A Month with a Mac: A Die-Hard PC User's Perspective
by Anand Lal Shimpi on October 8, 2004 12:05 AM EST- Posted in
- Mac
This is, quite possibly, one of the most difficult articles to write; for starters, it's not a review of hardware, and it's not actually a review of anything concrete - it is a review of an experience. We all go about using our computers knowing that if we don't like something about them, if they are too slow or too unreliable or don't do something we need them to do, then we can upgrade them, or we can swap out the faulty part and put in a new one. Now, it costs us money (sometimes lots of it), but it is possible. But much like the U.S. election system, although there may be the illusion of multiple options for your OS, in reality, there is really only one. If you want any sort of software compatibility, driver support and don't want to be made fun of, Windows is the way to go. There have been righteous attempts by smaller OSes to gain traction, and some of them have (e.g. Linux), but for the most part, we're dealing with a one-party OS system. Now that's not necessarily a bad thing; quite contrary, in fact. I believe that Windows XP is the best thing to ever come out of Redmond and I have very few issues with the OS. I actually liked the XP theme when it first came out and I've been happier with Windows XP than any previous Microsoft OS (except maybe the good ol' DOS days). When installed on the right hardware with the right drivers (and with an eye to be wary of poorly written apps), I found that Windows XP was just as stable as any other OS that I'd ever encountered. My personal machine would go months between reboots without a single problem. It's not that there is anything wrong with Windows; it's that if you want the option, if there's any particular thing that you don't like about the way Windows works, you're straight out of luck.
I think that a bit of me was feeling, after being a strictly Windows user ever since version 2.0 (with the requisite mix of DOS back then), that there were a couple of things that had started to annoy me about Windows, which I would rather do without.
For starters, heavy multi-tasking management under Windows had caused me a lot of grief. Maybe it's just because of the nature of my work, but I tend to have a lot of windows open at any given time. I like quick access to the information that I need when I'm working and much like a messy desk, there is a method to my window-madness that only I know. When writing an article (especially big NDA launches), I'd have around 20 IE windows open, Outlook with another 5 - 15 emails, Power Point with NDA presentations, Word with my article, maybe Dreamweaver if I was starting to put it into HTML, not to mention Acrobat, some sort of MP3 player, Trillian and a bunch of explorer windows as well. After a certain point, the cramped taskbar became difficult to use as a locator tool, and while I could ALT+TAB forever, I just felt like I was idle for too long. I knew what it was that I needed to get to, and I knew I had it open, but the process of getting to it was a pain.
The other issue was with the way Windows handled having so many windows opened; after a certain number of windows were opened, stability and performance both went down the drain. Sometimes applications could no longer spawn additional windows or dialog boxes, requiring me to close a handful before I could continue doing anything, and other times, applications would simply crash.
It's not that I was dissatisfied with Windows and the PC experience in general, but I thought it might be time for something new - to see what else was out there.
I've always been a fan of trying alternate Oses - I was even an OS/2 user (both 2.0 and Warp) for a little while in my early years. So, a while back, I conjured up this idea to try using a Mac for a month. At first, it started as just a personal experiment, but it later developed into the foundation for the article that you're reading now. After doing the necessary research to make sure that I could actually get work done on a Mac, I whipped out the trusty credit card and decided to give the experiment a try.
What you are about to read are my impressions, as a devout PC user, of the Apple way of life.
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jjf - Friday, October 8, 2004 - link
I've always had multiple computers on my desk, be they PC, Mac, Amiga, SGI or Linux. I've been using dual CPU machines for years. The extra horsepower matters on any platform. I have both MacOS 9 and OS X on my dual G4 450. I'm in 9 most of the time because I haven't been ready to spend the money to upgrade all my Adobe apps to OS X versions. Setting up this dual G5 induced some serious lust.OS X is really amazing. I recently migrated a PC user to a dual G5 system - fresh from Apple. If this slick system doesn't make you feel like you're living in the future, I don't know what will. His 20" display is killer. The hard disk was fast, so fast that I was sure he'd bought a RAID. But no, it was just ATA.
To migrate his email, I installed Eudora and imported all his Outlook Express, moved the mbox files to the Mac, then used "Eudora Mailbox Cleaner" to import the mboxes into Mail.app, then imported all that into Entourage. He wanted Outlook-like features. Worked like a champ, nested folders, attachments and all. Importing his 7,000+ photos was a snap in iPhoto. No glitches in moving all his Word documents. Alas, there's no Access for Mac.
