From: deep_42_thought@hotmailEARTH.com   
      
   Zaren Ankleweed whipped out his/her/its Personal Electronic Thing,   
   summoned a BellBot to   
   freaspeach-A2880A.13274220092003@news.itd.umich.edu , leaving   
   his/her/its contact info (freaspeach@mail.com) with the deskbot, and   
   proceeded to say:   
   >   
   > Quite right on that point.     
      
   Thank you.   
      
   :)   
      
   > Great, so I can't get 16 different crappy irc programs for my Mac   
   > compared   
   > to one good program, or 16 different crappy word processing   
   > programs... what's available works, and works well, so what does it   
   > matter exactly what the ratio is of Mac software to Windows software?   
      
   The difference is CHOICE. If I want a program that has less features than   
   one, but a nice secondary feature, I can get it. With your example of 16   
   crappy irc proggies to one good mac one... what if I don't *like* that one   
   good one? "Crappy" is a harsh term, I know of many good IRC clients, but if   
   I want to choose a crappy one I am more familiar with (interface-wise) then   
   the "one" that mac uses, I am free to do so.   
      
   In the Matrix movie, they comment that Humans kept on rejecting the system   
   until they gave the humans choice. It wasn't natural, "whole crops were   
   lost". That's how I feel about Macs. As Neo says, "The problem is choice".   
      
   > Mind you, the dearth of games for Macs is annoying, and I'm still a   
   > bit perturbed about the port of Half-Life being dropped when it was   
   > over half done, but you have to blame   
   > the game companies for those decisions.   
      
   Which is another point that I didn't want to emphasize, as I thought it'd   
   make me sound like I only use my comp for games.   
      
   > I can't speak about the programming part of your argument, as I don't   
   > program.     
   > so I think you might be overstating just a touch that it's harder to   
   > program on a Mac.   
      
   Ooooh, trust me, I know of a software company (helped design the Segway,   
   actually) that had dropped support for it's products on the Mac. Due to user   
   complaints, they started it up again, but are having a HELL of a time trying   
   to get it to work. Re-writing huge sections of code, slow to process, the   
   whole nine yards.   
      
   > Sorry, but there's no company called "Mac" that makes the computer   
   > items you're talking about.  The compnay is called "Apple", and they   
   > make   
   > computers that are referred to as "Macs".   
      
   Yes, I know that...   
      
   > Mind you, they don't make   
   > a lot   
   > of the stuff they sell, either - they subcontract out the   
   > motherboards, and the LCDs, and the components...  much like Dell or   
   > any other "PC" reselelr.   
      
   But all the subcontracted parts are made to their exact specifications, so   
   it's really *their* parts... Dell, for instance, wasn't given diagrams for   
   their CD burners by Microsoft and told to make it exactly like on the paper.   
   PC third-party companies are truly THIRD PARTY. They know what they need to   
   make the hard/software work with the OS, but design them their own way.   
      
   > As do Apple users.  Tons of options for scanners, and hard drives, and   
   > removable media, even something as antiquated and useless as floppy   
   > drives. Again, not in the ratio you'd get with Wintel-based hardware,   
   > but again again, the quality tends to be higher, and the items tend   
   > to work out of the box with minimal tweaking, if any at all.   
      
   But this is also external. Let's say I wanted to upgrade the Hard Drive on   
   an iMac. What would I need?   
      
   Per my example, all I need for my Dell are my hands. No screws, no   
   nothing... everything simplified for internal mods.   
      
   > Gee, sounds like what I did with all three of the hard drives I've   
   > installed into my old G3/233 beige box...   
      
   Wow, really that simple?!?!?!   
      
   > only my case didn't have a   
   > hinge, it slid off.  Okay, so the internal components were all   
   > mounted on a hinged carrying system, so I had to flip some stuff out   
   > of the way... and the one drive did need a separate drive sled to   
   > lock into place.   
      
   Ah... I guess not. Pity. :)   
      
   > But you make it sound like you need some sort of   
   > certification just to install new hardware on a Mac.   
      
   Let's just say that an average person couldn't do what you just said above   
   easily.   
      
   > Unless, of course, you're referring to the the consumer models like   
   > the iMac and iBook.  These systems are designed for those users who   
   > don't want to or like to do stuff like upgrading their systems after   
   > they get them.   
      
   "Bastards!"   
      
   > And here is where we come to an agreement.  Crashes suck.  And yes,   
   > Macs crash.  Typically, the crashes are quite spectacular,   
   > show-stoppers in fact. I still use Mac OS 9 at home, because my   
   > machine just doesn't run OSX that well (it handles like running   
   > Windows 95 on a P60), But in the year+ that I've used OS X on other   
   > machines, I have seen a total of TWO crashes that just plain old took   
   > out the whole system and requirted a reboot.  I tend to get two   
   > show-stoppers a week with OS9, because there's something horribly   
   > funky with dial-up support on my machine at the moment, and when my   
   > dial-up drops (as it does on a regular basis, since my phone lines   
   > suck) everything goes to pift.  Most apps that crash in OSX just   
   > quietly die, and the OS   
   > rolls on, blissfully ignorant of anything going wrong.   
      
   Wow...   
      
   > You can't   
   > tell me that Windows / Linux / etc. doesn't have unstable software,   
   > and that it   
   > never crashes.   
      
   Actually, my Dell 8200 with XP has NEVER CRASHED, unless the time you count   
   when I installed a Hard Drive wrong (my first [and last] BSOD ever on XP)   
   and when I lose power.   
      
   XP is designed to be MUCH more stable. The OS itself never crashes, if a   
   program has a problem the program itself is isolated as the troublemaker and   
   crashes. Which doesn't happen often.   
      
   > Which explains why Apple got chosen over Dell for that university   
   > supercomputer project, because they were cheaper than a similar setup   
   > offered by Dell...  but wait, you just said they were more expensive!   
      
   Ah, that's they beauty of the thing... they offer Macs to schools at a lower   
   rate than normal, so they win the "computer bid" and a whole new generation   
   of Mac customers are born.   
      
   > That's funny, out of all the Mac users I know, the vast majority of   
   > them are very clued, not only in the use of Macs, but also Windows,   
   > Unix, Linux...   
      
   That's because you can't get by just on a Mac. You can on a PC.   
      
   :)   
      
   > you see, Mac users tend to be more open-minded and widely skilled   
   > than those that put on the blinders and tow the party line of   
   > "Windows is best!" or "Linux is best!".  Mac users know that, in the   
   > end, a computer is a   
   > computer, just a tool like any other, and that you need to user the   
   > right tool for the right job.   
      
   But would you still buy a screwdriver that refuses to function constantly,   
   and costs more than the working brand? Plus, it only fits special screw   
   bits, which don't let you use many screws, especially for heavy   
   construction.   
      
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
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