Originally posted by azosx
As for security, X has hardly been on the scene long enough nor has the market share to be thoroughly tested. Unix is a bigger security nightmare than Windows ever dreamed of being. It's only Windows market share that gives would be hackers the desire to exploit Windows over anyone else.
Driver support in 2000/XP is top notch as well as in X. I've never had a problem as long as I buy name brand hardware and 2000/XP detect 95% of it without me having to install additional drivers. Yes, X runs almost flawless on the hardware it ships with but you're kidding yourself if you think some 3rd party printers, scanners, cameras and so forth aren't a headache trying to run in X. Also, you're lucky if drivers even exist for much of the hardware on the market today.
I just wanted to disagree with these two paragraphs.
For the first and security, it's hardly an argument to say that the only reason Windows has bad security is because they have 95% of the market share. I haven't heard of another platform (other than Windows) that has a browser that can pose a security flaw when you press the back button in the browser and Microsoft says this isn't a security flaw because the hacker has to induce the user to press the back button. How about the fact that Outlook and Outlook Express can automatically execute code on the opening of an e-mail? And the time when IE (I believe this affected the Mac, too) was shown to automatically launch downloaded files even if they weren't compressed files, making people vulnerable to malicious code that could be downloaded.
I think it's ludicrous to say that UNIX is a less secure operating system when the people who make it actually CARE about security. Anybody in their right mind can't say that Microsoft is committed to security.
My second beef is with third-party products and Mac OS X. While there may be SOME scanners/cameras and stuff that is "a headache" to run on Mac OS X, they are few and far between. In my experience, all I need to do in Mac OS X is plug it into my Mac, and it will be recognized. Cameras, digital camcorders, MP3 players, etc. They all work after JUST PLUGGING THEM IN. Case in point: I plugged in my SuperDisk drive that I bought in 1998 when I got my ORIGINAL iMac. When I put in a disk, it popped up on the desktop whether it was a regular disk or a 120 MB SuperDisk NO DRIVERS needed. That's what I call plug-and-play, and I doubt Windows can match this ease of use.
Anyway, there are many other things that keep me on a Mac. As has been noted, Mac OS X is just so much easier to use on every level. When I went into my summer job the other day (which is to design a website), I tried to use the Windows PC they gave me for a few days, but I just couldn't do it. I was always trying to mess around with getting it to do what I want to get Windows to open the file in the correct program, to find a good program that would allow me to do something, even something as simple as changing windows/apps (which is SO ANNOYING in Windows because applications windows are often contained within another super-window, which GREATLY LIMITS your productivity). Windows just sucks at helping you to do your work.
In contrast, when I started bringing my mom's iBook into work with me, I just started working right away, and I'm happy to say that the website is coming along very nicely, thanks to my Mac. I'd still be having a headache had I been still using the PC.
Other factors: plug-and-play with third party devices out of the box is VERY convenient. Column view and the Dock are very nice additions to the Mac OS that can't be matched by Windows. iApps are TOTALLY unmatched Windows Movie Maker doesn't hold a candle to iMovie. Furthermore, it's really nice to be able to have both the power of UNIX and the simplicity of the Macintosh united in one operating system I have learned to do some stuff with UNIX to troubleshoot the few problems I have, and I would never have been able to do that with either Windows or the Classic Mac OS.
The other thing is that beauty is VERY important. I don't like using ugly boxes that are just slapped together it just shows that the manufacturer doesn't particularly care about the consumer they are just trying to make money. On the other hand, Apple takes the time to design great, beautiful computers, and use much higher quality parts, and that's a main reason why I buy them. With Mac OS X, the design of the system software UI perfectly complements the design of the hardware.
And the other thing is that the Mac is actually less expensive in the long run. I spend much less time troubleshooting my Mac and less money repairing my Mac over the course of its lifetime. You will eventually spend less money, and have less headaches, using a Mac than you will with Windows, and that's probably the most important thing in the long run. I want my computer to work, not me to work trying to get the computer to work.
But again, like others have said, you can't really appreciate the Mac until you try one. It's just so hard to put in words, because once you become a Mac user, you just take all that stuff for granted that you can't when you use Windows.
