Computer operating systems

[Tom-D]

What do you think of this system, I'm getting pretty sick of MS, viruses, and al the BS that goes with them.

http://www.linspire.com/

Computer running in safe mode, getting ready to dump the whole mess..

 

[silver-eagle]

My only problem is what do I do with the thousands of dollars of windows software I have?
Linux is a great system to use. Packaging it as a turnkey system is a good idea. The stuff I've used were missing X-Windows. With that as part of the package, and without a big reliance in Windows software, you should be is good shape.
And if you're into games, you'll find lots of UNIX games out there.

 

[mikea]

What do you think of this system, I'm getting pretty sick of MS, viruses, and al the BS that goes with them.

http://www.linspire.com/

Computer running in safe mode, getting ready to dump the whole mess..

Tom, you won't like the Linspire. Linux is clunky as a user interface.

Get a Mac Mini and use your existing display, mouse, keyboard and speakers. You'll want 512MB of RAM and the Tiger OS.

Get 10% off at Mac Mall until Midnight tonight!
http://www.macmall.com/macmall/families/macmini/

$563 after $40 rebate at PC Connnection (also ends tonight?)
http://www.pcconnection.com/Rebate/RebateDetail?Sku=5642125

It does just plain work! Download Firefox for the browser.

The only problem you'll have is Macs are not compatable with Windows worms and viruses.

 

[rpadula]

And you will actually ENJOY using it!

-Rich

/still needs to get off my butt and upgrade to Tiger

 

[Tom-D]

Tom, you won't like the Linspire. Linux is clunky as a user interface.

Get a Mac Mini and use your existing display, mouse, keyboard and speakers. You'll want 512MB of RAM and the Tiger OS.

Get 10% off at Mac Mall until Midnight tonight!
http://www.macmall.com/macmall/families/macmini/

$563 after $40 rebate at PC Connnection (also ends tonight?)
http://www.pcconnection.com/Rebate/RebateDetail?Sku=5642125

It does just plain work! Download Firefox for the browser.

The only problem you'll have is Macs are not compatable with Windows worms and viruses.

I'v been thru all the tutorials and it looks easier than MS windows.

 

[Tom-D]

[Get a Mac Mini and use your existing display, mouse, keyboard and speakers. You'll want 512MB of RAM and the Tiger OS.

Get 10% off at Mac Mall until Midnight tonight!
http://www.macmall.com/macmall/families/macmini/

$563 after $40 rebate at PC Connnection (also ends tonight?)
http://www.pcconnection.com/Rebate/RebateDetail?Sku=5642125

It does just plain work! Download Firefox for the browser.

The only problem you'll have is Macs are not compatable with Windows worms and viruses.[/QUOTE]

I gotta buy a new computer??? Whoa,,, I just want to dump windoz.

 

[mikea]

I'v been thru all the tutorials and it looks easier than MS windows.

You also get about $400 worth of software included with iPhoto, iMovie, iDVD, Garage Band...

It can be controlled by voice commands and will read to you. You have to add a microphone on a Mini.

You gotta see things like how it handles adding a printer:

1) Connect printer.
2) Print.

Wanna know the ink level?

It doesn't pop up little windows telling you how clever it's being. It just quietly works.

 

[corjulo]

Don't be fooled by the easier look and feel. The Mac OS is a very modern, very powerful Unix operating system. If you're an Alpha Geek then ya, Linux is great. But then again, most of the alpha geeks I know now own Mac's.

The problem with any flavor of Linux is drivers. It's hard to be certain your hardware will play nice. That just not an issue with Mac's

 

[Ghery]

And next year I can buy a Mac without feeling guilty, cause they're shifting to Intel processors!

 

[gismo]

What do you think of this system, I'm getting pretty sick of MS, viruses, and al the BS that goes with them.

http://www.linspire.com/

Computer running in safe mode, getting ready to dump the whole mess..

If you mostly use the computer for browsing, email, and occasional word processing Linux is great, especially now that the 3rd party installers have gotten pretty easy. You won't be able to run things like most flight simulators and a lot of engineering tools that are only offered on the Windows platform. There are emulators that will run some Windows apps, but I wouldn't count on that for anything very complex.

 

[Maverick]

What do you think of this system, I'm getting pretty sick of MS, viruses, and al the BS that goes with them.

http://www.linspire.com/

Computer running in safe mode, getting ready to dump the whole mess..

