Will Pretty PCs Make Vista More Attractive? 223
Well, they finally realized that nobody's going to buy it because of the operating system.
(Whether that's true or not is up for debate; certainly a lot of people may prefer Vista to Windows XP.)
Stavr0 writesMicrosoft wants 'PCs to be objects of pure desire.'
I desire my PC to be pure of spyware, security flaws and instability.
Reader melted was one of the first to dismiss the PC-prettification project as a lost cause:
Those OEMs couldn't "beautify" anything if their life depended on it. If they could, they'd already do so. The best they can do is steal Apple's 3-year-old designs.
Others, too, described Microsoft's aesthetic guidelines as a clear response to the widely hailed industrial design from Apple; reader Dan East offers a compact formulation of that idea:
MS is just trying to grab a few sales away from Apple at the expense of the OEMs. Why not? MS doesn't have anything to lose on this one — the OEMs are the ones taking the risk.
"The Mac isn't a good comparison," though, says reader dada21, who writes
I'm not sure I agree with the "Be like a Mac!" comparison. For most PC manufacturers, having their own "look and feel" has been part of what has given them a strong brand name. Sure, Microsoft wants to grab some of that brand recognition beyond just the bootup splash screen (and the desktop look and feel), but I also think this will create more than just brand recognition for Microsoft — I believe it will also produce an interesting "playing field" for companies beyond the Big Four (Dell, Gateway, HP/Compaq, Toshiba). Consider the smaller OEMs and white box companies — by providing a standardized look and feel, this will open the door of opportunity for many more companies. Sure, the big guys probably don't WANT this (they want to keep their look and feel in order to keep their branding strong), but it could create a new competitive atmosphere by giving smaller companies a foot in the door to compete on the look and feel front.
I've always loved third-party cases and keyboards and monitors moreso than the Big Four for the same reason that I've always liked clones — they've pushed the envelope before the big guys did. The downside is that the clones never seemed to sell well in the corporate environment nor in the newb home environment; the clones were just powerhouse sellers for us geeks. By having Microsoft "dictate" what they want to see, we may actually see more third parties offering competition to the Big Four, which in turn could see prices drop a bit more, which could push more legal Microsoft products into the fray.
All around, there are some Mac-branding similarities, but I don't really think that is Microsoft's desired goal to miMac (mimic the Mac, in my vernacular). I think it is just a good idea that will help the little(r) guys, and still give the big guys a chance to offer different products that the market can choose from.
According to reader linguae, a bit more mimicking might be a good idea:
Macs are worth the price . When I showed my parents and siblings my Mac and fooled around with it for a few days, they fell in love with it. They were sold on buying a Mac, and they are now saving up for a iMac. The problem is that cheaper PCs are good enough for 90% of the market. Windows XP "just works" now (as long as you keep an eye on security), and Vista will be far better than XP (insert "it's a copy of OS X here"; say what you want, but Vista is still better than XP). Perhaps they haven't had exposure to OS X; my parents were sold on the Mac within a few days. Perhaps they still must have a Windows PC for their jobs (and they don't know that Intel Macs can run Windows natively). Or, perhaps that money is an issue for most people.
Reader MojoRilla phrased his response in the form of a "Dear John" letter, writing
A bit more positively, reader meburke points out that "real design considerations" go beyond the shape of the box, and provides links to a few sites which should be of interest to anyone who designs anything at all for others' use:Dear Microsoft,
It seems that you are doing a lot of things lately to tell me what I want out of your products. Vista's new UI, and now these fancy industrial design specs.
Guess what? I couldn't care less what the shape of my PC is. It is under the desk with my UPS, sub woofer and trash can. And I have no need for a fancy new desktop UI, especially one that takes resources away from what I actually want to do with my computer, like photo and video editing.
What I want is excellent software, compatible with open standards, for a reasonable price. You used to deliver this. When you delivered virtual memory and preemptive multitasking, you were ahead of Apple. Now you seem way behind. And also, I want you to support open standards so that I can use other products with others that haven't paid you a licensing fee, such as open source. I'm not a sheep to lock in. Hello Linux and OSX.
