I need Vista, I like OS X
We cover a lot of different products here, hardware such as devices, gadgets and the like, and software that runs on that hardware. We write a lot about both Microsoft and Apple products because that’s what we use every day. The recent coverage of my latest MacBook Pro problem produced reactions from some that I am seeing more and more and it tweaked my thinking process into writing this post.
Some folks think that I am unfairly bashing Microsoft Vista a lot yet holding back when I cover my Mac problems. They think I should bash Apple loudly and clearly for these problems because I don’t hesitate to bash Microsoft about problems I have with Vista. I can see where these folks are coming from and this is important to me as I view objectivity as a critical component of what I do. After thinking long and hard about this I agree I have been a regular critic of Microsoft Vista and I know that gets under some folk’s skin. I can tell you with absolute sincerity that if OS X caused me the same continual aggravations that Vista causes me daily I would be screaming loud and clear about it but frankly that’s just not the case.
Even with these problems I’ve experienced with the MacBook Pro it’s important to understand that they are hardware problems, not OS problems. This is a key difference and why I treat them differently. I have experienced hardware problems with different devices in the past as have many of you and the truth is sometimes things just break. I’m not making excuses for Apple here, sure I wish I wasn’t having these problems but I understand that RAM or hard drives go bad sometimes. These are common components that are used by many different OEMs in their products and it would be unrealistic of me to blame Apple for these failures. Again, sure I wish all my hardware worked perfectly all the time but sometimes stuff happens. The key thing here is I feel pretty confident that eventually Apple will make everything right and this will be history. That’s pretty much their track record with this stuff and I have no reason to believe this will be any different.
The situation with Vista is quite a different matter because it is the operating system that is running most of the computers I use. It is running four computers in my office right now and I depend on it to get work done. I don’t blame Microsoft when I have hardware problems because they don’t make hardware and it would be silly to do so. But I do blame them quite fairly when the OS doesn’t do what I need it to do especially when I believe it is something that it should do properly My heavy usage of Vista-running PCs exposes me to a lot of situations when Vista drives me crazy. I’m not going to get into specifics here because that’s not the purpose of this article but it is a hard, cold fact that every single day something happens on one of my PCs that makes me angry at Vista. That’s a terrible thing to say about any product but it’s absolutely true. At least once a day I end up saying "I hate Vista" because I’m trying to do something and Vista gets in my way to get it done.
That’s not Vista bashing friends, that is the absolute truth. Believe me, if OS X was constantly giving me the same problems as Vista I would have stopped using it altogether by now because the truth is I don’t need it to get my work done like I do Vista. That’s another reason why Vista makes me so angry, I need it to get my work done and it is constantly getting in my way to do so. Now it’s important to understand that all of the computers I use are mobile PCs of one type or another. These types of computers have different usage patterns than desktop computers and they can tax the OS in different ways than fixed computers can. But I feel strongly that the OS should be able to handle these mobile computers and in fact Microsoft touted for a long time prior to Vista’s launch that mobile computing would be much better than in prior products. This just ain’t so, my friends. All you have to do is look around the web where mobile PC users hang out and see countless complaints that Vista is causing one problem or another. That’s not just me talking, that is many, many Vista users talking. It is a fact that I will not ignore because I want better and the only way to get better is to make it known what I want. If that is Vista bashing then so be it. I have never been one to just settle and I’m not going to start now, even if it makes some folks mad.
The problems most of us encounter can’t be blamed on any one manufacturer or software provider.
It all comes down to any product needing time to mature and get all the kinks worked out, the problem is that the innovation cycle is so fast now that companies can’t sit on products refining until they are mature and problem free: if they tried that they would be obsolete before they are released.
We all want the latest gadgets (eeepc 900 only went on sale last week and now everyone wants the 901 instead), we all want the fastest RAM, or the biggest hard drive, or the most effective software, but by wanting that aren’t we reinforcing the vicious circle of products being pushed out before they are mature enough?
Great post JK! That pretty much sums up my thoughts and experiences.
James,
What an excellent summary of the issue – well said. This is exactly why I’m not moving to Vista. What Jobs & Apple realise is that the computer is a tool, not an end in itself. Gates & MS think that IT *is* the business. I love playing with computers, but when I need to work I need my IT to support this and not to need mollycoddling just to deliver its primary purpose. After work I am more than happy to tweak, reset and fiddle – but not during the fee-earning hours!
James-
Last year at this time you were pretty balanced about whether to choose Vista or XP (for example, you still get a choice on a new 2710p). Do you still think the grief is worth the Vista features, or would you choose XP given the choice?
I cannot for the life of me see the hype with OSx other than just being trendy. I purchased a Macbook Pro because my brother is a die hard Apple guy and just kept recommending it over the years. After using OSx for several months I just grew to really hate it. It was unintuitive and bulky. Things like file management were extremely clunky, Apple’s file explorer was an tedious exercise at best.
I think what really really got me was multitasking. I know a lot like the dockbar, mmm me see shiny object, me like shiny object. I hated the dockbar, but was forced to use it due to a lack of any taskbar. I spent 2 days googling and searching for a 3rd party taskbar, but didn’t find one. I think one of the major strengths of windows is the way you can run multiple tasks, and keep your eye on them no matter what is open on your desktop.
I could go on with the other lacking things I found, but I won’t. I just didn’t see the incredibleness that is religiously spouted about OSx at all.
I forgot to mention that I did a clean install of Vista on my macbook Pro, completely getting rid of OSx and I could not be happier. I have no issues with Vista at all, NONE on the macbook pro.
