometimes i wish i could buy 10,000 pentium 4s, 10,000 motherboards, tens of thousands of memory sticks, and buy windows at the $40 dollar (secret) industry volume price...oops, now i am in trouble ...and finally have a quality staff put one together and see how cheap i can build a good box for and charge for it

 

[laserbeahm]

Windows users who hate Macs do it out of ignorance. Most of the time they hate Macs simply because the ones they had in their computer lab at school were outdated. How many of us went to a school that still used Mac 128s 10 years out of date?

When they compare a pre-OS 8 Mac that they use at school to their $499 Dell at home, and combine it with their preconceptions that Macs are very expensive, they feel that they got the better deal and that anyone who uses a Mac must not be too smart.

A lot of them are just stubborn. They hate to take the time to learn something new. Oh well, it's their loss.

 

[Fukui]

Originally posted by Mav451
I think you guys misunderstand me when I say it is too expensive.

I built my computer for only 500 dollars. And is it downright close to the performance levels of factory overclocked machines from Alienware/Falconwest.

Can I build a Mac together for 500 dollars and come close to the top performing model? Nope.

It is b/c i build my own computers that i base everything entirely on the the price/performance ratio. If there were a "Newegg for Macs" site, I would definitely give this a try. People also factor in the repair cost, but for me that has only been a small amount of time (nearly 1/10 of the time i spent working on my 98 box). With the time i spend personally fixing it, means i KNOW how my system works (again, saving more from not taking into a local BB or Compusa where they charge hundreds for not doing much)--why not learn it for yourself so not only will you know how to fix it, but you can also help your friends/relatives/etc.?

...so that is also not a factor for me personally.

As an AMD user, i guess I've been spoiled with a ridiculous performance/price ratio for years now. I bought the 1600+ Athlon Palomino at 56 bucks. The current 2100+ at 87bucks. As you can see, i like having the ability to change processors at will, in regard to the changing market prices on these CPUs.

I wish there was an easier way for me to try out OSX without buying an "everything built already, add 100%-150% premium price for the Apple name".

If an Opteron 244 (dual 1.8ghz Cpus) only costs $440 rite now, the mobo an additional $150, the Apple equivalent should be alot closer to 1200 (HD/video card/ram add to around 500; OS? 100-150bucks? a guess), not the current $1700 price tag.

I am betting if people could purchase the mobo/cpu/video card separately, these costs would become cheaper.

Heck, imagine if Asus/Abit/(insert third top mobo maker) were competing for Mac boards marketshare! This is not the case however . There is only one mobo maker in Apple's lineup and Apple controls that by giving you a limited 3-model based systemcally. Thus there can be realistically no "Newegg for Macs", and thus, premium "Intel-like" prices for their product line.

I guess my dream for a "NewEgg for Mac" may never come true...maybe it is just the pot at the end of the rainbow.

Well, thats true, and there are different markets for different people. Companies like apple, and even HP/Dell cannot match the price advantage that someone who assembles all the parts themselves and gets it all working from the same sources they do...and you don't have to worry about profits!! It think it wold be very interesting if apple let people buy MBs and CPUs from them...I think in business who want to have thier IT dept repair thier machines ect, this would be very good.

TBO though, I think that the majority of users out there say around 90% don't either have the time or patience to put together their own computer, they just want something that works...for myself, I would love, absolutely love to buy a 17 iMac or 20 iMac, but for me, it would have to have some little bit more expandability or or be a 2GHZ+ G5. If I'm gonna buy something that I can't mess around with much, it has to be THE BEST. But again, for the average consumer, 1.4 GHZ 512MB Ram anything is just about as good as anyone would need...thats why the PC business is not "growing" anymore.

I can guarentee you though, someday when PC's are fast enough, they'll all be some kind of appliance that is so easy to set up and just "turn it on" like an iMac...I mean, how many people complain that thier TV or DVD player is not expandable and refuse to buy it?

 

[Mav451]

Hehe, well where to start:

(considering prices have dropped since i bought them in March 2003, keep that in mind)...

Ok **i already had my 17" Nec FE791SB Aperture Grille Flat screen** (so that's $176 on top )

**my 200gig has been added recently (also a very recent $218 investment, courtesy Newegg again...man I'm getting pretty predictably aren't i)

Also, Rower, i'm referring to systems they had last year around March (no Athlon 64's or Opteron systems, only the early Bartons).

