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How I Finally “Got” Macs As a PC Technician
As a technician, the Mac culture never really appealed to me. Pretty much anything that can be done on a Mac I can do on my PC. The price of Macs was always a turn-off for me as well. I mean, the highest end model of the newest generation of iMacs is only a 3.06ghz with 4gb of RAM and a 1TB hard drive for $2199 USD. I could build an equivalent PC for almost half the price. I could even install a Hackintosh build on it if I wanted it to run OSX.
Why would anyone with a decent amount of tech knowledge ever want to use a Mac? Well, about 2 months ago I finally “got” Macs.
The Time Capsule Story
I was working for an elderly client who was running a Macbook and had just moved into a new home. My job was to get them on the internet and hook up their “Time Capsule” which is a backup hard drive and wireless router in one.
Now, I’ve worked on Macs plenty of times before doing memory upgrades, installing software and teaching people how to use them but I had never installed a Time Capsule before.
I powered up the Macbook and plugged in the power and ethernet cable into the Time Capsule. I then fired up Apples “Airport Utility” and it instantly found the Time Capsule and connected to it. Once connected, the Airport utility gave me a dialog to setup the Wireless network. I just followed the prompts and it was done.
Now, the Time Capsule has a status light on the front of it indicating whether there is an issue or not, if its a solid green everything is working correctly, if its flashing amber then there is an issue of some sort. I wondered what the issue could be considering the laptop is connecting wirelessly to the Time Capsule and able to connect the internet. I fired up the Airport Utility again and there is a part called Base Station Status that explains the problem.
It said Airport Express has found 2 problems, one was saying that there was double network address translation on the network and there wasn’t a password set on the Time Machine. I pressed the button to fix these two issues and it was done. The status light became a solid green.
As a computer technician, I know how to set up backup drives. I know how to set up a wireless network. I know how to disable NAT and Bridge a router and I know how to put a password on an external drive. Ive done them hundreds of times before so I am no newbie when it comes to this.
This was the moment where I finally “got” Macs. I knew how to do all of this as a technician, I just didn’t need to.
The Windows Movie Maker Story
“Windows Movie Maker cannot save the movie to the specified location. Verify that the original source files used in your movie are still available, that the saving location is still available, and that there is enough free disk space space available, and then try again.”All of the source files were still available, I was saving to the desktop and there was definitely enough space to save. After some Googling it turns out that this error happens when there isn’t enough RAM to output the video. This system had 2gigs of RAM and was running nothing more than the normal Windows processes.
To get Windows Movie Maker to output these videos, I had to break the frames into 6 separate parts and output the movie for each part. While I was doing this I surprised myself by thinking “Man, this sort of work should really be done on a Mac”. Sure, you can get real video editing software on PCs that will handle it nicely (as Windows MM is a bit of a toy) but with Macs, its already installed ready to go.
Although I don’t have much interest in making home movies like this. This is what the average joe wants to do with their computers. They don’t want to worry about available RAM, codecs, compression or the issues of burning it to a DVD. They want it to “just work” and Macs generally do just that.
In an old interview I did with Steve from Podnutz he asked me what I thought of Macs and my response was “I always thought of them as a bit of a childs toy. You use them if you cant use a PC”. That was my Technician mind talking based off my own technician knowledge when I should really be thinking from a clients perspective.
On The Other Hand
I am not saying Macs are without their problems either. Sometimes their software can do freaky things and its often to fix on a Mac than it would be on a PC. Their hardware error messages are usually pretty useless just showing a spinning icon or something. At least a Blue Screen of Death gives you an error code to Google. This is mainly because Apple doesn’t want you to fix your Mac yourself. They want to keep a tight control on their hardware.
Tight Control
With my PC, I am running dual 19 inch screens, Quad Core 6600 @ 2.4ghz, Geforce 4 612mb 8800GTS video card and 3.8TB worth of hard drives inside the machine. I can easily upgrade any part of my computer as I see fit but with Macs however, your options are limited. I even hear that the new Mac Minis have their CPU’s soldered in place. Before, I felt the lack of upgradability was the worst part about Mac but since my “Mac epiphany” I’ve realised that’s what makes them great.