If you want to give Linux a try before actually loading a system, you could try Knoppix. Just do a Google search for Knoppix and get the CD image. You can then boot and run from the CD to get an idea of whether or not you like it before you actually load up a system.

I used it once for some trouble shooting on another system so I haven't really done a lot with it. Bit I thought the concept of trying it out from a CD was a great idea and from what I saw it looked like it might just pretty functional.

I manage a corporate network where we have Linux servers, Unix workstations/servers and Windows based PCs. The PCs are always trouble primarily due to the large amount of malware that's in the wild and users who just don't understand how to avoid it. Our Unix systems very seldom have an issue. Every now and then Windows machines need a reboot, 2000 and XP aren't as bad as the previous versions but they still need it now and then. Our Unix systems are almost never shutdown or rebooted, they just keep on working.

That being said, I'm not so sure that Linux is quite ready for the desktop and certainly not for the novice user.

I have absolutely no experience with Mac so that's the only thing I can say about them. Other than that I heard someone say Windows 95 was kind alike Mac 79 only not as stable.

Just my humble opinion.

Jeannie

 

[bbchien]

Mac is not the answer. I just bought a G5 dual processor to with 2GB memory to run Virtual PC and guess what?! IT's UNSTABLE.

My daughter's computer just got some sort of a trojan. I used Acronis on Mike A's suggestion and had a clean image from June 6- and just rewrote the drive. Constant battle. That what you get for being on IM all the time.

I've been playing with Knoppix. It's not quite ready for general use. But quite close

 

[mikea]

Mac is not the answer. I just bought a G5 dual processor to with 2GB memory to run Virtual PC and guess what?! IT's UNSTABLE.

Yeah, Tom! Don't get a Mac Mini to run Windows programs using tools from Microsoft.

 

[sere]

You also get about $400 worth of software included with iPhoto, iMovie, iDVD, Garage Band...

It can be controlled by voice commands and will read to you. You have to add a microphone on a Mini.

You gotta see things like how it handles adding a printer:

1) Connect printer.
2) Print.

Wanna know the ink level?

It doesn't pop up little windows telling you how clever it's being. It just quietly works.

You can always sell it on e-bay.

 

[Michael]

I am using Linux Redhat 9 with no problems at all. Finds all my hardware, comes with everything windows comes with and more. Built in office suite. Paint programs, ect. After playing with it and doing some reading/research you can add programs to make it do what you were used to on your windows machine.
I started playing with Linux because i run a business and do not care to fork over 200 bucks per machine for software, just so my employess can play solitare. BTW Linux comes with solitare too.

Michael

 

[SkyHog]

I would avoid a Mac if possible. Those who use them seem to be die hard - but Apple has already been bailed out more than once to avoid having to close their doors. It will happen again.

I'd hate to own a computer without any supporting company to help, unless I bought it myself. The Apple ship has sailed - they had the opportunity to take over in the 80s and early 90s, but their unwillingness to allow 3rd party versions of their computers sunk them. The reason "IBM Compatible" took over was because it became cheaper to build the same computer.

Apple's stubborness buried them years ago. Their small following just can't admit it.

 

[Brian Austin]

Apple's stubborness buried them years ago. Their small following just can't admit it.

Uh-oh. Now you did it. Hope you got yer flamesuit on, Nicholas.

Folks, grab some beer and popcorn and watch the show. For the geeks out there, this is better than red vs blue.

 

[Brian Austin]

http://finance.yahoo.com/q/bc?s=AAPL&t=5y
http://finance.yahoo.com/q/bc?t=5y&s=AAPL&l=on&z=m&q=l&c=MSFT

For the record, this Windows XP machine is an AMD 64 with 400GB RAID, dual 20" monitors and 1GB RAM. It took me several days to get working. It has had more updates than I can count. Never been infected because I know how that happens.

The Mac Mini took me several minutes to get working. Three updates in the 2 months. The last one was the new version of iTunes. Doesn't need an anti-virus program that doesn't work anyway.

Try both, Nick.

You're comparing a 400gb RAID, dual monitors, etc., with a Mac Mini? That's hardly apples to apples.

