he wants to buy, is c***.. and where does he got off saying that Dell has a 533 mhz bus speed?? i went to the Dell web site and saw no 2.5 ghz PCs saw a 2.8 2.6 and 2.4?

those websires he's talking about work just fine in any Mozilla build, dude get rid of the IE Microsoft did?

and finally the hardware is half the story, You have fun with win2000 or XP ...

I fail to see why anyone should be interested in why this guy decided to get a Windows PC. Because it's a little bit faster? Because a few crappy Web sites only work with IE on Windows (which has NOTHING to do with Windows vs. Mac, but IE vs. the rest of the planet)? Because of other "compatibility" issues he doesn't even explain? Because he's sick of a one-button mouse? (AAAAHHHHH! Buy another mouse, you nitwit!)

If he wants to buy a PC, fine, it's a free world. But his article sucks, because it's all just rhetoric and loaded words like "Macs are horribly expensive" (bulls**t) and "Miraculously, though, Windows users are treated to a seemless, trouble-free website experience." (It's IE, not Windows, you dolt! And that's because these sites use garbage code!)

This guy talks nothing about ease of use, interface aesthetics, the superior quality of most Mac software (particularly the iLife software), the advanced modular archtecture of OS X, exclusive technologies such as Rendezvous, the benefits of a robust UNIX core (OK, he does mention that once), the increasing number of innovative peripherals and hardware accessories only available for the Mac -- and, most importantly, the fact that Microsoft is a convicted monopolist who is still, in the eyes of many, an illegal, immoral corporation with a business plan that just about equates to: "own the Internet and the entire world of computing technology". In my mind, that's good enough reason alone to avoid any Microsoft product (at least Windows), period.

The Mac hardware is beautiful, ergonomic, sleek, clever. And not that slow -- and that last point will soon change to "insanely fast" if all goes well. At which point, *I'm* the guy who will be "bidding my fellow PC users adieu. It's been nice knowing you. I'll be sure to look in my rearview mirror from time to time to make sure you're still back there."

Jared

Say what you want guys, but he has a point. So far the Mac has fallen way behind in terms of speed. The sooner Apple acknowledges this and does something about it (which if the rumors are true...they have), the better off they'll (and we'll) be.
Also, did you guys really buy that whole Megahertz Myth BS anyway? Sure, some of it was valid...but you'd have to be a complete idiot not to see that they were in a rut and could do nothing about it.

I think it is just fine that this idiot wants to switch over. He has gone on and on about how much he THINKS he knows about these operating systems and the machinery they run on, when in fact he has never bought anything more than a mid-range consumer model. Let's see, an iMac DV (with only 8Megs of VRAM) running OS X - Yeah - Slow - DUH! Why doesn't he spend the money instead of being a cheap skate and buy a real machine. Then let's have him write about how much a Dual 1.42 GHz machine is slower than a Dell with a (theoretical) 533MHz system bus is.

The fact is he is a journalist reading a bunch of white papers. I am a technician that deals with both of these systems every day and have to hear how ALL - not some - of my PC users wished they all had Macs because of how fast and easy they are to use. Of course - we only buy top of the line here... so maybe I have a skewed perspective.

doesn't kick some serious a**, I'm probably out the door too with my next computer purchase. Though I love my G4, I'm certainly not going to plunk down another $3000 for what amounts to a slower machine slower machine. I'm not angry, I'm just saying I won't do it again. I'd rather keep my G4 for another 10 years and buy a $1500 PC for gaming.

Let us all hope and pray the G5 will bring the mac back where it should be, on top. (And dammit apple, you can't charge $4000 for it!)

Do it but he will have to eat his words. No iMovie, no iPhoto, no OFFICE v.X, no Safari. Some people are m********.

Well, I wonder what browser he's using - because all the sites that he posted look just fine in Safari.

what's for lunch

WHERE IS MY FREE DOT MAC DOOOOD

This guy as a resume and puts himself on a friggin' pedestal, and yet doesn't mention WHAT is slow, WHAT is compatible, and WHAT he wants out of a computer.

Dumbass.

I think it is just fine that this idiot wants to switch over. He has gone on and on about how much he THINKS he knows about these operating systems and the machinery they run on, when in fact he has never bought anything more than a mid-range consumer model. Let's see, an iMac DV (with only 8Megs of VRAM) running OS X - Yeah - Slow - DUH! Why doesn't he spend the money instead of being a cheap skate and buy a real machine. Then let's have him write about how much a Dual 1.42 GHz machine is slower than a Dell with a (theoretical) 533MHz system bus is.

The fact is he is a journalist reading a bunch of white papers. I am a technician that deals with both of these systems every day and have to hear how ALL - not some - of my PC users wished they all had Macs because of how fast and easy they are to use. Of course - we only buy top of the line here... so maybe I have a skewed perspective.

Big Bacon classic from Wendy's with lottsa mayo, i'm off the subway diet and on to the Wendy's diet

They paid me more

just feels SNAPPY!!!

Forget the Mac slander. This guy is retarded.

I scanned his "article" in 30 seconds and found 3 spelling/grammar errors. If/when I reread it (for amusement) I'm sure I'll find more.

I'm amazed he passed high school English. Since I assume he's using Word, he needs to know that the squiggly red line beneath a word means that it is misspelled.

This guy writes for a career? He must have a Journalism degree from the Sally Struthers Institute.

I hope he gets a dell this weekend. We'll zip past his "Rear View" mirror with our G5 and Hypertransport. While he'll be stuck with his 2.5GHz celeron for the next 4 years awaiting Longhorn.

http://homepage.mac.com/dtournemille/images/Nancy_Particia_small.jpg

yeah

When Apple first put out the Mhz myth, Macs were topping out at 733, while PCs were just past the 1Ghz mark. Then there wasn't a 2:1 Mhz difference (or more in current consumer lines) and thus a top of the line Mac would beat a top of the line PC easily. Now a days we are comparing dual 1.42GHz G4s to 3Ghz P4 and unless the software is optimized to use both cpus, we're getting hosed. The G4 may be a better design than the P4, but it's not THAT much better. So he can spout off all he wants about how the Mhz Myth is a myth, but the reality is that it isn't - anyone that has actually looked at computing beyond consumer/prosumer already knows this (even Intel with their new Centrino chipset & the Itanium).

BYE!!!!

that candian beer is like moonshine!!!

this guy hosts his site from a mac.com address!

http://homepage.mac.com/dtournemille/resume/journalism.html

and if you go to that resume page, you will note he was laid off. perhaps this is a bit of a publicity stunt????

