Steamd

As reported by Electronista and a few other sites, Microsoft has launched a ‘PC versus Mac’ portion on their Windows 7 site. After reading all the details on the site, I can tell you without any doubt whatsoever…Microsoft is completely full of shit. The way they go about comparing PCs to Macs on their site is comparable to the way Tea Partiers go about comparing themselves to Democrats. Microsoft seems content to use FUD (Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt) and outright lies as a method of marketing Windows to the masses.

Before I go into a blow by blow review of their site, let me just add that I’m not your run of the mill Apple fanboy. Yes, I do love Apple’s products but I was a Microsoft fanboy long before I took any of Apple’s products seriously. In fact, I learned everything I could know about every Microsoft OS since Windows 95 came out. I lived and breathed Microsoft and swore by their products…that is, until Vista came out. Since then, I quit my job as an IT Supervisor, bought my first Mac, became a web developer, and haven’t looked back since. With that in mind, let’s move onto talking about Microsoft’s ‘PC vs. Mac’ site…

Having Fun

Apparently, Macs just aren’t fun. You can’t play Blu-ray movies. You can’t watch or record TV content like a DVR. And there just aren’t really any games available for the Mac…well, none that are popular! That’s what Microsoft wants you believe…which is far from the truth.

Ok, ok, I’ll admit…they did get one thing right. Yes, it’s true, you can’t play Blu-ray movies on your Mac. Question is though: how many people really need this? If you’re someone who’s always on the go and likes to play movies on their laptop, that I can sort of understand. If that’s the case then one workaround would be to purchase an external Blu-ray drive and rip your movies to your hard drive. That way you don’t have to carry around a bunch of Blu-ray discs with you. Other than that, I just don’t see the point.

As for not being able to hook a Mac to a TV, that’s false. The new Mac mini has a built-in HDMI port, making it easy as hell to hook it up to a TV with a HDMI input.

Granted, there isn’t any built-in support for DVR capabilities in Macs but there are plenty of solutions out there for that. Besides, most people already use the DVR’s provided by their cable providers, which makes having DVR capabilities on your PC a moot point.

Gaming on the Mac has started booming just in the last year. Valve has rolled out support for Steam on the Mac with an impressive list of games available including Half-Life 2, Eve Online, Portal, and more. Also, one of the most popular MMOG’s is available for the Mac: World of Warcraft. Take a look at Apple’s Games site and you’ll see there’s plenty of other popular games to choose from. So to say there are no popular games available is ridiculous. Granted, none of the DirectX only games are available but, then again, if you really wanted to play a DirectX game then all you would need to do is install a copy of Windows via BootCamp and you’re good to go.

Simplicity

According to Microsoft, Macs take time to learn and, as they put it, “the computer that’s easiest to use is typically the one you already know how to use“. In other words, continue to use the same ole’ thing you’ve been using and don’t try anything new. Basically, Microsoft is using a typical FUD tactic of scaring customers into believing that switching to a Mac is difficult and that learning how to use Macs is as equally difficult. They’re not.

Sure, there are a few things here and there that work differently on a Mac than they do on a PC but not so crazily different that you can’t figure it out. If there’s one thing Apple is known for it’s for designing well thought-out, user friendly interfaces.

No, the mouse doesn’t work differently on a Mac. It works exactly the same as it does on a PC. However, newer Apple mouses like the Magic Mouse can do more, like gestures and multi-touch scrolling. Can your PC mouse do that?

Shortcuts don’t work the same on a Mac because, um, there’s no such thing as “shortcuts” on a Mac. No need for them really when you have the flexibility and functionality that’s provided by the Dock.

Microsoft claims that Windows 7 has features that Macs don’t have. Well, the same could be said about Windows 7. For instance, Windows 7 doesn’t have Stacks, which gives you direct access to files and folders in a variety of ways. Nor does Windows 7 have a highly user-friendly backup program that’s the equivalent to Time Machine.

As for the lack of a feature like Snap, there are plenty of solutions available for the Mac that not only provide the same features as Snap but provide even more functionality. A program called Cinch comes to mind but I prefer to use it’s bigger brother, SizeUp. Both provide features that are very, very similar to Snap but give you much, much more control over how it works.