Think of it like PC gaming verses Console gaming, the average joe prefers console gaming because they know every game made for that console will work with that console. They don’t have to worry about the power of their system or whether their video card has the right pixel shader needed for certain games. Pre-defined hardware ensures that everything will “just work”. Application programmers know exactly what hardware combination their software will be run on and therefor they can easily code and test all the possible situations in advance.
Conclusion
In conclusion, you cant really compare the two and say one is better than the other. The ability to choose what parts and the OS you want to have on your PC is what makes them great. The lack of choice means it will always work as it should is what makes Macs great. You cant compare them. Comparing Macs and PCs is like comparing Apples with Oranges (excuse the pun).
Edit: I just had a commentor fire off at me about the lack of tweakability of Macs compared to PCs and hes right. Macs generally dont have as many options to change settings. However, he is thinking from the mind of someone who DOES know computers. We all need to keep in mind that not everyone has the same computer knowlege we do (good thing too, otherwise we’d be out of a job). Most residental based clients just want to use emails, do some word processing, surf the web and maybe put some music on their iPod. Even on PCs where they have the ability to change all sorts of settings, they generally wont because they dont know how to and dont want to break something. The Mac philosophy is that less is more which bugs the hell out of most PC techs, but helpful for the average joe. Its what the average joe wants, and I had to switch my mind out of the “technician mind” and into the client mind to finally “get” it. Additionally, Macs can be a very powerful tool in the hands of an experienced Mac user. They arent just for computer newbies.
I dont want to turn this into a Macs vs PC arguement. Arguing about Mac vs PC is like arguing about religion. You get your fanboys of both sides and in the end everyone ends up hating eachother. This post isnt a “zomg Macs are better” post. I am just saying how after a long time of being a PC man, I finally get the appeal of Macs to others.
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Here we go… I hope this doesn’t turn into a Win vs Mac flame war. I think the visitors to this site are above that.
I’ve been a tech for over 10 years. This past year Macs have become more prevalent, service is in demand. I’ve fixed 3 this year by Googleing errors just like we do for PCs. Support forums and Apple docs are very helpful.
After fixing a few Macs I went ahead and bought one for myself, a base model Macbook for my field service laptop. It runs OS X and Windows XP with Bootcamp. Honestly? Windows has never run so fast as it does on my Macbook! I LOVE it and use the hell out of it for hardcore field service. Then I come home and make videos, music, edit or whatever multimedia task on OS X.
Sorry to be frank – but those who think Macs are limited in scope clearly have not played with one. OS X is freaking Unix under the hood! It doesn’t get more versatile than that people.
Thanks for the post Bruce. Macs are making inroads. Wealthy, educated clients use them. One Dr. I know has 5 in his house alone. We would all do well as techs to broaden our scope and learn to fix what is in demand. In this economy people are repairing not replacing – learn to service everything you can.
-Tony
I can’t say that I know lot about the Apple computer. What I can say is that its great for the end user. Apple computers just work. Their is little configuration that must be done on the part of the user.
Also know that they are using a Unix derivative they have more power under the hood. Real techies can get into the internals of the system and learn what makes it tick.
I believe that Macs have fewer problems that Windows PCs but when a Mac has a issue its serious and requires a greater understanding of the OS and how it operates.
I am in complete agreement with Tony G. I, too, have a long history of working with, repairing, building, and recommending non-Apple products. In fact, I was “anti-Mac” — not only did I not use them, I thought the same as Eric. And I also had the same epiphany as Tony G. and the author. I now have two (a Mini and a MacBook Pro) and would LOVE to be able to SELL them as I do Windows PCs.
Macs have problems. All computers do — heck, probably EVERYTHING does. But USING a Mac, and WORKING on them for that matter, has been very satisfying. To be honest, I think that my experience with Windows-based PCs has made me appreciate Mac much more than if I had started with them.
Most of the world I live is still very much Windows controlled. And that’s one of the nice things about Mac — I’m running Windows 7 Beta (both virtualized AND dual-boot), Windows XP, Mac OS X Leopard, Ubuntu, and gOS all on the same laptop.
When folks ask me what do you think about macs… my reply is “I hate ’em”. I bought one 5 yrs ago to break it and learn how to fix it. Problem is it hasn’t broken yet.
