Windows Or Mac [A Consumers Dilemma]

[twocows]

Naaa, it won't. I hate flash as a language. It is just horrid to work with and boring.



Well, one thing is battery life. I do a lot of work when travelling and I like to be out of University and my flat to do work. I work better in a busy environment, like a coffee shop or what ever. I can't really do that if I have a laptop that has barely 2 hours of life.
Another is the fact that, I think, the mac is more robust than a Windows computer. Sure, we all have our different preferences and if you asked me 3 years ago, which OS I would rather have, there would be no question about it; windows. However, I feel that having the Mac build and boot camping windows for the programs that need to be run on that OS, is more benefical for me.
Also, out of all my friends who have got Macs, they have had them for years. Windows decreases in power over time, Macs don't really.

I am not rich enough to be buying new laptops every year or so and I think, in the long run, a Mac will benefit me more.

I believe a ThinkPad would suit you well. If you get one with integrated graphics, you should have considerably long battery life. My ASUS has approximately 3 hours of battery life. You can always put Mac OS X on a PC using OSx86 if you want at some point, and modern versions of Windows don't make it hard to upgrade.

 

[Pokémon Ranger ✩ Moriarty]

Okay, well let me preface this by saying that I was a life-long Apple sceptic. Was. I refused to buy the iPod, and instead went through a string of totally awful Sony players (most of them more expensive than the iPod) and only finally converted when my latest Sony player broke and the iPod Nano was on sale. I never looked back. Six happy years of actually being able to listen to my music without embarrassing myself in public by screaming 'work damn you!' So when my last laptop died, I started looking at MacBooks.

I have been through three Toshibas, and two Fujitsu Siemens laptops. They lasted a maximum of two years, and I had had nothing but problems with Windows (XP and Vista). I primarily use my laptops for writing and Photoshop, which isn't too hard, but I also leave them on for weeks at a time. Either on-on or standby-on. Whilst I am physically careful with them, I abuse the hell out of their endurance. And, like I said before, the most I got one to last was two years, which is still impressive.

I have now owned a MacBook White for about a year and a half, and he has only ever crashed once. Once. After a lifetime (I got my first desktop computer aged six, I bought Copernicus when I was 20) of bluescreens, crashes, illegal operations and more than a few harddrive failures, I finally have a machine that bloody works when I want it to. He still has excellent battery life, the Wi-Fi has never died on me, and all of my programs work. The Mac also has a great online community full of freeware which is all awesomely good and completely unavailable for Windows, as well as absolutely amazing buy-me! programs like Scrivener, which I so wish I had had during my studies. ;_; A few minor things like installing programs by dragging and dropping them (and so taking about two minutes instead of hours), only using one mouse button (you get used to it in about a week flat) and having everything where it ought to be is just magic. It's almost like Windows is that stroppy teacher who makes you do all of your work their way, whilst the Mac is that cool teacher who just says 'hey, you know what, write your coursework in bright orange gel pen on yellow paper for all I care! Have fun!' I don't get code rage as much as I used to any more. Coincidentally, when I do get it, I'm normally sat in front of one of my parents' computers. :|

Of course, there are downsides to consider. The most obvious one is that companies still don't really consider the Mac to be a 'real' platform, so most programs are still Windows-centric. (Although you can replace Microsoft Office with iWork and marvel at how you get things done SO MUCH QUICKER.) But other than that...I dunno. Six years ago I would have gladly joined the Mac-hating crowd and mocked my poor machines, but now I wouldn't consider going for a Windows machine even if somebody else was buying. I had to use my Dad's Windows 7 computer the other day and I felt like smashing my own face in with the keyboard because it was just so unnecessarily hard.

 

[twocows]

Okay, well let me preface this by saying that I was a life-long Apple sceptic. Was. I refused to buy the iPod, and instead went through a string of totally awful Sony players (most of them more expensive than the iPod) and only finally converted when my latest Sony player broke and the iPod Nano was on sale. I never looked back. Six happy years of actually being able to listen to my music without embarrassing myself in public by screaming 'work damn you!' So when my last laptop died, I started looking at MacBooks.

