PC Vs. Mac BS
I have a huge issue with the whole PC vs. Mac debate… and lets call it what it really is: Windows vs. OSX which for the most part is complete and utter BS!
Yes, the Mac has some nice features, and there is no denying the allure of some of their hardware, although some of it is a little on the industrial side of “industrial design” for my tastes… yes I’m talking about you Mac Pro! But to say OSX is better than Windows (even Vista) is just crap.
I work in an office where more people use Macs than PCs… and yet more people use Windows than OSX. Sure, we’re a software development company and a Microsoft (.net) one at that but it’s still a telling fact that a large portion of of the Mac loving crowd simply can’t do what they need to do with a MAC alone… for this you only have to look at how popular products like Parallels, VMWare Fusion and BootCamp are. How many Windows users on the other hand run OSX for this reason? None? surely this can’t be!
I use Windows… I have used it since the days of Windows 95, having started out on a Mac, and while like ALL operating systems there are things I don’t like, I enjoy using Windows, especially Windows 7 which I have been using without issue since the early betas. The “Macs are better than PCs”articles are really startin’ to piss me off as they are so completely one eyed and completely ignore any negatives on the Mac side even going so far in some cases to raise the cost of upgrade as a negative for Windows! Seriously?!?! How many times have Apple cut there users off at the knees in the last 10 years?
Window’s Vista had problems yes… most, after the first few months, were perception based however, helped and guided lovingly by Apple of course. Windows 7 is at a minimum the equal of anything in the OSX world and in my opinion a far superior OS. It’s stable, easy to use and has great features… Apple can try in their advertising to tie Windows 7 to the mis-guided perception issues that plagued Vista but it’s an argument they will ultimatly lose. They’ll have a much harder time convincing anybody to “Switch” when the OS they are already running is this good.
So it’s great to see articles like this occasionally that put some of the BS arguments used into some proper perspective.
7 comments Digg this7 Comments so far
Leave a reply
Hey Simon, I mostly agree … I use OS X but have had a go with Windows 7 and it seems pretty cool, although OS X is still my OS of choice. I think it’s a bit misleading though to point to the high use of people running Windows on a mac machine as an indicator of the shortcomings of OS X as everybody I know who does this runs Windows because of the business dominance of Windows only applications in the dev world, that is stuff designed only to work on Windows, so even if windows isn’t your OS of choice you need to run it to work in these environments. The point being you are running the one you need to, not the one you want to.
What really erks me about this whole thing is that if I pull out my Mac people often ask if I’m a ‘Mac head’ or a fan boy. But I choose my machine based on what OS I like best, what I can afford and what I like the look of the most. The idea of being loyal to any particular company is madness, they don’t love you or want the best for you, they want whatever earns them the most moola. While that coincides with a good user experience for you that works in your favour but they will cut you off without a second thought if it suits them. Just look at Microsoft pushing that pig Sharepoint and Apple locking the iplayer into itunes.
If you are a loyal machead you are a fool for love, and the same for a Windows fan. They do not love you back.
Erm that should be licking the ipod into itunes obviously
Yeah… I was in a bit of a rant mode and the “use of Windows” argument is a bit lame I know… but I’m just tryin’ to make a point…
Part of the difference seems to be, and perhaps the reason you are often met with the “Are you Mac Head?” question when pulling out your MacBook is that Mac users are traditionallly viewed as being extremly vocal (at least the vocal ones) and sometimes, like Cantab’s, a little “One Eyed” in their support of Apple as opposed to Windows uses who are either less vocal/passionate or those that are simply get lost in the (lack of) noise of their far greater number.
What “erks” me about the whole things is that it is even put forward as an apples for apples choice. That by using a PC it says something about me and my computer habits… that I’m in some way inferior.
The reality is that the vast majority of PC users are perfectly happy in our world.
oh… and I’ll assume you actually meant “Locking” the iPod into iTunes… not that some of the iPods aren’t perfectly lickable
The people in the Apple store get really uppity if you walk around trying to find the best tasting one though.
You’re just not going to the right Apple stores my friend
I run both mac and PC side by side for my studio, both do certain things well, I always use the mac when in front of customers as the shiney Imac gives an oooh factor for my pictures. For me I just love the adverts with both apple and microsoft getting at each other at every opportunity – I prefer the mac adverts but both machines have their strengths
Thanks Tim, it’s nice to here another balanced viewpoint. Both do indeed do certain things well. I just wish Apple would get off their high horse sometimes and Microsoft would bite back just a little bit harder. There’s no doubt that Apple have a much better (and way funnier) advertising team though.