toggle

AAPL Stock: 570.56 ( + 13.59 )

MacNN News

NYT: Apple's eMac easy to set-up, but lags in apps

updated 02:40 pm EDT, Thu April 22, 2004

eMac on top of $1K Club?

New York Times columnist J.D. Biersdorfer, comparing (from Dell, Gateway, and Apple), concludes: "The eMac was by far the easiest to set up of all the machines I tried out - power cord, keyboard, mouse and network cable, and you're all plugged in. (Not that a PC setup is hard anymore, since with most systems you get a color poster and colored-coded cables to guide you.) Software compatibility is still the Mac's Achilles' heel, however, as many programs are still Windows-only and gamers often face a frustrating lag until popular titles get ported over from their PC versions."

by MacNN Staff

(20)

TAGS :

Apple

Share the Article

Facebook Twitter Delious Slash Dot Digg

toggle

Comments

diskgolfking
Junior Member

Joined: Mar 2004

0

04/22, 03:01pm | report spam | close Reply |
Strange default

It's kind of disappointing that the default assumption is that users want access to all the Windows apps but none of the Mac apps. There are many good OS X apps that have a significant lag before appearing on Windows. But this never seems to be a concern.

Shouldn't the software be evaluated on what each platform has, and not what one platform has that the other doesn't?

Shu Chow
Registered User

Joined: Apr 2004

0

04/22, 03:05pm | report spam | close Reply |
Pogue?

Whoa, wait a second. I screamed "Judas!" and then actually read the article. David Pogue didn't write this article. J.D. Biersdorfer is the author.

CarpetFluff
Mac Enthusiast

Joined: Dec 2001

0

04/22, 03:13pm | report spam | close Reply |
huh?

Just exactly what are these amazing apps that someone who needs colour coded cables can't get for OS X?

dwishbone
Grizzled Veteran

Joined: May 2002

0

04/22, 03:18pm | report spam | close Reply |
why indeed

did this article even talk about ease of use and speed comparisons? problems? anything like that?
as mentioned above...why do people think everyone wants tons of windows apps. most of them are c***. the best ones are also made for the mac. what about the extemely cool apps only mac users have? you never hear that mentioned.

mbryda
Senior User

Joined: Mar 2002

0

04/22, 03:21pm | report spam | close Reply |
Don't get it

Why does everyone assume lots of people play games on their computers? Most that I know of stopped that and purchased a console....

And, what are those Windows apps that you miss. I have missed none.

digitalrhino
Fresh-Faced Recruit

Joined: Aug 2001

0

04/22, 03:37pm | report spam | close Reply |
Umm

So one bad point, did anyone else notice that the PCs all came with much beefier graphics cards and twice the RAM the mac did. The PCs had either 64 or 128 mb cards compared to the Apples 32 mb. I didn't even now that anyone still made 32 mb cards. Considering it's not upgradable Apple should really be doing a bit better there.

bkb
Dedicated MacNNer

Joined: Sep 2003

0

04/22, 03:42pm | report spam | close Reply |
Graphics card

Are you implying that Mac is backward when it comes to graphics cards and beefier systems?

And if so, are you out of your mind?

gwarana
Registered User

Joined: Apr 2004

0

04/22, 03:45pm | report spam | close Reply |
I don't get it either

Why do so many Mac users assume lots of people *don't* want to play games or use Windows-only apps? I love Civilization III, but the expansion packs were never ported to the Mac, and Infogrames/Atari/Hasbro/Macsoft/Whoever-They-Are-Now has said they won't be doing it any time soon. And you won't find Civ3 on any console, so if you want the expansion packs, Windows is your only choice.

Also, many people find Windows 2000 plenty easy to use simply because they are so used to it. I personally prefer OS X, but there are only a few minor things about Windows 2k that would slow down my productivity (WinXP on the other hand...).

I just don't understand what this massive "ease of use" thing is that so many Mac users like to spout off as though Windows is too complicated to learn. I mean, we all had to learn the ins and outs and quirks of OS X, right? We could've easily said "wah wah this is too confusing and slowing me down", but instead we took the time to figure it out so that we could be more productive -- well, Windows is the same way. Many Windows users find the Mac interface just as perplexing as we claim Windows to be, because they refuse to take the time to learn it. ("But I don't want to trash my disk!")

