My personal thoughts on: iMac.

[Dave]

Right, so I have to very honest with you, I sometimes forget that this boards is about technology too and mainly post things about Video Games in it. For that, I blame Lee entirely. He was such a great mod for this section and his vice was entirely Video Games. He posted a lot about Video Games and not a hefty amount about other types of technology. So all the good topics were about video games and other technology was left in the shadows. So, I have taken some steps to remedy this and more will continue to come. With all that in mind, I would like to welcome you to my latest thread offering that runs in the same vein as the last. This thread will examine my personal thoughts on the iMac computer.

So here goes.

Now, I have to be very honest with you, until about 5 months ago, I had never used an iMac for anything. Sure, I had seen them around and thought that they looked very nice but I had never gotten the chance to get o grips with one fully. Now, when I started college in August, we were faced with the probability that we were going to have to use iMacs. Obviously, this caused an uproar from the people in my class. You see, like many others, the iMac has fallen prey to the huge amount of Windows systems that are on show in the world right now. I, myself, was pretty upset because I am currently working on a course that sees me use a lot of programs that are a little bit more difficult to use on a Mac. However, I swallowed my pride and really took the bull by the horns, in order to get to grips with the new system.

So with the history lesson out of the way, I would like to let you know my thoughts on the iMac system as a whole. Now, when I examine a new system, the first thing that I always want to see is a user-friendly interface that is consistent across all of the aspects of the computer. The iMac does this. However, switching from a PC to a Mac is extremely hard at first. You see, I constantly catch myself pressing the Windows hot key to bring up my start bar but to no avail. Nevertheless, my point is very true of the first time Mac user who is switching from a PC daily. The rest of the user-interface is pretty good actually and the screen is just fantastic. I fell in love with it the first time I saw it and still love the massive resolution on each and every page it displays. You should see it beaming out WZ, it is glorious. I am reliably informed by many of my lecturers that the Mac is what people in the industry use. This is good training for me for my future because if I have a degree in Windows and people are using a Mac, I may be bamboozled and have no idea how to use it. So this is good training. I am also told that the Windows systems have been ripped off of the Mac. Now, as a Microsoft fan from the start, I have bought every operating system that Microsoft has produced, with the exception of things that are aimed at businesses and Windows 7. However, I will likely get Windows 7 on my college tuition for a minimal fee.

Nevertheless, I when I began using an iMac, I was not very happy to say the least. Everything, it seemed was just so hard to do compared to the Windows alternative. For example, when you begin to use the Mac, there is not right-click. Naturally, that is easily fixed and is just a minor problem. However, how many times do you use the right-click on a daily basis? For it to just disappear is just crazy. Obviously that is just a minor problem and it can be fixed easily but what of the other problems with the system? I mean, Windows can't be "superior" to Mac for no reason, can they? So, I go in search of problems that I encountered whilst using the new system. There is only a couple of things that I could find.

1. Finder: Now, the Finder is the Mac alternative to searching through your documents etc in Windows. However, it is so annoying. The problem is that I am so used to using the Windows system that even the slightest change in something fucked me up. The Finder is not even that bad, in fact, it is pretty good. It's juts as usable as the Windows alternative but just a little strange.
   
2. No Easy Deletion: Now this pissed me off. You see, when I want to delete something forever or send it to the trash, I don't want to drag it from one side of the screen to the other. That is unnecessary when you can just right-click and hit delete on a PC. The Mac does not give you this option to my knowledge and it just gets fucking annoying having to drag everything from one side to another.
   
3. No Copy Option: There is a duplicate option but no copy option. I know the words mean the exact same but they don't act the exact same. You see, when you hit copy (Cntrl+c) in a Windows system. You will not see the actual copies until you reach the destination and paste (Cntrl+p) them in. However, the Mc duplicates the file and you see another copy of it right there. Then you physically have to drag the file to the destination. That annoyed me.
   
4. Harder Short cuts: The short cuts are my main gripe about Mac's. You see, I use a lot of programs in my college course and the Mac makes it very difficult to use any of the short cuts that I had learned before. They are not tremendously harder but just a little bit more difficult to perform. I also find myself second guessing what I knwo is right on a Windows because I am on the Mac.

However, these are just small things that could be adjusted to work. I mean, they propably do and I am just being an idiot but some of the aspects make learning on a Mac, a little but more difficult. The Mac's do have some great features though. For example, every Mac comes with software that is invariably useful. For example, I got Safari and iTunes and iMail and iChat etc with my Mac and I was really happy to see some of that.

However, the undoubted best quality of a Mac is the screen. It is massive and just so tidy looking that it is hard not to fall in love with it right off of the bat. In my course, I use a lot of Photoshop designs and Flash etc. The screen makes it so easy to see flaws in graphics and remedy them. With it's sheer size and usability, the Mac should be a contender for the Windows crown. Yet, it isn't. Windows is continuing to hold on to it's monopoly of the computer market and most new PC's that come out, come with Windows installed as standard. Now, looking at what Apple has to offer, I find it crazy that Windows has such a hold on the market. Apple have really created a good computer there and it rarely gets the credit it deserves.