Yes, they are 3x’s the cost.
Yes, you have to deal with those arrogant jerks who think their a Genius (I think they should have their IQ next to their name tag personally).
Problem is in reality not that they don’t break… it’s a matter of market share. If market shares were reversed, we’d have a country of Apple hating weirdo’s and Microsoft loving zealouts out there.
If there were more macs, there’d be more problems, a better market for the virus writers to target, more hot fixes that would gum up other issues and that whole wonderful mac lovin fantasy would pretty much be exposed for what it is…
The best darn marketing ploy by sharp marketers. Go Apple. *yawn* Yay.
I try and not deal with Macs if I can at all help it, but that is personal preference. Also, I’ve setup of people who just want to email, surf the web, and word process, with a Linux box. I can get in and tweak it exactly how they want and they just run it. You want it to look like XP? ok. Not a problem. It won’t be EXACTLY like it, but I can get it close enough.
If someone wants to do graphic design or record, then yes, a Mac is the way to go….but to just use it for the basics? There are better, cheaper, faster and FOSS alternatives such as Linux.
@gunslinger
I still stand by what I said. “Better” is relative to the desired abilities and results.
1) Macs can’t do it cheaper than a PC can. Macs cost quite a bit more money for what you get, comparatively speaking, to what yo ucan get in the PC world.
2) Macs aren’t as configurable as a PC because of the way the Mac OS is so integrated with specific hardware. That’s a great strength in many ways, but I see it as an even greater weakness. Like I said, graphics and audio, hands-down it’s Mac, but you can’t just put any mobo in a Mac, any sound card, etc etc etc. (You are trying to convince a Linux geek that a Mac is the way to go. Ever see one run a Mac?)
Macs are great and have their uses, but they aren’t the be-all-end-all, and neither is Linux. You just use the right tool for the job.
If everyone had Macs, we would all be out of a job.
” but with Macs, its already installed ready to go”
Yes, and you pay for it as well. You mention Windows Movie Maker and then say it’s a bit of a toy and then continue to say “its already installed ready to go”? If Dell wanted to charge an extra $1000 on a PC they could throw in a nice Movie Making Software package no? Then tp make sure everything worked correctly on a PC maybe Dell could require software manufactures to follow a stringent guideline and submit software for testing?
Mac is a closed system, PC’s are not, Windows Mac.
Can you right click anywhere on a Mac and get into settings? No.
If your removable disk just doesn’t show up on the Mac desktop can you go into a control panel uninstall it and then search for new hardware to fix it? No.
While I like this site I find this article filler at worst and disingenuous at best.
How about: “I knew how to do all of this as a technician, I just didn’t need to”
So as a Mac tech, would you ever have learned this information? and if something doesn’t work, could you CHANGE it to get it to work?
One of the best things about PC’s (not just Windows) is the ability to adapt and change, with a Mac what you see is what you get, errors and all. There is no rooting around the hood to tweak anything and as a PC Tech.. shame on you for falling into the “no errors” trap of a working Mac.
I “get” that some people want to just power on and go.. that’s fine, buy a Mac or for that matter buy a PC and do nothing else and you’ll never experience a “crash” or “error” but the moment you want to change a setting or install some other software you *might* want to think about a PC.
Mac’s don’t suck, they are just limited in scope.
@tartis, very true. Im glad most of my clients run PCs :)
@Eric, I think you have misunderstood me. Im not all “ZOMG MACS R AWESUM AND PCS SUCK COS THEY RUN M$WINDOZ”. Im still a PC user myself. I love my PC. However, I now “get” what people see in Macs too.
“Yes, and you pay for it as well.”
Of course you do. I didnt say you didnt. Specs wise vs price, we are getting massively ripped off, but its not the point with Macs.
“Mac is a closed system, PC’s are not, Windows Mac.”
I did say this. That was my point.
“Can you right click anywhere on a Mac and get into settings? No.”
You cant really right click anywhere on a Mac, it only has 1 button. “Getting into the settings” is something most regular users dont want to do at all. They just want it to work. Lets look at Mac Mail vs Outlook Express. OE has WAY more options to tweak things than Mac Mail, but most of the “average joe” population dont know what any of this means. Again, they dont care as long as it works so Mac try to keep it like that. If you are knowlegable computers like yourself, definitely go a PC because you know what to do with all those little “settings”.
