20 reasons

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Kmax82

Diamond Member
Feb 23, 2002
3,008
0
0
www.kennonbickhart.com
For me, I really like the plug 'n' play aspect that Apple products have. That usually carries over to OS X. Everything just seems to work.

Even with Windows 7, I still find that it's a hassle to install new services. Troubleshoot how they work, etc... For instance, if you need a web server on your system, it's a simple checkbox. But if you want to dive deeper into it, you have all the Terminal Apache commands that you can use, plus you can edit the server files. On Windows you have to deal with IIS, there isn't a simplified option. If I want to use remote desktop, again.. just a simple checkbox. However, with Windows you have to install UltraVNC, or another system similar to that to get Remote Desktop support.

I'm not saying Windows is bad, but for me, OS X gives me the ease of use, if I want it.. but if I want to get geeky with Terminal hacks, then I have that ability as well. :) To each their own.
 

sourceninja

Diamond Member
Mar 8, 2005
8,805
65
91
I doubt I have 20, but let's see

1) It's UNIX!!!!
2) TextMate
3) Xcode / awesome dev tools for iphone and osx
4) I enjoy the interface more then gnome or windows
5) The interface is consistant unlike the above.
6) terminal.app (goes with #1)
7) fink and macports means all my favorite linux apps in one place
8) I think blizzard games look better on macs
9) More gaming support then linux because of more native games + crossover games/wine
10) Time machine - it's F'in awesome.
11) Spotlight is also awesome and way better then any other search I've used on linux or windows.
12) ease of software installation.
13) I think the interfaces for adobe products look better on osx
14) Apple pushes the cutting edge in terms of new OS features. As a developer I the changes coming in 10.6 impress me more then the changes coming in the next ubuntu or windows release.
15) it comes with ruby, python, and java with hooks for writing gui apps using them.
16) I've fallen madly in love with objective C
17) I love the dashboard!
18) I love safari and it works like crap on windows
19) bash scripting!
20) Can you tell I'm a unix developer ?
 

BentValve

Diamond Member
Dec 26, 2001
4,190
0
0
Once you go Mac you'll never go back, a friend of mine had been telling me this for a long time. On 5/30 I bought a 24" iMac, I did miss Windows a little at first , as time went my I got more comfortable. I had been a Windows PC user for 12+ years. Its going on 3 weeks now on the iMac and my friend was correct, I will never go back.
 

secretanchitman

Diamond Member
Apr 11, 2001
9,353
23
91
1. you can easily/natively dual boot xp/vista/7 (64 bit too if you want)
2. blizzard games work (there goes my mac gaming issue :) )
3. easy to maintain, no virus software needed either
4. build quality is better than most pcs
5. tech support/warranty is amazing (just drop it off to any apple store)
6. snow leopard is only $29 to upgrade (compared to vista/7 upgrade pricing)
7. multimedia stuff works awesome on mac - photos/videos/music
8. apple makes great software for multimedia as well, like aperture, iphoto, itunes (better than the windows port), etc
9. major windows software are also for mac (office 2008, adobe CS4)
10. stability is much better on osx than on windows (never had a single crash, or "BSOD")
11. everything just works when you plug stuff in (video camera, printer), no extra drivers needed
12. if you dont want to dual boot, you can run virtualization for windows

and so on and so forth. the downside is that they are a bit more expensive than normal pc laptops/desktops, but the price difference you pay over them is completely worth it.
 

MotionMan

Lifer
Jan 11, 2006
17,124
12
81
Originally posted by: clarkey01
I was alluding more to the fact I can pick my own components and get pretty much any configuration I want. Also you can install windows on to any machine 9/10, with Apple you 'HAVE' to get a mac ( Yeah I know Hackintosh)

Which means you do not 'HAVE' to get a Mac. So, I do not understand your point.

