Five reasons why you don't actually need a Mac

GnomeQueenGnomeQueen The Lulz QueenMountain Dew Mouth Icrontian
edited June 2010 in Science & Tech
Five reasons why you don't actually need a Mac
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Comments

  • _k_k P-Town, Texas Icrontian
    edited May 2010
    But I thought Mac motherboards weren't identical to PC ones, thus the whole reason for HacknTosh. Macs don't use a BIOS chip but EFI, right?
  • ThraxThrax 🐌 Austin, TX Icrontian
    edited May 2010
    Windows Vista and Windows 7 both support EFI as well. Software lockins are the reason for the hackintosh.
  • GargGarg Purveyor of Lincoln Nightmares Icrontian
    edited May 2010
    The only reason I want a Mac is for the nice aluminum case and trackpad. Not going to pay that kind of premium for it.

    I could almost be convinced for the 13" model, but the shared graphics memory turned me off.
  • kryystkryyst Ontario, Canada
    edited May 2010
    While I don't disagree with the point you are trying to make. The price/build comparison isn't really as simple as that. The technology may be the same, but the build quality varies significantly from brand to brand. Go spec a T series Lenovo laptop and you are hitting in the same price range as a MAC for a similar quality build.

    I'm not going all fanboy here. But if you want to compare apples to apples build is as important as speed when it comes to laptops. At least from the perspective of someone who has to keep a field of laptop workers working. If we only cared about cheap we'd be loading up everyone with $350 Acer's.
  • ThraxThrax 🐌 Austin, TX Icrontian
    edited May 2010
    Sony was already proven more reliable, and the compared product is a Sony. What point do you have, then, about build quality?
  • timuchantimuchan Fishers, IN Icrontian
    edited May 2010
    Very nice article! I've been saying this for years... it was always awkward feeling like the only person in art school without a Mac. I now use one, just cause my work bought me one. Its done okay and I enjoy spaces, I don't think I'd ever buy one for myself though. Only thing that could improve my workflow on the pc over the mac would be GOOD multiple-desktop implementation like mac or linux.
  • Jim
    edited May 2010
    Sorry... you must be a bean counter, the type that can't appreciate a wonderful, responsive, intuitive interface like the Mac has.

    Stay with your Windows garbage, crashes, bugs and viruses. It's largely the OS!!
  • ThraxThrax 🐌 Austin, TX Icrontian
    edited May 2010
    Jim wrote:
    Sorry... you must be a bean counter, the type that can't appreciate a wonderful, responsive, intuitive interface like the Mac has.

    Stay with your Windows garbage, crashes, bugs and viruses. It's largely the OS!!

    <i>The flytrap catches its first victim...</i>
  • AlexDeGruvenAlexDeGruven Wut? Meechigan Icrontian
    edited May 2010
    Jim wrote:
    Sorry... you must be a bean counter, the type that can't appreciate a wonderful, responsive, intuitive interface like the Mac has.

    Stay with your Windows garbage, crashes, bugs and viruses. It's largely the OS!!

    -1

    Thanks for reading the article!
  • mertesnmertesn I am Bobby Miller Yukon, OK Icrontian
    edited May 2010
    Jim wrote:
    Sorry... you must be a bean counter, the type that can't appreciate a wonderful, responsive, intuitive interface like Windows 7 has.

    Stay with your Mac garbage, crashes, bugs and viruses. It's largely the OS stupid !!
    Your argument works both ways. You seem to miss the point that OS X crashes, has bugs, and gets viruses as well. They've also got security vulnerabilities with their default software.

    They both also have rabid fanboys who just can't see past their own opinions.
  • liquienceliquience Ann Arbor / Detroit
    edited May 2010
    Those are all good points and I think a few of them are definitely areas Apple can improve, especially on reliability.

    At the end of the day, I guess we can all be glad that we can each choose which platform suits each of us best?
  • KoreishKoreish I'm a penguin, deal with it. KCMO Icrontian
    edited May 2010
    YOU'RE ALL BEAN COUNTERS!!!
  • SnarkasmSnarkasm Madison, WI Icrontian
    edited May 2010
    I don't even think there's a bean-counting program available for Mac OS. Sounds like another win for PCs!
  • KoreishKoreish I'm a penguin, deal with it. KCMO Icrontian
    edited May 2010
    But there is an app for my I-phone.
  • kryystkryyst Ontario, Canada
    edited May 2010
    Thrax wrote:
    Sony was already proven more reliable, and the compared product is a Sony. What point do you have, then, about build quality?

    Build quality as in the quality of the materials that make up the laptop. Steel chassis vs plastic, hinges that don't break etc... Not all laptops are built equally and while there is a designer cost built into a Mac's it's not all entirely fluff.
  • MyrmidonMyrmidon Baron von Puttenham California Icrontian
    edited May 2010
    Jim wrote:
    Sorry... you must be a bean counter, the type that can't appreciate a wonderful, responsive, intuitive interface like the Mac has.

    Stay with your Windows garbage, crashes, bugs and viruses. It's largely the OS stupid !!

    Who said anything about Windows anyway? I sure didn't read anything about Microsoft up there.

