OMFG Apple prices!!!

[ZokesPro]

OK, so the past 10 months I use a 2 GHz Power PC, 1.5 GB RAM with OSX 10.4.8 at work

1. my point exactly

2. there are numerous things that I don't like about the macs (besides the fact that it has far less programs than the PC) and I'll just list a few of them


a. the way the windows are organised is very confusing, especially if you have many programs open at the same time (although Expose partially fixes that)

b. its not as efficient MB for MB as windows XP when I use big Excel and Powerpoint files

c. I get random problems when trying to print (tried on different printers).
for example:
in Safari or Firefox there is not option for print selection of webpages (why not???)
in word when I try to print graphs they randomly come out in black and white or color for no apparent reason

d. when i select save as to save any kind of work it automatically selects the documents folder instead of the folder the file was originally saved in (although this could be an option that can be changed)

e. on top of that, I don't find the OSX more stable than XP

I could list a lot more little things like that which are annoying but what bothers me the most is that although for the average user it doesn't really provide more (it provides less actually if you count all the programs that you can find for a PC but not for a mac) than a PC, it is significantly more expensive!!! why????

I mean you have a platform which is dominant (PC/windows) and you are trying to compete it by providing an alternative which doesn't provide more functionality than the competition and it's more expensive. what kind of a business plan is that ??????

I'll tell you what I think: without the premium price, macs would lose their value as "status symbols" and that would be the end of them...

I tend to agree on most of what you've said in that post.

One thing that truly annoys me in OSX, you cannot maximise the window!!!!

[az]

One thing that truly annoys me in OSX, you cannot maximise the window!!!!

Try Stoplight.

BTW, Opera can maximize on the mac, as can a few other apps like iPhoto, eyeTV, VLC, Quicktime.

[az]

OK, so the past 10 months I use a 2 GHz Power PC, 1.5 GB RAM with OSX 10.4.8 at work

1. my point exactly

Yes, they are. Although the MacBooks aren't that bad.

2. there are numerous things that I don't like about the macs (besides the fact that it has far less programs than the PC) and I'll just list a few of them


a. the way the windows are organised is very confusing, especially if you have many programs open at the same time (although Expose partially fixes that)

It's different. Confusing? Hmm. I don't miss the task bar anymore. I must admit though I don't have that many windows open - 5 most of the time. Once you realize closing a window doesn't mean quitting the program and you've found out about command+h, this gets much less irritating. And exposé is very nice, of course.

b. its not as efficient MB for MB as windows XP when I use big Excel and Powerpoint files

Huh?

Also, you're complaining about an application here, not the OS.

c. I get random problems when trying to print (tried on different printers).
for example:
in Safari or Firefox there is not option for print selection of webpages (why not???)
in word when I try to print graphs they randomly come out in black and white or color for no apparent reason

I rarely print, so can't comment. Opera apparently can't print selections on OSX as well. I know Apple has recently acquired some linux printer driver project - which doesn't help current users, of course. Maybe your printer's drivers are just bad.

e. on top of that, I don't find the OSX more stable than XP

Me neither. They're about on par, which is to say, very good. If anything, XP might be a little more stable - although I of course know my way around it much better than I do around OSX.

I could list a lot more little things like that which are annoying but what bothers me the most is that although for the average user it doesn't really provide more (it provides less actually if you count all the programs that you can find for a PC but not for a mac) than a PC, it is significantly more expensive!!! why????

It does provide significantly more: Safety, ease of use, style. This is what the average user cares about. Power users like us aren't average.

I'll tell you what I think: without the premium price, macs would lose their value as "status symbols" and that would be the end of them...

There is some truth to this, but it isn't that simple and it certainly wouldn't be the end for Apple. It would be the end of their high profit margins, of course...

[Sasq]

I thought about weighing into this point by point, and decided not to.
Simply put, there are two threds here, one the hardware, one the software.

Yup Tony, price hurts, I don't really want to try to translate what the beancounter said here when my 17" macbook pro rolled up.
That said, Apple has been very good with hardware issues and repairs, considering this is my primary work machine.

Do look into parallels for those users you have that insist on using a mac, wonderful program, I use it for the few legacy applications i still need to run.

As for OSX being different/confusing/small furry with brown spots....
It's a different system then windows, with a BSD underpinning. I have no stability issues with it, my laptop goes into sleep mode to/from work, and I reboot it once a month or so.
Stability, well if I am rebooting once a month, you can probably guess.
*just did a quick head count, about 35 windows open across two screens.

I constantly drop to shell so I can ssh to our servers and customer servers, and also do a lot of things work related directly from the console. for me, it is the correct choice.
We also have a rule where all office documents are saved in '97 format, so neooffice suffices.

But really you should be using the platform thats best suited to your needs.
If Ubuntu was there, I would probably swap over, but its not quite there yet.
As for games, well I have a Wii, though WoW does look wonderful on this machine.

[Dr Mordrid]

Multimedia is why Mac sells a lot of systems to studios and indie producers, but it's not the hardware or OSX but that Final Cut ProStudio is only available for Mac. Never heard of it? "300", "Happy Feet" "Cold Mountain" and "Zodiac" (among many others) were done in FCPS.

In case you're curious....

[NetSnake]

....
I constantly drop to shell so I can ssh to our servers and customer servers, and also do a lot of things work related directly from the console. for me, it is the correct choice.
We also have a rule where all office documents are saved in '97 format, so neooffice suffices.
...

Multimedia is why Mac sells a lot of systems to studios and indie producers, but it's not the hardware or OSX but that Final Cut ProStudio is only available for Mac. Never heard of it? "300", "Happy Feet" "Cold Mountain" and "Zodiac" (among many others) were done in FCPS.

No doubt there are certain things that can be done better/easier on a mac and also some specialized programs that are top notch and you can find them in macs only (FCPS is a very good example). I also noticed that many of the IT guys here at the institute they'd much rather work with macs than PCs.

these ppl are not "average" users though...

[az]

Yep, average users surf the web, write letters and emails, do their household calculations and watch porn on their computers. All of which can be done quite easily on a mac (and on windows, and on linux too, probably - though they are both not as newbie-friendly as a mac, IMO).

[NetSnake]

good point. but I meant the average office user. which for me translates as a person who on top of that (including pr0n ) works extensively with the basic Office suite (or equivalent) plus 3-4 other a bit more specialized applications.

[ZokesPro]

Try Stoplight.

BTW, Opera can maximize on the mac, as can a few other apps like iPhoto, eyeTV, VLC, Quicktime.

That's why Opera is THE best browser.

[Brian Ellis]

That's why Opera is THE best browser.

Maybe for Mac, I don't know but, for PCs, Firefox leads the field by a good head.

[ZokesPro]

It does lead, but I just enjoy saying that Opera is king. I do use firefox but at home, Opera is my only browser.

[Gurm]

Perhaps because Macs are more often used for serious work, rather than gaming.

They aren't used for gaming because they can't be used for gaming. It's a vicious circle. See:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2B-ekl_cEWk

[NetSnake]

I posted this before in the LRMG thread but I think it fits quite nicely in this one also

[ZokesPro]

They aren't used for gaming because they can't be used for gaming. It's a vicious circle. See:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2B-ekl_cEWk

That's probably why they insisted on using intel cpu's, that and bootcamp.

[az]

Maybe for Mac, I don't know but, for PCs, Firefox leads the field by a good head.

By what criterion?