Pros and Cons of Switching From Windows To Mac

It's been a couple of years since Apple ran their Switcher ads — but folks are still making the switch. Rockgod writes to point us to his list of pros and cons after he switched from Windows to Mac recently. From the article: "It took me a long time to be convinced that Windows 3.1 was a better program launcher than X-Tree Gold, but it happened eventually. Since then, I have been a sucker for every upgrade — 95, 98, NT 4.0, 2000, XP... I bought the cheapest Mac available, a Mac Mini with a single-core Intel chip and the minimum of RAM — 512 MB. It cost me AU$949. Since plugging it in, I have barely used my $3000 Windows desktop... All this time later, I have almost exclusively switched to the Mac."

Comments

Yep

[mnemonic_]

Yep, it's true: OS X is a better desktop OS than Linux. Who knew?

Oh spare us...

[Chas]

Or should we just hold hands and sing Kum Ba Yah now?

Let me break it down.

1. He likes the blingy GUI. Okay. Cool. Good for him. Unfortunately not everyone does.
2. He doesn't mind relearing his keystroke usages. Great. As before, not everyone is this way.
3. Ooh. A remote! I understand the merger of technologies and all but some people just want a damn computer. They have a dedicated home entertainment system for...entertainment.
4. Still spreading the myth that it's Unix. Sorry, all equivocation aside, it's NOT UNIX. It's an ugly hack on BSD. Oh, and restating "Ooh! Pretty!" from #1 makes it okay. Anyhow, 99% of Apple's computer market share don't give a damn about it being *nix-like (save as a sheeplike marketing cudgel to wield against anyone who isn't one of the Jobsian faithful).
5. Again, still spreading the myth that it's Unix. And now it's a BAD thing. Again, to get the RDF sheep who wouldn't know what to do with a command line if it hit them upside the head.
6. Wow! You can feel so 'leet and can talk about graphic design as if you actually knew something. While the real graphic designers laugh behind their hands at you! GAG!
7. Oh. Games are a small weak point. Well, YEAH. Considering that you wind up waiting on games for Mac a lot longer and they're usually bad ports of Wintendo stuff. But, when you're done doing the "graphic designer" posuer thing for the day, you can actually play a lousy port of a top-end game from 5 years ago! How cool is that!
8. You can drag text off a webpage and it'll create a text file on your desktop. Cool. But that also means you can do it by ACCIDENT. Wow! More clutter when I fat-finger something! Oh, and you can copy thing things from three places in one action! Wow! You can't do THAT in Windows or Linux! Oh, wait, that's right. YOU CAN! Shit... (RDF-time: (Repeat after me!) You can't do THAT in Windows or Linux!) And you can right-click and search on embedded keywords. Great! So when I'm too stupid to actually know what a word means, I can have my computer look it up for me. Or if I accidentally fat-finger it, I can run gazillions of useless searches and waste LOTS of time!
9. Safari is my new favorite browser, even though it's dumb and doesn't do what I want! WHOOPIE!
10. It's Apple. Ah yes, the true elitist bullshit reason. Sure, they make quality stuff. Unless you're talking about actual PRODUCT. Where they just aren't keeping an eye on quality control. Laptop cases that discolor, incendiary batteries that they didn't adequately safety check (and admittedly, nobody else did either), iPods that ship VIRUS INFECTED, iPod casings that they cheaped out on, and thus are easily damaged, the fact that the iPod is completely disposable once the battery dies, since it's cheaper to buy a new fucking iPod than it is to replace the stupid hardwired battery. Oh yes that just SCREAM quality!

My translation of this: Give me a fucking break. The only reason Apple gets good media reviews is because they'd basically gotten in good with the media. And none of these guys wants to feel like an idiot for "choosing the wrong thing". So they continue to add to the hype, as a form particularly virulent form of buyer's remorse.

Re:Oh spare us...

[Chas]

Did you get out of the bed on the wrong side of the bed this morning?

Nope. I'm my usual, cheerful self.

Can't believe you wasted your time on that ad hominem rant.

Neither can I. Since I was neither ranting, nor was it ad hominem.

You obviously have no clue why people who own Mac's and actually use them in anger like them so much.

Sure I do. I many people's cases, they use a Mac because it's a good tool. Operative word, TOOL. As for the rest, they've been sucked in by the Jobs Cult's pablum. This is why we get pseudo-nonjustifications like "because it's a Mac".

And you never will until you loose that chip on your shoulder.

If there is a chip on my shoulder, it's quite "loose" already.

I've been working on multi-vendor commercial Unix systems for 16 years,

Goodie for you!

and OSX is as good a Unix implementation as any of them.

Unix-like. Until you can be accurate and truthful about this, your argument is hopelessly flawed.

Not that Apple actually claim it's "Unix".

REALLY? You haven't seen a lot of their materials have you?

I don't see you having kittens about people referring to "Linux" when every distro makes theirs different from the others.

That's because Linux is just the kernel. It that's been acknowledged, pretty much from day one.

Please come back to the battle of words better armed next time.

You claim god exists, proof is your job.

[FatSean]

Well that just goes to my theory that people like to feel 'special' and that they have common link with others...so they pick out a religion and you get instant friends who believe along with you that:

1) All other religions are lies, and the practicioners will be punished
2) You get to live on even if your body dies
3) There is a magical man who sees and knows all, can do anything, and loves you...but statistically won't do shit to help you out.
4) You get to look down on and 'feel sorry for' those who don't share your particular delusion about the universe.
5) You get a 'meaning for life', as if just existing and experiencing this crazy universe wasn't enough!