Comments on: Microsoft’s Charlie Owen is Disappointed in My Switch to the Mac

By: TranceMist

TranceMist — Fri, 23 Mar 2007 11:49:00 +0000

Thomas- nice to see you free yourself on your own.

Interesting how the only people who defend Microsoft are either Microsoft themselves or geeks who like to tinker with it.

You never see normal users who are focused on productivity defend Microsoft. Occasionally they just shrug and acknowledge that they're stuck with it (i.e. Outlook, Notes, etc).

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By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Fri, 02 Mar 2007 11:23:00 +0000

I like many Window users, hoped that Vista was going to become THE imaging platform for photographers…it isn’t.
The Mac platform is fundamentally friendlier to “creatives”…the core of the OS is designed for photographers, designers, film makers, sound engineers, musicians…on Vista all of this is an afterthought.
I am tired of using an OS that is a compromise for what I do…after many, many years…and after buying Vista, this is the year that I “have had enough” and I am moving over to OS X as soon as Leopard is released.

By: Sam

Sam — Thu, 01 Mar 2007 14:14:00 +0000

Come on. Macs are slick, but the new Vista's not that far off. A Mac's recently entered my house, and while its not worse than Windows, Mac's got the 'spinning wheel of death', I've had to Force Quit programs a lot of times (iTunes, Adium, Fire etc.), only a specific subset of hardware works on it, and I still don't get why sometimes the program doesn't quit even though I've closed all the windows, among other things.

And why is it so hard to automount a particular network share on logon every time? From what I read, you have to have an AppleScript for that. What?

I think ultimately, it has a lot to do with the mass usage of Windows, wider range of software (bigger chance of badly designed software as well), and its much wider hardware compatibility that's holding it down. Apple gets more control over its ecosystem, and as a result they can make the experience better. Microsoft would be able to do the same in the same position.

I've had no problems with my Windows machine for ages, so a lot of it comes down to the users too. Over time, the Mac will probably become easier for me too.

Just think the comparison should be a bit fairer - Mac's not the ideal system its often painted to be.

By: Rohan

Rohan — Thu, 01 Mar 2007 12:54:00 +0000

To tell the truth Thomas the windows community will not miss you..windows will not and cannot please everyone and you MAC certainly will not either.

By: Ian Graham

Ian Graham — Thu, 01 Mar 2007 11:10:00 +0000

As many have said… the Mac JUST WORKS! Imagine a car that gets you from A to B with NO PROBLEMS! M$ is a dirty underhanded company and VISTA is nothing more than a really BAD rip off of Mac OSX Tiger. Leopard is around the corner and from what I have seen is absolutely AMAZING! Sorry, but to me, supporting Windows with all of its problems, security issues, viruses, anti trust law suits, etc. etc. etc. makes no sense when you have an alternative system that works. You may be a mechanic but I LIKE TO DRIVE my car! My audio/video studio is productive and we have no down time. As for Charlie Owen, did he not see the internal emails from Jim Alchin regarding OS X and how he felt they had ALOT of work to make Vista even close to Tiger? Also, has he not seen the reviews of VISTA? Terrible! He’s been brained washed by Micro CRAP!

By: Ade

Ade — Thu, 01 Mar 2007 08:22:00 +0000

I had the most luck with Windows NT4. Shame it didn't "do" multimedia that well. XP was always trouble for me.

My Windows PC now randomly turns itself off every 5 minutes or so, with no warning. I don't think I can face yet another wipe and reinstall! I'm tired of all that...

So I'll just stick to using the Mac.

By: greywulf

greywulf — Wed, 28 Feb 2007 17:28:00 +0000

> I upgraded my wife to Vista / Office 2007 two weeks ago.

Ah. That's where Thomas has been going wrong then. He's been upgrading computers, not people.

Suddenly, it all makes sense.

By: Jeff Atwood

Jeff Atwood — Wed, 28 Feb 2007 16:09:00 +0000

> Chris Pirillo is someone who is tech savvy and someone whose opinion I trust.

That's like calling the National Enquirer your favorite newspaper.

Thomas, I'm embarrassed on your behalf.

I must be a genius, because I'm not seeing these daily, soul-crushing, killed-little-children problems that you and Chris had, under XP or Vista.

Why is it so hard for people to admit that they just *like what they like?* No doubt Apple has far more aesthetically pleasing hardware than the beige-box crap the PC world has to live with. And the semi-closed ecosystem of Apple leads to much tighter and cleaner integration, at the cost of a little choice and a little cash. Perfectly reasonable tradeoffs, all.

We can trade apocryphal examples all day long. I upgraded my wife to Vista / Office 2007 two weeks ago. And I haven't heard a single complaint or had any problems so far, even with UAC enabled. And we sit directly across from each other when using the computer, so believe me, if she had a problem, I couldn't avoid knowing about it. I have, on the other hand, heard her complain bitterly about various UI problems with the websites she visits. Should we blame Microsoft for that, too?

I don't see why the choice between Apple and PC has to be this grand lifestyle vision.

But whatever works for you. If it has to be a cultural jihad to be satisfying, then so be it.

By: greywulf

greywulf — Wed, 28 Feb 2007 15:47:00 +0000

I'm with you all the way on this Thomas. I came to the same conclusion about Microsoft a while ago, though while you took the Mac path, I went the Linux route. Same conclusion, different endings, that's all.

With a Mac things just work, and they're great. With Linux I can get under the hood and make it work in whatever way I want. Both are equally good solutions to the problems Microsoft brings - viruses, adware, registry problems, security issues and all the rest.

Each version of Windows is oh-so-slowly re-inventing Unix (badly), and trying to put a flashy interface on top to gloss over the problems. I'm not sure they'll produce something approaching a quality product any time soon. Which is a shame, considering all the very, very clever people in their employ.

But hey, what do I know?