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Mac vs PC

3K views 26 replies 18 participants last post by  elmer 
#1 ·
A client came over yesterday and was having difficulty with some logo files that I created in Photoshop for him.

He had a brand new laptop with XP on it. I am not 100% sure what it was - maybe a Dell - they all look the same.

It was an amazing computer however - fast and elegant - but compared to even the old beasts I have (Beige with a G4 card and a G3 Powerbook) his machine felt clumsy. It felt boxy and just would not be the type of tool I would want to work on day in and day out. Also the inability of Office (Word and Powerpoint) on the PC platform to be as friendly (If that isn't an oxymoron) on my Macs. Files convert very easy on the Mac platform. The PS saved files in Photoshop did not read. We had to jump through hoops to get the PC docs to handle the graphics. Also the interface for the PC office suite are just not right. From a User Experience standpoint the controls are not as elegant as on the Mac versions. And I believe it comes from the PC choice of where stuff resides. Just not right.

When will people stop being sheep?
 
#2 ·
When will people stop being sheep?

When they become the sheep dog...

Mac users were always the sheep dogs, protecting the PC users from themselves and from M$.

Better still, we should become the wolf... ;)
 
#3 ·
It Beats me as well.
I have to configure peoples laptops every day for the systems I sell. Even the fastest and most beautiful PC's feel clunky and boxy to me. I dread working on them.
I frequently have my little powerbook out for presentations at customer sites. It always gets ooh's and ahh's unless an IT guy is in the room. Bringing an Apple product in and showing it off in front of them makes them very uneasy. I don't pretend to know the reason why.
People also find the OS impressive. I'll have 4 powerpoints open, 3 pdf's, 2 excell files, and two quicktimes. In some cases VPC XP Pro. I wish I had a camera for the looks on there faces when I use Expose. To use a popular USA term, it's like "shock and Awe"
 
#4 ·
It's funny I've noticed IT guys don't like macs...I think it's because they're supposed to know their stuff and are suddenly faced with a platform they don't know much about . They don't like to admit that they don't know everything...
 
#5 ·
i've had to fix at least a half dozen PCs in the last year for people who couldn't get their computers to do even the most basic of tasks. people, clean our yer friggin' startup items!!!!you don't need 75 programs running in the background!!

a couple weeks ago a friend bought a new PC and couldn't launch Outlook, burn a CD, or setup his email accounts via the web interface that Rogers provides. I was astounded at the number of steps involved to do anything at all -- I had thought that XP would be an improvement over 98 but it is actually far worse from a productivity standpoint.

also, surfing the net was a dramatically different experience on a PC. one false step and you're buried under and avalanche of pop up windows. i tried to look up the nasa rover mission by going to www.nasa.com which was a big mistake since the url is something different.

btw, the only easy way to burn a music CD on a PC is through iTunes.
 
#6 ·
I think a lot of problems such as what bloodyface describes is due to "user error" (stupidity might be a better word for it).

I use Win2K at work and have nary a problem (3 years and no viruses with only a spam every quarter or two) but my usage is limited to Office programs and browsers.

I'm a bit light this morning so I only have six IE windows open, one Excel spreadsheet, Lotus Notes running in the background and one Word document.
 
#7 ·
quote: "I think a lot of problems such as what bloodyface describes is due to "user error" (stupidity might be a better word for it)."

"user error?" shouldn't computers be easy to use?

and actually, i'm not talking about "user error". when my friend tried to launch outlook for the first time, he was prompted for his Microsoft Office serial number, and thus was unable to gain access to his email client to configure his account. the solution? clicking on Outlook from the start menu launched Outlook. (clicking on the icon on the desktop launched the Office installer).

second, as I was browsing the web, I noticed that I would get kicked out of things like my webmail at work and my Yahoo email account. Scrutinizing the reems of security settings revealed no obvious configuration error.

thirdly, as one surfs the net on a windows machine, the machine seems to accumulate junk cyber DNA for lack of a better term. thousands of files are added to the system in many locations, eventually bogging down the machine and affecting its stability. anyone else experienced this?

i've had bad experiences installing printer and scanners on Win 98 and Xp machines, where after installation certain functions would cause the computer to freeze. i installed a printer/scanner combo for my girlfriends parents and if i touch the scan button, the computer freezes. i installed the same printer on my OS X machine and everything worked perfectly the first time.

anyway, yes in some cases stupid users are to blame, but don't you think those same stupid users on an OS X machine would have a much better go of it?
 