This is typical. Yes Apple has fallen behind in the speed arena, but it is not Apple's fault. The why some of you come across is that there is a faster chip available and Apple has just decided not to use it. It is total BS, the only thing that Apple could have put into the Mac's was the Intel brand, but they really couldn't because they have been gettting vendors to write their software for OSX on a PowerPC chip, no one can expect them to rewrite it yet again and have people pay even more for their software, it would have finished Apple. Anyways, there is a new kid on the block and Apple has adopted the chip (I think it's safe to assume now). EVERYONE KNOWS Apple has fallen behind the speed mark, even Apple, to assume they are doing nothing about it because they have is just stupid.

Why do we care about what another incompetent Canadian 'journalist' thinks?

Again.

Can't we just bomb that country and get it over with? ;-|

this is just some c*** he put on his own webpage. if we weren't looking at it, nobody would.

He does have a point in some degree. I just built a PC for games, nforce 2 motherboard, Athlon XP 2500, 2 optical drivers, Radeon 9600 Pro, 80 gig hard drive, Serial ATA, USB 2.0, AGP 8X, Dolby Digital encoder, TV tuner, Anec truepower, Cables, case, keyboard+monitor, 512MB Corsair PC3200 ram, etc. and it came to about 1000 USD. It easily beats my mac in speed but i still use my mac for everything except games. I prefer mac os X over windows(i have a MDD 867 btw). I will always buy macs before PCs but thats because i have the money to keep buying more macs, and i like them. Some people don't have the money to spend on a mac. Some people need a computer that will last without upgrading for a while and take advantage of cheap upgrades( my Athlon XP 2500+ only cost me 96 bucks and i overclocked it 400Mhz which is the speed of the fastest Athlon Xp). When when they need a computer they need a computer. Doubting someone is a "true mac user" because he can't justifiy spending the money a mac is elitist bs. Comments like that are one reason why so many pc users think so little of mac users.

I hope the G5 comes out and i hope its fast and affordable. Some of you say he will look stupid come monday but he did say that if the old models came down in price after the announcement, he might buy one.

And talking about running an imac with Mac os X was stupid. It would be slow. I personally don't think there is any speed problems with mac os X itself on my MDD but of course it will be worse on older hardware.

http://homepage.mac.com/dtournemille/resume/writing/us_election_010404.html


"Bush would have tripled his razon-thin lead had Florida"

my god that is up as a sample piece... does he read his own tripe?

At McGill in the 80's....

she was a nice lass

I own a 2.5 Ghz Dell and a 800Mhz G4 iMac. I do think that the iMac is over expensive *but* when I want to do movie editing or burning cd's or any of the other common consumer tasks I use the mac since it's just quicker to get things done on it because the software is easy and richer to use.

On the other hand, I use my PC for common office tasks and software development since the software for the mac is either non-existent or it runs too slowly.

There are strong arguments to both sides. I've been using Macs for about 15 years, from mac Plus to my current G4 cube, a couple G3 Powerbooks and an iBook. Recently my son bought a Compaq laptop - 15" screen, 2.4Ghz P4, wireless and 1394 for $1417. Why? Because software for games and education (we home school) that he wants to use just isn't available for Mac, and VPC is terribly slow for graphical work. The cost difference between his 15" PC and a comparable Mac is nothing to sneeze at. The difference in price may or may not be made up for by having, e.g., iMove and iPhoto included.

On the other hand, setting up his laptop was/is a challenge. As Janie Porsche said in her ad, "Who wants to download drivers ..." which I'll need to do for a Lacie Firewire hard drive.

I have been "almost" ready to switch to Windoze for some time - but so far have been saved by stories of how hard it is to set these things up. Nevertheless, compatibility with colleagues who send me software as .dll's (and whose source code doesn't easily compile "outof the box" on my Mac) means that market share is having a larger impact on my decision of what kind of computer comes next - a decisin based on the question, "Can I get my work done with it?"

There's only 3 of us Mac guys left out of 25 people in my department. The other guys are succeeding (with foul words under their breath), and cygwin provides many of the same features as fink, and Safari doesn't work with my wireless router ... so things are not as obvious as the bumper stickers I've seen written above.

he doesn't appear to be a very successful journalist... and his grasp on the written word is pathetic. he'll fit right in with peecee users.

Just a little more thinning of the herd. Let him go. It serves him right for eating his own FUD.

You're all idiots...

I know, I know, I fell for it, but Jeez get an iLife dude!! The whole speed, marginalization stuff is soooo old. Anyway, have fun with your PC running WindowsXP.

Sadly, despite the poor writing in the article, the author has made some valid points - no doubt a part of the reason many people are posting replies loaded with reactionary anger.

Even a strong supporter of the Apple software vision such as myself has had a hard time justifying the cost of some of the Apple hardware when compared to significantly faster Intel/AMD-based PC systems. The problem is, Apple does have the hardware to compete with the "low end" Dell systems - but that hardware is the G4 tower, and Apple wants to keep the price for that type of system jacked-up much higher than the comparable PC "towers".
The elegant design of the FP iMacs also means they lack the user-upgradable parts including CPUs and video cards that the PC systems offer for the same price (and twice the real CPU performance).

And don't even get me started on Apple quality control problems... There are three - count them, three - iBooks lying around my house in various states of disrepair. All suffered problems just after the 1 year covered period, including my 600 MHz iBook, which is currently acting as a paperweight due to a blown video card / motherboard (apparently a common problem, given the number of outraged posts in various forums).

What does 2+ MHz get you when your machine is crashing all the time?

For what it's worth, this guy is no journalist; his writing is far too shoddy. (I have a B.A. in journalism.)

I don't care if you have a BA in Baracus...shoddy writing does not preclude a career in journalism!

& bottom feeding troll.
End of story.

You need drivers on all computers. OS X includes drivers, just like Windows XP does. If the OS doesn't have the driver you need, guess what? You have to download the drivers.

That was always a stupid switch ad.

PCs are faster - period. PCs cost less - period. PCs have more software to choose from - period. PCs have more peripherals to choose from - period.

Some people think that iMovie, iPhoto, Safari, and anything else Apple makes is the very best in the world, even though they haven't used any alternatives. There are over a dozen DVD authoring applications for Windows. There are over a dozen consumer DV editing apps. There are great browsers for Windows other than IE. Etc., etc.