And your prices are far from reasonable. The fact that I can't transfer a OEM Windows license from one PC to another is rubbish. The fact that you want $399 for the standard edition of office, which I have paid you for several times over the years is robbery. I was happy with the functionality of office five years ago. Why should I need to buy it again? Hello, Open Office.
I'm not a sheep, Microsoft. You used to be innovative. Now you are all about marketing. Its been fun, but we're breaking up!
As a starting point, I'd like to suggest designers read, "A Whole New Mind" by Daniel Pink, and check out some articles at danpink.com. Furthermore, I suggest visiting IDEO. Pay special attention to their "method card" deck. Lastly (for purposes of this discussion) I suggest visiting mcdonough.com. The common thread in all this is design. William McDonough says that the need for regulation indicates a failure in design.
The design of the product goes way beyond just cosmetics. There is only so much you can do with an enclosure for a PC board, but there is LOTS you can do with the system as a whole. Case modding is just a place to start. Functional design improvements are being made in everything from the input devices to really innovative interfaces.
The IDEO method cards are different from the "Creative Whack Pack" or "Thinkertoys" cards, in that they redefine the product design domain. The jobs of the future are going to be design jobs requiring both high creativity and high technical ability. If someone in India or China can do your job as well and cheaper than you, or if a computer can do your job better and faster, your job is obsolete.
Many thanks to the readers (especially those quoted above) whose comments informed this discussion.
No. (Score:4, Funny)
Prettying up a Windows PC is tantamount to spraying perfume on a pig.
Re:No. (Score:5, Funny)
Bill's mission... (Score:2)
Re:No. (Score:2)
Microsoft will make it work. (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:No. (Score:5, Funny)
Re:No. (Score:2)
Exactly, and to borrow a line from an old joke, when it's all over, Microsoft smells better, the user smells worse, and they're both left standing in a pen full of shit and mud*.
*A.K.A. "The Windows Ecosystem"
Re:No. (Score:2)
Re:No. (Score:2)
Its clearly states that it is to sell more PC's not about making 'good' computers, the tie between the OS and case was a rant brought up independant of the article. Now given how much money people spend on large wheels, jewlery, makeup etc. obviously design plays into a large number of p
Re:No. (Score:5, Funny)
Re:No. (Score:2)
Re:No. (Score:4, Funny)
This is Windows. It'll freeze all by itself.
Re:No. (Score:3, Interesting)
You may joke about case modders, but I think modding is exactly what Windows itself needs. I don't want Luna, Aero, or whatever else Microsoft throws at me. What I want is a UI that is open enough to create my own themes. Gnome and KDE both allow this, and offer rich theming environments not only to change colors, border sizes, and other basic stuff, but to move buttons around or even create new ones. With Microsoft you can't do that without a specific software package. I forget what it is called, but the c
Re: (Score:2)
no (Score:5, Insightful)
Vista will live or die based on the hype and up take of new PCs. So far the hype is on target (saddly) and time will tell if the general public will think they need new PCs.
Re:no (Score:5, Insightful)
Where I see people buying new PC's, or parts to BIY, is the geek community who are either interested in pure speed of their games/applications (most of which will run faster on a tuned XP configuration) or the Linux/alternate OS crowd, to whom Vista is as relevant as a hat to a dog. Of course, there's the ever increasingly popular Apple offerings, if you're going to have to learn a whole new interface anyways, why not go with one that's been critically reviewed, and comes in the slickest and sleekest packaging known?
Or you can be a member of all three groups.
Games are going to drive new PC sales (Score:2)
And these new PCs will have Vista pre-installed. Which will, in turn cause Vista to be yet another System requirement.
My scepticism tells me that Microsoft and Intel HAD to have worked together on this.