“If your removable disk just doesn’t show up on the Mac desktop can you go into a control panel uninstall it and then search for new hardware to fix it? No.”
Ive had these problems myself but it happens very rarely. Like PCs, sometimes things just dont play nice (like faulty hardware for example). However, when things are working properly its generally much easier in a Mac. While thats not a problem for me as a PC tech, it is for the general public.
“So as a Mac tech, would you ever have learned this information? and if something doesn’t work, could you CHANGE it to get it to work?”
Im still a PC Tech and I gained most of my knowlege on PCs. Macs do have control panels and other places to get into the nitty gritty of them. They are just well hidden from the average joe so they dont touch something they shouldnt. I remember I had to reset a password for a client because they didnt know their “keychain” password. I had to go down into the file system, delete the file that stores the keychain passwords and the Mac recreated for me. All the nitty gritty is doable just like on a PC, generally just well hidden.
“shame on you for falling into the “no errors” trap of a working Mac.”
Ive had to fix dead Macs too, as I said in the article, the error messages and freaking useless. I didnt say Macs had no errors, but they do just work because if there is a video editing program on a Mac, it already has the files, codecs for just about anything you’ll want to do with it. Generally on a PC you’ll have to install it seperately.
“but the moment you want to change a setting or install some other software you *might* want to think about a PC.”
I can see you know how to use a PC. Your like me and like to get into all sorts of places and tweak a PC. I squeeze all sorts of performance out of my machine far beyond what a Mac can do. HOWEVER, my clients arent like that. They just want it to work. Even those who are on PCs and have the option to tweak. They dont know how to tweak, thats why they call me.
“Mac’s don’t suck, they are just limited in scope.”
They are limited in scope and thats the point. Most residental clients will not use their computers for much more than email, word processing and web surfing whether they have the option to tweak or not, so Macs work great for them.
@gunslinger, why are you so personally vested in Macs? Do you own stock in the company or are you a Mac Evangelist?
I said “cheap-er”, not cheap. There is a difference. My Linux box works great and doesn’t need to cost an arm and leg, and it is filled with quality parts.
In regards to your Ford Escort vs BMW comparison, it’s a bad analogy because the BMW probably has a lot more available options and is far more configurable than the Escort is, which means the more you pay, the more you can choose the options for your car. I find your comparison ironic in that the opposite is true in this case. I pay less to build my own PC and have more options than if I bought a Mac.
“only someone who loves to tinker endlessly with their system cares how configurable their computer is”. Yup.. and that is who they hire to fix their Mac. I would dare to venture and say that the average Linux user knows more about not only their own PC, but more about PCs in general than even some very experienced Windows and Mac users do.
You REALLY want to all PCs? Compile Gentoo from source on it once. You’ll learn more about PCs by doing a few Gentoo installs than you ever imagine.
“With a Mac you can upgrade RAM, Video card to a certain extent and HDD.” Sounds rather limiting to me. I don’t need to “upgrade”, because I build systems from the ground up; and I prefer to do more than “upgrade RAM, Video card to a certain extent and HDD.”
“to a certain extent and HDD.” Really? How generous of Apple to allow the peon user such a mighty privilege!! Thanks. But no thanks. I prefer total control over my system.
Gunslinger, maybe you are more of an end-user, and that’s cool. Nothing wrong with that, but I’ve been using PCs since 1978…3 years after Microsoft started, 8 years before DNS was invented, 12 years before the web, and I have used from Macs System 6 on up. I’m no newbie, so we will have to agree to disagree.
I’ve setup some people who just want to surf the web, do email, word process, and I can take a system that is too bogged down due to Windows updates or too old to be supported by Microsoft anymore (e.g. a Win98 machine) and put Linux on it, and it runs like a top. I won’t hear from that customer again unless it’s a hardware failure generally speaking.
Proselytize the Mac Religion elsewhere, because I’m not buying. Thanks.
“If everyone had Macs, we would all be out of a job.”
I only have to support 11 Macs in this school district right now, but trust me, they have just as many problems as a Windows machine. The Macs, just like the Windows machines, work excellently. It’s the users that break everything. We’ll never be out of a job.
