I was just curious... have you seen the new Mac ads yet? You know, the ones where the Mac is represented by the skinny 20-something guy who needs a shave, and the PC by the chubby 30-something business drone? You know... "Hi, I'm a Mac, I do fun stuff like create websites and videos..." "Hi, I'm a PC, I do fun stuff like spreadsheets and print pie charts in greyscale..." Those ones.
So, tell me... do you feel at all insulted that Apple apparently believes you're so stupid you still think it's 1985? Just wonderin'...
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Ack, comment spam! Quick, delete it!
I stopped by to grab a link, and saw you were posting about something I've been thinking about, too. I hate that ad. When was the last time a PC user didn't just buy a computer, plug it in, and use it?
the PC by the chubby 30-something business drone
Who is supposed to look like Bill Gates.
I saw a few of these ads last night and actually thought that they were pretty funny. Probably because I'm too cynical to believe that a Mac could truly be as easy as they say it is, nor have I ever had that much trouble setting up a PC. Leaning toward the business drone type myself I thought that the extremes in the sterotyping made it too ridiculous to take seriously enough to be insulted by.
Ack, comment spam! Quick, delete it!
Wow... it's been such a long time since I've seen it, sheeeit... I didn't recognize it for what it was! I just looked at it and went, "Uhh... well... whatever..." Duh! Thanks, L. :)
Probably because I'm too cynical to believe that a Mac could truly be as easy as they say it is, nor have I ever had that much trouble setting up a PC.
Most PCs come with everything you want built in now, same as the Mac. They do all the same things (usually for less money), but you also have vastly more options when it comes to swapping parts and choosing software. For all the ballyhooing the Mac crowd does about multimedia abilities, I couldn't help noticing when I bought SpeakingNaturally last week that they don't make it for the Mac, and a Machead on a review board was lamenting that fact... and the fact that the one good voice recognition program that did exist for the Mac had been discontinued. I think I realized the torch had been passed -- even if some Macheads refused to see it -- when Adobe started releasing new versions of Photoshop and Illustrator for Windows first, and versions tailored to this Mac with that processor and that Mac with that OS later; and in cases of some software (like FrameMaker), not at all. But hey! Macs now run Windows software! ...Just like PCs. Only for more money.
Yeah. Get a shave, dude. Grow up. :)
I have yet to experience a blue screen of death or scared about a virus hitting me.
The virus issue is a point in the Mac's favour; but really, anyone today ought to be taking the requisite precautions anyway... subscribe to a good virus checker, don't open anything without checking it first and knowing the sender, don't use preview panes in your email client... all that stuff; no glove, no love. And there are Mac viruses, after all, so in thinking themselves secure, a lot of Mac users are actually more at risk than savvy PC users.
The memory and performance issues may have changed. I worked on Macs in the late 90s, and the thing I hated the most about them was how they handled (or didn't) memory. They made everything else automatic to the point of making a fetish out of keeping your paws out of the works, but then they expected casual users to frig with the memory allotment settings manually. I had 48M of memory at work and could not concurrently run Photoshop and Illustrator in System 7, and yet at home, with 32M on Win95, I could. Worse still, at least in those days, a crash on a Mac was A CRASH. Never, not even once, did I experience a crash on a Mac that did not freeze the system rock solid. Most of the time in Windows, though -- and especially on NT systems -- a crash was isolated to the program affected, whose thread could be selectively killed, leaving other programs running unaffected. It's been a long time since I've seen a General Protection Fault error (AKA, "the blue screen of death"). I don't know if the Mac has licked that little chestnut, but I can't say I'm eager to spend thousands of dollars (not to mention vastly curtainling my hardware and software options) just to find out. But, after all, a tool is a tool. If it gets the job done for you, that's the fundamental thing.
I like the commercials...I think the Mac guy is cute.
Yes, I am sad and pathetic, thanks for noticing. :P
I don't think we should assume that Mac users ignore security issues. Maybe some are still clinging to old ways, but it's widely known that though fewer viruses exist for Macs ... the threat is there.