It reminds me of all these grandmas and technophobes who want to "git on that thar intarnet" but aren't willing to take the time to learn how to use the damn computer. As soon as they click the minimize button they think they have a virus that erased the web page they were looking at, and don't know what to do to get it back. Surely most Mac users are at least a step above *that* that we can handle a few interface differences between OS X and Windows. I would hope.

klinux
Senior User

Joined: Jul 2002

0

04/22, 04:43pm | report spam | close Reply |
Well said

Well said, gwarana. Mac is great and better than a PC running Windows, IMO, but hardly perfect for everyone. Too many people cannot seem to acknowledge that.

KidRed
Professional Poster

Joined: Mar 2001

0

04/22, 04:47pm | report spam | close Reply |
sofatware, apps= games?

He mentions apps and software as the mac's 'achilles heel' and follows that gamers will have to wait for game ports? Huh? Any genius knows a mac is not for gaming. $1000 to play games? Why doesn't he mention apps that real users would be without. What software Joe and Maryann wouldn't be able to run on their iMac?

Same tired old arguments.

the Rebel
Fresh-Faced Recruit

Joined: Jul 2000

0

04/22, 04:58pm | report spam | close Reply |
video cards & software

I would choose the eMac's ATI Radeon 9200 with 32MB dedicated DDR SDRAM video memory over the eMachine T3085's 64MB shared-memory Nvidia GeForce4 MX video card any day of the week.

I would also choose AppleWorks over Microsoft Works 7.0, Quicken over Microsoft Money, and World Book Encyclopedia over the subscription based Encarta Online.

Plus, the $799 eMac costs less than the eMachine T3085 with a 17" monitor, especially after you add the cost of shipping.

Likewise, I would choose the Apple eMac's video support over the Gateway 510SE's integrated Intel Extreme Graphics 2 with 64MB shared memory. The Gateway comes with the slightly outdated Microsoft Word 2002 and that is the only somewhat decent piece of software included. With the possible exception of Word, the eMac comes with more, better software. Also, like the eMachine, the Gateway's $899 price does not include shipping and yet it is higher than the $799 eMac which does include shipping.

http://products.gateway.com/products/GConfig/proddetails.asp?system_id=510se&seg=hm

Last, but certainly not least is the special order Dell Dimension 4600 for $999. It is rather curious that the author of this article just happened to have the magic E-Value Code for this deal. Without that code, the 4600 configuration quoted in the article would cost $1,176 (E-Value Code 6V520 - D46SO) which is not only more than an eMac, it is also more than a flat panel iMac. Like the other Windows PCs, these Dell prices do not include shipping.

Despite the article's mentioning of gaming, none of the PCs quoted in the article come packaged with any games. However, the eMac does.

None of these sub-$1000 Windows PCs come with FireWire either, but the eMac of course does.

Despite the author's insinuation that Apple has only recently entered the sub-$1000 market, Apple has been selling Macs for less than a $1000 for the past 5 years and the specs and packaged software have almost always been better than the similarly priced Windows PCs had to offer.

the Rebel
Fresh-Faced Recruit

Joined: Jul 2000

0

04/22, 05:16pm | report spam | close Reply |
correction

The Dell Dimension 4600 configuration quoted in the article would be $1,177 without the special code provided in the article.

In order to make the E-Value Code 6V520-D46SO configuration exactly match the specs of the $999 deal, you need to drop the $29 power strip and add the $30 RecordNow!Deluxe software package.

Nostromo
Fresh-Faced Recruit

Joined: Oct 2001

0

04/22, 05:35pm | report spam | close Reply |
Oh really?

"I just don't understand what this massive "ease of use" thing is that so many Mac users like to spout off as though Windows is too complicated to learn. I mean, we all had to learn the ins and outs and quirks of OS X, right? We could've easily said "wah wah this is too confusing and slowing me down", but instead we took the time to figure it out so that we could be more productive -- well, Windows is the same way. Many Windows users find the Mac interface just as perplexing as we claim Windows to be, because they refuse to take the time to learn it. ("But I don't want to trash my disk!")"

Well then I'll give you an example.