James,
I would really like to see a list of those problems you have with Vista, i am pretty sure that most of them has nothing to do with vista. Drivers and 3. part application is what is causing the trouble. If you want vista to run better make sure you have the latest drivers and stop using cutting edge gadges where things arent tested. also only install the applicaton you need, installing and reinstalling software all the time is not good.
OSX is probally a ok system but where are the apps? what is a os without applications…
I do agree with you that there is alot of people that say vista is no good, but who are they to say that? do they have the technical backgound to conclude that it is vista that has the problem?
I feel for you James. I have had no problems with Vista that I wouldn’t have had with another OS. Poor drivers, not Vista’s fault, have been there but no more than XP. In the last year on three computers not a single crash. Not a single failure. I’ve had no issues That I didn’t get with XP. But I have disabled Superfetch, and resisted too much “tweaking”. And I’ve resisted upgrading any hardware with modest capabilities.
Vistas biggest problem is it’s unrealistic minimum requirements. Keep it from low power machines and it’s a brilliant OS. we really need a Vista Lite for the Origami devices.
Gordon
I think the big challenge to VISTA is that it has to run on hundreds of different hardware/driver/bios configurations, unlike OSX, which only has to work on the limited few that Apple chooses.
If you remember, in the whole VISTA rollout process, the OS got behind the manufacturing cycle of the OEM’s, and I think that’s one reason why first generation VISTA and the products that were supposed to be VISTA ready often had major compatibility issues. Computers that had to be ready to sell in the fall, and for Christmas rush, ended up selling with a promise that you could get VISTA when it was ready, not with VISTA itself. I’m sure that means that manufacturers didn’t have much time or incentive to tweak performance with the OS. So to me, it’s not a Big Surprise that problems such as sleep issues, video performance, etc., where the OS and the drivers were not working well together, were common.
The logistics of communicating with all the different manufacturers about what to expect with the new OS had/has to be a daunting and difficult process. I think THAT is where VISTA really fell down. The OS developers did their thing; the sales people did their thing; the OEMs did their thing; but coordination and communication was lacking (as it will always be when the builder and the OS are different companies) and it left some enormous holes.
That said, I think VISTA is superb for inkers, although we seem to be a small minority of users. I have lots of other frustrations, but they got that part right, in my book.
Maybe it’s time for Microsoft to admit that one size simply never really fits all, and get down to the level of various optimizations of the OS for different usages.
Sharon
@spinedoc
I had the same experience as you… but reversed!
I learned the basics of computing with an Apple and use their operating system since os9. Last year, thanks to my job, I had to buy a PC. I thus went for a tablet running Vista.
Uhhhh! There is so much to tweak here and there to have it work the way you like. There are so many hidden features in the 1000th sub-menu that it gives me headaches. Worse… the tablet experience is great, but it is hard to use it “out-of-the-box” without a keyboard (hit shift-ctrl in photoshop for example).
To me, a geek more than a pro, the main Vista problem is here. Out-of-the-box you must scratch you head to have it to work without all the popups, the warnings about performances, the anti-virus, the anti-spam, etc.
As for applications with OSX, at least when you buy a mac, they’re pretty well developed and useful. Compare text edit and notepad or media player and iTunes (on OSx!)
my 2 cents.
You got link luv. MS better wake up — NOW!
http://mikecane2008.wordpress.com/2008/05/21/james-kendrick-on-microsoft-windows-vista/
I agree, James. You’ve summed up my experience too.
I’m a longtime Mac user (1993) but recently switched to a Vista-based TabletPC full-time for work and home; I used a series of Dell and Compaq XP desktops at work for years and a mac at home; before the desktops I used a Mac at the office. However, the business world is a Windows world (for me: oil & gas industry related). Why it took me so long to stop fighting that fact is something for my therapist to help with.
Its astonishing how much nonsense Windows users have to deal with compared to Mac users; the white noise of nonsense is deafening. Using a mac was like living in the country – using Windows is like living on a NY subway car – the hassles associated with Windows are now as common to comment on by most everyday people as the weather and gas prices. Most windows users don’t know that a more peaceful life is even possible; most mac users don’t know how good they have it.
I hope your hardware problems get sorted out soon, James.
All the best!
peter
Well.. That is why i decided to install 3-bootable OS on my U810. Select which OS you prefer… VISTA, LINUX UBUNTU, or MAC OSX…
http://www.youtube.com/v/rEwVrEqP7ic
While I am no Apple fan and personally believe that OS X is garbage. I have to agree on Vista it is a poor excuse for an operating system.
I am still using XP Pro and will be until Microsoft releases something that actually works.
I just want to say James that I’ve found your posts to be more than fair to both sides, don’t let the zealots on either side wear you down. There are lots of us in the silent majority that appreciate your even-handedness and tune in regularly to hear it…
James: It’s really frustrating to see a guy like you make a post like those. You’ve sort of taken a hand full of pieces from two different puzzle boxes and decided which puzzle you prefer. For example, go educate yourself about the filesystem that underlies your beloved OS X and then come back and tell us how awesome your preference for OS X is. Apple is a company that’s all about the user experience. It’s cool that you can smell the perfume, but if you open your eyes you’ll realize that you’re riding a pig.
If you want a really awesome user experience, go put a Debian-based Linux distribution on one of your devices and install a handful of Desktop Environment and Window Managers. You’ll have way more fun.
James, I posted some comments about your very good article at my site.
http://ultramobilepc-tips.blogspot.com/2008/05/james-needs-vista-but-he-likes-os-x.html
I feel so sorry for spinedoc, who claimed he googled for 2 days looking for taskbars for Mac OS X. I just googled for 2 seconds and found Quicksilver, Launchbar, and Butler.
