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Boot Camp For Suckers?
DigitalDame2 writes "PC Magazine's Editor-in-Chief says the whole Mac/Windows dual-boot thing is really nothing to get excited about. He writes that Boot Camp is really just a plan to get Windows users to convert to OS X." From the article: "Once you've laid out a few kilobucks on your BC system and been frustrated a few times with Windows limitations, what are you going to do? Jobs's bet: You'll start spending more and more time in OS X, until you--too--become one of the pod people. It's sad to see so many of my compatriots being turned into lemmings. Perhaps they'll wake up and smell the Apple pie in the sky--and realize they've been taken for a ride. But I doubt it."
Well...duh! Did anyone think Apple was doing it as a public service?
Next up: Publishers put nice pictures on their book covers so you will buy them. Bastards!!
Mox
...those of us who have a reason to use it will reap the benefits. Yes, Virginia, there are some. Battlefield 2, for example. Annoyingly-single-platform hardware updaters, like cell phone flashers and the like. Those little one-off tasks that I used to have to go find a windows PC for? Not so much anymore. Whee! When I need to do real work? Yep, you're right, I turn back into a pod person.
Seriously, why does this guy care so much?
A hero is someone who knows when to run away. I am a hero. -Trent the Uncatchable
So, users are going to try OS X, find it works better for them, keep using it, and this makes them lemmings and pod people? I would have thought that this term applied better to people who used a system that didn't work as well for them as the alternatives. By starting the argument assuming that OS X is less frustrating than Windows pretty much destroys any change the author had of making a coherent argument that people should now switch.
I am TheRaven on Soylent News
So let me understand this: people compare two os's side by side on the same hardware. When they find that the one they're not familiar with is much better than the one they're used to, and they switch, they're lemmings? I always thought a lemming would be doing what everyone else does just because everyone else does it, which sounds a lot more like your typical Windoze user to me...
Unfortunately, I don't think anyone's going to buy a relatively expensive mac just so they can try osx on a machine that will still run windoze. Boot Camp's primary utility is saving mac users from having to buy a pc to run applications that they need to run, but which only work in windoze. If/when a native mode virtual pc comes out, boot camp will be even less relevant. To that end, I can agree that boot camp is nothing to get excited about, but that doesn't mean it's without merit.
So let me get this right...
You buy a *Mac* system to run *Windows*
You find that Windows blows so you increasingly use OS X
And this gives Apple money.
But, you bought the god damned system in the first place! Why do they care if you use Windows or OS X on it?
I don't his compatriots are the ones who need to wake up.
People will pass up steak once a week, for crap every day.
I knew there was a reason I haven't looked at PC Magazine since 1998. That's not an article, it's a rant. How about some technical details/reasons why he doesn't like boot camp? What a tool.
Um, fool, the "pod people" are the 90%+ who are Windows lemmings, putting up with the myriad faults of that OS. I guess that's what I'd expect from a "PC Magazine" editor...mindless Apple bashing, whether it makes sense or not.
Galileo: "The Earth revolves around the Sun!"
Score: -1 100% Flamebait
I mean really. . . . . We all aready knew this. It wasn't some big shocker.
What is a big shocker is that this guy doesn't get the fact that that is exactly the reason that many people are thinking about buying a mac, because they can try out a mac and still have windoz to fall back on (ouch that would have to hurt).
He touts this as if people are jumping into it blindly, and being swindeled. Come on, get with it. Pleople realize this, and are looking forward to it. It's a benefit, not some underhanded sucker punch.
Self proclaimed wannabe geek. You know how it is. Most of us who read this stuff probably fit in that category.
Remember that screed was written by Jim Louderbeck, one of the more notorious anti-Mac PeeCee trolls. I still remember him doing the commentary on a Stevenote carried on ZDTV a few years back, he nitpicked on everything, for no good reasons. Note that his employer, Ziff-Davis, has a major investment from Vulcan Ventures (Paul Allen). Loudermouth knows he has to cater to his owner's financial interests. Nice little doggie, sit up and beg, little Loudermouth!
