Mac OS: The End is Near?

The "superiority" of any OS is in the eye of the beholder, honestly. If you prefer a certain OS over another, that's great, I'm happy it works for you - it does not mean that one is superior or inferior. Each platform has its own pros and cons. The superiority complex that some Mac users have is just silly. Windows is far from perfect, but having used both Windows XP and MacOS X, ultimately I prefer Windows for the things I do. Some people prefer Linux, some prefer the Mac. That is the great thing about choice. I was actually pretty damn fond of the AmigaOS myself. To each their own.

Not me she wouldn't 'cause I'm special.

Damn you old man, you need to pop out of the woodwork more often.

1 billion songs downloaded.

misogynist

Kinky.

This wooden left leg is probably the best one out there, but it obviously doesn't suit my needs as my right leg is missing.

Heh, don't worry Mac Fans.... You might get a good laugh when Microsoft releases Vista. I have a feeling it's gonna tank like Windows ME. They're supposedly releasing 7 versions. Naturally the one people will want will be the more expensive ones. But knowing the computer illiteracy of most PC owners, they'll end up with the low-end stripped down version then whine "it wont run".

Even though I run a PC, I still want a cheap lil' Mac Mini someday to hook into my car as an MP3 Stereo. Their size would be perfect for in the trunk and not taking up space. Maybe a touch screen on the dashboard if I have the money?

I'll say yes on this... I ain't touchin Windows Vista.

The Mac's selling points are that the OS is easier to use, more powerful, more attractive, and more reliable than Windows.

This was the last MacWorld Expo keynote, where Steve Jobs demoed all of the cool new toys. If you don't know why you'd want a Mac, watch this video, and you'll understand how much more advanced Mac software is than anything on Windows or Linux.

http://macworld.apple.com.edgesuite.net/mw/

There's also the Switch site, which explains why the Mac's so much better in detail:

http://www.apple.com/switch/

A handful of things is why I use mac. If you really don't care then yes it is trolling you are not asking honestly nor listening to answers that others express.

1. Moving apps without having to reinstall them
2. A lack of viruses
3. No DLL's or registries.

Most people who say windows is "better" also throw in "I don't mind dealing with those things".

I've used and use both... everyday. Which one is better will depend on what you DO.

Blatently untrue.



yup.

I know you probably don't think you're trolling, but you are, you can see it in this "Why would I use a Mac" attitude and also in the way you presented the original Dvorak story here. If you knew anything about the platform, you would know what an idiotic "theory" Dvorak is trolling and whether you personally preferred them or not you would still be aware of their obvious advantages in terms of ease-of-use and reliability.

Having used both Windows and Macintosh extensively every single day (since Windows 3.1 and Mac System 7), and on every kind of machine you can think of, I can tell you that Macs are simply better quality, more reliable, more stable and more useful machines in general. They are also prettier!

The times that Macs haven't been on top of the heap in terms of sheer speed and computing power, they have won the day with better and easier to use software. Most of the time they are ahead on both counts.

ROFL! You could not be more wrong if you were trying.

I'm a professional software engineer, and I used to (until last year) build my own systems from scratch; typically one machine to be the ultimate Linux server for my workstation, one to be a Windows gaming machine. My average computer price is $3000. The most I've spent is $6000, and I only narrowly resisted spending >$10K on a system. The least I ever spent was $1500, and that was for a rack-mount server to go in a closet.

With the best technology available to PCs, long hours of research on my own and discussing with my friends--mostly engineers, sysadmins, and computer repairmen, I ended up with machines that worked most of the time, unlike most peoples' Dell systems--the archetype of the white-box piece-of-shit PC I was railing against.

From time to time, my systems still sucked, and I may well have spent more time ripping systems apart and configuring things than getting real work done, but at the time I was so codependent and accustomed to systems just sucking--like you are still--that I didn't know any better. I thought it was okay for my system to hit me sometimes.

Then I realized how stupid that was, and I bought a Mac. Now stuff Just Works.

