03-22-2004, 11:02 PM

July 2nd 2003 marked the day that changed my life.

After extensively using, selling, supporting and training others on the wintel platform for over 11 years, I switched to the Mac.

On that day my 2.4ghz compaq laptop had a bad Windows XP crash where I lost most of my work. I took a huge leap of faith and closed my laptop, put it in the case, and ran out to buy a 17" iMac.

I've never taken that laptop out of the bag yet.

After a couple of months, I ran out and bought a 12" powerbook.

Again, my life was fulfilled.

I now have a serious problem and I need some advice / support. When I tell my PC friends about my experience, they think that I am completely insane and that I have lost my mind. When I tell them that my OS has never crashed they actually don't believe me! When I explain all the things that I can do with my computer that I thought could never be done, they don't understand what I am talking about. They won't even let me show them a demo of how great the OSX operating system is. Some of them don't even think MS Office files for the mac are compatible with the PC and they actually think that I am lying about the compatibility.

I need help. I feel like someone who has learned the most incredible secret in the world, and when I try to share it with my friends, they laugh at me. Their ignorance is disturbing and I just want to show them how pleasureable their computer life can be.

I need help. I need advice. I need to know what others have done in situations like this.

Thank you.

03-22-2004, 11:18 PM

Mac OS X is so supremely better then any M$ there is no comparison. It's based on Unix BSD (Berkeley Software Design) and the awesome Darwin kernel. The memory management enables a crashed app to be closed without crashing the whole OS. It is extremely less vulnerable to worms and viruses -- needs no third party firewall. It can support and run enough apps to render windows expendable (except for some games). They (your friends) need a tour through an Apple store or CompUSA to have a look. Mac has always been a bit better, with OS X it's in its own league! :p

03-22-2004, 11:28 PM

I switched 9 days after you did....I have been using my powerbook daily since the switch and agree with everything you said about the perfect stability.....i have a few friends like that so whenever i go over their houses i bring my powerbook and they almost have to look at it while their peecees are rebooting

03-23-2004, 12:02 AM

Well, you have a PowerBook. If they presist in doubting your word, you can always whip it out and show them, in living color, exactly how well it works. If Build a PowerPoint presentation in front of them, eMail it to them, and let them see for themselves. Use the "uptime" command (in the Terminal) to show time between restarts/shutdowns. Numerical proof that your system hasn't crashed.What are they going to do, close their eyes, put their fingers in their ears, and sing "Macs suck and PC's rule" at the top of their lungs?

Okay, so maybe they will.

However, it may be best to just smile to yourself. Don't bring up the topic unless they do, let them ask all the questions, and answer honestly. You've just joined an exclusive club; if word gets out, everyone will want in.

03-23-2004, 03:27 AM

I've been learning that some people just hate macs; there is no real reason for this..they just assume they aren't as good. It's ignorance. I dealt with this myself before I realized the truth. It may never help by just talking to your pc friends...you just have to someone let them see the light on there own.

03-23-2004, 03:57 AM

I have some friends like this.... mostly they are hooked on specific Windows apps and refuse to believe that there are equivalent.... nay.... BETTER apps available for OS X. Mail.app is the prime example (much better than Outlook/OE, marginally better than Mozilla Thunderbird).

The funny thing is that out of my 4 people I consider my best friends, 1 is on a Mac, 1 is someone who wants a Mac and is saving up for it, 1 is a Windows diehard who actually knows some of what he's talking about, and the last one claims to hate Macs.... but (don't tell him I told you this ) but uses ObjectDock! I laughed so hard when I saw that....

Sorry for going off on a tangent.... that sort of thing happens at 4 am....

03-24-2004, 12:55 AM

heh... I made the switch about month ago, and I use my iBook at work for everything now. Today I had a lot for people looking over my sholder as they had to wait for IT to come around and fix all the wintel pc's with the latest thrash of virus's going around. I just kept chugging away and laughing.