Microsoft also claims that, unlike the Mac OS, Windows 7 supports Touch and thus allows you to browse online newspapers, flick through photo albums, and shuffle files and folders—using nothing but your fingers. Great, but where are these Touch-compatible PC’s? Last I heard, the HP Slate was one of the few being developed but HP decided to pull the plug and not release it with Windows 7. It’s great that Windows 7 supports this kind of functionality but, really, how can Microsoft tout a feature that hasn’t even been proven yet? Makes no sense.

Working Hard

Considering the sheer high number of college freshmen entering school with Macs, I find it amusing that Microsoft can make the claim that Macs don’t work as well at work or at school. Just because Windows is still the majority doesn’t mean that Mac’s can’t play nice with them. It’s a ridiculous notion.

While its true that if you use Apple’s iWork suite you may have issues opening certain Word or Excel documents, there are always workarounds. I rarely have issues opening up most Word and Excel documents with Pages and Numbers respectively. The only times I run into trouble is if the original document uses some sort of funky formatting, uses fonts I don’t have, or Excel macros that don’t exist in Numbers. But here’s the funny thing…if it’s really that important to you, you can always get Microsoft Office for the Mac. Seriously.

Yes, it’s true, with all new MacBooks you have to buy a separate hardware dongle to hook it up to a standard VGA projector. This is nothing new and isn’t a big deal at all. One of the primary reasons Apple choose not to include a VGA output is because VGA is an outdated standard. Consider the fact that most monitors support DVI and you’ll quickly realize that the omission of a VGA port is a bogus thing to complain about. Apple’s Mini DisplayPort technology allows for easy conversion to DVI, VGA, and even HDMI with just a simple dongle. Why is this such a big deal?  It’s not.

As for encrypting an entire hard drive, what’s the point in that? Exactly why would you want to encrypt not only your personal files but the whole operating system as well? That makes absolutely no sense. One of the reasons why I think Apple chose to allow encryption of just the home folder is for performance reasons. Can you imagine what kind of performance hit your system will take if it constantly has to decrypt anything and everything on your hard drive? Drive encryption is a rather dangerous thing to play with as it is. Why run the risk of really screwing something up by encrypting everything? Best to keep it focused on just the stuff that matters.

Sharing

When I read the phrase “Macs don’t like to share” I laughed almost immediately. No, it’s not hard to share your files, photos, music, movies, and printers on a Mac. In fact, I would almost bet that it’s easier on a Mac. No, there’s isn’t some sort of automated “wizard” with a funny name that does it for you but it’s incredibly easy to do regardless. With just a quick visit to my System Preferences I can share out a folder, a printer, a CD or DVD, my screen, and more. Beyond that, iTunes gives you even more capabilities of sharing your media (music, movies, photos, etc.) using its Home Sharing feature. So to say that sharing stuff between other Mac and Windows users is more difficult on a Mac than Windows is complete bullshit. Different, sure, but difficult? I think not.

Compatibility

Oh noes! Macs might not like your PC stuff!

Ok, so PCs still outnumber Macs.  So what? Still doesn’t change the fact that most file types that people use on a daily basis are ubiquitous on just about all computer operating systems. So unless you’re using programs that are only available to Windows and use a highly proprietary file type, chances are that just about every file you have can be opened on a Mac with little or no issues.

Like I mentioned above, in most cases you can open a Microsoft Office document in iWork. Yes, there are some compatibility cases but if that’s a major concern for you then you can always purchase a copy of Microsoft Office for the Mac (something that Microsoft failed to mention).

As for repurchasing and relearning Mac versions of a certain program, that’s just a sheer fact of switching to any platform. Most of the programs you already know are available for the Mac. If not, more often than not you’ll find a similar program that’s just as easy if not easier to use than the PC equivalent.

Yes, you will have to sit down and learn what’s different on a Mac and how each program works different. But, let’s be honest, the same applies to different programs on Windows up to and including Windows itself. Folks who are just now switching from Windows XP to Windows 7 will have to spend time learning what’s new and how to use it. Folks switching from Office 2003 to Office 2007 or 2010 will have to learn how to use the new Office ribbon interface. These examples aren’t all that different from the experience of switching from Windows to Mac.

