I'm Sick of Windows...How is OS X?

[sashas]

I'm getting sick and tired of Windows..In the past two weeks, I've had to re-install Windows on both my machines (XP on one, Vista on the other). Constant crashing, slow speeds..even on a C2D 2.6 Ghz with 3GB RAM..viruses..man, I spend more time fixing my computer than using it

So asking the mac users here. How is the OSX? Better than Windows? How long does it take for a Windows user to get used to working in OSX?

Most importantly, how is the software support for OSX? I do a little bit of Dreamweaver, use DRT occassionaly, play a few games when I have the time..I'm not a software whore, but I do keep a wide assortment of software on my computer.

So, worth the switch?

 

[Sonny Banks]

Well I use Windows Vista to go online and to domaining but I have 4 Mac's in my recording studios.
Mac is the best for music/graphic applications...is more stable, more professional, more fast.

Depends on the use you do with your computer...if you need something to go online only and work with simply tools stay with Windows.
I don't know the new Windows 7 (in beta now) how it works.

If you need to use very sofisticated and professional applications go with Mac.

Mac Book Pro is a bomb.

 

[Loot_Skyparker]

Mac OS X is a real pleasure. I'm an SW engineer and used Windows for many years, Windows 98, Windows XP, as the remote portal my work for my corporate job (primarily a UNIX gig). And Mac OS X is so much sexier in so many ways. There's really no comparison. It's sophisticated, prettier interface, a lot of really refined things and attention to details Windows lacks. A lot of imagination and overall user-friendliness.

Further VMware fusion is only $99, Runs under Mac OS X and lets you run Windows in a window and it's like your Mac is two different computers running simultaneously so you can run your legacy Windows apps or apps that only run on Window. But you can't run Mac apps on a Windows box, so it's not fair, but cool as hell.

I could go on and on, but you owe it to yourself to go into a Mac store and check out their stuff carefully. Once you go Mac, you don't go back

 

[tekz999]

For christ's sake, get an anti-virus anti-spyware firewall security suite! This is the year 2009, and EVERY computer need it!

 

[INVIGOR]

I'm a fresh convert to Mac Book Pro. I have the large lcd monitor that goes with it along with the wireless keyboard and mouse. It's truly badass... I've installed "Parallels" in order to run my Windows apps. I really don't need Windows for anything other than GeoVision which are basically nanny-cams I can watch online to see what's happening at my house when I'm traveling.

 

[Theo]

First build a solid machine; use quality hardware, motherboard, RAM, use Intel CPU, a good power supply and cooling fan. I have no problems with my setup, I use Vista 64bit Ultimate, 8Gb of RAM and not even the top of the range CPU. The box works fine with games (e.g. CounterStrike, Call of Duty 4 etc) and applications (e.g Office, Adobe suite). Problems arise from buggy software, outdated drivers and problematic hardware. I work with mac's too but I build my own PC's with the hardware of my choice.

 

[Sonny Banks]

I use GeoVision too is a great piece of video surveillance system.

 

[katherine]

Keep your PC, switch to Linux.

 

[jdk]

I got two Mac's a few months ago. I bought a Macbook Pro and a 24" iMac. I can saw the OS is much more stable than XP/Vista I used to use. D.R.T. I have set up on a XP install using Fusion. I launch Fusion and it launches XP. You can use it to install other OS's if you prefer. Everything else is either Mac compatible or I had to get a Mac-alternative that does the same job.

I can say I am happy with the move, but I am not ruling out the option of getting a new machine when Windows 7 comes out. As of right now I prefer Mac OSX for my video and photo editing software. I do not play games, so graphics, or performance I can not comment on.

 

[ftaylor]

Keep your PC, switch to Linux.

Win.

www.ubuntu.com

MACS = SCAM

3x the price, just as vulnerable. You need to wear casual clothes and have a funky hair do to get a mac. You can only ever be seen against an isolated white background. Did I mention that they're a massive rip off?

Go compare the price of a new maxed out Dell, say the Studio 15 with all the upgrades, to a MacBook pro with the exact same specs. It's like £700 vs £3000. Similar ratio in dollars.