I don't know what the big deal is. I install Windows XP Pro (45 minutes), get the NIC driver set up, connect to the Internet, find the remaining hardware, run the updates, install the a/v software and put on whatever apps I'm running. Total active time with me at the keyboard, maybe 30 minutes. Let XP do its thing, walk away, hit the Finish/Restart button, walk away, etc..

RAID isn't a big deal. BTDT. RAID 0, 1, 5, 10, etc.. I've never had a big problem with it, I guess. Drivers need to be up-to-date. Let the card/BIOS take care of set up after the initial config. Never had an issue with the AMD chips either. Or a dualhead video card. I prefer a two card arrangement, primarily because the I like using the Panavision products to calibrate colors on one of them for graphics. Most calibration software doesn't like dualhead cards due to the hardware profiling or something.

 

[Brian Austin]

http://finance.yahoo.com/q/bc?s=AAPL&t=5y
http://finance.yahoo.com/q/bc?t=5y&s=AAPL&l=on&z=m&q=l&c=MSFT

Very little of that has to do with the Mac, btw. That's iPod/iTunes business, not Macs. Again, apples to apples (pun intended).

 

[PoAdeleted5]

Actually, Apple has been profitable for a very long time, even without the iPod.

I'm biased in the matter, being a stockholder and so on, so take that into account.

I've been living on Macs for years and years.

But I'm not a biggot. I've written and shipped lots of Windows software over the years. I even have an iPaq 4700 and like it a lot. Beats the poo out of a Palm in my opinion.

I also own and use P-IV Extreme Windows PC on XP, I built it myself with all top of the line parts. (I build one every few years for fun and comparison) It's a good computer too. It has its flaws but certainly, it is usable. My biggest gripes are the lack of overall integration in XP. Out of the box, XP can't even play a DVD. You have to install at least a third-party codec to get that to happen. The other gripe is the shotgun manner in which things are installed. Put Visual Studio and all the SDK's on a PC and you have no idea where all the files are. The other thing that constantly annoys me are the way everyone's installer seems to think it should be putting things on your desktop and installing demos of things you don't really want. The virus, spyware and security problems are pretty scary. Regular and frequent maintenance is the only way to keep out of trouble. I would NEVER access a bank account or anything with a sensitive password on a PC that I did not own and know the status of its security settings. Even then, I wonder. The worst thing about dos/windows and that hasn't changed since Windows 2.0, is the amount of time that it can suck out of your life.

My favorite computer though is a Powerbook G4 (titanium), the last model that can boot OS9. It's a little out of date, but I've been using it for a few years now. I've got a dual G5 on my desk, also with VPC. My experience with VPC over the years is that can be excruciatingly slow, but usable and generally more stable than a lot of PC's. The big advantage being that you can just trash the virtual hard disk file and start over clean any time. I've been running a telescope and updating firmware on it and various other appliances for a few years using VPC. Hasn't failed me yet.

I know Bruce just got his G5, but I have to say that instability is not the norm. It will take some adjustment on the users part to get used to how things are done. But the machine should be very stable. If it isn't, it might actually be broken.

 

[GaryO]

Tom, you won't like the Linspire. Linux is clunky as a user interface.

You obviously haven't used Linux in a looong time.

 

[mikea]

Tom, you won't like the Linspire. Linux is clunky as a user interface.

You obviously haven't used Linux in a looong time.

Yeah, it's been at least a day since the last time I used Linux. My laptop dual boots to Fedora. It doesn't see the WiFi card.

I have Unix SA experience going back more than 20 years.

It's not a good choice for the desktop. Not even Ubuntu. Yeah, I tried that, too. Lessee, on this hard drive I have Mempis, Fedora, Ubuntu, Debian, Knoppix.

Try the Knoppix CD. Tell me that all of the choices on the KDE menus work. They don't. The what and where of the KDE UI varies with each choice.

Linux is a good choice for servers.

The advice here is for TOM who is a civilian. Do YOU want to try to tell him how to edit /usr/X11/lib/xconf (with vi. As root.) to add all of the modes for the monitor? I just wasted a large part of a day fighting with that on Fedora and DO know how use vi and man x. The display control panel in GNOME didn't find the monitor and didn't save the settings. I never did get to stop trashing the ancient monitor on bootup in spite of every supposed boot option. "resolution 800x600" Right.

The Mac has a UI that works with BSD Unix goodness underneath. That's why I have a Mini.

