Read this if you use MS IE Explorer.

Good for you. But that's you, not the other 99.8% of the human population. The average person has no interest or expertise in building their own computer, nor should they be faulted for it. Most people have no idea how refrigerators work, as an example, let alone build one, but that doesn't stop them from knowing how to use them. The odd person builds their own car, too, but that's pretty rare, and it takes more time and money to do that than simply buying one. Economies of scale and specialisation have gotten society much further than if we had to do everything for ourselves.

In other words, you're to be congratulated for building your own machine, but that doesn't mean every other machine is inferior and overpriced.

 

to the melody of Rehab: "The network admin told me I should uninstall IE - I said No, no, no"

 

How to Build a Hackintosh Mini for a Less Expensive, Faster Mac.

How to build a Hackintosh Pro.

http://youtu.be/vOVHi59CzXs

Can't help you on the legal side, sorry.

 

I had wanted to get a Mac back in the day. Going Intel was a bit of a put off for me (most of my machines have been AMD), but my interest was lost after I got a closer look at an iPod. With the multitude of digital music formats out there, paying extra to be tied to one didn't sit well with me. With some PC companies offering machines with factory installed Linux, I see no reason to consider a Mac in the future.

And what can the iPod/Phone/Pad plug do that an USB one can't? I only needed to pack one cord to charge my phone and Kindles while on vacation last week. If it was of vital importance, one could also have their MP3 player and camera supported by the same USB format.

 

This is generally how I feel about Apple products. They make nice products that are pretty, well integrated, and generally reliable, but to use them you have to join the commune. It's the Apple way or the highway. I can't fault Apple for that approach; every company has to make money. They do it by locking you into Apple. I don't like it, so I choose to go another way.

Tom

 

In chronological order:

I got an iPhone because I needed a new PDA and new MP3 player and wanted a new phone anyway, and the Android hadn't been invented yet.

I got a MacBook Air because I needed a new laptop and I refused to get one with Vista (the Windows flavor at the time), and hey, really really lightweight!

I got an iMac because I once had to use Vista and swore "Never again!"

I got an iPad 2 because it's even lighter than the MacBook Air.

I got an iPod Classic because more than once there was a certain song I had to hear RIGHT NOW, and even though I had it, it wasn't on my iPod.

 

You don't feel tied to Apple because you are happy to stay within Apple. This is exactly my point: Apple makes good products, but to use them you have to do it the Apple way. It's not a limitation or problem if that works for you.

For those of us that want or need to work with more diverse software and hardware, or just want more control and customization, Apple is confining.

Apple's forte is simplification. They design for neophytes and casual users. The designers have done a good job automating tasks. The problem comes when you want to do something not explicitly foreseen by the designers: you can't do it. This is a common problem with highly automated systems: any task is either easy or impossible - there is no middle ground.

Adding to this is Apple's philosophy to keep users inside the fences. Apple is like Disney World: everything is clean and bright, but only Disney employees are allowed into the back rooms. Apple works very hard to control all aspects of the user experience. It's both a blessing and a curse. For me, the curse outweighs the blessing.

Tom

 

There is some truth to this general statement, but a lot of the 'under-the-GUI' hooks are available through the terminal.

I know my son happily SSH's from his notebook Mac to a Linux box in his office while programming in python and seeing the graphical fruits of his labors in X11.

 

IMO, modern day Apple tries hard to rope customers into an Apple-only hardware and software world, but it does not prevent the motivated customer from straying. Big carrot, no real stick.

This week I finally (!!) convinced my wife of the importance of backing up her photographs (to preserve our marriage and my sanity), and to use keywords embedded in the photo file rather than proprietary organization schemes. iPhoto, while quite slick, keeps metadata in a proprietary format so it was unacceptable. A little googling later, and we picked Picasa as the photo software. And while iPhoto is the default app that opens when a camera is attached, it is easy enough to pick a non-Apple app instead.

I fail to see the problem, at least for our uses. In the meantime the advantages of OS X and great Apple hardware are a joy.

 

You aren't required to use other Apple products, but practices like their iPod plug does place hindrances in the way of using non-Apple products. I admit to not considering it before, and it is still low priority when shopping new gadgets, but is was nice realizing I only needed to pack one standardized charge cord for multiple devices for a recent trip.

Just because it's free doesn't mean there isn't a cost. iTunes is subsidized by Apples proprietary digital music format. Through the licensing fees producers pay to make and sell files in that format. Which they have to do in order to offer anything directly to the iPod. (Aside, does itunes convert mp3 and other formats to apple?)

 

One of the big benefits of Apple being unable to produce their own operating system. At least they were forced into using a decent OS, even if they decided to add some Proprietary software over it. Apple's OS is decidedly better since they switched to UNIX. It was pretty much a disaster before that.

Tom

 

For me, it's a blessing. Downtime can be very expensive and frustrating, so reliability and a human being on the other end of the help line is important. I respect and admire the people who design and fix the machines, but I don't want to be one of them. When the computer works as well or better than any other appliance in the house, that's a good thing.

 

Was it because the notebook was running Windows Vista?

 

I've personally used Vista. Shooting is too good for it.

 

On the picture above - his 15yrs daughter was grounded, then later riped her Dad (pictured) on Facebook. Her Dad found out about the postings - Facebook is so secure.

So he makes this YouTube giving her the Riot Act, then shoots her notebook - it went viral.

 

Name one.

I use Windows at the moment, since it was provided by my work, but I frequently try to do something which would be easy on my old Mac, and can't find any way to do it on windows (XP). I have never noticed the reverse. No 'wow I could never have done that on a Mac'.