technology

[Maelstrom]

Not old

[MQmoxie]

yeah that comic just cracks me up. I keep a copy of it in photobucket just to drag out now and again. Can't imagine ever having to save a file to floppy though, unless you're trying to reinstall raid drivers or something.

[John the artist]

I now it's old but I can't help it....

I remember that. I loved the Foxtrot "iFruit" series too. (Welcome to Macintosh: Hug me!)

BTW: I have a USB Floppy drive too.

EDIT:

Not old

Is that why when Blaster hit, Windows had 5 ports open to the internet letting everything in and the Mac shipped with zero ports open? Mac apps require admin authentication to do any harm, Windows Apps can run amuck whenever they want. (Vista's trying to fix this BTW, but doing poorly I'm told by beta testers.) Mac OS X is simply designed better. Apple is quicker to drop legacy code so there aren't as many flaws laying around from the pre-internet days.

Microsoft I trying to fix it of course, but their employees would rather work for Apple since MS corp has become a bloated sack of managerial crap.

My favorite quote in that long mess or rants: "I wouldn't buy Vista with somebody else's money."

[Dan]

The problem with Windows right now is that there's *so* many people using it, Microsoft is hesitant to change anything too much. Introduce a new file system and everyone gripes. Have a new user management process and people go ballistic.

Meanwhile, Apple can happily switch from PowerPC processors to Intel chips, with only a little dissension. While it's same percentage of complainers to acceptors as MS, for Apple that's only like, what, two people?

Here's a challenge to all you "I work a Windows machine and I hate Macs" people. Go to an Apple Store. Try out one of the Macs on display. Make sure you take a look at (or as one of the salescritters about) the specs. While I'm sure it won't convert you, you'll at least see that Macs have come a long way from being the Etch-a-Sketch of computers.
-Dan!

[NK]

but OSX is geared up for looking pretty, but has next to no real functionality compared to MacOS, to say nothing of Windows.

Ok, I'm going to call you on that ignorant statement. List some things that Windows can do that Mac OS X can't. I'm going to show you just how much you don't know about the OS you just trashed.

Bear in mind that this is tempered by my own substantial experience with Windows and MacOS...

Find a program. (This also bugged me in MacOS, as i never used a Mac long enough to learn how to set up one of those launchers)

Identify all running programs at a glance. (The finder thing in the top corner was MacOS's saving grace here, plus it alt-tabbed. I can't tell the difference between what's running and what's launchable in the dock, and my experience with objectdock proves this isn't merely a lack of experience issue)

Run the following: Photoshop (requires me to buy a whole new copy, not happening), WinAmp (I have and don't like iTunes as a media player, though it is an excellent store), Media Player Classic, Rainlendar, Shadow Warrior (original DOS or via jfsw), Duke Nukem 3D (same arguement), Cave Story, OpenCanvas (could be wrong on this one), Apophysis (and this is a must-have), and I don't like the equivalent apps for Windows, much less a completely different OS

Admin my machine (this is through my own lack of experience with OSX, admittedly)

Upgrade freely. The Intel processors may change this, but you're pretty much required to use Apple procs and mobos, which limits your upgrade paths more than I'd care to do.

Use Photoshop. I haven't been to the Mac Store lately (though the one in Microcenter had this gorgeous 41" widescreen monitor for the low low price of four grand), but my mom works at a print shop, where I sometimes troubleshoot their Windows boxes, so I can get away with hopping on a computer if i need something printed out. I've used Photoshop CS (one better than mine) in OSX, and it took me twice as long due to the lack of a right mouse button (already aware I could buy a new mouse) and their hardon for removing the keyboard from the system entirely. If you use Photoshop, you know that well over half the options have no keyboard shortcuts. In Windows, the Alt key gets you into menus, and i memorize key combinations for common tasks like image resizing. In OSX, i not only lose time mousing to the menu, but I'll almost always try the Option key first, just about killing productivity. (And CS is totally not worth it if you have PS7, though I've seen some nice things in CS2 I'd like to try...)

Bottom line, Apple works for some people, doesn't work for me.

(And the first person who suggest the Flame filter in GIMP as an alternative to Apophysis ill be cubed and served to college students.

[John the artist]

Find a program. (This also bugged me in MacOS, as i never used a Mac long enough to learn how to set up one of those launchers)

Launchers?

Anyway, Find a program:

Method 1: Press Apple and Spacebar to get into Spotlight. Type the first few characters and it will likely pop up in the list. (current version only)

Method 2: Go to where you installed it. (Likely in /Applications)

Method 3: Place it in the Dock so it's always around. (Drag it from /Applications to the Dock to create a shortcut.)

Identify all running programs at a glance. (The finder thing in the top corner was MacOS's saving grace here, plus it alt-tabbed. I can't tell the difference between what's running and what's launchable in the dock, and my experience with objectdock proves this isn't merely a lack of experience issue)

Well, the Dock has triangles that show which apps are launched. If that's not enough you can always press Apple and Tab to cycle through all open apps like this. Or worse case leave the Activity Viewer open to see all running processes.

