I've Moved To Mac

[Ian Osborne]

Yes.

I fear for your mental health...

 

[Darat]

Only fear?

 

[Paul C. Anagnostopoulos]

It's fairly simple, Paul. They work straight out of the box, do what they say on the brochure without any fuss, and don't require an advanced degree in cybernetics or a course in geekese to own and operate. They are great for people for whom the computer is a tool, not an end in itself.

But that doesn't 'splain why someone who was used to Windows would switch to a Mac and foam at the mouth with joy. It must be something else, no? Something about the user interface?

~~ Paul

 

[Paul C. Anagnostopoulos]

I also find it confusing how you can't quit all Windows programs with the same keystroke (command-Q on Macs).

Ooh, that's much too easy to press by mistake. It's Alt-F4 on Windows.

~~ Paul

 

[Ohmer]

Once you've tried Mac, you'll never go back!


It's fairly simple, Paul. They work straight out of the box, do what they say on the brochure without any fuss, and don't require an advanced degree in cybernetics or a course in geekese to own and operate.

You are right. Microsoft tried to do this. The justice department stopped them and the public screamed that they were an evil monopoly bent on squashing completion. Apple is allowed to ship machines that have 100% apple software pre-configured the way apple wants. Microsoft is not. It's the price of having 90% of the market. Window machines don't work well straight out of the box because we have insisted that Microsoft not be allowed to make it happen.

I often wonder what would have happened if Steve Jobs would have played his cards right and really captured the market back in the 80s. We would probably be complaining about the evil Apple empire squashing the completion and not allowing other companies to compete with itunes and iphoto and imovie. It's completely unfair that iphoto launches when I plug in my camera! How are other photo software companies supposed to compete? All of those Apple viruses and spyware would also be a real pain.

They are great for people for whom the computer is a tool, not an end in itself.

This presupposes that you want what apple decided you wanted. It took me a while to dump the teen slacker crap and install the stuff I needed to work. It was no less difficult than than the PC's I've worked with. Probably because I don't think like a teen slacker. Or rebecca.

 

[Darat]

But that doesn't 'splain why someone who was used to Windows would switch to a Mac and foam at the mouth with joy. It must be something else, no? Something about the user interface?

~~ Paul

Pretty colours and lack of sleep after being stuck in front of it for 49 hours trying to figure out how to eject the DVD that was due back at Blockbusters yesterday.



(Note - I am quite aware that Apple have tried to reduce the silliness of the "throwing a removable disc into a trash can to eject it but hey if the old Start button silliness is still going strong... and note I use a Mac & Window XP/Vista pretty much everyday.)

 

[Lisa Simpson]

I got a new MacBook today. I can't say it worked straight out of the box anymore than my last XP notebook did. Which is to say, the OS worked fine, but getting it connected to the network was a pain in my little yellow butt. And forget trying to get all my old music and videos transferred over to the new computer. I finally gave up and moved them all to an external drive then over to the Mac. As for "intuitiveness" it's a push as to which is better. XP does some stuff pretty good and so does OS X.

However, it's not Vista, so it wins by default.

 

[Kevin_Lowe]

You are right. Microsoft tried to do this. The justice department stopped them and the public screamed that they were an evil monopoly bent on squashing completion. Apple is allowed to ship machines that have 100% apple software pre-configured the way apple wants. Microsoft is not. It's the price of having 90% of the market. Window machines don't work well straight out of the box because we have insisted that Microsoft not be allowed to make it happen.

 

[CFLarsen]

Why I bought a Mac: Because the last one I had was nigh-indestructible. Also because I'm proficient on both Macs and PCs, but find the Mac desktop much faster and cleaner. I like the little details that make working on my laptop enjoyable, like the nav bar that hides and pops up with big, easy to identify icons that balloon bigger when I mouse over them; the pan & scan screensaver that cycles through my photo collection; the way I can just throw away nearly any CD that comes with my electronics, like how I just plug in my camera for the first time and there's iPhoto, downloading pics and video quickly and organizing them all for me; I like the look of the machine, all crisp white; I like the iSight that came built into the monitor; I like the power cord that attaches magnetically, so every time I trip over the cord I don't cause havoc (effing brilliant!); I like how someone with a really good eye for design made everything work beautifully together visually, all the way down to the box the thing came in; and I like that right now I'm sitting at a picnic table outside a pub working, and a sweet 60-something Jewish man just stopped by to talk about how much he loves his old 12" G3 that's lasted forever, and he doesn't need to upgrade but thinks my MacBook is so cool he might pick one up anyway. (Edited to add: Oh, and the lack of viruses. I forgot to mention those because I give them absolutely zero thought.)

You have software that works (in theory, at least) so well together, because someone decided for you what you should be able to do, and how you should be able to do it.

What you don't get, is choice. Someone has decided for you that this particular program is the best for you.

I'm sure someone will be able to pick all those reasons apart and show me the error of my ways (oh save me from my foolishness please!), but who cares, it works for me and I like it.

Why so defensive? Nobody is saying that you should dump your Mac.

