What are the advantages of the Mac?
A teacher of mine/former coach's girlfriend asked me tonight at a hockey game about buying a mac since she is considering one and heard through him that I knew a lot about em. And then he cut in and said, well, just tell us what's so much better about em that she should go one.
and I was sort of um...... silenced. didnt really know what to say.
What are the advantages of a mac to an everyday consumer? Not a dumb one but a normal computer using person?
For me, I know advantages for myself but it also helped I was raised on a mac. To someone who wasn't.... what's so appealing about it?
and I was sort of um...... silenced. didnt really know what to say.
What are the advantages of a mac to an everyday consumer? Not a dumb one but a normal computer using person?
For me, I know advantages for myself but it also helped I was raised on a mac. To someone who wasn't.... what's so appealing about it?
Comments
there are people that work for apple that really try and figure out what the user wants to do and make it as easy and intuitive as possible for that to happen. With any other PC you have multiple companies trying to get each of their goals accomplished... you have MS forcing integration with all of their applications, you have the box maker making deals with distributors about bundling things, adding clutter to your PC before you buy it...
there are many many things you can talk about why macs are better then PCs there have been MANY threads about this... do a little spelunking
<a href="http://www.pctomac.com/why/"; target="_blank">http://www.pctomac.com/why/</a>;
Apple's aren't the cheapest PCs available, but ask your friends whether they always pick the cheapest option when they make a major purchase.
Apple makes the hardware and the software (and these days, more and more software.) And it's all designed to work together. The iLife package is a perfect example. You can use your iTunes and your iPhoto in your iMovie, and burn it on a Superdrive iMac.
And while you can assemble the programs todo all this on a PC, Apple's interface makes it fun and much less frustrating. Nobody's going to disagree with the fact that Apple's interface sets the standard for the industry. And throw in the rumor that Apple's close to inking a deal to buy music digitally.
You get iLife included on every new Mac. I think iLife has the potential to be an effective counterpoint to the inclusion of MS Office on PCs.
(And hopefully soon, new Macs will ship with two suites: one for creativity, and one for productivity...
<strong>ease of use... and that goes a long way
there are people that work for apple that really try and figure out what the user wants to do and make it as easy and intuitive as possible for that to happen. With any other PC you have multiple companies trying to get each of their goals accomplished... you have MS forcing integration with all of their applications, you have the box maker making deals with distributors about bundling things, adding clutter to your PC before you buy it...
there are many many things you can talk about why macs are better then PCs there have been MANY threads about this... do a little spelunking
well.... i brought that up and they both said, well, Windows isnt really that hard to use.... especially since we already have used it.... we're used to it. how much easier can you get and is it worth to switch or spend more on a machine for the little improvement?
:-\\
If you can't come up with reasons why Windows users should switch, you're not trying. Just show her your Mac running OS X. Show her iMovie. Show her how easy it is. She will switch.
Get your friend attracted to the beautiful Mac hardware first. Once she get to use OS X, she will discover the beauty of it.
Its very difficult to describe the beauty of OS X without using it often. Its better to use the hardware as a bait.
1. alright
2. windows xp is quite good with plug and play from what i understand
3. yea, that helps
4. form over function?
5. this is not a nerd.... she doesnt want to "hang" with a mac crowd... just wants a computer
6. how so? my 99 powermac is already limiting me and apple doesnt help much with older machines. i dont think you can use that as an argument as it depends on the user and what the computer is going to be used for
7. dont think i would use that in an effort to persuade her
8. yes
9. yes
10. yawn
11. yes
[quote]If you can't come up with reasons why Windows users should switch, you're not trying<hr></blockquote>
for a forum full of people who's lives revolve around the mac you sure aren't coming up and providing good reasons and benefits
weak
<strong>
for a forum full of people who's lives revolve around the mac you sure aren't coming up and providing good reasons and benefits
weak</strong><hr></blockquote>
Applenut, what you have to ask is what does she want to do with her computer.
If she just wants to word process,email, browse the web a bit, maybe spreadsheet a bit, then no system really has an advantage over another.
XP is quite stable. It has a fairly effective roll-back tool for dealing with installation of crappy apps and 80% bad drivers.
So if that is all she wants she can deal with a $400 dollar dell with integrated everything.
My reasons for disliking Windows are as follows...
1) The registry - Not really a problem until it is and then it is still a nightmare. It happens to everyone eventually because even though Microsoft has spent tons of time on the issue, it was just a bad design decision. It will always cause a problem. It is simply a question of when, not if.
2) The whole screen as a window problem. Microsoft has this requirement of windows programs and as a result most people think they know how to "use" a computer. However you never see them copy and moving things from program to program or from window to window. I don't think I have ever seen a windows user drag and drop something.
The way they get around this is by programming huge programs with every conceivable feature so you don't have to leave your one window.
3) There is no step three... haahha...oh sorry bad pun...
File navagation, although this is a bit more confusing with OS X, the Mac file system is still more elegantly laid out than Windows. It is still easier to find, move and and delete documents and programs.
4) Most users think they are "using" windows when what they are doing is fighting with windows. I own both so this is most close to my heart. Microsoft has a subtle way of trying to inject themselves and their products/programs into your use. This leads to a little fight going on all the time. Quicktime and Real programs constantly asking if they can reassociate themselves with their own extensions or taking over extensions they shouldn't. Real player on PC declared itself to be my MP3 player of choice. That doesn't happen on Mac.