As a Mac fanboy who is also an ex-computer repair tech for PCs, I’ll give Bryce that one of the reasons Mac lovers love their machines so fantaically is that every aspect is designed to “Just work”. However, my love for them is multi-faucited.
Sure, I love that it for the most part “Just works” and does so really well, but why? Well, OS X was designed from the ground up, not as a hodgepodge of necessary functions and methods, but compartmentalized into a series of layers, similar to the OSI networking model.
The bottom-most layer/abstraction, named Darwin is comprised of the Kernel, device drives and a small number of services used by all programs that run. This area is very optimised and allows low-level commands to run quickly.
The next layer/abstraction up is the Graphics and Media layer. It is comprised of Core Animation, Core Image, Core Video, Core Audio, Quicktime, OpenGL and Quartz. These layers are all independent of each other but also inter-operable (can share information if necessary/formatted correctly). My favourite example of the beauty of this is the comparison between a sound recording device in Windows and one in Mac; in order to record another applications audio in Windows, strange device-drivers had to be installed, strange-work arounds to hook into dll’s that arn’t supposed to be hooked into and complete admin privilege to the recording application… In Mac, the application queried Core Audio for a list of apps that had audio, and returned the list, ready to be routed into/out of wherever.
The next layer/abstraction up is the Application Frameworks. Included here are Cocoa, Carbon and Java. These are important because they (along with the Apple Development environment, XCode and a few guidelines from Apple about development) standardise the feel of all Apple applications. If you push Command+Comma in 99% of Mac applications, you WILL get a preferences screen, that will feel like 90% of the preference screens in your other apps.
Finally, lastly, the User Experience layer/abstraction is on top. This includes Aqua, Dashboard, Spotlight and Accessibility. This layer basically standardises the look of the UI, so that 99% of your applications not only feel the same, but they LOOK the same too.
There’s much more to each component than I’ve gone into and the beauty is as deep as you care to look(hint: Wikipedia tells all!), but boiling it down Apple cares about the speed, feel, ease of use and elegance of their products and have built a system that makes it easy for programmers and designers design easy-to-use programs.
When people ask me if I work on Apple, I tell them, “As little as possible.”
I’ll work on Apples with existing clients, or on referrals from existing clients, but I turn away most new business if they’re 100% Apple when they contact me.
@C! Tech Solutions, if you dont mind me asking, why do you turn them away? Is it because you just dont focus on them?
As clients, they are generally great because they are often cashed up professionals and the jobs are nearly always easy.
On my website and tech blog I tell people to consider a mac. 80 percent of the work I do is malware removal. Macs can get virus’s and safari was a security hole.
When Vista came out I told people that this was the time to try a mac as vista was different enough to justify learning something new. My customers who have switched are happy and I rarely hear from them except to install a new peripheral.
My main machine runs ubuntu and has virtual machines for windows xp and vista so that I can help customers over the phone. I also have os x 10.4 in a VM. I really like how xp runs in a VM.
I confess that I have a Zaurus and several Amiga’s so I really should not be listened to about what to buy!
For the money it costs for me to clean malware and tune xp after service pack 3 came out I could easily set up people with ubuntu. Gotta go… have some printer driver issues to fix on vista.
well, if only selfish steve jobs would be willing to allow people to create their own macs, I would support it. Even a startup company called Psystar is trying to help apple, but stupid mr. jobs decided to sue psystar. I know one tech guy, who would use the school’s mac computer and doesn’t bother to use the new mac. He simply takes out the hard drive and use it on a pc, hehehe. Some people don’t give a sht about macs.
One thing I’ve noticed is that with most mac users, they’re clueless when it comes to computers. While pc users generally know more about their pc and what’s wrong with it. People who buy mac computers are like those who buy a luxury or sports cars mainly it looks good, but don’t know how to drive the damn thing.
oh well, people say PC stands for “piece of crap”, while I say Mac “More Annoying Crap”. This world would be a much happier place if selfish Steve Jobs would allow people to build their own cool macs, same thing with stupid Bill Gates if only he would use Unix as a stable OS.