Run the following: Photoshop (requires me to buy a whole new copy, not happening), WinAmp (I have and don't like iTunes as a media player, though it is an excellent store), Media Player Classic, Rainlendar, Shadow Warrior (original DOS or via jfsw), Duke Nukem 3D (same arguement), Cave Story, OpenCanvas (could be wrong on this one), Apophysis (and this is a must-have), and I don't like the equivalent apps for Windows, much less a completely different OS

So, run a bunch of apps? Or run your favorite apps? There was a MacAmp, but it got dropped after iTunes came around. But I suppose not wanting to change your habits makes you a prime candidate to not switch to begin with. Mac bashing isn't really required for that.

Admin my machine (this is through my own lack of experience with OSX, admittedly)

Not sure what you mean by that. Mac OS X is already Admin'ed by design. You are an administrator with the ability to become super user, you can limit and allow standard users... just about anything you can do in Unix.

Upgrade freely. The Intel processors may change this, but you're pretty much required to use Apple procs and mobos, which limits your upgrade paths more than I'd care to do.

Standard Hard drives, standard RAM, standard optical drives, etc... it's largely that way already. Yes, you need an Apple motherboard, but I've never heard a Dell Latitude user complain about the lack of upgrade choices for their proprietary laptop motherboard. People always site Apple for something that every other computer manufacturer does as well.

Your basic gripe is that Apple doesn't allow you to "build a box" out of parts and run Mac OS X. And since they are a hardware company, you can't really blame them for that.

Use Photoshop. I haven't been to the Mac Store lately (though the one in Microcenter had this gorgeous 41" widescreen monitor for the low low price of four grand), but my mom works at a print shop, where I sometimes troubleshoot their Windows boxes, so I can get away with hopping on a computer if i need something printed out. I've used Photoshop CS (one better than mine) in OSX, and it took me twice as long due to the lack of a right mouse button (already aware I could buy a new mouse) and their hardon for removing the keyboard from the system entirely. If you use Photoshop, you know that well over half the options have no keyboard shortcuts. In Windows, the Alt key gets you into menus, and i memorize key combinations for common tasks like image resizing. In OSX, i not only lose time mousing to the menu, but I'll almost always try the Option key first, just about killing productivity. (And CS is totally not worth it if you have PS7, though I've seen some nice things in CS2 I'd like to try...)

Make your own keyboard shortcuts. Mac OS X allows you to choose menu commands in any app and assign your own keystroke.

Bottom line, Apple works for some people, doesn't work for me.

Hey, we agree!

[NK]

Triangles? Really? Figures it'd be something really obvious that i'd miss.

Not sure what you mean by that. Mac OS X is already Admin'ed by design. You are an administrator with the ability to become super user, you can limit and allow standard users... just about anything you can do in Unix.

No, you have the ability to do all that. I can barely set the clock, much less manage any settings of actual consequence.

So, run a bunch of apps? Or run your favorite apps? There was a MacAmp, but it got dropped after iTunes came around. But I suppose not wanting to change your habits makes you a prime candidate to not switch to begin with. Mac bashing isn't really required for that.

You asked what windows can do that OSX can't, I answered, and I didn't even bother with games. The problem is that I need Apo and Photoshop. One won't run, and the other will cost me several hundred dollars, and a Mac is well outside of my price range to begin with. Yes, even the mini.

Make your own keyboard shortcuts. Mac OS X allows you to choose menu commands in any app and assign your own keystroke.

That would be damn useful, though Photoshop uses nearly all the keyboard for some shortcut or another.

And since they are a hardware company, you can't really blame them for that.

Sure I can. They sell operating systems, but only for their hardware. If the new macbook can run Windows, logically my computer can run the intel version of OSX. At the moment, aside from a bootleg or hack, I don't have the option of dropping OSX into any computer I build regardless of hardware. And if you fix enough HP and Dell desktops, you won't be too fond of proprietary stuff either.

Also note that my Microsoft mouse works fine in Fedora core, a Pentium doesn't require an Intel mobo to run, and my Radeon ran fine in my old nForce2 mobo. Hell, i just upgraded an emachines, and was able to do so without emachines brand parts.

[MQmoxie]

I am wholely in agreement with the last statement. to me, half the fun of owning a computer is building it, leaving me with XP as my only option.

[edcool1]

What about linux?

[X]

I am wholely in agreement with the last statement. to me, half the fun of owning a computer is building it, leaving me with XP as my only option.

As long as the processor you use has SSE3 instructions built in, you can load any x86 machine you build with OS X.

[NK]

Is that out yet, or are we still limited to bootlegs and such?

And ed, maybe he wants to actually use his computer, and not spend all his time figuring that stuff out. Even the mainstream distros have a learning curve about as steep as Everest.

Also, a friend of mine just managed to snag a G4, for free no less, and I stand by my earlier statements: I had no problems whatsoever working my way around OS9, while I still have to fight OSX every step of the way whenever I use it. (But he needs OSX for most any program these days, and i'm probably gonna have to install it for him. Curses.)

[X]

They aren't officially selling the x86 version on Apple's site, so we're still stuck with bootlegs.