Why do you love your Mac?

[pc_convert?]

I'm a PC user (wanting to be a Mac user). The thing I've noticed on all mac sites, and when meeting mac users is just how loyal they are to Apple and their Macs. This is something I admire, but being a PC user with infrequent access to a Mac I want to know:
What makes you love you Mac? (and why should I get one?)

 

[Six]

I could go on for awhile..

Hmm.. Believe it or not, just because they aren't 2.2 GHZ does not mean they arent fast.. The new G4's are going to be announced in a few days (according to MacUser magazine's website) Those babies, along with every other G4 cook! Velocity engines make photoshop and other high processor programs work a lot faster than others. XP in my opinion is a crappy ripoff of OSX. Aqua (the interface for OSX) is beautiful. Apple's designs are all beautiful and powerfull. Apple's iPod is excellent for the music fan. Holds 1000 mp3s, and sinks nicely with iTunes (a standard program on new macs) iDVD allows you to write your own DVDs after editing the movies you shoot on a DV camera in iMovie (both iDVD and iMovie are also standard on new macs) iPhoto is a new program, and is totally nice, shoot pictures, it imports them and you can do rendering, you can make slide shows or set up a scrap book. Press the order button, and your scrap book is made for you at Apple.

If I didnt have to go to work, I'd share more.. But I'm sure other people can add to this list.

 

[PyroTurtle]

customer service for one...whethere they get the job done or not is not always the point in my opinion, the fact is they try, and if they can't fix it over the phone they tell you where to go or say "send it in"...
i was first drawn because the OS was just different from everything else i'd used (Windows, UNIX, DOS) and i liked it...
but being in that community is something you really won't find...and the rumors that float around are great....
and the computers just do so much more than be a computer...it's almost impossible to really explain why...once you own one and really use it as an apple, you'll just love it....

 

[voicegy]

Dear pc_convert

(here I go again!)

The Apple "spell"

(I've posted these elsewhere on the board days ago, but this post compelled me to repeat myself...forgive! It's just that when I see a thread started by a person who is thinking of "going Mac", I find it easier to cut and paste my previous ramblings...and I get that much closer to 100 posts! *get a LIFE, Scott!*)

There are so few companies where we get this worked up over their products.

Certainly no other COMPUTER company, that's for sure. (some car companies, of course!)

There is ONE other company that I have an equal passion for and would, if they had such things, discuss rumors on various sites and look forward to keynotespeeches made by their CEO...and that's Bang & Olufsen.

You see, all of us here in these forums GET IT. We GET how our dreams have been realized by the combination of art and science. When combined, the effect is spellbinding, giving us both the satisfaction of thinking to ourselves "Yes, they did it right," plus the extra added thrill of "Wow...I didn't think of that!"

We're not simply geeks who dig computers and gadgets. Apple fans GET the beauty of the machines, the user-friendly-ness of the devices that they put out, the elegance, the simplicity, the user empowerment, the, dare I say, "soul" of the machines that Apple so lovingly puts in. I'm in the education business (San Diego Unified) and when I see the difference in how my "clients" refer to and treat their Macs compared to PeeCee owners, well, it's more of a "relationship" they have with them than just a machine to use.

I think you can all relate. And, to me, the only other company (that took something like home entertainment...stereos and tv's and such) and applied the same ease-of-use, artistic flair and "soul" that Apple takes with their computers, is Bang & Olufsen, hands down.

Advanced technology, in the end, should serve the user in the easiest, most elegant and ergonomic way possible. Wrap it up in packages that please the eye and "want" to be touched, and you end up with devices that will always attract a certain
percentage of the planet.

The percentage, represented here on these forums, that GET it. And now you, pc_convert, may get to experience that giddy rush as well. Here's to the companies like Apple that give us such, well, joy.

...and on another note, in case you didn't catch this pc_convert:

"Can a Windows-dependent technology columnist live happily as a Mac user? That's the question I am about to spend a month of my life trying to answer."