Enh, I think Jobs would rather have more money than more market share.
I'll wait until you figure out the difference between $3,000 and $130.
Who said he wanted people to switch to Mac OS? He wants people to switch to Mac hardware, thats how Apple makes its money- by selling their hardware for inflated prices. MacOS is just something they use to differentiate themselves from Dell, HP, etc so they don't have to compete on price.
I still have more fans than freaks. WTF is wrong with you people?
And what happens when Joe Machead tries out Windows for the first time and realizes "Hey, you mean you can play GAMES on this thing?!?" OS X might suddenly not look so attractive and his next purchase be a lower-priced PC.
-Eric
SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
My understanding is that BootCamp allows current Mac users to run Windows on their Mac. The article seems to argue that this will encourage Windows users to get Macs and stick with OSX instead of BootCamping in Windows. That may apply to a few people, but for the most part I disagree.
As others have pointed out, it seems that the primary strategy behind BootCamp is: Give people the option to use whatever operating system they like. Apple has allowed their consumers to install Linux on their machines since forever, and now they're allowing Windows, too.
What does Apple have to gain? Profits from hardware sales, of course. Plus, whenever you're buying a Mac, you're also buying OSX, so they're not losing much software profits either. Who else has to gain? Possibly Microsoft in the short run (all those Mac kiddies giving Windows a shot without having to buy a PC).
And then there is the whole other market of people who aren't concerned about software expandability so much as hardware. Macs aren't great for upgrading their hardware. Windows or no windows.
- shazow
The more effete among us have embraced BC because now they can run all their favorite Windows apps on a saucy, sexy Mac.
Wow. Nothing says "class" like a thinly-veiled "Macs are for fags" joke.
You'd exect this sort of thing from a random blogger or Slashdotter, not the freakin' editor-in-chief of PC Magazine.
Obliteracy: Words with explosions
I suspect that the majority of people are not buying macs to run windows as their primary OS. If so, I'm going to agree with him. If I wanted to spend the same amount of money and run windows, I'd get a tablet. If only Apple made one...
The fact is, the majority of people buying the MacTel, are buying it because it runs OSX AND Windows. No other laptop can really claim that -- at least legally (and easily). This is a really important distinction. I love OSX. I'm a linuxhead, but just having things work, and work together seamlessly. Priceless. (though my desktop is still a linux box)
For my laptop, I have no desire to run windows. I'm through with that agony in my life. I want to enjoy my computing experience. However, I am realistic. There are some applications, unfortunately, that still require windows. Bootcamp gives me the perfect compromise.
So, this editor is way off base. It's true, Apple isn't performing a public service. But they are taking down one more barrier that would normally stop people from buying their computers. And it's true. Once you start using OS X, you find yourself much less likely to go back to Windows. But not because of some strange Apple conspiracy. Because it kicks M$'s ass (comparing apples to lemons?). And this is from someone who wouldn't touch a Mac a couple years ago.
I don't know whether the article is confused or trying to be clever, but I don't think Apple minds 'criticism' such as that.
--- Attorneys Assisting Citizen-Soldiers & Families -
There are a lot of suckers out there, and many slaves to the marketing machine that is Apple, and I bet even most geeks blindly believe "tech specs" and out of context benchmarks if it gives them a good excuse to be fashionable, have the latesty trendy useless gimmick, and for bonus points, send Microsoft a Fuck You.
Also, what's with macs and Hollywood? Pretty much everyone I know who works in the film industry owns a mac. Is it because of the product placement Apple likes to do? They swear they're better without knowing much about them, or even knowing what Linux is.
"Seriously, why does this guy care so much?"
Apparently he's noticed that John C. Dvorak's trolling puts the hit count through the roof. Only makes sense to start using the rest of the magazine's brand to start trolling as well.
He's obviously got some sort of logic malfunction, his arguments are both bizarre and full of emotive language. It's professional trolling.
Guys, guys, guys! Calm down, calm down!
:P
I think he's trying to be funny.
