Why I don't use a Mac

[Iacobus]

[quote name='Tony' post='1019721' date='Jul 7 2006, 10:41 PM']
Iacobus is a computer masochist
[/quote]

I take that as a good thing... I hope.

Yes, for IT people PC's really smell of elderberries. I am the de facto IT staff at home because I know what I am doing, mostly, on a PC. My brother's computer...

But if a PC is used right, then it works. People talk about the holes in PCs or how they get virues and what have you, and they are right, in a way. A PC, properly and intelligently used, doesn't have those problems. Someone, like my 14 year old brother, hasn't fully learned that yet and can mess up his computer (one clean install and counting). I know someone who described a the use of a PC like... umm sexual behavior. The more "users" the more risk. If a PC is used only by one person, a sort of computer-person marriage, then it is protected from a lot of STDs.

Of course, the safest route (for the computer) is to not use the computer at all... but that isn't really an option for most people.

To the poster with the paper, that is why I save to a harddrive, a server and an SD card. I save to the harddrive for speed and ease, the server to cma with profs (they have an agreement with ITS that if the server goes down, and the file was on the server, they are required to extend the due date to allow time to recover the data OR rewrite the paper) and to the SD card for safety.

About PC's flaws, I recall a headline that read something like "Mac OS X, fully patched, hacked in under 30 minutes." Take a cue from the software industry. They release all these software protection codes and patterns, etc, and they tend to be cracked. It is just that by exisiting, it is a challenge. Being a chemistry nerd, I envision that to some people it is the same as an unbalanced reaction is to me. There it sits, not yet surmounted, but waiting. Now that Mac is getting a larger market share, the more attention will be directed towards it and all its flaws will be shown.

The first rule that Cisco teaches in network security is "no network is 100% secure." Even Macs.

And if I wanted to use command line stuff in Unix, why would I pay for it in the form of OS X? That really bugs me. If MS took Ubuntu and added a bit of code to make it more Windowsequse and then sold it as Vista would people be screaming bloodly murder?

[track2004]

It isn't that Macs can't or won't get viruses it's just that no one really writes them for Macs (and no Mac user is dumb enough to get one...)

[Iacobus]

[quote name='track2004' post='1019752' date='Jul 8 2006, 12:06 AM']
It isn't that Macs can't or won't get viruses it's just that no one really writes them for Macs (and no Mac user is dumb enough to get one...)
[/quote]

It is that nobody writes them for Macs. And about "no Mac user is dumb enough", if I had a nickle for every mistake, mistruth, or misunderstanding about PCs or Macs that I hear from Mac users, I could retire today.

[Daniel9]

I had one of the first Macs fresh off the line in 1984 (which gives a hint of how ancient I am). It was a completely amazing machine at the time. It did things I never thought possible. The Mac was a computer revolution in the 80's. So much of what we take for granted now was started with the Mac. I had [i]many[/i] Macs since that first one and eventually ended up as a freelance Macintosh consultant for several years.

All that being said, a number of years ago I switched to PCs. The lack of software was getting too frustrating. Apple blew it in many ways in the 80's in their marketing and policies. Now, there is very little reason for a software company to spend any money on such a limited market.

Also, I can tell you that many artists, graphic people, designers, etc., are switching to PCs too. Same problem...no software!

So Mac, I loved you, but I had to leave you!

[Seven77]

PCs =

Macs are much better... Mac by choice, PC only by absolute necessity.