So begins David Coursey's article on ZDNet as he tells the world he's about to embark on the ultimate challenge...trading his Wintel world for the Mac for a month. After this Oddysey he will report back with his "findings."

http://www.zdnet.com/anchordesk/stories/story0,10738,2839242,00.html

So why is he doing this? One of his reasons is:

"First, to see if I can really take my own medicine. I've been saying that many more people should have Macs than actually do--while accepting the inevitability that comes with living in a Windows world--so now I am going to walk that walk for a while."

Well, considering the posts that I've seen around here lately of PC users warming up to the Mac (and you guys and gals are real cool to say so...Thanks, and we wish you a good journey!) and Apple's own web page discussing the Myths associated between
Windows and the Mac OS, this makes for a most interesting addition.

Is this truly the beginning of world peace? Even if Apple doesn't completely win over the PC/Wintel world, (which it won't, right?) will we both be able to lay down our gloves, shake hands, and call our PC/Wintel users FRIENDS as they nod thier heads in understanding; realizing, for the first time, why we are passionate about All Things Apple?

Truly, we are living in exciting times! I'm almost teary eyed...in a month, we'll see what Mr. Coursey has to say.

pc_convert, take a look at the following forum topics on this board as well. And thanks for taking a look-see over the fence at the Apple orchard...we dig you being here!

Observations of Mac Users (General Forum)
What Apple has done to me (Hardware Forum)
Why do we do this? (Article Forum)

Apple computer user/owner since the Apple IIc...

Respectfully,
Scott

 

[pc_convert?]

WOW!?! thanks voicegy

I think I understand what are saying, not through experience, rather through what has been lacking.

Yes, I can get things done on my PC, BUT it lacks something there's no joy, no connection. Mac users seem to have a symbiosis with their 'machines'. It's seems to me than Macs are viewed as more than just a tool.

They are beautiful to look at, and they do seem to make the latest technology accessable to everyone.

There is something infectious about the way the Mac community talk about Macs and Apple, and I think I'm catching the bug.

You guys really are Apple's best advertisment...

 

[Six]

::Stands up and applaudes:: well said!

 

[krossfyter]

*continues the applause*

 

[techfire]

There are two reasons I love my mac, both have to deal with the OS:

1) No system crashes. Before I switched to my G4 Cube from a PC, I would have to reboot about 3-4 times each day. In addition, I would have to reinstall Windows about once every 1-2 months. Windows just gets bloated with 100+ programs installed on it.

2) Self-contained applications. Most of the applications in MacOS do not need to touch anything outside of their folder (except for the preferences file). You could wipe the entire System folder, reinstall the OS, and all of your applications would run perfectly. In Windows, there are so many DLLs floating around that this is impossible. If you toast the Windows directory, you are going to have to reinstall 90% of your programs.

 

[krossfyter]

very good reasons techfire!

 

[pc_convert?]

You can't complain about having to re-install windows every 1-2 months, you gave that right up when you agreed to micro$oft End User License Agreement

 

[krossfyter]

your hands are tied with microsoft...

they get you by the balls and pull hard..and wont let go....

the cure is to hop on a mac, check it out for a second or two!

 

[AlphaTech]

Something else that is missing from the Mac (and this is a good thing). Hardware/driver conflicts that make the system very unstable and cannot be corrected. I am not speaking of peripherials or extra devices, I am referring to components inside the box. Case and point. There was a user at work that was crashing at least two to three times a day (at random) using a pc laptop with win98 (se). After we got her a replacement desktop (another pc unfortunatley), I got the chance to really dig into it. There were conflicts under the device manager that had no chance to be resolved. I have never experienced that on a Mac (been using/working on them since 1988). Eventually I was able to rectify the situation, but not until I spent over 8 hours working on it (ugh).

Of the 240+ Mac systems at work, we have NEVER had this happen.

Another thing that is common to Mac users... after a while we stop thinking about the computer as a 'tool'. I have found that people have a deeper relationship with the system. They get upset when it is not working properly, often calling in a panic. Pc users don't get that upset over the computer, they accept it as a normal event.