With that aside here goes:
(directly from Newegg receipt, no holds barred)

11-125-210 CASE CHEF|AX-01BLD SPX2 U2F BLUE 0W
$69.00

13-131-435 MB NFORCE2 A7N8X-UAY ASUS RTL
$119.99
For Asus Tech Support, Please Call 502-995-0883 or http://helpdesk.asus.com/

17-103-908 POWER SUPPLY ANTEC TRUE430 ATX RTL
$79.99

19-103-370 CPU AMD|2100+ 1.73 ATHLONXP TBRED%
$87.00
For Retail AMD processor, please call 408 749-3060 for service after first 30 days. For OEM AMD processor, newegg.com will service for 30 days only. Please verify the Processor matches your order Prior To installation. IMPORTANT: Always pack your CPU well for return. Newegg.com will refuse your RMA if we received it as DAMAGED!

22-144-122 HD 80GB|WD 7200RPM 8MB WD800JB%
$99.50
This item is serviced by the Western Digital. Please call 800 832 4778 for service.

35-108-017 CPU FAN AMD/INT|MCXC370-BC SWIFT RT
$29.00

Subtotal
$484.48
Tax

$0.00
Shipping and Handling charge

$15.99
Amount Paid

$500.4

Crucial Ram was from Crucial.com directly, at the time $42/stick for 256MB PC2700 Ram, 2 for a total of $84.

To sum it up (disregard my current sig, below i am posting the original setup from March 2003):

CPU: 2100+ [87]
Mobo: A7N8X [119]
Case: AX-01BLD Antec case with 2 fans [69]
Memory: 2 x 256 PC2700 [84]
PSU: Antec Tru430 [79]
HD: WD80Gig [99.50]
CPU Heatsink: Swifty 370C [29]

Transplants:
*SBLive (don't know price from 5 years ago, i guess anywhere from 10-25 in OEM markets in March)
*ATi Radeon 8500 (a steal @ 87 bucks in summer 2002)
*2 fans from old AMD tbird case (i guess 5 bucks? These are extreme generics haha).
*17" Monitor valued @ 176 in summer 2002.

500.49 NewEgg order
+ 84 Crucial ram
+ (5 + 17 + 87 = 109 + 176 monitor)
= $869

You're right. Without my old transplants (worth nearly 300 dollars), I would actually be paying 584 dollars

 

[jefhatfield]

Originally posted by Fukui
Well, thats true, and there are different markets for different people. Companies like apple, and even HP/Dell cannot match the price advantage that someone who assembles all the parts themselves and gets it all working from the same sources they do...and you don't have to worry about profits!!

dude, come over to silicon valley, and see the companies in action...there is no way one person can build from the same sources at the same prices

you have to buy by the 10,000s (bulk quantity) to get the real volume discounts and even with profit figured in, they beat what a single user paying single user prices can garner as a discount

i have seen pc techies/enthusiasts from other areas come here, buy up machines, and return to their region or state and resell them for a tidy profit

there are so many connections here that it's incredible...in any regular computer class, half the students are connected with major computer comapnies and most have access to parts and gear at great prices...but with even the connections i have had in the last five years as a tech and dot.com person, i cannot build a compaq p4 for under $500 bucks from parts i can get, nvidia or ati card, 256 or 512 ddr, etc like i can find in many stores here

the companies like dell, toshiba, hp, and others have pc users by the balls because they get everything, including software, for such low, low discount volume prices that it does not make sense to try and build your own with a goal of saving money

of course, i am talking about where i live near san jose...and i realize that in some other areas, it still may be cheaper to build a single box from scratch...but due to the overflow of gear, technicians, and everything computer, the major glut of stuff leads to super cheap pc boxes fully assembled

 

[jefhatfield]

what i am trying to say is that pc users who use the argument that pcs are better than macs because one can build one super cheap is using an old argument

the best pc to buy dollar for dollar is one from a major company and now, quality control is at its best in the pc world

what a pc apoligist should say is that major company pcs are cheaper than macs and thus the better deal

forget about customization, expansion, and other arguments which don't hold that much water, it really is safe to say, dollar for dollar, your compaqs, dells, and hps are quality machines for much less than a mac

 

[Fabrix2003]

To be honest wityh all i was a Windows Xp User now have sold my P4 Tower and 2 flatscreens and have been using a mac for 3 years now and a successful designer. Powerbook 17incher is great fun!.