Choice

I’m kind of on the fence about this. To say that Macs don’t let you choose is a bit of a loaded statement. On one hand, yes, it’s true that you don’t really have much choice in terms of what color your Mac is or whether it has a Blu-ray drive, TV tuner, Memory Stick reader, or 3G wireless built-in. But on the other hand, why would you want a bunch of stuff on your Mac that you likely won’t even use? Why would you want the added expense of features that don’t accurately reflect how you will be using your Mac?

Apple chooses to take a minimalist approach and embrace certain standards by including only features they believe that most users will use. The end result allows them to concentrate on hardware that is of the highest quality and allows for the highest degree of system stability. Why include a TV tuner and run the risk of affecting system stability if not many users will use it?

In my experience, one of the downsides of the PC market is that manufacturers have a tendency to concentrate more on features than on the integrity of the hardware. End result is that its hard to find a PC with a minimal number of features these days. Just about every PC is loaded with a glutenous amount of hardware features many of which will never be used. By comparison, virtually ever feature on a Mac is used and no real estate is wasted for the hardware.

Just about every missing feature you might want is available at an affordable price for the Mac: Blu-ray drives, TV tuners, Memory Stick readers, 3G wireless, multi-format card readers, touch interfaces, mobile broadband. They’re all available. More often than not, you’ll find that there is more than one solution thus giving you more options to choose the one that fits your needs the best. To me, that’s a whole lot better than getting something “built-in” that may or may not suit your needs.

As for being able to play your videos and music stored on your home computer, I’m not exactly sure what the hell Microsoft is talking about here. If Microsoft is referring to MobileMe then, yes, it does cost $99 a year. But what Microsoft doesn’t tell you is that MobileMe does a lot more than just giving you the ability to play videos and music stored on your computer. MobileMe allows you to keep your mail, calendar, and contacts synced online and between MobileMe compatible devices like the iPhone and iPad. It also allows you to share multiple photo galleries as well as synchronize files with iDisk. But if you don’t want to spend $99 to do all of this, there are plenty of other solutions, a lot of which don’t cost a dime.

Over the course of the past few years, it seems that Microsoft is on a crash course towards losing a good chunk of their market share to Apple. As such, it seems that Microsoft is content to spend more money on bad PR rather than spending it on the thing that matters most: creating great software. I believe that much of Microsoft’s problems started when Microsoft was developing Windows Vista. They took their eye off the ball and spent way too much time developing an operating system that caused a huge PR problem for them. As far as competition is concerned, I feel like they’re a good two or three years behind where they need to be. Apple is not only dominating the desktop but is eating Microsoft for lunch when it comes to portable audio/video players, smart phones, and tablet computing devices, all devices that require tight integration with desktop/laptop computers.

It’s one thing to claim that your products are so much more superior to your competition, it’s another to actually develop it and make them reality. Right now, Microsoft is in la-la land. Windows 7 may be their best operating system to date, but in a world where so many people want smart phones and tablet devices, it’s hard to see exactly where Microsoft and Windows 7 fits in with all that. As such, this whole PC versus Mac debate Microsoft is having with themselves is bullshit.

A co-worker/associate recently posted a blog post entitled What I had when working on Mac. After reading it, it struck me as mildly amusing. Some of the writer’s points are legitimate gripes…but not the kind of gripes that I feel are show stoppers. But the other gripes just don’t make any sense because the writer failed to offer enough information to get a clear view of why they’re legitimate gripes.

Now, before I go any further, let me just say that I am not a stranger to PC’s. In fact, before switching to Mac’s, I was a longtime PC user who worked within the IT industry as an IT Supervisor for nearly 6 years. I’ve used every single version of Windows since Windows 95 first came out. I’ve setup numerous Windows servers and have a lot of experience supporting multiple Windows workstations for small businesses up to 100 employees. Yes, I do know quite a bit about Windows.

Windows has plenty of strengths and weaknesses, as does the Mac OS. I understand that some people will simply prefer Windows over the Mac OS, and that’s just fine. However, if you’re going to complain about why one OS sucks more over the other, be prepared to backup your arguments.

Let’s take a look at some of the arguments presented by Ken, the writer of the blog post. It’s a short post; too short in my opinion to make any legit complaint.