 

[AirBaker]

http://finance.yahoo.com/q/bc?s=AAPL&t=5y
http://finance.yahoo.com/q/bc?t=5y&s=AAPL&l=on&z=m&q=l&c=MSFT

For the record, this Windows XP machine is an AMD 64 with 400GB RAID, dual 20" monitors and 1GB RAM. It took me several days to get working. It has had more updates than I can count. Never been infected because I know how that happens.

The Mac Mini took me several minutes to get working. Three updates in the 2 months. The last one was the new version of iTunes. Doesn't need an anti-virus program that doesn't work anyway.

Try both, Nick.

There is something to be said about buying name brand parts and keeping your computer simple. This goes back to the ole Soundblaster vs. 'Soundblaster compatible' days. Somethings work the way they're supposed to and others just don't. I've found my (self built) PCs as stable as anything else I've come accross. The rest of my family gets excited about having every application and gadget installed on their computers. And, they just crash... a lot!

I run RAID 0 and I accept the fact that there is even less fault tollerance. Any experimenting is done on older PCs that are laying around and not on my main computer.

I don't think that there is much wrong with Windows XP (Minus the tons of people trying to hack into it). IMHO, there are just as many hardware problems as there are software issues. Apple doesn't have the same number of software-hardware combinations that Microsoft does.

Just my .02

 

[flyingcheesehead]

Mac is not the answer. I just bought a G5 dual processor to with 2GB memory to run Virtual PC and guess what?! IT's UNSTABLE.

Bruce,

If all you're going to run is Windows software, you need a Wintel computer. Virtual PC is nice for doing minor, occasional tasks like GPS updates and the like, or ONE piece of software that you really need. If you spend more than 25% of your time in VPC, you might just need a Real PC.

When I owned a consulting business, many people were surprised to find that I owned a Mac. "YOU?!?! Own a MAC?!? But you're a computer guru!" Yes, and I want MY computer to work for me, not the other way around. Our business was dual-platform. Average time between calls from our Wintel clients: About 3-4 weeks. Average time between calls from our Mac clients: 6 months.

The other thing I get all the time is: "Well, I'd love to use a Mac, but I use Word and Excel a lot." Ummm, yeah. So do I. Yes, there is a Mac version of M$ Office. M$ is not stupid, they make a lot of money from people buying Office for the Mac, and they most likely have lower support costs as well. In fact, Excel was written for the Mac first - Long before Windows was even available!

There's a reason us Mac "bigots" are that way. We've used both, and we know what works.

 

[flyingcheesehead]

I would avoid a Mac if possible. Those who use them seem to be die hard - but Apple has already been bailed out more than once to avoid having to close their doors. It will happen again.

Really, Nick? Care to enlighten us as to who "bailed them out"?

I laugh when I see this sort of thing, because I hear it so often. Apple's worst financial times during the 90's were caused by the press. Apple had over $700 million in cash and was doing fine, then they had a bad quarter ($69 million loss). No problem, still $631 mil in the bank, right? Well, there were so many "Apple's gonna die" rumors going around that sales went way down and then they really did start losing serious money.

However, as Apple always does, they bounced back and they have over $2 billion in cash last I heard. They've been profitable for quite a while now, their stock has soared, and the iPod and iTunes have not only brought in a lot of profits, they've also begun showing people that Apple knows how to create a good product.

I'd hate to own a computer without any supporting company to help, unless I bought it myself.

You call what you get from Dell/HP/Microsoft et al "support?"

Dell: "It's a software problem, call Microsoft."
MS: "It's a hardware problem, call Dell."

That's one of the best things about having the software and the hardware come from the same company - No buck-passing. Plus, while I have basically completely stopped following the industry and let my computer skills lapse to those of just a slightly above-average user instead of the guru I once was, I have not had to call Apple support in years. The stuff just plain works.

The Apple ship has sailed - they had the opportunity to take over in the 80s and early 90s, but their unwillingness to allow 3rd party versions of their computers sunk them. The reason "IBM Compatible" took over was because it became cheaper to build the same computer.

By the mid-1980's, anyone who wasn't Microsoft was already doomed. Their "I'll either undercut you until you're out of business, or I'll just buy you out" way of doing business, unfortunately, works all too well to create a company that has an inferior product yet can't be compted with. Look at the early days of PC's where there were actually three options as to which DOS you got. M$ won by undercutting the others.