Mac's are more of an extension of ourselves. This allows for a rather unique relationship, at least in my view, with the system. That could have something to do with why most Mac people defend Apple and the OS to wintel attacks. We may be zelots and fanatics, but we are happy ones (most of the time). I would love for Apple to command a higher market share, but not if it means sacrificing what has made Apple great. They listen to us and give us what we want (as much as possible). How many pc companies can do that??? How many of them re-design parts of the computer because the people that own them want something changed?? I think you would be very hard pressed to find that. The pc world is cluttered with beige boxes (with occasional black ones) that all look pretty much identical. If you took the logo's off of several pc's and put them all together, chances are you would not be able to tell which is which. Put a Mac into that mix, and it stands out (which it should).

I think the only thing missing from the Mac world is the number of new games available to us. If the game makers ever got into releasing their titles for both platforms (at the same time) I think we would see more pc people convert to the Mac. Especially since they can't say we don't have the good video cards, and sound cards. I could go out tomorrow and get a sound blaster card, and next month or so, get a Radeon 8500. With those two things (the sb card isn't really needed), I could run circles around the pc gamers.

As the saying goes... windows 98 is Mac '84, and Apple continues to develop new technologies and better interfaces faster the micro$oft.

 

[AlphaTech]

One other thing about the Mac.... you can buy the latest OS for $100 ($130 for 10.1) or less... that is a full version, NOT an update. How many copies of window$ can you get for that??? None.

And forget about the security holed os called xp....

 

[idevin]

I love my mac because...

One thing I have noticed... Every time my mac messes up (not often) it is always really easy to fix it. I just tinker around for a while, and pretty soon everything is up and running.

 

[krossfyter]

Originally posted by krossfyter
your hands are tied with microsoft...

they get you by the balls and pull hard..and wont let go....

the cure is to hop on a mac, check it out for a second or two!

hah..i was laughing at myself.

sorry.

 

[DakotaGuy]

Reliability!

All my friends always hear me say, "If everything was as reliable as my Macs." Everytime I start them up they work and work right. If there is something wrong I can fix it in 10 mins or less. They are simple and stylish machines that work and work well. I guess if I had any complaint it was the old Mac OS. Although I miss it, I do not miss "Mac lock" when a program went down. Now with OSX I have not had to restart the computer even once. never. period. That little reset button on the side is getting very lonely! Now not only is it reliable it is stable as well...

My new iBook is just awesome. I just got back from a snowmobiling trip out in Wyoming. On the way home I watched "Full Metal Jacket" while bouncing around in a Dodge truck...not once did the movie or HD skip, heck I even shut the lid to get out and when I re-opened it the movie started where it left off without a hitch...now what if I tried that on that piece of crappo Gateway Laptop I was forced to use at work...heck I could not even walk across the office without it crashing. A lot of people I know swear by PC's yet all they ever do is complain about them. They are starting to get the point. When they talk about problems...I laugh and tell them...huh...never have seen that. They sometimes don't think I tell the truth...but I really have nothing to tell but good things.

Once you have a Mac you will be hooked. I believe in a quality product and Apple makes one. You cannot buy a better computer anywhere and one thing that I really like is even if you do not buy the top of the line computer you still can get a product made with the same quality standards. Apple does not cheat you on quality for price where else can you find that??? Get a mac and get ready to fall in love!!!

 

[networkman]

being jefhatfield, you can expect an hour long answer from me, but now that i am the more subdued networkman...

"i like the mac because it boots up much quicker than my windows 98 pc"

 

[kishba]

i want the hour long post from jef....

reading is phun

 

[bruski73]

Hi PC_Convert,

It is quite simple really, being a PC_Convert myself i would say that Mac along with OSX is the most complete computer/system i have ever used.

Enjoy your new Mac.

 

[Microsoft_Windows_Hater]

My reasons

I like my Mac for many a reason and alot have been listed above.

For one, the way it just wakes up running smooth as silk no matter how long it has been sleeping.

Another is the fantastic quality. I will admit to have dropped my iBook, plus it has been knocked off my desk. Not one problem.

