Why do people buy macs?

[Epinephrine]

I think the real issue is that the Mac is really just a complex console system. They have very specialized hardware and specalized software which is specifically configured for that hardware.

A lot of problems with Windows occurs when you start swapping pieces of hardware, or with compatability issues. There is absolutely no problem with Apple because they control exactly everything that goes into their systems, and they use high quality parts (unlike say the shite RAM you might get by building your own system and getting the cheapest Taiwanese OEM RAM you can get, or just using any Dell part, I say this as a Dell owner myself )

Much like how console games always work, and PC games usually take a while to set up properly, Apple has a huge edge because everything is already preconfigured.

[geekbot]

That's a good point. Of course the line between console/devices and computers is starting to blur. It used to be that consoles were things that you put in a game and start playing. Now consoles play DVDs and connect to the internet and who knows what else. My friend's new XBOX 360 is more a computer than a console. Complete with screens that freeze up and need reboots. I'm not trying to troll, although I do find it amusing in an I hate Microsoft sort of way. But more and more we have devices like phones and cameras that are overloaded, complex and occasionally buggy. It's going to happen. My iPod has rebooted a couple of times....probably more often than my Apple laptop (ain't that a kick in the head?).

I'll save my preaching about Macs except to say that user simplicity (or design simplicity) on top of internal complexity is something that Apple is at times good at. I can appreciate that as a user and an engineer who wishes he was more "designer" than "engineer".


EDIT: The more I think about it, the more it amazes me. I've had my iPod for a year and my PowerBook a little less. My iPod has rebooted unexpectedly a handful of times- maybe 5-7 times and maybe another 2-3 times because I was out of battery. My PowerBook has rebooted maybe 1 time unexpectedly and another time because I thought I needed a reboot but in retrospect probably could have just quit the offending application. Even including 1 OS upgrade and all software installs my PowerBook has rebooted probably less than 10 times since I got it. I think that's pretty cool.

Windows has come a *long, long* way in terms of unexpected reboots as well. But software installs/uninstalls still needs work. I had to reboot my work PC 3 times today alone.

[ConcreteSchlyrd]

I'll save my preaching about Macs except to say that user simplicity (or design simplicity) on top of internal complexity is something that Apple is at times good at. I can appreciate that as a user and an engineer who wishes he was more "designer" than "engineer".

True, but sometimes they still get it incredibly wrong--both my girlfriend and I could do a litany about how much iPhoto sucks. Badly. I can understand my hate for it, since I'm on the opposite side of your "Mac-friendly" coin, but she's a smart cookie with no OS preference. There are still peices of Mac software that need a lot of work. (I also think iTunes sucks ass, but that may be just me.)

Windows has come a *long, long* way in terms of unexpected reboots as well. But software installs/uninstalls still needs work. I had to reboot my work PC 3 times today alone.

I agree, but with each step (3.11 -> NT -> 2000 -> XP) it's gotten considerably better. It's the same as other OSes, if you think about it. OS 7 wasn't really anything to write home about, either. If you want me to recount tales of Aldus (remember when it was Aldus, bitches?) Pagemaker freezing a Mac and killing it, I can. More or less, all OSes are getting better, just like any product in rolling development should. I really do believe that it's a personal preference-thing at this point--I haven't rebooted any of my Windows machines for about a month, and my server class machines haven't been rebooted in about 6. It all depends on your comfort level with them (and, to some extent, what you're installing).

[Benno]

you don't need to go back to OS 7 for that, I remeber OS 9 crashing at very inopertune times with photoshop while trying to save print ready (300 dpi) images to PDFs for printing. It might be a little bit of revisionist memory, but the OS 9 boxes gave me a lot more headaches than*comperable winxp boxes.

On the other hand, I haven't had any real problems with OS X since it was released.

*Caveats: At the time I was much less experienced with macs in general, plus the comperable part is based on the fact each dual system lab was stocked with whatever was top of the line from a given time (eg: may of 2002 room x got new macs and new pcs)

[geekbot]

Both Windows and Mac OS has gone far in increasing complexity and increasing stability. There was a while there when size, complexity (and cost) seemed to be increasing but a whole lot of quality and usefulness was not (OS 8->9, Win 95).

*Caveats: At the time I was much less experienced with macs in general

I really don't think that is a good excuse. If Mac OS 9 is crashing- that means it's broken. If Windows XP can't come back from a hibernate without the wireless connection getting hosered- it's broken. An OS needs to provide a stable, useful platform to run apps. Stable means you can't break it. If your little brother comes along and starts banging keys, the OS should not crash. If you know enough to be "dangerous" and start poking around for fun, the OS shouldn't melt down. Viruses too.

For the most part, OSes are that. It used to be you ALWAYS "save your work every 10 minutes". You never know when your computer will crash or the power go out. I don't manically save every sentence anymore. If you have a UPS battery backup, you're pretty much golden. But hey, why shouldn't the computer protect you from that too? Desktops should never lose any work ever. My mac can hibernate in a couple of seconds. That is quick enough that only a small battery should be needed to detect a power failure and hibernate. I'm going to get Steve Jobs on the phone right now...

[ConcreteSchlyrd]

I don't know how much weight is added with fuel cell tech, but a good reason there isn't "internal UPS" right now (even if it is just a tiny one) is because no one wants the extra bulk/weight of lead-acid batteries in a case. At least I don't.

[Sarien]

I can second that, I picked up an UPS a while back, and the thing weighed a ton. My G4 case is already about 40 lbs, and no way would I want that much weight added to it.

[DoTheFandango]

The one that my dad has for his desktop weighs something like 60 lbs.