When you claim you’ve given something a fair trial, you’re more credible if your claims can’t be exploded in less time than it takes to write this sentence!
zorg I did find taskbar managers, but compared to Windows taskbar they sucked in my opinion. I did try 2 of the 3 you mentioned by the way. I didn’t think this was an exercise to “explode my claims”, rather I thought it was a mature discussion on the pros and cons of OSx versus Vista. In that sense I stated my opinion that a con of OSx was it’s lack of a task manager. Yes you can download very lacking 3rd party taskbars, but then we are back to the argument that Vista is not ready out of the box and requires tweaking. If you need to download a 3rd party taskbar manager isn’t that tweaking?
I see a common complaint starting to reveal itself about Vista, that it needs “tweaking” to make it worthwhile. On OSx it also needs tweaking, don’t let others fool you. But often you cannot find those tweaks and have to settle for what Apple thinks you want, even if it’s not. Good for dummies, but no thanks I’ll take the more complex system that has the double edged sword of being more tweakable, but also having more things to have to pay attention to on initial setup.
In the end I am only stating my opinion and preference for an OS, I certainly am not dicating what others should use. If you grew up with a system it is most probably what you prefer. Possibly if I grew up with Macs then I would love the OS, but I didn’t and I don’t.
In addition what I found for task managers were:
Quicksilver: No taskbars, just a menu driven system. What passes as a taskbar can just as easily be accomplished with apple/tab, but that’s certainly not a full taskbar. It’s more of a searchbar similar to the one that comes with Vista’s start button.
Launchbar: also a button initiated searchbar/program starter, something that the Vista start button has out of the box.
I haven’t seen Butler, but I’ll look into it. But the bottom line for me (yes my opinion) is I like the taskbar on the bottom of the screen with access to EVERY open program on my computer, and additionally they are all labeled so I can see EXACTLY what is open without having to press any buttons or anything, only a glance is needed.
So in terms of “exploding my claim”, I still haven’t found a viable taskbar, even with your suggestions.
Interesting discussion for sure. First up, I have not said nor will I that I “choose” OS X over Vista. I honestly believe that all of these are just tools for me to get my work done. Heck, I’ve done more work with PDAs and phones than most people which shows all I really care about is being able to get my work done WHEN I NEED TO GET IT DONE.
I understand fully that a lot of the problems that aggravate me with Vista are not even Microsoft’s fault. Third part drivers, imperfect implementations of the OS by OEMs, I am fully aware of that. Heck, I have many friends at Microsoft and I believe they are trying to produce the best products they can. But at the end of the day the core problem is still there, if I go to do Task A and I can’t do it because my system is doing “something” it doesn’t matter to me who is at “fault”. Not being able to get my work done is all I care about and that’s the aggravation I write about.
The Windows ecosystem is broken, horribly and maybe even unfixably broken. It doesn’t matter whose “fault” that is, it only matters that it prevents me from getting my work done which is all I care about.
Are there things I don’t like about OS X? Of course there are, the same as any tool because we’re all different and there are always things we as individuals would prefer to be done a different way. Is Vista technically superior to OS X? Maybe in many areas it is. None of this matters though if I can’t get my work done. I am harping on this now but it’s all I care about. Vista gets in my way regularly and OS X doesn’t. It really is as simple as that. Does that make OS X better than Vista? Not in and of itself, of course not. But it does make it less aggravating in my real world, no doubt.
Your love of the OS is clouding your vision when it comes to the cruddy hardware. With a Mac, separating the OS from the hardware doesn’t make any sense. Apple controls the product, top to bottom.
Apple has failed you from a hardware standpoint and a service standpoint, but you like the OS. So, you’re telling us, one out of three ain’t bad? That wouldn’t fly with me.
How much are you going to spend on your own parts before you start pointing the finger where it’s deserved?
@spinedoc,
If you want an equivalent for Task Manager on Mac OS X then you really need to look at Activity Monitor. Then you can see what processes are running as in Task Manager for Windows.
I think what you mean is the Task Bar. I agree. There really is nothing like it on OS X. Meaning, you can’t see what apps are running except for the blue lights in the Dock. Maybe I am misunderstanding you.
But to say OS X is “trendy” is not correct. Maybe you have always used Windows/DOS. Fine. But underneath OS X is a rock-solid BSD UNIX foundation, tried and tested for 30+ years. Windows cannot say that. Networking and the Internet itself was built on UNIX. Maybe that doesn’t matter to you. But when you have to run anti-virus software, constantly wonder what malware is running on your PC and worry about being attacked by or being a host to net bots sending out millions of spam emails unknowingly, then I just don’t see your argument. OS X suffers from none those issues. And I know. I run a network of 60+ Macs that run no AV software of any kind.
To each his own.
now if only microsoft would listen and finally realize that the only way to be selfish is to care about the customer first.
one of a million examples, i would never allow htc to put vista on the shift, let alone forcing it to be the only os.
they just simply care a lot more about themselves then they care about our lost time, productivity and frustrations, which collectively is staggering!
While I agree with your post (and many of the comments) and while I, too, use Vista because I need to for professional reasons, I think the problems with MS operating systems are going to continue because of their pricing model.
In order to convince people to upgrade MS must provide something new. Better just doesn’t cut it in the market. In providing something new, MS must also retain all the old stuff for people who rely on it or are just used to it. The end result is a bloated product which does amazing things when it works but which all too often doesn’t work well.
Furthermore, these new features are all too often tied too closely to the OS so that they cannot be removed, just suppressed. This results in a bloated OS which needs to be tweaked in order to get it to run well on anything but the most powerful desktops and laptops. For those of us with lower powered UMPCs, we are left with gigabytes of code which we have turned off but which still drag down our processors (not to mention clog our smaller HDDs and SSDs.
