Discussion Forums > Technology
Apple releases new... everything
zherok:
I was hoping you'd have more than just "it works for me," honestly, because no matter what system I'm looking at, it's literally hundreds of dollars apart from a pre-built Windows machine with near the same specs.
The footprint difference is unimportant to me, I've got a 19" CRT dominating my desk at the moment, it'd be near impossible to not recapture my desk with a cheaper and better LCD nowadays.
Can you be more specific? What's several hundred dollars worth of better work flow actually represent?
bloody000:
It's all about exclusive apps.
zherok:
Specifically...?
geoffreak:
Mac has a ton more potential that everyone is giving it credit for. I'm a computer engineer and have dealt with all three operating systems, and I prefer Mac OSX because it just works. No having to fight configurations, viruses, or missing dll files. I was a hardcore Windows fan up until I used my first Mac in middle school for a film making class. I didn't end up buying one until the beginning of last year after doing a ton of research on why I should get a Mac. I'm a hardcore computer user and a casual gamer and Mac OSX is exactly what I needed. I bought Windows XP so I could dual boot and play my Windows games, but I removed XP off my hard drive after it rotted because Mac OSX is too awesome to boot out of. Now, I'm not saying it couldn't be better, but it is a HUGE step up from Windows.
I've found that around 50% of the people who outright don't like Macs have never used or seen one in their life. 20% can't get over their Windows bias to give Mac a valid chance when they do see it. 20% look at the upfront price and turn away, despite the fact that you are saving yourself a ton of money down the road (more on this below). 5% have been around rabid Mac addicts and have become sick of Macs (we Mac users hate these kind of people just like everybody else, but everyone groups us with them). 5% just want something that can check their email and won't upgrade anyways.
WINDOWS ADDICTS AND LINUX ADDICTS ARE JUST AS BIG OF SHITBAGS AS MAC ADDICTS
Anyways, here is a basic layout of what OS is used in what (computer using) industry. The more dominate OS is listed first, with the least listed last. Only major OSes are listed for each.
Engineering: Linux, Windows XP
Graphics/Web Design: Mac OSX, Windows XP
Finance: Windows XP
Game Programming: Windows XP, Mac OSX
Film: Avid OS, Mac OSX
Information Processing: Linux, Mac OSX
Small businesses: Mac OSX, Windows Vista, Windows XP
(Online) Freelance work: Mac OSX, Windows XP
Now here is why you cannot compare specs on Macs and PCs. Windows ≠ Mac OSX. Mac OSX is SIGNIFICANTLY more efficient in everything it does than Windows. The same specs will offer at least a 30-50% improvement over Windows. If you want to upgrade a PC to offer that much of a performance improvement, you will be paying much more than a Mac costs. Don't forget, when you boot into Windows, you will have an equivalent performance to a similar specced PC as you are using the same hardware. You don't have to run Windows to play your games, because OpenGL (Mac, some Windows) games don't need anywhere near as crazy powered graphics cards to run at full quality as DirectX (Windows) games.
I could talk all day about why Microsoft's model is setup for them to only produce the bare minimum and screw over the users so long as there isn't competition (see the Netscape vs IE wars, and why IE used to be the most awesome browser while it was fighting Netscape), but I won't get into that now.
Anyways, Mac OSX is all about the easy to use UI. There really isn't a good way to describe it that would sound appealing to a Windows user, but I recommend that you stop by an Apple store and try one of the many computers they have on display for you to try. Make sure you go with an open mind as a bias will not allow you to record accurate data. Also, the Apple store employees DON'T work on commission so they won't try to sell you anything you don't want, but they will be able to answer any basic questions you have.
Appwise, Mac OSX is by far the best media OS in existence. There really isn't anything (besides Blu-ray, but that will be fixed soon) that can't be done media-wise on a Mac. Also, because of all the included GUI libraries Mac OSX offers programmers, all your apps will have consistency in interface that is very intuitive. A few applications of note are GarageBand, iMovie, iPhoto, Plex, and much more. Adobe has all their creative suites for Mac OSX, and Microsoft Office is surprisingly much more stable on a Mac than on Windows (Also of note: the latest version for Macs is 2008, whereas Windows is 2007). iTunes is also really awesome in Mac OSX (the Windows version is fairly pathetic).
Using Mac OSX for the first time can be a slightly scary experience, but this can also be said about upgrading to a new version of Windows. You will have to get used to a few Mac OSX quirks that are different from Windows, but nearly everyone is capable of figuring anything out in the OS and it takes the most technologically declined less than a month to get used to it (I figured just about everything out in a day or two). I can post some links to some great guides about differences between Mac OSX and Windows and how easy it is to start using a Mac and doing everything you did before and more.
iindigo:
It may be just because I'm tired, but I'm really not sure about how I'd go into specifics.
I won't just parrot the whole "no malware!" bit, because it's usually not an issue on Windows if you're not stupid. It is a little comforting that the chance you'll be hit is lower anyway, though.
And if you ask me, the entire OS is just designed much, much more nicely than Windows is. Apple has spent a lot of time and money researching these things over the years, and while they aren't right about everything, some things just make sense - for example, one static menubar for the whole system vs. the pointless redundancy of attaching one to each application window.
There are also all kinds of little productivity-enhancing bits spread throughout the OS. A good example is the little icon found in the titlebars of windows that contain documents:
Hidden inside that little icon is a lot of functionality. Want to move or copy the file that's currently open, but don't have its folder open at the moment? Just drag the icon like as if it were a regular document. Hold down the alt key to turn that move into a copy. If you're wondering about the document's path, it can also do that. Hold down the Apple key and click to icon to open a menu revealing the document's path:
Of course, clicking any of the directories shown in the list will open them in the file browser.
• The UI is optimized for handling large numbers of windows that are all differently-sized to best accommodate their functions, which contrasts Windows which is designed around all program windows being maximized. It's much more friendly to multitasking.
• Drag and drop is not only widely supported throughout the system, but also in the vast majority of Mac applications.
• Mac applications, rather than sprawling out all over your system like some sort of octopus, are for the most part self-contained and are usually removed by simply deleting them.
• There is no central registry to grow massive and get corrupted; all programs store their preferences in separate files in the users' preferences folder.
• Text appears on the screen exactly how it will appear if printed.
• Nearly every Mac application gets to take advantage of the system-wide grammar and spell checker.
• The system never forces bizarre fake folder hierarchy like Windows does.
• OS X is sold as one package, one edition, one size fits all. Even the 32-bit and 64-bit versions are on the same DVD.
• 32-bit programs and drivers run perfectly on the 64-bit version of the OS.
• OS X requires no serial, activation, or registration and thus won't bitch at you when you swap out system components.
There are a lot of other differences, but I'm tired and thus my brain is dead...
So aside from major design differences, little things like that add up to really make a large difference once you're accustomed to the system.
Another distinct advantage is that you can perform pretty much any generic Unix or Linux command through the OS X terminal. You can also run a very large portion of Linux software in addition to your toolset of native Mac applications.
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