I am English. I know sarcasm. It's what we do. And I think that's what he's trying to do here. It's not very well done, but there are little hints. It's why he links to himself and calls himself "some idiot". It's why he specifically mentions the M-Audio and Kona kit (the latter is Mac only). Of course it works with the Mac.
So all those who are praising him for his insight, for debunking the Mac myth - stop now. Same goes for the Mac fanbois who are trying to find fault with his article.
It's subtle, I'll allow that, but remember: always consult the nearest Brit before responding to something that sounds a little bit too stupid to be true. It probably is.
iqu
Seriously, why does this guy care so much?
Just a guess? Job security. Or if not that in particular (if you can train a monkey to write about Windows, you can retrain it to write about Macs), then perhaps he is feeling the relevance of his "core competence" slowly inexorably slipping away.
He does seem quite bitter about his friends and associates adopting Apple hardware. If some of them find that OS X is a better OS for their daily needs, why would he begrudge them that, calling them lemmings? He even claims that their IQs are going to slip downwards. It might be that the various insults are an attempt at humor, but if so, it doesn't really work.
No, I think this excuse for an article is just a sign of the author's insecurity. You can pretty much smell his fear. I don't know what he has to be afraid of in reality, but this guy is shaking in his boots just the same.
It's not offtopic, dumbass. It's orthogonal.
Jealously is a pretty funny thing.
The logic of the piece appears to be thus:
1. I don't like Macs, Apple, or Steve Jobs.
2. I don't like anything that can't be tinkered with.
3. Boot Camp is an Apple Product.
4. By #1 and #2, anyone who likes any of the above is an idiot and/or brainwashed.
5. By #3 and #4, Boot Camp is for idiots.
While #5 may proceed logically from #3 and #4, #4 does not proceed from #1 or #2.
I'd say the author has a wonderful future ahead of him in either Slashdot trolling, talk radio, or writing about politics. Editing a computer magazine? Not so sure about that one.
Pure hypocrisy...
Gentoo Linux - another day, another USE flag.
Subject says it all. I went over to read the linked article and I regretted it. The guy is so painfully clueless on this topic, its hard to know where to begin. His most blatant mis-statement:
"Apple's not interested in a DIY Mac, nor is it concerned with the case-mod culture of the PC."
True Apple isn't big on a DIY system. Neither are most Mac users. But saying that there isn't a case-mod culture among Mac users is completely asinine. MacAddict runs case mod articles - with photos - on a semi-regular basis, all you'd have to do is pick up a back issue or two to see how wrong this statement is. And if you don't know about MacAddict (as I suspect the author doesn't) you really have no business making commentary about Mac users or case-mod culture.
"I don't know about you, but when I buy a computer I want everything to work right."
This of course is one of the top reasons that people buy Macs. The tight integration between the OS and the hardware still beats Windows Plug-and-Pray 9 times out of 10. "Plug it in, and it just works" has been the Apple mantra for *years*. Its what the users expect. Compare to Windows XP, where plugging in a new monitor meant I had to re-install my wireless network driver, or adding memory forces me to register with Microsoft on my next reboot? I'm not sure what's worse, that these things happen or that it doesn't bother me anymore.
There are other serious flaws with the article. It really has no redeeming value, and its just so loaded with flamebait it reflects poorly on the authors of PC Magazine that they even published it.
Jealousy is painful, and it can cause people to lash out foolishly. In general, however, we can easily recognize such sad behavior, as the frailty of one's argument can be easily measured by the abusiveness of the language employed.
Louderback makes numerous irrelevant assertions in his rant, but one that particularly bothers me is the contention that 'really creative computer users' are the ones doing all kinds of case modifications. I think a lot of these mods are really novel, but aside from 'overclocking' type mods, are largely unrelated to anything to with it being a computer, and in general, are designed to potray an illusion of futuristic utility.
Do you judge the quality of your doctor by the number of different blinking LEDs he or she has afixed to his or her instruments, or do you concern yourself more with the work done with those instruments? In point, the work employing computers in research groups around the world, usually does not hinge upon blue neon lights or hamster tubes being included, and much of this work is indeed very creative.