Had MS adopted the subscription model for their OS, they could have focussed on making it better rather than making it bigger. I would gladly have forked over a yearly fee to be running NT with Service Pack 42 and I wouldn’t miss the transparent zooming menus at all.
Apple taxes their RAM to the max. If a DIMM isn’t exactly perfect, it will show. Not only that (and maybe you know this), RAM fails in weird ways. You can do a cursory test and it passes, but fails when doing tests that work via proximity. That’s why there’s so many varied types of tests.
That said, Apple did have one mactop that had major problems with the “top” slot. Can’t recall which but it was in the PPC era, IIRC.
Hey Spinedoc,
As a Mac user of 8 years and of mainframes dating to the late 1960’s, maybe you need an eyedoc.
I quote you saying,
” But the bottom line for me (yes my opinion) is I like the taskbar on the bottom of the screen with access to EVERY open program on my computer, and additionally they are all labeled so I can see EXACTLY what is open without having to press any buttons or anything, only a glance is needed.”
The Mac OSX Dock with Hiding OFF, Magnification OFF and NO Applications residing (when NOT OPEN) to the left of the hash-line, exactly meets your stated specifications (Icons by default and Titles by mousing over).
You are fighting the Mac OS and not learning. It’s a very common problem of OSX virgins and it will pass if you just ask yourself (honestly) “How would I design this system to work if I were in charge?” and then get creative.
In 8 years of recommending Apple products, I have had one person not “GET IT” and go back to Windows. The average “Eureka” (light bulb) moment takes two weeks in my experience.
Good Luck.
I’m certainly not going to attempt to convert anyone to a particular OS — religious diversity is a good thing so long as some tolerance towards others is included.
Re: a taskbar for OSX. If I understand correctly, Spinedoc is looking for a taskbar/dock replacement which is
a)anchored to a particular spot
b) visible regardless of what programs are running
c) allow single click to switch between running applications
d) clearly indicate only the programs that are currently running
DragThing does have a “process dock” that meets the above requirements (I needed to configure it to meet these reqs (the rotate part wasn’t intuitive to me, but essential) and haven’t yet figured out if it can handle grouping similar tasks). It is a 3rd party shareware. Does it work 100% like Windows? No, of course not, but in my use of it, it functions more than admirably for my habits.
When one is very comfortable using a particular UI, it is indeed the so-called little things that make transition to a new UI very aggravating. It is not intuitive to me to let go of those comforting rituals to fully experience the new and make up my mind afterward. And yet, I find I must do so regularly. I am indebted to shareware developers for creating crutches to my old habits, even as I do make an honest effort to move forward.
Other than being a happy and registered user of DragThing, I have no connection to the company.
As others have said, trying to separate Apple hardware from software when you find issues with either is very complex.
Most people forget that Apple is primarily a HARDWARE company. They create software only to drive their hardware sales. This is how apple makes money. Creating new versions of the OS or other Apple apps (along with new hardware style designs) gets loyal apple users to upgrade to new apple hardware.
Compare this to Vista where the OS profibility is not tied to a supporting role pushing a single manufactures hardware sales. Vista has to account for all the permutations of hardware out there and for the most part does a pretty good job.
So when you complain about Vista being at fault, but then give a pass to Apple when its hardware (which is incredibly tightly integrated with its software) poops out you can see whey people scratch their head at some of your posts. With the logic that you use in most of your Vista criticism, ANY problems with Apple hardware should be equivalent. Also, the fact that it doesn’t sound like you do very much with the Apple OS when compared to the workhorse you describe with Vista, these failures should be especially aggravating.
James, it’s a shame you couldn’t have been a bit more specific about all these problems that are preventing you from getting anything done. Also, it seems to me that you’re not getting anything done if your laptop won’t even boot. The problem that I and others like me have is that you seem to be prepared to put up with the problems with your Apple product but not the problems with your Microsoft product. And it’s not just about hardware versus software either – when you had those Time Machine problems you didn’t feel the need to rant about Apple’s software.
Whether you can see it or not, some of these posts start to look a bit biased which is kind of counter-productive because it prevents people from providing you with the support or helpful feedback I assume you are seeking for yourself and others who may encounter similar problems.
For the nth time, I have not now and never will give Apple a pass over my hardware problems. I have written here on jkOnTheRun about every single one of them. Apparently what some folks want is for me to ignore the frustrations I have daily running PCs with Vista (no matter the root cause of those problems) and only write about how evil Apple is.
That is not objective at all and not what I am about. Don’t put words in my mouth about choosing one thing over the other. It should be clear from my writings here that I use everything for my tools and I don’t ever choose something. I will however continue to point out my opinions and understandings about everything I use because many indicate that’s what they want to find here.
I have been using all Mac and Microsoft OS for the last twenty nine years. I have helped several hundred individuals transition from DOS through Vista to the Mac OS. I have never had a Mac user wanting to switch to a Microsoft OS though most have had to use Windows usually through a work situation.
Nearly all of the Microsoft only users seemed to start out thinking mediocrity was all one could expect of an OS and any objective rational assessment will most likely conclude, it’s all Microsoft can produce as a product and for a user experience. Many also had very negative ideas about the Mac OS based on the commonly believed FUD produced by Microsoft and their zealots, many of which are commenting here.
All the switchers I have helped seem to reach a point with Microsoft, where they had stopped or were willing to stop making excuses for Microsoft’s mediocrity or had reached a point where they simply would no longer tolerate the pain. Once it’s pointed out that all Microsoft does is mimic badly, five and ten year old stuff from the Mac OS and kludge it onto an obsolete Windows OS, small beams of light start to peak into these closed minds and they begin listening with a less deaf ear. When the pain is great enough change is possible, like after loosing all one’s data, photos etc, like some I know did at least once a year. Vista is an excellent example currently where even the zealots who have to be rational can’t make honest or rational arguments to defend it without boat loads of denial.