1. the size in KB is really messy. It’s showing me 2KB for dozens of file but when uploading on ftp the real size varies quite largely.

Err…I’m not sure how this is a legitimate complaint. I mean, I use the Finder everyday and don’t have a problem at all with how it reports the size of really small files. You have to look at it from Apple’s point of view. They designed the Finder to be very, very simple; something that the average user could understand. Most people only care about the approximate size. Thus, they probably opted to have the file sizes of files smaller than 1KB or 2KB rounded up. How often does any user really need to know the actual size of a file less than 2KB? It’s a small freakin’ file! Who cares?

Now, if you really care about the reporting of accurate file sizes, you might look into a Finder alternative like Path Finder. The beauty part about the Mac is that there’s an app, utility, or script that solves just about every gripe you could have about the OS. Not every gripe can be fixed…but a lot of them can.

2. the active window doesn’t have a specific color, everything is gray, hard to make a distinction between the active window and others, especially when you have opened a couple.

Funny…I could say the same thing about Windows 7 (and Vista before it):

The two windows look almost identical except for the difference in the minimize, maximize, and close buttons in the top-right corner of each window…which is, ironically,exactly how the Mac does it!

Now, here’s the thing that has always annoyed me about Windows Vista and still with Window 7…Aero! Looking at the screenshot above, you’ll notice that all the windows and even the taskbar is semi-transparent with the wallpaper showing through. This to me is highly distracting. Granted, you can turn it off but I still wonder why Microsoft concentrated so much on eye candy rather than concentrating on improving the design of the windows themselves. For instance, take a look at the following window:

Now, compare this window with a typical Mac window:

The Mac window is much sleeker, more refined with less chrome; whereas the Windows window has more chrome, especially at the top, and feels more busy. Sure, the Mac window has a lot of grey…but after staring at your computer screen for hours, viewing a bunch of sleeker grey windows is much easier on the eyes than a bunch of semi-transparent busy windows in my opinion.

3. the resizing of the window is possible from only one point which is the right – bottom corner. Regularly I am working on my 24′ LCD with two windows opened (left plus right) all the time, Dreamweaver and Firefox usually. Just imagine how is to align everyday these windows to occupy the maximum space of my desktop.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. We all know this is different than Windows and, yes, we know a lot of people don’t like it. But after you spend months using a Mac you get used to it. To get around this gripe, I use a simple little app called SizeUp. It basically allows me to maximize a window to full screen, fill just half the screen, and even a quarter screen with just a simple keyboard shortcut. The result is that I can align one or more windows very quickly without fussing about with resizing a bunch of windows.

4. there is no cut file (CTRL+X) in MacOS which is a shame, such a shortcut should be cross operating systems without any doubt as it is one of the most used keyboard commands on a computer. To do the job done on a Mac you have to either open two windows and drag and drop which is actually the easy way or to drag the file on the desktop and then to drag it again where you want to move it! Grrrr!

Yeah, that’s another little thing that some people have a problem with. Many have asked why Apple has failed to offer this feature in the Finder. Honestly, I don’t know exactly what Apple’s full explanation is but it’s clear that they did it as a matter of some kind of design principle. Maybe offering just one way (copy) instead of two ways (copy and cut) to move a file and/or folder was better to them when it came to more novice users. Who knows. Personally, I complained about it for a while when I first got a Mac but now I don’t really complain about it much. You learn to live without it. But if you must have it, use Path Finder.

5. Apple Mighty Mouse is a piece of crap, the scroll ball is not working at all and for the regular scroll on web I have to click or to move the browser vertical slider. Awful!

Now, here is an issue that has absolutely nothing to do with the decision to use a Mac or not use a Mac. There are plenty of other mouses to choose from other than the Apple Mighty Mouse. If you don’t like the damn mouse then just go get another one. I personally use a Logitech mouse and keyboard on my Mac. Why, oh, why anyone would choose to not use a Mac just because of a shitty mouse is beyond me. Next gripe!

6. The computer speed is not that good as you might read on Mac reviews. Until you will use a Mac at its full performance parameters, at what point, I guess a Mac will beat a PC, it’s hard to believe that using a Mac instead a PC will make any difference.

