I've been reminded why I ditched Windows

[xxBURT0Nxx]

my .02

Always used PC's growing up, finally switched to a mac about a year ago. I was looking for a new computer and figured might as well make the switch because I didn't like Vista and didn't want to wait for 7 and the beta/RC was a little too buggy imo to rely on as a full time OS.

Ran 10.5 for a little, then upgraded to 10.6 when it came out. IMO, os x is much more reliable. Boots everytime, never have to select safe mode or run a memory test, etc. I also personally think that I am more productive in os x which is kind of surprising. Playing around with it at the Apple store and stuff on occasion I always felt it was counterintuitive to what I already knew on windows but after playing around with it and learning some of the shortcuts I am much faster and efficient on my mac than on any PC.

Also, as far as the price differences, I really don't think macs are that much more expensive. You pay a slight premium, but you are getting a very nice computer. Plus, you don't need to max out all specs on a mac to compete with a PC. Would definitely not run a PC with less than 2gb of ram, and would always shoot for 4, but with macs run fine with only 2gb. Even played around with some powerbooks and g4s with 1gb of ram and they still run better than most win machines.

Windows just has a lot of annyoing quirks and after upgrading at least 5 machines to win 7 this week I am happy to be a mac user. Never had so many problems just getting the system to boot from a CD, not freeze during installation, etc. 2 times I would do a reformat on the drive, try to install win 7 and it would tell me i couldn't because it was an upgrade and the computer didn't have a previous license so i had to go back and reinstall either vista or win 7 rc1, then reformat again and reinstall win 7 pro. I've upgraded 3 or 4 macs to snowleopard and have yet to run into a problem. NOT saying that macs don't have problems, but to be honest i am way less frustrated with my mac and never have to go around googling error codes and reading through pages of forums to get something to work.

I also can't fathom why we need so many versions of windows 7. My brother just got a new dell and ended up grabbing a netbook with it for my dad which came with Win 7 starter. WTF is the point of that, can't change your backgrounds, can only run a handful of prgrams at one time, etc. crippling the os like that just so you can sell it for cheaper and then when people realize how ****ty it is then you can charge them to upgrade it.... why ms?

Everything stated above is my opinion, and should be taken as such. I am not saying that macs never have problems or that windows is the worst, but to be honest mac just works, whereas with windows i have to do the work.

I also

 

[usayit]

My brother just got a new dell and ended up grabbing a netbook with it for my dad which came with Win 7 starter. WTF is the point of that, can't change your backgrounds, can only run a handful of prgrams at one time, etc. crippling the os like that just so you can sell it for cheaper and then when people realize how ****ty it is then you can charge them to upgrade it.... why ms?

This is an ongoing thing with netbooks.... (I have one too..)

Netbooks have three things going for them:
* price (must be below entry laptops)
* footprint (must be easier to carry than a laptop)
* battery power (must last longer than the laptop).

One of the difficult things manufacturers of netbooks have to address is the first one; price. The license cost charged by Microsoft Windows eats into that margin quite a bit. This is why the initial netbooks were mostly sold with some sort of linux variant.

For Windows 7, MS offers the starter version at a discounted version. Think about it.. Win7 home is $200 which is 50% the cost of most netbooks. btw... you can update to the full version for around $80.


But yes... the number of versions os Windows is insane and makes it difficult to support from both IT and development standpoint.




btw.. My netbook ... runs Mac.

 

[inTempus]

Windows just has a lot of annyoing quirks and after upgrading at least 5 machines to win 7 this week I am happy to be a mac user. Never had so many problems just getting the system to boot from a CD, not freeze during installation, etc. 2 times I would do a reformat on the drive, try to install win 7 and it would tell me i couldn't because it was an upgrade and the computer didn't have a previous license so i had to go back and reinstall either vista or win 7 rc1, then reformat again and reinstall win 7 pro. I've upgraded 3 or 4 macs to snowleopard and have yet to run into a problem. NOT saying that macs don't have problems, but to be honest i am way less frustrated with my mac and never have to go around googling error codes and reading through pages of forums to get something to work.

Sounds like my experience to the letter. How strange, you must have done everything wrong like I did.

It's funny, I've upgraded several Mac's to new OS's and not once did I have any problems with drivers, compatibility, drives mysteriously not working, cryptic error codes, etc.

When I was a hardcore Windows user I was used to having to troubleshoot things. It's just part of the Windows life. I thought perhaps things had improved considerably since XP and Vista. In my experience, they haven't.

But, now that I have Windows 7 installed I must say I like it MUCH more than previous versions of Windows. I'm enjoying learning all the in's and out's of the new OS.

I am getting a new Windows machine this week. My Dell is running great now and is even pretty quick, but I want something faster. I don't think I'll ditch OSX in favor of Windows as I still plan to replace my primary system with a 27" iMac next year.

 

[Mike_E]

I've got Win 7 on my laptop and love it. Not a single hitch.

I didn't like vista much but am still running XP on my desktop without issues either.

Barring an actual hardware issue and you don't install every gimmicky program that comes along (or BEM attack- it does help to stay behind a router) if you clean the registry half as often as you clean your lens you can go for years with out problems. I have.