The smartest are switching on their own to the Mac. If people are informed and can choose for themselves they chose a Mac. The most recent data shows that 66% of computers, over $1000 sold at retail in the USA these past few months, are Macs. So two thirds of people choosing their own computers are choosing Macs. Sure businesses are way behind this trend but even there with the informed and forward thinking, change is happening.
After switching these former Microsoft apologists quickly become very attached to their new operating system and nearly all declare they “love their new Mac” and certainly more than half have become, the Mac zealots they despised before opening their minds. Nearly all also ask at some point in the first few months, why I hadn’t convinced them to switch way sooner and express their regret in having waited so long, endured so much pain and lost so much time or data. These same people also, almost all, express that they had no idea that an OS could be so unobtrusive yet serve them so intuitively or flawlessly. Previous Mac related comments like this were simply seen as the same bull they are constantly told to believe by Microsoft.
Inflamed Windows zealots reading this comment are at this point having an emotional and irrational explosion of internalized FUD. Get it out boys perhaps you can have a rational thought once you’ve disgorged this mindless bile.
Having a closed mind, and no real experience, is worse than being a zealot because at least the zealot has an active assessment going on while the closed mind is simply locked into the mediocrity and has surrendered their power to the master of mediocrity, Microsoft.
No mater how many me too doodads Microsoft bolts onto their obsolete operating system it’s still a pile of crap with more crap piled on. If you think Seven will change that, isn’t that the same thing Microsoft told you every time before? How did that work out for you, tell us zealots.
Lots of misunderstandings here I think. Yes I’m looking for a taskbar where I can clearly and in text see what I have open without having to mouse over it or take up a large part of my screen. Although I thank you guys for coming up with partial solutions, there are still no full solutions even approaching the functionality of the Windows taskbar, and that’s out of the box.
I’m not a Windows lover by any means, please don’t get that impression that I am an anti Apple fan boi. I like Apple products, and I like my Macbook Pro hardware quite a bit (even though it lacks a PC card slot, lol). It’s just that I hear so often how “revolutionary” the Mac OS is, and I just don’t see it. Is it garbage? Of course not, just not my preference that is probably predicated on my lifelong experience with windows. I speak for myself and myself only when I say that Windows is just much more intuitive even after giving OSx a 6 month try. I stated my reasons why and believe they are still valid for ME.
As for the whole virus/spyware/malware thing lets see how that holds up when Macs are 99% of the computers out there. Personally I have 4 PCs at work, 6 PCs at home, and 2 laptops and I’ve never had a virus, and I could count on one hand the times I’ve had malware issues which Webroot picked up right away.
In the end I would rather have something more difficult to use, with more things to tweak, because I like that kind of control. It’s more things to go wrong, but I accept that readily.
I hate to sound like a Mac versus PC guy, because I really am not. If the next version of Mac came with a true taskbar, and gave some user control back to the user I would definitely give it another look. I really really wanted to like OSx. My main point being that it was ok, but it wasn’t a Jesus OS like it’s made out to be, and certainly no better and probably not any worse than Vista.
Hey James,
Try this: go into msconfig and turn off all the services that aren’t Microsoft services and all those extra startup programs that you really don’t need and run your computer. Vista sings. I had to do this to try to resolve a long-standing issue I was having, but after turning off these services and startup programs, the only thing I missed was auto screen rotation (Lenovo X60), so I went back in and turned on all of Lenovo’s services (I couldn’t figure out which one controlled rotation). Anyway, a couple weeks later and Vista has never run so problem free before…I no longer have to worry about whether or not Vista will go to sleep when I close the lid, the system is snappier, auto screen rotation is quicker, and I don’t have the disk thrashing problem you’ve experienced, even when I have many windows and programs running. It just works. Good luck! Oh yeah, the problems I was having, that led me to this, are gone too!
Vista’s fundamental problem that can never be fixed is the bloated complexity of its basic system architecture and code. it’s a hodge-podge of legacy and proprietary components piled on top of each other or bolted on over the years. each new MS OS generation is significantly more complicated than the last for that reason. and then comes Vista’s additional DRM agenda to further complicate things. face it, it’s a mess. MS engineers deserve credit for making it work as well as it does.
hence the OEM hardware problems too. more power needed. more possible incompatibilities (why should “drivers” be such a big deal?). plus the push to be cut corners and be cheap to compete is a mass market.
MS keeps talking about building a new OS from scratch, running the old apps within an emulator (exactly what Apple did with OS X), to deal with this. but they never will. remember, a marketing guy runs the company and so the response will be more consumer manipulation tactics, more bells and whistles, more “monetizing,” not re-invented engineering.
Mac OS architecture has essentially evolved in the other direction, to become simpler, leading to Leopard’s full fusion with Unix. that’s why a stripped-down version can run an iPhone (think Vista can be ported to cell phones?). sure, Apple has added stuff to it, but the additions are layers and features, not complications.
as to hardware breaking, since there will always be some for any OEM the correct way to compare is failure rates head to head. Apple laptops vs. Dell or HP laptops, etc. i dunno the stats. does anyone track and publish this info? Consumer Reports has reader feedback stats, but that is still anecdotal and so only suggestive at best.
If you can’t get your work done on Vista (stability issues or compatibility issues or otherwise), and you can’t get your work done on OSX (compatiblity issues or otherwise), what can you use to get your work done? Why aren’t you using that now and never migrating to OSX or Vista?