#9 ·
bloodyface:

A. Not sure about your thousands of files being added to the system...I browse for hours at a time on this machine everyday and never encountered that problem.

B. Would a stupid user have a better chance on an OS X machine...no idea. Let's find a stupid user and see? hehehe

C. My listing of programs that I'm currently running is in response to Petie's post about what he's running. Are you going to ask him if he's bragging because his machine is running a spreadsheet program? :confused:

BTW, I think this Dell Optiplex is simply a PII with 256 megs of ram...sigh...they have got to upgrade it! :rolleyes:
 
#10 ·
ironmac, i actually had a pentium II running win 98 which never gave me a problem until it finally decided to give up the ghost. the problems that i have observed have all been on other people's machines.

most people are fairly sloppy when it comes to maintaining their machines, but i think this would be less of an issue on a OS X machine.
 
#11 ·
I am a 3d Designer so my pressure on the processor can sometimes be quite intensive. I run a meagre G4 flat screen iMac at home to do 3D stuff which although not blazingly fast it is very stable and useable. At work however, for bizarre reason when I started here they got me a Dual Xeon, which to be fair, is super quick, but running Windoze 2000 is an absolute dog....I'm doing restarts at least once a day. I'm no techy guy but I keep my files in order and install all the latest updates as they come up. I'm not a happy chap using Windows at all.
 
#12 ·
When will people stop being sheep?
As I think a few have said here. It basically boils down to fear of the unknown. Most IT areas have used Windows for so long they know how to handle it's problems - be there a ton of problems. They don't know Macs as well and therefor feel they'll be lost if problems should occur.

The other thing I think IT areas hate about Macs is that Macs tend to do things for you, ex. with Rendevous and other features of the Mac you can set up a network almost instantly. IT guys are used to manually setting up networks, they want to set it up how they want it not let the computer set it up. At least that's my impression.
 
#13 ·
Hello,

At our divisional meeting, the issue of constant computer problems was brought up and the Chair wanted us to submit, in writing, some of the issues we've had with our office machines. Well, since I don't use the Windows PCs at work (I use my iBook), I didn't have any significant issues with their machines.

The only problem I've had was when they removed the AppleTalk Protocol and I needed to set up my machine for IP printing. Well, the one Mac guy was able to write up some basic instructions and they worked great, once I updated my drivers, that is.

So, I sent positive feedback to the computer support department, so they don't feel sad about their machines not working well. Of course, I think a lot of the issues has to do with the users not updating their machines every couple of weeks or so, whenever a new virus or something comes up.

James
 
#14 ·
Visual-Q: I'm an IT guy and I use a Mac!
Well it is true, as most IT people just have never used a Mac, they've used Windows, Windows and more Windows. It's all they really know. Some have also learnt a smattering of Linux, but it's mostly Windows.

My only complaint about being our department's Mac guy is that the only work I've had to do on Macs, has been to move mail and contacts from Outlook to Entourage for a switcher. The rest of the time, I'm having to fix PCs. Macs are just so darn easy.
 
#15 ·
Is there any proven, full-featured Exchange client on Mac yet? (send calendar events, tasks, notes, emails and contacts to co-workers, view their free/busy information, etc)
I thought this was the main problem integrating into a Windows-only enterprise. The other problem being poor Samba reliability (not so poor since Jaguar's release in December, besides there's always DAVE).
So what about Exchange? Has anyone heard of a mass deployment of Entourage or Ximian?
 
#18 ·
Thanks Evafresh - however I have made more logos than you have had hot meals. But je digress ...

