my stepdad needs a new computer, should I get him a mac?

[Zaap]

Originally posted by: TheStu
Pssh.. whatever man, you're stupid.

As for the OP, as I have said before, Switching just for the sake of Switching is silly.

And you seem pretty dumb, and unable to read.

There's no need to 'switch' anything, since the stepdad can use EITHER OS? Is this so hard for some of you brickheads to comprehend?

The OP said nothing about the price of the gift being a factor in the decision, just a concern over compatibility.

 

[Zaap]

Originally posted by: randomlinh
if you're talking about me, I was referring to who I quoted. He said to use the mac as an excuse to leave the business app realm and "discover new things." Given the nature of what the OP's stepfather wants, it does not fit any logic.

Yes, I was talking to you about the stupid comment. The person you quoted was merely making a suggestion.

Only the OP knows what the stepfather wants, and how much he'd venture out beyond just what he knows in using a computer. The rest of us have incomplete information to go by about that. He just seemed to be asking is a Mac a valid choice. It is. I'll say it again- the stepfather can have EITHER OS, natively, boot either of them by default, and use whichever set of applications for either platform.

 

[Muadib]

Originally posted by: randomlinh
The fact of the matter is, in the corporate world, Windows is currently king.

Exactly!! If you got me anything mac, I'd tell you to return it, and get me a PC.

Buying your stepdad a mac would be a total waste of your money, and would send a message to your stepdad that you really don't know him. If you care about him, get him what he likes, not what you like.

 

[randomlinh]

Originally posted by: Zaap

Originally posted by: randomlinh
if you're talking about me, I was referring to who I quoted. He said to use the mac as an excuse to leave the business app realm and "discover new things." Given the nature of what the OP's stepfather wants, it does not fit any logic.

Yes, I was talking to you about the stupid comment. The person you quoted was merely making a suggestion.

Only the OP knows what the stepfather wants, and how much he'd venture out beyond just what he knows in using a computer. The rest of us have incomplete information to go by about that. He just seemed to be asking is a Mac a valid choice. It is. I'll say it again- the stepfather can have EITHER OS, natively, boot either of them by default, and use whichever set of applications for either platform.

And the suggestion was pretty stupid. "why not use the mac as an excuse to leave the business app realm"... that is completely absurd on so many levels. At least, in this regard of specifically asking for the corporate realm.

And yes, a macbook can dual boot. But the easist option is not to have to set that up, introducing the least variables in making sure things go smoothly. The OP implied the stepdad does not want to switch OSes, either Vista or OS X. Price has been introduced into this thread mostly on speculation, which has lead to a more general argument. No one likes to see money wasted.

 

[KeypoX]

Originally posted by: Zaap
Heh. It's really news to anyone that Vista is a dog?

Even Microsoft admits it's got major problems- why else would they pull stunts like the Mojave project to actually fool people into liking it?

I must have imagined 'upgrading' so many of my friends'/family's/co-workers laptops and PCs back to XP (at their requests, not mine) to restore their sanity- oh wait, I didn't imagine it.

There are quite a few things about Vista that are different enough to befuddle a noob used to XP, or just annoy them enough that it impacts a pleasant user experience.

I'm not even a big Mac evangelist type, far from it, but from personal experience, I can say that I've seen plenty of people have problems making the switch from XP to Vista, and yet never dealt with any major problems with anyone switching to OSX from Windows- not one. Maybe it's just me.

Its just you. I had no problem going from xp to vista. Actually i love the indexing in vista. Never have to search there program files again.

I also found the transition to osx pretty erroneous. I never really got everything I needed in mac. But for some stuff its great. Browsing the internet, chatting, playing mp3s and such.

But when it comes to work and games windows is the only way.

 

[randomlinh]

Originally posted by: KeypoX
But when it comes to work and games windows is the only way.

that all depends on what your work is. Games... yeah. heh. What didn't you find in OS X to meet your needs?

 

[Zaap]

Originally posted by: randomlinh
And the suggestion was pretty stupid. "why not use the mac as an excuse to leave the business app realm"... that is completely absurd on so many levels. At least, in this regard of specifically asking for the corporate realm.

The thing is, it's not a straight either/or suggestion. Some here seem to be arguing as if only one thing is possible with a computer- use it for creative and entertainment tasks, OR just office tasks. The reality is, a Macbook can do office tasks along side the creative every bit as much as a PC, and ironically, moreso due to the fact that it naively supports both OS's.