I would choose Efficientcy over Price due to it bein stable/smooth and a great piece of construction.

oh and one thing i dont get is the (not responding) message everytime on a mac
great deep joy

 

[SiliconAddict]

Originally posted by Powerbook G5
Macs aren't that much more expensive than a comparably high quality PC, though.

They are when you add the $300+ Apple care. Most Windows based systems provide a 3 year warrantee out of the box. Then you add a monitor ,which for many Windows base systems is included in the price, And its easily $500+/- more for a comparably equipped Mac.
I'm not talking the low end eMacs and iMacs since performance wise most current AMD based chips blow them out of the water. I'm talking a higher end PowerMac which when people do comparisons of PCs and Macs its always with the PowerMacs. You never seen any comparisons with the i and e series against budget to midrange systems. If you want to do an apples to apples comparison, no pun intended. It needs to be on a systems that really is comparable and that's the PowerMac line of computers.

 

[maclamb]

A couple of points:
If an Opteron 244 (dual 1.8ghz Cpus) only costs $440 rite now, the mobo an additional $150, the Apple equivalent should be alot closer to 1200 (HD/video card/ram add to around 500; OS? 100-150bucks? a guess), not the current $1700 price tag.

Is forgetting about the $200+ for the XP software license + other apple software (ilfe) that comes with it

Most Dell systems charge extra for the 3 year warranty.



Why do PC users hate macs? ignorance mostly.
But the lack of a Backspace key on the laptop was a show stopper for my Mom when I bought her a Wallstreet for christmas - I went ahead and used it then sold it on ebay and upgrade to an iBook. I will say I don't like the missing backsapce on the "default" keyboar d- my Macally has a backspace keybaord I use w/ the laptop/desktop

 

[Powerbook G5]

The delete key works just like backspace did on my PCs, though.

 

[mikepctp]

I have both and use each one for different things.

I found the PC pales in comparison to the Mac for "real" photo work.

Being in the Graphic biz for 27 years, I have found the PC has just begun to get a "real" foothold in our world but usually not for the fine stuff; mostly for number crunching or non-gui functions.

I am constantly "fixing" the PC's somehow and the Macs just keep plugging away. I use computers to make money, not friends.

A computer is a tool for the masses and as neccesary as cars are in our western world. One can buy the car that always breaks or one can buy the reliable one that sees the shop rarely. If you make your living with a car, which one would you choose?
A PC user can juice up his box and customize it in a similar fashion to the 'kids' lowering their cars, buying NOS and juice-can exhausts, then go ripping around town killing each other due to lack of driving skill. I grew up in an era whose credo remains dear to me: "there is no substitute for cubic inches."

The "Fast and the Furious" just happens to be a G5 right out of the factory with a warranty in full, kinda like the 1969 Daytona Charger (notice the wing!): 200 mph all day long at 3000 rpm with a 5800 rpm redline.

MP

 

[jefhatfield]

the only pc company that i have heard of that has some of its models offer a three year warranty out of the box is ibm

for any other company, the extra warranty time costs extra money

applecare is an up and down type of experience for most people...several years ago, it was a great thing because apple was more expedient about fixing broken gear but today they have an awful reputation for supporting their hardware

as for call in support, they are still very good and are among the best in the industry

for apple to win over more converts, they need to make sure applecare is rock solid and not be full of horror stories...many of which make it to this website...if apple needs to replace a broken piece of gear, they shouldn't replace it with someone else's problem which is usually a refurbished machine with major issues on it

the pc world does this type of thing a lot...skimping...in other areas

being a pc tech and computer salesman before that and working at a well known high tech company before that, i can say that the computer companies play favorites with their customers

when an individual person wants to buy a motherboard, network card, or ram, they may be buying a new piece of gear in the new box or a used or refurbished piece of gear in a new box...all companies have temps with shrinkwrap machines and they dress up old, broken, and used stuff for the individual customers

it's only the corporate clients who buy in bulk who get new gear in new boxes all of the time

this practice of passing off old and used gear as new is unaccaptable but for some reason the pc industry has taken it on itself as an accepted practice...i remember my first high tech job at (company name deleted) and when i saw this practice and other really sloppy behavior, i was shocked...i didn't know what a shrinkwrap machine was at the time and now when i see any so called new product, i know how easy it is to just recycle old and problem stuff and use the company's well known name (they all do) to make the customer have confidence in the product...plus the company knows that many people won't notice the difference and if they do, they won't pursue it