I have been through three Toshibas, and two Fujitsu Siemens laptops. They lasted a maximum of two years, and I had had nothing but problems with Windows (XP and Vista). I primarily use my laptops for writing and Photoshop, which isn't too hard, but I also leave them on for weeks at a time. Either on-on or standby-on. Whilst I am physically careful with them, I abuse the hell out of their endurance. And, like I said before, the most I got one to last was two years, which is still impressive.

I have now owned a MacBook White for about a year and a half, and he has only ever crashed once. Once. After a lifetime (I got my first desktop computer aged six, I bought Copernicus when I was 20) of bluescreens, crashes, illegal operations and more than a few harddrive failures, I finally have a machine that bloody works when I want it to. He still has excellent battery life, the Wi-Fi has never died on me, and all of my programs work. The Mac also has a great online community full of freeware which is all awesomely good and completely unavailable for Windows, as well as absolutely amazing buy-me! programs like Scrivener, which I so wish I had had during my studies. ;_; A few minor things like installing programs by dragging and dropping them (and so taking about two minutes instead of hours), only using one mouse button (you get used to it in about a week flat) and having everything where it ought to be is just magic. It's almost like Windows is that stroppy teacher who makes you do all of your work their way, whilst the Mac is that cool teacher who just says 'hey, you know what, write your coursework in bright orange gel pen on yellow paper for all I care! Have fun!' I don't get code rage as much as I used to any more. Coincidentally, when I do get it, I'm normally sat in front of one of my parents' computers. :|

Of course, there are downsides to consider. The most obvious one is that companies still don't really consider the Mac to be a 'real' platform, so most programs are still Windows-centric. (Although you can replace Microsoft Office with iWork and marvel at how you get things done SO MUCH QUICKER.) But other than that...I dunno. Six years ago I would have gladly joined the Mac-hating crowd and mocked my poor machines, but now I wouldn't consider going for a Windows machine even if somebody else was buying. I had to use my Dad's Windows 7 computer the other day and I felt like smashing my own face in with the keyboard because it was just so unnecessarily hard.

I would like to point out that personal anecdotes are just that.

I have only had my ASUS laptop crash once or twice in the two years I have owned it, and once was when the motherboard fried (not surprising, I do heavy gaming on it and it's almost always on when I'm awake). My other computers crash even less often, though admittedly they see less use.

About a year and a half ago, I was once forced to use Mac OS X for about a week by a friend (well, pressured). It was an absolutely horrible experience. There are all sorts of little programs I ended up missing that there was no alternative to; I had no way, for example, to contact some of my friends on one network because the software to access that network simply wasn't available for OS X. Set aside that I couldn't even play most of my games. Then there were other things. In Windows, I could add a context menu entry that ran a script that ran a specific program on a specific file in a specific way, and it would take me all of five minutes. I couldn't tweak the user interface nearly that much in OS X; it was basically "if you don't like it, that's your problem." And that was another thing: any time I came across some sort of problem, I was treated like it was my fault. Seriously? Bad software is never the fault of the user. That's a mistake I thought only programmers made. If I didn't like something, I "wasn't ready for it;" if something crashed, it wasn't an error, it was an "issue," something that I must have done. What utter nonsense.

There were other joys that I didn't even get to experience. Having to send in the entire laptop to replace the battery, for instance. Or the joy of knowing that I willingly sent money to a company that I find as morally repulsive as Apple (though that's more of a personal vendetta). Or paying twice as much as needed for a computer. Or the OS X/*n?x equivalent of a bluescreen: the kernel panic.

Again, personal anecdotes are just that. They're often not indicative of everyone's experience, and your mileage may vary. I have at least one friend that just uses OS X because it's basically UNIX with a nice front-end, which I suppose I understand. But I wasn't told by the other person to "treat it like UNIX," I was told "this 'just works'." Well, it didn't "just work" for me.