Likewise things like IE will poke it's head up even when Mozilla is my browser of choice (gotta have tabs and no pop-ups baby) MSN messanger just won't go away.
The worst of this is that since Microsoft does it, everyone else feels they can as well. So then you have things like programs you try installing undetectable programs that remain on your computer even when you delete the first. (Kazaa) Programs stealing extensions, etc.
And lastly god forbid someone not like the Microsoft codecs for something. This is the one reason I actually had to re-install XP. I had someone who is VP of tech for a company and works with Windows all day long be unable to fix this problem so it required a reinstall.(Still the most common "fix" to serious Windows problems)
I had installed a couple of DV programs to try out on Windows. (As you and others mention there is plenty of initial money savings) However the programs all kept fighting over the same extensions. Additionally one of them either installed its own codec for DV or seriously manipulated microsofts to the point it that none of them could use it anymore. This wasn't your crapware, it was Adobe, Avid, things like that.
I have never had this happen on Macs. I can use Premiere and Final Cut on the same machine and neither one screws up Apple's codecs. Likewise I can use Cleaner, etc. you name it.
If she won't get to this level of use, she might not appreciate a Mac. If she thinks she is using a PC is typing a letter and trying to figure out why MS Word thinks everthing is an outline and starts margin shifting things all over the place, and you manually overcome it to actually produce a readable letter, that isn't use nor a mentality that will appreciate a Mac.
If she isn't going to do any digital photography, music, or video she likely won't appreciate the iApps.
If she is just a consumer instead of a producer she can watch her television and watch her PC as well.
Hope that helps....
Nick
[ 03-09-2003: Message edited by: trumptman ]</p>
I do know, for a fact, that I have NO troubles, downtime, problems, crashes, viruses, goofy updates that run you through hoops, etc. If something DOES come up that is the slightest bit out of the ordinary, I don't seem to be hit with all this geek code or cryptic messages or warning boxes about things I have clue about.
All of my Windows-using buddies and family members are CONSTANTLY telling me stories, via e-mail or on the phone, about their latest pain-in-the-butt go around with this driver, that virus, this update, that program, etc.
I'm not a techie kinda guy. I don't code, I don't "open up the hood" and poke around, I don't perform hardware hacks and I don't get off messing with stuff that obviously out of my grasp or range of comprehension.
All I know is that I've never felt as though I have to be a "computer person" to use a Mac. It's simply a tool that works and works with no fuss or coaxing or having to have a manual at my side. That just appeals to me.
Granted, longtime PC users feel/think the exact same way.
It's possible that, for any number of reasons, some people are just drawn to the Mac, and are simply "Mac people"? I don't know...maybe.
if for one second you think more than 2% of the population actually backs their crap up with any regularity, you're horribly delusional.
same with virus software. they think that by having virus software, they're safe. no updates to it, definitions are months old but it's running so they must be safe.
bah.
As a user you're pretty safe if you're not stupid, servers and such, well, we're not looking at that.
Someone who just wants a station for Office, e-mail and chat is much much better off with a Cheap PC. For about 500 bucks you can get a perfectlt capable machine with a decent display, and if anything major goes wrong a year or two down the line, you can easily afford to replace it.
Apple has no answer for this.
which is of course why 98% of the people out there aren't safe, and Apple has the answer to this.
This is just so true. I have so much bullshit on my mac at home yet I can find files on it in about a tenth of the time that it take me to navigate my work computer. For me it really is those little things that make a mac better. I just do't get frustrated as much.
it basically breaks down like this:
PC(windows) = cheap and you get what you pay for
Mac(OS X) = expensive get what you pay for
PC(linux) = cheap, many problems of software that limit mac users
[ 03-09-2003: Message edited by: ast3r3x ]</p>
On a rock solid foundation.
Hardware/software symbiosis.
eg plug and play.
The free iapps help as well.
They run and run. Low maintainence.
They look 'cool'. Good for aesthetic bragging rights.
'It just works'.
Lemon Bon Bon
[ 03-09-2003: Message edited by: Lemon Bon Bon ]</p>
<strong>2. windows xp is quite good with plug and play from what i understand</strong><hr></blockquote>
Uh... no. Try telling that to my XP machine that is sitting in the corner now, never to be used again. I spent countless days trying to get drivers to work for many different things. Talk about a headache.
One example:
I got a soundcard for my PC to finish up a recording I did. It never worked. I exchanged it, got new drivers, reinstalled many times... you name it. I had a couple of my computer geek expert friends come over to try to fix it. No dice.
I bought my iBook a week ago. I also bought an iMic audio interface. I plugged my 4-track into it, the iMic into the computer and an hour later, my band's newest album was done. It took roughly over an hour. That is what I call "plug and play". I have yet to have a problem with anything I've ever plugged into my Mac.
Gotta agree with a few other things:
OSX has not crashed. Neither have any of the apps. My PC was a crash-a-thon from day one.
Easier to understand and use. It just makes sense to me. Windows has a way of making things more difficult than they have to be.
The hardware looks damn good. While shopping for a laptop, I looked over quite a few PC laptops and this little wonder offered me much more for the price than any PC could have. Not to mention, I haven't seen one good looking PC laptop ever. I know its trivial, but at least I like the way it looks on my desk.
2. BEAUTY!
3. NO WINDOWS! BLECH!
4. killer free i programs from apple
5. easy to navigate and fix problems
6. apple support is better than waiting on hold with some PC guy who has to go thru million procedures to fix something that cant be fixed over the tele
7. BEAUTY!