MotionMan (Windows user for 10+ years until about a month ago. Now a Mac user running Windows on Parallels for two work programs. Fanboy of neither.)
 

clarkey01

Diamond Member
Feb 4, 2004
3,419
1
0
Originally posted by: MotionMan
Originally posted by: clarkey01
I was alluding more to the fact I can pick my own components and get pretty much any configuration I want. Also you can install windows on to any machine 9/10, with Apple you 'HAVE' to get a mac ( Yeah I know Hackintosh)

Which means you do not 'HAVE' to get a Mac. So, I do not understand your point.

MotionMan (Windows user for 10+ years until about a month ago. Now a Mac user running Windows on Parallels for two work programs. Fanboy of neither.)

Well is it legal for a start ? And how easy is it to guarantee that it will work? from my understanding you have to be careful with what components you pick and configuration?

I'd put this as a win for PC as I have yet to come across any issues when installing Ubuntu or 98,ME,2K,XP,Vista and W7RC
 

clarkey01

Diamond Member
Feb 4, 2004
3,419
1
0
Originally posted by: Kmax82
For me, I really like the plug 'n' play aspect that Apple products have. That usually carries over to OS X. Everything just seems to work.

Even with Windows 7, I still find that it's a hassle to install new services.
Troubleshoot how they work, etc... For instance, if you need a web server on your system, it's a simple checkbox. But if you want to dive deeper into it, you have all the Terminal Apache commands that you can use, plus you can edit the server files. On Windows you have to deal with IIS, there isn't a simplified option. If I want to use remote desktop, again.. just a simple checkbox. However, with Windows you have to install UltraVNC, or another system similar to that to get Remote Desktop support.

I'm not saying Windows is bad, but for me, OS X gives me the ease of use, if I want it.. but if I want to get geeky with Terminal hacks, then I have that ability as well. :) To each their own.

Funny I put the RC on my brothers machine (2000+ XP, 1GB) with some old peripherals and it found all the drivers no sweat.

 

MotionMan

Lifer
Jan 11, 2006
17,124
12
81
Originally posted by: clarkey01
Originally posted by: MotionMan
Originally posted by: clarkey01
I was alluding more to the fact I can pick my own components and get pretty much any configuration I want. Also you can install windows on to any machine 9/10, with Apple you 'HAVE' to get a mac ( Yeah I know Hackintosh)

Which means you do not 'HAVE' to get a Mac. So, I do not understand your point.

MotionMan (Windows user for 10+ years until about a month ago. Now a Mac user running Windows on Parallels for two work programs. Fanboy of neither.)

Well is it legal for a start ? And how easy is it to guarantee that it will work? from my understanding you have to be careful with what components you pick and configuration?

I'd put this as a win for PC as I have yet to come across any issues when installing Ubuntu or 98,ME,2K,XP,Vista and W7RC

If true, you have truly been blessed, my son.

MotionMan
 

TheStu

Moderator<br>Mobile Devices & Gadgets
Moderator
Sep 15, 2004
12,089
45
91
Originally posted by: clarkey01
Originally posted by: MotionMan
Originally posted by: clarkey01
I was alluding more to the fact I can pick my own components and get pretty much any configuration I want. Also you can install windows on to any machine 9/10, with Apple you 'HAVE' to get a mac ( Yeah I know Hackintosh)

Which means you do not 'HAVE' to get a Mac. So, I do not understand your point.

MotionMan (Windows user for 10+ years until about a month ago. Now a Mac user running Windows on Parallels for two work programs. Fanboy of neither.)

Well is it legal for a start ? And how easy is it to guarantee that it will work? from my understanding you have to be careful with what components you pick and configuration?

I'd put this as a win for PC as I have yet to come across any issues when installing Ubuntu or 98,ME,2K,XP,Vista and W7RC

If you pick the right components then you will have no problems. It probably has to do with the no doubt limited pre-programmed drivers in OS X for components beyond what Apple uses.

My hackintosh works great, but it did take a few tries before i got OS X installed properly.
 

mmntech

Lifer
Sep 20, 2007
17,501
12
0
Originally posted by: MotionMan
Originally posted by: clarkey01
Originally posted by: MotionMan
Originally posted by: clarkey01
I was alluding more to the fact I can pick my own components and get pretty much any configuration I want. Also you can install windows on to any machine 9/10, with Apple you 'HAVE' to get a mac ( Yeah I know Hackintosh)

Which means you do not 'HAVE' to get a Mac. So, I do not understand your point.

