Now I know some of my tech people are coming to come by and explain the importance of Windows and how that, yes it has its flaws, but it's still the benchmark OS, and it does this really well, and Macs are not very popular, and blah, blah, blah.
Look, Microsoft hasn't released a new version of Windows in four years. This version is stripped down from what it was suppose to be and they still can't get it released before the end of 2006. But they can get six versions of out on the market. Which I guess proves that Bill Gates must have picked up a thing or two from the comic industry about variants.
And the brilliant thing about it is that we will be able to count in hours - not days, weeks or months - hours in which it will take Microsoft to issue its first patch to fix a flaw on the new software.
In the glacial era between Windows updates Mac has managed, what, four of them? Significant ones. For that matter, whatever Microsoft comes out with in a year's time will still likely be behind what Mac has out now. Rumour has it that Apple will come out with another OS upgrade this Fall. Windows new OS might catch up to it in 2010.
Windows is junk. People need to accept this and make the scary, but sensible leap towards Mac. And this year might be the one to do it. The new Macs released this year mean it is now possible to run both Windows and Mac OS on the same computer. There's a lot of trickery and technical know how needed right now, but give it six months. The geeks out there will have some code set up to make it relatively simple.
That means you go out and buy your shiny new Mac and then, if you feel so inclined, install Windows. You can alternate between the two Operating Systems until you become comfortable with using Mac. Then you ditch the buggy piece of crap that Windows is and bask is the glow of a virus-free, spyware-free, stable operating system. Ahhhh...
I have to use Windows at work. It drives me mad. It's like a breath of fresh air to come home and flip open my iBook. For those of you thinking about getting a new computer, I appreciate it's initially a bit of extra work, a bit more expensive and a bit scary at first, but make the leap. You'll be glad. If you're just doing basic computer stuff: internet, word processing, e-mail, a few shag around games, Mac just makes your life simpler.
I should note, by the way, that not everyone is thrilled about being able to run Windows on a Mac. Some purists are horrified. From The Joy of Tech.
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6 comments:
But the real question is, "Do you feel better now?" :-)
Not that I'm sticking up for Windows, remember I live on Windows and Linux and have a healthy respect for Mac... I hate to tell you most of the viruses and spyware etc. that are around for Windows is simply because the market share is so high. MacOS lies on top of a FreeBSD base. Now, FreeBSD is probably one of the most secure operating systems around, but believe me, if there was a lot of people on Macs you would see the same issues as Windows.
MacOS also only works on one type of hardware. Windows (and Linux) try to work on everything. As such it is almost always cheaper (not as much these days) and powers the economies of many Asian countries. No I don't want to see Windows end, I want to see Mac improve and grow and innovate, the masses will catch up when they are ready.
I have a theory that it's not the OS that makes windows crappy, when you run a fresh installed Windows XP on decent (not expensive) hardware, there are hardly any problems. It seems to me the more software you install (and admittedly Windows has more software than any other OS), the more crappy it gets. Take bloated software and voila, bad computer. Just a theory of course, your mileage may vary.
Oh and yes I'm looking at a MacBook Pro for the end of the year if I can afford it!
Cheers
Dups
The only thing I can add here is after working tech support for an internet company, the only drawback to a mac is a lot of problems with software can only be dealt with by Apple support. So say you are having problems setting up your internet connection, the internet support guy will walk you through a couple of steps but in the end, you'll be refered to apple.
I know if more people had apples maybe that problem could be solved
As a recent convert to MacOS, I can say I prefer it already. With Windows, when you try to install a new program or printer for example, you have to go through this lengthy installation process and MAYBE get it running. With my Mac, I simply plug in the printer and it works! No installations, no 'search for printer', nothing - the computer knows what it is and how to use it.
And in response to dubs: The reason MacOS doesn't work on other hardware is because that's what Mac wants. If they wanted MacOS to be used on any computer, it would be that way. The reason Windows HAS to work on any kind of computer is because Windows doesn't make hardware. They'd really be screwing themselves if they limited it to one type of hardware. And about getting customer support, I'd rather speak to someone from Mac who knows exactly what my computer has, does and can do.
I say let people keep using their Windows! I like being in the cool group and it's better if we keep it small!
Think you are confused by this decision? I am sort of as well, more for their marketing spin that it will be released (in 4Q 2006) to volume licensees before hitting the retail market. But then again, Microsoft has never hit one of their targeted release dates. What raised my eyebrows was the reaction of Microsoft employees. Check out this blog from one of their staffers.
Jeez - is everyone buying this spin?
You can run windows on a Mac computer? Wow. Who would have ever though of that, other than the standard "IBM Clone" as they once were called.
Any other operating system can install on one of those with out a problem, like Windows and Linux.
.. but the really funny thing here is simply that I am willing to bet the people who loved this news the most was those in Redmond.
After all - they sell the software - they could careless what hardware you run it on. (Though, its funny how much people think Microsoft would have against Apple - they were the first software makers for Apple Computers, and still today the largest software maker for Apple/Macs)
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