 

[Pokémon Ranger ✩ Moriarty]

I would like to point out that personal anecdotes are just that.

Why yes, you...pointed that out by giving several of your own. The OP asked for opinions, so I gave mine just as you gave yours. I don't see why you're attacking me over it. :|

 

[twocows]

Why yes, you...pointed that out by giving several of your own. The OP asked for opinions, so I gave mine just as you gave yours. I don't see why you're attacking me over it. :|

I am not attacking you over it. You're adding a layer of drama that isn't there. I was simply pointing out that a personal anecdote should be taken at face value and not necessarily indicative of the bigger picture. My anecdotes served to reinforce the last thing I said: that your mileage may vary.

 

[TheAppleFreak]

I too am a gigantic fan of Macintosh. Just like Moriarty, I've owned several PCs over the course of my life. Being the family techie, I've had to deal with bluescreens, unending illegal operations and low virtual memory alerts, hardware issues, and more. For example, I worked (and am working in a few weeks) as an IT helper at my old school, and just about every computer in the building is a PC. I've had to go around and reclone harddrives because the current installation was running too slowly. I've had to undergo the hassles of cleaning viruses from malfunctioning computers. Power supply issues? Check. OS problems? Check. Combinations of both? Check, check, CHECK.

With Macs, I've never encountered any of the problems that I've listed above. I've used my Macbook to it's limits more often than not, and it still runs excellently. It's crashed a grand total of once (that wasn't even in the official OS X partition that I have; it was in a restore disk of OS X that I was trying to use to partition my HD for Windows because of file fragmentation). Most of the apps that I need run in OS X; the ones that don't are supported through WINE and VMware. Sure, a Windows addict will require some getting used to, but once they do, they won't turn back.

Get one. That's my take on it.

 

[NOOBLMAO]

>.>

...

how about Linux?

*hides*

 

[twocows]

Sure, a Windows addict will require some getting used to, but once they do, they won't turn back.

I disagree. I like Windows. I find it a pleasure to work with. Microsoft has put out tools to do almost anything imaginable, and third parties put out tools to do things past that. With a little tweaking, the command line is almost as powerful as a UNIX one, and if that's not good enough, there's Powershell, Microsoft UNIX utilities, Cygwin, MSYS, and any number of alternatives that I probably haven't even heard about. The interface is very customizable, provided you spend a few minutes figuring out how to do it. And you can tweak almost any aspect of the system if you look up what registry value or configuration file is associated with it. Windows is far more configurable than people give it credit for, and this comes from someone that uses GNU/Linux as much as Windows.

As I said in my previous post, Mac OS X was a nightmare for me to work with. Quite contrary to Windows, I couldn't do the sort of advanced customization that I had come to expect without completely removing the OS X interface and replacing it with something like LXDE (and if I'm going to do that, why not just use GNU/Linux?). I understand some people love it, but I can say that, at the very least, OS X does not suit me, and I will never use it unless I am forced to.

Personally, I have rarely (if ever) encountered any of those errors you mentioned in the over a decade I've worked with Windows (excluding ME, which actually works fine if you do a shell replacement). MSE has, so far, negated any virus threats. "OS problems" is too broad to really say much about. "Power supply issues," I believe, have more to do with faulty hardware, which hasn't ever been a problem with me except once on this laptop (and ASUS fixed it, no problem).

I understand a lot of people have problems with Windows computers, but I personally haven't seen them on my own systems, and not as commonly as you might think on others'. And I don't believe the tradeoff in software availability, platform openness, or upgrade potential is one that I, at least, would be willing to make even if Windows did give me problems.

I suppose my answer depends on whether Windows already works for you or not. If it already works just fine, you should definitely stay with it. If you have problems with it, try using OS X for a week or so and gauge your response; if you like it, then maybe that's the right decision for you.

