I've been working closely with both Mac OS and Windows since my first introduction to computers when I was a wee lad, and I've been supporting both professionally since long before I was legally allowed to work. I've also worked with Linux for quite some time. Personally, I support Apple, not because I'm a Fanboi (I like to think I make fair comparisons, and I'm the type of person who will give these types of things a fair chances and use before shrugging it off as "the sucks"), but because I like what they make. When I sit down at my Mac and get ready to do work, I don't think "what if I got a virus over the network?" or "I should probably scan for malware", or "I need to reboot first because the system is running slow". I just sit down, and it works. The interface and key combinations are appealing and easy for me to use, I get more work done, and I enjoy my time spent on the computer.

I've found that the vast vast majority of people who talk trash on OS X know next to nothing about it, and in a lot of cases, haven't even used it. People like to cling to the lie that Apple computers are more expensive (they aren't, you just have a smaller selection of models). You can't compare your $300 Dell desktop to my $1099 iMac. Sorry, there's just no comparison there, your Dell is cheap junk that will be long dead before I even need to upgrade.

Sure, it's not a perfect system, but for what I use my computers for, it gets the job done better than Windows. I try to present the positives to people, and I get reactions across the spectrum. I've had a lot of people come back with the "You know, I never knew that about OS X, I think I'll give it a try", a few weeks later, I hear nothing but raves about their new Macs. I've also had people come back and tell me it wasn't for them, but at least they tried it, and made a fair assessment. The majority came back with an overwhelmingly positive response, which really says something for Apple's work.

I think part of Apple's quality stems from the very fact that MS is the majority share holder. Competition is a very good thing. If Apple were on top, I'm sure our current products would be of much lower quality, and MS's may very well be higher.

This isn't at all to say that MS makes a strictly bad product, or that PCs are never a good choice, but more so to say that just because Microsoft has the majority market share doesn't mean that OS X is less secure than many of it's supporters claim, or that the Microsoft way is always the best way. You should choose your computer based on your needs and likes, not what everyone else is doing, or what some idiot kid says on the internet. You know what they say; "Ignorance is bliss" and to the willfully ignorant, more power to you -- just don't bring your trash talk here. Nobody is interested.

It's one thing to make a joke or wise crack here and there -- I love a good Windows joke as much as the next admin, and I love a good Mac joke too, but it's something completely different to out right lie and pretend like it's the truth when you know it's not.
 

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OS X is more secure than windows because it is based on the principles that unix was built on. The operating system that it was based on was intended for multiple users and internet. Windows was originally written for a single user non-networked computer. It has checks to keep viruses from spreading outside of a user's space or self replicating.
 

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Well, I have a dell computer circa 2000 and it has outlasted TWO Macintosh computers thus far. An Imac that I paid over $2000 for in 2002 that the lovely 20" screen went out 1 month out of warrenty. Makes a nice semisphere that I can hook up to my reliable DELL monitor. Another issue is with a g5 that just went caput due to some sort of overheating issues. Tuff luck the G5 was out of warranty. Next is a rediculous ipod that Apple computer will charge you $59 to replace a dead battery when the thing gets out of warranty and is a little over a year old. My trusty creative zen MP3 player uses a single rechargable aaa battery that lasts about 18 hours before a recharge. You can pick up these aaa batteries at your local wall mart. Perhaps its me. I've really tried and tried to love my macs but they just keep breaking or are no longer functional after a year or two.
pmaholch@yahoo.com
 

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