Actually, what is the [mystique] mac experience?

vox barbaravox barbara
Posted:
in General Discussion edited January 2014
Hello folks,



the subject line tells everything.

I want to know what the mac experience is. So give me your 3 top sellers;-)



What is it?

The spacial experience? File system? Good hard- and software integration? Stability? Sexuality? Fidelity? What is it? Tell me your story.



ThanX
«1

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 28
    cyclecycle Posts: 187member
    for me its



    ease of use - design - innovation
  • Reply 2 of 28
    artman @_@artman @_@ Posts: 2,546member
    I've mentioned this before...I work on Windows 98 all day at work. When I come home I kiss my Mac. As cycle says, "ease of use - design - innovation"
  • Reply 3 of 28
    poopoodoctorpoopoodoctor Posts: 143member
    For me it's:



    1) Hardware quality (PCs look and are cheap, even the expensive ones, by cheap I mean, put together half fast with no design aforethought. The only exception here is Sony, too bad the OS that run that PC is Windows.)



    2) Operating System. The Mac OS is polished in every detail, the goal having been and continuously being to make it as easy and as efficient as possible giving the user no distractions in his work. The Mac is actually fun to use. Windows on the other hand is put together half fast with no Human Interface design goal at all. In short, it's annoying to use when one is accustomed to the polish found with the Mac OS.
  • Reply 4 of 28
    tigerwoods99tigerwoods99 Posts: 2,633member
    a more expensive/less powerful computer that looks prettier
  • Reply 5 of 28
    stunnedstunned Posts: 1,096member
    The high level and ease of customisation makes u feel that your mac is unique just to you.
  • Reply 6 of 28
    mr. macintoshmr. macintosh Posts: 463member
    iApps, Ease-Of-Use, Innovation.
  • Reply 7 of 28
    amorphamorph Posts: 7,112member
    At the risk of dittoing, the main thing is that Apple at least does a really good impression of giving a damn about you. Everything from the packaging to the hardware design to the software is thoughtfully laid out, pleasing to the eye (and often, especially in the case of the clamshell iBook, pleasing in a tactile way as well), and even when it doesn't quite work you at least get the sense that the designer was genuinely trying to be helpful.



    This feeling seems to spread to third parties. Not the big guys necessarily, but the Mac developers. You can more or less count on a Mac app to be more solid, better designed, and if it has fewer features than its Windows counterparts they're easier to use and more likely to be useful. BBEdit; OmniGraffle; GraphicConverter; Nisus; Stone Studio...



    The Mac community is, in general, much more supportive and helpful. Maybe the optimistic gestalt of the platform and the playfulness that's always been part of the OS and the hardware is contagious, or maybe it draws kindred spirits. But there's a lot to be said for a platform that at once manages to be consistent, efficient, elegant and whimsical. There's also a lot to be said for a platform that gets better and better every year, rather than more and more bloated.
  • Reply 8 of 28
    mcqmcq Posts: 1,543member
    [quote]Originally posted by Amorph:

    <strong>At the risk of dittoing, the main thing is that Apple at least does a really good impression of giving a damn about you.</strong><hr></blockquote>



    You mean, they really don't care? :confused:



    Lol... RDF is the number one reason!
  • Reply 9 of 28
    ast3r3xast3r3x Posts: 5,012member
    as if you didn't get the point already



    1)the OS is thought about, they work hard to make it intuitive and very consisten throughout (with exceptions)



    2)hardware integration



    3)its not windows...honestly i feel because i use a mac i am different (i dont mean cooler or weird or anything) but i am a different because i use a mac...better perspective on things



    could i have done a worse job explaining 3?
  • Reply 10 of 28
    lucaluca Posts: 3,833member
    They give a damn, as opposed to not giving a damn.



    But they really don't give much of a damn, still more than Microsoft does, but it's not like they give a really big damn about you. Maybe just a little damn. But they sure make you feel like they're giving a damn over you.



    :confused: wtf did I just write?
  • Reply 11 of 28
    mcqmcq Posts: 1,543member
    Haha. Strangely enough it makes perfect sense.
  • Reply 12 of 28
    rara Posts: 623member
    Unix when I want it, OS X when I don't want it.
  • Reply 13 of 28
    costiquecostique Posts: 1,084member
    Humans conceived computers as a tool, a helper, a partner. And Macs constitute the only true computer platform, as opposed to Wintel where humans exist only to repair and serve software and hardware.

