# why macs are better



## macridah (Mar 18, 2003)

One industry that always had an interest in macs is the life sciences.  Here an article with many reasons why macs are better:

here's an article:

"One reason is certainly ease of use. The other is having desktop productivity tools that are manageable by a person with Unix [operating] underneath. Right now the options are Windows without Unix or Linux without desktop productivity tools. So, [Unix-based] Mac OS 10 is my desktop [operating system] of choice. I have no use for an operating system that is not Unix for my research. I mean, Windows is completely useless.

"If you took the hundreds of bioinformatics applications that are available, could you run them all on Windows? If you want to put Windows and Mac OS 10 on top of Linux, you can do that. But to be able to run Microsoft Office side by side with BLAST in a terminal window without having to do weird emulation, that's a big deal. To be able to take the output from a Unix command line and bring it into Microsoft Word or the other way around, that's very useful.

"I think Apple likes us because we have credibility with Linux and Solaris, and they get [feedback] about their shortcomings and the benefits. Also, we've been working with them for a year or more, helping them understand the space and where they fit in the market ... In situations where ease of use is required, they win hands down in terms of providing high-throughput computing. So if I were a small laboratory where I had to build and support my own large-scale computing environment, like Texas A&M, I would say that Apple Xserve fits in very well. Also, any situations where a large fraction of the compute power goes to these vectorized applications like BLAST. You can buy 10 times fewer machines to get the same computing done."

http://www.bio-itworld.com/archive/031003/horizons_team_sidebar_2125.html


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## voice- (Mar 19, 2003)

Do I smell a little bias in that article?
Yes, Macs have great user friendlyness, but you do give up a good deal of things to get it. OS X slows you down, much thanks to the bloating of the GUI which cannot be changed (you can skin it, but this is not very safe).

The result is one slow Mac, which is what Apple wants cause you'll buy a new one. MS and Intel played this game years back, they still do, now Apple does too.

This also kills another old-time sales argument: Macs last longer before being old. Now Macs age almost at the rate of x86 PCs, which is a truely sad thing.

Third, upgrading is poor. While Mac OS X may rule the hardware it's run on is not too great. Video cards cost much and are dumbed down from their PC selves, and there's no way you can buy another processor and just toss it in there...

User friendly is good, but it costs too much IMO.


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## boi (Mar 19, 2003)

> _Originally posted by macridah _
> *
> " So if I were a small laboratory where I had to build and support my own large-scale computing environment, like Texas A&M, I would say that Apple Xserve fits in very well.
> *



whoop! does this mean we've got an XServe on campus?


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## boi (Mar 19, 2003)

> _Originally posted by voice- _
> *Do I smell a little bias in that article?
> Yes, Macs have great user friendlyness, but you do give up a good deal of things to get it. OS X slows you down, much thanks to the bloating of the GUI which cannot be changed (you can skin it, but this is not very safe).
> 
> ...



by the way, the article is talking about the XServe. GUI responsiveness is not that big of a deal to a rack-mount, neither is having the bestestest video card. and yes, you *can* add more XServes to the rack to boost productivity.
about aging... no one switches out their servers that often, so servers really are an exception to the aging rule.


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## sheepguy42 (Mar 19, 2003)

Then this thread is badly titled. The article is why Mac Servers are better, if what you say is true. Except, out of the article itself:
"So, [Unix-based] Mac OS 10 is my desktop [operating system] of choice."
It says desktop. Later the author mentions the Xserve being good for specific situations. So either the thread title is misleading, or the article is not about the Xserve.
Anyway, perhaps someone should begin one of those list threads, like the ones for what we want in 10.3, but instead what we love about the Mac right now. I don't always have time to visit daily, otherwise I might start one myself.


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## ex2bot (Mar 20, 2003)

I actually think the thread title is a good one 

Why Macs are better. . . .

Oh

ess

tennn

(bless me) 

Doug


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## CharlieJ (Apr 21, 2005)

Macs Are Exealent


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## Breber (Apr 21, 2005)

I am using both Mac and PC for university work.

In deed the new generation Apple products are like art works. Despite the look of Mac, there are some areas I would prefer it over PC. Have a look at the Seven Design Principles and you will find Apple's OS is doing much better than PC.

Seven Design Principles

This seven design principles is the fundamentals of designing a good user interface.