The OP's original concern was just would a Mac be compatible. Yes it would. Interjecting a lot of other projection on top of the simple truth of that really isn't necessary, including the price of the Mac since that wasn't the chief concern of the OP. He's already bought a Mac for another relative and I'd assume didn't see that as a waste of money.

The OP implied the stepdad does not want to switch OSes, either Vista or OS X.

Think about it- in that case, it would probably be easier to install XP on the MacBook than to install it on a lot of newer laptops which no longer support XP drivers. Once again, the Mac is NOT a bad choice, especially if we're talking about using XP.

 

[Zaap]

Originally posted by: KeypoX
Its just you. I had no problem going from xp to vista.

I'd assume though that you're probably an above average computer user, not a noob? Most power users probably won't have a problem installing or using Vista, but let's face it, not everyone is.

As far as Vista and the corporate world, it's ironic that it's bandied about as if Vista itself was the corporate standard, and some darling of the corporate world, with IT depts just clamoring for it. Hardly.

I remember when it was rumored not too long ago that even Intel itself would be saying "no thanks" to Vista deployment on their corporate machines. I know that IT at the studio I work for doesn't want to go near it- there's simply no need for it other than a massive hardware upgrade requirement in exchange for no useful gain in productivity what-so-ever.

A study of user satisfaction among corporate users showed that only 8% were satisfied with doing their jobs using Vista, compared to around 40% using XP, and over 50% using OSX. Unless someone can show where that's changed all that much, it's interesting how there's a conclusion that a machine running Vista is the default 'best choice' for business use.

In Europe, adoption rates are even lower than in the US, and I'd venture a guess that in the Middle East (where the OP's stepfather needs to travel) even less so. The idea that using Vista=the defacto standard for corporate users, isn't based on reality. And by the way, XP was adopted far faster and had far more saturation at this point in its product life, so the usual 'corporations play it safe with adopting new OS versions' argument isn't entirely the reason.

But hey, I guess the main reason so many aren't falling over themselves to adopt it for corporate use is all because Apple ran some ads dissing it. Not real, legit concerns with it, or low user satisfaction levels.

 

[TheStu]

Originally posted by: Zaap

Originally posted by: TheStu
Pssh.. whatever man, you're stupid.

As for the OP, as I have said before, Switching just for the sake of Switching is silly.

And you seem pretty dumb, and unable to read.

There's no need to 'switch' anything, since the stepdad can use EITHER OS? Is this so hard for some of you brickheads to comprehend?

The OP said nothing about the price of the gift being a factor in the decision, just a concern over compatibility.

When the OP starts asking about compatibility, then that is implying an OS SWITCH! He would not have mentioned compatibility if his plan all along was to bootcamp it. He has perfectly valid concerns about compatibility and is aware of dual boot options, but has hesitation about that as well.

So, to re-iterate, Switching for the sake of Switching, is silly.

And god forbid I have some fun with you by saying what i did and then ending it with a smiley, an obvious, text based method of implying a jesting tone of voice which means I don't really think you are stupid, but instead saying that simply because you got your ire up about others calling each other stupid.

And how much of a hypocrite does that make you? I, in jest, call you stupid and you turn around and call some of us brickheads, and in seriousness?

Listen, go back to school and ask your teacher to beat you for not learning reading comprehension. Compatibility issues were brought up, parallels was mentioned, but essentially then tossed aside in the same sentence, so the OP is aware of hte Mac's ability to dual-boot. He mentions business, and then the corporate world. What others, myself included, have said is perfectly valid, and I think the OP should consider it. Since at this point the OP has already started a new Thread in SFF, Notebooks I think it is safe to say that the only ones here that care are us.

 

[randomlinh]

No one said VISTA was for corporate. Just said WINDOWS. It's a given XP is highly favored because Vista does require some heft (and so does OS X, tho, not as much). And there's a simple reason why OS X is not favored in the enterprise. As stated, it's currently a Windows world, and the larger companies sit on a microsoft backend. It's just more economical not to deal w/ integrating OS X into the system. Mainly, you can't manage it via Group Policy.

 

[Zaap]

Originally posted by: TheStu
And god forbid I have some fun with you by saying what i did and then ending it with a smiley, an obvious, text based method of implying a jesting tone of voice which means I don't really think you are stupid, but instead saying that simply because you got your ire up about others calling each other stupid.