 

[inTempus]

Oh, and I have been pricing new Dells with 27" monitors to compare to the iMac 27" I plan to buy. The price between Dell and Apple is about the same. Actually, with a monitor of comparable size, the Dell will cost me a little more.

I realize you can build your own system for less typically but I like to order complete systems and have them delivered. The system I'm picking up (today perhaps) is a parts machine. My buddy who helped me get W7 installed ordered some parts through work for me and I'll be putting it together this afternoon I hope (depends on how long my wife's "honey-do" list is).

 

[inTempus]

Iif you clean the registry half as often as you clean your lens you can go for years with out problems. I have.

...another thing I appreciate about Mac's. With my Windows machines I learned you had to do regular maintenance work to keep them running smoothly.

I've yet to do any maintenance on my Mac's (over 4 years) outside of deleting applications. There's no need for defragging, cleaning registries, etc. It's pretty nice.

Heck, I can't even remember the last time I had to reboot my Mac desktop... With Windows I found myself rebooting regularly - not that it's that big of an issue.

 

[jbylake]

Iif you clean the registry half as often as you clean your lens you can go for years with out problems. I have.

...another thing I appreciate about Mac's. With my Windows machines I learned you had to do regular maintenance work to keep them running smoothly.

I've yet to do any maintenance on my Mac's (over 4 years) outside of deleting applications. There's no need for defragging, cleaning registries, etc. It's pretty nice.

Heck, I can't even remember the last time I had to reboot my Mac desktop... With Windows I found myself rebooting regularly - not that it's that big of an issue.

I was hoping this thread was dead, but you brought up an interesting point. First let me restate what I said earlier in this post. If you like MAC's and the MAC OS, then by all means use a MAC. Same for Windows, same for Linux. Although I like a bit of all of them, I use Windows, because of some of the proprietary software, that I must use, is only available for the Windows platform.

I like MAC's disk configuration. Never needs defragmenting, by design. Very cool. I really don't find myself needing to defrag Windows often, but it's still something you have to do, eventually. I think when SDD drives are available, that are large enough, and inexpensive enough, that issue will be solved for all platforms.

J.:mrgreen:

 

[inTempus]

I have my new Windows 7 machine. The install on the new machine went smooth, no issues. Here I go spending the next day or so reinstalling everything.

 

[c.cloudwalker]

I think the only thing I truely hate about Apple was something brought up a few pages back; about how their entire ad campaign is based on trash talking Windows PCs. And if one has to sink to that kind of level to sell a product, then I can only consider them bullying asshats who don't have enough confidence in their computers to be able to sell them on their own merit.

Must make voting hard comes election time :lmao: considering both sides of the political cesspool are mostly throwing sh*t at each other in their ad campaigns...

My brother just got a new dell and ended up grabbing a netbook with it for my dad which came with Win 7 starter. WTF is the point of that, can't change your backgrounds, can only run a handful of prgrams at one time, etc. crippling the os like that just so you can sell it for cheaper and then when people realize how ****ty it is then you can charge them to upgrade it.... why ms?

This is an ongoing thing with netbooks.... (I have one too..)

Netbooks have three things going for them:
* price (must be below entry laptops)
* footprint (must be easier to carry than a laptop)
* battery power (must last longer than the laptop).

One of the difficult things manufacturers of netbooks have to address is the first one; price. The license cost charged by Microsoft Windows eats into that margin quite a bit. This is why the initial netbooks were mostly sold with some sort of linux variant.

For Windows 7, MS offers the starter version at a discounted version. Think about it.. Win7 home is $200 which is 50% the cost of most netbooks. btw... you can update to the full version for around $80.


But yes... the number of versions os Windows is insane and makes it difficult to support from both IT and development standpoint.




btw.. My netbook ... runs Mac.

A Netbook is not a laptop! You get what you pay for. If you want a laptop, get one. In case you haven't noticed, Mac does not have a Netbook. Why? Probably because they realized that those darn stupid things were going to kill the Laptop business. Every thing I read about Netbooks seems to say that is the case.

The Mac OS has one version and one only. They don't seem to feel a need to reel you in with an OS version that doesn't do much so that you will later buy another, more complete version.

Oh, and I have been pricing new Dells with 27" monitors to compare to the iMac 27" I plan to buy. The price between Dell and Apple is about the same. Actually, with a monitor of comparable size, the Dell will cost me a little more.

I realize you can build your own system for less typically but I like to order complete systems and have them delivered. The system I'm picking up (today perhaps) is a parts machine. My buddy who helped me get W7 installed ordered some parts through work for me and I'll be putting it together this afternoon I hope (depends on how long my wife's "honey-do" list is).

It has been said for years that comparable Windows machines are not any less expensive than Macs. I'm sure one can save money by building their own machine BUT, I'm like you inTempus, I am not a computer nerd and I am not interested in becoming one (too busy doing other, "more important" things) so I want a machine that works right out of the box. I plug it in and I'm on my way.

And I've noticed that the Windows people who most hate Macs are the ones who build. But they seem to forget that the vast majority of Windows users are just like you and me. They don't know how to build a machine, don't even care. They just want to plug and play...

