Showing messages 1 through 8 of 8.

• PC Pundits Incapable of Acknowledging Reality
  2005-03-23 08:47:42  DanCoulter [Reply | View]
  
  
  Actually, I don't switch because Macs are overpriced and can't run all of the applications I need. My personal computer is a very powerful machine that I built for the cost of a pretty meager Mac. Also...the number of spyware and virus infections I've had in the two years of operation on two concurrent Windows XP systems? Zero. Before that I was running an XP and a 2000 system at the same time and it was years since I had gotten spyware or viruses on my computer.
  
  I don't hate Macs and love Windows. If Linux did everything I wanted, I'd probably move to that for my desktop computing. But it doesn't and neither does Mac. It has nothing to do with pride. It has to do with power and software capability.
  
  By the way, "idiocrity" isn't, ironically enough, a real word.
• PC Pundits Incapable of Acknowledging Reality
  2005-03-23 11:13:19  sammy90483 [Reply | View]
  
  
  You're right, Idiocrity is not a word. Winston Churchill used the word on purpose to demonstrate the level of mediocrity pervading the masses. It was an artful play on words.
  
  I'd really like to see your Windows PC setup that is cheaper than a Mac. Once you add anti-virus software, FireWire 800, ambient light sensing technology on keyboards, XP Pro to be corporate network savvy, comparable programs to bundled software like iDVD, GarageBand, iMovie, and iPhoto, and then add a fleet of tech support to handle Windows problems I hardly think you'll find it cheaper. Apple has 4 help desk staff members to support their entire company worldwide. I hardly think Virginia Tech considered the Macintosh platform to be more expensive when they created the third fastest cluster computer in the world for less than 10 millions dollars. The fastest and second fastest, cost 300 million and 200 million respectively. Imagine how fast the Xserve cluster would have been if they had invested 300 million into it since the two faster ones were only 2 times faster than Virginia Tech's. Obviously you're a more savvy computer user and have had few security issues on the pc. On the Mac even the most novice user has been safe from all the ills associated with the PC-world. That's just the point, you don't have to be an IT talking-head to have a secure computer that just works. You're free to come to my workplace and offer up free support to PC-users since you seem so convinced that the experience is cheaper and just a secure.
• PC Pundits Incapable of Acknowledging Reality
  2005-03-23 12:41:38  DanCoulter [Reply | View]
  
  
  I never said that PCs are inherently more secure. I said that mine is as secure as any Mac because I am a responsible user. I agree that people who are less tech savvy (and in many, though certainly not all, cases, people who are downright lazy and irresponsible) are more secure on Macs. You could make the case Also, notice that I said things that I need it to do, not the things that YOU need it to do. As I am not a musician, I don't understand how GarageBand is going to change my life. If I wanted to make crappy home movies with iMovie, I could easily accomplish that with Windows Movie whatever it's called (Most digital video I've worked with was in Final Cut Pro on a Mac and I thought that it was a very good piece of software). iDVD? My DVD burner came bundled with very good sotware, thank you very much. What does iPhoto do for you that free software like Picasa and Gimp won't do for you?
  
  I've priced out Macs as I have been in an IT purchasing position at the educational instution I work at. I know how expensive they can be. Sure, they might not be as expensive as PCs if you're buying from AlienWare, but I built my own computer from quality parts that haven't exploded yet and it was quite a bit cheaper than an equivalent G5. I run WinXP Pro and that is the only piece of softare (aside from the odd game) that I have paid for. Everything else is done with freeware. I even run AVG for my anti-virus protection. Also, as I have no firewire components, I don't exactly need to spend money on FireWire 800 (though my computer does support the standard FireWire).
  
  I don't particularly dislike Macs. The fact of the matter is that they are probably more secure. Certainly more secure than PCs running Internet Explorer. Microsoft has been pretty lousy about fixing those problems. They've been doing a much better job as of late of patching their vulnerabilities in Windows. The main problem, however, is that people ignore the little thing telling them that they need to update their computer. This comes back to computer users being lazy and irresponsible.
  
  Again, I'm not condemning Macs. When I read the news story about the cluster, I thought it was pretty cool. Macs have a place in this world. If you're a musician, I can certainly see the uses. I'm not, though. And just because I can see past the hype and millions of dollars put into marketing by Apple, that doesn't make me a "PC-pundit". If they always "just worked" then I wouldn't have seen all of the problems from our Mac users that I have. Buying into the "it just works" idea is as bad as buying into any of Microsoft's cheesy marketing.
  
  By the way, could you include a reference on the Winston Churchill quote? I did a couple quick googles on "Idiocracy begets Mediocrity" and "Idiocracy" and "begets Mediocrity" + churchill and even Idiocracy Mediocrity churchill (without quotes) and I simply couldn't find anything on it.
• PC Pundits Incapable of Acknowledging Reality
  2005-03-23 14:15:12  DanCoulter [Reply | View]
  
  
  I just realized that I copied in the last search I did, the original ones did indeed include the word "idiocrity". Don't I feel foolish?
• PC Pundits Incapable of Acknowledging Reality
  2005-03-23 16:36:11  TomDavies [Reply | View]
  
  
  Don't I feel foolish?
  