in the process, which i really think stinks, companies make millions off of kicking around many of its customers, especially individuals like you and me

but back to applecare...i think the pressure for apple to lower its prices on its gear...and it has done so greatly over the last few years...makes them sloppy on their hardware support replacing broken gear with other broken gear...they are cutting corners in this section of their business and it is really showing

having been an apple warranty technician, i won't purchase applecare until they get their act together on this portion of their care...but again, that being said, they still have excellent telephone support for helping people through learning mac os and for some people, that makes applecare worth every penny

i do like the idea of apple stores having a genius bar...some independent apple stores used to have snotty employees get so upset when they got asked questions because they perceived themselves as being too busy to answer questions or what they might think as stupid questions

apple's stores take on the philosophy of applecare's phone support and they bend over backwards to answer questions and use patience and understanding with the customer

i hate to say this, but apple is what i would consider the second best company when dealing with its people face to face or over the phone...don't get me wrong, apple is excellent at person to person relations

the best company i have ever dealt with person to person or through phone or email is microsoft...hehe...but on some level i think most people in microsoft know that they make somewhat inferior stuff and that they need to make up for it in some way to retain industry leadership

i often gripe about apple's prices compared to the pc world, but i would be fine if macs cost more than pcs if apple would put their focus on hardware support and not dallying around with replacing gear when warranted

being a fan and user of apple gear since the 70s, i had always wanted apple inc to be a complete all around great company but it was always one issue or another where they fell short and eveybody seemed to know it...apple needs to make their organization as strong as their great operating systems and industrial hardware design, and then they can hope for a larger market share

that being said, if apple were perfect, nice to deal with, and much cheaper, there would still be pc users out there who hated apple inc for no reason

 

[jefhatfield]

Originally posted by mikepctp
I have both and use each one for different things.

I found the PC pales in comparison to the Mac for "real" photo work.

Being in the Graphic biz for 27 years, I have found the PC has just begun to get a "real" foothold in our world but usually not for the fine stuff; mostly for number crunching or non-gui functions.

in the latter part of your 27 years, wouldn't you say that the pc has at least caught up some in the graphics areas?

besides the macs i have at home, i have two pcs...one is a box from 96 with a pentium running windows nt and know enough not to ever try and use that for a graphics machine...so over the years i used it just for the most basic tasks

my other pc is a pentium II class machine running windows 98 and while i would not try and do much in the way of graphics on it, it's still a huge improvement graphically over the pentium 1 with windows nt

wouldn't a pc using windows xp (taking the stability of nt and the graphics capability of 98) be good, with let's say a pentium 4 chip and lots of ram, to be used with photoshop, illustrator, flash, etc?

...and in the last two years or so, would it be ok to use such a pc to make a living?

i don't know the answer to this, but i was considering buying a p4 desktop to go along with my dual g4 and was wondering what you thought about me buying a pc version of photoshop for it...i already know that the dual g4 is great for graphics but it would be nice to have two machines since my wife is the "boss" of the g4 and the pc would be rather cheap

 

[Rower_CPU]

Originally posted by Mav451
...

To sum it up (disregard my current sig, below i am posting the original setup from March 2003):

CPU: 2100+ [87]
Mobo: A7N8X [119]
Case: AX-01BLD Antec case with 2 fans [69]
Memory: 2 x 256 PC2700 [84]
PSU: Antec Tru430 [79]
HD: WD80Gig [99.50]
CPU Heatsink: Swifty 370C [29]

Transplants:
*SBLive (don't know price from 5 years ago, i guess anywhere from 10-25 in OEM markets in March)
*ATi Radeon 8500 (a steal @ 87 bucks in summer 2002)
*2 fans from old AMD tbird case (i guess 5 bucks? These are extreme generics haha).
*17" Monitor valued @ 176 in summer 2002.

500.49 NewEgg order
+ 84 Crucial ram
+ (5 + 17 + 87 = 109 + 176 monitor)
= $869

...

That's more like it.

You made it sound as if you put together an entire system for $500. Just wanted you to clarify.

 

[Mord]

they are scared because they had such a hard time learning windows they dont want to do the whole learning prosess over again with a mac.

enliten them give them a go on your mac

 

[sethypoo]

I actually did a research paper on this topic and found that for the most part PC users like the way things are with their computers. I must say I was a Windows 98SE user for a long time (middle and part of high school) and was completely content with the OS. However, once I started wanting to do more than get onto AOL and instant message my friends, I had to find a computer that could do everything I wanted and more.

