Like the mathematically inept with calculators, Macs are for people who simply need things to work, PCs are for people who need to know how things work, and Linux is for poor posers forcibly turned smug elite. I would know, I’ve owned every platform and read The Oatmeal. Now, Macs have left the hallowed grounds of designers and eccentric homes, to infiltrate developer circles and general administrative offices.
I have been anti-Apple for so long that I bought a Creative Zen AND Sony Mini Disc player instead of the iPod! I still don't want to pinch, wave, or generally gesture at my screens! This must be how writers felt about typewriters, or photographers who thought film would never be usurped; where art thou BUTTONS?!
A respected web developer recently told me that her last PC encounter involved DLLs from Windows 98! I started asking around and found that most Mac users have never owned a PC, last used an antiquated Windows version, or were exposed to the much belied Vista. Microsoft hasn't done itself any favors with Windows 8 either, when all they had to do was build a TILED desktop with a Start menu and omni-bar. Of course, it's not difficult to personally install the necessary components, except that extra effort is exactly where a sane person would browse other options; now I know how most Thiests feel.
The easiest explanation for Apple fever has always been convenience. From my experience, public schools were either equipped with Macs or PCs in their computer labs. Each platform maintained a separate image, one remained in a beige box, and the other resembled an organized bucket of Legos. Microsoft may have released the ill fated Courier before the iPad, and Palm may have released the Pilot before the iPhone, except they were all marketed to the wrong generation. The computer market is at the mercy of grown children systematically brainwashed, and devolved to devote themselves to a grownup Leap Frog product. As I get older and lose my complex faculties, I promise to more freely dabble with Apple products; in the mean time, best wishes with your Macs and elliptical machines.
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This article is based solely on opinion and lacks real facts about why PCs would be better than Macs. You generalize about Mac Users. Have you interviewed many for this article. I don't think you have. I have been using Macs since 1992. Sadly, I HAD to use PCs at work since 1979. I have always used both platforms since I was younger than you are now. Mac is by far a better product. If you really want to tinker with the programming of your Mac, you can. But really, why would you? It is designed to be intuitive. PCs are anything but intuitive. Try mapping a network drive in Vista or creating a print server.
As for the multitude of creative uses on a Mac, from home recording, filmmaking, photo-documentation, web design, Flash, Premiere and all of the Adobe Products, they simply run better on MacOS.
Then there are the issues of viruses you can obtain on the Internet. It hardly exists in the MacOS World. I run a computer lab in an elementary school. Wireless, Apple iMacs for K-5. No pop-ups, no trojan horses or data erasing worms.
My mistake is not having invested the same amount of money in Apple stock that I had purchased in Apple products since my first Performa. Then I wouldn't have been living next door to you Jorene.
This article is not about why PCs are better than Macs. I have generalized Mac users without interviewing their hipster kind; and Frank, you sir, are a qualifying hipster. I sadly HAD to use Macs at school, which detracted from my personal QBasic studies at home. For a platform to destroy, restore, and modify, PCs are by far a better product. Our differences lie there, where you ask, "But really, why would you?" I'm glad every problem you've encountered has been solved by your Mac.
Responding to your middle two paragraphs would constitute a new post full of specifications and statistics - something I'll consider. I will say that their generalized points are valid, as are their specific counter points.
Finally, yes, that was a fatal mistake that I reiterate to Mac users who cry poverty; and wouldn't my absence have been your loss then? *high five*
The best tool is the one that you know.
This sounds familiar to the "Ruby vs Python vs Node vs PHP" argument. Why does there only have to be one?
I enjoy having a *nix terminal, and my development workflow is easier in OSX than in Windows. Does that make OSX better? No. In fact OSX can be infuriating.
But then again, I grew up on Windows so I know it a little better. I can find things faster and generally appreciate some of the "windows only" software that developers have made. Does that make Windows better? No. In fact, Windows can be infuriating.
I guess my point is -- I have three machines on my desk. One runs ubuntu, one is a "hackintosh" with OSX running and one is a windows 7 machine. One mouse and keyboard with synergy and ... I don't need to pick a favorite.
The next machine I buy will certainly be a Macbook -- not because I love OSX, but because it's the easier way to get a triple-booted laptop. Not to mention, they're all the rage these days.
Will, your synergy point was heartfelt. There technically doesn't have to be one, unless I'm the Highlander ... or, like the "Ruby vs Python vs Node vs PHP" argument, I want to build a practical stack. I will admit that although an i7 Lenovo is probably in my future, that 13" MacBook Pro is quite the charmer. Thanks for chiming in!
Hipster? I'm two decade too old to be a hipster. Hipster looked at me in the 90s and invented hipster.
OMG. I'm still laffin. What floors me is you can't discern between the artifice of hipsterdom and trend setting working class artists. My sweet boy, I don't fit into ANY of the boxes you have created for me. We are quite alike in many ways, coming from working class families - my mom and immigrant - where both parents toiled to raise their children. The difference btw you and me is my mother hasn't seen my dirty underwear since I'm 14. I moved out when I was 17 in 1977 when I got a gig working for the publicity agent for Grace Jones, Stephanie Mills and Cher. I escorted all three of them to Studio 54 and gay clubs in the late 70s. By the time I was 19, I had my own apartment and a full time 'SIDE' career in health care. I may have fabulous style and grace, but I am no hipster my sweet man. But thank you for discounting my age bracket.
There are quite a few differences between us; for instance, I was under the impression that you'd be flattered by citing your role in ushering the hipster era; instead, it would seem you were insulted and recounted a brief autobiography to contrast yourself in the superior. My apologies, and congratulations on your life.
I just found it comical that you would characterize me in such a reductive fashion. Avoid labeling people in your writing (and comments). It comes off at best as diminishing- at worse, myopic. And while opinion pieces are always fun, I think you are aiming at something less superficial than just filler, as you put it in a previous blog posting. Daily blogs are tough. Don't be afraid to come out and say what you mean in plain English and then support your argument with fact-based evidence. Interviewing primary sources is always a good start. In your search for voice and audience, you will find most success when being less guarded about yourself and at the same time bringing the focus outside of yourself.
Obviously myopic in this case, hope my apology was well received. As I put in a previous blog post: this isn't a daily blog. And again, this is not the first time I'm confused, if there were something you thought I've refrained from revealing, then I'm confident you wouldn't badger around the issue. It is conceivable that you simply don't like what I've written, or my writing for that matter; either is more understandable than insinuating ulterior motives.
It's my interpretation that the attached post is a minor point being discussed as this comment thread has lengthened. You have my contact information, I will take the time to personally address any other personal issues you may have. Best wishes.