Question to mac users: how hard is OSX to learn for someone who has only used windows? How is apple support compared to Dell? Any problems with running windows on a mac? How true is it that macs don’t have viruses?

I first started using OS X last year. I found it extremely helpful to read or at least skim parts of Mac OS X The Missing Manual. It is very well written with lots of very neat tricks. OS X comes with a lot of power built into the OS, for example , Apple Script is a simple way to add functionality to your computer for free. A simple script on the Internet or in a book can automatically resize images to a specified size with drag and drop ease. On top of all that, OS X can run X11, Linux applications and most open source software.

I can’t speak on support as I have no first hand experience. One thing to note, if you get a Mac, Apple Care can be purchased for extended warranty and provides easier service if something goes wrong.

There is no problem running Windows on a Mac, I installed Virtual PC on a PPC Mac Mini, then installed Windows within it. With the new Intel Macs, Boot Camp is probably the way to go for gaming.

Windows is first and foremost an easy target to spread a virus for reasons spanning from 90% of desktop computers run Windows to the problems with the architecture of the OS. OS X is not an easy target and the architecture of OS X is based on FreeBSD, which has years of Unix experience behind it. With Windows, I’ve had many instances where spyware was installed without anything more than going to a website.

(Hi Dave!)

I just installed Vista this weekend and I do not find the Mac add one god damned bit funny because its too true. All I do now is click on cancel or allow boxes. Like the add says I can turn it off but then my system is open to attacks. Today I found myself surfing the apple sight and looking at macs. Im closer than ever to buying one. I can install botcamp and windows for when I want to game. Sweetmeat I feel your pain!

Question to mac users: how hard is OSX to learn for someone who has only used windows? How is apple support compared to Dell? Any problems with running windows on a mac? How true is it that macs don’t have viruses?

Dave (someone stole my cool internet name)

Bughunter, the exploit project you’re thinking of is the Month of Apple Bugs (MOAB) project.

I like seeing projects like this. As a Unix security guy I find it interesting that almost all of the bugs happen at the application level. I think only 2 of the bugs actually allowed root privileges. Which is still bad, but nowhere near as bad as the fact that almost every Windows exploit runs as a trusted user. Good on MOAB for pushing Apple to make their product more secure though. Apple does an /ok/ job of keeping up with security problems, but they need to get better and they need to be more transparent about the real security issues in their products.

As for me, I’m running XP until somebody makes a game I want to play that will only run on Vista.

Mox

And as a developer, Bug, how do you manage what platform you’re programming for? If you’re programming in “Ultimate” edition, how can you be sure your application will work on “Home Basic?

Not a stupid question. I’m sure there are developers who will have to deal with that, luckily I’m not one of them…for now. Software written for .NET won’t have to care, because .NET is the same for all of them. If you write an application that is specific to a feature that is in some versions and not in others, Spaghetti Monster help you. And if you aren’t writing in .NET (video games as an example) best of luck, I’d hate to be you. How game developers will reconcile direct X 10 (only available in Vista) vs. direct X 9 sounds like gobs of fun…not! I will probably have to deal with the issues of running the same software on both XP and Vista, but I don’t think those will be that big of a deal (not in .NET anyway).

I think I’ve found a way around some of them( you can make exceptions in the software if you hunt for it for a while, though several programs I can’t get on the exceptions list no matter how I try ), but still being asked to state that yes I actually wanted to do what I just did for EVERY SINGLE MOUSECLICK I WILL EVER MAKE AGAIN is getting really, really old really, really fast.

Did they actually have people test this? I mean real people? Who, like, used it? I find it hard to believe. I tried to turn it off, and I thought I had, but it didn’t seem to make any difference.

every single mouseclick… shiver… whimper.

Umm.

Apple is going to sue you over trade secrets!

I like Bill and Melinda, I really do, and I’ve often thought they both do more good for the world than any President, but listening to Steve is more fun as long as he doesn’t become a pompous ass like Steve Wynn, “Ladies and Gents, I’m a fucking God!, my casinos are better than everyone else’s because I designed them naked while sitting in my flying car!”

I still can’t decide if the ads are good for bad (for conversions), but they certainly provoke reactions from everyone all the way up to Bill Gates.

Most people I’ve talked to about the ads are, at worst, mildly amused. I think the commercials work because Apple is using the “smug” factor more like a fulcrum than a hammer. I mean, if Apple really wanted to push the whole “cooler than you” thing, they’d have gotten Dennis Miller to be the Mac guy. *shudder*

I don’t know if they’ll make more people want to buy a Mac, but I’m sure they’ll get people curious as to what Macs are all about. And I think Apple is pretty ok with that.

Bughunter said:

Who wants to go through hours of research to determine which of the 5 thousand versions of Vista is right for them?

I was at Circuit City the other day, and the sheer number of Vista choices was mind-numbing. There are 2 versions of “Home” edition alone.

And as a developer, Bug, how do you manage what platform you’re programming for? If you’re programming in “Ultimate” edition, how can you be sure your application will work on “Home Basic?” (Maybe this question doesn’t make sense, I’m not a developer.)

This time they have totally screwed up. Who wants to go through hours of research to determine which of the 5 thousand versions of Vista is right for them? Who wants to have to confirm a decision 3 times? This Vista garbage is just like windows ME was…total crap! It took them 5 years to at a fresh coat of paint and a barrage of confirmation boxes to XP.

Those mac commercials are so funny, and the latest vista ones are my favorite. Mac really could take some market share if they could be bothered with supporting developers and getting some software for their OS.

The exploits that Bill is talking about I think refers to some exploit a day thing that someone did (descriptive eh?). Somebody took an OS and found 1 new exploit each day for a month. They did it with a few OSes, but with the Mac they quit after only a week, and only the first one allowed any control over the machine, which was fixed promptly.