 

[Loot_Skyparker]

You get what you pay for. I've used XP and Mac OS X for everything as a career sw engineering professional, where UNIX is my day job, and I have done anything and everything on both platforms, and as a very experienced use of both platforms, I will say this: Mac OS X is *much* nicer in many ways. End of story.

 

[jdk]

Win.

www.ubuntu.com

MACS = SCAM

3x the price, just as vulnerable. You need to wear casual clothes and have a funky hair do to get a mac. You can only ever be seen against an isolated white background. Did I mention that they're a massive rip off?

Go compare the price of a new maxed out Dell, say the Studio 15 with all the upgrades, to a MacBook pro with the exact same specs. It's like £700 vs £3000. Similar ratio in dollars.

I am not a compulsive "Mac-only" user like some out there, but I have hardly read anything about them being just as vulnerable. Care to cite some instances for some educated reading? I would be very interested in reading the cases, but I know for sure they are no where near the amount of bugs and holes in Windows.

I agree they are more expensive, but you can buy a fully loaded mercedes or a stripped down ugo. I could care less about a Mac vs. Pc/Win debate, as it is not worth the time; however, OSX vs Windows it is a no-brainer. Not having to worry about compatibility or instability is worth the additional money.

It is funny, but other than price, there are not many other things that one can complain about regarding a Mac.

 

[Jilo]

I use Macs at work for photoshop, great for graphics, but for domaining, managing your sites and general admin - Windows...

 

[ftaylor]

I am not a compulsive "Mac-only" user like some out there, but I have hardly read anything about them being just as vulnerable. Care to cite some instances for some educated reading? I would be very interested in reading the cases, but I know for sure they are no where near the amount of bugs and holes in Windows.

I agree they are more expensive, but you can buy a fully loaded mercedes or a stripped down ugo. I could care less about a Mac vs. Pc/Win debate, as it is not worth the time; however, OSX vs Windows it is a no-brainer. Not having to worry about compatibility or instability is worth the additional money.

It is funny, but other than price, there are not many other things that one can complain about regarding a Mac.

http://apple.slashdot.org/apple/08/03/28/0126221.shtml

Apple spend alot of time making the system work nice and look smart. They don't spend nearly as much time securing it. As so few people use macs, you are bound to hear of windows exploits more. If the majority used macs, it would be the other way around. That won't happen if they keep charging so much.

The difference with linux is that as the source is open, if it was insecure, it would be hacked right left and center. I'm yet to hear of someone getting hacked.

You get what you pay for. I've used XP and Mac OS X for everything as a career sw engineering professional, where UNIX is my day job, and I have done anything and everything on both platforms, and as a very experienced use of both platforms, I will say this: Mac OS X is *much* nicer in many ways. End of story.

You're obviously not using Compiz fusion. You need to get some sudo apt-get compiz compiz-core on the go.

 

[Loot_Skyparker]

Well as for the fact that all OSes have vulnerabilities, I'm not sure what your first point is. I don't only use a Mac because there are fewer exploits than PC's have right now.

It's the over all package. Compiz fusion is sexy but most of those things are just toys most people will not use too much in real work. I'm talking about integration over all with Mac OS X.
I wouldn't mind having the features, but I wouldn't trade Mac OS X for Windows just so I could get a bunch of eye candy and essentially the same desktop navigation features Mac OS X has.
Mainly I just want to go from one window to another one I'm looking for, and I don't need a bunch of toys to do it. Mac OS X strikes a nice balance between that aesthetic, convenience
and functionallity.

None of us can or should legislate taste. People who have invested in something are almost duty bound to be biased in favor of it on those grounds alone.

I used XP for 6 years as my portal to everything. I got away from Mac OS many years before because of problems Apple had delivering the first OS X,
and their screwing over the the clone manufacturers and customers (that's how I felt owning a clone). But when Mac OS X matured, Microsoft didn't
event come close.

And Vista was a joke beyond jokes. Microsoft just wanted the public to pay for their DRM upgrade and offered crap in return for the expenditure.
That was borderline fraud in my opinion.

 

[ftaylor]

Yea, OSX is definitely better than Windows. Of that, there's no doubt. Perhaps Windows 7 will bring something new to the table? I only keep windows to run photoshop...