Iif you clean the registry half as often as you clean your lens you can go for years with out problems. I have.

...another thing I appreciate about Mac's. With my Windows machines I learned you had to do regular maintenance work to keep them running smoothly.

I've yet to do any maintenance on my Mac's (over 4 years) outside of deleting applications. There's no need for defragging, cleaning registries, etc. It's pretty nice.

Heck, I can't even remember the last time I had to reboot my Mac desktop... With Windows I found myself rebooting regularly - not that it's that big of an issue.

I was hoping this thread was dead, but you brought up an interesting point. First let me restate what I said earlier in this post. If you like MAC's and the MAC OS, then by all means use a MAC. Same for Windows, same for Linux. Although I like a bit of all of them, I use Windows, because of some of the proprietary software, that I must use, is only available for the Windows platform.

I like MAC's disk configuration. Never needs defragmenting, by design. Very cool. I really don't find myself needing to defrag Windows often, but it's still something you have to do, eventually. I think when SDD drives are available, that are large enough, and inexpensive enough, that issue will be solved for all platforms.

J.:mrgreen:

Maintenance? What the hell is that? Never done any. But don't forget that, just like viruses, few people write stupid little apps for Macs that end up chocking your system to death. Come on, the average Windows user is always adding cute little this, cute little that until the darn thing crawls on its knees and they pay my neighbor (and friend, do I dare say that?) to clean it up.


Use whatever you want and let's close this thread!

May the next person to start such a thread be banned for all eternity!

 

[Garbz]

Windows DVD not booting is not it's fault, it's yours.

Really, how do you figure? It might be the fault of the hardware, but I didn't do anything to prevent it from working. It loaded XP and Visa from the same drive just fine. Now that Windows 7 is installed, it also works just fine.

Well not your fault as much as the fault of the bios. I assume the DVD wouldn't boot at all? There's nothing on the Windows 7 DVD that sets it apart from a Linux install DVD. I have heard a lot of complaints about the install process itself, but never heard anyone who couldn't actually boot the DVD to begin with.


Anyway hope you have fun with the re-installing. God I need to do that on my dad's computer. What a fun way to spend Christmas ... NOT .

I'm sure one can save money by building their own machine BUT, I'm like you inTempus, I am not a computer nerd and I am not interested in becoming one (too busy doing other, "more important" things) so I want a machine that works right out of the box. I plug it in and I'm on my way.

One interesting thing most people don't realise is that there is no difference between a PC and a MAC. MACs are PCs, and as such the hackintosh crowd has ensured that you can readily install OSX on commodity hardware. So now not only is there no difference between pre-assembled options, but there is also no difference between build your own PCs. I have happily used a hackintosh as a fun project for the past year, and it runs just as well as any other system.

I like MAC's disk configuration. Never needs defragmenting, by design. Very cool. I really don't find myself needing to defrag Windows often, but it's still something you have to do, eventually.

That word disk configuration is key. My windows system never gets fragmented either. I don't constantly write and delete off my system drive. It's all about how your data is arranged. Windows doesn't exactly tell you this in the setup admittedly. HFS dynamically re-assigns data to suit. This is not too different from running a basic and rough defragment in the background. Your maintenance is simply done for you automatically, which is something that can quite easily be set up on any machine.

 

[usayit]

A Netbook is not a laptop! You get what you pay for. If you want a laptop, get one. In case you haven't noticed, Mac does not have a Netbook. Why? Probably because they realized that those darn stupid things were going to kill the Laptop business. Every thing I read about Netbooks seems to say that is the case.

WTF dude??? its the Holidays... cool the F down. If I were the admin of this forum I'd ban your rear end for the day.

If you actually read my post, I was actually explaining why netbooks are shipped with the stripped down version of Windows 7 Starter. It all comes down to pricing.

* I was not arguing or stating the merits of a netbook.

* Nor I also didn't say anything about a Mac Netbook either.

* Nor did I push a recommendation of a netbook.

* Nor did I push a mac netbook (which doesn't exist)

* Nor did I even mention a single word about comparing a Laptop versus Netbook (they both have a distinct market).


Go get drunk... come back another day... stop being pissy.

MY POST WASN"T DIRECTED TOWARDS YOU..

And no... I don't agree with a single word of your response.

 

[c.cloudwalker]

Cool the F down? Ban me for saying that Netbooks are not laptops? Are you sure I'm the one who needs a drink?

I will grant you that my post didn't make it clear I wasn't addressing you but I believe you are more pissy than I am. Cheers.

I was addressing xxBURT0Nxx and used your post to make the point, however badly. So I will apologize for using your post badly.

And now I will await yours. This may be a "the Holidays" for you but it is not for me. And it is extremely arrogant of you to think that your "Holidays" are everybody else's.

 

[usayit]

Good luck waiting...

Happy Holidays (its not mine either but I still take part in the time.. not being arrogant just being human).

 

[c.cloudwalker]

As I thought.

 

[usayit]

If you stopped at "wait for yours.", I would have considered but an apology amidst an insult isn't an apology at all... So yeh.. I'll take the arrogant remark and you can keep your apology.