[HandyMac]

{quote}I do need to say that the whole Apple vs. PC advertisements by Apple do zero for their market share. Most people think of themselves as a PC, even if they are a Mac, so telling them they suck isn't a great way to win over hearts. If anything I would say the ads made me LESS likely to buy a Mac.{quote}

Agreed. I've been a Mac user exclusively since I got my first computer (a Plus) in 1988, and I've never liked Apple's ads. "1984" was great, but that was enough harping on issues not directly related to the quality of the products. "Think Different" was annoying, though revealing when Apple cravenly caved to Chinese pressure and pulled the Dalai Lama one -- hardly "thinking different" there! And the "Mac vs. PC" ads make me, frankly, embarrassed to be a Mac user.

When you have a better product, taking cheap pot shots at your inferior competition shows a real failure of character. Mercedes Benz doesn't criticize Ford in their ads; they just show the quality of their product, and leave it up to the intelligence of the viewer to make the comparison. Yes, it's true that many people don't seem to have (or use) the intelligence needed to see a difference between Ford and even Toyota; but such people are never going to be part of Apple's market anyway -- and, as you point out, insulting them is hardly likely to endear you to them.

So far as I can tell, the real target of the "Mac vs. PC" ads seems to be the proverbial choir: those who are already using Macs, who, apparently -- or so Apple seems to think -- need their egos massaged with a continual reassurance of how "cool" they are. Apparently, even Apple doesn't think their products are good enough to keep their customers loyal? In fact, the first of the current Microsoft ad series -- even more lame than Apple's ads, which proves what I don't know -- scored a direct hit on Apple's pretentious ballooning ego trip with the "I'm not cool enough to have a Mac" remark. Like I said, the whole pre-sophomoric exchange makes me embarrassed to be a Mac user.

{quote}On the flip side of that PC users need to stop saying that Apple needs to make a cheap computer. That's not what Apple does. It would be like asking Lexus to make a cheap car; it's a contradiction in terms. If you want a cheap Lexus you are welcome to buy a Toyota but if you want a real Lexus it's going to cost you.{quote}

Exactly. Why does Apple need more market share? Steve Himself made the comparison of Apple with BMW, and pointed out that BMW is not regarded as a failure because it doesn't dominate the automobile market. A dozen years ago Apple was in shaky circumstances, but no more. Apple's doing fine, and in no danger except possibly from their own stupidity. The products are superior, everyone knows it.

Microsoft deserves a come-down, to be sure; but Fate and Microsoft's own stupidity are more than sufficient to see to that. It's true that in this world of lies and chicanery one cannot rely entirely on "build a better mousetrap" as a marketing strategy; but it's also true that taking the low road leaves you... on the low road. Apple could do better than that, easily.

[hsmultimedia]

While the PC vs. Mac war rages on, let’s look at a little statistics… Windows may ‘live’ on 97 % of the world’s computers, but these are interesting — and mind-boggling — facts:
On April 23, Microsoft announced revenue of $13.65 billion for the quarter ended March 31. Net quarterly profit was $2.98 billion.
On April 22, Apple announced revenue of $8.16 billion for the quarter ended March 28. Net quarterly profit was $1.21 billion.
Mighty Microsoft makes a net a profit, which is just a little more (relatively speaking) than double that of tiny Apple!

[TimothyA]

This writer was pretty fair to the Mac. I had a PC loving boss who used the Mac for years and still continued to hate it. Of course, that was back in the OS9 days, but I doubt that OSX would have been any different. Using a Mac will not magically cause everyone to love it, contrary to what many Mac fanatics seem to think.

[BuffaloChuck]

Setting aside the "Mac tax" and "machine lust" nonsense for a moment, apart from a few sweeping generalizations regarding both Macs and Windows PCs, I thought the article was generally honest and evenhanded.
However, after spending two full weeks with a Mac, and mentioning all of the gestures possible with the trackpad, I'm astounded that the author never discovered how to right-click (or "secondary click") on a Mac.
This is pretty standard stuff, and is clearly explained in the "Trackpad" System Preference (a.k.a "Control Panel"). Just click the button while placing two fingers on the pad. Like many of the other trackpad gestures, this method is a bit of a revelation, and almost immediately becomes intuitive.

Let me explain: on many Windows laptops, the seemingly simple action of right-clicking can be a slightly annoying, work-interrupting task. Too many trackpad buttons are poorly laid-out and have even poorer tactile design, and it’s hard to tell which button you’re pressing without having to glance down at the trackpad. The two-finger-click method requires no visual interaction, and far less tactile precision. It's fast and easy.
I should mention that I use both Mac and Windows laptops in my computer consulting business, and I’m well experienced with both platforms. Others may differ, but for me, this is a good example of the many clever design details that add up to a much more efficient and satisfying experience on a Mac.

[asiafish]

ThePixelDoc said:

I find it hard to believe, that as a tech writer, you didn't find the time in 2 weeks to learn a little more about your machine and OSX.

Someone already mentioned the 2-finger tap, but you definitely should have mentioned integrated and animated help within the System Preferences. There you would have found countless things, like Keyboard shortcuts, that you can change system-wide, as well as for individual programs, just to your liking.

Also, you didn't even touch on Finder Find or Spotlight, which is a dream to use on a Mac. You almost never have to drill down through folders ever... and it's also available system-wide in Open, Save, and Save As dialogs. No extra software necessary.

Also, Quicklook... which for me is indispensable and is used literally 100's of times a day.

You REALLY had that "2 weeks"? Hmmm... not sure about the truth of that statement/title.

In your defense, I've helped countless friends moving to the Mac, and the first thing(s) I have to tell them is; 1) you no longer have to be afraid of your computer and screwing it up, and 2) forget almost everything you think you know about, or how you work with WinXP or Vista. Because on the Mac, I will show them how working on a computer should be for any and everybody.

MS get off your butt... and Linux, get organized.

Go ahead and live in Windows Vista or 7 for two weeks and see how many of its features you miss. For a Windows-only user, to only miss the right-click gesture isn't bad considering he got SMB networking and a virtual machine running. Not bad.

You'll also notice the very positive tone of the review, and the last statement that he went and bought his own MacBook Air. Doesn't sound like a PC fanboi piece to me at all.

[cmac9924]

"Am I giving up PCs for the Mac? Certainly not. I’ve got multiple PCs at home, including those that run Windows XP, Windows Vista and a beta of Windows 7. And I’ve got one that dual-boots into either XP or Linux running Ubuntu. Replacing all those machines with Macs would be prohibitively expensive, and simply not worth the effort."

You could buy a MacBook Pro with an external HDD, and virtualize all of your windows machines, and run them all from the Mac. It actually isn't too expensive provided you can bring your Windows licenses over to the VMs. You would ditch the inferior hardware, and experience better reliability as a whole.