Mac vs PC

[jtoler_9]

and they buy a Dell or HP and it comes loaded with all that "crap-ware" that is unneeded? All the preinstalled crap? What do you call that?

I think it's called super easy to fix. Being a network admin I kinda thought you might already know where the un-install feature is in Windows. In case you forgot, it's in your controll panel. :p . I can tell you from experience, I would much rather un-install a few programs upfront, than deal with all the Apple DRM nonsense in Itunes.
Hey Mom, I downloaded this awesome new Soundtrack. I wish I could throw it on a thumb drive and bring it over, but I would have to authorize your computer using my Itunes account. Since I can only have a few authorized computers, you are just going to have to come here to listen to it.

All joking aside, Itunes blows, and I am writing this from my Ipad. :) . My HP laptop is sleeping.

[Blerv]

I will say its confusing as heck. I wiped my songs somehow during a routine phone upgrade (off the computer and phone) while slowly and carefully thinking about the steps. Not my first time either.

If anyone sees a Canadian Gypsy Jazz 80's cover band in their library, I'm sorry :p .

[Whieee]

I think it's called super easy to fix. Being a network admin I kinda thought you might already know where the un-install feature is in Windows. In case you forgot, it's in your controll panel. :p . I can tell you from experience, I would much rather un-install a few programs upfront, than deal with all the Apple DRM nonsense in Itunes.
Hey Mom, I downloaded this awesome new Soundtrack. I wish I could throw it on a thumb drive and bring it over, but I would have to authorize your computer using my Itunes account. Since I can only have a few authorized computers, you are just going to have to come here to listen to it.

All joking aside, Itunes blows, and I am writing this from my Ipad. :) . My HP laptop is sleeping.

Why would I want to run a bunch of uninstall scripts on my brand-new PC if the software shouldn't be there in the first place? :P

That said, I used to do a fresh install on my new Macs right after I got them. Not because it's needed, but because I was used to doing it before I got a Mac. Nowadays, I just boot the **** thing, run through the 'first boot' process, and be done with it.

And please get your facts straight about DRM in iTunes. Apple dropped DRM from the iTunes Music Store a few years ago. You can actually play all your purchased songs on any device. If you can't, you're doing it wrong. Don't blame Apple for it You want to 'throw the song on a thumb drive' ? Insert thumb drive, and drag the song onto it. Done. It'll probably be AAC or AALC encoded, but iTunes will convert it to -DRM free- MP3 in 2 clicks if you want to.

Call me a Mac zealot if you want, but your iTunes problem is non-existant. You're just doing it wrong

[Blerv]

iTunes is first and foremost a commerce application. That means its better at letting you buy stuff than proper functionality. I'm not the only one who has deleted all my songs through a seemingly "simple" phone upgrade. I've been around computers long enough for basic common sense too.

It's a UI disaster and is slow as heck. I can agree that Apple makes a nice OS or a decent computer but iTunes is the drooling drunk cousin at thanksgiving you wish never showed up.

[Whieee]

iTunes is first and foremost a commerce application. That means its better at letting you buy stuff than proper functionality. I'm not the only one who has deleted all my songs through a seemingly "simple" phone upgrade. I've been around computers long enough for basic common sense too.

It's a UI disaster and is slow as heck. I can agree that Apple makes a nice OS or a decent computer but iTunes is the drooling drunk cousin at thanksgiving you wish never showed up.

I take it you're a Windows user? Not to say you're stupid, but most people who rant about iTunes, rant about iTunes on Windows. iTunes on Windows is a UI disaster to Windows users, because it doesn't fit in with the Windows UI at all. And it's slow.

That said, iTunes on OSX is as fast as it should be, and the UI makes total sense (it is a little different from the Windows version too). So, if you're actually trying to say that iTunes for Windows sucks, I totally agree. I have used iTunes on Windows in the past, but only if I had to On a Mac, it's just fine.