    WTB BeOS fanboys.
  • AlexDeGruvenAlexDeGruven Wut? Meechigan Icrontian
    edited May 2010
    Koreish wrote:
    But there is an app for my I-phone.

    Not really. BeanCounter(tm) is just a web app now because the real app got rejected by the app store due to the ability to spell "Boobies" when holding the calculator function upside-down.
  • fatcatfatcat Mizzou Icrontian
    edited May 2010
    if Apple would just release OS X for PC this debate would DIAF
  • liquienceliquience Ann Arbor / Detroit
    edited May 2010
    fatcat wrote:
    if Apple would just release OS X for PC this debate would DIAF

    Unfortunately that dream of mine will almost never become a reality.
  • BandrikBandrik Elkhart, IN Icrontian
    edited May 2010
    fatcat wrote:
    if Apple would just release OS X for PC this debate would DIAF

    But if they did that, Mac could no longer market lackluster hardware with shiny, gloriously chic shells at exorbitant pricing. I argue that Apple would sink if they handed their sparkly OS over to PC manufacturers, just like you won't see a cheap Lexus or Lamborghini. It just defeats the purpose of their marketing scheme.
  • fatcatfatcat Mizzou Icrontian
    edited May 2010
    agreed, but NO ONE buys a mac for the hardware specs...

    which is what this article talks about.
  • GnomeQueenGnomeQueen The Lulz Queen Mountain Dew Mouth Icrontian
    edited May 2010
    So why DO people buy Macs? What justifies the increased prices?
  • SnarkasmSnarkasm Madison, WI Icrontian
    edited May 2010
    No, if that happened, Apple would have to code to support all PC hardware across the board, which would - and here's the kicker - require them to come to MS's level of hardware support, invalidate their hardware-specific optimizations they can put in, and likely reduce the grand experience that they market (and to some level, achieve) with OSX. It would, in other words, make them usual.
  • AlexDeGruvenAlexDeGruven Wut? Meechigan Icrontian
    edited May 2010
    Gnome Queen wrote:
    So why DO people buy Macs? What justifies the increased prices?

    Hipster cred and marketing hype is about 80% these days.

    In the past, it was a genuinely better platform for certain disciplines (graphic design, etc). These days, however, all of that software runs just as well (if not better) on Windows (and even Linux in some cases).
  • primesuspectprimesuspect Beepin n' Boopin Detroit, MI Icrontian
    edited May 2010
    fatcat wrote:
    agreed, but NO ONE buys a mac for the hardware specs...

    which is what this article talks about.

    I agree. People buy Macs because they think the OS is the computer.

    People buy Mac OS X, not the hardware.
  • BuddyJBuddyJ Dept. of Propaganda OKC Icrontian
    edited May 2010
    I must raise a few points of contention.

    1) Regarding the reliability survey, it's only regarding laptops. Using it as the sole data source to base a reliability judgment on is flawed. A true measure would include desktops and laptops and include metrics that account for user expectations and levels of failure, ie. the battery blew up vs the touch pad died from use of excessive force. I hardly think one survey's limited data set is enough justify a label of "inferior."

    2) The software argument reminds me of what I've heard from the Android camp lately. A large library doesn't mean anything if it's full of crap apps. When the small library becomes a problem for users, then it's worthy of discussion, until then it's a moot point.

    BeOS is the best!
  • fatcatfatcat Mizzou Icrontian
    edited May 2010
    Gnome Queen wrote:
    So why DO people buy Macs? What justifies the increased prices?

    OS X and certain software that works better than the PC versions.

    I mean when I had my mac i was pleasantly suprised when it mounted an .iso just by clicking on it right in OS X

    The easy integrations with other apple products like appleTV, iPods, iPads. I mean not to beat the saying to death, but when you have a mac, and then buy like the appleTV, you turn it on and they are already seeing eachother and working just fine. no "I got a netgear router why don't i get the linksys speedbooster on my linksys pci wifi card???"

    so if the rest of your house is filled with apple products, getting a mac is the easy and logical choice.

    also, the apple warranty is pretty badass compared to most 90 day LIMITED ones

    if I didn't play games, (which steam kinda just ruined this option) I would use OS X over Windows 7.
  • miragemirage
    edited May 2010
    If the computer is selected on the basis of "need", I agree. But most of the time, decision is is based on subjective preferences. Apple successfully plays into this subjective image. I wouldn't argue with that, especially with my wife :)
  • Steve Jobs
    edited May 2010
    PCs aren't magical, Macs are.
  • CantiCanti =/= smalltime http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y9K18CGEeiI&feature=related Icrontian
    edited May 2010
    Jim wrote:
    Stay with your Windows garbage, crashes, bugs and viruses.

    I love when they use this argument, even more that they might actually believe themselves. It's cute.
    Gnome Queen wrote:
    So why DO people buy Macs? What justifies the increased prices?

    Largely I think it's because Apple does an amazing job of advertising and people who haven't the slightest idea how to use a PC get sucked in and never bother to explore alternatives. So basically ignorance and laziness. There are people who have a real reason for using them like Fatcat mentioned but those are the minority of Mac users.
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