Here's another example for you. Jamie Zawinski, former developer of Mozilla (which is now Firefox), developer of xscreensaver, switched because PC hardware sucks and PC OS's suck and the interaction between the two sucks squared:

http://jwz.livejournal.com/494040.html



You can get better (and multiple) video cards and more memory (the Quad G5 goes up to 16 GB). It'll cost you, just as it would cost for the very highest-end PC hardware, but you get an OS that actually works with it.



I'm no fan of DeadRat for a variety of reasons (mostly having to do with doing nasty things to it at work), but that's not my point with those. Linspire, Mandriva, and SuSE are aimed at end-users who know very little about computers. DeadRat used to be, but now they only sell an enterprise edition, useless to 90% of the market. Fedora's gone from a vaguely user-friendly system to something only Linus could use. A Mac user would find Linspire, Mandriva, and SuSE grossly inferior to Mac OS X, but at least tolerable.

Incorrect. It has gone from zero to four proof-of-concept malware programs in the last few months, as opposed to the literally tens of thousands of real viruses on PCs that are largely responsible for spam, since zombie PCs are used to resend spam now.

One of those is not even a virus, it's merely a trojan that messages everyone you know in iChat, and if they click "Accept Unknown Program", it downloads to the desktop, then you can hunt around for it and click it, which repeats the process. But only a moron accepts unknown programs, and a really determined moron runs one. Nobody can stop you from being a moron.

The other three are variants of the same attack on a vulnerability in Bluetooth, which most Macs don't have, which was patched 6 months ago. So, if you're running an unpatched Mac that has Bluetooth, and somebody with an infected machine comes within range of yours, you might get infected. But nobody runs unpatched machines, because Mac OS X is very insistent on getting updated regularly.

When a platform with 6+% of the market has 0.01% as much malware, none of them real attacks, you can in fact call that a "lack".

Lying is so unattractive, Siro, especially when you're so bad at it.

there see, told you so !

plenty hungry fish

the OP can sit back smugly smiling in the knowledge he stirred the mud in the pond

time to stop farting in the classroom kiddies

a nice coincidence ...

http://daringfireball.net/2006/03/familiarity_breeds_a_user_base

OUCH !! that hook was sharp !

what's that smell ?

Easier? Yes. More Attractive? Yep. Reliable? Yep. More Powerful? Mmmmmm..... yea...... Let me know when any OS can really claim that.



Wow! If I was computer illiterate I'd use their I-software too! But seriously, thats stuff for the "mom & dad who dont know shit" people. So how's Maya run? I know it's out for the Mac right now. What about Softimage? Lightwave? AutoCad? AutoDesk's Inventor? How about Pro-E? All the video showed me was kid stuff. I must admit I liked GarageBand. Reminds me of Sound Edit 16, which was quite nice at the time. Why does Mac rely on Microsoft for Office? Shouldnt they have their own world-wide accepted standard??

If I had to move out of the area I'd switch my parents to a Mac. I really would!! It's simple enough they could use it, and I wouldn't have to be "tech support". Thats the other catch- Apple is as bad as Dell for training technicians. You can go to college/trade school, learn to fix every PC on this planet. But just like Dell, you gotta go to their "centers" of which most seem to be California or Europe. At least they have more places to go than just Texas.
Ok, so the Parents might have to ship it off to get fixed or drive 50 miles.... but hey, it's gotta be better for them than Linux was!! That was a nightmare. Not a user friendly, dumbed down OS.

And um, they have a Quadro for a for the power Mac, not 4 video card capable systems. Why settle for 1 when 4 is so much faster? Wooo! 512 MB of video RAM!! as opposed to the soon this year 2048 for the Quad Video card systems.

Dual processors? yea, I can have that too. But even the G5 power Mac tops out at 2.5. Woooooo!!! I'm running 2.8 Single Core myself, and Intel has the Pentium Extreme 950 Dual core at 3.4 Ghz. But then Intel 's chips are known for running a good bit warm.

