Give my Dad reasons NOT to get a Mac!

[e2density]

1. The obvious reason, they cost too much. You are paying for far more than the hardware.
2. They are all looks, regardless of how good they look they still are VERY slow. My school got some $1000 Macs and they still aren't as fast/smooth as the Windows 7 HP laptops we got a year before that.
3. They are very lightweight with low features because it's supposed to be dumbed down for "user friendliness"
4. Can't play the range of games a PC can.
5. You pay a lot for the software that comes with the Mac, which is very unnecessary since you won't use a lot of them.

Thats pretty much all the ones that bother me.

 

[Urgh76]

Haaai Escapist.

In short, my Dad wants to get some Macs for work, and he is going to get one as his next laptop.
Now, I don't know much about them, but I'm completely against the idea, mainly due to the sheer cost of the things!

Gimme a hand guys><.

...And during writing this thread, I realise things might get out of hand. So keep this civil, and please give me actual reasons, not '0mg 4ppl3 r m0n3y hungry foo1z!!!!1!1!!!'.

Also, you can give me reasons why Macs are actually any good:].

Byaaa I feel like an idiot for not giving more detail about what he does.

It'll mostly be used for spreadsheets, and a lot of email sending. He'll be doing some graphic design too, as well as presentations(Y).
But it's not to a great extent- it's a Pneumatics/Hydraulics/Office Interior Design firm.

...anyone need any of that in the Heathrow area, give me a buzz;D.

Cheers guys!

Did you ever drive a car with 1 pedal?

 

[Numbers'85]

Right, I'm dropping this thread. Every halfwit who has never touched a Mac seems to be chiming in-- It's good to see some people actually tempered with a little bit of experience (the previous poster with PPC experience), rather than all these one button halfwits, but seriously. For everyone who's actually bothered with a recent mac for whatever reason-- in my case, battery life and usability-- we keep getting droned out by the "YOU CAN GET A FASTER COMPUTER FOR SIX DOLLARS" brigade, who would clearly buy a sportsbike to get to work everyday, because it's much faster, and cheaper, apparently. Nevermind comfort or extended range.

Everyone brings up the desktop comparison, but so few people buy Mac desktops (and with good reason-- I can't think of a good reason to buy one), and loves to bag out the macs, but if their competitors actually built a laptop with a focus on battery life and a decent trackpad, hey, we might have something. I might not be using Win7 on a Mac right now.

But anyway.

My recommendation as a Mac alternative is an HP Pro with an extended life battery-- you can actually get useful battery life out of them, there's more CAD tools available for Wintel and there's lots of accessories. Extended batteries are -very- important for presentations.

EDIT; And let's not forget the pick-it-up-fix-it-return-it HP Pro warranty.

 

[drisky]

I have been a Mac fanboy for most of my life. The reason I now despise them (I'm writing on one now... damnit) is because of their arrogance and closed business practises.

Apart from their flashy design, they're not that great. And they're hella expensive, but overall they are not deserving of all the hate they receive. Truthfully, if your dad is just word processing, a Mac is a good a choice as any. If he takes care of his laptop, it will last forever.

In closing, my main objection is not to the hardware or software, but the business practises and the prices.

A decent netbook with Windows 7 will be perfect as well, and a fraction of the price.

That hits it on the head right there, my the hell does the genius bar make set an appointment like there a good damn doctor and why should i pay twice as much as a pc for the same specs. Apple runs a dirty business, and when you buy it you get sucked in to constantly having to shovel more money in to them. OSX is a better operating system than windows 7 but its just not worth dealing with the company.

 

[Hatchet90]

I'll keep it simple. Mac is expensive, but fast. PC is inexpensive, and degrades in speed over time. At this point Windows 7 and OSX are very similar. PC can play games, Mac can play some games. Mac is good for video editing, music creation, surfing the web, word processing, and can be used through Bootcamp to put Windows on a system. PC can... do all that stuff, but not very well, but it does have Minesweeper.

Mac also has a very simple interface and is great for at home use. PC's are the business standard. Neither are better than the other. What it comes down to is price and what you're going to use it for.

