Anand wants to know how you feel about Apple...

[Go3iverson]

Its funny when people call Apple computing for dummies. According to winsupersite, Windows is on the level of the masses and OS X is for the technical elite. :-/

 

[BFG10K]

Apple is in the business of selling overpriced junk by lying about just about everything they can lie about.

 

[Duvie]

Originally posted by: Go3iverson
Its funny when people call Apple computing for dummies. According to winsupersite, Windows is on the level of the masses and OS X is for the technical elite. :-/

Hahahah...what is so funny about it??? the fact is the ppl I know who have them are absolutely computer illiterate...

The software is so refined and that is where I thing apple would be good for the average user..the fact is apple is ran by morons who don't understand the majority of americans could be ripe for the picking if they would drop the prce to more affordable.....The software does great things and I am not harping on the OS X the fact is it s far less complicated then saying making a DVD of home movies on a PC in my opinion...I can just see my mom using Pinnacle studio 8...pure disaster...yet this ditz down the street makes them effortlessly and can't even tell me specs on her system or what she is actually doing in the software...Just amazing.....


I like to upgrade my systems...MY SELF

I like a challenge and think that Imacs and their superior software to winsuck, which isn't saying much would bore me immensely...heck I am bored now!!!

 

[Barnaby W. Füi]

Originally posted by: smp

Variety is the spice of life.

 

[ponyo]

Originally posted by: Duvie
[

The software does great things and I am not harping on the OS X the fact is it s far less complicated then saying making a DVD of home movies on a PC in my opinion...I can just see my mom using Pinnacle studio 8...pure disaster...yet this ditz down the street makes them effortlessly and can't even tell me specs on her system or what she is actually doing in the software...Just amazing.....[/quote]

This is probably the greatest compliment you can give Apple. Their stuff works and you don't have to fiddle around and be expert tech geek to use your computer and be productive. Average Joe doesn't have the time or the desire to tinker with their computer to make it work. The fact that your ditzy neighbor down the street can effortlessly create with her Mac without knowing any technical details proves Apple got it right. It has been goal of PC makers and the entire hardware and software industry to someday create computers good enough and so easy to use that anyone can use it. By your account Apple has achieve this "Holy Grail" of computing.

 

[ponyo]

Originally posted by: Duvie


My neighbor down the street does things my more computer savvy wife can't do and yet when you talk to here she doesn't know squat about what she is doing or what happened to get to the finished point....Just a few clicks she says and it is done. Five minutes more talking to her and I am convinced turning on the power is the most complexed thing she understands....

You pretty much summed up why Macs are superior to PCs. You can't give better compliment than this.

 

[Duvie]

Originally posted by: Naustica

Originally posted by: Duvie


My neighbor down the street does things my more computer savvy wife can't do and yet when you talk to here she doesn't know squat about what she is doing or what happened to get to the finished point....Just a few clicks she says and it is done. Five minutes more talking to her and I am convinced turning on the power is the most complexed thing she understands....

You pretty much summed up why Macs are superior to PCs. You can't give better compliment than this.

before you get all juicy in your drawers....That is where the compliment ends....

The hardware is not as good, overpriced and usually behind a generation or so in technology...Ie how long was the apple running pc133????

No news flash genius!!! Most ppl who rail apple still compliment the ease of the software do the altivec code....


Another thing is her husband who games and does a few other things has difficulty finding software to do certain things he wants to do....Other then the nice bundled imovie features the platform is limited....PC world offers more but yes sometimes at the price you have to be more of a tech or computer geek to run it...Big deal..that is me...


I would buy my mom an IMac in a second if the Fvckers were not so overpriced!!! I just have to spend some time teaching her how to use a few programs then she is off and runing...well worth the 1/3 to 1/4 the price tag we paid....


For me and the things I do...Apple is lame and useless...I can build 2-3 systems of what I have and be folding and encoding like a madman for one system of apple I would likely hammer on now...oh yeah unless I ran that one optimized photoshop app they like to lie about....maybe thay can neuter my system and run some benches and show they beat me with their 3000 dollar plus machine....Oh I laugh so loud!!!!!!!!