  No, you're feeling Idiocritical. :-)
• PC Pundits Incapable of Acknowledging Reality
  2005-03-24 10:48:41  DanCoulter [Reply | View]
  
  
  One would just think that such a catchy quote by one of the most influential world leaders of the 20th century would turn up somewhere on Google. Or maybe not. I don't have a Bartletts handy.
• PC Pundits Incapable of Acknowledging Reality
  2005-03-26 13:08:17  sammy90483 [Reply | View]
  
  
  Correction on the quote: Mediocrity begets Idiocrity from The Crucible of Democracy - Sir Winston Churchill.
  
  You have a free program that authors DVDs like iDVD? With animated backgrounds and button creation and chapters? I didn't realize Movie Maker and iMovie were even considered in the same league. Movie Maker is not nearly as elegant or intuitive. It lacks many transitions and fine editing tools that ship with Apple's free iMovie tool.
  
  Another price factor not often considered is energy consumption. You mentioned pricing out computers for an educational institution. eMacs, a common education Macintosh consume less electricity than a similarly configured PC as does a Mac Mini with a monitor. Add the energy costs up over a year and you immediately see savings.
  
  We've lived in a Microsoft/IBM world for 20+ years now and indeed we have survived and even thrived. But I believe if the masses would use Macintosh technology things would be even better.
  
  We'd have a work force focused on creation more than support. Apple employs only 4 in-house help desk staff for their entire worldwide operations. I question whether that is the case at Microsoft or the Linux-Land that is emerging. Linux users hoot and holler, like Mac users, in praise of their operating system. But in the ~13 years that the Linux community has been around, the community has not been able to form a cohesive set of standards to emerge as a contender in the desktop arena for the masses. Sure this is slowly happening but here we have today a modern operating system from Apple with technical support. Until Novell or Red Hat can hammer out some basic UI guidelines Linux will continue to be a server-side curiosity or an operating system for techies-only.
  
  The intent of the Macintosh is to allow people to be creative in whatever field they work in. Certainly it has its foibles but security is not one of them that most end-users even need to worry about. While you're busy compiling RPMs others would like to just get to work with great software. I've not mentioned the thousands of niceties and nuances of the Mac interface that make it enjoyable and more efficient to use. I could argue the point 'til the cows come home but there's a lot to be said about this highly desirable and oft overlooked platform.
• PC Pundits Incapable of Acknowledging Reality
  2005-03-29 11:08:05  DanCoulter [Reply | View]
  
  
  The only reason that I would classify iMovie with Movie Maker is because they are both basic pieces of video software used by people who aren't serious about actually doing video editing. I've never actually used either. On Windows I've used Premiere and on Mac I've used Final Cut Pro. Final Cut is the better of these two. Neither are free, though.
  
  The software (free in that it was included in the price of my burner) that I have to burn DVDs does do all that stuff. I don't use animated menus, though. I think they're distracting and unnecessary. I haven't tried any of the truly free DVD authoring packages, but I know that they are available on SourceForge (whether any are available for Windows, I don't know).
  
  I'm curious how they define "world-wide helpdesk". Are there support teams on-site? Who does the hardware support? That's something that is almost always included in a PC helpdesk environment. Do the employees ship their computer to a hardware support team? It'd doubtful. My point is that While the support teams may be smaller, I think the number you gave is probably deceiving. Also, you specified "in-house". Do they outsource this to some degree?
  
  eMacs and the Mac Mini may have lower power consumption, but bear in mind that I was comparing computational power. An eMac still isn't as fast as the two year old laptop that I use at work. That's another problem... most of our faculty use laptops. Commercial grade Mac laptops are far more expensive (especially when you take support into account) than our high-end Dell laptops. Through Dell, we have in-house certified technicians who can support hardware (as well as being skilled at supporting the software used on campus). We approached Apple about doing this sort of thing and found that they also offer a similar program...if you own 300 Macintosh computers. That is simply impossible for an institution of our size, even if we bought the cheap, slower eMacs. Apparently owning fewer than 300 puts you into "treat you like crap" category because every experience we've had with their sales and support has been very negative and more costly than most of our experiences with Dell. I know that this sort of treatment isn't isolated to us.
  
  You say that the intent of Macs is "to allow people to be creative." If you're talking about artistically creative, I think you'll find that most people are incapable or uninterested in this. I do a very small amount of graphical design for my job (which I do very easily in Macromedia Fireworks). Most of my creativity comes in web application development. This coding is done entirely in text editors. No computer system in the world has a monopoly on that. In the end, I've started using WinSCP and Notepad2, two extremely user friendly open source projects, to do all of my development. Like I've said, for some people, Macs are very useful, but they aren't the end-all, be-all of computers.
  
  I have found that no matter what OS someone is running, they'll find ways to screw their computer up. If they can't do it easily by installing tons of spyware then they'll push it off a piano before setting a chair on it. (Actual conversation: "How did it get somewhere someone could put a chair on it?" "I put it on the floor so it wouldn't fall off the piano"). Most of the Mac users I've known are just as incapable of being responsible computer users as Windows users.
  
  By the way, thank you for the reference. I always like to keep things scholarly ;)