Another bit of history you may have missed is that Apple *did* allow Mac cloning for a while (Power Computing was the biggest mac-clone maker) and it HURT them.

Apple's stubborness buried them years ago. Their small following just can't admit it.

Apple's stubbornness has created a product and a standard that the rest of the industry aspires to. Apple has brought a large number of technologies (CD-ROM, USB, FireWire, Bluetooth, etc etc) truly into the mainstream (Ooo, I know I'm gonna get some argument on that one). Apple's stubbornness is exactly what makes them great: No "It's kinda cool" or "It almost works the way it should" here.

I highly recommend everyone read this site:
http://securityawareness.blogspot.com/
Specifically, the "Mad as Hell" articles. That's probably as objective a look as we'll get at this issue.

 

[poadeleted3]

There is something to be said about buying name brand parts and keeping your computer simple. snip

Amen to that!! I hear about all these Windows problems, but I rarely have an issue. My $500 HP hasn't broken, Windows XP doesn't crash, and I've had no problems installing or running anything I've wanted on it except some really old hardware that I wondered if still worked. Only thing I've added has been a 128 MB ATI video card to make MSFS and some games look pretty.

 

[poadeleted3]

snip

You call what you get from Dell/HP/Microsoft et al "support?"

snip

Don't know... I've never had to call tech support for one of my HP computers

 

[mikea]

The other thing I get all the time is: "Well, I'd love to use a Mac, but I use Word and Excel a lot." Ummm, yeah. So do I. Yes, there is a Mac version of M$ Office. M$ is not stupid, they make a lot of money from people buying Office for the Mac, and they most likely have lower support costs as well. In fact, Excel was written for the Mac first - Long before Windows was even available!

You don't even have to spend money. NeoOffice/J (OpenOffice in Java for Mac OS) works as well, in some cases better than Microsoft Office. Some of the wisdom on the net said if MS Office won't open a file or if the file is growing in size for no reason - open it OpenOffice and save it in an Office file format. It gets smaller and MS Office will then like it. OpenOffice is more MS Office compatible than another flavor of MS Office is.

There's a reason us Mac "bigots" are that way. We've used both, and we know what works.

What he said. As I said I've used all three(? Not counting flavors of *ix). At some point I decided I don't need to waste any more of my life watching a computer reboot. As it is, I think there's are several months gone from my life doing just that.

 

[Brian Austin]

Some of the wisdom on the net said if MS Office won't open a file or if the file is growing in size for no reason - open it OpenOffice and save it in an Office file format. It gets smaller and MS Office will then like it. OpenOffice is more MS Office compatible than another flavor of MS Office is.

Not going to argue on the viability of OpenOffice (I've used it and like it, too) but there is a reason that MS Office files grow. The metadata that's stored inside the file is used both in Office and in Sharepoint for revision history. Bad news for folks that don't need the data or don't want it saved, though. In my company's case, it's saved our bacon a few times.

 

[flyingcheesehead]

I don't know what the big deal is. I install Windows XP Pro (45 minutes)

And here's where the comparison ends. I buy myself a Mac which has the OS installed properly already, OR when I'm upgrading I install the latest version of the OS. A few clicks, then walk off and take a coffee break...

get the NIC driver set up

This is funny, to me. Why should Joe User have to set up a NIC driver? Why should Joe User even have to know what a NIC is? Why should Joe User have to even know what a driver is?

Yesterday, I wanted to print out my flight plan off DUATS at my sister's house. She has a Canon i860 color inkjet printer. My computer has never touched a Canon printer before. So, I chose "print" in my browser. In the Printer popup, I chose "new printer". I plugged the printer into my USB port. On the screen, "Canon i860 - USB" appeared. I clicked OK. My document printed. The whole think took maybe 10-15 seconds longer than if I'd printed it on my normal laser printer at home.

connect to the Internet

Still has to be done on a Mac, but it is WAY more elegant than on a PC. You don't have to open up the networking control panel, etc. It'll try and find as much as it can by itself, leaving Joe User to type in things like access phone numbers.