Macs suck. I hate you guys.

I think Apple should take a radical approach in the future... I think they should allow cloningm, but with some very specific restrictions and stuff in their favor. First,... Apple should cut a deal with IBM, depending on contracts and how they work together, to start selling their Mac PowerPC chips... the G4's, G3's and the future 970's.... Here is where some details would come in. Apple would make profits or group profits on the chips and logic boards and other stuff. To be a certified Mac Cloner,.. you would of course agree not to develope your own logic boards etc... Of course IBM would could say it is them making the chips, and why not they make the profit... well,... If they share the profits and development costs,.. with Apple, they will make more money as the Apple market share grows... Seriously... Go to Apple for a high end tower and let Apple only make laptops for now... but let someone else make a 599, G4 and even mabye a 970 as prices come down in the future... I do not know all the details of how intel makes all their cash on chips and stuff, but if Apple can adopt a similar scheme, with IBM and can make profits... they can expand their market share...

Think of it... a $599 Mac tower basic that can be expanded by the user,.. built together by the user... and fits the demand for the basic pc... but they get a Mac with the awesome Mac OS X and such... if many cloners got in on this,... competition would drive prices down... and Apple and IBM would still be getting profits for the Chips... the OS and whatever else...

Again... I do not know everything on if this could work or not... but hey... if it could work... Just imagine telling your PC friends... Hey Dude,.. for $999 I can get a Mac Tower with like,... a phat 970 chip.. a few PCI slots.. some Firewire and USB,... a nice video chip.... and oh yeah... a affordable, but sweet LCD or CRT... then you get bundles and free printers and such...

Let the thoughts,.. if any fly...:)

MacMoose

PS... let someone, even an Apple created company be called Power Computing... Let it work so Apple benefits, but it will excite users and get the folks who had the big balls at Power Computing back on the payroll...

We won't miss you on this side. My iMac is slower than yours, and I am very happy with OS X.

I'm sure the upcoming 970-based Macs will make a huge difference, and might even close the speed gap. But nothing can close the gap between Windows and OS X. Nothing. You could show me your P4 3 GHz with a 23 inch Cinema display attached, and Windows would still suck.

Why is everyone with a different opinion about Apple immediately dismissed as a troll? Sounds to me like you can't hink of a proper rebuttal. And why would you attack him personally? He has a valid point...yet the only thing your poor little mind can think to do is to call him a 'failed journalist'.

I wonder how long it will be before he re-embraces Mac?

Of the websites cited as Windoze only, most display correctly on my Mac running Safari. One even displayed better on Safari, as it did not have the pop-up ads.

The sole exception is Spindog, which appears to be an also ran career site, as evidenced by it very obnoxious ad at the top of the page.

Man that was a funny article. It was supposed to be a joke, right? If not, well then good luck. I especially liked the part where he wasn't willing to go back to 9 for "speed" but was willing to switch to XP. If he likes OS X so much, XP is going to be a rude awakening then.

What's the big deal, he's a typical cheap a** Canadian, the same kind that doesn't leave tips for good service

Why don't you just wait till Monday!

He's just a lame a** writer and figures that he can stir things up and get some visibility and hits on his website. After reading the article, I am convinced he's analytically brain dead.

Uh...they tried that....I now have a stack of Power Computing computers sitting here all worthless, the hardware won't allow it to run anything newer than OS 8.6. I hated the CD drives they used, I hated the network cards they used, and out of the 20 of them I have only 1 ran solidly.

Look at what MS is doing now. They have teamed up with HP to create a computer that is designed specifically to run well with their OS and their software. This is something Apple has always done. There are just too many hardware compatiblity issues to deal with anymore that even MS is realizing that. Apple has tried clones twice, and it just didn't work. I saved a few bucks on my Laser 128 over the Apple II, but it ran like c*** and I've got a stack of UMAX and Power Computings that are just as bad.

...If he was ever here in the first place. Wait till the IBM 970 chips are out.

His page is on a .mac website :)

Something like a Built-to-order bur taken a step further...A web site where you can order the interchangeable parts from a single 6-pci little on-board equipment motherboard with configurable 1 or 2 CPUs/cache/memory and peripherals (or none for that matter) couppled with an Opencase that you can choose (cheap/tough/looks). Then you could buy a 970 single with ethernet and basic video and later upgrade with off-the-shelf parts such as soundblaster-type card, AGP 8X video card 3D+TV out, TV tuner, etc.

Why Not, you say ? 3 reasons:
1) Apple makes money money off computers, not upgrades
2) Apple discourages many Mac configs (support headache) and prefers you upgrade every 3 years or so
3) Apple makes money by creating full systems with higher margins (remember the 4400 ?)

One can hope. In the mean time, there's only Linux X86

but his missus looks like a goer...
http://homepage.mac.com/dtournemille/images/Nancy_Particia_small.jpg

It will be allright. Bye idiot. Apart from the faulty analysis (I agree with the above post) being a Mac user is more than MHZ; for one, it's also about experiencing the best technologies first.

say bye bye to him. no more mac for him, that's fine. Not for me though, I love the beauty of my mac. Unlike others cheapo ugly branded PC stuff, mac is made for perfection- period. No cheap stuff allowed on mac, thus cheap person is not allowed too

...a pismo for a PC laptop...

I've used macs exclusively for over 10 years - the PC is waaaay faster & XP works...

I hope apple can woo me back (I still have 1 mac) but there is work to do in the compatibility & performance departments - and I tested a 1ghz G4 laptop & it's still far slower than the PC I bought for less than half the price 6 months ago...

Hope monday helps...

You guys are in for a rude awakening when Apple releases their new AMD-powered desktop line.

You heard it here first.

for a 'failed journalist' he has certainly been damn successful at getting the readers' attention.

The jokes on you, ya bunch of Star Wars-worshipping pimply-faced pre-teen geeks.

Take your ignorant generalizations somewhere else. I am Canadian and do leave tips for good service - more than the standard 15% in many cases.

The fact that the writer is Canadian is just as irrelevant to him being an idiot. Just as irrelevant as your incorrect assessment of Canadians.

Uhm... sure buddy. You traded that Pismo for a PC laptop that runs XP. That says something about the resale value of Mac laptops considering a PC laptop capable of running XP has to be much newer than a Pismo.

Given that you have a PC laptop, speed can't be a concern for you. Have you compared prices of Mac and PC laptops. The Mac ones often come out cheaper for the same features.