My brother's Toshiba when he dropped it, well i will not go into that.

I agree

Another thing is Mac OS X. Research it and it will tell you why, just looking at it will tell you why. I learn't about the new super Mac OS not from other people, nor through advertising (of which there is none) but through apple's fantastic website and a couple of Quicktime movies. What other company shows movies and sells products? No one, they just can't. A PC is a PC, a Mac is a very special, very obvious piece of hardware that is both a pleasure to use and something great to display and look at.

The quality of these machines is also fantastic, who can say that about a PC? Also, look at the ability to hold value! It's even better than cars and getting really into a class of its own.

My last reason is probably one of the more important. Look at my username. you get the picture. I hate a machine that crashes, in fact I love how there are no conflicts on VPC. Imagine that, a Mac running Windows better than the PC!

Well thats enough from me, my iBook was my first mac and now my whole household has changed to mac. I once thought of it as a cool education tool but now i run my whole life from it without a single worry. No loss of data, no crashes, no pain and anger. Mac's.

 

[grrr223]

WARNING: This post is very long!

I will admit, until OS X came out, a lot of my pro-Macintosh preaching was as much to be different than everyone else as it was true. But every day that I use OS X, even on my 450mhz B&W G3, next to my two roommates with XP, I am more convinced that the Mac is the better platform.

Even under OS 9, we were missing quite a few things that our windows counterparts enjoyed such as:
1) Not having to quit all apps to install something
2) Morpheus (file-sharing similar to Napster, but for all media files)
3) PC users used to complain you couldn't "get at the guts of a Mac" because everything was hidden

However, under OS X, these are all resolved. And it isn't that OS X merely implemented missing features, they integrated everything in a way that far surpasses the XP implementation.

I have not restarted my computer in the past week. I continue to be amazed at what it can do. I can count the number of apps that froze on one hand, all being beta versions. And not one of them affected any other programs. Installing programs such as Dave (PC File Sharing) or little hacks to change the appearance and behavior of the dock or apple menus don't require restarts or even quitting other running apps. I may be wrong on this, but under XP, you need an administrator's password to install certain things (a great feature) but you have to log out and then log in as the administrator. Under OS X, you can enter that password at any time, while logged in as anyone. Another cool feature, is that if you tell a password to come up when the screensaver turns on, anyone can enter their password and it seamlessly logs them into their account so that the machine isn't tied up just because you have walked away from it.

My roommate with a brand new (in Sept.) 1.8 Ghz Dell computer can not even play an MP3 without skipping. And when I try to play my simpsons real player files on his computer, it won't even recognize them simply due to the fact that it doesn't have .rm at the end of the name.

There certainly isn't any problem getting at the guts of the computer in OS X. If you go to http://www.macosxhints.com, you'll find a wealth of tips to harness the power of the UNIX OS that is underneath that pretty aqua interface. I don't know too much about the inner workings of XP, but I'm pretty sure that you can make some pretty major changes more easily with OS X than with windows. Things such as increasing the speed of your system when ripping a CD in iTunes by adjusting the priority of the process through the Terminal.

I apologize for this post not being very organized. I've been up since 6 o'clock yesterday, and i'm very very tired. I just thought I'd share my 2 cents. There are very few if any things that you can do on a Wintel machine that I can not do on my Mac. But more importantly, what I can do on my Mac, I can do faster, easier, and with fewer hassles. There may be 100,000 apps for Windows, and only 10,000 (I'm making these nubmers up) for a Mac, but those 10,000 get the job done.

 

[eyelikeart]

while I should come up with a "Top 10 Reasons Why I Love My Mac," I simply don't have the time....

so to sum it up....

I love my Mac most of all.....because it's not a PC

 

[britboy]

What's so great about macs? They're designed and built to have character (and of course make everyone who doesn't have one require a mop to get rid of all that drool!).

 

[pc_convert?]

where do you get the idea (slurp), that Macs (slurp), make PC users (slurp) drool?

Seriously though everything that everyone has contributed makes good sense and I pretty much realized it before.

Time to start saving those pennies....