If you want on or off the Mac Ping List, Freepmail me.
Posted on 08/01/2006 9:24:34 PM PDT by Swordmaker
Ten years ago, 26-year-old Barry Jones wasn't such a fanatic. Back then, programmers wouldn't be caught dead using a Mac. It was a "PC or bust" mentality.
Jones, a Web architect, has worked and played PC for life, but he bought his first Mac in May.
It's a love story not easily chronicled, but let's put it this way: Jones went from being a PC powerhouse to a Mac advocate in three months flat, and he'll do his best to make you one, too.
"I understand why people call people Mac zealots now," he says.
Apple's ad campaigns today (you know, the hip, easy-going Mac guy vs. the older, rigid nerd) bring this culture war to its most ubiquitous degree.
But it's not a standoff that's strictly 0s and 1s. It's shifted to a point where the computers have more commonalities than ever.
"The view of Mac users as creative, artsy, people- people and PC users as geeky guys who spend their time figuring out how many pencils they can shove in their pocket protector - I don't think that's valid anymore at all," says Chris Peters, a Clemson University professor who uses both machines. "I think PCs are much friendlier, much easier to use than they used to be, and Macs aren't really as non-geeky as they used to be."
In a sense, the great divide - that PC equals programmer and Mac equals artist - has not only toppled, but soldiers from each camp have jumped sides and, oddly enough, become passionate about their new loves.
Jennie Raff, 25, had a PC laptop but converted to Mac a year ago.
Sure, she's got artist friends who live by Macs, but she's got cheap artist friends who thrive on PCs.
"I have a lot of friends who have a Compaq or Dell," she says, "and that doesn't mean they're less creative."
Peters attributes much of the friendlier climate to two things: an increase in the PC's ability to be simple and visual, and the cross-platform iPod propelling Macs to mainstream comfort.
That has transformed the debate into one that hinges on perceptions and preferences rather than concrete differences, of which, there are virtually none, says Tom Allen, Furman University computer science professor who owns and uses both PCs and Macs.
"The only strength or reality that Mac has right now," Allen says, "is that kind of unified look that they have, but that's not a distinction or difference that's incredibly significant."
Call it unified. Or call it sexy.
"Macs," as Michael Gardin, 30, of Greenville, puts it, "just look hot."
He's got a PC laptop, and he's never owned a Mac, but the visual stimulation of checking one out isn't easily ignored.
Raff, too, agrees with their general awesomeness.
"Macs are cooler," she says. "They're more visually appealing."
While each setup has its share of strengths, PCs do remain more popular and cheaper, but the extent of their definite differences nearly end there.
Just for good-old times, let's throw out one of the classic PC vs. Mac jabs.
"PC users," Peters remembers, "loved to make fun of the Mac as a toy: 'Who needs a mouse to open a file when you can type in a command on the command line and say, 'Open file?' "
Ha. They'll never get old.
The PC/Mac comparison
If you want on or off the Mac Ping List, Freepmail me.
gee...I've never seen this thread before...../wise crack
The next box I buy will be a Mac. Im sick and tierd of desktop hijacks, worms, trojans, viruses and how totally FUBAR the registry gets, blah blah, blah blah, etc, etc....
If a Mac will at least do what it is advertised to do, RELIABLY, It will be more than worth the extra cost. My time alone spent "administating" my home network is worth at least that much.
The prices of Macs have come down considerably and are now comparable to PCs. We use Macs and have one Windows machine because of our business.
What on earth do you people do to get these things?
I've had 2 nastly little buggers in 10 years of computing. All PCs.
What does FUD mean?
Fear
Uncertainty
Doubt or Disinformation
Ditto.
Thanks! My son has an ibook that he bought last summer (with the help of your input) and he loves it...but I still use a PC laptop because I am afraid! Will it work the same or better or worse...I am used to the keys and will it work like I am used to...I am afraid!! My son loves his Mac and has had NO problems with it while I have had a few. Deep sigh. I need to make the switch but am so scared!
If Apple would make an inexpensive x86 tower that had upgradable graphics I would buy one.
But they don't.
Borrow your sons laptop for a week or so and use it 100% of the time.
Lock your normal system away for that time so you don't try to use it because you know how to do things on it without having to try.
Check out these websites:
Guide to PC and Mac OS differences for new Mac Mini users
They will answer some of your questions.
There are some keyboard differences... on the PC you use CTRL-X to Cut, CTRL-C to copy, and CTRL-V to paste... on a Mac you use the Apple/Command key (It's located where the Windows key is on your PC keyboard) in place of the Control Key. These are easy to get used to.
I've enjoyed using the tagline "Get a Mac - The Ultimate FReeping Machine" for a while, but I'm switching a new tagline for a few weeks -
test
Great Tagline!
I had an extraneous comma, it's gone now.
LOL
Patience, my dearl little DAniel-son.
The Pro-tower based on Intel is on it's way. Apple is waiting for the new chip from Intel so that they have a significant jump from the "consumer" to the "pro" line.
AT that point - it will be like the last several years worth of PowerMacintosh models - using PCI/PCI-X/AGP/etc. for graphics.
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