Increase Speed of your computer + speed up Firefox

Let us see now...
Mac OS X is derived from open source BSD, safari, also derived from open source.
Mac hardware? Same x86 as the PC now.

So, there is pretty much nothing that an x86 Mac will do that you can't also get (performance-wise) out of the same box running Linux.

Mac's bogus software "monopoly" and questionable use of open source code in proprietary product is their only technical advantage.
Mac coasts on the cache of the Mac name among "artistic" types.

If (and when) Apple starts selling little silver discs that let PC users migrate to a Mac OS without having to buy a new machine from Apple (using the same parts, oddly enough) then i will give them some grudging respect.
As it is now, it is illegal to run OS X on a PC computer, just because Apple likes it that way.

In short, Apple is every bit as evil as Microsoft.

 

I take full responsibility for starting this mudslinging

 

I would say the average bod in the street doesn't even consider a Mac because they don't know what it is.

They look cool but when a consumer noob is looking to buy a piece of computer hardware most will have heard of Windows & expect their kit to run it. Once they know the Mac doesn't run windows the majority are put off.

Building your own PC exactly how you want it is also a satisfying experience that comes without a premium.

 

Disregarding the lack of Linux support for a number of programs and some missing spit and polish, that's no different than Windows. So what's your point?

And Windows coasts merely on the massive market share despite no overwhelming need for most users to stick with it. So again, I ask what's your point?

It's not just because Apple wants it that way. It's because Apple makes money on hardware sales, not software. OS X is a way for them to sell more Macs, not the other way around.

Why? Because they want to control both the hardware and software? In case you haven't noticed, that's part of the problem with Windows. Windows would probably be better if Microsoft didn't have to worry about the billions of different possible hardware configurations that PC users could have. On the other hand, Apple can greatly improve the user's experience because they don't have to wrangle so many hardware makers.

 

No support is better than open source support.
It is the same class of software that Apple decided to steal for its browser and OS.

And that is the point. Apple is taking open source programs, an OS they say they are very proud of, and chaining it all to making the consumer buy a chunk of hardware with a "Trusted Computing" chip in it.

If the software were that great, then they would sell it as software.
Instead, they rely on marketing and brand loyalty. That they aggressively sue anyone who "fixes" this problem, and gets OS X to run on a computer that Apple did not sell, then Apple acts exactly like the MPAA/RIAA organizations, except they are freaking out over software that is at least partially governed by open source licenses.

The next point you miss; I am not defending Microsoft's coasting at all, rather I am pointing out that the Apple loyalists are every bit the victims of sales and marketing as the Microsoft "business" customers.

Now, if Apple "makes money" selling hardware, and that hardware is the same as the hardware that has been the guts of PCs for years, the alleged "advantage" for the Apple evaporates instantly. Yes, Apple wants to make money, and like so many companies, it does so by finding customers who are easily deceived into paying a premium. This is evident when you examine their brief foray into licensing Apple clones.

And the diversity of hardware combinations is not the problem with Microsoft, Windows, or the diverse x86 hardware. Again, the open source community has managed to provide Linux support for most available pieces of hardware. It isn't a problem of too much diversity at all.
Many different manufacturers make televisions or hard drives. As long as the specifications are followed, the products work. So the notion that too many manufacturers are the problem is not true. Poor implementations of technical standards is a different problem.
And again, the Apple clone experiment bears this out. It wasn't that this was a technical problem but rather a financial one. Apple wanted a monopoly.
Why the typical Apple customer likes monopolies on Apple computers, yet the tend to have the outward manifestations of hip liberals who oppose monopolies in most other sectors is amusing to me. But then, they like paying more for the Apple logo apparently.

The choice is; who's side are you on? Apple's or the consumers?
If only the major oil companies had the "brand loyalty" that Apple has.

 

It's more the operating system than the Mac itself. I've computer college courses, and I wouldn't think about traveling to a foreign land like Macintosh. Mainly because when I download things now I see a separate link that says "mac". Only every now and then though, which tells me finding certain downloads is probably a pain in the rear.
It's like Linux. Better than windows, but most are intimidated by it and due to being more familiar and comfortable with an easier OS, they stick with it.
I have no problems with PC. Never have. Windows Explorer maybe, but everything else is fine. Well, windows ME was horrible.

 

Wrong. Apple's support is better than open source. Who do you call when Ubuntu won't boot?

As for Apple's "stealing", the fact that it's open source means they weren't stealing it.

So? Apple has almost always sold their software tied to their own hardware.

They do already. It just only runs on Macs.

And brand loyalty is created because Apple's product is so good.

I don't see the problem here. Apple has every right to stop people from reverse engineering their software. But they don't sure people right and left like the RIAA or MPAA.

Apple customers aren't victims. No one is forcing them to do anything. They buy Apple products because they prefer them to the alternatives.

No one is being deceived. All the costs and comparisons are presented right up front. If people prefer Windows or Linux they can choose that instead. But they prefer a Mac.

What about it? As I said, Apple makes their money selling hardware. So this decision to clone the Mac almost killed them in the mid-90's. But that was a different era, when Macs had proprietary hardware rather than mainly standard PC hardware.

If they wanted to be like Microsoft and build their profit around the OS they could. But they don't.

It's more than you make it out to be.

Apple doesn't have the marketshare to be a monopoly. As for clones, you are absolutely right, it wasn't a technical problem. It was entirely financial. But it wasn't about monopoly power, it was simply about being able to turn a profit.

Apple fans don't mind Apple's control because they tend to do a good job with it. It isn't about beating consumers over the head with it. It's about creating the best possible product to keep consumers happy. And they have don't that, in general.

It isn't illegal to have a monopoly. The problem is how companies abuse that position. That has been the difference between Apple and Microsoft over the last decade or so.

I don't need to take a side because both sides are benefiting. Apple wouldn't be increasing their marketshare like they are if they were pissing off potential customers. Virtually no one is forced to buy a Mac...

 

an easier OS ? I know you're not talking about Windows

there's absolutely nothing hard or complicated about OSX

my wife's spent the better half of this week trying to figure out what's wrong with her Dell ..... she'll now spend the rest of it re-installing everything after re-formatting the drive

that's :bsflag:
in the 6 years or so that I've been using OSX, I have yet to reformat, re-install anything ....... the Mrs. has to do it every year (at least)

some people are just afraid of change
and they'll commit themselves to endless torture before giving in

 

<object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Id_kGL3M5Cg"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Id_kGL3M5Cg" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object>
"that does it PC, I will no longer support your files" - Mac
:ha:

 

<object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/t-L-0s-7-Z0"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/t-L-0s-7-Z0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object>