Apple vs.

[puros_bran]

A comment made me think about this earlier.

You boys know it's not Apple vs MS anymore, don't you?

Apple vs Google is where all the fighting is.
MS has been relegated to a back up role in that arena. Oddly enough they usually side with Apple.

 

[deepbass9]

I guess the capitulation of MS is complete now.


So the whole thing really breaks down to free market vs autocracy (overly simplified).


My attraction to PC's has always been the fact that you're not locked into this hardware or that software. That there were hosts of vendors supplying both, and enough choices to make your head spin.


Other's attraction to Apple has always been design over high level control; ease of use over the ability to do more.


Many will blast me for this, I'm sure, but Apple seems to be the choice of sheeple.


Let me redeem myself in their eyes by saying Apple managed to accomplish what the free market PC world didn't...a consistent line of products that people are will to pay top dollar for that have high level design factors.


From day one, with the iPod and it's treatment of mp3 files (can only copy to x number of devices, DMR security software, etc.), and the interface (obligatory iTune use, no drag and drop, limited ripping controls), they lost me. Are they nice devices, yes. Are they for me....even now after all the changes, I can't get the bitter taste out of my mouth...so, no. I'm also not an "upgrade to a new model every year or two" kinda guy...that's why I stay in the PC realm.


MS (Intel) sure did miss the boat, though....they could have owned the market had they had more focus...although, arguably, that's not what they really wanted.


IMHO, and all that jazz...

 

[puros_bran]

You know, I used to be in that camp... BUT...

For all the eyecandy Apple really does have alot of power under the hood if you bother to lift it. Most people don't.

 

[deepbass9]

Yes, the new "open" Apple is certainly a different beast.


But for me, it was too late...

 

[Josjor]

From day one, with the iPod and it's treatment of mp3 files (can only copy to x number of devices, DMR security software, etc.), and the interface (obligatory iTune use, no drag and drop, limited ripping controls), they lost me. Are they nice devices, yes. Are they for me....even now after all the changes, I can't get the bitter taste out of my mouth...so, no. I'm also not an "upgrade to a new model every year or two" kinda guy...that's why I stay in the PC realm.

This. Their tie to iTunes has always irritated me, especially when, before the iPod became so common, I had already ripped roughly 400 cd's in WMA format onto my windows machine. I had no desire to convert all those files and have done fine without doing so. Oh, and also no radio tuner on the iPod. I'm an NPR junky and don't want to fool with podcasts when I can just turn on the radio.

I would also agree on the sheeple thing...........to an extent. It is a bit of a cult and I really do believe that Apple (well, at least under Jobs reign) could have advertised a turd polished to a glossy white finish and there would have been a line around the block to buy them at $900.00 a pop, simply because it carried the Apple moniker.

Hmmmmmm. The iPoo.

 

[MisterE]

^Or the iWad.... eeew.... :suspect:

 

[standardtoaster]

I'm not an Apple fan at all (overreaching control and DRM in my opinion) , but I have to admit that without the "i" innovations I wouldn't be posting this from my beloved Android platform.

 

[Preacher]

I'm not an Apple fan at all (overreaching control and DRM in my opinion) , but I have to admit that without the "i" innovations I wouldn't be posting this from my beloved Android platform.

Can you explain this statement?

 

[jgmitchell]

As a network engineer I love my Macbook Pro. Before this I had a Dell running a Windows 7 beta release and before that it was the same Dell with Fedora Linux installed.

I'm not an Apple fan at all (overreaching control and DRM in my opinion) , but I have to admit that without the "i" innovations I wouldn't be posting this from my beloved Android platform.

I think this is because iDevices showed what was possible and how easy (idiot proof) consumer devices could be. Apple raised the bar on design. Tech devices no longer had to be a clunky black box.

 

[Kyle Weiss]

Apple vs (???) has been the 21st century's answer to "Ford vs Chevy."

I buy what I can afford, and that sure as hell ain't Apple. Also, much of my work/music software isn't available on Mac.

"Install Windows 7 on a Mac, then!" So...I get to pay for all the irritation of MS products with the expense of a Mac computer for what advantage? Right. To look hip at my coffee shop.

No.

Google is "Honda" in this continuing car metaphor, anyway. We'll see.

 

[jgmitchell]

"Install Windows 7 on a Mac, then!" So...I get to pay for all the irritation of MS products with the expense of a Mac computer for what advantage? Right. To look hip at my coffee shop.

No.

Google is "Honda" in this continuing car metaphor, anyway. We'll see.

:lol!:

I can't remember the last time I took my laptop with me someplace like a coffee shop. I leave my house to get away from technology, it's the reason God invented the outdoors.

 

[Kyle Weiss]

"Install Windows 7 on a Mac, then!" So...I get to pay for all the irritation of MS products with the expense of a Mac computer for what advantage? Right. To look hip at my coffee shop.

No.

Google is "Honda" in this continuing car metaphor, anyway. We'll see.

:lol!:

I can't remember the last time I took my laptop with me someplace like a coffee shop. I leave my house to get away from technology, it's the reason God invented the outdoors.

...so, so true. I, however, roast coffee in another part of my current life, so I get to see others who are not so keen on "unplugging..." ...and overcompensating style...

