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I shot of a quick email to this guy. Pretty clueless if you ask me.
Mr Brooks,
I think you need to do a little more research before making such bold statements.
1) Microsoft office, the most popular production suite is 100% compatible between Macintosh and Windows. In fact I synchronize files between my PC and Mac and can make incremental corrections on either system and continue where I left off on the other system. You'll also find that almost all programs that exist on both platforms create files that are identical.
2) Floppy disks? What files are 1.4mb or less now a days? Flash disks which can be read by both systems and are more frequently used to transfer files. If that fails you can always email yourself a file.
3) 3% market share is related to the purchase of new PCs. It's been argued that the installed base of Macs is much greater because a) Macintoshes generally last longer than PCs b) Marketshare of new PCs includes business machines that may or may not be used as workstations c) In the latest reports the market share of Apple computers is on the rise again
4) Mac OSX has no viruses, no spyware, and is inheritently more secure then Windows.
5) You question the ease of use of Macintosh, yet claim to never have used one. It's pretty hard to be taking seriously if you haven't used the system your trying to bash.
Not so much to do with the article, but I thought a Mac was also a PC. I've had a Powerbook now for 2 years and owned a "PC" for 14 years.
The abbreviation "PC" stands for "Personal Computer" For the life of me I cannot figure out why people assume a Wintel based machine when referring to a PC?
My Amiga 1200 was a "PC", as was the Apple ][.
-HL
...this morning I emailed a Word 2004 document to a PC user and he was not able to open it in Word 2000.
I knew they make c***, but didn't know it was that bad.
It does little good to complain about writers like Rich Brooks on this forum. Nor does writing back to him help much. Contact the publisher of the Herald Tribune to complain about providing him with a forum to make pronouncements on topics for which he is obviously not qualified. Write the publisher at:
diane.mcfarlin@heraldtribune.com
Rich Brooks is an idiot. It's almost not worth writing to him or even giving his article any press. The guy obviously has no clue what he is talking about. He also talks about his experience 5 years ago. I know Macs were compatible but much less so than they are now. He should try using OS X.
Dear Sir,
I'm sure you will get one or two emails regarding this column.
My reason is simply that it is important for those who lack knowledge on a specific topic to be made aware of their short falls.
Quote:
"And Macs are better for graphics and videos -- or so I'm told. I have always used PCs so I don't really know if Macs are indeed superior".
Yes they are, and what validity is there in your column if you have not used a Macintosh running OSX ?
I should let you know too that Macs are simpler in the most simple of tasks such as burning music or data CD's. ( trust me I use both but prefer my Macintosh ).
Quote:
"But with PCs locking in 97 percent of the market, deciding what kind of computers to use in a school system is a no-brainer".
Is it? For someone who hasn't used one this is a poor statement.
Quote:
"So you'll have to excuse my lack of sympathy for teachers who are complaining about the plan to replace all the district's Macintosh computers with PCs".
I sympathize with you and others who opine on issues and matters they have no experience with - ignorance usually.
Quote:
"Macintoshes -- or Macs -- use different programs and different disks".
Actually, Macs use CD-R's same as PC's. A Macintosh burns CD in ISO9660 format (look that up) which is PC compatible. Maybe it's PC users who still burn CD's in "DOS" even when XP has the ability to use the ISO9660 format (look it up).
Floppy ? Well unfortunately PC manufacturers keep this alive but today we use USB disk keys, and on a Mac I have an external $39 floppy drive which can read IBM formatted disks - surprised ? (it brakes I chuck it out rather than take my Mac in for service).
I also need to let you know, that networking a Mac with OSX to a Windows, UNIX or Linux server is simpler than a Windows XP system. (not that it's rocket science to IT admins, but OSX is simpler non the less).
Microsoft Office is available for the Mac and a year ahead for that matter.
So kindly think of what you have written and unless you have experience on a specific issue, your opinions are taken but hold little value. Unfortunately there are those who don't know better and take your invalid words as bible.
I'm not telling you to get a Mac for yourself, but please have some self respect and research an issue you plan to write about.
I work in an office of 500 people and there are 20 Macs in the publishing department and the managers use Macs too. Networking and file exchanges are not an issue - we use Microsoft Office, MS email exchange, and as long as PDF's, jpegs, tiffs, xls, doc, ppt files exist we are fine.
Windows Media Player is there for Macs as is Real Player.
Just thought y
The same would happen if a Word XP user emailed a doc to a Word 2000 user. That's an issue of new vs. old, not PC vs. Mac.
If you knew they were using Word2000, you should have saved it has Word2001 for Mac, or Word2000 for PC.
Why even click on the guy's rubbish?
--JBytes
Rich Brooks publishes in the Sarasota Herald Tribune and is speaking about Sarasota County's School Board decision to switch to PC platform. Its very funny considering all the local community papers around here are Mac intensive, as well as a good number of community higher education schools. Ringling School of Design is just down the street from him.
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The Miami guy is an idiot
First, he admits he never used a Macintosh. Then he pretends you can't use a PC disk in a Mac, (as if people use floppies anymore anyway), and then he says the files are incompatible. If asked what apps, I'll bet he'll say MS Office.
That guy has no business talking about the issue.