Today I was using XP and I inserted a USB flash drive. No icon on the desktop. In fact, there were no icons for any disks (hard drive, CD) anywhere on the desktop.

Please tell me the easy, intuitive method of getting disks to show up on the desktop under XP. I had to go to the Control Panel --> Display --> Desktop then click the Advanced button (at least I think that's what I did -- it's so convoluted that it's hard to remember). That's just plain a**-backwards UI design.

On the Mac (well, first off, desktop display of disks in ON by default), Finder --> Preferences and it's right there.

"Taking the time to learn it"? Sorry, it shouldn't TAKE TIME to find simple system settings. With Windows you WASTE so much time doing what should be simple tasks (and which ARE simple on the Mac).

That's the problem with Windows -- the UI is so non-intuitive that doing simple things requires you to dig around in incomprehensible settings files.

Don't EVEN get me started on putting the "Shut Down" command under the START menu. How stupid is that?

Oh, and maybe you haven't noticed, but you don't drag a disk to the Trash any more. When you click and drag a disk icon, an Eject icon appears on the Dock. Trash? Are you still using OS 9?

pdot
Senior User

Joined: Aug 2000

0

04/22, 06:14pm | report spam | close Reply |
Re: Oh really?

Don't forget the tons of folders and readme files scattered throughout Windows. There's a lot of folders in OS X, but it's much easier to figure out what they are and where you shouldn't go poking around in. I'm still figuring that out with Windows. Want to put an alias/shortcut of an app on the desktop in Windows? Well, most beginners just need to go to OS X's Applications folder to find the app of their choice with no clutter to sift through.

gwarana
Registered User

Joined: Apr 2004

0

04/22, 06:35pm | report spam | close Reply |
re: Oh really?

I guess you missed the part where I said "I personally prefer OS X, but there are only a few minor things about Windows 2k that would slow down my productivity (WinXP on the other hand...)."

One of my biggest gripes with WinXP is that it doesn't show My Computer on the desktop anymore by default. (Whatever MS genius came up with that one needs to be fired.) Win2k, however, does. It may be ugly to look at, but it still works, and is stable (unlike Win98).

And yes I realize that once you start dragging a disk icon in OS X, the trash can turns into an eject symbol. But until you start dragging it, you don't know how to eject the disk. On a PC, you simply press an actual physical button on the machine itself, which I would say is probably the most intuitive thing to do. (Actually, whenever I eject a disk in OS X, I usually just right-click and select Eject. Yes that's right, I got myself a two-button mouse too! Oy the confusion!!)

Please tell me the easy, intuitive method of getting disks to show up on the desktop under XP

This is exactly my point about not being willing to learn how to use the computer. Windows *doesn't* display disks on the desktop. That's just the way it is. Windows users just know that whenever they put a disk in, it'll be right there in My Computer when they want it. Personally, I *prefer* having the disks on the desktop, but I wouldn't say that Windows is inferior because it doesn't.

At least Windows has always had a "show desktop" icon in the task bar -- it wasn't until Expose with Panther that we could do the same. But I'll bet there's some PChead out there bitching about how Macs don't have a "show desktop" button in the Dock therefore Macs must be inferior. If that PChead knew how to turn on Expose, he could do it, but that might require reading a 14-page full-color quickstart manual, heaven forfend.

Deal
Mac Enthusiast

Joined: Apr 2001

0

04/22, 07:31pm | report spam | close Reply |
$$$$

after all that software you buy for the PC it's not a $1000 machine any more.

And try making home movies on it! Lets see a color coded flow chart for that : )

klinux
Senior User

Joined: Jul 2002

0

04/22, 08:32pm | report spam | close Reply |
Easy now

Hey Rebel. something you may not realize since most Mac users have to pay MSRP (or only slightly lower) since Apple is the only player in town by default. PC users shop around. There are ALWAYS some kind of sale going on at any one of those vendors.

Only price-insensitive shoppers (and zealous Mac fans) go on to the Dell site, ignore the tons of sale/offers, price out a system and then exclaim "Look how much more it costs!"

klinux
Senior User

Joined: Jul 2002

0

04/22, 08:43pm | report spam | close Reply |
Also...

"What software Joe and Maryann wouldn't be able to run on their iMac?"