 

[TheAppleFreak]

I disagree. I like Windows. I find it a pleasure to work with. Microsoft has put out tools to do almost anything imaginable, and third parties put out tools to do things past that. With a little tweaking, the command line is almost as powerful as a UNIX one, and if that's not good enough, there's Powershell, Microsoft UNIX utilities, Cygwin, MSYS, and any number of alternatives that I probably haven't even heard about. The interface is very customizable, provided you spend a few minutes figuring out how to do it. And you can tweak almost any aspect of the system if you look up what registry value or configuration file is associated with it. Windows is far more configurable than people give it credit for, and this comes from someone that uses GNU/Linux as much as Windows.

As I said in my previous post, Mac OS X was a nightmare for me to work with. Quite contrary to Windows, I couldn't do the sort of advanced customization that I had come to expect without completely removing the OS X interface and replacing it with something like LXDE (and if I'm going to do that, why not just use GNU/Linux?). I understand some people love it, but I can say that, at the very least, OS X does not suit me, and I will never use it unless I am forced to.

Personally, I have rarely (if ever) encountered any of those errors you mentioned in the over a decade I've worked with Windows (excluding ME, which actually works fine if you do a shell replacement). MSE has, so far, negated any virus threats. "OS problems" is too broad to really say much about. "Power supply issues," I believe, have more to do with faulty hardware, which hasn't ever been a problem with me except once on this laptop (and ASUS fixed it, no problem).

I understand a lot of people have problems with Windows computers, but I personally haven't seen them on my own systems, and not as commonly as you might think on others'. And I don't believe the tradeoff in software availability, platform openness, or upgrade potential is one that I, at least, would be willing to make even if Windows did give me problems.

I suppose my answer depends on whether Windows already works for you or not. If it already works just fine, you should definitely stay with it. If you have problems with it, try using OS X for a week or so and gauge your response; if you like it, then maybe that's the right decision for you.

When you work in IT, you see a lot of things. You'd be surprised to see how people can mess up a piece of perfectly working hardware, and turn it into a hunk of silicon that doesn't work. For example, I once had to completely wipe/reinstall a computer with XP that was so broken it couldn't even boot up. The reason? He wanted to reinstall the OS manually because he couldn't install Office (when in reality, he lacked the necessary permissions) and tried deleting all of Window's files... while in the OS. Eventually, he managed to screw up the kernel, making the system dangerously unstable. I tried loading a recovery disk in the OS, and it lacked the files and libraries required to start up the InstallShield Wizard. So, thinking that I could force the computer to open up a recovery window that would grab the required libraries from the disk without having to reinstall the OS, I force rebooted (the Start menu was corrupted at this point). When I started up, it eventually went into a command prompt. I tried loading the UI, but as the Windows logo was coming up (about 10% opacity), it flashed what I assume to be a kernel dump before shutting down.

I know both operating systems like the backs of my hands (and Linux to a smaller extent). Given my uses of a computer (music composition, occasional artistry in CS4, ROM hacking, emulation, coding, heavy multimedia use, occasional gaming, etc.), I'd say that OS X works best for my needs.

 

[twocows]

When you work in IT, you see a lot of things. You'd be surprised to see how people can mess up a piece of perfectly working hardware, and turn it into a hunk of silicon that doesn't work. For example, I once had to completely wipe/reinstall a computer with XP that was so broken it couldn't even boot up. The reason? He wanted to reinstall the OS manually because he couldn't install Office (when in reality, he lacked the necessary permissions) and tried deleting all of Window's files... while in the OS. Eventually, he managed to screw up the kernel, making the system dangerously unstable. I tried loading a recovery disk in the OS, and it lacked the files and libraries required to start up the InstallShield Wizard. So, thinking that I could force the computer to open up a recovery window that would grab the required libraries from the disk without having to reinstall the OS, I force rebooted (the Start menu was corrupted at this point). When I started up, it eventually went into a command prompt. I tried loading the UI, but as the Windows logo was coming up (about 10% opacity), it flashed what I assume to be a kernel dump before shutting down.