I too am a long time bi-platform user. I’ve used both side by side in a professional environment since 1986. While seeing what my PC only using co-workers have had to deal with in the work environment, I chose Macs at home.
Since the iMac was released and especially since the release of OS X I have helped a BIG number of PC users switch to Mac. These people seem to become some of the most hardcore PC bashers. Personally up until the Intel Macs I use to recommend PCs to those who wanted to get into gaming. Now I recommend Macs to everyone.
In my experience the hardcore Mac bashers seem to be the very ones who make a living off of PC repair and maintenance. These guys are slowly loosing their little PC “kingdoms” because of so many choosing to go to the Mac these days. I recently read that in the US, 1 in 5 computers sold today is a Mac. That’s no small potatoes. Either these PC IT guys are going to have to add Macs to their knowledge base or they may find themselves behind the times. Besides, learning UNIX is not a negative in the modern internet age.
Well I can’t say I have had any of the of the problems you have had with 10.5 but you know, I think 10.4 would be fine for all your needs. But I agree with you that Microsoft missed the mark with Vista if they put less effort into making it look pretty, DRM and more into just making it rock solid the world would be a better place. You should not need to buy a crazy fast CPU, video card and a boat load of RAM just to run your OS…
Update;
http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/business/appleaday/blog/2008/05/soaring_mac_market_share_means.html
This week research firm NPD Group announced that Apple dominated the U.S. retail market for high-end computers in the first quarter of 2008, selling two out of every three PCs priced over $1,000.
Echoing trends seen in other market data, NPD said Mac laptop sales saw year-over-year growth over 50 percent, while desktop sales grew 45 percent. During the same period the Windows PC market struggled with zero growth in laptop sales and a 25 percent decline in desktop sales.
NPD estimates the Mac’s overall U.S. market share at 13.8 percent, up from 9.5 percent a year ago.
Oh noes! A fire… Let’s see, where’s my gasoline – oh here
I started using computers in the late 70’s when I was a wee lass, spent most of the 80’s as a hobbyist, spent most of the 90’s programming and doing IT for academia, and most of the 00’s as a code monkey ninja pirate in video games.
As a result I’ve used most OS’s in the past 30 years, including the likes of CP/M, DOS, VMS, Novell, most flavors of Windows, most flavors of Mac OS, most flavors of linux, most flavors of Unix & derivatives (including Sun OS, Solaris, Irix, HP/UX, AIX, NextStep, BeOS, BSD), and many mobile OS’s (including Symbian/UIQ, Windows Mobile, etc…) – you get the idea.
Today my primary OS’s are Mac OS X, Windows XP Pro, and Ubuntu, and here’s what I’ve noticed:
1) I’m most productive in Mac OS X. To those who complain about the lack of apps on Mac OS X, I’d like to say “you’re doing it wrong.” Sure, there are less apps for Mac OS X than for Windows, but it’s a non-issue, because all the important apps exist, either built-in, or free, or cheap (and most are better than the Windows counterparts). As for Finder (the Mac OS X file manager) there’s definitely room for improvement, but it does the job 90% of the time, and the other 10% there’s the command line, which blows away anything available in Windows (sure you can install other CLI’s but until you have Unix under the hood, it’s not the same). Finally, I think the dock in Mac OS X combined with Spotlight (and Quicksilver) blows away the task bar in Windows. Then again, maybe I just like the dock because of my days using NextStep.
2) I use Windows XP Pro to make video games because it’s the tool of the trade. It’s rock solid, but I don’t find the environment as nice to work with as Mac OS X, because I’m often battling against the OS. For example, after I install Windows, I have to spent a good amount of time customizing it and tweaking things services (like the Security Center) to stop getting nagged by the OS. It’s even worse with Windows Vista, not to mention I just don’t have the patience, energy, or interest to figure out why it’s less stable and less efficient than Windows XP Pro (especially on portable machines). In the end, my take on Windows Vista is “fail”.
3) Ubuntu is my OS of choice for tinkering although Mac OS X has been stealing some of the show lately. What else can I say? I just like linux a lot.
James,
I forgot to mention that Apple has experienced some problems before with regards to DIMM slots – I think this was on some of the PoweBooks…
Maybe you’re seeing a similar problem with your MacBook. A flaky solder joint on one of the DIMM slots would cause such a problem, and would necessitate a new logic board (or a DIY reflow of the DIMM slots) – not fun!
If that’s the case I suggest you poke at Apple for a replacement MacBook – Steve Jobs office should be able to help you out
I go by real life experiences and I can sympathize with you James. I decided while watching the football (soccer) that I would bring my OQO out of hibernation and do any updates needed. It was two days since the last time I had used the computer. Here’s what happened (my wife can confirm this because she was also watching the football):
2215 – turn on PC.
2217 – ready for input. Turn on wifi.
2234 – fan slows down and PC is usable once again after various Windows updates. Need to install AVG virus software update to version 8.
2235 – AVG installer says Vista is not up to date and another update must be installed for AVG to run correctly. Fortunately a direct link to the update is provided. Unfortunately, it entails going through the nausea of validation yet again which means downloading another file,
running that and hoping everything is kosher. (it should be but you never know with Windows)
2239 – Finally, the Windows update is installed. Unfortunately, it requires a restart.
2243 – Can start to install AVG version 8
again.
2247 – AVG is installed. Windows update says there are updates available. Four of the updates are for programs I don’t have
installed! Untick them. Three other
downloads to go. The machine is usable while this is happening (I’m writing this) but the fan is going full blast and the machine is running hot.
0011 – Windows has finished installing
updates!
That’s almost an hour to install updates and unfortunately that’s not unusual (admittedly it was also a new version of AVG as well). Now, where’s my instant on Nokia E90?
