Old Fartbags and Mac Computers...

[Yeah_Baby]

Originally Posted by Clarkey

What is a good brand then?

I'm kind of confused now but I think this thread now has me leaning towards recommending ol' pops get a PC.

[Jedi Ninja]

I say you roll your dad a custom Linux distro complete with your own kernel hack.

[FanIn80]

Originally Posted by Clarkey

There's only 2 types of people in the world, those who arbitrarily divide people into groups and those who don't.

There are also two other types of people in the world: those who quote the right post when replying in a thread, and those who don't.





PS: My initial post about "those who get it, and those who still use PCs" was just an extra-thick helping of sarcasm, directed at the notion that "all Mac users are pretentious."

[Titan]

I bought my first mac one year ago.

I would not recommend it to my mom. She is kind of comfortable in her windows environment and I thought the mac would be better for her but I think I was wrong. I find it has taken me a long time how to figure stuff out, and I am pretty comfortable with this stuff. Get him what he knows already. The incompatibility thing is actually still an issue. I can get what I need but trying to explain to my wife is painful.

Also, Windows 7 appears to be a big jump ahead of vista.

I still like my mac but ...

[Hack&Lube]

I would either build a custom system or buy an off the shelf model for cheap and install XP on it. Otherwise I would wait for Windows 7.

You could also use one of those "easy to use for old people" Linux distros similar to the stuff on EeePCs.

Brands are all the same. There's literally no difference aside from the value you get in terms of parts and performance inside and the technical support you get.

Take your dad to the store and have him play around with the demo computers with Vista on them. My 80 year old grandpa uses a Dell I bought on one of those sales with Vista and he's fine with it and helped him transition from Windows 95 which he was using before. On a Mac, he would be lost.

[llama64]

Seriously, can some one please explain these mysterious "compatibility" problems?

I use both operating systems and have yet to encounter any compatibility issue with my data.

[FanIn80]

Originally Posted by llama64

Seriously, can some one please explain these mysterious "compatibility" problems?

I use both operating systems and have yet to encounter any compatibility issue with my data.

No kidding.

[kermitology]

Originally Posted by llama64

Seriously, can some one please explain these mysterious "compatibility" problems?

I use both operating systems and have yet to encounter any compatibility issue with my data.

I've got a mac and a PC at work, and a mac and PC at home. I never have issues.

Both systems have their benefits and drawbacks. I must say though, that I'm super efficient with the new MacBook multitouch trackpad. It's nuts. Four finger flick for expose.. wow!

I'm a coder so I use a LOT of keyboard shortcuts, and I'm more used to the windows ones than the mac ones, and with switching back and for so often, I get really screwed up sometimes. Accidentally navigating away from the page I'm on or something silly like that.

I just hate brand loyalty of any kind. Except I seem partial to North Face clothing. I just really like it, not that I have anything against any other brands though.

[Titan]

Originally Posted by FanIn80

No kidding.

Originally Posted by kermitology

I've got a mac and a PC at work, and a mac and PC at home. I never have issues.

For example pages will work with a word doc but when going back you have to export it to a word doc. Obviously not a big deal but it is a "workaround" and not truly compatible.

Another example is opening a formatted doc with a table that did not open properly.

I guess the point is that there is generally a way to do what you can do on a pc but you need to figure it out instead of just doing it.

For guys like you that are very comfortable in both environments it may seem silly but it is an issue. Incompatibility may be the wrong word. I have just not found the transition as easy as I thought it would be. The touchpad is very cool though. I don't use the mouse at all now.

[FanIn80]

Originally Posted by Titan

For example pages will work with a word doc but when going back you have to export it to a word doc. Obviously not a big deal but it is a "workaround" and not truly compatible.

Another example is opening a formatted doc with a table that did not open properly.

I guess the point is that there is generally a way to do what you can do on a pc but you need to figure it out instead of just doing it.

For guys like you that are very comfortable in both environments it may seem silly but it is an issue. Incompatibility may be the wrong word. I have just not found the transition as easy as I thought it would be. The touchpad is very cool though. I don't use the mouse at all now.

http://www.vmware.com/products/fusion/

http://www.apple.com/macosx/features/bootcamp.html

[Titan]

Originally Posted by FanIn80

http://www.vmware.com/products/fusion/

http://www.apple.com/macosx/features/bootcamp.html

Thanks. But I think you are missing my point. I was under the assumption that I could turn on the mac and a magic fairy would make everything easy and pretty and smart. Everything would work perfect just like I wanted to like some Vulcan mind meld thing with the computer.

Not so much. I know stuff can be done and I can do it but I would not recommend it to my mom or even my, very smart, wife.

It is 90% what people are used to most people are used to Windows and the Mac is not that. For mostly good or bad.

[Hack&Lube]

Yeah, the fact that fusion and bootcamp are out ther doesn't mean plug n' play / drag n' drop for the average user.

Bootcamp can be quite complicated sometimes.

