I'm switching back

I got my mac two years ago and really really wanted to like it. its interface, features like expose, dashboard, etc are excellent and implemented much better than on windows.

but there are so many little problems with the software that really detract from the experience. it might not be slower but it certainly FEELS slower than windows - the interface is never as snappy as xp. little problems pop up now and then - certain buttons dont work for a while randomly, using random features suddenly crash the software, and every browser on the mac sucks compared to firefox on xp. firefox is sluggish, opera crashes, safari crashes all the time (4.0.2). mail deletes messages randomly every now and then. these occur about 20% of the time and are a lot more annoying than they seem.

i think using a windows is like driving on a slightly bumpy road, but using a mac is driving on a newly paved, really smooth road with random speed bumps every half mile or so. its better 80% of the time, but that 20% of the time just ruins the experience.

i have a macbook core 2 duo, 2 gb ram, leopard 10.5.7. im gonna install snow leopard to see how it goes, but unless that makes everything much better im going back to windows

Good luck!

strange for you to be encountering those problems.... none ever happen to me.

ahwell, some prefer windows and some prefer mac.

adamwest738 said:

...it might not be slower but it certainly FEELS slower than windows - the interface is never as snappy as xp. little problems pop up now and then - certain buttons dont work for a while randomly, using random features suddenly crash the software, and every browser on the mac sucks compared to firefox on xp. firefox is sluggish, opera crashes, safari crashes all the time (4.0.2). mail deletes messages randomly every now and then. these occur about 20% of the time and are a lot more annoying than they seem.

Click to expand...

I've only had my Mac for 4 months, having been a lifelong Windows user, and I've never had *any* of these issues. So far, performance has been absolutely solid.

I joined here the day I brought my Mac home. Your time to join a forum would have been 2 years ago when you got your first Mac. Learning a new OS from those that have already been using it for several years really helps in alleviating a lot of little issues.

You learn what to do and what not to do from those with the experience. You learn how to take care of little issues as they pop up instead of waiting until there are so many that using your computer becomes a frustrating experience. This holds true no matter which OS you happen to be using.

And I was no slouch at learning on my own. By the time I decided to get my first Mac I had my A+ and MCP/MCSE certifications, had built no less than 125 - 150 Win boxes and played around with multiple variants of Linux.

There are many operating systems out there to pick from today and not a single one of them is for everyone. I have a Win XP, Win 7, Win Home Server, Linux and 2 Mac boxes in the house.

My 32 month old Mac is running just as great and fast today as the day I brought it home. Not without bumps mind you. But then, I've never had a computer that didn't have a bump here and there.

We do appreciate you taking the time to stop in and visit with us. But, as you've seen from only the few posts above, you'll find that most respondents do not have the issues you've mentioned.

There are a lot of really helpful folks around here though, and if you'd like to get some help to sort your issues, you might try starting a new thread. Let us know which Mac you have, what version of OS X you're running and describing a particular problem you're having. Maybe someone can help sort it out.

I am very new to Macs, having just purchased my first
MacBook Pro with Snow Leopard. My daughter has been
a Mac user for years and has been after me to switch. So,
I took advantage of the Educational promo... Got the MBP
an iTouch (free), and Canon printer (also free).
There is no going back for me!!! Every time see my kid
I am now required to to remind her how right she was...
This is the smoothest machine I've ever used with none of
the stated problems.

its great you guys had such good experiences

and to the person who said i should learn the system - i read tons of forums when i got my mac, i just never really posted. im not having problems with the actual interface - im more comfortable moving around on a mac than a pc. im just ****** at these little problems that randomly pop up - when i move my mail from junk to inbox, i cant find it till days later - thats not a mac feature that just happens to be different from windows, thats a problem. each problem on its own - safari crashing a lot for example - isnt enough to warrant a post just because theres not too much i can do about it.

and as for taking care of my mac, i am pretty OCD about keeping my computer spotless, my desktop uncluttered, i have installed about 3 applications so far in 2 years and maybe one script for safari that reduced my crashing about 90% by disabling flash. so thats not the problem there. its the system - dont try to put the blame on me

No one was trying to put the blame on you. If anything they were agreeing that maybe something is wrong with your system. That doesn't mean that these problems can't be fixed. Saying that there is nothing you can do about it is not true, there is always a solution to a problem if you take some time to find out what is wrong.

You say you haven't installed many applications, does that mean you haven't been running updates as well? It's possible you are using some now outdated software and running some updates could alleviate some of your problems. Have you tried using an app like Onyx to run some maintenance? Macs are not perfect and do need some upkeep to keep them running smoothly. Perhaps, if the problems are particularly severe, reinstalling the OS would solve your issues. Before you dump the Mac entirely, at least put some effort into diagnosing and repairing whatever is wrong with your system. Just give us a little info on what Mac you have and what version of OS X you are running, and you will find that a lot of experienced and educated people are right here willing to help.