MotionMan (Windows user for 10+ years until about a month ago. Now a Mac user running Windows on Parallels for two work programs. Fanboy of neither.)

Well is it legal for a start ? And how easy is it to guarantee that it will work? from my understanding you have to be careful with what components you pick and configuration?

I'd put this as a win for PC as I have yet to come across any issues when installing Ubuntu or 98,ME,2K,XP,Vista and W7RC

If true, you have truly been blessed, my son.

MotionMan

lol. I was at war with Windows XP from launch until SP2 came out. Amazing how one small issue or mistake tended to explode into the OS becoming unusable. I kept having to do clean installs. That was back when I wasn't nearly as knowledgeable about computers as I am today. Windows always works fine for me now but that's because I learned what to do and what not to do. Score another point for Mac. In the four years I've been using OS X, I haven't had a single hiccough.
 

clarkey01

Diamond Member
Feb 4, 2004
3,419
1
0
Originally posted by: MotionMan
Originally posted by: clarkey01
Originally posted by: MotionMan
Originally posted by: clarkey01
I was alluding more to the fact I can pick my own components and get pretty much any configuration I want. Also you can install windows on to any machine 9/10, with Apple you 'HAVE' to get a mac ( Yeah I know Hackintosh)

Which means you do not 'HAVE' to get a Mac. So, I do not understand your point.

MotionMan (Windows user for 10+ years until about a month ago. Now a Mac user running Windows on Parallels for two work programs. Fanboy of neither.)

Well is it legal for a start ? And how easy is it to guarantee that it will work? from my understanding you have to be careful with what components you pick and configuration?

I'd put this as a win for PC as I have yet to come across any issues when installing Ubuntu or 98,ME,2K,XP,Vista and W7RC

If true, you have truly been blessed, my son.

MotionMan

Would you believe me more if I told you about 2 of the 100's installs were ME:D, about 50 of them were XP ? These days I take images and deploy them at work with altiris, no issues and so much quicker.

 

BriGy86

Diamond Member
Sep 10, 2004
4,537
1
91
What is everyone's problem with UAC? It makes things more secure and Linux and Mac have been doing it for years. Which makes me confused even further because someone said Mac doesn't have "UAC", sure it's not called that but Mac has the same function.
 

TheStu

Moderator<br>Mobile Devices & Gadgets
Moderator
Sep 15, 2004
12,089
45
91
Originally posted by: BriGy86
What is everyone's problem with UAC? It makes things more secure and Linux and Mac have been doing it for years. Which makes me confused even further because someone said Mac doesn't have "UAC", sure it's not called that but Mac has the same function.

It is how the UAC is implemented in Vista that annoys people, and how frequently it would come up.

You do something, your entire screen greys, you can't click anything, and you have to respond to the dialog box. That is UAC, and that is freaking annoying.

OS X and linux, the dialog box still comes up, because what else would you use? However, the screen doesn't grey, and I can ignore it and that application for as long as I want.

Originally posted by: IHAVEAQUESTION
Why is there no registry on OSX? What do they use instead?

They use the library since it is unix based. All the settings, and other things that you would find in the registry in Windows are instead separated by function and application in the Library on OS X. They are also maintained on both a system wide and per-user basis.
 

lokiju

Lifer
May 29, 2003
18,526
5
0
Anything you can do on a Mac you can do on a Windows PC and for less money, that said there's nothing whatsoever wrong with having a Mac and you can very easily dual boot Windows and OSX.

Um, no BIOS to mess with.

Hell there's really no good reason to use one over the other if money isn't a factor.

I use both all the time and switch between the two and honestly it doesn't matter to me at all which OS I'm using as long as I can accomplish what I want.