That was the biggest convincing reason for me to switch. I was traveling on business in January and plugged my HP laptop into the hotel provided "Free High-speed Internet Access" and would you believe, within 5 minutes, someone had brought that PC to it's knees. I decided right then and there I had had enough. That following week I bought a used 12" iBook G3 700 and played around with it to make sure I could do everything I needed to get thru a work day and 2 weeks later bought a new 14" G4 933.

Now, one month later, the HP laptop is somewhere in CA, highest bidder on eBay, and I've had nothing but great results. My only beef with switching to a Mac is one of the companies I do work for requires a Windoze based program to interface with their system and for that I have to use VPC. But that isn't Apple's fault.

Sorry this is such a long story to make a point, but if your looking for ammunition, then here is a true to life example for you.

Bottom line Mac = Reliability

03-24-2004, 01:27 PM

I would take your Powerbook to work nd show them what you can do. Maybe even let them play around with it for a while. That's all it takes. You know these people wouldn't waste their time actually going to an Apple store to see for themselves - but if you bring the Mac to them I'm sure they would atleast take a look at it. Keep us updated on what happens.

03-24-2004, 07:14 PM

want to sell me that 2.4ghz compaq - if it still boots that is..lol

03-24-2004, 08:06 PM

Why are Mac users so dead set on convincing Windoze users that Mac is best? As a recent switcher (one month old) I don't even bother. If 'doze users are happy rebooting their machines, downloading patches, and scanning for viruses daily, who am I to interfere? No one convinced me to switch, I had to see for myself that Mac was more reliable, more intuitive, and simply more fun than any of my 8 PCs. If someone had tried to convince me that Mac was so much better I prbly would have become defensive and held onto my ignorant belief that "Macs suck and PC's rule". Instead, I did my homework, took a chance, and fell in love with a Powerbook. For me, the iPod was the thing that made me take notice of Macs in the first place. Now, all I have to do to get a PeeCee user's attention is whip out my 15" AlBook and heads turn. There's no denying that its a sexy beast. At the very least, it sparks a conversation, and the rest is left to fate.

03-24-2004, 08:47 PM

*grin* well see.. it's like this.. You see some girl walking along.. she's about to walk into a huge mud puddle, which not only has mud in it, but it's also a bottomless pit that if she steps in it, will suck her in and who knows if she'll survive it.. What do you do? Do you just watch her step into it? or do you say something?

Cheers!

03-24-2004, 09:14 PM

I would warn her.

03-24-2004, 10:22 PM

Originally Posted by Murlyn

*grin* well see.. it's like this.. You see some girl walking along.. she's about to walk into a huge mud puddle, which not only has mud in it, but it's also a bottomless pit that if she steps in it, will suck her in and who knows if she'll survive it.. What do you do? Do you just watch her step into it? or do you say something?

Cheers!

Hmmm.. I might be tempted to let her take her chances
Seriously though, we're *mostly* adults, and we have a choice on how we spend our hard-earned cash. If someone decides to sink theirs in a "mud puddle", I'm inclined to let them. Afterall, it is their choice. Now, if someone asks my opinion on the matter, well, that's different. When you drive a Benz you don't have to justify it to a Hyundai owner (no offense to any Hyundai owners out there ) You simply let it's smooth lines, raw power, and impeccable reputation speak for itself. IMHO, of course.

03-24-2004, 10:22 PM

Well then you are probably the type of person that would warn a person against using a PC, since it is a danger to their sanity, time, etc etc..

So there you go!

03-24-2004, 10:34 PM

Most definitely and I completely agree.. I will warn them, but if they decide they want to step in the mud puddle anyways.. well that's for them to decide.. and Ill be around to help them out if they decide they really don't like it in there. And if they ask why I am warning them about the puddle.. I can give them lots of reasons.. But if they don't ask.. then don't cry to me.. because I really don't like saying "I told you so"