My complaints: the monitor plug is a mini-DVI and it didn't come with the adapter, so I had to go to the Mac store and pick one up for $15 or so. Bastages!

Ayup. Not so seamless after all, once you want to do just a smidgen outside what other people have decided you should be able to do.

As far as the red yellow and green buttons go . . . if someone hasn't figured them out in the first 30 seconds of turning on the computer, I fear for his mental health. If that's Mystery Meat Navigation, than so is a stoplight. I mean, why don't they just say STOP, SLOW TO A STOP IF ABLE, and GO AHEAD, EVERYTHING SHOULD BE FINE?

The difference is that, with traffic lights, you don't experience it the first time you are out driving. You have been taught ever since childhood what it means.

Well I did notice in the USA they have "Walk" and "Don't Walk" signs - perhaps you just haven't got round to updating your traffic lights yet....

While words are far superior to colors, there is a huge problem with words on traffic signs: It takes time to read, and you have to know the language. You'd be in trouble if you say this.

"Linienverkehr frei"?

And I have a tracker-ball with a scroll-wheel and 6 buttons. So there!

I like to move, instead of sitting like a statue.

Ooh, that's much too easy to press by mistake. It's Alt-F4 on Windows.

Especially since Command-W is "close". You only need to hit the adjacent key to really screw up!

You are right. Microsoft tried to do this. The justice department stopped them and the public screamed that they were an evil monopoly bent on squashing completion. Apple is allowed to ship machines that have 100% apple software pre-configured the way apple wants. Microsoft is not. It's the price of having 90% of the market. Window machines don't work well straight out of the box because we have insisted that Microsoft not be allowed to make it happen.

I often wonder what would have happened if Steve Jobs would have played his cards right and really captured the market back in the 80s. We would probably be complaining about the evil Apple empire squashing the completion and not allowing other companies to compete with itunes and iphoto and imovie. It's completely unfair that iphoto launches when I plug in my camera! How are other photo software companies supposed to compete? All of those Apple viruses and spyware would also be a real pain.


This presupposes that you want what apple decided you wanted. It took me a while to dump the teen slacker crap and install the stuff I needed to work. It was no less difficult than than the PC's I've worked with. Probably because I don't think like a teen slacker. Or rebecca.

Exactly. If the shoe had been on the other foot, the song would be very different.

And metaphors should be used carefully, Claus....

 

[Kevin_Lowe]

Especially since Command-W is "close". You only need to hit the adjacent key to really screw up!

Been there, done that.

Probably 95% or more of the time I'm working on a document or something and so the "Do you want to save your stuff?" dialogue box saves me.

If I'm browsing the net or something though, it's very annoying.

 

[Paul C. Anagnostopoulos]

I don't know. Sounds like a semi-legitimate rant to me.

~~ Paul

 

[cyborg]

I don't give a **** what anyone says: I really like having a mouse with lots of buttons. When I tried out a Mac it frustrated the hell out of me not having a context menu on my right click.

Pretty to look at yeah, but that didn't mean I didn't get pissed off at it.

 

[Lisa Simpson]

I plugged in the same mouse I had on my XP notebook (I dislike all touchpad mouse thingamabobs) and not only did it work just fine on my new Mac without asking to install a driver, but I have right-click menus.

 

[cyborg]

Oh I know it can be done but I just don't understand why there's so much love for the one-button mouse. I just don't get it.

There were plenty of things I did like about the Mac but I don't understand why, with all the good UI decisions they made, they insisted on making so many silly ones too. It's a case of better the Devil you know here (or at least I can make Linux do whatever the hell I like and the tweaker in me likes that sort of control).

 

[Darat]

The Mac's UI is like Windows - has had to carry it's old users forward so never really been in a position to undo some of the fundamental flaws introduced years ago. Once people acquire a habit it's bloody hard to get them to quit - no matter how bad that habit is!

 

[Powa]

I don't give a **** what anyone says: I really like having a mouse with lots of buttons. When I tried out a Mac it frustrated the hell out of me not having a context menu on my right click.

I use that mouse at work and use context menus all the time. The right button is there, it's just not enabled by default.

I really like the scroll ball (when it's working). I miss it when I use my PC mouse at home. But I absolutely HATE the sliding surface underneath the mouse. It's made out of an ordinary plastic that really doesn't slide that well. Even when it's not dirty. And I have to clean it every hour or so. I haven't cleaned my PC mouse since, like, Christmas?

 

[Ian Osborne]

When I tried out a Mac it frustrated the hell out of me not having a context menu on my right click.

Were you using Classic OS, by any chance? A right-click in OS X does indeed give you a contextual menu.

 

[Darat]

The wireless Apple mouse I ordered with my Mac Mini only has one button. It was replaced in oh about .3 of a second with an old three button USB mouse I had to hand!

 

[Powa]

The wireless Apple mouse I ordered with my Mac Mini only has one button.

Are you sure about that? That would be the older model.

 

[Ian Osborne]

Does it look like this?

If so, it's not only one button at all, but it hides its functionality under its design. I've only had the briefest of plays with a Mighty Mouse, but I didn't get along with it. I use a three-button, scroll-wheel Saitek mouse.