EDIT: I have always thought of Anandtech as a bit above the average user and therefore this stuff doesn't fit here....

 

[ponyo]

Apple hardware is expensive. I don't think anyone questions that. For most part, Macs speed is slower and generation behind PCs.

But what good is all that power and available software if people don't know how to use it or doesn't even use it? Sure tech geeks know all about the hardware and the software and can get most out of their PC computer. But Average Joe isn't tech savvy. Imagine how much more productive they would be if PCs were easy to use as Macs. AOL is #1 ISP for a reason and it isn't because it's the cheapest or the best. Complexity is not advantage. Both PCs and Macs could learn alot from each other. It's a shame it has to be one or the other for most people.

 

[clicknext]

Too expensive for me to try. Buying such a high priced system without knowing how well it fits me is just something I can't do.

 

[MDE]

I'd consider one if they were cheaper, and if they didn't charge for point releases of the OS ( ex. 10.2 > 10.3). If Microsoft tried to charge for a service pack they'd be sued in no time.

 

[gsaldivar]

Macs are money pits.

They cost more, and do less - but they're designed to look "cool" doing it.

After making the Mac to PC switch several years ago, I don't ever see myself ever buying a Mac again.

My PC's can do everything I used to do on the Mac faster and much cheaper.

 

[Sunner]

Would love to own one, however I'd want a dual 1.8 or 2.0, and they're just a tad expensive, so for now Im stuck with x86.

It's funny about all the people arguing about Mac's suckyness, when it's obvious these people have either never used a Mac, or they had a look at their dad's Quadra running MacOS...6? I don't even remember what version was the latest at that time.

Oh well, it's nothing new that computer enthusists have a disproportionately high BS-to-sense ratio.

 

[Barnaby W. Füi]

Originally posted by: Duvie

EDIT: I have always thought of Anandtech as a bit above the average user and therefore this stuff doesn't fit here....

A lot of people "above" the average anandtech member use and like macs. That's one thing I really liked about ars forums - they're very open minded about various software and hardware. Mention macs around here and you get a ton of useless thread craps.

The OS forum is a lot better about it than GH though. I guess that makes sense, in a way.

 

[NEVERwinter]

I use Macs at the college, it does not impress me that much... not as powerful or as stable as everyone said.
But it's pretty good for those who doesnt want to mess around with the hardware and the system.

 

[Sunner]

Originally posted by: BingBongWongFooey

Originally posted by: Duvie

EDIT: I have always thought of Anandtech as a bit above the average user and therefore this stuff doesn't fit here....

A lot of people "above" the average anandtech member use and like macs. That's one thing I really liked about ars forums - they're very open minded about various software and hardware. Mention macs around here and you get a ton of useless thread craps.

The OS forum is a lot better about it than GH though. I guess that makes sense, in a way.

I agree completely.

 

[MDE]

Originally posted by: Sunner
It's funny about all the people arguing about Mac's suckyness, when it's obvious these people have either never used a Mac, or they had a look at their dad's Quadra running MacOS...6? I don't even remember what version was the latest at that time.

I had to use a couple G4s with OS9.something for a while at school and they seemed to freeze up totally randomly (Word, PowerPoint, IE5, Netscape 7). The idea of not terminating an app when you close it is pretty boneheaded IMO.

 

[Sheriff]

Yes to tinker with but after I hit a major Lotto.

 

[Corporate Thug]

Originally posted by: Markfw900
Can you say "Over-priced ?" I would try it, but not at the prices I see now. I also like being able to build my own using generic parts. Not an option with Apple ?? (not that I know of anyway)

hmmm, there was a amazon deal a $1100 12 inch powerbook with free isight. if you ebayed the isight you are eseentially looking at a $1000 powerbook. also, on numerous occasions this year alone, the store at my university has had powerbooks in the 1200-1300 range. also, there is sub $1000 (AR) ibook @ amazon right now

the deals are out there, they are just a little harder to find compared to PCs but you will run across a few


in the 1000-1300 range, there are very few laptops i would take over a powerbook

 

[Corporate Thug]

Originally posted by: BFG10K
Apple is in the business of selling overpriced junk by lying about just about everything they can lie about.

why is it junk?

my roommate has a powerbook and a dual G4, both work just fine...