 

[sashas]

I was never a Windows hater, really. But Vista just put me off MS completely. I've never seen a crappier piece of software by a major publisher like MS in the 6-8 years I've been around computers.

I've looked around at Linux...it seems promising but I'm just somewhat skeptical as to the kind of user-friendliness it could offer (girlfriend uses the computer a lot at times too)


Having looked around, I've decided to buy a new PC with solid specs...and I'm taking Acro's advice and getting a friend to build it for me, and discarding my older laptop. The Mac is, honestly, just too heavy for my pocket (the Macbook Pro starts above Rs. 75000 here - I could get three PCs for that much!)


Just for curiosities sake though: how does Windows perform on the new Intel processor Macs?

 

[Loot_Skyparker]

I was never a Windows hater, really. But Vista just put me off MS completely. I've never seen a crappier piece of software by a major publisher like MS in the 6-8 years I've been around computers.

I've looked around at Linux...it seems promising but I'm just somewhat skeptical as to the kind of user-friendliness it could offer (girlfriend uses the computer a lot at times too)


Having looked around, I've decided to buy a new PC with solid specs...and I'm taking Acro's advice and getting a friend to build it for me, and discarding my older laptop. The Mac is, honestly, just too heavy for my pocket (the Macbook Pro starts above Rs. 75000 here - I could get three PCs for that much!)


Just for curiosities sake though: how does Windows perform on the new Intel processor Macs?

Keep in mind, you can run Mac OS X, and Windows, and Linux, BSD and Solaris at the same time on Mac OS X,
particularly if you have a MacPro desktop with some horse power. But even on a MacPro notebook you will have no
problem running Windows and Mac OS X at the same time in different desktop windows with VMware fusion.
And that is a nice perk. And Windows runs *great* under VMware fusion. If you're a hard core gamer,
I don't know, but for web development and domaining tools, etc... -perfect-. You cannot run Mac OS X on
a PC though.


Macs are more expensive, but worth the extra money. I have MacPro, and I paid a lot of money for it, but the thing is the ultimate development tool , and it hurt and I had to pay off a loan but I am SOOOO glad I did. I have another friend, same boat. A computer you use for your living is a business investment, and working with good tools puts you at an advantage. I buy the best tools I can afford because they increase productivity and ease of use. The MacPro is an 8-core and I run VMware fusion for Windows, so it is like two computers at once, with 16 virtual desktops on a 32" monitor. Windows performs very well on that machine. With 8 cores I can easily support Mac OS X plus a couple of VMs running simultaneously , especially if the VMs are not kept busy/loaded like a webserver or something when I'm not working on them.

All I can say is, if it were me, even if I wasn't rich and had to struggle a bit up front, I would still make sacrifices to get the MacBook Pro 17" notebook, or a MacPro. You'll be in developer heaven. No comparison to Windows. I use Linux for my day job, and it's decent. I use CentOS for my web host linode and I love it. It's perfect for that. But Mac OS X has the best desktop overall, hands down, plus some really good strategies to help the professional developer. It also runs X-Windows if you need it, and has a hot native VT-xxx terminal emulator that I use all the time for ssh'ing into things..

Linux, and Windows with Cygwin, are fine for doing anything you need to, but Mac OS X ads a lot of cush, convenience and aesthetic grace to the experience, that I feel should not be underestimated as a perk and for long term productivity boosts.
(If you use MS Windows, you should install cygwin and install the rxvt terminal emulator package (not part of the default cygwin install, but just check the list item it to install it. You can make a shortcut on your windows machine on the task bar to pop up a nice terminal emulator window running a bash shell, on your Windows machine. And whalla! A Windows/Linux composite environment).. When I used XP for 6 years as my desktop and portal into everything, cygwin was key to me getting the most out of my machine)

As Steve Jobs once said about Microsoft is that Microsoft lacks imagination. And to some extent that is true. Do what you want, but don't sell yourself out cheap if you're serious. Do your homework, and also spend some time looking hard at the Macs in an Apple store before you make a final decision. IMO you owe that to yourself.

 

[Albert Tai]

I use window 7 its fast and i haven't gotten any virus yet if you have a virus protector.

 

[keep]

need Domain Portfolio Manager for mac os , any idea ? rage domainer very slow and not user friendly.