Re:Games are going to drive new PC sales (Score:2, Insightful)
I'm not so sure that games are going to drive new PC sales in the near future, mainly because dual core machines have been out a while and most games are still single-threaded. Why? Because multi-threading is hard compared to single-threading, if you want any m
Re:no (Score:2)
Re:no (Score:3, Funny)
That's like Fred asking Barney.... (Score:5, Funny)
3 Rules That Will Boost Vista Sales (Score:5, Funny)
Three rules that will boost Vista sales:
(props to SNL)
Re:3 Rules That Will Boost Vista Sales (Score:2)
Vista is evil (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Vista is evil (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Vista is evil (Score:3, Interesting)
You just contradicted yourself. It does make DRM easier to implement, and thus is a subtle attempt to put more DRM software and hardware into our homes for a big lockout coming from Sony or whoever wants to cripple access to their product.
Re:Vista is evil -forced obsolecence (Score:3, Insightful)
You can read this article [abandonedstuff.com] for a few reasons why, but essentially it means poorer quality hardware that is designed to break, and be unrepairable, while filling our landfills with toxic lead and other garbage from devices that should work for ten years or more.
We need to start charging companies that build devices and tools with no way to recycle or reuse them. Thanks to the FCC and digital TV, TV sets are about to fill up your city landfill and make your taxes go up. That's one
I don't think that... (Score:3, Informative)
Besides, most people I know build their own PCs, so it won't affect them.
One more thing to mention is that PCs are not just _personal_. They are also used in companies, where office buys them for employees. If a computer has a nice colour, would they buy more, than they need?.. I don't think so.
Wrong. (Score:5, Interesting)
I'm shopping for a new laptop for my girlfriend, A old dell I gave her is getting a bit old, but mainly she doesn't like the spartan, utilitarian, unattractive, and slightly scratched exterior.
She has three criteria for a new laptop, in this order...
1. It looks pretty
2. Its a 17 inch widescreen.
3. I say that the specs are good enough.
She is quite enamored with the Toshiba's Due to the glowing lights, copper colour, and sleek design. Its only a bonus that their specs are pretty good for the money.
Re:Wrong. (Score:2)
First their support/service is nearly inexistant. I had a remote controler shipped with mine which drivers stopped working after a (pre SP1) xp patch. I'm still waiting for them to update the driver.
Then during the two year i owned my €2700 laptop, i had:
die on me. Then two days after the end of warranty the motherboard stopped working... I suspected it was dc jack so i decided to have a look a it.
I spent
Sexist shit (Score:2)
When I poured coffee into the screen of my laptop, I did a fairly comprehensive search, and ended up buying the exact laptop one of my girlfriends already had. I think our criteria were pretty similar!
As usual, sexism well and alive in /. (Score:2)
And if they don't they ask the right questions.
When you are spending such a serious amount of money only a stupid person (woman or otherwise) would base his decitions in the factors you are mentioning. The gender of a person doing a purchased based in the worng reasons is completely incidental.
Re:Wrong. (Score:2)
Re:I don't think that... (Score:2)
What would happen to the price of Dell's $300 PC if they decided to "pretty it up"? I'm guessing the price goes up a l
I think that should be modded up (Score:2)
As someone that had about 10 Macs prior to OS X, the thing that bothers me most about them no
Re:I don't think that... (Score:2)
No, but they'll buy the brand that looks more pleasing to the eye.
Otherwise... Why do all corporations buy these stock art and plants to make the workplace look like something of other than a place of work.
Re:I don't think that... (Score:2)
The PC is as much a living room appliance now as a TV or stereo. The laptop is a personal accessory that makes a statement about the owner. "Pretty" is not a good term to use, but people do want to buy something that is attractive (think of all the time you will be staring at it, after all), something that looks good in their house, something that just "looks cool." That may seem superficial to you and your beige-box building friends, but you are neither the market nor the majority. (And you shou
Eeeeww!! That's sick!!! (Score:2)
You admit that you program PHP?!?! (just kidding;)
Well, it's very similar to medicine (Score:5, Funny)
Hello, PC! (Score:2)
Admittedly, PCs are pretty lame in the design department, though I frankly have never been enamored of Macs either, though at least they trended away from the beige-gray box. Nowadays you can get beautified PCs (can we say Alienware?) and perhaps eventually there will be some renaissance in case design.