[llama64]

Originally Posted by Titan

For example pages will work with a word doc but when going back you have to export it to a word doc. Obviously not a big deal but it is a "workaround" and not truly compatible.

Another example is opening a formatted doc with a table that did not open properly.

Oh good lord: http://www.microsoft.com/mac/product...8/default.mspx

Data is INDEPENDANT of the platform.

Pages != Word.

If you want to use Word specific features, stored in a Word specific file format (.doc/docx is NOT universal), then use Word!

/grumpy llama is grumpy.

[Yeah_Baby]

I have Office on my MacBook and have no issues with Office on a PC.

[Russic]

My wife is a notorious resister to change. She doesn't love my mac, but she has admitted that it is far easier to use than she expected (if you knew her you'd realize how massive that statement is). Her biggest gripe is that each application opens to a new desktop (spaces). I could turn that off, but I love it too much. I'm not saying Macs are for everyone, but if my wife can admit that it isn't all that bad I think anybody can make the switch.

It isn't a situation where the OS is so incredibly different that it is impossible to ever get a grasp of it. After a week or two your brain is easily rewired. I moved to a mac after about a decade on a pc and the transition was pretty much seamless after the first week. The biggest challenge was actually going to close the windows at the top right of each window and realizing I was on the wrong side.

Again I'm not making the argument that everybody should change, just that the challenge of getting used to a new OS isn't as big of a deal as many make it out to be (imo).

edit: oh and to echo the angry llama above, I haven't run into a microsoft office problem since my switch last year. On the other hand I do have a pc at my work and problems with .doc and .docx are a weekly occurrence. I suppose that's more of an IT problem as the necessary patch has only been downloaded to about half the computers, so sharing documents has become a nightmare.

[FanIn80]

Originally Posted by llama64

Oh good lord: http://www.microsoft.com/mac/product...8/default.mspx

Data is INDEPENDANT of the platform.

Pages != Word.

If you want to use Word specific features, stored in a Word specific file format (.doc/docx is NOT universal), then use Word!

/grumpy llama is grumpy.

Oh yes... really, Office for Mac is the easiest solution, but it's not like Fusion is rocket surgery either. You don't even need to know anything about virtual machines, Fusion literally walks you through it step by step. Hell, you don't even have to make any decisions along the way.


But I agree... if Office formats are 100% necessary, then Office for Mac is the way to go.

[Table 5]

I actually hope less people use Macs. Mostly only to keep the virus-threat low.

[llama64]

Originally Posted by Table 5

I actually hope less people use Macs. Mostly only to keep the virus-threat low.

True dat. Apple has an absolutely terrible reputation for patching security concerns. I would hazard a guess that it's due to not really needing one in the past, but if OS X were to get targeted I have no illusions about the actual security of the system.

Besides, most security concerns are not "hacks" or "viruses". They are social engineering based as a stupid user is much easier to crack then a chunk of code.

[Barnes]

Originally Posted by llama64

Oh good lord: http://www.microsoft.com/mac/product...8/default.mspx

Data is INDEPENDANT of the platform.

Pages != Word.

If you want to use Word specific features, stored in a Word specific file format (.doc/docx is NOT universal), then use Word!

/grumpy llama is grumpy.

But it's a lot easier to say that Macs suck and are hard to use rather than push MS to support ODF.

Windows without walls indeed.

[Titan]

Originally Posted by llama64

True dat. Apple has an absolutely terrible reputation for patching security concerns. I would hazard a guess that it's due to not really needing one in the past, but if OS X were to get targeted I have no illusions about the actual security of the system.

Besides, most security concerns are not "hacks" or "viruses". They are social engineering based as a stupid user is much easier to crack then a chunk of code.

I am not a hater but do have an opinion. I like my mac. It does what I want and does not break. To say it is compatible if you load this or buy that does not mean it is compatible. I am not a programmer or pro like you guys are so I have an "unbiased" opinion. It is not as easy as I thought it would be. That does not make me dumb. I know there are workarounds. I can use them. I can still be disappointed I have to use a workaround or spend several hundred dollars on Office for Mac.

I actually find it funny that in one of the responses Llama actually uses this phrase which, I assume is programming or something: "Pages != Word."

I know Pages does not equal Word but I did not think it was redonkulous to think that after all this time Pages would be sure to be able to open a simple Word table.

To be clear, I dislike my PC because it does not work well or consistently, if I actually try to use it. Having said that, I do like the mac but was surprised at the steepness of the learning curve. That is all. I don't want to kill Bill or Steve. I just want to use a computer that does what I need it to do. End rebuttal rant.

On the topic of virii, I have been intrigued by the fact that Mac has not been subject to a major virus attack, given the level of hatred for them in the PC community. I would have expected several virus authors to attack them just to wipe the smug little grin of the macboys faces. I don't pretend to understand the entire thing, or even a small part of the thing, but thought that there is enough hate to fuel a virus based on hate alone and not economic gain. These threads support that there is a high level of hate.