I know both operating systems like the backs of my hands (and Linux to a smaller extent). Given my uses of a computer (music composition, occasional artistry in CS4, ROM hacking, emulation, coding, heavy multimedia use, occasional gaming, etc.), I'd say that OS X works best for my needs.

I more or less work in IT, but I do it for free. Volunteering is good practice and looks good on a resume (plus, it's a nice thing to do). I'm not saying I don't have my share of horror stories, but they're fewer than you'd think.

 

[TheAppleFreak]

I more or less work in IT, but I do it for free. Volunteering is good practice and looks good on a resume (plus, it's a nice thing to do). I'm not saying I don't have my share of horror stories, but they're fewer than you'd think.

I only work for pay during the summers (I'm only 15, 16 in August), but I get tons of help requests that I sometimes take for free. And given that recently I'm swamped with schoolwork, I don't get to do it as much as I should.

And granted, most things are relatively minor stuff like programs that require maybe a reinstall, a glitch here or there that can be easily remedied, etc. But occasionally, I do come across tech disasters like the one I just recounted. Only once or twice, though, have I come across a case as bad as that one on an OS X or Linux computer.

 

[twocows]

I only work for pay during the summers (I'm only 15, 16 in August), but I get tons of help requests that I sometimes take for free. And given that recently I'm swamped with schoolwork, I don't get to do it as much as I should.

And granted, most things are relatively minor stuff like programs that require maybe a reinstall, a glitch here or there that can be easily remedied, etc. But occasionally, I do come across tech disasters like the one I just recounted. Only once or twice, though, have I come across a case as bad as that one on an OS X or Linux computer.

That might partially be due to the pervasiveness of Windows, though I'll admit that probably isn't the only factor.

 

[Dawn]

Perhaps you're just one of those people who make comments without actually basing them on any sort of knowledge or experience on the matter.

Provocation? Really? How sour. ;/

Allow me to point out that the discussion we had was irrelevant to the point I was making. That being said, we're done with that. If you'd like to contest the POINT (Apple abuses developers) feel free. However, I'd like to note that that would be off topic, and I'm sure the mods would appreciate us moving that to VMs without having to be asked.

Oh, and I'd like to point out I'm telling the guy he should probably use a Mac to avoid trouble with Apple's way of life, though I personally oppose developing for them period. But of course he didn't ask whether he should develop for them, so I won't be discussing that here. That's the end of my contribution here.

 

[blackhog]

i have a mac and in my mac comp i have windows and machintosh so idk what to say to u i guess u can buy a mac but if u install windows to it, well.... do in ur own risk

 

[Deleted member 12729]

Provocation? Really? How sour. ;/

Allow me to point out that the discussion we had was irrelevant to the point I was making. That being said, we're done with that. If you'd like to contest the POINT (Apple abuses developers) feel free. However, I'd like to note that that would be off topic, and I'm sure the mods would appreciate us moving that to VMs without having to be asked.

Oh, and I'd like to point out I'm telling the guy he should probably use a Mac to avoid trouble with Apple's way of life, though I personally oppose developing for them period. But of course he didn't ask whether he should develop for them, so I won't be discussing that here. That's the end of my contribution here.

'Apple abuses developers'? Where did you get that from? Reading articles on the web about people whining that they got their app rejected? Are you a developer?

Or, again, do you simply have no experience on the matter and are you basing that 'point' off of someone else's view that was most likely distorted (as always) by the media?

If you're not a developer then you have absolutely not seen how Apple 'treats' its developers.