Another aspect not mentioned in this article is the tremendous amount of software that has been easily ported from Linux to OS X. The Mac market is no longer dependent on its own freeware community. If an MacOS 9 partition is available, OS X can run old apps. With emulators, you can pretend you're a PC. And there's no mention of how nicely scriptable most apps are. It's like the old days of Amiga ARexx, your scripts can ask apps to do almost anything. Then there's .Mac, Apple's for-pay web service that syncs your email, calendar and address book to a web or other devices.
T8000 - Friday, October 8, 2004 - link
It is difficult to compare speed for mac versus pc, as the mac just feels slower. I also had several macs when they where still beige (or black) and according to this review, that experience still stands.When you actually do video editing or other heavy usage, the mac will not loose much speed, but since hyperthreading was introduced, pc's also keep their responsiveness under load.
Also, since macs only come in cute design, lots of male professionals would not want to be seen behind one. A black mac could cure this, but those have not been build for at least 5 years.
15 years ago, when the first Powerbook was introduced, Apple was ahead of its time, but today, I would say the mac can be great for first time users and for loyal Apple users, however it is just not ready for the average user anymore.
toocoolracing - Friday, October 8, 2004 - link
Hi I enjoyed your article from a PC users perspective. I would consider myself an intermediate Mac user and don't really use PC's other than as required at work. Though I sometimes "fix" friends and relatives PC issues. There's more similarities than differences.I thought you did a nice job with the article and did a nice comparison. It can't be easy to switch to a foreign platform and delve in to it as deeply as you did with what seemed to be a pretty open mind. I love the Mac and wouldn't relish the idea of delving into Windows or Linux. I'm not a tech head, but not a novice either. Nice job and I appreciate your compliments of the Mac.
srain315 - Friday, October 8, 2004 - link
I was very surprised to hear IE rated over Firefox. In my experience, Firefox blows IE out of the water! (Not just tabs, also extensions and Speed.)Some Googling showed me that a fast fox is a hit-or-miss proposition. For those experiencing a slow fox, I found the following link to help you tweak it: http://www.tweakfactor.com/articles/tweaks/firefox...
Don't forget that you can type "about:config" in the address bar to change Firefox variables.
Best of luck!
-J
vedin - Friday, October 8, 2004 - link
I have only one question. Outside of some really serious Photoshop effects, and some enconding..what's the purpose of having a dual 2.5ghz G5 if you don't use it primarily for gaming? Perhaps you spend 4 hours a day encoding and such? If so, why are you using a desktop? It just..seems odd to me to have that much power for a mundane computer. There again, I wouldn't spend more than 1500 dollars on an outragiously fast gaming machine. But I don't do encoding, I don't own Photoshop, and if I did, I wouldn't spend much time doing much with either.FinalFantasy - Friday, October 8, 2004 - link
Everyone...remember...this article was written from a non-Mac users point of view for the everyday PC people! This article was not written to be 110% correct or to please Mac people. It was written to relate to people like me who could give a squat about a Mac, but sometimes wonder "what the hell is the purpose of one of those machines?".Here's a simple solution to all of this guys and gals...
Mac people stick to Mac's...
and PC people stick to PC's
A person who was born and raised on a PC is not going to get the purpose a of Mac. Personally I see no use for them. From seeing a friend who has a Mac and hearing her stories about it and from my knowledge of them (I'll admit, it's limited...I'm not like "Crazy" Cindy...j/k) They:
1) Are overpriced
2) Not nearly as easy to upgrade
3) DON'T PERFORM AS WELL IN A LOT OF BENCHMARKS AND THE ONES THAT THEY DO PERFORM WELL IN ARE ALL BUT USELESS (I'm exagerating here)
4) Did I say overpriced? (Price:Performance ratio is way better on a PC)
5) Are not compatible with a lot of softwares, hardware etc (The M$ Office for Mac works like crap)
My friends husbands Mac just got a trojan horse the other day...when more people start writing viruses, OS exploits and such for the Mac platform and the Mac's security is severly comprimised (remember security is one of the biggest draws of the Mac) no one is going to want to buy one. Period. MAC IS NOT GOING TO KNOW WHAT TO DO WHEN THEY ARE GOING TO HAVE TO START PACTHING THEIR OS BECAUSE SOMEONE ACTUALLY TOOK THE TIME TO FIND AN EXPLOIT IN THEIR SYSTEM. Macs are so useless that no one even wants to sit down and write a virus or trojan for it really.
The only thing Macs are good for is making money and keeping it in their hands, where as with a PC it made for the "people"/users who can goto newegg.com or Fry's or BB (if you will) and upgrade their system and buy parts from pratically from any company! Any upgrades done with a Mac are done through Mac giving you a very limited selection.