@tony g
Great points, I could not agree more.People who think Macs are limited in scope clearly have not played with one. I will go one step more and say about 99% of the people you will hear bashing Macs do so because they are ignorant, and in reality have never laid hands on a Mac and if they did only for a very limited time. They simply repeat what they have been told for years as “excepted wisdom”.
A modern Mac can do anything a PC can do and then some. I was the same way about a year ago. Someone would walk by at college with a Mac and me and some of my computer tech buddies would all kind of look at each other and giggle and point. “OH, look….giggle…she has a Mac”
In may of last year I got my first Mac. This after doing hour after hour of my own research.I wanted to know if Macs were so horrible why so many people loved them.
Here I sit, 10 months later Macbook going strong. No antivirus, no malware protection, no disk cleanups , no defrags. 5 hours of battery life, boots up in about 35 seconds, shuts down in 6 seconds flat with 96 apps installed and it runs faster now than it did the day I booted it up. Running OS X, Windows XP Pro SP3, and Ubuntu.
The Mac bashing comes from fear and ignorants. People who do bash them are basically saying they are ignorant and have a fear of learning anything new and different. If more techies would just open up their minds a little bit and educate themselves maybe they could stop making us all look stupid.
As a computer nerd, I also know how to set up back-up drives, wireless network and all that. But I don’t want to have to. It’s such a waste of time. So I prefer to use a Mac. I have VMWare so I can also run Windows, Linux and play PC games that didn’t make it to the Mac, the only draw-back of a Mac IMO. The difference in price is also getting smaller by the day. In ‘hours saved’ my Mac is a lot cheaper than a free PC.
But it’s becoming more and more rare that Windows is seeing any uptime. Microsoft really doesn’t make anything I really need.
PCs are great if you get paid to fiddle with your computer.
Mark
Hello,
I am a MAC virgin and I don’t see myself picking up their desktop OS anytime soon. I appreciate this posting b/c it has provided me with some insight into this market segment that I know very little about. I think you were spot on when you compared the games based on computers vs. standard consoles.
“If someone wants to do graphic design or record, then yes, a Mac is the way to go”
@ron
Thats old thinking. Other than playing Windows games on the highest settings, Macs can do anything a PC can, and most times better.
@gunslinger
My mind is like my OS and my applications: Open, not Closed and Proprietary. As for “hate”? There isn’t any hate at all. I am not personally vested in or polarized to any particular operating system. You are the who seems to be emotionally based in these things.
I’m simply use the best tool for the job.
If I want to run QuickBooks and Game, I run Windows.
If I want to do graphics and audio, I run a Mac
If I want to run a server, I run CentOS, NetBSD, or Gentoo – depending on what I want to do.
If I want to run a workstation PC, I run Ubuntu.
None are perfect, none suite all tasks, but some are more flexible than others.
Since I start reading this site almost on daily basis, I had no idea these many readers on this site deal or even interested to MAC or as mater fact a MAC person even read this site at all, anyway very nice topic and interesting views, I came cross a cheap G4 desktop and start dealing and learning how Mac works about year ago and about the same time I have been asked to help setup and troubleshoot Mac few times.
I also feel qualified to speak about this issue without bias because I have all three OS’s in front of me (typing this on my Vista machine, to my left is my Ubuntu 8.1 file server, to my right my Mac Book Pro). I’ve been a professional programmer for 34 years mainly on the big iron but also on PCs. Obviously I’ve had the opportunity to build up quite a home setup.
Bottom line: a *enjoy* my Mac Book Pro. It’s a delight to the eyes, easy to use and as has been pointed out its Unix under the hood. My Linux file server is rock solid reliability and security. And my Vista box has a lot of horsepower and is great for video editing or .Net development. I don’t think OSX is as good a development environment (unless you’re programming for iPhones), but there are many really good free or nearly free apps for Mac that are really high quality (see http://osx.iusethis.com/).
If someone has a smaller budget I can see not buying a Mac, but if you can afford one it really is a pleasure, even if you know computers.
One question, what’s “Geforce 4 612mb 8800GTS” lol?
@gunslinger
We are all entitled to our opinions, therefore, we will have to disagree.
1. I stand by what I said also. Macs can do anything that Pc can. (If cheap is what you want, great, wal-mart has some sweet emchines you can put Linux on). Some like Ford Escort some like BMW.