I actually tried to quit using Macs. Good luck. I got one stupid virus in years of computing last week. Windows can have it. My iBook works well, it works how I want it to, when I want it to, and is a million times less intrusive than XP. XP is alright, but it's no Mac. How long will it be before Microsoft has to let you use your computer, they already want to monitor every other detail of your usage. They are to nosey.

Is always so much fun :)

We really don't need a rebuttal, I'll put my 15" PowerBook up against anything the PC notebook market has, and squash them into little pieces. I think our point is he running OS X on a computer that is over 3 years old, try running XP on something that old. An 800 MHz G4 runs OS X very nicely. Also look back over that three years you've had that iMac....how much has it cost you to maintain over that three years? How many OS reinstalls have you had to do. I look at cost of ownership when I buy computers. I've got 2 Mac IIfx's that still run like the day I bought them for $10,000 a piece. But I don't expect them to run the current software because they are over 13 years old now.

We call them trolls because their only argument is $$$ and MHz. I guess we could start calling them carriage horses because they all run with blinders on. How many MHz does it take to run Word? A 533 MHz system bus (which only ever gets used to half its capacity) better make my spell checker fly. My experience with Windows has always been anything but pleasant. And it isn't like I'm so simple that the prettyness of OS X makes me gush, I just happen to be a designer, and I want to focus on something other than the OS. OS X pretty much stays out of the way and lets me get my work done.

Is this guy serious? I guess he is
Maybe the dell hardware sounds good but it's windoze you moron.

deregulation. Soon journalists will understand the pain techies feel when monopolistic corporate interests take over their industry.

Make your own damn computer and operating system, jeez! :)

Canadians hate Macs because Macs are so expensive there.

Canada should throw out all the French. If you ignore the French, Canadians are awesome people. I've met many traveling and they are always super cool. But the French Canadians are arrogant, socialst a-holes.

When Canada elects a guy who runs on an anti-American platform, you shouldn't be surprised when Americans start having an anti-Canadian attitude.

How's that tourism in Toronto lately? Slow? Of course, SARS has something to do with that, I'm sure.

I don't care how fast or cheap Wintel boxes are. As long as my Mac runs fast enough for what I do, I'm very happy. And I will never justify supporting a company like Microsoft -- we've all seen what they have done and will do to stay on top. They stomp on anyone they can get away with, buy their competitors out, buy their way through our justice system, and continue to try to dominate everything they can possibly touch. It's positively obscene, and the fact that we've let them get this far is even moreso.

How is that a good thing? Stop being sheep -- take a stand, make a choice. You don't have to go Apple, but you certainly do not have to continue coughing up blood to lube the Microsoft machine.

Make your own damn computer and operating system, jeez! :)
Canadians hate Macs because Macs are so expensive there.
Canada should throw out all the French. If you ignore the French, Canadians are awesome people. I've met many traveling and they are always super cool. But the French Canadians are arrogant, socialst a-holes.
When Canada elects a guy who runs on an anti-American platform, you shouldn't be surprised when Americans start having an anti-Canadian attitude.
How's that tourism in Toronto lately? Slow? Of course, SARS has something to do with that, I'm sure.


Jesus...
Americans aren't self absorbed a******* like this guy is...no of course not.
What has SARS got to do with any of this yah dumb f***!

I'm going to the PC side, macs flat out suck s***.

As Cartman said...

BLAME CANADA!

He implied that tourism is down in Toronto because of an anti-Canadian backlash from Americans because of the derogatory comments from your government officials, the booing of American hockey players at games in Canada, and the lack of support for the liberation of Iraq. He then said that tourism is down probably because of SARS. It was pretty clear to me, but I don't have that superior Canadian education, so what do I know?

Hey speak for yourself, stop making the rest of us look like arrogant a-holes. I'm sure you've not travelled to the other side of the swimmin' hole yet.

All of those Web sites opened up just fine in Safari Beta 2 on my OS X 10.2.6 Mac. What is suppose to be broken?

Also, which Dell Dimension is 2.5 Ghz?

And Now Music is a subscription-based service that sucks compared to Apple Music Store.

yah macs suck ha ha ha

i am not a troll because i just told u so

(Ugh! Sorry, I just can't pull off the typical Mac Basher act you find on here! Besides, we all know no REAL exclusive PC user would be seen here, much less be in a position to judge a computer platform they've never even touched.)

WISH I could say I'd miss the desperate-for-a-story "journalist". I like how plural references are used as reasonings behind this rather solitary move. Blah blah blah- have fun with tech support.

just yesterday, I installed 3DS MAX on 3 sessions of Virtual PC runninf windows 2000. I had them net render. It cut my render time in half. This machine is running OS X with 1gig of ram. I was working in photoshop, illustrator and freehand while I saw the 3 Virtaul PC's render in the background. All the time looking at my CPU load in OSX to be a quarter of the way up. Granted I ran out of ram quickly :) OSX did not mind any of it. I still did my work like nothing was happening, no lag no nothing. This kind of stuff just gets a smile on your face, you just sit back and say damn! Than I get to go home at five and start hitting my keybard on my 2ghz win 2000 machine because it does not feel like working that night. Sometimes I get pissed off reading specs and numbers seeing how the mac is falling behind and the prices are kind of high, but than I use it again and all that goes aways :)

"Why is MacNN devoting page real estate to this c***!?!?!?"

Because people like us will visit this website and post comments. It drives up their hits and helps pay for their advertising. If you haven't noticed MacNN is known for posting this sort of "news". I used to be a big fan of this site until I noticed their news is borderline gossip. "MacTaddler" or "MacGossip" would be better. Heck, the rumor sites probably double check their sources with more accuracy.

As for me, I'm guilty of what I trying to say for even commenting. I guess I just needed a reminder of why I stay away from this site.

I switched to Dell about a year and a half ago ($600 4550) and I couldn't be happier. It took me about a month or two to get used to it. But eventually I realized it is a much better platform today. Fifteen years ago the Mac was much better, but not now. Sad, but true.

If anyone is interested I have a Mac desktop, Powerbook, iMac, and a Mac clone available. The clone is being used as a monitor stand. The others are collecting dust (and probably being counted as part of the fictitious "installed base" of Macs).

The only point he has is that the Macs that were being sold when the "Megahertz Myth" was being thrown around ARE slow... Today.... but they are old machiens already... Apple lagged behind... but back then when they started this whole megahertz myth line of c***, the Macs were as fast and faster then the days PCs... OK, the PCs jumped forward in the megahertz area... something to do with the myth? whiloe apple sat there contemplating how to get past 1ghz... when they should;ve been contemplating shelving all motorolla chips and going ahead with the IBM chips with higher speed... AIM was supposed to help Apple, no?