I also don't have to do anything when switching connections. I usually connect via WiFi, but a hotel I stayed in Sunday night had Ethernet. It's been so long since I had to set that sort of thing up on a Mac that I did open my networking control panel. There was already a little red "light" next to WiFi and a green light next to Ethernet. It said "The Ethernet cable is plugged in and you are connected to the internet." I typed in a web site address, did the hotel's login thing, and the rest was done for me. No reboot, no typing in IP addresses, no selecting DHCP, nothing. It just worked. (I sense a theme here.)

find the remaining hardware

Oh, how I don't miss PC's. You guys need to see how "plug and play" really works. Hint: You can't see how it really works on a PC. I don't have to buy "plug and play" compatible hardware. I don't have to have my OS CD's handy just in case. I don't have to wait for drivers (there we go again) to install themselves.

I plug in a printer when I want to print? Select the printer, as I explained above. I plug in a random digital camera? iPhoto opens. I plug in a DV Cam? iMovie. I plug in a hard drive? It mounts on the desktop.

run the updates

Something else that happens automatically on the Mac, with the exception of needing my Admin password when making updates to the OS and such. This prevents malware from doing anything, since the OS would ask me for my password.

install the a/v software

Pre-installed. I'm not sure what all new Macs are coming with these days, but it's a fairly impressive list. In addition to all of the Apple software (GarageBand, DVD Player, QuickTime, iTunes, iMovie, iDVD (authoring), iThis, iThat, etc.) they have quite a few surprises, like QuickBooks. ("New User Edition" - I called Intuit, registered for free, and now my flying club's books are in it.)

So, that's what the big deal is. What seems "easy" to an experienced PC user, I laugh at as being an awful lot of unnecessary work. That reminds me of other very common questions I used to get as a consultant when training a PC user on their first Mac: "Now what else do I have to do?" "That's it?" "Why doesn't everyone have a Mac?"

http://www.apple.com/switch/

 

[poadeleted3]

snip
Yesterday, I wanted to print out my flight plan off DUATS at my sister's house. She has a Canon i860 color inkjet printer. My computer has never touched a Canon printer before. So, I chose "print" in my browser. In the Printer popup, I chose "new printer". I plugged the printer into my USB port. On the screen, "Canon i860 - USB" appeared. I clicked OK. My document printed. The whole think took maybe 10-15 seconds longer than if I'd printed it on my normal laser printer at home.
snip

I hear Mac users say things like that, but I don't get the difference. Ever since I've gone to Windows XP, that's how I've installed my printers.... Windows ME and before were a pain, but XP has been stable, reliable, and very easy to use for me. If the software needs to update, I don't even have to click. It downloads itself, and updates the computer when I shut down. How much easier can it get?

 

[Brian Austin]

And here's where the comparison ends. I buy myself a Mac which has the OS installed properly already, OR when I'm upgrading I install the latest version of the OS. A few clicks, then walk off and take a coffee break...

Well, once again, we're not talking apples to apples here. Mike was talking about a homemade box, not an off the shelf purchase. Can you build your own Mac?

Still has to be done on a Mac, but it is WAY more elegant than on a PC. You don't have to open up the networking control panel, etc. It'll try and find as much as it can by itself, leaving Joe User to type in things like access phone numbers.

I also don't have to do anything when switching connections. I usually connect via WiFi, but a hotel I stayed in Sunday night had Ethernet. It's been so long since I had to set that sort of thing up on a Mac that I did open my networking control panel. There was already a little red "light" next to WiFi and a green light next to Ethernet. It said "The Ethernet cable is plugged in and you are connected to the internet." I typed in a web site address, did the hotel's login thing, and the rest was done for me. No reboot, no typing in IP addresses, no selecting DHCP, nothing. It just worked. (I sense a theme here.)

Uhm, neither do I to just about all of that. Plug in, wait a few seconds for DHCP and go. Or find the new network, join it (I don't automatically join due to some stuff I have on my PC) and go. Again, not sure what the big deal is.

Oh, how I don't miss PC's. You guys need to see how "plug and play" really works. Hint: You can't see how it really works on a PC. I don't have to buy "plug and play" compatible hardware. I don't have to have my OS CD's handy just in case. I don't have to wait for drivers (there we go again) to install themselves.

I plug in a printer when I want to print? Select the printer, as I explained above. I plug in a random digital camera? iPhoto opens. I plug in a DV Cam? iMovie. I plug in a hard drive? It mounts on the desktop.