2. only someone who loves to tinker endlessly with their system cares how configurable their computer is.With a Mac you can upgrade RAM, Video card to a certain extent and HDD. That is what most people upgrade anyway. I can count on one hand with fingers left over the number of CPUs I have seen upgraded by all the techies I know.
@Jerza
I, for one, am in this business to make a living… not to pick sides.
agreed.
@ron
No, I don’t own Apple stock. ( wish I did seeing as how they are going like hot cakes right now ) When I see a product thats crap, I don’t mind saying so. When I see a great product , I don’t mind telling people how good that product is.
I’m not more of an end user. I have been using PCs my whole life and building and repairing them for over half that. If you really have been working with computers as long as you say I feel sorry for you because you are a case example of what being close minded does.
I like Windows ( XP and 7 ) and I like certain distros of Linux as well. But let me mention liking OS X and Macs and I can just feel the hate coming from people like you. Its almost an un-natural fear.
“Proselytize the Mac Religion elsewhere, because I’m not buying. Thanks.”
I’m selling. Just explaining why Macs are as good as they are. Just facts and one open minded techies thoughts thats all.
@galactus
“One thing I’ve noticed is that with most mac users, they’re clueless when it comes to computers. While pc users generally know more about their pc and what’s wrong with it. People who buy mac computers are like those who buy a luxury or sports cars mainly it looks good, but don’t know how to drive the damn thing.”
I will agree to a certain extent. This is because PCs have more issues in general and Windows users have become so used to it. It really says something when the end user has to learn how to fix the product. If it was anything else people would shut the company down. Can you imagine a car model so crappy that end users have grown used to having to stop on the interstate and fix it often.
Some people buy high end cars as a statement, others because they want a good car that just works. The don’t wanna learn how to work on them.
By the way, thanks for being another case example.
Blah blah blah, you aren’t comparing apples to apples or even apples to oranges. So far everyone that I’ve taken longer than the first sentence to read is freaking out because either Macs are better or PC’s are better. Neither are in my opinion. It’s like comparing a submarine to a warship: Both carry people in the ocean, one above one below and from a superficial point of view do the exact same thing. To compare them beyond that and say one is better than the other, is to misunderstand the underling purpose of each. Regardless, the point of the article hasn’t been about Mac vs PC’s but the perspective of the user. Mac’s are easier to use for the end user, period. Linux is simply a pain in the ass, and Windows, while getting better, is too. I personally don’t care, if my company suddenly bought everyone Mac’s, the next day you better believe I would sit down and read all the security bulletins, the specs, and become an expert on it.
Listen to Every OS Sucks – Three Dead Trolls in a Baggie
hxxp://www.deadtroll.com/index2.html?/video/ossuckscable.html~content
’nuff said.
@ ron
“I try and not deal with Macs if I can at all help it”
That does not sound like using the best tool for the job. It sounds like you avoid Macs.
Also twice you have said you would only use Macs for graphics and audio. This leads me to believe that you think the only things Macs can do well is graphics and audio. This is simply not true and old thinking.
“You are the who seems to be emotionally based in these things.”
Not at all, but It does bother me that people who should know better still have very backward views of Macs while loving linux?…lol
Thanks for the article Bryce. Your honesty is refreshing.
I am an avid Windows PC user who also loves Mac. There are advantages to both… and those advantages vary from user to user (or technician to technician).
I, for one, am in this business to make a living… not to pick sides.
I don’t mind macs but I don’t really care for them either. I don’t agree with the closed system and I don’t agree with the mac attitude of you don’t need to know, especially with error messages.
I also don’t like windows, but unfortunately not much I can do when I need to run certain things that are windows only and don’t run under wine. I have setup a few computer that dual boot windows xp and ubuntu (or linux mint) and have to say linux is blazing compared to windows. Windows on one computer when I tried to install it and run was simply a pig with 256mb of ram, not much I can do to convince her to buy more memory so I stuck mint on there… runs like a champ once you get it all settled. Also don’t suck up more resources running AV and everything else.