 

[Sunner]

Originally posted by: MonkeyDriveExpress

Originally posted by: Sunner
It's funny about all the people arguing about Mac's suckyness, when it's obvious these people have either never used a Mac, or they had a look at their dad's Quadra running MacOS...6? I don't even remember what version was the latest at that time.

I had to use a couple G4s with OS9.something for a while at school and they seemed to freeze up totally randomly (Word, PowerPoint, IE5, Netscape 7). The idea of not terminating an app when you close it is pretty boneheaded IMO.

I agree, by todays standards MacOS 9 sucks.
Alot.

But then, OS9 is antique by now, back when it was the latest and greatest, I wouldn't have dreamed of getting a Mac, but that's not the case, MacOS 9 is ancient these days.

 

[Sunner]

Originally posted by: shady06

Originally posted by: BFG10K
Apple is in the business of selling overpriced junk by lying about just about everything they can lie about.

why is it junk?

my roommate has a powerbook and a dual G4, both work just fine...

It doesn't play Quake as well as a P4-EE.

 

[extro]

One thing that's always bothered me about the Apple "school of design" is how environmentally unfriendly their products are because of a lack of upgradeability. This has always struck me as ironic considering how Apple has tried to market themselves as the computer for the counter-culture. They're not really the computer for "tree hugging hippies," in reality, they're the computer for the disposable consumer society.

I've recycled many cases, video cards, monitors etc... through upgrades, but with a Mac, if one component became unbearably slow and obsolete, the whole computer would likely go to the landfill or the Salvation Army.

The Ipod is a great example of this, in the way they glued the back case on, making it difficult for the user to replace the battery or hard drive. Although Apple will never admit it, that design decision had everything to do with maximizing profits rather than with the aesthetics of not using screws.

Apple products are designed to force you to upgrade by buying a brand new replacement product from them. That's a core element of their business model.

 

[drag]

Originally posted by: extro
One thing that's always bothered me about the Apple "school of design" is how environmentally unfriendly their products are because of a lack of upgradeability. This has always struck me as ironic considering how Apple has tried to market themselves as the computer for the counter-culture. They're not really the computer for "tree hugging hippies," in reality, they're the computer for the disposable consumer society.

I've recycled many cases, video cards, monitors etc... through upgrades, but with a Mac, if one component became unbearably slow and obsolete, the whole computer would likely go to the landfill or the Salvation Army.

The Ipod is a great example of this, in the way they glued the back case on, making it difficult for the user to replace the battery or hard drive. Although Apple will never admit it, that design decision had everything to do with maximizing profits rather than with the aesthetics of not using screws.

Apple products are designed to force you to upgrade by buying a brand new replacement product from them. That's a core element of their business model.

Macs generally have a much longer lifespan then a PC. I've used 500mhz machines to run photoshop and other programs like that on OS X and it was still perfectly usable if a bit slow.

It's "normal" to have machines that are still used on a daily basis that are 5 years old.

And think about how many PC "upgrade" componates does it take to basicly create your own computer-size of waste, anyways?

 

[drag]

Originally posted by: Sunner
I agree, by todays standards MacOS 9 sucks.
Alot.

But then, OS9 is antique by now, back when it was the latest and greatest, I wouldn't have dreamed of getting a Mac, but that's not the case, MacOS 9 is ancient these days.

OS 9 can suck it, for all I care. It causes almost the same amount of pain the neck problems as a average windows 98 installation.

OS X is a breath of life into the PPC platform.

 

[RabidPossum]

Originally posted by: Overkast
True. And I think that's in part due to their longevity... I have an old 150MHz Mac that still runs to this day... it's like 8 years old now and never had a problem!

I have an old 133MHz Pentium that still runs to this day...it's like 8 years old now and I've never had a problem. I don't see longevity as an issue with PCs. I have another that's about 6 years old and still runs great.