Relax, and take a break from the internet Stu. You're way too over-emotional and irrational about all of this. Brickhead.

Oh yeah,

 

[Zaap]

Originally posted by: randomlinh
No one said VISTA was for corporate. Just said WINDOWS. It's a given XP is highly favored because Vista does require some heft (and so does OS X, tho, not as much). And there's a simple reason why OS X is not favored in the enterprise. As stated, it's currently a Windows world, and the larger companies sit on a microsoft backend. It's just more economical not to deal w/ integrating OS X into the system. Mainly, you can't manage it via Group Policy.

Right, Ive never had any argument about XP- it's the best of MS's OSes. I was just referring to all the nonsense floated here (not by you but others with some chip on their shoulder about switching to Vista) as if there was no difference at all with it and XP as far as corporate use.

Right off the bat, for corporate use, you'd need a laptop with Vista Business, not any of the home flavors, to use it with corporate networks. Also, most PC makers offer an upgrade (oops, excuse me, downgrade as they call it) to XP on their business laptop line- for a $100 premium no less. Gee, there's so little difference with Vista that business users actually PAY not to have it, yet I guess I just imagined anyone's concern about switching.

 

[Kmax82]

Originally posted by: Zaap
Right off the bat, for corporate use, you'd need a laptop with Vista Business, not any of the home flavors, to use it with corporate networks. Also, most PC makers offer an upgrade (oops, excuse me, downgrade as they call it) to XP on their business laptop line- for a $100 premium no less. Gee, there's so little difference with Vista that business users actually PAY not to have it, yet I guess I just imagined anyone's concern about switching.

The problem with Vista is that no one has even given it a chance. People are paying to downgrade to XP because they have heard so many bad things about Vista that they are willing to pay to make sure that they don't have any issues... but the issues are mostly perceived. Yes, there have been issues with Vista.. but most of them are blown out of proportion and have been fixed in SP1.. and now SP2 is coming out in Jan, so there will be even fewer issues.

I have a fellow employee who got Vista and hasn't had any issues (64bit Vista Business). Yet, our IT department bashes Vista at every chance, and they haven't even tried it. They've never installed it. This blatant dislike for Vista is really getting on my nerves. Ugh... If you're having issues, then fine.. but just because you have issues doesn't mean EVERYONE has issues.

 

[randomlinh]

Originally posted by: Kmax82

Originally posted by: Zaap
Right off the bat, for corporate use, you'd need a laptop with Vista Business, not any of the home flavors, to use it with corporate networks. Also, most PC makers offer an upgrade (oops, excuse me, downgrade as they call it) to XP on their business laptop line- for a $100 premium no less. Gee, there's so little difference with Vista that business users actually PAY not to have it, yet I guess I just imagined anyone's concern about switching.

The problem with Vista is that no one has even given it a chance. People are paying to downgrade to XP because they have heard so many bad things about Vista that they are willing to pay to make sure that they don't have any issues... but the issues are mostly perceived. Yes, there have been issues with Vista.. but most of them are blown out of proportion and have been fixed in SP1.. and now SP2 is coming out in Jan, so there will be even fewer issues.

I have a fellow employee who got Vista and hasn't had any issues (64bit Vista Business). Yet, our IT department bashes Vista at every chance, and they haven't even tried it. They've never installed it. This blatant dislike for Vista is really getting on my nerves. Ugh... If you're having issues, then fine.. but just because you have issues doesn't mean EVERYONE has issues.

the problem with vista is it hasn't had the maturity in testing in most shops. those who use it either have the resources to really test, or don't care.

We have not because of the hefty system requirements... we're not upgrading hardware for the sake of pretty vista (and I mean that, I do like how vista looks actually, it's a refreshing change). On a personal machine, my concern is 64bit support isn't vetted out properly, but most ppl don't need it yet anyway.

I guess we're also a little spoiled w/ our contract w/ microsoft... doesn't matter what we buy, we have basically an unlimited license of XP/Vista. I would not say right off the bat that vista business is required. Most corporations already have what they need I would gather. It's the small business/med business guys that kinda get the shaft. but I digress, we've ventured way off topic on this thread, heh.

 

[zacharace]

As others have said, I think the OP really should ask his stepdad what he wants...or at least what his requirements are. If they are 100% Office compatibility--or he strictly wants a business laptop--I have to go with Windows (XP preferably), although I am a Mac man at heart. 'Nuff said.