*User Control:*
It is important to allow users to be in control of their actions when interacting with the user interface and this means that all the actions must be initiated and controlled by the users but not the computer. However this doesnt mean that the user cannot automate certain tasks in the user interface, but with tasks automation it should be clear that the tasks are initiated and controlled by the users. One way to achieve user control is minimize modal interactions which means that when the user interface is at a certain state or modal. The user must wait till the task or process is finished and could not perform additional tasks to the particular process. Another way to achieve user control is personalization and customisation which provides the users the ability to customize the user interface in such a way that meets the user requirements.

*Directness:*
Directness shows how information is presented to the user so that the use can keep interacting with the user interface and this can be achieved by using icons, text, graphics and even sound. Another form of directness can be provided through metaphors. Metaphors help by providing a basic bridge between a users existing knowledge and what they need to learn in a new environment.

*Consistency:*
Consistency is important as it allows users to transfer their existing knowledge to learn new processes so that users will be more confident and comfortable to use the new interface and also will spend less time to learn it. Consistency in the interface allows users to transfer their knowledge and skills from one application to another.

*Simplicity:*
This design principle is to keep the user interface simple. The designing for simplicity is not the same as being simplistic. It is important to express simplicity in WYSIWYG way, which means what the users see on screen would be what the users will be getting when printed out. The simplest interface is often limited by the amount of functionalities; however this problem can be solved by progressive disclosure. Progressive disclosure involves careful organization of information so that it is shown at the appropriate time by hiding certain information.

*Forgiveness:*
This principle encourages users to explore application by building in forgiveness which is make most actions reversible so that the users will feel more confidence to try things without damaging the system. The system should alert users when they are trying to carry out tasks which may lead to non-reversible loss of data or damage to the system. When options are presented clearly and feedback is timely, using an application should be relatively error-free. The design needs to anticipate common problems and alert users to potential side effects.

*Feedback:*
This principle keeps users informed what is happening by providing appropriate feedback. If the user has initiated an action, the user interface should provide an indication that the application has received the input and is operating on it. Users always want to know if an action has been initiated is being carried out, if not, they will want to know why. Animation is one of the best ways to show the user that the requested action is being carried out, but if lengthy action is requested, progress indicators are used instead to show the estimated time to complete the task.

*Visual Integrity:*
Visual integrity means that information is well-organized and consistent with principles of good visual design. This can be achieved by keeping graphics simple, and use them only when they truly enhance usability. Dont overload windows and dialogs with dozens of icons or buttons. Dont use arbitrary symbols to represent concepts; they may confuse or distract users. Match a graphic element with a users likely expectations of its behaviour. Dont change the meaning or behaviour of standard items.


Regarding to hardware, Apple is always the first one to introduce new technologies. Concrete examples are Firewire, Airport (Wifi), and etc. They might not be the one who invented them, but they are definitely the one who realized them. Besides that, look at the quality of Apple Product and you will find that they are built with superb quality.

With a Mac, you could virtually run all Operating Systems. You could run at least the 3 most popular ones.

1. Mac OS.
2. Windows with Emulator.
3. PPC Linux or PC Linux with Emulator.


But there is one thing that turn most people away from trying a Mac, generally Mac is more expensive than PC, Apple or third-party parts are more expensive, and thus making Mac not as popular. And this leads to a narrower range of products and software available to Mac.

Sorry about the long post. Feel free to correct me!


Breber


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## Lt Major Burns (Apr 22, 2005)

i like macs, but i'm always wary of compatibility with the real world. it's always a thought in my mind - was it actually worth the money i payed for it? is there much i can do on this i couldn't on a much cheaper machine? is it worth the hassle?


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## CharlieJ (Apr 22, 2005)

wot are you going to use that isnt compatible!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


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## CharlieJ (Apr 22, 2005)

you can have ms office internet photoshop mx studio garage band iphoto itunes wot more do you want oh and the apps are fully open!???


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## Lt Major Burns (Apr 22, 2005)

those aren't the only applications in existence you know.  i was talking about hardware. i am currently using hacked badly coded unsupported drivers to get my epson printer to work with a mac.about 20% of more complex web stuff isn't compatible.  yes, most things *work*, but no where near as easily as the pc they were designed for. video codecs (without having to resort to using that shitty vlc open source crap)  the little extra bits on msn that let all my friends have slightly more fun than me.  my nokia phone - the PC suite doesn't work for mac.  thats just what i can think of off the top of my head.  face it - a 3% market share isn't enough for it to be easy sailing.  sure i love my mac, but there are some days when i just think would it be easier/cheaper to stick with a pc.