That said, one of my major complaints about Windows software in general is that there is hardly any consistency in UI design. Developers don't even seem to try to make their apps intuitive. Sure, if you get used to the app, you can be productive with it, but there just is no Windows-alternative to apps like Adium, Textmate, Coda, or even Mail.app. There are tons of apps that give you -more or less- the same things, like Pidgin, Notepad++ or Thunderbird, but they all fall WAY short when it comes to proper, clean, consistent and effective UI design.

[jtoler_9]

That said, iTunes on OSX is as fast as it should be, and the UI makes total sense (it is a little different from the Windows version too).

That's good to know. So all I have to do to get a better user experience with Itunes and my IPad is to buy a 1.5k Macbook. No biggie. . Just to play the advocate, who designed Itunes? Guess it's Microsofts fault that Itunes on my HP hardware is painful to use. :rolleyes: I guess it's along the same lines as all the websites using Adobe flash are just stupid because, don't they know there is a superior product called quicktime? I find it insulting that if I as a consumer buy anything Mac, then I have to buy everything Mac. Thanks but no thanks.
P.S. don't forget to convert your thousands of digital audio files over to Mac approved format. User friendly????? I don't think so. In the war for computing dominance there is no user friendly platform.

[Bradley]

If you're getting BSODs you're either suffering from broken hardware, or your AMD videodriver is broken. Have you tried installing the latest Catalyst drivers? Those might fix most of the issues.

Except for batterylife. You shouldn't be expecting badass battery life from a notebook that you bought because it had the fastest CPU and graphics on the market. Faster chips generally need more power, which equals '****** battery life'

I've downloaded new drivers for the graphics and everything, to no avail.

[Fred Sanford]

That's good to know. So all I have to do to get a better user experience with Itunes and my IPad is to buy a 1.5k Macbook. No biggie. . Just to play the advocate, who designed Itunes? Guess it's Microsofts fault that Itunes on my HP hardware is painful to use. :rolleyes: I guess it's along the same lines as all the websites using Adobe flash are just stupid because, don't they know there is a superior product called quicktime? I find it insulting that if I as a consumer buy anything Mac, then I have to buy everything Mac. Thanks but no thanks.
P.S. don't forget to convert your thousands of digital audio files over to Mac approved format. User friendly????? I don't think so. In the war for computing dominance there is no user friendly platform.

Who designed Office 2008 and 2011 for the Mac? Microsoft did and it has always sucked compared to the Windows version. Both companies are doing the same thing here. :)

[Pinetreebbs]

So, does the current or previous version of OS X come with a simple video editing application like Windows 7 Movemaker?

[Pinetreebbs]

I've downloaded new drivers for the graphics and everything, to no avail.

You likely need a clean installation of Windows.

[Blerv]

No offense taken.

I still hold that iTunes layout/UI is not intuitive for most . This is agreed by my bro who owns a Mac and a PC (but that's just 2 people). I would love to talk to the Genius squad to confirm this as its likely they have people daily with update/backup problems who are non-windows people.

Still, it's interesting that its faster on Mac OS than PC stat-per-stat. I'm not saying its evil as it does bring quite a bit of perks, just not perfect. Nothing is but Apple has such a comfortable user interface elsewhere that iTunes seems sorely lacking.*

* edit: at least within the Windows UI design.

[Bradley]

You likely need a clean installation of Windows.

I completely wiped the computer about 2 weeks ago. Like factory reset, then updated all the drivers.

[Pinetreebbs]

I completely wiped the computer about 2 weeks ago. Like factory reset, then updated all the drivers.

Sounds like you definitely have a hardware issue. Memory is a likely cause. Before sending it to a repair shop I would replace the ram with known good ram. If you have no source for ram to try you can download Memtest and run it to test the ram you have. Memetest is free, see: http://www.memtest.org/

The have a pre-compiled bootable ISO file for here: http://www.memtest.org/download/4.20/me ... 20.iso.zip

[jabba359]

So, does the current or previous version of OS X come with a simple video editing application like Windows 7 Movemaker?

OSX doesn't include iMovie anymore as part of the OS (it's part of the iLife suite now), but if you're buying a whole new Mac, they include the iMovie app, which is far superior to Windows Moviemaker IMO.