PC users don't like change, in my experience. It take so long to figure out Windows that they don't want to switch and have to start over. Plus, there seems to be a Mac user=pansy mindset in my neck of the woods (Northern California).

 

[janey]

Originally posted by warcraftmaster
nope i just got a good idea for a progarm. but i dont know how to use xcode. is they any website? that can tell a thing or two on xcode

first you need to learn a language?
Then comes xcode.
Yeah.
I suggest you learn java or c++ first, then learn objective-c if you'er serious about writing apps for mac os x.

Or take a shortcut and use RealBASIC instead

 

[Fukui]

Originally posted by sethypoo
I actually did a research paper on this topic and found that for the most part PC users like the way things are with their computers.

.......


PC users don't like change, in my experience. It take so long to figure out Windows that they don't want to switch and have to start over.

This is also very very true...

 

[rainman::|:|]

i have just the opposite problem; many of my friends love Macs and think they're great for any number of reasons, but they also consider them 2-4 times the cost of a bare-bones PC, so they don't see it as being worthwhile. i can't seem to make them understand that Macs hold resale value, which closes the gap considerably, and in my experience are cheaper to maintain. but, it's very difficult to convince them of this.

i have a feeling when we get our new iMac, and people can play with OS X (at speeds over 400mhz), they'll be a lot closer to making the switch

paul

 

[edStar]

Originally posted by Mav451
Well it is a yin-yang thing to put it simple. Coming from a PC user's POV, Mac users are rather religious, heck even as far as being called zealots. They tell PC users that their OS platform is outdated, or that their hardware is inferior to the Mac. In that case, PC user's than feel they are being forced onto something, that the Mac users are coming on as condescending (not good when you are trying to convince someone...usually convincing comes from eye-to-eye level).

On the other hand, Mac users probably feel the same way, but in a different perspective. PC users will (in general) ridicule those with Macs as being less knowledgeable, brainwashed, what have you. This in turn infuriates Mac users, who then retaliate...and the world continues to turn

Is that simple enough?

I think you've summed it up pretty nicely.

 

[Mav451]

Everytime i think that I haven't actually used a Mac, I remember that at a workplace that my parents worked out, all, and i mean ALL, their computers were Macs!

And back then, a 14.4Kbs Modem was godspeed...heck I was already learning how to "surf the internet" at a pretty young age, using old school Netscape (and now i use new skl Netscape aka Firebird...funny how it works out)

Of course, i wasn't posting on BBS boards at the time...that take the kind of knowledge that i finally have now...10 years later

 

[billyboy]

I don't know anyone who actually hates Macs, I just meet loads of Windows users with clichéd and uninformed comments. The secret is just to keep a lid on one's exuberance and explain it like it is.

The first misnomer is always always something related to software or software compatability.

No software for Macs. I had to wait a bit to get DVD compression software, but that apart, what am I missing out on? As a non game freak but with a huge collection of really neat card games , yawn yawn, I am still waiting to find a situation where I am left out in the cold. I bought the Mac because there was tick against every feature I asked for advice on on mac forums. What cant I do that I want to do? Please enlighten me.

Then you hear that Macs are dear. On the hardware side I have seen top spec PC laptops that cost more than my Powerbook. And with sw, if it doesnt come free with OS X then it is sure available on versiontracker etc as freeware or low cost shareware. I can get Office at the same discount rates as PC users. Where is the problem about not having shelves full of Mac software in high street stores? I dont think I have bought anything computerish from a high street store, because yes, it is too expensive.

Macs are incompatible in the real world. I have to say I quietly laughed my head off when one XP housemate lent his divx collection to xp user number 2, and I heard whispered conversation that XP2 couldnt recognise the format of one of the CDs. VLC and MPlayer seemed to open everything in the collection for me. We set up a network, and all the time it was, "Macs may not work with this, Macs arent compatible, they use different formats and stuff." Right, course they do. Rolls eyes and thinks who made some network protocols usable. I couldnt open a powerpoint file that XP2 wanted to look at on my Mac. I dont believe that was anything to with incompatability, I just don't happen to own a copy of MS Office.

If people want to know about Macs, I'll tell them, but if they want to undermine my happiness with my computer, it is best just to avoid the issue and get back to my twelve apps and music running in harmony.