 

[Pokémon Ranger ✩ Moriarty]

Welp, I've had the overnight to think about a few more Pros & Cons, so I figured I'd share them. Again, just trying to help. :|

● If a program crashes on a Mac (rare, but it does indeed happen) then there is a handy Force Quit button which, unlike Window's End Program button, does actually close the program. Within about two seconds. The first time this happened, I was genuinely stunned - I was too used to clicking End Program End Program End Program for minutes on end whilst Windows tried to decide what I was asking it to do. Helpful!

● I don't know where the OP lives, but I have two Apple stores near to my hometown, and whenever I have a problem I can just walk right in and ask for some free advice from properly-trained people. This is unlike the Windows help-line, which charges an oodle of money for basic questions which they normally can't help with anyway.

● Are you sure you want to do this? Whoever came up with this dialogue box in Vista/7 needs to be shot.

● Programs such as Parallels can run Windows just fine, so if you desperately need something you can only do in Windows, you're not stuffed.

● Pages is far, far easier to use than Word. For example, I have been applying for a lot of jobs recently, and I made myself a CV on Pages for printing, and a CV on mum's Microsoft Word for e-mailing to companies. (Pages can export to .docx, but a load of companies are still behind with .doc). It took me ten minutes on Pages. It took me an hour and a half on Word, because most of the options I needed weren't anywhere that made any logical sense. As twocows said, your mileage may vary, but as the Macintosh was originally developed for more visually creative people, I find their programs far easier to use.

● Software Update. It politely asks whether or not you wish to install new updates, and warns you that certain updates may force a restart. It then allows you to choose which updates you require. This is far better than Windows, which just throws up a dialogue box telling you that it updated itself and you need to restart now. And that if you don't, it will simply keep reminding you every ten minutes. When I was in the middle of classwork, this was just plain infuriating.

● And just a list of programs I use every day on the Mac. Not to prove ~superiority~ or anything, just to give an idea of my software environment: Google Chrome (free); Mail (free); Microsoft Messenger (free); Adium (free); Adobe Photoshop CS4 (student edition; paid); VLC Media Player (free); iTunes (free); iPhoto (part of iWork '09; paid); Pages (iWork '09; paid); Scrivener (paid); Tweetie (free); Steam (freeish); The Sims 2 (paid).

 

[Archer]

When you work in IT, you see a lot of things. You'd be surprised to see how people can mess up a piece of perfectly working hardware, and turn it into a hunk of silicon that doesn't work. For example, I once had to completely wipe/reinstall a computer with XP that was so broken it couldn't even boot up. The reason? He wanted to reinstall the OS manually because he couldn't install Office (when in reality, he lacked the necessary permissions) and tried deleting all of Window's files... while in the OS. Eventually, he managed to screw up the kernel, making the system dangerously unstable. I tried loading a recovery disk in the OS, and it lacked the files and libraries required to start up the InstallShield Wizard. So, thinking that I could force the computer to open up a recovery window that would grab the required libraries from the disk without having to reinstall the OS, I force rebooted (the Start menu was corrupted at this point). When I started up, it eventually went into a command prompt. I tried loading the UI, but as the Windows logo was coming up (about 10% opacity), it flashed what I assume to be a kernel dump before shutting down.

Vista/7 won't let you do that.

It's worth mentioning, as far as I've seen, that Bootcamp presents a learning curve from simple dual-booting.

In regards to graphics, the MBPs aren't slouches, but if you need to go higher, you have no choice but to get an Asus/HP/Toshiba that give the option for high-end graphics. Asus currently has a laptop with a 5870 in it, which will laugh at anything for the next 3 years. if you have the $2000 to throw at it.

Also, correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't battery life in Windows on a Mac a lot lower than in OSX? So the battery life may not be quite as good as tests may say. Just keep that in mind.

The new HPs look a lot like the MBPs if aesthetics is a concern. They have the same keys, slim, smooth design and big multi-touchpads. Battery life isn't as good, but you may want to compare with a Windows Mac, as stated before. There may be less of a gap. Plus, you are going to get better specs for the money. So you may have enough left over to opt for a bigger battery on the HP.