Now, I do have some questions for you guys.

Firstly, why do you think that Mac's are frowned upon in comarison to Windows?

Secondly, do you think, as Windows user, we have been spoiled by a pooly made, rip off system that has not changed very much.

Lastly: If you own a Mac or a PC, what are your thoughts on the other system?

 

[The Doctor]

Firstly, why do you think that Mac's are frowned upon in comarison to Windows?

They aren't, at least not over here. People always laugh at me for using a PC, and say that Mac is better for just about everything. Music, graphics, cooking a grilled cheese sandwich, everything.

Secondly, do you think, as Windows user, we have been spoiled by a pooly made, rip off system that has not changed very much.

Nah. Windows computers work perfectly well, thank you very much. You can TALK about how shoddy it is, but it all boils down to personal opinion and preference.

Lastly: If you own a Mac or a PC, what are your thoughts on the other system?

I own a PC. I love Macs as well, especially the GarageBand program which is truly awesome. However, and this may be because I'm so used to them, I prefer PCs. Macs may have GarageBand, but they don't run Photoshop better, and hey are just an alternative, nothing more. They aren't the way of the future, they are just an alternative.

 

[Ty Burna]

Firstly, why do you think that Mac's are frowned upon in comarison to Windows?

Unfortunately like Doc said, they aren't necessarily frowned upon in the States, but as a computer enthusiast and technician, may I say that I hate Macs with a passion that could produce energy for the entire Midwest. Apple says that Macs are more user friendly and easier to use, which of course I call bullshit on. Here's why, first when you have a problem like connecting to the Internet or you need to change settings for a specific program, more often than not you get about three buttons to press and maybe two fields to enter specific settings. That's it. With a PC you hook your ethernet cable into your computer and you have Internet, nothing more nothing less. Now if you want to program a static IP into your computer, it takes about 2 minutes, with a Mac you may have to fuck with it for a good 15-20 minutes before it even gives you the correct area to enter the settings into.

Secondly, do you think, as Windows user, we have been spoiled by a pooly made, rip off system that has not changed very much.

Poorly made? Maybe if you're talking about Windows ME and depending on your opinion on it, Windows Vista. There is a reason Windows still owns over 93% of the market share and Mac has to pride itself on it's measly 5% while Linux (which is free) has about a 2% market share. So let's compare that, Linux which is open source/open development that has no advertising whatsoever has half the market share that Apple has. Apple has to spend a ton of money for advertising just to gain a marginal market that Linux could just as well match with no advertising. What does that tell you?

Also, Mac's basically haven't changed at all as far as their OS goes. Mac OS X acts just like their older OS's, but with shinier graphics. Windows meanwhile has fixed the errors they made in Vista and created a beautiful and lightweight OS that doesn't interfere with the user with Windows 7. And since we're going there, my second biggest problems with Macs are that they charge you way more money for inferior hardware just because it is proprietary. This isn't a specific example but if you demand it, I can show the difference. Apple can charge you almost $900-$1200 for a computer with decent specs. Now to match those specs, you can go to Dell or like in my case, build your own, you would be looking at anywhere from $500-$700 if not cheaper depending on the OEM builder. That's a $400 to $700 difference in price right there. Not only this but if there is a problem with your Mac, you have to take it to an Apple store to have it repaired. Most computer repair stores refuse to service Macs because Apple cheaps them over on any repair work done to them.

Lastly: If you own a Mac or a PC, what are your thoughts on the other system?

PC user through and through. I believe the above has spelled out my specific thoughts on Macs. But just to add one more nugget, people believe that Windows 7 ripped off the few good ideas that Mac OS X had, when Mac has been ripping off the Linux Kernel for years and no one has ever even made a peep about that.

 

[Ty Burna]

However, the undoubted best quality of a Mac is the screen. It is massive and just so tidy looking that it is hard not to fall in love with it right off of the bat. In my course, I use a lot of Photoshop designs and Flash etc. The screen makes it so easy to see flaws in graphics and remedy them. With it's sheer size and usability, the Mac should be a contender for the Windows crown. Yet, it isn't. Windows is continuing to hold on to it's monopoly of the computer market and most new PC's that come out, come with Windows installed as standard. Now, looking at what Apple has to offer, I find it crazy that Windows has such a hold on the market. Apple have really created a good computer there and it rarely gets the credit it deserves.

Just to touch up on this part about the screen Dave, so you get a big screen, that's nothing to laud a Mac about. You can just as easily go out and get a large screen for a PC as you are a Mac. Plus as I sit at my desk at work, I'm looking at two nice 22" widescreen monitors next to each other and with another video card, I can get that to three and four. If I want I could bump those up to larger screens no problem. Also with the "desktop" of the Mac, I find that to be boring and bland. I do like the dock at the bottom of the screen, but it's so easy to go out and get a free desktop manager (may I suggest to you the Rainmeter Desktop Manager for Windows of course), and it does the same thing, plus Windows 7 now has that ability to keep your most used programs on the taskbar. Oh...that's right you could do that with Vista or XP as well, just without the shiny big icons.