 

[Jimbo]

Gotta say a few words in defense of Apple:

I need a high end processor and graphics for my job. When I priced out computers with the best chips and fastest graphics, the Apple cost the same as the others, namely HP. When you get to the high end laptops cost is no longer an issue, they are pretty comparable. And Mac beats PC hands down in every arena. I haven't had virus protection for the past eight years. My computer ALWAYS works. My new Macbook Pro is machined out of a solid block of aluminum. When I took the training for a high-end 3D CAD-based software I use, I brought my Mac and used it as a PC. My Mac ran windows programs faster than any of the Windows machines did. I use my laptop every single day for business and home use.

Yeah, I'm a fan. But not a sheeple. I use that term a lot too, but in this case I choose Mac because it gives me superior performance is every way. I still use high end PCs when I visit customers and it's like chiseling code in stone. I prefer a machine that just works all the time, whenever I want it to, and will do anything I want it to. And with the new Parallels, I can run any Windows program seamlessly as if it's a MAc program, so I get all the advantages of both worlds.

The only disadvantage I can see is cost in the low-end market. An entry-level Mac can cost two or three times what a pretty good PC costs. But then you'd probably have to replace the PC two or three times before the Mac wears out. (hehehe....couldn't resist....)

 

[Preacher]

Who cares??? This has been discussed so much that I don't think that anything new can be added. This is America where we have a choice. Buy what you want, what you can afford and/or what works for you. For those of you for whom Apple is a better choice, GREAT!!! For those of us who do what we need to do with a PC or an Android device), GREAT!!! I feel the same way about phones: buy what suits your needs and tastes. I didn't care for the iPhone, but that doesn't mean the phone is bad, it means I preferred something else. Both platforms are great platforms. I like android for the features, not because I think i'ts better that iOS. Your choice is your choice! Remember this: the only thing that keeps any of these companies keep delivering a stellar product is the competition between them. Competition breeds innovation, and no matter what we choose, the consumer wins!!

 

[Vito]

...ease of use over the ability to do more.

Brothah deepbass9:

It just goes to show you how out of touch I am. I honestly thought that such false alternatives had finally been put to rest once and for all. There might have been some basis for them when the Mac hardware relied on IBM's PowerPC architecture, but that hasn't been true for, what...the last 5 years now. Obviously I was mistaken.

I have been both a Windows user and a Mac user. I had both systems installed on my last computer (a Power Mac G5 DP 2.5), and I used them both. I could install both on my new Mac Pro if I had any need to run Windows, but I don't. My personal preference happens to be OS X, but that's like a preference in pipes or tobacco. It's just silly to make deprecating characterizations of someone's preferences, and though I might do plenty of silly things, that's not one of them.

The fact that I no longer need to run Windows doesn't mean that it's any less useful. In fact, I think Windows is a much better (and definitely much more secure) OS than it was when I first started using it. The fact that I no longer need to run Windows means that the Mac has become vastly more useful. There are no applications I need to run that aren't available for the Mac.

Many will blast me for this, I'm sure, but Apple seems to be the choice of sheeple.

Blast you? Nah. What good would that do? You believe it because you're willing to make characterizations of people you don't know based on their use of systems you don't use and don't understand. The truth is available, if you were inclined to seek it for yourself. But you might have to give up your prejudices about the kind of people who use Macs.

...Apple managed to accomplish what the free market PC world didn't...

You must be using a completely different definition of "free market" than the one I use. Apparently you believe that "proprietary" and "free market" are antithetical concepts. In fact, there could be NO proprietary systems if there WEREN'T a free market. The state would have a chokehold on all human interactions. Everything that was not required would be forbidden. Freedom of choice would be non-existent. I realize we're headed in that direction, but we're not there yet.

No one holds a gun to your head to buy an Apple product. People buy Macs because they do what their users want them to do. Period. I know plenty of folks who've switched, not because they have more dollars than sense, not because they don't know how computers work, not because they're "sheeple", but because they simply want a tool that does the job differently.

I'm also not an "upgrade to a new model every year or two" kinda guy...that's why I stay in the PC realm.

This one is the most bizarre of all. I had my last Mac for 6 years before I upgraded. I had the one before that for 5 years. One of them is still in use as a server. The very reason why you "stay in the PC realm" is the very reason why I'm perfectly happy in the Mac realm.

Whaddya think? Is it possible we're BOTH right? Or does your world-view require that someone has to be "wrong"...or be a "sheeple"?

:joker:

 

[Preacher]

Your points are right on point. I have used the same Windows laptop for 5 years and still use it every day, It's getting harder to find folks who repsect others choices. I see this on almost every forum I'm a member of. I'm into photography so it is always Nikon vs Canon. I have always maintained that choosing one option doesn't mean that the other option is bad. Let's enjoy our choices and allow others to enjoy theirs.

 

[standardtoaster]

From my years of technology fanaticism I've learned that there is no point and no way to sway peoples tech decisions. That's why whenever a relative or friend asks "what should I get" I just say "whichever you like the most." It's all about finding what works for you and your applications, that's it.

 

[deathmetal]

Apple vs Google is where all the fighting is.

And Amazon, another big player. Not to mention Twitter and Facebook.

 

[puros_bran]

You realize you are posting on threads 4-5 year old at this point?