molly.com
Wednesday 14 May 2008
Why Macs are Scientifically Better than Windows
Reliability.
Filed under: general
Posted by: Molly | 18:10 | Comments (45)
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Reliability.
Filed under: general
Posted by: Molly | 18:10 | Comments (45)
Comments (45)
What?! Seriously, Mols. Where’s the science?
I was wondering the same thing. How can you use the phrase “scientifically better” in the post title without at least a link to some supporting research? Are they more reliable? I could take that on faith I suppose. Not having much recent experience with macs I wouldn’t know for certain, but my Windows machine is rock-steady.
At least throw in a pretty graph. Pie please 🙂
I’m with KB on this one – whence the horror stories about Mac Extended JFS meltdowns?
That said, I agree with the sentiment – I’ve not once questioned the stability of this MacBook in the absence of a ticketed bug (specifically the fact that a recent update refused to play nicely with the most recent update to the Flash player)… but even on a Windows XP system with adequate RAM, crap goes sideways all the time… even badly enough to justify a reboot.
Two words: memory management.
I’d love to love Apple / but I don’t / Commit to Vista, that I won’t / stability isn’t Apple’s strength per se / I just need the best OS / day to day
Reliability measured how? My Windows x64 machine has been on for quite a few weeks now without a glitch, I only have to restart it after downloading an upgrade and the last time that happened was about five weeks ago.
Even my Vista machine rarely causes trouble anymore, sure it’s not 100% there yet, games in particular give it some trouble (could be the nvidia drivers), but I’ve had it on for days while throwing some heavy work at it and has taken it all in stride; with even a session of Crysis or Medieval II thrown in between video renders, just for a break.
Oh, and look Ma! No antivirus, no firewall, no viruses! Really, just some basic precautions and common sense. No viruses in almost 15 years.
Need the best operating system day to day? Possibly look into Microsoft Windows Vista Ultra Secure Black Box Edition.
AGREED!
Btw, loved how you filed the post under “religion”.
Undeniably.
Judging by the amount of Mac hardware issues I’ve seen here, I would say that Windows machines are more reliable 😛
Hi Molly!
It’s hard to compare the combination of Mac OS X and Mac hardware with Windows and the world of windows-compatible hardware.
Here are a couple of alternative titles:
“Why Apples are Scientifically better than Oranges”
“Why OS X on Homogeneous Hardware A is Scientifically better than OS W on Varied Hardware B through Z”
That said, I think my personal alliances will eventually (and sooner than later) lie with one of the open OSes, (my prefs are a Debian-based distro such as Ubuntu for flexibility and ubiquity or OpenBSD for maximum reliability and security) which increasingly work exceptionally well on a wide range of hardware, some very well proven and reliable, thereby not locking me into either hardware OR software closed hegemonies.
I think its not necessarily (even though it can be) the inherit unreliability, but more so the potential it provides for its users/developers to make it unreliable. Be it via clean software & APIs or controlled base hardware, Mac’s provide a much better playground where you spend more time playing than upkeep.
Muhehe.
Titling it that is ignorant. Its like your comparing apples and fish. Windows is just an operating system, Mac is not. In fact Macs can run windows, so how does that fit in to your equation?
The fact is Mac will never be able to gain as a substantial piece of the market as Microsoft until they can support cheaper 3rd party hardware. America’s economy is slowing going down, and more expensive machines that have no noticeable advantages to the average user will never become norm.
Dear Windows users, Molly is right!
I can say that because I’m an ex Windows user…
it never fails to surprise me when people actually take me seriously!
I always liked to put Windows down for being buggy and unstable. At the moment though, my home computer, a Windows PC, is much more stable/reliable than the $1800 mac I have at work.
I actually don’t agree, but would like to note that there is no such thing as a “Windows machine”, but rather a machine that can run Windows. Almost all hardware that can run Windows can also run Linux, which is a darn sight better than running Windows. Unless you are playing games or running bloated ‘enterprise’ apps or have an Internet Explorer fetish, there’s really no reason to use Windows any more.
Okay, sermon over.
hehe – how to start a comments fight in one easy step…
Sheeesh! I have a dilemma. I didn’t take the post seriously as it seemed tongue-in-cheek. But now I don’t know whether to take the responses seriously as some of them appear to be serious. Ha! I’m confuzzled!!!
“it never fails to surprise me when people actually take me seriously!”
*smiles*
This is a religious/fundamentalist/emotive issue for most of us… ;-p
That made me smile 😉 Thanks Molly.
“it never fails to surprise me when people actually take me seriously!”
So you were kidding then, cool.
I’m not sure why people get irritated by this kind of thing. They seem to have difficulty with the fact that people can have strong opinions.
In 2006, I bought a brand new, fully loaded Dell Inspiron with XP. Three months and 4 OS reinstalls later, I sold it on ebay for a fraction of the price (with full warranty). In July of 2007, I bought a brand new, fully loaded MacBook. On September 14th, I got the cerulean blue screen of death and had to have the hard drive replaced at the Apple store. I lost everything.