Adk

that comment was towards the moderator who said i should have gone on forums to find out about problems, etc. anyway i have pretty much all the latest updates - 10.5.7 i guess is one away but i mostly have all updated stuff, i can update to 10.5.8 but ive found that each update brings a new set of small random bugs and problems.

for reference - i had my hard drive erased two months ago, installed leopard and updated everything on it and the only apps ive added are things like quicksilver, launchbar, etc and i havent noticed differences before and after installing ; whatever problems were there before were there after and no new problems were added

The issues you are having with Mail have me wondering what is going on. I have been using Mail for years now and never lost one message except I deleted it myself. I move messages from Junk to Inbox daily and they show up instantly. I get hundreds of messages every day on 4 email accounts and never one issue or missing message. I wonder what is up?

Never had any of these problems, maybe just bad luck? All i can say is i've had my macbook now for 5 months and the more i use it the more i like it.

First off, I'm sorry to hear you're having a tough time at it. But, have you actually done any toubleshooting? All I seem to read in your post is the troubles you've had, but nothing regarding what you may have done to try to resolve the problems aside from "I had my hard drive erased 2 months ago and reinstalled leopard" - that's not troubleshooting an issue - that's using a last resort solution that if you don't understand the problem you're not going to help yourself. If there is a hardware problem, or configuration problem then because you are probably going to reset everything back to the way it was (ie: mail configuration) you're probably going to experience the exact same problems. I use OSX on 4 systems on a near daily basis (10.4 server on one, 10.5.7 on my ht mac, 10.5.7 on my main mac, and 10.5.7 on my macbook) and I don't experience issues like you've mentioned (granted, I don't surf much on my 10.4 server, but it does handle various things for me like web hosting, email, dns). In the time I've owned my Macs since switching, I've had safari crash on me a total of twice (and one of those times was my own doing). Did you even attempt anything here: http://www.mac-forums.com/forums/os-x-operating-system/93819-basic-os-x-mac-troubleshooting.html ?

You state later in a following post after someone pointed out you may have wanted to bring your issues to the forums sooner that the problems didn't warrant your taking the time to post - but they seem to warrant you deciding to switch OS', so obviously, the problems are significant to you - and that right there should have been an indicator it was time to go get help.

Have you contacted Apple to help resolve the issue? Issues that are recurring can sometimes be hardware related (bad area of ram, hard drive failing, etc.). I'm assuming you haven't because you didn't state that you had. If I was having an issue like that, and after attempting to resolve the issue through help on forums (not just reading posts, but asking questions to see if someone else has experienced it and attempting changes to resolve the issue) I'd be back at my local Apple store, or retailer, or on the phone to get it fixed.

Honestly, and this isn't to be mean or anything - but why did you register? According to your profile, you registered today, simply to state you're switching back? It seems like you've taken more energy into posting why you are switching back rather then really attempting to fix the issue. If the Windows OS is a better fit for you, then I'm happy for you - do what you need to do, not all OS' are the same, and not all OS' are meant for all people.

Once again, I'm not trying to be mean, so please understand that - but I hope you find what you are looking for in a different computer since you have made up your mind.

Enjoy Windows.

adamwest738 said:

I got my mac two years ago and really really wanted to like it. its interface, features like expose, dashboard, etc are excellent and implemented much better than on windows.

but there are so many little problems with the software that really detract from the experience. it might not be slower but it certainly FEELS slower than windows - the interface is never as snappy as xp. little problems pop up now and then - certain buttons dont work for a while randomly, using random features suddenly crash the software, and every browser on the mac sucks compared to firefox on xp. firefox is sluggish, opera crashes, safari crashes all the time (4.0.2). mail deletes messages randomly every now and then. these occur about 20% of the time and are a lot more annoying than they seem.

i think using a windows is like driving on a slightly bumpy road, but using a mac is driving on a newly paved, really smooth road with random speed bumps every half mile or so. its better 80% of the time, but that 20% of the time just ruins the experience.

i have a macbook core 2 duo, 2 gb ram, leopard 10.5.7. im gonna install snow leopard to see how it goes, but unless that makes everything much better im going back to windows

Click to expand...

The Mac isn't for everyone. Sounds like you fall into that category.

Fortunately, Macs hold their resale value quite well. You should be able to sell your machine and purchase a very nice Windows notebook. I'd recommend something from Dell's XPS line or a Lenovo ThinkPad. Stay away from Acer/Gateway and HP. Also, make sure you download the Decrapifier to get rid of all the craplets that most Windows machines come with. That should make your experience a lot smoother.

You might also want to hold out for Windows 7, it's a big improvement over Vista.

And of course, if you need help with your Mac-related issues, don't hesitate to come back (although I'd recommend another thread focused at asking specific questions).

Good luck and let us know how you make out.

It's unfortunate that you've had a bad experience with Macs.

Good luck with your future computing endeavors!

That being said, there really isn't any more to add to this thread, so I am just going to close it.