I stopped down at work tonight, and we were out of menus, so I went downstairs to print some. This involved what should have been a rather simple task: accessing the menu from another computer on the network, opening the file, and printing it. But it was Windows, so it turned into a nightmare. Well, that's exaggeration, of course. It was more annoying than terrifying. But it led me to wonder why Windows users continue to stand for it. I know I rant about Windows from time to time, but I want serious answers this time. I'm going beyond user interface (which I think it plenty reason enough to switch, although at least one person I respect disagrees); I want to know why you wouldn't prefer to use a Mac considering the following:
Viruses. Every time I go down to that machine, the anti-virus software reminds me that the virus definitions are out of date. This should not surprise me, since there are new viruses being written all the time. A few times a year, this affects life worldwide in some way. But every second of every minute, it's affecting someone, somewhere. You might be next. But I'm pretty certain I won't be.
Malware. Sitting there on the desktop was a shortcut to AdAware 6.0, an application that with varying degrees of success removes adware and spyware: those insidious little programs that somehow get downloaded and installed on your computer without your knowledge, and which run behind the scenes wicking away system resources (at best) or shipping bits and pieces of your identity up to evil people (at worst), or a lot of stuff in between. And yes, that was one sentence. And no, this is not a significant problem for the Mac OS.
Various annoyances. Such as: one time I logged it on and it attached itself to the WiFi network that contained the shared file I needed, but the next time, it connected to a different one. No file. And I didn't have the password to the right one, so I couldn't get on. Why wouldn't it always grab the preferred signal automatically? I have no idea. But my PowerBook always does, without fail. And didn't the computer world pretty much master the art of WYSIWYG a long time ago? Apparently not when you're running Word on Windows. The printer gave me something different from what I saw on the screen. (Granted, this may have been due to the document creator's rather remarkable inability to employ tab stops, or the fact that the proper fonts weren't available on the computer I was using. But still. This has not been an issue for me since I switched.)
Alright, it's turning into a rant, so I'll stop. But seriously, Windows-using friends: how do you stand it? Why don't you get a Mac?
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You know, I'd love to get a Mac, as I've expressed to you many a times. Really, I'm just waiting for you to have enough bad experiences with Windows to front the bill for an iBook for me.
Ok, this reply is from a non-techy computer user, so I have no real, up-to-date, relevant reasons as to why I prefer Windows. But here's the reason I prefer Windows:
When Macs first came out a hundred years ago, whenever you went to click on a Menu item, you had to hold down the mouse through all the sub-menus until you got to your choice. Then, and only then, could you let up on the mouse button. And then when Windows came out, you didn't have to hold down the mouse button. You could just click on each thing individually, which was much easier. Plus, at my ex-job (at an advertising agency) only the creative/art people used Macs and all the administrative/account people used PCs. So, having worked with it for 8 or 10 years now, I know how to navigate Windows really well and I'm very comfortable using it. And that's why I like Windows better.
I agree that the virus/adware issues are annoying, but not nearly enough for me to switch. It's just one of those "we've always done it this way" things.
t.m. - how much is enough? Well, I didn't know how much I was missing until I switched in October! Enough bad experiences is ONE blue screen or virus.
lisa - I would be careful on judging macs on how they were a few years ago. The fact of the matter NOW is that they are LIGHT YEARS ahead of windows on all fronts. . .and they are moving at a pace Bill Gates can only dream of (if he can think that advanced).
From one who never thought he would become a mac user. . .DO IT!!! They are gorgeous machines both in hardware and software, lasting much longer than PCs with more capability and a better price.
(just thought I might join the rant)
mic- I was hoping a Mac user (like Scott, or yourself) would get so frustrated with Windows that they'd offer to buy me a Mac. I will switch once it becomes financially viable.
must see:
http://www.wickedlysmart.com/skyler/SkylerSwticherQT2.mov
Enough bad experiences is ONE blue screen or virus.
I don't want to go around calling people I don't know liars... but can you honestly say to my (virtual) face your Mac has never crashed, forcing you to restart it? Or at least Force Quit a program?
On to the post in general,
The fact of the matter is that more viruses and malware are written for the PC because the install base is 95% or so. If you Mac users had your way and the entire world switched, you'd be plagued by the exact same problem. Mac OS is not that much more secure than Windows, don't kid yourselves. Viruses and malware aren't written for it because it's just not worth the effort.
Your "various annoyances" are too vague to respond to very specifically... but I will say that setting up a prioritized list of WiFi networks to connect to on my laptop has never been a difficult task. The source of your problem is more likely that you are using a computer with multiple users, who all fiddle with things. And don't act like Word == Windows, okay? The fact that Word doesn't print exactly as it looks on screen is irrelevant to the OS discussion. Word on Mac has the same problems.
I can't speak for mic, since I don't know him or her. (At least I don't think I do.) But yes, I have had my Mac crash. Twice. In two years. I occasionally have to Force Quit an application, but that's not the same thing. System and application crashes happened roughly a billion times more frequently when I was running Windows.
As for the market share argument, I think it's mostly bunk. Miniscule market share or not, there are plenty of asshat hackers out there who would LOVE to bring OS X to its knees, but they haven't been able to. For more on this, check out this article (the whole thing is worth a read, especially the second half, only part of which I am quoting here):
http://daringfireball.net/2004/06/broken_windows
"Windows apologists have long argued that the only reason the Mac has been so strikingly free of security exploits is that it has such a smaller market share than Windows. This argument ignores numerous facts, such as that the Mac’s share of viruses is effectively zero; no matter how you peg the Mac’s overall market share, its share of viruses/worms/Trojans is significantly disproportionate. Or that the logical conclusion of this argument — that because of Windows’s monopoly market share, malfeasant hackers would logically only write software to attack Windows — would be to extend the argument to all software, malicious or not, and it’s quite easily disproven that “all software” is targeted only for Windows. Or that, despite the Mac’s relatively small market share, a successful virus/worm/Trojan attack against Mac OS X would likely garner significantly more notoriety and fame; considering the recent publicity given to non-exploited Mac OS X vulnerabilities, it’s reasonable to expect that an outright exploit would result in an avalanche of tech media hysteria."
What the writer of Daring Fireball is not getting is the mindset of hackers/virus writers. They want to cause the biggest possible disruption. And that simply won't be the case if they wrote for OS X, because not nearly as many would be affected.
First: http://db.tidbits.com/getbits.acgi?tbart=02166
Then: yes, I can honestly say (though nothing else I say is deliberately dishonest) that my mac has never crashed.
Finally: while I try to help my fellow man/woman in any way I can, I really am not looking for worldwide mac domination because - frankly, I like the feeling of being smarter than everyone else (at least when I go for the book of power).
Well, that's pretty good that you've never crashed your Mac, my friend. I would think that to be highly unusual, but it's possible, I'm sure.
I would say, however, that an article from almost eight years ago does not valid evidence make :)
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