 

[GaryH]

Honestly, if he finds the OS more comfortable to work on, it's worth the money. I bought my Mac Pro for work (Freelance Graphics Designer, in case you were wondering) and it has MORE than paid for itself in a way that my last 3 PCs simply didn't.

That certainly does not apply to everyone, though. It absolutely comes down to your preference of OS.

I'd like to respond to a couple of things I've read in this thread though:

Macs haven't had one button mice for a LOOOOONG time. They look like they still do but the new mice have both left and right click. (Note: Mac mice are still bloody awful. Especially the new magic mouse. If you buy a Mac, buy a third party mouse for your own good.)

The selling point isn't that it runs Windows. The selling point is that it runs BOTH, while windows doesn't. I can run any PC game I like on my Mac Pro, but a PC couldn't run all of my Mac software. I also find it ideal for my work, all my work happens on OS X and all my gaming happens on Windows. I can only be booted into one or the other at a time so I don't get distracted. Not really a feature, but it's how I use it.

There's a difference between targeting the "computer illiterate" and making something accessible. Actually using the computer isn't the achievement, it's what you can do with it. It's a tool. If a tool is easier to use it just gets out of my way and lets me get on with my work. You don't get points for using a tool that takes special knowledge to do the same thing as another, much more streamlined tool that your grandparents can figure out.

*BIG ANTI FLAME DISCLAIMER*

I do not feel superior to you for using a Mac. I do not think that you bought the wrong computer or should "convert" to Mac. I frequently help my friends make decisions on PC hardware, am the first person any of my friends come to for help when their PC breaks and am absolutely not one of those elitist Mac fanboys that you all love to hate. It's 2011, the two OS's are largely the same and their differences are subject to personal preference.

Let your dad buy whichever computer he wants for gods sake. He's not asking you to use it.

 

[thedeathscythe]

If he can afford one, let him. Macbooks are really sleek, the Macbook Air is super thin, and you can't compete speed wise with solid state (windows can have them too, just pointing out the Air), and the Macbook Pro is more than powerful enough for what he'll need. I prefer the Mac OS, some people prefer Windows OS, if he prefers the Mac OS, you can't really dissuade him from a Mac by saying "But it's expensive."

 

[Hatchet90]

Why is it that people seem to judge other people based on the computer they buy? As if you're converting to another religion or something?

 

[rupyTN]

I use macs, it's just my preference. They're a Personal Computer just like any other, but, despite what other's in here have experienced, I have used the mac brand since 1987 and they just work, very well. (the G5 tower that i'm using right now as my computer and leg rest is 7 years old this year with the only update to hardware being a 3 month old hard drive in as the other one was way too small, not broken. Still runs as a secondary. It's predecessor the G4 tower just got too slow, but it sits right next to the G5 and still runs backup software etc. (They don't die easily).

All the commentary about constant system errors may well be the experience for the writers, but also as subjective as my opinion, that the macs I use (admittedly since OSX) are very stable and consistently easy to use and administer.

Not being a 'fanboy' which is always implied after posting anything 'mac positive', I also use HP, Sun and Dell servers at work because there are so many more server options out there ... plus finding a competent IT person is easier for 'non-mac' installations.

Your myopic approach to the subject, ... "I don't know much about them, but I'm completely against the idea: ... just highlights the point that you, (rather than your father), should stay away from macs, probably PC's too, and definitely anything to do with objective purchasing decisions, until you've matured enough to do some genuine research beyond attempting to start a forum flaming match.

 

[Robby Foxfur]

I really don't like mac's but here are my reasons, the ego that comes with the computer, thats the first thing that kills me.

Secondly apple has this great way of putting things on their computer that forces you to buy another thing from them, the apple display port is the perfect example its 30 bucks for the adapter to make the port not a complete waste.

Third, the way apple comes out with a new product that is the same thing, there is never a discount on apple products its either pay for it as is or never get 1.

Fourth is there the idea that they give you a discount if your a student ... yeah the 100 bucks off that like a dollar off an Xbox 360. Now they do have a student discount so that nice but i remember it being about 500 bucks but that was when i was 6 years ago.

