Laptop computers- Which ones are good and and which are bad?

[mistereric]

Bhua!

"MAC user is so, hmm, how to say this nicely..."limited" in their knowledge of even the first thing about data safety and how computers work...especially when they don't. "

Thats AWESOME! Its totally true. My mom knows nothing about viruses and pop ups, nothing about data security other than to back up her pictures. Its great because she doesn't have to know anything about that stuff. Her computer just works. I can't imagine my mom learning about DLL files, registry editing, defragmentation, and all that rigamarole just to use computer. How awful would it be if she had to spend hours configuring devices just to connect a new printer, or download pictures from her camera? THANK GOD she doesn't have to learn all that.

Regular people shouldn't have to know how to beat a mass market operating system into submission to get their job done. If anything, the people who are MOST worried about computer security and are MOST concerned about having a computer that works right all the time, out of the box, well, they aren't using Microsoft products.

Hydralique; every single complaint you had about your Mac is justified. Just please keep in mind you were dealing with an OS that is now VERY dead. I think if you were to install Mac OS X on your cube, you would be pleasantly surprised. The Mac OS has matured literally light years ahead of the frustrating, crash prone experience you suffered through. If I was in your position, I would have been just as disgusted as you were. By the time 1999/2000 rolled around, the classic Mac OS was a heap of crap. I run the server version of OS X on my Cube, and it runs very nicely, its an awesome, rock solid, completely silent server. 332 days uptime since the last reboot, on a 7 year old computer. Can't beat that!

 

[panthera]

Classic MAC OS

Was never meant to run for as long as it did. Remember the chaos Apple fell into when Jobs left...and how quickly things got back to normal when he returned? I had much less trouble with OS7 and iterations than my colleagues here had with WIN 95, Win95a, Win95b, Win95c...Win98, Win98SE...
And let's all forget ME just as quickly as we can...
But:
Anyone believing that back-ups and caution are only for Windows is living on borrowed time. Apple has some wonderful ideas (you don't need to look at a MAC to see their best ideas, Windows "borrows" them regularly) but the arrogance of so many MAC disciples just grates on the nerves. Especially when you are the guy who ends up fixing their mistakes because they simply can't be bothered to learn the first thing about computers. And then are proud of it, to boot.
(Like last Friday, trying to get notes for 470+ students entered in only an hour because my colleague who is so artsy-fartsy he must have the newest MAC design every year but can't work with OpenOffice Calc...has tied up the "safe" workstation all morning. Like last semester. And the one before) Grrrr...

 

[hydralique]

Mistereric,

Please note I never said I was disgusted with the Cube . . . that is much too strong a word. Annoyed is more like it, and that was hugely compounded by a boss who thought Macs were perfect and refused to believe that any time-consuming problems were in any way due to using Macs and Mac-specific software. With this attitude he basically ran almost all his Mac guys away and eventually gave up and converted the office to Windows. When a Windows machine screws up and costs some time, he is pi**ed off, but since he thinks Windows is a piece of crap he doesn't blame the user like he did with the Mac guys.

And yes, I know OS9 is old . . . I noted at the start of my post that my comparison was to Win 2000 Professional, which I had on my home machine when I bought the Cube. OS10 may very well be better than XP is now, but for many of us the trouble and expense of buying new software and learning new systems comprehensively is just too great to hop-scotch platforms when one moves a little bit ahead of another. Even with programs like Archicad and Vectorworks, which are cross-platform, the licensing agreements are often platform-specific so it can cost thousands of dollars to switch. Ultimately, you just have to pick what platform works for you and stick with it. It is a good thing, as Panthera mentioned, that there is a lot of "borrowing" between platforms . . . this is why I'm glad the competition exists.

Regarding registry editing, DLL files, etc., well I know almost nothing about that and have happily used Windows since 3.1! I've known a few good computer techs through the years and they all have said to not ever play around with the registry unless you know exactly what you're doing. The only time I've ever edited a registry was to correct a software glitch years ago with a program sold to let Win computers use Appletalk, and I had a tech from the company on the phone while I did it. It wasn't a Windows or Mac issue, it was bad software which mixed up two registration numbers and as a result wouldn't let the program run. I have normal problems now and then with XP, but manage to solve them without major surgery.

I think some of the differences in approach of Mac users and Windows users are responsible for the greater amount of deep-level f***ing around that some Windows people do. Mac people often think their computers are special and wisely stay away from messing with them, while there is a huge industry for "registry cleaners" in the Windows world which promises instant fixes for any problem without trying to properly troubleshoot the issue. This leads to lots of people doing things they shouldn't with their machines. My sister is an example: she regularly uses those registry cleaners you can buy online, and has a lot more trouble with Windows than I have ever had, even though the software I run is much more demanding. However, she is not a candidate for a Mac as, like me, she has thousands of dollars worth of professional level software which isn't available for Macs.

 

[MrX]

The modern Mac is a proper consumer product though and, in general, I have to say I don't have any issues with anything. Windows does require an unaccptably high level of user trouble-shooting ability to be classified as a mature consumer product yet.

To put it into the context of a washer. How many people (outside of this forum) know or care how their washer works? You put clothes in, put detergent in, set the controls and get on with your life.

I have generally found that I spend more time fixing windows than I do actually using it and I don't count installing / managing virus scanners, fixing registery corruptions etc as "work".

I still find computers, macs to a lesser extent, are a bit like 1920s crystal set radios. They're not quite a mature enough technology to be called a true consumer product just yet.

The reason that the Windows platform is so virused to death is pretty simple, it's too complicated for the average user to cope with and it ends up insecure and unpatched. Hence all those zombie PCs out there.

Ever try to explain a firewall to an 82 year old granny ?!

 

[panthera]

Déjà Vu

I won't argue with you any more....
This conversation can serve no purpose any more.
Goodbye.