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## fryke (Apr 22, 2005)

Please do _not_ revive such old threads just to add a comment that is stating a very obvious thing. That said, CJ MAC OSX IPOD, I hope you won't just make bold statements with a lot of interpunctuation but become a healthy member of the community.


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## Viro (Apr 22, 2005)

I think CJ has a strange idea of what open means. None of the apps you've mentioned are open. There are far more apps out there that are important.

For me, an important application is Matlab. Without Matlab, my research would be much slower than it currently is. On OS X, Matlab ... leaves a lot to be desired. It doesn't integrate well with the rest of the OS, and some of the displays will cause you to have epileptic seizures. This is just one example though perhaps the most extreme. There are many other applications that don't integrate nicely with OS X, just because they were ported over and those people who ported them didn't have time to make a good port.

Anyway, welcome to the forums.


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## gerbick (Apr 22, 2005)

And this belongs in the rumor section why?  It's rumored that people still actually will read drivel and respond?

looks above...

Nevermind.  I'm proven wrong yet again...


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## texanpenguin (Apr 22, 2005)

CJ - all the apps are NOT fully open. Few of them are. While OS X supports a wide array of open-source applications, the vast majority (including all you have listed) are closed-source. To be able to open a package is not to read a program's source code.

And Burns - I don't think it's fair to call VLC "shitty" or "crap" - it's a simple program that does its job well and plays pretty much anything QT can't. It's also free. It supports full-screen video without having to buy QT Pro, and it has international DVD control.
However you're right with compatibility - Macs need to catch up in hardware compatibility areas. We currently own a Xerox DocuPrint 1210 (model number is from memory), and no drivers are ever going to be developed by Xerox for that model for OS X. I haven't even looked at the GIMP drivers, mind you, because that's needlessly difficult.
However based on the prevalence of Macs at Uni (roughly 60% of laptops seem to be iBooks or PowerBooks), soon enough people will be buying the models that DO have support, and complaining about the ones that don't, and hopefully the developers will get the message.

However in the software world, I'm close to 100% happy with the compatibility I get. We're not compatible with viruses, but we ARE compatible with Photoshop, Illustrator, Office, Quark (although that's a problem).
It's just the one or two applications that I wish I could run without Emu. openCanvas. IE 6 (for web-design checking).


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## Lt Major Burns (Apr 23, 2005)

apologies for stupidity. vlc is ok, for what it is. i just don't use it.  my point was mainly, my mac is amazing - i love it! there's just the odd little incompatibility that comes along and it just makes me think....

and no, this isn't a rumour, but it is a discussion. and for some reason mac people will always bicker and talk endlessly about tiny nuances in a really geeky way. i laughed from the outside.... now i can't help myself. My name is tom, and i am a geek. *weak applause from group*


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## karavite (Apr 23, 2005)

Breber said:
			
		

> Have a look at the Seven Design Principles and you will find Apple's OS is doing much better than PC.
> 
> Seven Design Principles



Hi Breber. Thanks for bringing this up! There is another principle that is my favorite (from Jakob Nielsen's heuristics),  "Recognition rather than recall" . I think a good example of this is - quick, tell me where you go for the majority of your Mac settings in OS X?

System Preferences! It is right there in the Dock.

Now quick, tell me the 29 places in Windows you can go to do similar things available in System Preferences?


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## Viro (Apr 23, 2005)

It's called the Control Panel in Windows. Does pretty much everything the System Preferences pane does in Mac OS X.


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## gerbick (Apr 23, 2005)

Lt Major Burns said:
			
		

> My name is tom, and i am a geek. *weak applause from group*


lol.  now that's an answer I can respect.


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## InstaGiB (Apr 26, 2005)

karavite said:
			
		

> Hi Breber. Thanks for bringing this up! There is another principle that is my favorite (from Jakob Nielsen's heuristics),  "Recognition rather than recall" . I think a good example of this is - quick, tell me where you go for the majority of your Mac settings in OS X?
> 
> System Preferences! It is right there in the Dock.
> 
> Now quick, tell me the 29 places in Windows you can go to do similar things available in System Preferences?



HAHA, OMG you guys are so uninformed on Windows - did you honestly think that Windows cannot do 'anything' the Mac could. Cmon you guys if music, movies and internet is the only stance you can take when it comes to claiming how superior MacOS is to run-of-the-mill Dells and Gateways then i dont know if you should be saying anything then.

Note: Just my opinion.