I have a Mac Pro running Leopard and Server 2008 and another Mac Pro running Leopard and Vista and use both on a regular basis and switch between both OSes.
 

clarkey01

Diamond Member
Feb 4, 2004
3,419
1
0
Originally posted by: lokiju
Anything you can do on a Mac you can do on a Windows PC and for less money, that said there's nothing whatsoever wrong with having a Mac and you can very easily dual boot Windows and OSX.

Um, no BIOS to mess with.

Hell there's really no good reason to use one over the other if money isn't a factor.

I use both all the time and switch between the two and honestly it doesn't matter to me at all which OS I'm using as long as I can accomplish what I want.

I have a Mac Pro running Leopard and Server 2008 and another Mac Pro running Leopard and Vista and use both on a regular basis and switch between both OSes.

Overclocking
 

secretanchitman

Diamond Member
Apr 11, 2001
9,353
23
91
Originally posted by: clarkey01
Originally posted by: lokiju
Anything you can do on a Mac you can do on a Windows PC and for less money, that said there's nothing whatsoever wrong with having a Mac and you can very easily dual boot Windows and OSX.

Um, no BIOS to mess with.

Hell there's really no good reason to use one over the other if money isn't a factor.

I use both all the time and switch between the two and honestly it doesn't matter to me at all which OS I'm using as long as I can accomplish what I want.

I have a Mac Pro running Leopard and Server 2008 and another Mac Pro running Leopard and Vista and use both on a regular basis and switch between both OSes.

Overclocking

i think there was a free utility in osx that will overclock a mac pro (dunno why anyone would overclock the rest of the lineup - its already putting out so much heat), but if i remember correctly, it was in german...
 

Kmax82

Diamond Member
Feb 23, 2002
3,008
0
0
www.kennonbickhart.com
You can overclock if you build a Hackintosh. I just don't see the need to overclock anymore. Yes you irk out a little bit of performance, but the difference is negligible if you have over a 2 Ghz processor. I understand the tinkering that people want to do via OC'ing, but I think it's kinda a moot point. I customized my dad's computer so that it can run OS X and it has a 1.86Ghz C2D, 2 GB RAM, 250GB SATA HDD, etc... and it runs basic programs just as fast as my 2.4 Ghz C2D. So for the majority of general use, you won't notice the difference. Plus I feel the extra speed doesn't warrant the potential failing of the hardware.

Again.. all my own opinion.. you don't have to agree with my stance.
 

TheStu

Moderator<br>Mobile Devices & Gadgets
Moderator
Sep 15, 2004
12,089
45
91
Dude, where the hell did the OP run away to?
 

Kmax82

Diamond Member
Feb 23, 2002
3,008
0
0
www.kennonbickhart.com
Originally posted by: KeypoX
Originally posted by: IHAVEAQUESTION
Why is there no registry on OSX? What do they use instead?

very unorganized libraries.

That's a matter of opinion as well. They do use Libraries, but I, for one, don't think they're as unorganized (or as convoluted) as the Registry.

1) They're in plain english, so depending on what you're looking for you can find it.
2) The plists are XML based, so it's also more understandable than USER_SCAN_DISPLAY_001: 000x01
3) One botched file in the Library doesn't cause the system to crash. Where as with the Registry you can mess up a single record and screw up the whole system.
 

clarkey01

Diamond Member
Feb 4, 2004
3,419
1
0
Originally posted by: Kmax82
You can overclock if you build a Hackintosh. I just don't see the need to overclock anymore. Yes you irk out a little bit of performance, but the difference is negligible if you have over a 2 Ghz processor. I understand the tinkering that people want to do via OC'ing, but I think it's kinda a moot point. I customized my dad's computer so that it can run OS X and it has a 1.86Ghz C2D, 2 GB RAM, 250GB SATA HDD, etc... and it runs basic programs just as fast as my 2.4 Ghz C2D. So for the majority of general use, you won't notice the difference. Plus I feel the extra speed doesn't warrant the potential failing of the hardware.

Again.. all my own opinion.. you don't have to agree with my stance.

I get 600 Mhz for free on stock and I bet with this being a late chip I could get 3.5 to 3.6 if I tried....Fair enough if you can't see the benefit.