Question: was it really that hard to figure out how much memory to allot to each application? I never thought it was, sure you had to learn a bit more about how the computer worked in those days. But I actually appreciated the fact that I had the opportunity. Instead of the computer doing it for me and my never being able to figure out how to adjust it to my needs ... which was my experience with a PC. It's all about personal preference.
With OSX on a Mac, if there is a crash ... it's isolated to that program. I've worked with Macs for years, and yes ... they've had problems. So have PCs. Personally, I've had way more problems with PCs than I've ever had with my Mac. That said, you're absolutely right that it's a tool and personal preference is king.
Lastly, it's an advertisement Lone, you don't have to buy into it. I'm fairly sure Apple wasn't trying to offend you when they created the marketing campaign.
Question: was it really that hard to figure out how much memory to allot to each application?
Hi, Kat... welcome back. :) Well, I always found it odd that that was something the Mac required you to tailor. I mean, we're talking about a system that WOULD NOT LET YOU EJECT CDs or floppies without begging pretty-please. They wouldn't trust you to be responsible with removable media, but they thought you should manage memory allotment? Every program had its absolute "below this I will not run" minimum, which I always found irritating (things have have changed in this respect since System 7). Windows you could just keep dumping programs on. They'd get slower and slower, but you had to go some before you ran out of memory. But I could concurrently run programs on a 486 I couldn't on a 4300. I remember, too, we had an entire box of defrag disks for the various Macs. The program wasn't part of the OS, and exactly what you used depended on your CPU, how large your HD was, and which instance of OS you were using. 7.5.2 and 7.5.3 required different disks; it was that finicky. Now, again, that's probably largely changed in the meantime, but it left a bad taste in my mouth.
Modern Macs still leave me suspicious. They still have a one-button mouse (or did last time I checked), they've taken it upon themselves to remove the floppy drive, and there doesn't seem to be a lot of expansion room in those things. All in all, it's a little too snug a fit for my liking.
I'm fairly sure Apple wasn't trying to offend you when they created the marketing campaign.
Mac ads are always so strange. To me, it looks less like they're trying to attract new users as to hold onto the ones they've got by suggesting PCs are harder to set up or won't do the things a Mac will do. Ads that point out that the Mac is cool, or competitvely priced, or has the latest processor... I don't have a problem with. But their ads come across more like scare campaigns, and I wish they'd rise above it.
Hi, Kat... welcome back. :) Well, I always found it odd that that was something the Mac required you to tailor. I mean, we're talking about a system that WOULD NOT LET YOU EJECT CDs or floppies without begging pretty-please. They wouldn't trust you to be responsible with removable media, but they thought you should manage memory allotment?
You had to beg? LOL. Nah, just drag it to the trash. I can't relate, never had a problem ejecting media.
Every program had its absolute "below this I will not run" minimum, which I always found irritating (things have have changed in this respect since System 7). Windows you could just keep dumping programs on. They'd get slower and slower, but you had to go some before you ran out of memory. But I could concurrently run programs on a 486 I couldn't on a 4300. I remember, too, we had an entire box of defrag disks for the various Macs. The program wasn't part of the OS, and exactly what you used depended on your CPU, how large your HD was, and which instance of OS you were using. 7.5.2 and 7.5.3 required different disks; it was that finicky. Now, again, that's probably largely changed in the meantime, but it left a bad taste in my mouth.
I always thought that having the option to give one application, say the one I use the most, more memory allotment was a perk.
Modern Macs still leave me suspicious. They still have a one-button mouse (or did last time I checked), they've taken it upon themselves to remove the floppy drive, and there doesn't seem to be a lot of expansion room in those things. All in all, it's a little too snug a fit for my liking.
Macs still come with a one-button mouse, but you can use a two-button mouse if you want ... they don't restrict that option. Yeah, there's no floppy drive, and I don't miss it. Though originally I was sure I would.
Mac ads are always so strange. To me, it looks less like they're trying to attract new users as to hold onto the ones they've got by suggesting PCs are harder to set up or won't do the things a Mac will do. Ads that point out that the Mac is cool, or competitvely priced, or has the latest processor... I don't have a problem with. But their ads come across more like scare campaigns, and I wish they'd rise above it.
I hadn't thought they came across like scare campaigns, but I'll be looking at them with a more critical eye now ... to see if I can see what you see.
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