Heres hoping there is a significant price cut/speed boost on monday...

cause my G3 300MHZ Beige Tower w/ 768 Megs Ram, 2X18 GB Ultra SCSI Drives, running OSX 10.2.6 w/ Radeon 7000 & PCI Quartz Extreme Hack has slowly went from being my main machine, to 80% Mac 20% PC, and now im using my pc 80% to my macs 20%... even though my PC is just a 1200 Mhz Celeron... and the mac almost keeps up to it ;)

Time for an upgrade... cant switch, cause I make my cash fixing macs, so heres hoping they release a kick-a** ibook/powerbook/powermac I can fit into my budget.

WHAT A DOUCHE

He implied that tourism is down in Toronto because of an anti-Canadian backlash from Americans because of the derogatory comments from your government officials, the booing of American hockey players at games in Canada, and the lack of support for the liberation of Iraq. He then said that tourism is down probably because of SARS. It was pretty clear to me, but I don't have that superior Canadian education, so what do I know?




Oh really..I'm so glad you cleared that up for me.
It's amazing how I missed the obvious parallel between SARS
and switching back to a PC from a Mac.
That was the subject of the story, wasn't it?
Oh no wait..you're going to make another brilliant observation
regarding Macintosh computers, PCs, Iraq, Canadian government officials and booing American Hockey players?
Yah dumb f***!

does everyone think that the PPC 970 is some kind of magic pill that's going to solve all the problems for Apple? Apple's in a big hole, partly their own fault, partly Motorola's, partly others'. It's not just magically going to go away on Monday. The PPC 970 (if it's announced) would be a great step in the right direction for Apple, but all of a sudden Macs aren't going to be smoking the latest Intel/AMD processors in all of the benchmarks.

Who cares about this stupid speed "race" or whatever, anyway? I use my Mac because it's more productive for me than Windows. Both OS's have various advantages, and people should use whatever suits them best.

Meanwhile, perhaps it's nap time for some of the babies who are posting here?

Go ahead and build a 2.4GHz machine for under $500 -- h***, I did, INCLUDING Windows XP.

It matters NONE if you have a completely incoherent, unintuitive, unfriendly, and aestethically disgusting Operating System.

OS X beats XP bar none. I don't care if the machine is slower.

If you're so happy using Windows, why the h*** are you still reading a Mac forum? I switched to a Mac and don't spend my time on PC forums telling them what kind of idiots they are for using that c***.

And just give me your email address and I'll take that hardware off your hands. You'll pay for shipping of course (I'm asssuming your trying to give it away as you have no need for it, and they being painfully out-of-date and useless, you certainly aren't expecting anyone to pay for them).

I swear that article could have been lifted from an article written four years ago, eh?

My first thought when I saw this topic was "Oh boy, another "Macs suck" article! Another excuse for PC trolls to waste our time with how Macs suck, and Mac users to waste our time trying to tell the PC trolls to go away as we actually have reasons to like macs." Even better than a "Macs rule" article, which give the same two sides the same chance to waste our time.

I've noticed all the stupid journalism regarding Apple and technology as a whole come out of Canada.

One was so mis informing it got yanked. It's a Canadian thing I'm convinced.

The Dell under my desk certainly keeps my feet warmer than my Mac does.

as far as Apple is concerned is if they make the mistake of not truly courting the other 97%. The way to get them is not to give them an all-or-nothing proposition to switch. Woo them with PC-compatible things like the iPod that's clearly superior to anything on their of the house. Open up that iTunes Music Store to the PC World. Let them experience reliability like they've never experienced before on their crappy machines to the point where they say "I never seem to have problems with my Apple stuff" and then once they begin to associate Apple with reliability through firsthand experience they will feel more comfortable considering a much larger switch.

Suppose I told all you Mac users that there was a brand new machine+OS out there that was vastly superior to the Mac called the ABC5000. But when I demoed an ABC5000 to you, all you saw was stuff similar to what your what your Mac already does. Sure, you may concede that the ABC5000 is a little faster, looks cooler, and may have an actual advantage here or there. How many of you would be willing to jump ship to the new machine immediately, reinvesting in all of your software, sacrificing any software that wasn't available, and forking over all the time and cash that entails? What if you knew deep down that the ABC5000 really WAS superior to your Mac, but you just couldn't afford to switch? You've decided to get a new car. You really want that Lexus, but all you can afford is a Yugo. But you got to have a new car. So you buy the Yugo then justify the h*** out of your decision to buy it over the Lexus. I bet the same set of justifications would show up repeatedly on the lists of everyone who did this or something similar. Sound familiar?

this is a total publicity stunt-

if he wrote an article switching to a Mac - no one would care- too many people are doing that. Hence no visibility.

maybe if he a) was employed, b) could spell (even got his wife or child's name wrong on his site, unless of course she answers to 'Particia") he wouldn't have to resort to poor journalism w/ even poorer reasoning.

Dude, I actually pity you-

JC

He's a failed "journalist," laid off since February, baby in the house, trying to get licensed to sell mutual funds so his wife won't have to keep supporting the family.

So much for his high aspirations to change the world by writing headlines for a web news outlet.

The man is under so much stress right now he's cracking up. And he's Canadian. Have pity.

I use both every day. Macs are much nicer to use but my latest homemade AMD2200 with XP is much faster at most of my photo and video work using the same software on both platforms. The dual processor G4 may come close but the cost difference was over $2500! I do however notice that file management seems much slower on the PC than on my G4 Tower, both with 1 gig ram and the same drives. Windows XP has come a long way towards the stability of OSX but XP is still not even close in ease, organization, look and feel, etc.

I would love to have OSX on the PC. That may be Apple's best solution.

Soon I'll have to decide on the replacement for my G4 T Powerbook.

Steve Sanacore

I sent the following to him for a response...