The dual SATA 500 MB drives? Overpriced. I can get the same thing with 16 MB cache for $642. 16 Gig DDR2? Would cost a PC for the same speed RAM $2880 instead of $4700. Ok, cant beat the displays. Apple makes some nice monitors. Do they come in black or red? Blue is icky, White is Bland. Yellow would be nice. Set it apart from the others. Cuz If I wanted to be like everyone else, I'd join the Conservative republican party. What about other options? Air-Cooled stuff is for 70's volkswagons. What about water-cooled? Or Phase-Change Cooling? I'm not a big fan of "MY (Blank) is the same looking as your (Blank)".

The Power Mac G5's are quite nice but so pricey!! I've built servers for less than what they charge. The only guaranteed thing I get with Apple is it'll run. But then if Micro$oft built the systems too, it'd be the same.



yea, they're the same as ATI- If we build it, we control the quality. But then those ones tend to not follow industry standards, otherwise there wouldnt be people saying their ATI cards are having trouble running Second Life. Same with a car= Your Chevy uses an engine & other parts FROM Chevy. Not Ford. Not Dodge (blech!). THAT is why Mac's are stable. They have a very tight reign on everything. BTW- I have yet to see a BSD or a total Crash due to OS errors on my PCs.

BUT- it's about time Mac switched to Intel! Their other processors were just not keeping up.

Which also leads me to the question: When it's time for a processor upgrade, do you just buy it & stick it in or are you stuck spending another $1000+ for a whole new system?

And What's the timings on the RAM in the G5's? Since I do some hardcore gaming at times that is a BIG factor in speed.

Vista is gonna bite Micro$oft right in the ass. Sounds sweet, but No thanks.

Basically anyone who posts in Off Topic is considered trolling in other words. Right, I get it.

Yes, but it is fun to watch Mac Fans pop a blood vessel over it

*Poke Poke* <- poking them with pointy stick

The point I was making here is that it is vulnerable. The dearth of viruses and exploits that have been aimed at MS software have indeed forced it to be better or combat such things. If you were to suddenly switch all the MS users over to Mac (because it is apparently better) then you will likely have the same problem with Mac that you have with MS. This is what confuses me about the whole 'switch' thing. If someone is using a low end pc, you shouldn't WANT them in your computing environment.



only 4? McAffee disagrees with you. I guess you could tell them they're wrong, but I don't see you making any headway. I will agree with you that the average PC user isn't that bright, but that's who the PC is marketed to primarily.

With all the geek talk and my computer is better than your computer there is one thing missing. The point of view from a average consumer.
Once upon a time I was a Amiga owner. I loved that machine. I massaged it, prayed over it and begged it to keep running long after Commdore bit the dust. Then that fateful day came when it just would not compute anymore. What was I do? My favorite computer company was long gone. Even the latest greatest Amiga was long obsolete. I had to girdel my loins and bravely go in search of a new computer.

I looked at Macs and PCs. Both had thier points and draw backs. I am not a big fan of Bill Gates and did not want to give money to what I view as the evil empire. But the Mac had one fault that I could not get around. One computer store in a town of 100,000 people verus dozens of stores that catered to the PC. I went through that with the Amiga and just could not bring myself to do it again. I can walk into any big box retailer and see hunderds of software titles. Where is the Mac stuff. It's a hour away or the next store after that is 2 hours away. That is what killing the mac. The days of just having a die hard user base is not going to cut it. It would be a wise move for Apple to migrate the Mac to Windows. Apple is in the business of selling computers not operating systems. Trust me I hate Windows as much as the average Mac user but the reality is if they going to survive they need to have more than 10% of the market share.
I was pleased to see Best Buy is now carrying the Mac but alas I did not see much in software titles. I wonder if this too little too late on Apples part and should of hopped in bed with the mass marketers years ago. Only time will tell.

When I think about the Mac it reminds of that qoute by Mark Twain "Reports of my death are still greatly exagerated"

Wish you all well

Rox

OSX isn't going anywhere. As far as I know Mac is trying very hard to keep OSX hardware specific. It keeps getting hacked though. I might use osx instead of windows on my pc, but probably only if mac were to officially allow it.

That said I think it's much more likely that mac will allow osx to work on pcs than it is that they will let windows work on a mac. if they allow windows on a mac, then what am I bying? a sleek shiny plastic case?