Fifth the software compatibility issue its gotten better but there still are the thing that don't have a MAC version, and the whining of mac users when software does not is the real annoying part.

and so you have it, they are good for movies and other "creative stuff" but they aren't the end all be all of computers.

 

[razer17]

Gimme a hand guys><.

...And during writing this thread, I realise things might get out of hand. So keep this civil, and please give me actual reasons, not '0mg 4ppl3 r m0n3y hungry foo1z!!!!1!1!!!'.

That is a genuine reason though. And I will back that up with this, it's worth checking out: http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/tech-fun/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/whynottobuyamac.png

If he is going to do a fair amount of graphics works, then use a PC, and install Mac OS on it. Apple PC's do look nice, but they are just that: Apple PC's. They are nothing special, they are just branded computers. People associate Mac OS with them, but that's not right, because MAc OS will run on any other PC that meets the specs.

Essentially: Buy a non-Apple PC, and then buy Mac or Windows based on preference.

 

[razer17]

If he can afford one, let him. Macbooks are really sleek, the Macbook Air is super thin, and you can't compete speed wise with solid state (windows can have them too, just pointing out the Air), and the Macbook Pro is more than powerful enough for what he'll need. I prefer the Mac OS, some people prefer Windows OS, if he prefers the Mac OS, you can't really dissuade him from a Mac by saying "But it's expensive."

Thing is that if he wants Mac OS, you still don't need an Apple PC. You can install OSX (albeit with workarounds) on any normal PC. Why pay extra when with a simple tutorial you don't have to.

Apple products look nice. No denying it. Mac OS has it's pros, also no denying that. However, for the amount that Apple charge you for the privilege I want my PC to sprout gold coins everytime I turn it on.

 

[Jekken6]

Mediocre hardware for a really high price and a crappy OS.

 

[thedeathscythe]

If he can afford one, let him. Macbooks are really sleek, the Macbook Air is super thin, and you can't compete speed wise with solid state (windows can have them too, just pointing out the Air), and the Macbook Pro is more than powerful enough for what he'll need. I prefer the Mac OS, some people prefer Windows OS, if he prefers the Mac OS, you can't really dissuade him from a Mac by saying "But it's expensive."

Thing is that if he wants Mac OS, you still don't need an Apple PC. You can install OSX (albeit with workarounds) on any normal PC. Why pay extra when with a simple tutorial you don't have to.

Apple products look nice. No denying it. Mac OS has it's pros, also no denying that. However, for the amount that Apple charge you for the privilege I want my PC to sprout gold coins everytime I turn it on.

That's true, but hackintoshes don't always work so well. My sisters hackintosh can't seem to get it's wifi working, and same with it's ethernet. I turned my netbook into a hackintosh and my wifi also doesn't work, ethernet works, but my headphone jack doesn't work. You get little glitches like that here and there. On the other hand, install bootcamp on your mac and you have Windows. You still have that large price tag, however, so if that's the only issue, and if the dad is paying and he doesn't think it's too expensive (which I personally don't), then I say he should be allowed to.

 

[Plurralbles]

have him use Debian on a custom built pc.

 

[Not G. Ivingname]

Snip

Here is often forgot problem with macs, they break like they are made out of glass.

No, I don't mean the hardware or the software, just the computer it self. The plastic white ones always have pieces that chip off on the sides and edges, the casing around the screen gets cracked, and it all is a mess. I left my in the locker, just sitting their, and the screen cracked so bad half of my screen was 100% unusable. Can't be fixed, even though it was under warenty they wouldn't fix it (some obscure place in the agreement says the warenty doesn't cover cracked screens). The Aluminum ones are better, but the cords are still terrible. The wire running from the converter to the place you actually plug to the laptop is so easy to break, and it costs 80 DOLLARS TO REPLACE.

 

[InfiniteSingularity]

Apple is Big Brother, and they are going to take over the world like 1984 one day.

No seriously, ever wonder why they make all their products with cameras now?

 

[SkyeNeko]

i just dont like the mac desktops. the mice we have in the lab only have one button! D8

and i personally think its a pain in the ass to maneuver all your windows with a Mac.