Buying a computer, should I get a Mac?

[Scott Shepherd]

When it comes to OS there is nothing miraculous going on, except for the ridiculous price.

I think most "detractors" of the Mac believe this to be true, however, I see it differently. First, the OS update to the new OS coming out, Lion, costs $29. Compare that to a Windows OS update around $90. So that's cheaper.

Next, as a new Mac user, I keep trying to look for software to "buy" because I keep getting this feeling I'm missing something, but I can't figure out what. I did a screen capture for a tutorial to help a friend understand something he was trying to do. Cost me nothing. I didn't have to BUY camtasia or anything else. I can't do that on a stock Windows machine (unless they have added something). If I wanted to do that on a PC, I'd have to pay anywhere from $30-several hundred bucks to get something, unless I was a computer geek and knew how to look for free, safe software. Most users don't live in that world.

I made a slideshow of a family event. Took me about 5 minutes. Not sure where I'd be doing that level of slideshow in Windows. Maybe Movie Maker, I guess. In the times I've used that, it's never given me the level of product that came out of iphoto.

Next, I wanted to burn that to a DVD. In windows, I'd insert a blank DVD and it would say "What do you want to do with this device?" in that normal windows pop up box that confuses most users. I don't know, maybe make the disc usable? It would make me try to figure something important out in Roxio most likely. Again, as a user, how am I supposed to know all the steps, especially when I've never done them before? It's like you're supposed to know this stuff automatically.

In iPhoto, I go to a menu that says "send to iDVD". It opens it up, tells me to put the disc in, leads me through it all using themes, and I click "burn". Done.

So simple, nothing extra to buy. I didn't have to have 5 years of intricate PC knowledge to get the disc formatted or to get a menu system built for the DVD. Nothing. It was my first experience on the Mac and I took it from concept to product in about 1 hour total, about 100 photos.

I didn't have to buy anything extra. I made the photo edits, crops, color corrections in iphoto. How would I do that in Windows? I'd have to buy more software, or go back to my vast knowledge of what's safe and not safe to download for free, or some obscure website that 80% of people don't know about.

My goal was to take a family event and make a DVD. I did that. Easily. My goal wasn't to have to learn how a PC works, who's got free software, what software is good, what will do what I want. My project wasn't to "research options to make a DVD", it was to actually make a DVD.

I'm not sure how you put a price on that, but it's what keeps getting overlooked by many people. I've made movies and DVD's on a PC, I do a lot of photo editing on a PC. I have Photoshop ($600), Lightroom ($300) and several other things. I didn't need any of them for my project. Can I do all that Photoshop does, in iPhoto? No, certainly not. However, it fulfilled my needs for a slide show for my family.

I have created a website that I was using Dreamweaver for ($399), in iWeb (free and comes with the Mac) and it looks better than anything I've be able to do in Dreamweaver. Again, is Dreamweaver more powerful? Sure it is. Did I need all that power? Nope.

So to add this up, to fit my needs, I'd have spend well over $1200 in software MORE than I would have on the Mac. And in the end, my projects are done, I'm not sitting around having to figure out any complicated software programs like dreamweaver or Photoshop.

I'm not sure Mac's are as "overpriced" as many think, once you figure out all the things you have to add on a PC to get it to do anything.

I'm sure this will be countered with examples that are exactly the opposite, and that's fine. I just know that I have projects that are done, look great, and I'm happy with, where I couldn't have done that on the PC without some extensive research, digging, or learning a number of pieces of software.

To me, that's value and that makes the switch worth it for me.

[Johnny Kleso]

Here is a pic of my Dell Mini 10v runiing OSX perfectly


untitled-3.jpg

[Darius Ferlas]

I think most "detractors" of the Mac believe this to be true, however, I see it differently. First, the OS update to the new OS coming out, Lion, costs $29. Compare that to a Windows OS update around $90. So that's cheaper.

Scott, you may have noticed that I was praising Linux rather than Windows. I paid for it $0.00 pus applicable taxes and it comes with everything an average user may need. If I need more, it's just a few clicks and I get more. Having said that, I bought a Del V130 for a friend at work. At home she is an average user (web, email, multimedia etc). The machine is not a screamer but more than adequate for her needs. She paid $430 for a Windows version. The Linux version is $30 less (sounds like you Mac OS ug at $29, doesn't it?). The machine is slick and at 0.78" it is very appealing.