If you find something, run it past us all first.

Good luck.

Oh, and twocows, the low-end Thinkpads are rubbish. Sure, the high-end ones are great, but the budget series have really poor build quality. The bodies flex and the keyboards don't last.

Welp, I've had the overnight to think about a few more Pros & Cons, so I figured I'd share them. Again, just trying to help. :|

● If a program crashes on a Mac (rare, but it does indeed happen) then there is a handy Force Quit button which, unlike Window's End Program button, does actually close the program. Within about two seconds. The first time this happened, I was genuinely stunned - I was too used to clicking End Program End Program End Program for minutes on end whilst Windows tried to decide what I was asking it to do. Helpful!
Vista and Seven are a lot better with this. Granted, it's an issue, but more often than not, the programs can revive. Often, if they die completely, they WILL crash and close.
● I don't know where the OP lives, but I have two Apple stores near to my hometown, and whenever I have a problem I can just walk right in and ask for some free advice from properly-trained people. This is unlike the Windows help-line, which charges an oodle of money for basic questions which they normally can't help with anyway.
I can't argue this. Windows help is not as accessible in the flesh. Although there are far more Windows users and oodles of help on the net.
● Are you sure you want to do this? Whoever came up with this dialogue box in Vista/7 needs to be shot.
It's a security feature. OSX makes you enter a password for updates or major changes, doesn't it?
● Programs such as Parallels can run Windows just fine, so if you desperately need something you can only do in Windows, you're not stuffed.
Depends on what you are doing. Graphics work is not great in virtualised environments.
● Pages is far, far easier to use than Word. For example, I have been applying for a lot of jobs recently, and I made myself a CV on Pages for printing, and a CV on mum's Microsoft Word for e-mailing to companies. (Pages can export to .docx, but a load of companies are still behind with .doc). It took me ten minutes on Pages. It took me an hour and a half on Word, because most of the options I needed weren't anywhere that made any logical sense. As twocows said, your mileage may vary, but as the Macintosh was originally developed for more visually creative people, I find their programs far easier to use.
Was this word 2003 or 2007/2010? Because the latter are far more intuitive.
● Software Update. It politely asks whether or not you wish to install new updates, and warns you that certain updates may force a restart. It then allows you to choose which updates you require. This is far better than Windows, which just throws up a dialogue box telling you that it updated itself and you need to restart now. And that if you don't, it will simply keep reminding you every ten minutes. When I was in the middle of classwork, this was just plain infuriating.
This is an option for Windows. It asks you on installation (and you can easily change later) if you want to automatically update, or just notify you, as mine is set to. You can give it a certain period of time to renotify you, even if you have set them to auto.
● And just a list of programs I use every day on the Mac. Not to prove ~superiority~ or anything, just to give an idea of my software environment: Google Chrome (free); Mail (free); Microsoft Messenger (free); Adium (free); Adobe Photoshop CS4 (student edition; paid); VLC Media Player (free); iTunes (free); iPhoto (part of iWork '09; paid); Pages (iWork '09; paid); Scrivener (paid); Tweetie (free); Steam (freeish); The Sims 2 (paid).

The italicised aren't cross platform. That's it.

Again, not trying to be a Microsoftarian, but not all of these points are entirely valid. And guys, comparing Snow Leopard to XP is just stupid, so don't do it - OSX has changed a lot in the last 8 years, too. Not pointing fingers, just a warning.

 

[Captain Fabio]

>.>

...

how about Linux?

*hides*

*Thwak*

I too am a gigantic fan of Macintosh.

Never would have guessed =P

'Apple abuses developers'? Where did you get that from? Reading articles on the web about people whining that they got their app rejected? Are you a developer?

Or, again, do you simply have no experience on the matter and are you basing that 'point' off of someone else's view that was most likely distorted (as always) by the media?

If you're not a developer then you have absolutely not seen how Apple 'treats' its developers.

