Just points.
22:41 Tuesday 9 Jan 07
Do I like Windows? I don’t care for or against it. It’s a tool. It does a job for me. I can work quickly and effectively on it. I know nothing of the OS or the architecture or other technical stuff and I’d bet that 99.9% of users don’t either. It works (and yes mine does). So do I like the tool? Yes.
Do I like OS X? Right now I’m still discovering things so it’s all at the ‘interesting’ phase. Things like F9 make me smile. But then so did Minesweeper :) Do I think it will end up being as useful a tool as Windows? Yes. Do I think it will be better? I have no idea. Am I biasing against it? No, not at all – like I said, I’m still finding things out. The end choice is not going to be decided by the name, the design, the curvy corners but the open source software. That’s what will sway it for me. If the software is better designed and works better then I’ll jump in. But it’s not Apple software – just like I don’t determine my PC because of Microsoft software (of which I run none bar the OS). But F9 does rule. And hot corners. I really want to find out how to make things start faster though.
Remember cassette players? There were 2 sorts of eject mode: OUT and slooooooooow damped gently floating forwards sort of out. I like the former. It feels like the latter.
So there are 2 OS’s.
The empires to which they belong as are evil as each other. (I saw the word ‘Patented’ on the screenshots too). Apple and Microsoft are no better or no worse. They are both deals with the technological devils. I am freeing myself from nothing if I used the Mac just as I am not locked into hell if I stayed with Windows. Being able to use both to work is the bonus. That’s the goal (in fact knowing and using the kb shortcuts will be a test I suppose).
By the way, for anyone reading the mac stuff with interest… see the tag line in my blog? The Claire who wrote that knows her Apple stuff. Oh yes she does.
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Welcome to the OSX world. I do not know if you already checked out http://versiontracker.com There’s a lot of interesting software there. Some are even free! :D Just like you, I thought that Windows did the job for me. But when I changed to OS X, I had discovered that it made my life easier, having more time for myself! :) Of course, that’s just my biased personal opinion! :)
00:11 Wednesday 10 Jan 07
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Well said Mark. We are all servants of evil empires. I think there is something liberating about being aware of it and making the most of it.
We choose our pain and pleasure.
01:17 Wednesday 10 Jan 07
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Don – that’s the bit I can’t understand yet. The ‘easier’. But I do aim to find out.
Lloyd – I left the true pain out. Linux :)
02:05 Wednesday 10 Jan 07
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Mark, I’m seriously debating on retrying Linux. If you remember, we both tried Ubuntu at the same time. I lasted an afternoon and gave up because of the stupid fat/ntfs crap with hard drives. The difference this time is i’m doing it on my laptop and don’t need to add second non-*nix formatted drives. And since it’s not my primary PC, i aim to stick with it a bit longer to at least find my way around. Wish me luck! (now if i can get the damn backup dvds to burn….)
03:29 Wednesday 10 Jan 07
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shep – mad, you’re maaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaad!
08:34 Wednesday 10 Jan 07
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I went from Windows to Ubuntu because I wanted *nix stability and power. I went from Ubuntu to OS X because I found that I was spending way too much time in Ubuntu just getting things to work. OS X gives me *nix stability and power, wrapped in a “just works” interface. I’m far more productive, and feel less stressed. The only thing I lack is freedom. That bothers me a bit, but not enough to take the productivity hit that moving to GNU/Linux would cost me. I am, however, looking forward to the day where GNU/Linux catches up in terms of usability. I install every new Ubuntu version just to see how much progress is being made.
I use all three on a daily basis, so it’s really just a matter of what I chose for my main operating environment.
10:00 Wednesday 10 Jan 07
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Mark (J),
You may have neglected to fully account for learning curve. I don’t know if you had prior experience with Macs, but once you know Linux you can do /more/ for less effort and lower cost.
11:41 Wednesday 10 Jan 07
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Heeeey – where the hell have you been?
21:50 Wednesday 10 Jan 07
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This is probably the best balanced post on the whole PC or Mac thing I’ve read for ages.
22:42 Wednesday 10 Jan 07
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mark, well, it didn’t last long again. this time it was because i couldn’t get wireless to work, and apparently it’s a problem with many solutions with my chipset. the problem, none of the solutions worked for me… *sigh*
00:00 Thursday 11 Jan 07
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> but once you know Linux you can do /more/ for less effort and lower cost.
Roy, that completely depends on what you want to do.
I used Ubuntu because my discomfort is the only discomfort I can heal
00:28 Thursday 11 Jan 07