As for the rest of our post, what you are describing has little to do with ease of use or software's functionality or usability, but rather reflects what has been known for centuries - it's not always how something my be difficult to learn, but rather how hard it is to unlearn the old skills that may be interfering with the new. Ever tied to learn a foreign language? The same mechanism applies.

You also admit that you are comparing some of the professional level software in Windows with some of the built in functionality of Mac OS. Of course if something allows you to do less it will be easier to use.

Now, I'm not a MS fan, but where credit is due... their UI Department is some serious business and when you carefully look at the Windows UI you will see a lot research behind it. That's not to say all will like it. My daughter has been using Linux for the last 13 years and she finds Windows confusing. She thinks Mac are completely out of whack. I wouldn't go that far, but to me Mac interface is a little less friendly that it could have been. Some issues I had with Macs:

- Trying to 'x' out of a program doesn’t close it, it simply minimizes it.
- Trying to alt-tab through your windows cycles through every single window of every single application one at a time instead of cycling between alternative applications (wow!).
- Maximizing a window doesn’t actually maximize it.
- Software choices are limited and when you talk about poorly designed software look no further than iTunes. What a piece of bloat!

Oh,and where is the right-click?

Macs are good for out of the box experience. While it had had some advantages over Windows, these are long gone and Mac's superiority over all others is rather a residual legend of the time past than reality.

[John Coloccia]

My right click works fine on the Mac.

[John McClanahan]

Some issues I had with Macs:

- Trying to 'x' out of a program doesn’t close it, it simply minimizes it.
- Trying to alt-tab through your windows cycles through every single window of every single application one at a time instead of cycling between alternative applications (wow!).
- Maximizing a window doesn’t actually maximize it.
- Software choices are limited and when you talk about poorly designed software look no further than iTunes. What a piece of bloat!

Oh,and where is the right-click?

Macs are good for out of the box experience. While it had had some advantages over Windows, these are long gone and Mac's superiority over all others is rather a residual legend of the time past than reality.

Many Windows users complain that the Mac OS doesn't work like Windows, as if Windows is the UI "standard".

As far as iTunes goes, I can't argue with you there!

A lot of people seem to think the Mac's days are numbered while Mac sales are on the rise.

John

[John Hemenway]

My right click works fine on the Mac.

Right click works fine on my Mac too. So does the scroll wheel (both up/down and left/right).

Don't know what Darius's issues are.
There is no 'X' on a Mac window so no you cannot 'x' out. But it is possible to CMD-Q to quit.
CMD-Tab will cycle thru application picker. Never tried alt-tab on a Mac.

Like any tool, you have to use it correctly to get it to 'sing'.

[Greg Peterson]

The boss' IMac did not come with a right mouse button. Just the typical Apple mouse.

Windows or Apple, six of one half dozen of the other.

[John McClanahan]

Greg, If the iMac is fairly new, it may well have two buttons. It just may not look like it. Have him check the mouse settings in the preferences. He may need to tell the computer how to use the right button. I have a new iMac at work. It has a wireless mouse that looks like any 1 button Apple mouse. It not only is 2 buttons, but has all the features of a scroll mouse without buttons or a wheel. Really slick!

John

[Greg Peterson]

Been there, done that. This is IMac is three years old. It came with a corded mouse. Settings show there is no right button. It does have a scroll button and two side buttons, either of which can be assigned right button functionality. But no right button.

[John Hemenway]

Been there, done that. This is IMac is three years old. It came with a corded mouse. Settings show there is no right button. It does have a scroll button and two side buttons, either of which can be assigned right button functionality. But no right button.

Something is not right here. What version of OS?

In 2005 Apple discontinued it's 'Pro' mouse (no scroll button) and introduced the 'Mighty Mouse'. MM has a scroll button (1/4" sphere) and has both left and right click plus a squeeze (side) button. This mouse has 4 possible clicks - left, right, squeeze and scroll button plus vertical and horizontal scroll. If you have the one with the scroll, you need to recheck the mouse system preference.

Perhaps there is another mouse driver installed? Logitech or MS? This might be interfering with the normal mouse SysPref.

[David Fairfield]

Darius' post brought back some bad memories. My Mac also came with a mouse with no right click button, like some sort of a practical joke. I eventually "clicked" it really hard with a dead blow mallet and bought a normal mouse to replace it.