John says “2247 – AVG is installed. Windows update says there are updates available. Four of the updates are for programs I don’t have
installed! Untick them. “
Untick them? Isn’t this what everyone was screaming about a few weeks ago about Apple? How dare they force you to untick Safari for Windows when you didn’t have it installed? Why isn’t anyone screaming about this??
And while I’m at it, it seems that the only switchers to OSX who trash it are the long-long-longtime Windows users who are usually upset because OSX doesn’t work exactly the same way as Windows. News flash: they are different operating systems. Apple didn’t just grab a copy of the Windows source code and fix all the bugs and bad design decisions, they actually created something new (based on old and well tested things, granted) and in most switchers’ opinion, better.
i think the fact you admitted you need Windows to get your real work done .. absolutely says it all.
in a wildly generalized statement (which seems popular on this site) OSX is a toy. it works well for home use amongst women & children making it the preferred platform. but Windows makes the world go round, in the desktop business world it is the only solution (Linux is primarily backend). it’s a valuable tool made for grown men to make money. call me prejudice if you like, but i can almost guarantee i am the only person here with a 7-figure salary.
toys are great … for when at home & for my family. but they dont make the world function like my tools do, & without my tools none of your toys would even run (unless your producing your own energy off the grid).
Vista killed my Grandma! OS X ran over my dog! Linux ripped my pants!
History is an interesting thing. A few years ago there was a big uproar in response to a sudden exodus of high profile “switchers” from Apple to Linux. For example, Mark Pilgrim walked away and documented his claims here:
http://diveintomark.org/archives/2006/06/02/when-the-bough-breaks
Many jump from Microsoft to Linux because we suffered some kind of injury related to the proprietary nature of Microsoft’s products. For example, all of your Onenote data is essentially locked into Onenote (fortunately recent export options have been provided). If you want that data to persist, then you will have to hold hands with Microsoft forever. Forced upgrade paths are deal breakers for these people. Fortunately, Microsoft is only a software company, and they can only drag down the “software forced upgrade path”. Apple is hardware+software. When Apple went from RISC to CISC, they shattered a lot of dreams (and created a lot of PPC Linux boxes).
Many of us flocked to Apple when OS X came around because it gave us a Unix operating system that worked on our laptops out-of-the-box. That was really cool, except that the same proprietary issues eventually popped up for many of us, and we ran from Apple back to Linux (which had matured while we were away).
Vista, OS X, Gnu/Linux, Apple, Microsoft, Ubuntu, Jobs, Gates, Linus+RMS… they’re all great. We have great options. If you want to live in an Apple world then you can. If you want to live in a Microsoft world then you can. The question that you might not even know/care about is: Can I get out once I get in, or am I stuck forever no matter how much different the future may be from the present? 99% of computer users out there can be 100% happy with just about anything. It’s those of us in the 1% with more knowledge or more caring that end up seeing things or responding to things that the rest of them don’t.
Bisquil, a toy? Nothing could be farther from the truth. The only thing in Windows that I can’t live without in my work are the Tablet PC bits as OS X lacks them. This is the function I can’t live without in Windows and that’s it.
How much money you make lends no merit to your opinions on OSes and your prejudice of women and children makes me lose interest in those opinions.
so when OSX decided to do something unbelievably extremely damaging like wiping your external HDD, was that a hardware or OS problem? hhmmmmmmmmmmm.
Windows may have a few bugs, but i’ve never encountered 1 as big or damaging as that.
*enters James to once again find a way to defend OSX*
i’m not trying to be an ass. you may not be bias at all James, but the tone in which you write definitely makes you sound bias. if you want to have a 2nd career as a serious journalist, you have to learn to not be emotionally attached to anything you report on & be solely 100% objective. or you will become just 1 more embarrassment to the geek community like Walt Mossberg whos only following consist of the mainstream.
The external HDD failure was a hardware failure of the Buffalo 500 GB firewire drive. It was not wiped out by either Vista or OS X. That is why I do not blame OS X for wiping the drive. The drive stopped working totally.
What exactly is it that colors my work as biased? I really would like to know what you all think.
as someone who’s worked in IT longer than probably most of your readers have been alive, and used platforms that most of them have never even heard of much less actually experienced, AND someone who use all 3 major platform on a regular basis.
i have never in my entire life, and i mean ever, met 1 serious tech professional say OSX was their favorite platform, it has always been either Linux or Windows. these are guys that make 4x-5x the average US salary, run corporate infrastructures, and have direct relationships with the manufactures. now you enthusiasts posters, bloggers, etc may think your opinion counts, and it does “to you”. but i will take the word of people that actually understand the underlying technology inside each of them… i dont get medical opinions from the guy who sales me hotdogs.
for people clamoring on about how OSX is UNIX based & pretending they understand thats a good thing, please stop preaching what youve read on other sites as if you understand, because clearly you dont. being based on isnt the samething as being powerful as, when what your given access to is virtually completely different & closed source.
BTW, my comment above was written on a Windows Mobile device, a great product of MS.
james
as someone who uses only lower-case letters, i can state that you have no clue what you’re talking about
but, wat the heck, with all the money i’m earning now, i don’t need caps !!!
bisquil, or was it kinjox, or was it timrubin
I’ve been reading your blog since you got the MBP, and remember both the good and bad experiences you had with it at the beginning. You seemed quite fair about it overall, so not sure what readers are giving you grief about being biased.