Apple has it down for hardware...but then again, there isn't nearly the hardware choices available for the Mac that are available for PC's.

(Re:updates)Something else that happens automatically on the Mac, with the exception of needing my Admin password when making updates to the OS and such. This prevents malware from doing anything, since the OS would ask me for my password.

Uhm...same here. No admin password needed since it only goes to one site. As long as the update is run from an admin account, of course.

(Re: install a/v software)Pre-installed. I'm not sure what all new Macs are coming with these days, but it's a fairly impressive list. In addition to all of the Apple software (GarageBand, DVD Player, QuickTime, iTunes, iMovie, iDVD (authoring), iThis, iThat, etc.) they have quite a few surprises, like QuickBooks. ("New User Edition" - I called Intuit, registered for free, and now my flying club's books are in it.)

Actually, I was referring to antivirus software, not audio/video stuff. Windows has some basics in it but nothing like Macs, that's true.

 

[corjulo]

Mac is not the answer. I just bought a G5 dual processor to with 2GB memory to run Virtual PC and guess what?! IT's UNSTABLE.

My daughter's computer just got some sort of a trojan. I used Acronis on Mike A's suggestion and had a clean image from June 6- and just rewrote the drive. Constant battle. That what you get for being on IM all the time.

I've been playing with Knoppix. It's not quite ready for general use. But quite close

Why buy a Mac to run an emulator of XP. Why not just run XP on a PC? Don't you do Hi def editing? Now that's a reason to own a Mac. The truth is VirtualPC is a dog. There are things Macs do great, like video, film, music, graphics, cad and science. Running PC software under emulation is not one of them

If you just purchased a G5 and its unstable then chances our you got either bad memory or a bad component. I would have the unit back to Apple real soon. I deployed 100 plus G5's this year and 1 did indeed have bad processor cards. It happens. Your G5 simply should NOT be unstable..Period!. When you say unstable what do you mean? Send me a crash log and I'll look at it. I'm writing this on a dual G5 that hasn't crashed in Months.

Dan Corjulo
Apple Desktop Technician ID USA034Q4

 

[corjulo]

I hear Mac users say things like that, but I don't get the difference. Ever since I've gone to Windows XP, that's how I've installed my printers.... Windows ME and before were a pain, but XP has been stable, reliable, and very easy to use for me. If the software needs to update, I don't even have to click. It downloads itself, and updates the computer when I shut down. How much easier can it get?

XP did indeed get a lot of things right. But man, the security issues have cost us a fortune. Mac's don't have those issues...YET.

Mac's do have a cult following. Everybody from Rush Limbauh and President Bush to Robin William's and Al Gore love their Mac's. Given a choice I'll take Mac's. But XP is perfectly nice if you stay on top of the security issues.

 

[TangoWhiskey]

http://www.apple.com/switch/

Why did they use such a HARD to read font on that page, especially since the Mac is so good for desktop publishing?? It's almost "fuzzy", certainly not crisp and clear.

 

[corjulo]

Why did they use such a HARD to read font on that page, especially since the Mac is so good for desktop publishing?? It's almost "fuzzy", certainly not crisp and clear.

Web fonts don't count. Chances are you don't have the font Apple intended to be use on your system

 

[PoAdeleted5]

I just looked at the switch page on the mac and on IE/XP.

What's so hard to read about it?

 

[wsuffa]

Now that Micro$oft is going to buy/get in to bed with Gator/Gain (the spyware maker), just think what's going to happen with MS-based your computers....

 

[bbchien]

Why buy a Mac to run an emulator of XP. Why not just run XP on a PC? Don't you do Hi def editing?

that is exactly what I do with it. Sony Hi Def cam. Final Cut software. But I was hoping to do my office on Mac as I have just eternal problems with XP crashes in which I end up physically destroying the data on the Hard Drive.

Sigh.

 

[Brian Austin]

that is exactly what I do with it. Sony Hi Def cam. Final Cut software. But I was hoping to do my office on Mac as I have just eternal problems with XP crashes in which I end up physically destroying the data on the Hard Drive.

Sigh.

Citrix, Bruce. Connect to the office Citrix server on a Mac, Linux, PC or even a PDA (although it's a pita). You'll see your PC desktop, connected to the office network as usual. Expensive initially but a LOT easier from a management point of view.