PCs, Macs, Linux, whatever. They are all electronic tools that can fail. The moral? Don’t believe the hype. And back up often.
This always reminds me of the “are you a Ford or a Chevy man?” argument…
The best operating system in the world…
mmm…
has 2 hands, two feet… probably not my operating system but i’m sure one’s out there that can do it all… Bollywood maybe?
Best operating system in the world scientifically proven? Mmmm still not me.
OK here’s where we all get beaten half to death by semi-gay Mac fanboys lol… ha ha.
I note this one is tagged “religion” but not “science” 😉
Mac fans simply have faith. They feel “the presence of steve” in their lives. It fills them with warmth and joy. They don’t understand how anyone could feel differently. They forgive all Mac failures so completely they forget about them, which is how they claim “100% reliability” with a straight face. The Mac didn’t lose their data, it was their fault for not making enough backups and reading the hard drive a story every night. It’s cool that iTunes reformatted their iPod again, it probably needed it and they can live without all the usage data that made it fun. It’s not Macs that are incompatible with PCs, PCs are incompatible with Macs. Mac fans have found the One True Way. They feel it is their duty to bring others into the fold.
Meanwhile PC users have finished their work and are playing games.
😉
boot camp?
windows did not make an effort putting mac osx on there system.
Every time I have used a mac, it has crashed in one way or another.
I personally own 5 PC’s of varying quality, and not once has any of them crashed, gotten a virus, spyware, or anything else.
I can also guaruntee that the virus part is not for lack of trying. I download plenty of things online that could contain viruses.
Everyone with a mac should throw it out a window and shoot it with a shotgun.
everyone with a PC, whether running windows or linux, i applaud you.
Have a great day.
Well if you do more work type jobs Windows is better. But stick with XP because Vista has way to many problems. But If you want power and fun together you woukd get MAC because it has windows office on it but it also has iphoto and fun things like that. Over all I have a new Toshiba XP ( I downgraded) and a New MACBOOK PRO. And they both work great!
I’ve been working on computers for 22 years (I started on an IBM XT). I’ve used dozens of operating systems from Windows to Mac, OS/2 to *nix, and countless hardware configurations. I program in multiple languages, I’ve even soldered new parts to bring a dead motherboard back to life. The only thing I can say for 100% sure about computers is: If you unplug it, it will turn off.
I just unplugged my MacBook Pro. It’s still on!
Hmm.. attempted sarcasm is sometimes a good excuse for making blanket statements.
thnaks
thanks
I use Vista. Its the best thing i’ve ever used. Want fun? Get Vista. Period.
its mac that will rule the world!!!
1.macs dont crash, well the macs i have owned havnt so all you people saying macs crash…you make em crash!
2.PC are made by the dozen and that shows in the quality you get(none)
3.windows will get you a virus quicker than you can say oh shit!
4.macs are expensive because bill gates is a selfish lil bitch who dont share anything so mac makers have to find a way round this
5.another reason for macs expense is the amount of sheer quality you get
6.they are better looking
7.they have better graphics
8.easy to use if you want to learn
p.s i think most people are put of by the price of macs and have just decided they are not worth the hassle, but if your ready to get your money out and spend it on a real machine then a mac and any kind of mac will last you through the years….
hope i helped:)
Hey lou, some counter arguments to your points.
1) This is plain wrong. Your experience varies, good for you. Macs crash. Ask Apple.
2)All modern computer parts are mass produced by computers with robotic parts in large factories. You make no sense.
3)Getting a virus is a result of carelessness or stupidity. I’ll leave the implications up to you.
4)This makes absolutely no sense. How does charging less for something make you selfish? How does Bill Gates sell PCs? How would him sharing his non-existent PCs make macs cheaper?
5)This makes no sense either. Macs are expensive because the market is willing to pay the price.
6)This is a judgment call and could be correct or incorrect depending on the person. I respectfully disagree. I think they are milky looking and ugly for the most part.
7)This again makes no sense whatsoever. Graphics are determined by hardware and how the software utilises them. Being able to easily upgrade your PC makes the potential for ‘good’ graphics much higher for a PC. I’m not even sure that I made a counter argument there, your point was nonsensical.
8)The operating system is simple and (reasonably) intuitive, but ease of use often robs the user of power over to govern how the system runs.
Macs are fine for particular things but they fill a niche market and as a result are only a small niche in overall sales. You make little sense in your post and sound as if you are dying to alleviate your buyer’s remorse. I have owned both and prefer PCs specifically because I find their versatility, upgradability and price range far more suitable to my needs. I also enjoy playing games on occasion.
thanks
I love macs but i still agree with chris that ous argument didnt make much sense. macs are (in my opinion) better than windows but not in those ways.
Almost all hardware that can run Windows can also run Linux, which is a darn sight better than running Windows.
thanks
heeee, thaks for good information
thanks