Your article about leaving the Macintosh world interested me.
I agree totally with your premise that the PC is cheaper and faster today. Also, there's the problem of internet sites and Internet Explorer.
Here's a big question. What do you plan to use to replace, iTunes, iMovie, iDVD, and iPhoto? These are mission critical applications for me. They allow me to create and manage my music collection, photos, create videos and put them on DVD...all in an integrated and easy-to-use fashion.
Are there inexpensive, powerful, and easy-to-use alternatives that do the same thing on the PC? If so, do they cost enough to make the difference in price worth it?
Also, what do you need the extra speed for? My 1 Ghz iMac is more than powerful enough to do most everything I want to...and it's way overkill for word processing and e-mail. Are you playing video games or editing videos? Those one of the few places where you really want extra speed. If it's for the video games, I suggest getting a Nintendo or PlayStation II. They're a lot cheaper, easier to operate and you can bang on their keypads without ruining an expensive computer. If it's for video editing, what application are you using to replace iMovie?
If you have answers for these questions, I'd like to see them in a future column. It would help educate me.
Thanks! Tim

None of the reasons this guy is offering are anything that can't be shot down by someone with a limited knowledge of Macs.

There's more software on the PC side, but most of it is c***. There's more hardware, if you count the stuff sold on infomercials and the home shopping network, with poorly written drivers that will probably crash your PC. Sure they're faster, but that's Moto's fault, not Apple.

This guy is switching from an old BMW to a new Chevy cause he can't afford a new Beemer, and doesn't know how to maintain he old one. Good friggin' riddents; more Macs for me. :D

I love OS X. In spite of itself. In spite of the idiotic column-based file browser (especially in open and save dialogs). If you don't know what I mean then you should spend a lot more time testing interfaces in various situations on different platforms. In other words, in spite of the fact that Apple is doing a much worse job of practicing the interface guidelines it preaches than it used to.
In spite of the fact that it runs on machines that are WOEFULLY behind in the performance race (which has always been a race - sometimes a leapfrog-type race) compared to those lightnin' fast Intel boxes. I work in visual effects, and there just ain't no comparison. The tests have been done, many times over, now - and the results are in and in and in and ... Macs are SLOW. Arguments are ridiculous at this point.
I love Macs in spite of the price difference.
Why do I love Macs and OS X? because of Aqua. Because of PDF. Because of UNIX. Because of sourceforge. Because of AppleWorks 6, even. Because of AppleScript.
But the honeymoon may be over, folks.
Apple really needs to get it in gear. The only thing smarter than striking up a deal with Motorola and IBM is how to get OUT OF IT. Motorola and IBM are s******* Apple.
Apple needs to buy a chipmaker and start innovating again.
I am this >

n/t

What the heck is this with all the idiots blaming Canada because one other idiot has a different opinion about computers. Yeah, the guy's article was a bit silly. Yeah the timing is hysterically bad (how close can he be following macs when he apparently didn't know WWDC is four days away), but NONE of this has anything to do with Canada.

Do we hate Americans because some other idiot writes some other idiot article dissing macs? Do we wonder why the rest of the world thinks amaericans are narrow minded buffoons? Is that any worse?

sheesh.

?

I've noticed all the stupid journalism regarding Apple and technology as a whole come out of Canada.

One was so mis informing it got yanked. It's a Canadian thing I'm convinced.




You can't be that stupid can you?

I am this > !

Didn't Time Canada mistakenly blow the G4 iMac secret?

Blame Canada!

I am this ] [ close to buying a windows box.
The number of professionals who have switched already, those people with whom I have worked and played, is HUGE. Growing every month.
When you are working in an industry wherein, invariably, jobs are underbid, people are overworked, and the thousands upon thousands of tasks expand into and beyond the envelope of the thoughtfully-but-futilely planned schedules, you need the fastest render machines possible. Macs just don't cut it, and more and more people know it.
Wake up, Apple! I'd rather not "switch".

"Wake up, Apple! I'd rather not "switch".

Then don't.

As if american dimwits don't abound on this planet Earth. Nah, the guy's a moron, whatever nationality. Did you notice the way he quotes dictionaries all the time? Hmmm, bad habit, baad...

Love my macs, love OS X, could do with a little more speed (who wouldn't?) for rendering and stuff but hey...

I'm sure the guy only does e-mail and word s***.

Luc (from Canada)

As if american dimwits don't abound on this planet Earth. Nah, the guy's a moron, whatever nationality. Did you notice the way he quotes dictionaries all the time? Hmmm, bad habit, baad...

Love my macs, love OS X, could do with a little more speed (who wouldn't?) for rendering and stuff but hey...

I'm sure the guy only does e-mail and word s***.

Luc (from Canada)

Okay, am I the only one noticing this trend. Lots of people switching to Windows industry where jobs are underbid, people are overworked...and faster CPUs are the savior? LOL! I'm in a Mac industry where jobs are properly bid, people just work (and enjoy it)...and all on "slow" machines that seem to be able to handle all those "thoughtfully-but-futilely planned schedules" with decorum and fewer user-issues (like crash! what? how? why?).

quote:
I am this ] [ close to buying a windows box.
The number of professionals who have switched already, those people with whom I have worked and played, is HUGE. Growing every month.
When you are working in an industry wherein, invariably, jobs are underbid, people are overworked, and the thousands upon thousands of tasks expand into and beyond the envelope of the thoughtfully-but-futilely planned schedules, you need the fastest render machines possible.

If this guy has not realised that can use other mice with a Mac in all his years as a Mac user he truly deserves a Dell.

I hear Osama uses a Dell

Web site compatibility he speaks of is true - Mac compatibility is not considered by many web site coders

Most good websites are written to standards of browsers and code, not platforms. So I do not think that is a reason for not buying or using a Mac.

I tire of the old MS complaint that "all" the business world uses PC's so you should too. Those people that believe that you should just do what everyone else does no matter the actual facts have my pity. In Corporate America we are enticed to go with companies because they are different and stand out among their competitors. However inside they are led by a common call that they should just do things like "everyone' else. I am not a Lemming. Jack@sses will find their relatives and pass on as Jack@sses. Keep them out of Leadership positions people, they will be the death of us.

Did anybody notice how he claims to insert a PC floppy into his iMac? I had an iMac and inserting a PC floppy (or any floppy) would only get me a trip to the repair shop.

I was a 10 year mac user as well. I used to choose friends based on their attitude toward the mac.

I have left the fold about a year, and I could not be happier. My Dell is super fast and supports everything I like to do. I also enjoy not fighting the holy war and tensing up when people mention PCs.

I wish apple well. They still make a great product, but I will never go back to the mac. I am happy.

With that guy leaving the mac fold, the mac marketshare just went below 3 percent. I am serious.

Most of you have fallen prey to this guy's stunt. He got the attention he wanted. He may even get a job, but with his grammar, I doubt it.