Having said all that, in the end if the OS sucks, is hard to use, or makes the machine unworkable, no amount of cool paint jobs or weird shapes are going to make people any happier about Vista.
What I'd like to know... (Score:4, Insightful)
Is whether Windows XP will still be available on new PCs. I don't want to purchase a license for Vista until at least a year after the bugs are worked out, which might be early 2008. Will I be able to buy a *NEW* PC (capable of running vista) with good ole windows XP preinstalled for the entirety of 2007?
Not everybody wants to upgrade to some shiny new untested environment.
Look, mom. An optimist! (Score:5, Insightful)
Just like all the XP bugs were gone by 2002.
Re:What I'd like to know... (Score:2)
If MS Vista is delayed again and doesn't ship in 2007, yes, of course
Re:What I'd like to know... (Score:2)
Wait... hold on (Score:5, Funny)
Wait is this a Backslash or a Slashback? I thought Slashbacks were minor stories and updates. Obviously the number of sections abusing the word 'Slash' are not confusing enough. To rectify this issue, I propose a new section known as 'Slashwrists' which will contain emo blogs along with any the new MySpace stories.
Re:Wait... hold on (Score:2)
Buying on a whim (Score:5, Insightful)
(1) Those who don't understand the technologies involved and can't go by anything but presentation, and
(2) Those who have so much money they just buy the most expensive product available regardless if the money is going towards chassis styling or internal components (a subgroup of (1) usually).
A lot of little old ladies or folks getting in and out of ferraris fit into these two categories. It's the 'noob' market. Businesses, geeks, nerds, and probably 80% of computer purchasers (per unit, not per person) are not going to be affected by the prettiness of the thing.
Heck, if I see something that looks slick I'd avoid it on the simple premise that the product has a value in design as opposed to specifications and/or quality of parts.
Re:Buying on a whim (Score:2, Insightful)
Attractive outward appearance doesn't preclude quality.
Re:Buying on a whim (Score:3, Insightful)
If a company were to design a tower that looks phenomenal, with no detractions to usage or functionality, and they charged the same for them as a regular ol' box tower with identical functionality... Well then, we'd see an evolution of
Re:Buying on a whim (Score:2)
> ferraris fit into these two categories. It's the 'noob'
> market. Businesses, geeks, nerds, and probably 80%
> of computer purchasers (per unit, not per person) are not
> going to be affected by the prettiness of the thing.
Well I think that is going to change as PCs (and similar) start to become more of a commodity.
Few anegdotes:
Some time ago I went with my father to get a new microwave oven (just for company - I don't live with my par
Re:Buying on a whim (Score:2)
What I was touching on was comparing two products with equal functionality, but one with a visuall
Re:Buying on a whim (Score:2)
> it originally but UI design and ease of use are one of the
> most important factors in PC Development IMHO.
And with this in mind Apple is in better situation - they design hardware AND software. They control it from ground up. Only thing MS can do is issue some directions/sugestions - but it actually won't matter.
On the other way MS has such power with its install base that I think that they can force anything on hardware suppliers - just
Re:Buying on a whim (Score:2)
Whether Microsoft will innovate once its codebase is stable and maintainable is debatable. The only innovation it's been providing so far, that I can see, is in DirectX. The original innovation there was speed--originally, OpenGL was slower than DirectX. Recently, though, OpenGL has become much faster than equivalent
Re:Buying on a whim (Score:2)
> Windows to be somewhat maintainable to add features.
I would say their are working to fix the sh**.
> This isn't a question of manpower--you don't want to
> add any features to unstable code.
Yes as it would make the code more unstable. But I think problem with N+1 Windows is that it is getting to bloated. In some point of time they'll just *have* to rewrite everything and throw old shit away - that is why I like Linux, these folks just can
Re:Buying on a whim (Score:2)
> small size, portability, quietness) it becomes one of the selling
> features of the product
Also: yes that is true - but reason I written that things are going to change is that I see PC buyers simply do not know that the thing can be more quiet and also send emails, that the thing can be smaller and also browse the web, that the thing can be easier to use etc.