I have bought an old iMac for my mom, never did deliver… but I can see the appeal for “just working.” However the cost for a mac is too high to “just work,” it had better work and clean my dishes too! In fact it had better go to work for me and bring home the money while I lounge around and eat bon-bon’s at that price. For half the price and a little time and learning I can setup a linux box that “just works” for email, surfing, and playing a few music files.
Also for people who say others are too scared to learn another OS like the mac, I say the same to you about linux and it being “too hard.” Learning ANYTHING is hard unless you’re hardwired to learn like a 5 year old so you are going to have to put effort into it. If my cousins and computer illiterate uncle can use a linux machine then so can someone who has a clue.
I don’t like MAC’s because of their ideology/price/etc and I don’t like Windows because of the same. I view closed source as Sam’s Club, I am not going to PAY to come into your great store, with limited selection, who treats people like dirt.
I love it when PC techs tell everyone about Macs.
It’s like childless women teaching the world how to deal with a toddler.
I finally got “Macs” (the concept behind Apple and Macs) the first time I replaced a power supply on a five year old Apple IIgs. The whole process took less than 5 minutes. Try that on a PC.
Ok, I will bite. I have to say I am disappointed that there is this elitist attitude in every corner of every OS/Hardware fan. I have been a developer and technician for 18 years now. I have helped maintain/develop a linux distribution, I have used windows forever (3.0 with multimedia extensions anyone ;-) and currently develop mostly cross platform applications. A few years ago I switched to Mac as my primary system because it can do anything any of my other systems can. I have Linux and Widows boxes. Linux is great, Mac is great, and so is Windows. If you say Mac is better, that is ignorant. If you say Linux is better that is ignorant. If you say Windows is better, that is ignorant. They all get you to the same place, the question is, how do you want to get there, and what ride do you enjoy most?
P.s. I will work on anything, so I can learn everything. The more I know, the more valuable I am. So to those who wish to avoid a particular technology because of an elitist bias, send the business my way, I don’t mind learning while I get paid.
If I could afford a Mac, I’d purchase and play. Like KryptonianSon says, the more I know, the more valuable I am. And even though I really dislike Apple, there is little I can do if I want to be a more valuable asset to myself.
I’ve tried to get OSX86 working, but that’s something I can’t properly do in my current situation. But, if I ever get my hands on a semi-recent Mac, I’ll have to play with it.
I’m still a massive fan of Windows, particularly Windows 7. But, Linux is nice too, shame that it’s so easy to break if you’re curious like myself.
Whilst I aspire to owning a Mac notebook, I must say that I don’t see my desktop ever going Mac. Mac don’t do games, and I love them!
Great article Bryce. Its nice to know there are still some open minded techies out there.
That was actually quite nicely explained! Seeing things from a client’s perspective is a lesson we could all learn. When I set up PCs, I try to make them ask as few questions as possible – automated antivirus scanning and updating, automated spybot, automated system repair scans, etc. The client just wants to use their computer without the hassle of learning about it.
Fair enough :D
I have had a computer retail & repair business for about 8 years now, and in that time I have seen several customers migrate to a MAC.
I always felt sorry for them, especially the ones who suddenly decide MAC’s are the only way to go and PC’s are the devils own!
Only a few weeks ago I had a customer bring a 5 or 6 year old windows laptop in, complaining about speed, wireless issues etc, and went on to compare it to her brand new MAC. i sorted the laptop out (nothing wrong with it, user error!) I gave it back to the customer knowing I would see it again and again and again.
After the 3rd visit from her in a week, with me listening to how great her MAC was and how rubbish the PC was, I slightly lost my temper (not good I know) and suggested in no uncertain terms that if she wanted to compare the 2 machines all the time, maybe she should go out and spend £1900 on a new PC like she had with the MAC, or go and buy a 6 or 7 year old MAC and compare that to her current PC!
I happily deal with PC & where I can MAC issues, it tends to be the user that causes the biggest headaches either way :)
I have to admit that about 3 weeks ago I purchased a MAC MINI for myself, and yes, I do like it, the same way i like all of my gadgets, but then I am a bloke (boy at heart) who likes anything shiney and new :)
Now I must go my iphone needs charging, and the PS3 has stopped playing streamed video for some reason, and the wifes PC is refusing to let her visit yahoo, and oh the MAC just refused to start garage band … I just love all this tech stuff :)