Uh, how about games? Surely any genius, such as youself, know one does not buy Mac for its gaming but look at it conversely, how has gaming driven PC sales?

The answer is, of course, that gaming is a huge industry and drives computer sales more than anything else ($500 graphic cards, anyone). Had Apple or someone else ported Half-life, CounterStrike, etc to Mac back then in 2000, there would be easily 2x the # of Mac users we have today.

"And try making home movies on it!"

Oh yes, don't forget Garage Band too. How about iDVD? Sure, all those apps are great, have no direct PC counterparts and are free (relatively). However, as I mentioned above consumer buy PCs mostly for gaming - not to make their own home movies and music.

BlueDjinn01
Fresh-Faced Recruit

Joined: Aug 2001

0

04/22, 09:21pm | report spam | close Reply |
eMac System Shootout

For those interested, here's the latest $800 Desktop System Shootout (Apple eMac vs. Dell Dimension 4600):

http://www.macobserver.com/shootouts/desktop_shootouts/2004/03/desktop_0800.html

Food for thought.

black convoy
Fresh-Faced Recruit

Joined: May 2002

0

04/23, 08:45am | report spam | close Reply |
Mac Gamming!!!

Mac gaming is what brought me to the mac. It is why I bought a mac and not a pc. Altough I am now a profesional video editor, and use them all day.

I switched because the best first person shooter and still reigning champ was and is the Marathon trilogy by good old Bungie software. They ported the second one to the pc but due to the way windows handles palet shifts the game runs quite badly on a pc. But even on an old LC 575 Marathon runs very nice.

So yes gaming brought me to the mac. And my career has kept me with them.

Show More Comments

Login Here

toggle

Network Headlines

05/23	Google launches redesigned Search app...
05/23	IBM blocking iPhone's Siri on internal...
05/22	Leaked next-gen iPod touch part hints...
05/22	Hulu Plus updates with iPad Retina...
05/22	TiVo Stream to push TV to iPhones,...

Show All

05/23	Google launches redesigned Search app...
05/23	IBM blocking iPhone's Siri on internal...
05/22	Leaked next-gen iPod touch part hints...
05/22	TiVo Stream to push TV to iPhones,...
05/22	With iPad included, Apple leads mobile...

Show All

05/23	Google launches redesigned Search app...
05/22	Leaked next-gen iPod touch part hints...
05/22	Hulu Plus updates with iPad Retina...
05/22	TiVo Stream to push TV to iPhones,...
05/22	Hands on: TouchType case for iPad,...

Show All

03/02	Save $330 on refurb. 15.4-inch, 2.4GHz...
03/01	Pre-owned 8GB iPod touch 2G, drops...
02/29	$150 off Nikon Coolpix S80 Compact...
02/28	Plantronics BackBeat 903 Bluetooth...
02/27	Refurb. Seagate 1.5TB GoFlex Portable...

Show All

toggle

NYT: Apple's eMac easy to set-up, but lags in apps

updated 02:40 pm EDT, Thu April 22, 2004

eMac on top of $1K Club?

Strange default

Pogue?

huh?

why indeed

Don't get it

Umm

Graphics card

I don't get it either

Well said

sofatware, apps= games?

video cards & software

correction

Oh really?

Re: Oh really?

re: Oh really?

$$$$

Easy now

Also...

eMac System Shootout

Mac Gamming!!!

Login Here

Register for our weekly email newsletter:

Connect tools:

Subscribe

to our RSS

Follow us

on Twitter

10 Most Read

10 Most Discussed

MacNN Marketplace

NYT: Apple's eMac easy to set-up, but lags in apps

updated 02:40 pm EDT, Thu April 22, 2004

eMac on top of $1K Club?

Related Articles

Recent Articles

Strange default

Pogue?

huh?

why indeed

Don't get it

Umm

Graphics card

I don't get it either

Well said

sofatware, apps= games?

video cards & software

correction

Oh really?

Re: Oh really?

re: Oh really?

$$$$

Easy now

Also...

eMac System Shootout

Mac Gamming!!!

Login Here

Register for our weekly email newsletter:

Connect tools:

Subscribe

to our RSS

Follow us

on Twitter

10 Most Read

10 Most Discussed

MacNN Marketplace