That's just my 2 cents...
Flame away.
vedin - Friday, October 8, 2004 - link
Cygni - Friday, October 8, 2004 - link
Ive got a 15in G4 Powerbook with Panther as my primary laptop. All of my other computers have some form of Windows or Linux on them, and most of them a combo. Ive used both Apple's and PC's for years, starting with an Apple II.IMHO, OS X was a huge leap forward for Apple, and the G5 also seems to be a big step in the right direction. But that doesnt mean that it is anywhere near flawless. There are some primary problems with it: the handling of files, folders, and programs is simply not intutive to me, just as Anand pointed out. Things seem really disorganized at times. There are 2 other complaints I have with MacOS X, and they are the classis complaints against MacOS. 1) Programs dont close when you close their window, and often stay running without you knowing. This has KIND OF been fixed in OS X, but it can still be difficult to tell. 2) WHERE ARE MY OPTIONS MENUS? Im not talking about the way the OS looks or handles, im talking about for programs and hardware and the like. If anyone has attempted to make a mixed Mac OS / XP or Mac OS / Linux network (especially wireless), you probably know what im saying here.
In the end, XP has tons of problems. Just as many as MacOS. MacOS has some things that it really shines doing, but it also has some problems. XP handles lots of stuff well, but also has some problems. In the end, both just seem to be copying each other back and forth, so its probably going to a neutral middle ground soon anyway, heh.
By the way... some Mac people like to point some things out which are urban legend bs.
One) "Windows is nothing but a copy of MacOS." Actually, MacOS is nothing but a snatch of original work done by Xerox, with a dash of OS/2 and Amiga, and even some cross polenation with Win. Windows is a combo of the exact same stuff. Different interpretations of the same semi-stolen matterial. Nobody is "morally" higher here.
Two) "Macs are somehow better at graphical editing/music recording." Time to lay that to rest. It was a gap in software thats now gone.
Three) "My Mac can do anything your PC can do." Seriously, its a myth. My XP cant do everything Linux can do. So what, no OS is perfect.
Four) "OS X is more stable than XP." My PowerBook has just about the same number of crashes as my XP computers... not very often.
jjf - Friday, October 8, 2004 - link
abEeyore - Friday, October 8, 2004 - link
He said it at the beginning of the article, he's a Windows user. If you are choosing between OS X and Windows, it can be a tough choice. x86 is cheap, and reliable, and XP is a usable OS.I'm a *nix user though, and I will never, ever go back to Windows (except for games).
Trying to get any kind of work done in Windows is agonizing. To get anything at all done I either have to contend with PuTTY (ugh!) or install CYGWIN or VM-Ware and Linux.
OSX is FreeBSD with a pretty face. It's binary paths are slightly non-standard (as are everyones), and the old StartUpItem sytax was clunky, but in general, the only truly evil thing about it was NetInfo - which they are killing off... but then I don't like Solaris either.
As far as Safari, it has caching issues. Rendering speed improved dramatically as soon as I disable caching, but your average user would never have found that.
I can sympathize with his perceived disconnect from the file system, mostly because I now feel that way about windows.
The byzantine maze of the registry with it's 10's of thousands of keys of questionable value, and the file system's seemingly non-existent organizational structure, and genuinely non-existent GUI independent index.
Apple has always targeted low-skill users, and that has lead to its polished interface. It now has SERIOUS power behind too, and that is it's most compelling aspect (for me).
The article was good, for what it is, but passed over much of the best that OSX has to offer. It's networking, both over and under the skin is far more robust than windows (mostly thanks to *nix), background services are nearly bulletproof, and BASH and applescript provide an incredibly powerful and flexible scripting without the terrifying security holes in VB Script.
To be fair, the entry level skills for these features are NOT low, but like vi, or emacs, there is just no way to go back once you get there...and OS X does a very good job of managing that complexity but letting you grow into those features if you want to - or letting you ignore them without leaving the OS feeling crippled.
Mac v. Windows is a deeply religious debate. In the final analysis, we like what we know, and changing platforms is hard no matter which way you go, because the fundamental assumptions change.
Unless you are a die hard Windows power user, with no Linux leanings at all, I'd recommend giving OS X a look. G5's won't change the world, but they are quick, and the architecture has a solid map for future growh, even without the PPC-980 on the hoizon.
If you want to hedge your bets, spring for an ibook, or a PowerBook. All of their new ones are respectably fast, if a little light on factory RAM, look good, have great battery life, and they hold their value amazingly well if you decide you dont like them.
My .02