Of course I drew it in Illustrator - but as you know (I hope) taking it into PS allows you to make variations for applications easier, quicker and with layers you can more easily do iterations (by dpi and colour) for electronic docs. And PS has far more controls for shading, colour, drop shadows etc etc

But you know all that, eh?

Again thanks for pointing this out. The unwashed teeming millions needed your insight into the graphic arts. Especially old goats like me

Funny though... it was nice to hear your viewpoint. reminded me of a couple of dozen graphic artists I have had the pleasure of firing over the years as CD at large agencies. Ahhh the good old days.

In case you are more of a newbie than you sound ... that was a flame.

cheers
 
#20 ·
This old billy goat just published an iCal calendar to the web in a matter of seconds ... try this with MS Outlook?? not likely to happen any time soon.

I've really come to appreciate the UI for macs since I've purchased a machine for home ... really wish I could use one at work, the integration betweeen hardware and software is just fantastic. Problem is that most proprietary applications written for business are written for that one blasted OS only.

Are there many companies out there that actually support both mac and pc platforms? i wonder.
 
#21 ·
I recently used iCal for the first time when I needed a project planner (I usually use Entourage). It served this purpose very well, and I thought I;d give the publish feature a whirl. WOW! Amazing! So asy to use, and the web-based interface is excellent. There's a bug in showing to-dos online, however -- as in IT CAN'T. Really really nice stuff, though, and it's just another example of how great it is to use a Mac.
 
#22 ·
So, why are there not more Mac users?

1) most department purchases are made by bean counters. You can get a P4 box for under $1500, and usually under $1000.

2) because of the nature of business, most companies need "standards", just like MS gives.

3) since companies are running Windblows at work, most people use what they are familiar with at home.

4) many school boards buy windows because the box prices are lower.

5) because the world is mostly PC, many "specialty" programmes run on Intel boxes only. My mechanic for example, has to update his P1 75Mhz boxes this month, but must stick to a PC basis because the auto repair manuals are all PC only. Of course, no one buys a Mac because the software is not available. No one writes Mac software, because the installed client base is all Mac.
 
#23 ·
I just spent 2 days building 4 1U cluster rackmount machines for a client for his new render farm.

The building went fine but had a hell of a time with Windows 2000 on them. The built-in LAN on the board would not work.
Since I build a lot of Linux servers I thought I would give it a whirl just to see what it thought and low and behold everything went fine under RedHat 9.

The client says his render client does run on Linux but another runs only in Windows so eventually I did get the LAN working but only after chucking the CD-ROM instructions and figuring out an install procedure after some trial and error. 24 hours wasted trying to get Windows to see an asinine LAN chip.
I was cursing Windows the whole time.

Geez I really wish the IT people I encounter in my business would see just how stupid Windows can be. Man, Linux even saw the LAN and it worked the first time...
 
#24 ·
My sister just handed me her PC (again!!!) to fix. This happens about every 6 months. It was so virus laden and spyware full that I can't believe it would even boot. I re-installed windows and the software and set up the internet on it. God I can't believe the difference between mac and pc, it's been a little while since doing up a pc. The missing dlls, the "don't plug in the usb device before installing the software" dance, I found so many programs that couldn't be uninstalled because they took the program files and deleted them (a big no no on PC) which on a mac would normally be fine. Man. I hope Apple get's the lead out and promotes how great OS X is even more aggressively.
 
#26 ·
Pretty much everything you can do on a Mac, you can do on a PC. And vice versa. But that is with usability, cost and availability completely glossed over.

You can get something like iPhoto for a PC, but it costs you $50. Or get iMovie for a PC, but the comprable product costs $80. Or on a Mac get a video card, and see it is 5x the price of the same , but made for the PC. (They have to do something special with the Mac versions, but 5x the price is still outrageous.)

That said, has any read this opinion on MacDailyNews by SteveJack? It's titled Defending Windows over Mac a sign of mental illness. (I find it more useful as really biased humor, rather then an actual report that you could use.)

People stick with what they know, no matter how bad it is. That and being a Mac IT guy means you lots and lots of time where nothing happens. The Macs just work.
 
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