To make a comparison at a bigger scale is like using two cars, a regular car and a Mustang – the Mustang will really make a good score on a speed track but on a regular street, both will ride with the same speed.

Like I said, a Mac probably will make a (big) difference if you are a video gamer programmer and need a super-duper computer or working in other fields which required a lot of power. For the daily – regularly use I strongly believe a PC is the best fit.

Err…right. I have way too many questions about this gripe but I’ll try and touch on the obvious ones.

First, what Mac are you using? There’s a big difference between a Mac mini, an iMac, and a Macbook Pro when it comes to performance. The same applies to PC’s: there’s a big difference between a cheap ass $500 desktop PC and a $2000 Sony laptop, wouldn’t you say? No pun intended but I think you’re trying to compare apples with oranges. I would need to know what Mac you’re using and what the specs are before I can legitimize your gripe.

Second, if you’re a video game programmer, you’ll likely be using a PC anyways…that is, unless you’re programming for games on the Mac. What you should have said is that if you’re a video editor, a graphics designer, or a 3-D animator, a Mac will likely be a good fit for you. If all you’re doing is checking email, surfing the web, and writing the occasional document or spreadsheet then any computer will do. It’s a matter of personal preference at that point. But to say that a Mac isn’t good for everyday use is ridiculous. Again, it’s all about what you prefer.

It’s a shame that the writer of the blog post didn’t write a more lengthy explanation of his gripes. If he did his point of view would have been much clearer. My point of this blog post is to illustrate the importance of looking at things from different angles. You can’t just simply say “I hate this!” and expect people to take you at your word. You have to provide constructive criticism with examples. Doing so allows for a much more educated debate. Don’t you think?  :)

Translation: I don’t have a real intelligent response and can’t put my money where my mouth is so…I’m just gonna bullshit my way through it and just pretend that I know what I’m talking about.

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Translation: Flash is dying! Get over it!

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Yeah, this about sums it up for Amazon. Too funny!

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Just read an interesting post on TheAppleBlog^[1] about two different experiences when it comes to getting support for either a Dell PC or Apple computer. The writer illustrates two scenarios of how a typical support call works, both entailing a failed hard drive. The end result? According to the writer, Apple provides much better support than Dell.

I’ve worked within the IT industry for quite a few years. I worked as a computer technician at Best Buy for about a year and as an IT supervisor at an architectural firm for the better part of four years. I’ve dealt with a lot of issues with a lot of different computers. In my experience, the stories told by the writer at TheAppleBlog mirror my own, not just on a consumer level but even on an enterprise level.

One particular incident involved getting support for a Dell laptop that a co-worker owned. It was exhibiting a lot of issues: it ran extremely slow, the video was getting scrambled, and it sometimes wouldn’t boot. My diagnosis was that the video card on the motherboard was fried and had to be replaced. I told my co-worker to call Dell and tell them everything we did to diagnose the problem.

What proceeded was nothing short of typical for many PC companies: the blame game! Dell told him it was an operating system problem and that he had to call Microsoft. Microsoft told him it was an issue with the video card and that he had to call Nvidia. I then had to call Dell and explain to them in great detail that the issue is a hardware problem and that the motherboard needed to be replaced. It took over three phone calls and many wasted hours just to get Dell to acknowledge that there was a problem with their hardware.

Granted, no company is perfect nor does every PC company provide bad support. I’ve definitely had plenty of times when support from a computer company other than Apple was really good. However, I can say with most certainty that on average, Apple provides better support for their products. I have yet to have what I would call a really bad support experience that would make me think twice about buying another Apple product. Maybe that explains why Apple is ranked so high when it comes to customer satisfaction^[2].

It amazes me how little some people think about the support for a product. I have wasted a ton of time on support calls in my years as an IT supervisor. In fact, on many occasions the time and energy spent on support calls made a huge difference in the decision making of whether to buy from this company or that company. Even as a consumer, I find myself thinking about that because, when it comes right down to it, I want the knowledge of knowing that the company I buy stuff from is going to back their products. If they don’t then I’m wasting my time buying their products. If they do then I can save myself a ton of time, frustration, and even money by going with a product that is of great quality and well supported. Think about that the next time you go to buy a computer.