Also when I went to Mac user forums to inquire about "bombing" issues the Mac technical people would not help me with, Mac users turned rabid and accused me of being a shill for PC. It was shocking, actually. Needless to say, I got no help from them either.

Dave

[Jim Koepke]

- Trying to 'x' out of a program doesn’t close it, it simply minimizes it.

As someone else said, learn the key strokes.

- Trying to alt-tab through your windows cycles through every single window of every single application one at a time instead of cycling between alternative applications (wow!).

I have never been able to find the "alt" key on my Mac. As someone else mentions:

CMD-Tab will cycle thru application picker. Never tried alt-tab on a Mac.

BTW, CMD-` will cycle through the windows of the top most application.

- Maximizing a window doesn’t actually maximize it.

I could never understand the Windows requirement that an open window must block out every other open window.

-when you talk about poorly designed software look no further than iTunes. What a piece of bloat!

I can listen to my favorite music or radio station in the back ground while doing other things on my computer. It even allows me to make a selection from my music library and burn a CD in a few minutes so I can listen in my car.

It is amazingly popular for something that you feel is soooooo baaaaaaad.

Oh,and where is the right-click?

It has been on the Mac mouse for about 5 years now. It can be programed to do what the user wants it to do. Many years before that I bought a multi button mouse for my Mac.

If you are basing your opinions of today's technology on experiences with something that is 5 years old, your opinion is not up to date.

For some of the things I like to do, even my Microsoft Certified Network Engineer friend has not been able to show me how to do on a PC.

For him, A PC works best for what he wants to do. For me, a Mac works best for what I want to do.

-Software choices are limited

There are probably 100,000 different software titles available for either PCs or Macs of which you will likely only use about 25, if that many.

I was discussing this with a coworker one time and asked him specifically what software he needed that was not available on the Mac. He couldn't name any. What it finally came down to was that for the PC, he new a lot of people who would gladly give him a pirated copy of just about any software he could imagine. If he bought a Mac, he would have to pay for his software. This was over 10 years ago, so I do not know if current software registration defeats this.

If there is a specific software need, make sure it can be handled on any platform you are considering.

Macs do have emulation software that can run programs written for Windows. I do not use this so I have no idea of the performance.

jtk

[Monte Milanuk]

I 'grew up' with PCs and M$ DOS then Windows... later someone introduced me to Linux when it was still pretty raw (Slackware was 'mainstream', and Redhat was the new kid on the block). I liked it enough to keep tinkering with it in one form or another for years. When OS X came out, though, I was done trying to get a UNIX-like OS working on a PC - I bought an eMac and fell in love. Yes the single button mouse drove me nuts for a while... got a regular USB trackball, problem solved. Later got a Macbook, but always kept a PC around for games and the odd program that there just isn't any equivalent Mac app for. Recently I 'bought' the daughter's PC laptop she'd gotten for graduation a year or two ago from her to give her a little extra cash towards buying her first Macbook (which she loves).

Here's a couple observations for ya...

That HP laptop, with Vista 64 on it and 4GB RAM and a 500GB HDD... is a dog. No other nice way to put it. My Macbook, which is a year older and came with 1GB RAM and a 60GB HDD (since upgraded to 2GB RAM and a 250GB HDD) is much more responsive and less prone to locking up, having problems, etc. Now the real surprise is that the HP laptop, re-configured for dual boot and loading Ubuntu 11.04 (a Linux distribution that tends to be somewhat 'heavy' as far as the desktop goes) is noticeably faster than it is running Vista, and faster than the Macbook as well.

I'm pretty sure my next laptop will be a Macbook Pro, probably setup for at least dual (OS X & Windows) or triple (OS X / Windows/Ubuntu) boot.

[John McClanahan]

Mac OS-X has supported 2 button mice for a long time. Even the scroll wheel has been supported for a while. If you don't like the Apple mouse, plug in any USB mouse and give it a try!

John

[Greg Peterson]

OSX, Snow Leopard. There is the body, scroll button and two squeeze bottoms on each side. The mouse configuration indicates there is only one button plus the scroll and squeeze buttons. No right click button.

This is the mouse that came with the IMac. Not my computer so I can't change the mouse to suit my tastes.