Of course most of people look at the cost - but also comparing to automob
Re:Buying on a whim (Score:3, Insightful)
An attitude you have in common with many people, but one that is not necessarily correct - or at least only partly correct. There is almost certainly a premium attached to design - at the very least there is the cost of employing a designer, along with likely higher manufacturing costs. On the other hand, good design can certainly add to
Re:Buying on a whim (Score:2)
Lipstick.. (Score:2)
Hey Maw! (Score:2, Funny)
Opposite problem... (Score:2)
Re:Opposite problem... (Score:2)
I think the demands for fans with UV LEDs and holographic stickers has gone so high that they have economies of scale. The last time I was at Fry's (admittedly several months ago... I live six hours from the nearest one now) I wanted just a plain old fan for a box I was building. The plain black fan cost a dollar more than the clear plastic blue LED fan with the same cooling and noise specs.
So I have a server in my office with tricked out fans. Nobody ever sees them, of course, because the case doesn't
Re:Opposite problem... (Score:2)
What you want is to buy something where a person was PAID to design a purely functional box.
If you are asking for cheap, you will get extra case plastic and multi colored fans.
Microsoft's Romantic Desires (Score:3, Funny)
We want you to use your PC and fall in love with someone special.
Microsoft:
We want you to fall in love with your PC and use someone special.
Why Pretty Computers Will Absolutely Succeed (Score:5, Informative)
Yes. Absolutely. Why? Because we're human.
There are many comments up already saying "you can't polish a turd" and "vista is evil!" and, for what it's worth, I agree mostly. I'm writing this from an Ubuntu machine which I insist on using at work. I compute happily and sans hassle. But will pretty computers suceed? Yes.
Saying that they won't is the same thing as saying that putting a pretty model in a beer commerical won't make Budweiser (or whatever) taste better. Well, that's true, and yet sex sells beer. And cars. And a billion other things.
Okay, pretty girls aren't the same thing as pretty computers, but to some nerds they are. And in any case, anything sells better when it looks better, even crappy stuff. Just does, because we buy with our eyes first and our minds second.
Re:Why Pretty Computers Will Absolutely Succeed (Score:2)
For desktop, I don't think looks matter so much. You can just shove it under a desk and not really know what it looks like. As such, I don't think a comparison to autos or clothes makes sense. In some cases, the looks of a desktop might matter in much the same way that looks of a water heater matters, not much, because they don't have to look at it, it only has to keep the water the way they want it.
For notebooks, looks matter more because most people can see it and you can't just hide them i
Re:Why Pretty Computers Will Absolutely Succeed (Score:2)
Re:Why Pretty Computers Will Absolutely Succeed (Score:2)
I like reading engadget for all the pretty, self respecting asian ladies frequently placed next to product introductions. I just think of it as good presentation as opposed to blunt sexual influence, like putting fresh flowers on your dinner table when guests come over. Which isn't to say that certain floral arrangements couldn't fit into that latter classification.
I'm all for pretty computers. Cheers for apple and here's hoping more computer make
Re:Why Pretty Computers Will Absolutely Succeed (Score:2)
True. When an industry switches to selling looks, (warning, car analogy) like selling car radiator grills and cup holders, it's also a sign of a maturing market with less true product differentiation.
PC's are now powerful enough that for many people (not me!) increasing the performance further is pointless. Packaging, unfortunately, is where it's at now.
---
Vista: Billions of marketing words and no delivered product.
Nobody cares... (Score:2)
Most people don't care how their PC looks. It gets stuck under the desk. A lot of the time, there's even a *door* covering it up.
If they really want to change the look of PCs for the better, then they should move to ultra-compact "mini" cases. I would love to be able to buy a fully-functional PC in a small case that still had a slot or 2 for expandability, and not have to pay $300 for the privi
No. (Score:3, Insightful)
I assume this is really only talking about mainstream home PCs. The big name brands. I mean, if Dell spends sum X on making new, 'pretty' cases for their PCs, and Gateway spends sum X minus Y on their cases which aren't that much 'uglier', doesn't Gateway win because they can offer the same performance/support (in theory) at a lower price, or offer more performance at the same price?