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## mbveau (Apr 26, 2005)

His point was that in Windows, all the options are kinda spread out. (He wasn't talking about music, movies, _or_ the internet; read the post.) Yes, there is the Control Panel, but a lot of the options are in very obscure places. The System Preferences in the Mac OS does a very similar thing, but centralizes the options a bit more. By the way, most of us use Windows daily, at work, or other computers in our homes, etc. Almost all of us have experience with the Windows OS that roughly equals our experience with the Mac OS. (Yes, I know that's a huge generalization, but it seems to be roughly true.)


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## HateEternal (Apr 26, 2005)

Dude, you can do music and movies on any platform you want. Linux? Sure go ahead, but it isn't going to be as pleasant as if you were on another system.

Have you owned a Mac? or even used a Mac for say a week or more? I used to be hard core PC, but I can do what I need to do on my Mac but more efficiently because the operating system is better thought out and has features that WinXP doesn't have.

Here, why don't you read a PC users opinion of using a Mac. I expect you know about www.anandtech.com - hardware reviews etc. Anand started doing Mac reviews and articles a little while ago. I think this is a good read if you want to hear an opinion of the Mac experience from someone other than a Mac user.

edit: suppose I could add the link to the article.
http://anandtech.com/mac/showdoc.aspx?i=2232


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## nixgeek (Apr 26, 2005)

HateEternal said:
			
		

> Dude, you can do music and movies on any platform you want. Linux? Sure go ahead, but it isn't going to be as pleasant as if you were on another system.
> 
> Have you owned a Mac? or even used a Mac for say a week or more? I used to be hard core PC, but I can do what I need to do on my Mac but more efficiently because the operating system is better thought out and has features that WinXP doesn't have.
> 
> Here, why don't you read a PC users opinion of using a Mac. I expect you know about www.anandtech.com - hardware reviews etc. Anand started doing Mac reviews and articles a little while ago. I think this is a good read if you want to hear an opinion of the Mac experience from someone other than a Mac user.



I second your recommendation.  This is a great PC enthusiast resource that is actually informative from well-informed and well-rounded PC users...not someone who will just regurgitate what some other uninformed Windows user told him or her.


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## gerbick (Apr 27, 2005)

mbveau said:
			
		

> His point was that in Windows, all the options are kinda spread out.


They're in two places... Control Panel or Admin Tools.

On the Mac, they're in two places... System Preferences or Utilities - there's a lot of stuff I need/use there as well.

Just because it's different, yet similar, doesn't make it bad.  And I'm seriously failing to see how things are spread out.

They're not.  For either OS, really.


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## Sloane (Apr 29, 2005)

voice- said:
			
		

> Yes, Macs have great user friendlyness, but you do give up a good deal of things to get it. OS X slows you down, much thanks to the bloating of the GUI which cannot be changed



From OS9x to OSX the mac got slower, however with each progressive upgrade that followed, the operating system got faster, and faster still again is Tiger - you can feel the difference without even thinking about it.
Fact is: no other OS has ever jumped in such leaps and bounds in such a short period of time like OSX has, and it is still a very young operating system with a future that will just keep getting faster and brighter.

OSX is definately not a system that slows you down at all. If you are the Voice, at least speak with some experience!


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## Lt Major Burns (Apr 29, 2005)

it's ambitious, in terms of gui and eyecandy. this visual appeal of osX is incredible - very slick, very forward thinking use of a *graphic* interface - it now uses the *Graphics* processing unit (gpu) fully for rendering the *G*ui.  however, i feel that the actual concept of desktop/icon/folder/file tree/application is something that isn't being challenged on the mac front. 

it is, after all a 20 year old paradigm.  windows, for all their faults, are trying to rethink this concept, perhaps not totally successfully, but the thought process of 'challenge' is there. it's been evident since win95 - attempting to shift the focus from file-based, to task based workflow.

not a: i want to open a *.ai file in illustrator to view a vector, 
but b: i want to view my flyer design: find the flyer and view it. not file and application, but 'flyer' and viewer. pc users who are well informed, don't like the mac ui as there is no obvious thing to do first - there's nothing that says "click me to begin your workflow"

the flipside of this of course, is that on MacOS, there's nothing like that to distract you - no over-compensating OS trying to do stuff for you, just a system that lets you run your pro-apps in a powerful, stable environment.

i have no idea what my point is anymore. but i don't want to delete it cos i've just spent 10minutes of my life writing it....


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## Sloane (Apr 29, 2005)

A good 10 minutes worth Lt Major.


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