1. A Tale of Two Hard Drives: Apple’s Secret Weapon? [↩]
2. Apple leads, Dell lags in customer satisfaction [↩]

Macworld just published a post on their site about Microsoft opening retail stores near Apple stores. My initial thought was, “Huh?” I mean, I’m a little flummoxed by this. Who’s bright idea was this? I mean, there’s the old adage that if you can’t beat them, join them but this is ridiculous.

There are a couple of reason why I think Microsoft is going to fail in this venture.

First of all, how does Microsoft expect to compete with Apple’s stores? I mean, it’s not like they’re gonna be selling HP, Dell, Compaq, Sony, or any other brand of computer in their stores. I suppose its safe to assume that Microsoft will be focusing on their software as well as other items like the Xbox, Zune, and other stuff like that.

Unlike Apple, Microsoft has to rely on third-party vendors to provide a complete computing solution. So how do they plan on connecting customers to a complete solution if they’re not even selling computers? I fail to see the logic in how they think this is going to help Windows in any meaningful way.

Most people don’t buy Windows off the shelf. If it’s not pre-installed on the computer they are buying then they are not likely to fork over $100+ or more for a Windows upgrade. I guess Microsoft is hoping that the existence of exclusive Microsoft stores will attract a greater number of people who might be willing to pay for a Windows upgrade. Personally, I think Microsoft is going to have quite an uphill climb in getting a greater number of people to purchase Windows upgrades.

Lastly, opening stores in close proximity to an Apple store is futile. Opening one near an Apple store is bad enough, but opening a Microsoft store right next door to an Apple store?  That’s suicide!  The reason is that by allowing customers to draw a direct A-B comparison with your competitor you run the risk of further alienating yourself with the competition.

I’m willing to bet that you’ll have a lot of customers who will first enter the Microsoft store only to end up in the Apple store just so they can see what all the fuss is about with Apple. Some customers will leave and go back to the Microsoft store unconvinced that an Apple computer is right for them.  But a good number of them will likely consider switching after being exposed to both due to the short proximity of experience.

So, is the news of Microsoft stores opening up good for Microsoft or Apple?  Likely, it’ll be good for both. But I honestly think that it’s much better for Apple. Competition is a good thing and it’ll be interesting to see just how Microsoft plans to compete with Apple in their own territory. I say to Microsoft: “Bring it on!”

What occurred at the University of Utah is scary. I mean, the Conficker worm could be a lot worse that it is. Even now, nobody is really sure what kind of damage the worm is capable. Here’s the really scary part:

University health sciences spokesman Chris Nelson said the outbreak of the Conficker worm, which can slow computers and steal personal information, was first detected Thursday. By Friday, the virus had infiltrated computers at the hospitals, medical school, and colleges of nursing, pharmacy and health.

It infiltrated computers at a hospital? Holy shnikes, that’s scary! Can you imagine all the problems that would occur if patient data and medical records were compromised? I’m sure it wouldn’t be that big of a problem, but I bet some patients wouldn’t find it funny.

The staggering reality of the Conficker worm is that at least one in every three Windows-based PC’s are susceptible to the worm. Why? It all boils down to people not keeping their computers up to date. Either they’re not installing the updates or they’re ignoring them. How many times have you looked on someone’s Windows machine only to see that yellow shield glaring at you in the system tray? Also, how many times have you noticed that someone’s antivirus software is out of date? It’s ridiculous considering the sheer number of people who don’t keep their systems up to date.

The Conficker worm is just one more thing that shows just how much Windows is due for a serious overhaul. Those that don’t know well enough to keep their systems up to date would fare better with a Mac or Linux system. Granted, no system is 100% safe but at least with a Mac you don’t have to worry as much about this stuff.

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AppleInsider reports that Apple retail stores are finally looking to move away from their Windows Mobile-based handheld checkout devices for a system that revolves around the iPod Touch. I’ve always thought it was weird that Apple had to use a Windows-based POS system in their stores. There’s a bit of an irony there. So, yeah, it’s good to hear that they’re finally able to eat their own dogfood.  ;)

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Wrote a lot of comments on theAppleBlog about the latest Microsoft ad.

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