Ill-informed and poorly written articles such as this, based on half-truths and misinformation are the stuff that web sites with little or no traffic thrive on!

It's too bad that usually smarter than the pack Mac users fall for this kind of ploy every time...

to switch-back.

This is a scam or a PR stunt. How do I know this. Well click on the banner on that .mac site. It takes you to:

http://www.tournemille.com/

Don't think someone would have a real domain and then a cheap .mac site

for some reason the is running both sites. I found the same artical there.

How much speed does this guy really need? It's a valid complaint if he's doing video compositing where speed can mean the difference between waiting 30 minutes or three hours. But how demanding can word processing -- or even the most sophisticated spreadsheet -- be?

This whole issue of processor speed is pointless unless it's required by truly demanding tasks.

It's like a Ferrari owner. Sure it can hit 180 mph, but where are you're going to do that?

that article is as deluded as the author who wrote it.
i found this link on openC.org to a rebuttal of the artcle that basically pinpoints how badly researched and flawed the reasons for leaving the Mac are, that this guy sites.
check it out..it's well worth it!

http://www.openc.org/B1060014028/C1390203455/E1094319084/index.html

anyone notice that since earlier today, the author has now spell checked his article, and even edited some of the text?

next thing you know, the whole thing will have different subject matter altogether and be about how he'd never leave the Mac!

talk about a no cred journo!

refers to people who use Macs a "mac heads". Further, the statement: "Gasp in horror if you must but the move was necessitated by what I believe was a slew of blatant missteps and unforgivable gaffes over the past few years by Apple Computer Inc.'s senior management" reeks of Microsoftian propaganda. I have never chosen a product based on the quality of the company's management.

Since what's his name is so concerned about management missteps, perhaps he can address Microsoft managements felony antitrust convictions?

A 17" FP iMac is FAST. It's easily as speedy as a 2.6 GHz P4 Dell. Plus, it's more reliable, easier to use, comes with more great software, takes up less space, has a nicer display, has a better repair record, has better-rated tech support. And they cost the same.

Well lucky you! Yes, within my comment was a complaint about underbidding, which happens more and more and causes a lot of pain and suffering and can (I said 'can') compromise quality. (and the futility is not really the fault of the schedulers, but that's another subject, really - money vs. art - yuk). I'm glad to know that you don't suffer from that. Believe me, I'm very happy on a mac (even this somewhat outdated one - but it's not the only one I use). I do get concerned, however, when a Schmentium renders a shot in half the time of the 'top of the line' mac. And the mac-to-intel switchers are real; I'm not making that up. Let's just take it for what it is and send a message to Apple. Multimillion dollar companies can use a gadfly or two on occasion, right?
As far as crashes go ... guess what? ALL computers crash. Lucky you again for not experiencing that. You must live a charmed life. It is a CONSTANT battle for all sw engineers to make their software as stable as possible. There is no magical solution, though - just lots of man hours and smart programming and dogged problem-solving and the realization that we do not live in a perfect world.

I also believe that this subject would not accumulate over 100 comments if there were no issue. Clearly there is an issue.

I'm in a Mac industry where jobs are properly bid, people just work (and enjoy it)...and all on "slow" machines that seem to be able to handle all those "thoughtfully-but-futilely planned schedules" with decorum and fewer user-issues (like crash! what? how? why?).

How come anybody can feel his choice of platform ?necessitated by what (one believes) was a slew of blatant missteps and unforgivable gaffes over the past few years by Apple Computer Inc.'s senior management? is beyond me? Personally I could care less of the deeds from some senior management when I make that choice as long as the system gives me pleasure and serves my needs. Later on, though, ? by 15 paragraphs ? it is stated that that same management ?has made great strides over the past few years in product innovation?. What the mistakes were is left in the obscure. If one assumes that a ?few years? ought to equal 3-4 years I cannot really see what could be described as ?blatant missteps and unforgivable gaffes?. Apple has during this time been as innovating and productive as ever before: A whole new OS, insanely great technologies and a slew of brand new productive, innovative, intuitive and FREE software, most yet to be copied by the wintel side.
In the following paragraph DT enlightens us that Apples chief reason for having slower computers is the megahertz myth. Oh, I must be a dumbass who thought that the chief reason for this lied within the processor.
Anyway, DT admits that processor speed doesn?t solely determine overall perfomance. Following this he goes on to elaborate on what might be the real reason why macs are slower and seemingly arrives at the conclusion that bus-speed could be the determining factor! Though he seems not convinced as this just ?might? be the answer. After some confusion as to what Super Bowl has to do with anything we now arrive at the bottomline (still not fully certain if there is a real world speed difference) that because the prices are the same and a Dell has more megahertz (but still only ?maybe? faster) the obvious choice would be the pc because of all these extra megahertz. The OS in this case totally lacks weight! We should be thankful for DT:s guide to buying a computer: pick the one with the highest number of megahertz!
But, wait, maybe that is not the whole issue after all? No it?s that ?whole messy compatibility issue? (and the current floppy situation?). What really qualifies as mess here, though, is the inability of making a difference between the OS and the application. In this case Windows and Internet Explorer. Through the course of five paragraphs of this confusion and some strange metaphors, DT unfolds his essence of philosophy (using about the same metaphor): if 95% are n****, why not join the crowd? As a journalist - of all trades ? he has no second thought as to succumb to total domination of one system and he reduces his choice to megahertzes and avoidance of a little browsing hassle.
That these ?incompatibilities? with few exceptions are easily overcome by a 10 year macuser if only he has rudimentary knowledge of his system, is not in anyway touched at.
If there is anyone who has his head so far up the a** of the megahertz myth that he doesn?t nee

People - Ad hominem attacks asides, if this guy can't appreciate what the Mac has to offer, he's probably better off psychologically being one of the sheep. All power to him. Some of us choose our computer because we're not worried about "opting to buy a computer that runs the same operating system as their computer at work"

You guys remind me of the Amiga people of the 90's.

Have fun with your dead company.

Speaking of the 90's, didn't that rhetoric go out of style back then?

Well, I am quite happy with my 1 Gig TiPowerbook. I guess that it could have a higher clock speed, but the thing just works better. In about a year or so, I'm getting a Powermac. Then I'll have the better interface and speed to spare. 64bit baby!!

Have fun with your dead company.

I'm not buying a company, I'm buying a computer. A mac, which does what I want it to do at a price I'm willing to pay.

