[b said:
Quote[/b] (adnedarn @ Dec. 31 2005,2:19)]Mac doesn't not have the virus/spyware problems that PC has because it is better... It doesn't have AS MANY problems because it isn't that popular.
OK... got a number of problems with y'all.
No. 1, Andrew, this is no longer particularly correct. You can break a Macintosh the same way you hack any other UNIX clone - practically speaking, there are just about as many Windows machines accessible on the internet as UNIX boxes. My hardware router gets hacked more than my Mac, and all I do is delete unknown executables and run the built-in Mac firewall. "Security by obscurity" has long been the bane of the computer security industry and, right out of the box, Macs come with as much protection (besides a virus scanner, which is sorely missing) as you could ask for for any computer connected to the internet. Everything runs the same internet protocols, so getting in is the same on one computer as another. The big difference is in the executables, but any hacker with a sixth grade reading level worth their weight in farts can look up a manual and figure out how to apply their strategy to any machine.
Next, I would really appreciate it if Windows-philes out there stopped claiming that Macs are unstable. This is unfair, untrue, and has been inaccurate for several years (almost a decade in my experience - I haven't had stability problems on my Macs since OS 8.1, back in the late 90's.) I've owned a G5 (the first make, even before Apple fans considered them stable) for three years now and have left it on almost constantly since first taking out of the box. You know how many crashes (computer reboots itself) I've had? None. A few times, my BitTorrent client shuts down unexpectedly, leaving the rest of the system untouched, but I've never, ever had to do an emergency powerdown or root through my system to find malicious programs. I rewrite my kernel, play with XWindows applications, and even emulate Windows 98 on my system and they're all rock solid. I have also worked at the computer center at my college for several quarters, in the Macintosh lab as well as a mixed lab with dual-boot Windows 2000 and Red Hat Linux machines. Want to know where I spend most of my time? Want to know what computers my coworkers dred servicing? I'll give you a hint - it's not the Macs. Gawd, that little video of yours is cute, but I defy you to show me that applications on the Mac are less stable than any other OS. If you have stability problems on a Macintosh, it can almost always be attributed to the program you're running, and not the details of the operating system.
If Macs were really so much worse than PCs, Apple would have died out a long time ago - there just aren't enough reasons for people to stay with Macs if they're really so unbearable. They're expensive, and it's particularly hard for consumers to find software and support for the Macintosh. The reason the Mac is still alive is because people appreciate its strengths. They're easy to use. They have consistent, well-designed interfaces. They aren't built to confuse users and they don't require licensed, specially trained technicians to perform simple, everyday tasks like system/network maintenance and upgrades.
Look at all the operating systems out there. UNIX, Mac, Linux, Irix; even dead OSes like OpenStep, DOS and BeOS have hoardes of fanatical advocates who would sooner die than admit that maybe their OS isn't the best. I've only found one OS that lacks this type of following, and it's Windows. People just don't care about Windows - the only support I see for it comes from people who own Windows machines by some unfortunate circumstance and get teased about it. It's so-so, and if it weren't for the fact that all the popular games and office applications were on it, and business virtually requires you to use it, and all the bargain basement computers came preloaded with it, I can see no reason why anyone would seek out Windows for their own use. If Windows were satisfactory, we wouldn't have so many people clamboring for other systems. Windows has found its place in the industry not on superior merits, but superior marketing and business strategy.
I have been studying computer science since middle school, and I have yet to find anyone with a strong general knowledge of computers who can give me a cogent reason why Windows is any better than anything else. My computer science professor, who wrote much of the software that runs your telephone while working at Bell labs, refers to her Windows machine as 'the toy' because the only people in her house that use it are her kids, for games and email. She and her husband (another comp. sci. professor at my school) don't even try to work with it, because it's just more trouble than it's worth. Even my godfather, who works at Microsoft, can't articulate why Windows is better, except that it has lots of games on it. Quite the contrary - in my experience, it seems that the more educated people are on the methods and history of computer science, the more they tend to dislike Windows on grounds of its poor engineering and Microsoft's startling lack of ethics and innovation.
Finally, how many people have switched from a Mac to a Windows machine and really been happy about it? I know of one, really - my friend got rid of his old, System 7.5 Mac IIc and traded up to a Pentium 3 Dell. He liked it better because he could play Max Payne, and that's really all he did with it because the system was buggy as all hell right out of the box. When he finished Max Payne, he went and dug the Mac IIc out of his garage until he could buy a new (Apple) laptop. On the other hand, how often do you hear about people going the other way?
~Joe