For me, computers are tools, and often necessary evil ones that can make some ridiculously simple needs seem impossible. Anything that lets me work more and jiggle cables/restart/reinstall/etc. less is a better tool.
Please describe the "limitations" Windows brings.
;)
Yes, security is a potential problem with Windows, but not what I would call a limitation. Hell, if you were a MS astroturfer, you could even tout is as a feature (look at all of the viruses the WIndows can run that Macs can't!*).
But seriosuly, both platforms have limitations. Windows can not run some of the neato "i____" apps that Mac comes with and Mac's can't run most games and certain other apps. To describe WIndows and the only OS with "limitations" is a bit baised IMO.
*That was a joke...sort of.
I don't always use unix-like operating systems; but when I do, I prefer FreeBSD.
What really got to me in the announce, and the reason why I didn't go as far as reading the entire article, is this guy dares calling OSX users lemmings, when 90% of people out there use Windows ... what a dumbass !
Perhaps they'll wake up and smell the Apple pie in the sky--and realize they've been taken for a ride. But I doubt it.
When you're given a fair chance to evaluate two alternatives, and decide on one of them... how is that 'being taken for a ride'?
BC users can use either OS. The summary assumes that choosing Windows is the right alternative and choosing Mac is the sucker one.
Poor.
You're going to get your wish. It's Mac OSX vs. Windows XP for the back to school season. Read Mini when the first Vista delay came down. It's not just Macnazis worried about Apple's next bite out of the market.
Along with Wal-Mart getting into the computer building business, we might see some interesting things happening in the next six months.
I don't hate Windows with the passion of a thousand fiery suns, but I know people who were waiting for Vista who will wander into the Apple Store now. My house has Linux, Windows, and OSX, but that situation is rare.
I'd be happy to see your statistics about how much people love Windows.
Q: What did the comedian say to the crowd?
A: If I knew, this joke would be funny.
Not this damn no games for the mac rant. WoW and Quake 4 don't count as games? I'm not going to bother with the full list. Research it yourself. The only games you can't play are Steam games (valve sucks on this issue) and some crappy games that no one wanted to port. Hell there's even a beta of ventrilo now.
Guess what OSX = lower ping for WoW. Microsoft needs to overhaul there IP stack again if you ask me. I love linux or OSX for gaming simply because my ping is always better.
I think bootcamp is really for businesses. It allows them to migrate off windows only apps to something better. I've almost talked my boss into buying a MacBook Pro at work for the university newspaper advisor. The only thing he needs windows for now is a stupid university app for payroll that was custom written using jinitiator (oracle bs). The whole paper runs on macs and it would be easier for him to interoperate on a mac.
I'm excited about the new macs overall. Bootcamp will allow me to buy one computer instead of two. I've got a dell workstation and an ibook now. When i upgrade next, I'll just buy a mac for my windows and mac needs. Maybe if i'm lucky, *BSD will run as well and i can get rid of my bsd box too. That would mean apple gets 3000 dollars toward a box, dell and newegg get zero.
MidnightBSD: The BSD for Everyone
I know, I know, it's hard to resist, but the post you replied to wasn't stating those as reasons per se, but as reasons MSWindows users tell themselves why they haven't switched. It all really boils down to "I've invested all this time and money on Windows. If I get a Mac, then I'm admitting that I made a mistake."
I think the main reason people still use Windows is that it's good enough. Sure, it's not as great as you'd like, but it's the devil you know. Besides, everybody else uses it, so it can't be that bad, can it?
(disclaimer: I own and prefer Apple computers)
Tricked sure, but I wouldn't call the trickees "suckers". "Suckers" implies the person is getting screwed over or taking a loss, which is not the case here. Being tricked into using Mac OS X is like being tricked into being a millionare or being tricked into being married to Jessica Alba, or something awesome like that.
And Frozen Bubble is available for Mac OS X, so I don't know what all the fuss about games not being available for the Mac is all about.