I 100% agree.
If you just throw some code together and take it seriously for what it is, then you are most likely going to be rejected.

Apple are good to their developers, even I know that.

Welp, I've had the overnight to think about a few more Pros & Cons, so I figured I'd share them. Again, just trying to help. :|

● If a program crashes on a Mac (rare, but it does indeed happen) then there is a handy Force Quit button which, unlike Window's End Program button, does actually close the program. Within about two seconds. The first time this happened, I was genuinely stunned - I was too used to clicking End Program End Program End Program for minutes on end whilst Windows tried to decide what I was asking it to do. Helpful!

ROFL!
That made me laugh!

● I don't know where the OP lives, but I have two Apple stores near to my hometown, and whenever I have a problem I can just walk right in and ask for some free advice from properly-trained people. This is unlike the Windows help-line, which charges an oodle of money for basic questions which they normally can't help with anyway.

I live in Bristol and there is a Apple shop in the centre of town, easy to get to. The thing with the Apple store, they know what they are on about, Windows don't really have their own store :/

● Are you sure you want to do this? Whoever came up with this dialogue box in Vista/7 needs to be shot.

Agreed. One annoying thing is if you need to run something as an admin, and a stupid box pops up and blackens everything. So annoying when you are trying to do something. I know you can turn it off, but still ><'

● Programs such as Parallels can run Windows just fine, so if you desperately need something you can only do in Windows, you're not stuffed.

Meh, I won't run things in Parallel, because I don't really like it. Boot camp for the win!

● Pages is far, far easier to use than Word. For example, I have been applying for a lot of jobs recently, and I made myself a CV on Pages for printing, and a CV on mum's Microsoft Word for e-mailing to companies. (Pages can export to .docx, but a load of companies are still behind with .doc). It took me ten minutes on Pages. It took me an hour and a half on Word, because most of the options I needed weren't anywhere that made any logical sense. As twocows said, your mileage may vary, but as the Macintosh was originally developed for more visually creative people, I find their programs far easier to use.

Well, I am going to be using a lot of creative programs, Maya, the Unreal engine and others. So it could be a good call, still thinking though!

● Software Update. It politely asks whether or not you wish to install new updates, and warns you that certain updates may force a restart. It then allows you to choose which updates you require. This is far better than Windows, which just throws up a dialogue box telling you that it updated itself and you need to restart now. And that if you don't, it will simply keep reminding you every ten minutes. When I was in the middle of classwork, this was just plain infuriating.

Ahh man. I know, it is so annoying.

● And just a list of programs I use every day on the Mac. Not to prove ~superiority~ or anything, just to give an idea of my software environment: Google Chrome (free); Mail (free); Microsoft Messenger (free); Adium (free); Adobe Photoshop CS4 (student edition; paid); VLC Media Player (free); iTunes (free); iPhoto (part of iWork '09; paid); Pages (iWork '09; paid); Scrivener (paid); Tweetie (free); Steam (freeish); The Sims 2 (paid).

Yah, I use a lot of them already, so it is good. Lol at freeish Steam.

I will look into the other options when I have some free time to sit down.
Thanks for this guys!
Keep it coming!

 

[Pokémon Ranger ✩ Moriarty]

I live in Bristol and there is a Apple shop in the centre of town, easy to get to. The thing with the Apple store, they know what they are on about, Windows don't really have their own store :/

You'd think with all of the profit Microsoft has made over the years, they could afford to open some specialist stores around the world. Instead UK customers have to rely on places like PC World, which are over-priced and, basically, a bit dumb. Luckily we have a small shop called Camlab in Swindon which are fantastic for PC repairs, but we are definitely not the norm. :|

 

[Zet]

Lets see for Windows....

Not built on BSD and it has a great selection of games you can play, it can also do everything a Mac can do and more, and let's not forget flac support :D and finally msgplus!


Oh and OP, you're probably still gonna drain the battery in bootcamp.


inb4OS/2Warp