Truly, PC attractiveness is an enthusiast market, i.e. case modding. Otherwise, you're going to get something that looks like every other major brand PC: a stylized, but nevertheless cheaply made, box, so the company can compete price-wise.
Or, you can go with the 'high end' like Alienware, thereby paying an outrageous sum for the name and look. People who buy Alienware don't really care about the price.
Me, I'd rather buy the components and build my own. You can make a respectable looking box for a lot cheaper than what Alienware will charge you. There are cases out there that look damn good too. Mine is the NZXT Lexa.
Hell, if you really want a unique case, buy any one of the $50-100 cases and mod it to your liking. Though I get the feeling if you do that, you're not the kind of person who will be quite jumping for joy to get Vista when it is released.
TLF
Will re-posting a story make it more interesting? (Score:2, Funny)
Where are these "designs" (Score:2)
http://www.microsoft.com/japan/presspass/pressroom
http://www.microsoft.com/japan/presspass/detail.as px?newsid=2098 [microsoft.com]
These are microsoft more radical desi
Seriously (Score:2)
If it's fast and plays their average games, they don't care. They will rely on Norton or Mcafee to keep their computer safe.
For more experienced pc user,
They want speed and stability. If Vista isn't both of these, then they will probaly stick with XP. Plus be able to play their hardcore games.
For advanced computer user,
Vista will sell them if kernel is linux based.
Wrong way... (Score:2, Insightful)
I believe Microsoft went the wrong direction here. They attempted to change all hardware to suit them instead of making themselves adaptable to fit all, or most, hardware. It probably wouldn't be difficult for them, take the same amount of people that it took to make those design guidelines and tell them to make a few extra themes and colors for Vista.
Prettying up the boxes is cool.... (Score:2)
It's a matter of *perceived* value (Score:3, Insightful)
People will pay $100/ml for perfume but they won't pay $0.30/ml for exactly the same thing. The same for clothing, add the right badge and they'll pay 3000% more. Microsoft need to be able to justify the now relatively high price tag for the next version of their software so they're appealing to social desires rather than business ones. It's rather an admission that they're going to have difficulty competing on price/performance.
Re:It's a matter of *perceived* value (Score:2)
While this is certainly true, I went out of my way to buy a large pack of calvin klein jeans once. They were totally onsale and I had no specific loyalty to any one brand. Gap or Levis was what I typicaly bought, but I didn't "really" care. I can't remember if I bought 10 pair or 12 pair, but it didn't matter all that much because they all ripped in the exact same way, right down the butt. At least with my other jeans that rip usually
Product differentiataion. (Score:5, Insightful)
For most PC manufacturers, having their own "look and feel" has been part of what has given them a strong brand name. [Goes on to examine boost to little guys from common look-and-feel".
Seems to me that what the hardware companies who are establishing their own brand identity need is not a Microsoft-standard look-and-feel, which will detract from their hard-built brand identification.
Instead they need a way to customize the appearance of the software's look-and-feel. (Without affecting its ease-of-use or functionality, of course, so customers who learned on something else can feel at home despite their prettifications.)
Re:Product differentiataion. (Score:2)
case modding (Score:2)
What's the difference? (Score:2)
Same scenario, different venue (Score:2, Funny)
Beautifying a PC for Vista? (Score:2)
(no pun intended)
Where's The Document to Review? (Score:3, Insightful)
My question is: Where are these design guides? Are they publically available? All the talk here on Slashdot is just talk. Without seeing the recommendations, we don't know how much value they bring.
There might be something insightful about them, but without reading them, how will anyone know?
what is the purpose of a slashback?!? (Score:2)
I'm never going to know (Score:2)
Seriously, it going to be years and years. At home I've got a Win2k partition for games, Ubuntu for everything else. I work for a *huge* corporate that is still on the NT-to-XP treadmill, so I won't be seeing it in work anytime soon either.