    If you have long experience working on Macs and under PCs, you know what I mean.
  • Reply 14 of 28
    ast3r3xast3r3x Posts: 5,012member
    apple doesnt' relly give a damn about you, but they give a damn about their software and OS and how it reacts with you because it was created for you.





    you like that?
  • Reply 15 of 28
    fawkesfawkes Posts: 80member
    For me, the appeal of the Mac is hard to describe and certainly hard to demonstrate in a short period of time.



    When you use a Mac for a prolonged period of time, you begin to develop an appreciation that Apple realy does try to make your life easier--that Apple (and, as Amorph pointed out, third-party developers) are on "your side" when it comes to functionality, ease of use, visual appeal, carefully selected options, etc. a myriad of little details add up to a very intuitive and productive experience.



    There is another area where Macs are occasionally criticized. (Not all will share in this opinion of mine!) Windows and many Windows apps tend to throw every possible configuration option and choice at you. Macs and its apps tend to limit options. At first glance, this might seem like a limitation, but after a while you realize that Apple and many Mac developers really take the time to decide which options are worth giving and which are mearly destractions. Apple puts alot of time into walking that fine line between too many choices and too rigid, all in an attempt to maximize your productivity. In my opinion, Windows and its apps show a certain laziness: "if you can't decide how something should work, just make it an option and let the user decide"



    Bottom line: Apple and its fine army of developers try very hard to work as much on your behalf as on their own, and it shows.
  • Reply 16 of 28
    cosmonutcosmonut Posts: 4,872member
    Stability - When I use my Mac, I know that it's FAR less likely that I'm going to have problems with hardware compatibility, OS freezes, etc. If the machine were to have a problem, often the fix is just to restart the machine, rebuild the desktop, or zap the PRAM.



    Integration - Apple has found a way to make stuff work...the first time. Like our switcher friend said, who wants to spend Christmas Day downloading drivers for something? Because they integrate the OS, hardware, and iApps together, it all works seamlessly.



    Quality - In its hardware design, the look of the OS, and even the packaging that it all comes in, Apple is dedicated to NOT make a half-assed product. Yeah, it ends up costing more, but isn't it worth it to get a stylish, solid computer?



    My $0.02.
  • Reply 17 of 28
    matsumatsu Posts: 6,558member
    The online communities. Big fun, no other platform has as entertaining a gaggle of characters as AI and its ilk. But that little bit by Amorph seems true too.
  • Reply 18 of 28
    smithjoelsmithjoel Posts: 240member
    Well... I'm not that bright, had a lot of money to blow on a computer, and like pretty things. It was a match made in heaven.
  • Reply 19 of 28
    ijerryijerry Posts: 615member
    I know it is strange, but Macs have a personality. They are not some PC that sits there doing nothing. They appear to constantly be in motion, and are inviting. When you open it up, it takes you on a journey, a dream if you will, of what things could be like if somebody TRULY cared about the "little things." Its an insightful peek into what man can do when everything counts. If you could create your children the way you wanted them; The Mac gives this kind of vibe. While some may say they are overpriced, or slow, or whatnot, the Mac is essentially an extension of yourself, a third arm. It is not a separate entity, a foreign object. It is a piece of you, and it makes every effort to do so. There is a comfort that is attained by knowing what you don't have to worry about, and all you can do is smile when you hear of people having problems with their Dells, and Gateways, because you have found something better. Something special. Something that was made with you in mind, the user. The Mac is so many things, but the greatest thing it is, is it allows you to make into whatever you want.
  • Reply 20 of 28
    overhopeoverhope Posts: 1,123member
    For me, it's the fact that the experience of using a Mac is seamlessly integrated into the experience of doing what I want to do: the OS just gets out of the way and sets my creativity free.



    I don't really want to know how my computer does stuff: I just want it all to happen, and Macs give me that so much more than Windows machines.



    Off-topic, it's nice to see everyone championing Apple. feels like being at home.
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