[cinticyklist]

Hi. Just joined the forum as I've recently bought my first Spyderco - which quickly led to to 4 more. Yes, I have a problem.

When I read the rules/code of conduct for this site before joining, I was very pleased with the "no politics/no religion" clause. Which is great, btw. Then I saw this thread. :)

I can't really talk about knives with authority at the moment, but I can weigh in on this.

I've been in the software industry for 24 years. I used and developed for PCs for 14 years, switched to Macs in 2001.

Our consulting company policy allows for Macs although we are a Dell shop, and while there are exceptions, on an average per machine basis, the Macs require less care and feeding. A lot of people trade their Dells in every 3 years when they are eligible. I kept my first Apple laptop for 5 years (then sold it for $600 on eBay**). The second lasted for 5 years as well and is now in use by my daughter. ** the company's Mac policy is different from the Dell policy.

For me, it's an OS thing. OS X just works the way I do. I can run anything I want (open source or Windows through virtualization). Yes, even science and math programs. My laptop goes to sleep when I close it, and wakes up when I open it and my current uptime is 122 days (and I'm a developer, if my crappy code doesn't crash it, that's saying something). Installing new software is drag and drop usually. No huge installation routine. If a want to delete an app, I can just throw it away. No weird registry ghosts hanging around after a de-install process. And I've never experienced the "6 month slowdown" that I used to with Windows that required either a spring cleaning or a reinstall (which may not be a problem anymore with Win7 - I run it as a VM with only a few programs nowadays).

As for the image, it's funny. There's hype, then there's hype about the hype. The latter seems more prevalent than the former. I don't try to angle the glowing apple logo on my laptop so it glints in someone's eye or anything like that. I just open up and go. However, I am guilty of letting my colleagues believe that my visuals are better than theirs because I use a Mac and they don't. I like to think it's me that's better, but they can believe what they want. :)

Pick what works for you. When I switched, I had to buy Mac versions of a bunch of stuff (Office, Visio, Project, Photoshop, etc.). I still use the Windows version of Excel, but everything else I use the Mac equivalent. My boss switched to a Mac, solely for the purpose of using Office, email, and browsing the web. I personally never thought it was necessary for just those things and if a client came to me with the requirements of the OP, I would probably say the same thing.

Me, I'll never go back as long as I have a choice - and as long as the OS continues to work that way I work.

[Whieee]

No offense taken.

I still hold that iTunes layout/UI is not intuitive for most . This is agreed by my bro who owns a Mac and a PC (but that's just 2 people). I would love to talk to the Genius squad to confirm this as its likely they have people daily with update/backup problems who are non-windows people.

Still, it's interesting that its faster on Mac OS than PC stat-per-stat. I'm not saying its evil as it does bring quite a bit of perks, just not perfect. Nothing is but Apple has such a comfortable user interface elsewhere that iTunes seems sorely lacking.*

* edit: at least within the Windows UI design.

iTunes runs faster on the Mac because of libraries and because of sloppy Windows development. iTunes relies on Quicktime frameworks/libraries for actual playback. These libraries are tightly integrated on Mac OSX, and do not have to be loaded separately when you launch iTunes. On Windows, these libraries need to be loaded when you launch iTunes.

Aside from that, Apple doesn't spend a lot of time optimizing iTunes on Windows. If their code compiles and the binary runs the way Apple's testing crew finds acceptable, they stop working on it. Windows is not their core business, and they solely make iTunes for Windows so they can sell iPods/iPhones/iPads to Windows users. Moreover, iTunes is developed for Mac OSX first, and ported to Windows later. Porting usually means 'becomes slower'.

One thing I wanted to add to the UI discussion about iTunes: Apple uses iTunes as their test-bed for UI experiments. Some of those experiments obviously are less successful than others Over the years Apple implemented various UI toolkits by testing them on iTunes, and implementing them throughout OSX a while later. As a result, iTunes will -mostly- work the way a Mac user can expect, but it will always be the oddball. I don't know exactly how many of those UI experiments also make it to the Windows version though, but as a Mac user I can usually pretty much predict which way Apple will go UI-wise for their next OS release, purely by observing recent changes in iTunes UI design.