Re:Technosexuals everywhere rejoice (Score:5, Funny)
(nsfw if your boss is humour-impared).
Re:I always remember my dad telling me .... (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Vista (Score:2)
Re:Ars down again... (Score:2)
Re:damned if they do, damned if they don't (Score:2)
make it a habit to run crapware.
Re:"The best they can do... (Score:2)
Re:"The best they can do... (Score:2)
I can live with one lung.
I can live with one kidney.
I can live with one testicle.
I cannot live with one mouse button, no 3D-scrolling, no forward/back buttons.
I also cannot live with this abombination of a keyboard layout that Microsoft and Logitech has foisted on the computer community. After 20 years of a fairly consistent keyboard layout (ignoring squabbles over the size and position of the Enter, backslash, and occasionally, control keys), Microsoft arbitrarily decides to a)
Re:The Mac is not an alternative (Score:2)
Linux wont be an alternative to vista until it pretties up and gets its 3d accelerated gui up to speed.... and even then it wont be up to speed because it lacks the applications.
Re:The Mac is not an alternative (Score:2)
Nonsense. Linux is a viable alternative to vista for a lot of people. Not for everybody but he did not say that.
---
Vista: Billions of marketing words and no delivered product.
Re:The Mac is not an alternative (Score:2)
Re:The Mac is not an alternative (Score:2)
re: Who modded this troll up? (Score:5, Insightful)
Let's look at some facts, shall we?
1. Apple as cut-throat corporation (just like MS, you say?). I can't say I agree. For starters, say you need several copies of your OS for 4 or 5 computers your family owns and uses. Microsoft's way? Buy one for each PC, or buy a PC pre-loaded with our OS, and we'll keep tabs on you with our "genuine advantage" system to make sure you comply! Apple's way? Buy a discounted "family pack" of OS X, legal to install on up to 5 Macs! No phoning-home by the OS or need to call in for a new CD key code if you change your hardware around too much. For that matter, have you ever called in to Apple for technical help before? It's a *vastly* more pleasant experience, on the whole, than practically any other computer company offers today. Last time I dealt with HP or Dell, I was on hold upwards of 30 minutes before I even got to speak with a human! With Apple, never had a hold time over about 5 mins.
2. Macs trouble-free? Well, no - this is obviously just marketing at work. But computers have been around long enough that by now, most people should realize this as the exaggeration it is. What they want you to get from the marketing-speak is the idea that Macs *generally* give a user less headache. I'd say that much is quite true! I've done countless on-site service calls on PCs that "got real slow and started crashing on me all the time" or "starting popping up these weird errors". Ended up being huge messes of trojan horse viruses and spyware. Never had that YET on a Mac. I can also say that many commonly performed tasks are made easier on a Mac with the included applications than on a PC with its included set of apps. EG. Need to email somebody a photo? In Windows, you better know what you're doing to resize that picture that just came off your 8 megapixel camera, or the recipient might not even have enough email storage quota to receive the thing! On the Mac's "Mail" app, the user is asked as soon as he/she drags/drops in a photo if they'd like it resized small, medium or large (original size).
3. Even Microsoft likes the Mac! Microsoft's Mac Business Unit is their most profitable unit, when you factor in the cost they incur running it vs. profit it makes for them! MS Office was initially written not for Windows PCs, but for Macs! So if you simply take a stance that "If Microsoft likes it, it's BAD!" - then I guess you have to stick to using something like Linux. But if you're like most normal people, you realize that Apple is just a business trying to make money, like all others, and what they're offering isn't too shabby.
Re:The Mac is not an alternative (Score:2)
Apple's idea of an intuitive design is to remove so much functionality that there's really a limited number of operations you can perform, thus not much to get confused about.
How's life back there in the '80s? Up here in the future, Macs run Unix, various CLI tools, X-windows apps, legacy Mac OSes, OS X, and even MS-Windows. With that number of UI paradigms supported on the same box, there's a lot more to get confused about than on any system money can buy. If confusion is your thing, and it sounds l
Re:The Mac is not an alternative (Score:2, Troll)