The fact that in the process I'm acting as an obstacle to Bill Gates' plan for world domination and making a snipe at the Microsoft monopoly is just icing on the cake.

I know a few men who have the most beautiful wives, and they still look elsewhere.

you love it when some geek type sidewide so you have to scroll horizontally ? Thanks pal !

In light of the new specs accidentally published on Apple Store (Dual 2 GHz G5, 2 GHz bus-speed, 8 GB SDRAM etc) :
"You guys remind me of the Amiga people of the 90's.
Have fun with your dead company. "
And mr DT buying a brand new Dell (I sincerely hope he sits there with his 4 GHz P4 Dell):
Drewl on!
While the rest of us leave you to your Longhorn vaporware getting productive with this worlds OS n:o uno, soon to be the beast of them all: Panther. You better put on your sunglasses when you walk by your local Apple store you might wanna stay anonymous :)

Why yes, I will have fun. I only have about 10 of them.

"People - Ad hominem attacks asides, if this guy can't appreciate what the Mac has to offer, he's probably better off psychologically being one of the sheep. All power to him. Some of us choose our computer because we're not worried about "opting to buy a computer that runs the same operating system as their computer at work""

What the h*** do you call this? It IS an ad hominem attack. Sheesh.

If someone doesn't agree with your idea of a computer, they're 'sheep'. It's just possible that they found something of value that you're too blinded by your sheep-like adulation of a single company to see.

It cuts both ways.

This guy's gotta cry in his sleep. Speak of bad timing (read WWDC), but for some of us that's the story of our lives.
Slow macs :)

and taking a good grilling..

Hey
Mac's are just plain more expensive here in Canada. When you compare a PC clone to a Mac....they just cost more. Sure, the experience is better, the software is better, the hardware is better (I've been a Mac user since '82), but when push comes to shove-dollar to dollar....it's price.
My son (14 years old) loved his old 8500 but when he saved his pennies to buy a new computer..he bought a PC. I couldn't convince him otherwise and I tried! That is why Apple is losing marketshare.

Even though I know nobody will probably read this comment since this article is so full of (well, you know) non-relating comments, I would like to address the MHz myth --post Mac Store dual-G5 mistake.

If every Mac enthusiast loves Steve Jobs Inc. insanely great products, how come Pixar, Steve's other love interest, is running Linux PC farms. If the mac is so vastly superior in speed, wouldn't it make sense to run dual-G5s with OSX ? Let's see if THEY switch over once the Dual-G5 appear.

(Side note-nobody finds this a little strange? feels more like a web site that got hacked from outside-but then it would mean that Apple's OS X is not that secure...).

Face it. Not everybody runs Windows on PCs and rendering, postscript, video and the likes make a h*** of a difference on a fast machine. OSX is great as an OS but when you want serious OOMPH, you go for a dual x86 (they exist you know -- and not that much expensive if you think they pay for themselves in a matter of hours) with a tweaked SMP slimmed/optimized Linux kernel.

ILife is a great home package but mission-critical it isn't (as in Company MISSION).

signed:
A canadian who loves the mac (got 8), loves Unix/OSX/Linux/xBSD and depends on computers for a living (I really don't think most Cannucks-bashing represents 255 Million people in the great US of A)

WHO GIVES A s***!

HEY JERKY,
YOU ARE THE EPITOME OF CLOWN SHOES! I BET YOU ALSO HAVE A BIG RED NOSE TO COMPLETE THE ENSEMBLE WITH A RED SMACKED a** TO BOOT, ODIOT!

Sounds to me like the guy does not know too much about computers, or the best way to use his Mac. For instance, he says he has OS X--but I'll bet he does not have 10.2.6 with Safari, which would solve his Web display problems and speed issues.

He is probably in for a rude awakening once his new Dell ages a bit and starts crashing night and day. Factor in what it will cost him to get that fixed, and he will spend twice as much . . .

...seems to be a mutual admiration society, blissfully ignorant of the reality that there are millions of other people out there just like that guy who are switching from Mac to Linux or Windows because, for the price, the speed and accoutrements can't be matched. I won't even argue the tired point of the Mac being a far more user-friendly experience. There is no doubt in my mind that it is. Obviously that is not resonating enough with potential customers though on a strict price-point basis.

And to say that the new Macs will spank any Dell out there is absurd. Are you really taking Apple's benchmarks at face value as "the truth"? Never mind the fact that AMD's 64 bit chip is right around the corner, that Dell currently offers faster chips than the one's benchmarked, and that the newer versions feature a faster backside cache.

Point being: instead of lambasting people for following the money trail to its logical conclusion, perhaps a little more introspection is called for as to why, despite great product rollouts, Apple continues to lose market share. The elitist attitude repeatedly demonstrated on this site towards any perceived slights at Appledom does nothing more than to continue to alienate users, and reinforce the stereotypes. Or perhaps you are the kind of person that really does enjoy the occasional visit from Jehovah's Witnesses...

Let me close by curbing any of the obvious retorts that I am a trolling PC user, with the fact that as a graphic designer/UI designer I have worked happily, and efficiently on a Mac since the late 80s. Even so, time is money, and I have a Dell 8300 sitting next to my G4 at home...

In his article, the Mac switehr writes on the 19th:

> If the G5 should suddenly come to Apple's rescue, pushing
> the price of a 1.4 Ghz G4 down substantially, then maybe
> I will reconsider. But it's doubtful that will happen
> anytime soon.

ah, those famous last words....

so you got it all wrong. and it didn't take time for the performace to increase and the prices to drop drastically (only took 4 days after you wrote your article).

It will more than likely not change anything regarding your switch, but it does say a lot about your level of journalism when you can make a statement that 4 days later is proven 100% wrong.

my mom bought a top of the line PC in late 1997 for about $2500. over the years various things quit on her...she wasn't able to use anything USB (b/c of the earlier version of Win 98), got tongs of viruses, system kept crashing, etc. she just bought a new iMac 15" a few months ago. on the other hand, my wife bought an original iMac in 1998...233mHz, 8GB, 32 MB ram, etc. well, we still have it, upgraded the ram and HD for about 80 bucks...it runs OSX and our Apache server quite well...haven't had a virus in all that time. i know my mom could have upgraded her PC, but for what? for more viruses and more crashes? no way. sure, Apple only reported the favorable benchmark results, but that's called marketing! like Windows never does it.

oh - i also had a Gateway laptop for 3 years before finally selling it and going back to the mac (TiBook 500). Two switchers in my family...can't even imagine why I would go back.