I just chuckle when I read these declarations that people have ZERO, NONE NADA problems with Vista. I seriously wonder what they use their computers for. We have had 2 computers running Vista, 6 running XP since Vista launched. Last week we reformatted the Vista machines and installed XP on them. What a relief :p
GearsofPeace (XP at work, OSX at home)
I’ve never seen the windows taskbar held up as a shining example of perfection before. It’s fascinating to me because I’ve always had quite the opposite opinion. Having every open window of every open program try to jam itself into the taskbar until the text is unreadable and there are six identical icons (or having them all grouped in one button that you have to click to expand) just never worked for me. Expanding the thing to be 2 or three rows high allows for more useful info but drove me crazy as I always hated wasting screen real estate. (I hate extra ‘toolbars’ in my browser window too)
I must be more icon oriented as well because I’ve never had trouble knowing exactly what apps are running at any time by glancing at the dock. Adding text would just be a nuisance and add to the visual clutter. I also find that many apps take advantage of the ability to have the dock icon live update. Transmission is a very nice bittorrent client that shows current upload and download speed info in the dock icon. The app is hidden but I’m watching the icon change second by second as I type this. (of course I ONLY use it to download the latest Linux ISO – NEVER tv shows or movies, ahem)
My personal frustration was trying to find an application launcher like Quicksilver for windows. You can only jam so many icons in the quicklaunch section of the taskbar before it becomes easier to just navigate through the start menu. Huge numbers of icons on the desktop bother me as well so that method is out too.
I hasten to add that this is just my opinion and reflects the way I personally prefer to work. I have a very good friend who is a taskbar lover (4 rows high – four!), desktop jammed with icons kind of person. You know what? Who cares. Let the guy enjoy working the way it suits him.
Anyway, no one should listen to me because I don’t make seven figures AND I have the audacity to use a girl’s toy of a computer to do work.
Why is it that all of you that have so many problems with vista cant really descrbe them? it is just vista problems?
Now i dont know how tecnical skilled you James but i do wunder why you fx. wrote a article a couple of days ago about how your vista machines had alot of disc activerty when you did not use them… ehhh erver heard about indexing, disable it if you dont like it.
start chosing you tablets not only from how the hardware specs are but also how they deliver quality drivers.
@TimRubin, in my experience, the IT “professionals” most negative about (or threatened by) Mac OS X are the ones who are the least willing to break the status quo of Windows… It makes perfect sense – Windows requires more time and energy to support than Mac OS X and thus provides more job security!
However any technically knowledgeable person with any common sense would never put linux on the same level as Windows. Linux is far superior technically – ditto for Mac OS X (being Unix based). There are some areas where Mac OS X could be improved (the Mach kernel and file system come to mind), but overall it’s leagues ahead of Windows.
You can read my previous comments here if you question my background
TimRubin said “i have never in my entire life, and i mean ever, met 1 serious tech professional say OSX was their favorite platform, it has always been either Linux or Windows.”
Nice to meet you. OSX is my favorite platform. I have been programming mainframes for 20 years in Assembler language (mostly for Wall Street)–batch VSE and Z/OS, CICS (including Web support), MQ Series under CICS and batch, VTAM programming, written SVCs, monitors, many systems-level utilities, plain old applications, many user exits, screen painters. I programmed for a major independent software house. I’ve also written in C, Basic, COBOL, Perl (lots of Perl), REXX, and am learning Objective-C.
Oh, and I’m seeing my whole area converting to Mac in their homes. They’ve all become Mac zealots: Z/OS, CICS, and MQ Series system programmers, DB2 DBA’s, UNIX and VAX admins, security professionals.
Yes, no one who knows anything uses OSX.
People, people, calm down, and stop all the geek pissing contests, and giving each other grief for personal preference! The both great and horrible thing about all of Apple’s OSs, is that they are designed specifically to be used a certain way, and if that way happens to fit how you tend to work, then the OS provides you with very near computer nirvana. Of course, if it doesn’t happen to fit your particular way of approaching the computer, then trying to use it is a living hell.
Anyone trying to hype any modern OS as being objectively better, and clearly superior, is feeding you a line of BS. All the big OSs out these days are actually pretty damned good, and pretty similar as well, from a technical standpoint. The issue isn’t by any stretch which one is perfect, and which one is garbage, it is which one works best for what you do, and how you do it. It is entirely an issue of personal preference, and anything beyond that is some stupid Ford vs. Chevy pissing contest.
Of course there are people who have had a flawless experience with OSX, and so feel it is superior to anything else out there, because it perfectly fits their needs, and their expectations of how the computer should work. The thing people need to understand, is that the same is true of Vista, and XP, and any random flavor of Linux. It all comes down to your own personal style of computing, and what you expect from it. Personally, the only OS I have ever actually “loved” was SGI IRIX, but I have friends who have loved OSX, Vista, XP, Win2K, Ubuntu, Red Hat, SUSE and other OSs going back to BeOS, AmigOS and OS2.
The point is, if you love the OS you are using, then enjoy it, and don’t worry about what some jackass has to say about how his OS is better than yours. If it fits what you need to do, and does it in the way you think it should, then it is the best OS for you, no matter what BS someone tries to feed you about how objectively superior they delusionaly believe their favorite pet OS might be. No one has added anything significant to the core functionality an OS in almost a decade that really put it head and shoulders above its competitors in objective technical terms, so you are talking completely subjective measures of what is important to the individual user, and that will change on a user by user basis.
sorry, L.M., but it’s not all subjective (although you are right that is how most people react to it). you may not feel monopoly business practices and invasive DRM – both at the very core of Vista conceptually and technically – are significant long term issues for the future of consumer computing and even society as a whole, and so just brush it off as personal dislikes, but i beg to differ. and “Ford vs. Chevy” is the wrong analogy. it’s more like the bloated US auto industry vs. quality-oriented Japanese auto makers in the ’80’s. and we know how that turned out …