General Question

PupnTaco's avatar

Do any PC (Windows) users love their computers?

Asked by PupnTaco (13895points) July 23rd, 2008 from iPhone

We always hear Mac users talking about how they “love” their computers. A friend of mine who recently switched says she’s “dating her Mac.” Yet I never hear someone gushing about how their Dell running XP has changed their lives.

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39 Answers

bluemukaki's avatar

One word: Masochism.

El_Cadejo's avatar

I used to love windows until i started uses Ubuntu. I mean Vista blowsssssssssss, but XP was the shit.

As far as Mac goes, i try to avoid that shit like the plague.

flyawayxxballoon's avatar

I like my Dell XP very much, actually!

Triozoo's avatar

I honestly think that the Apple/Mac computers limit you to the full use of the computer hardware. Microsoft Windows on the other hand was made brilliantly! Agreed, Vista has to many problems and bugs that hasn’t been delt with but its older model, Windows Xp, works fine.

dragonflyfaith's avatar

I don’t like Vista, for one because it’s Vista and two because I hate change. I think Monk said it best when he said “Change it bad. Always.” But I love my XP laptop. Honestly, you couldn’t pay me to have a Mac, I just don’t like them. No offense to those of you that prefer them. I do have an iPod and wouldn’t trade it for a different MP3 player but when it comes to my computer I prefer what I have.

broken's avatar

No, it seems to fall about every 2 yrs. My next computer is going to be a Mac, the graphics on the Mac is very good. I have heard about a Virtual Operating system that might be in the making so that it does not matter what computer you have, you can use ANY software and the OS will convert it to work on your computer.

El_Cadejo's avatar

@broken that can already be done. Linux has better graphic abilities than both though, plus its free.

Theotherkid's avatar

mac uses bootcamp for all mac and windows lovers. (Such as myself. :-P )

XCNuse's avatar

I love my dell e1705 which is modded into an XPS 1710, some people think that I want it to look like a mac just because I have the start bar at the top and object dock at the bottom.

Which I’ll put it this way.. the menu bar of a window is at the top.. start is right there, it just makes sense.

Two, you got nothing on me and object dock, Dell is releasing all of their whatever new line of computers that is with the “Dell Dock” which is .. objectdock in disguise.

A lot of people hate Vista and love XP, I just see Vista’s potential, they dont… but I sure do.

I love my dells, always have always will, just sad my desktop died from lightning the other week :(

SuperMouse's avatar

I do not love my computer. I wish I had bought a Mac when I bought this one. I actually like my IPod Touch much more than I like my Toshiba laptop.

marinelife's avatar

The reality of the PC is best summed up by “Eat s**t. Ten million flies can’t be wrong.” I used a PC so long in the working world that I am sort of stuck with it. I have owned a Mac and prefer them, but now this old dog would have to relearn all the new Mac tricks.

That said, I like my PC OK. Really hate a lot of software companies though. Oh, and did I mention hating AT&T? Earthlink?

mirza's avatar

Yes. Seriously, I would have never gotten into web design if it weren’t windows xp. The abundance of pirated pro applications like adobe cs3 taught me to build websites. I learnt my first programming language (visual basic – most user-friendly coding language ever) on xp. I have had a dell laptop for about 3 years and windows has never given me a problem. I love it so much that these days I put built on a dell on personal websites to counter the apple fanboys. i love the fact that i can customize xp to make it look anyway i want. Heck i can even make xp look like mac.

And its not like I have never used a mac. I was an Apple genius for one and a half years and I simply didnt like it. I just feel like its a little dumbed down for me and doesn’t let me control it.

With that said, I will be moving onto a new laptop soon (exact date: august 12th). Right now, i am not sure if its going to be a mac or a dell. Pretty sure its not going to be linux though

PathetiX's avatar

We don’t say these kind of things ‘coz we are being real. x3

timothykinney's avatar

I dislike Windows XP. But it’s easy to install and compatible with a lot of software. I have considered going solely linux many times. I will go linux before I go Vista. But I’ll probably hang on to my XP disks for many years.

I use Macs at work. I don’t like the user interface that much, though people rave about it. I don’t like the neo-trendiness that seems to go along with it. I prefer to be a nerd.

8lightminutesaway's avatar

If you’re dating your computer, you have problems, proving that all mac users are, in fact, crazy. :p

Just kidding, I realize a lot of people on here use macs, and I don’t have a problem with that. Personally, I don’t like them much, or the way they’re set up. I really enjoy the fact that I build my own pc and modify it however I want. There isn’t much limit to the software that can be used on it, whereas with macs there is.
Also, many people have complained about Vista, but I have not had any problems with vista. Once you turn off that damn security defender thing, its just dandy. I actually find it to be quite a bit more stable than xp, and I have both running on this computer. it is way overclocked too. And I almost love my computer, it does absolutely everything. (almost because loving it might be awkward… we are of different species)

At this point, switching to mac would be way too much effort. I can use one if I have to, because my high school had them, but I get soooo annoyed when I go to close a window and the close button is on the left side of the window instead of the right.

Poser's avatar

I agree with timothykinney. It seems the hype around Macs is that they are trendy. Since I’m no hipster, I use a PC. Having used both, I haven’t seen a significant difference in abilities or reliability (in fact, a mac that I used for several months crashed on me about every other day). The main difference I see is in the interface.

XCNuse's avatar

Speaking of trends, my sister got a mac (because of the business world she’s going into software wise), and half of her friends have macs and we always nerd out and start talking about macs vs pcs.

I think us PC users need to revolt against those statistics that macs have. One that keeps getting brought up is that students with macs in college have higher GPAs.

I think it’s just their parents are willing to spend that much more money; ex: they’re willing to pay that much $ grand as to their GPA score

My laptop was bought at $1,050, cheaper for me to get the 17” than a 15” go figure, and when I’m done completing it’s upgrades it’ll have almost the same worth as a $3,000 laptop spec wise.

jlm11f's avatar

i <3 my Acer laptop with Windows XP. I actually do gush about my awesome computer all the time, but that’s more IRL rather than on fluther because it just doesn’t come up i guess. And I would rather not go to every Mac computer question and comment and say “get a PC” like the Mac lovers tend to do to the “I have a problem with my PC” Qs. :P I have no inclination to switch to Mac (though i do have more respect for it now) even after conversing with all the Mac lovers on this site. GQ PnT.

Rotwang's avatar

This is a good question. I use XP because I pretty much have to. I feel as though Apple products are too restrictive and steve jobs is treating his customers like children. Restricting what they can do… MacOS is more restrictive than windows. Apple is more restrictive than Microsoft. It’s sad but true.

The day Adobe releases it’s apps for native linux (all of them, not just photoshop), I will be blissfully running ubuntu and never look back.

Skyrail's avatar

Pretty much all that needs to be said has been said for me. I think. (Re-reading this it seems like a stupid thing to say…)

Personally I come off quite sour towards Mac users, and I wish I didn’t but…it can’t be helped when some of them never shut the hell up about them. I’m more then happy with my computer. I’m more then happy with Windows. Mac’s by the sound of things are just ready out of the box, so to speak, there’s little to setup, fewer problems which is why it’s perfect for those who just want to get work done. They go on about how it’s clean, and quick to do this and that. Okay. Good for you I’m happy that it’s okay for you. But don’t tell me ever damn time when you find a new little feature because I don’t care.

I said previously that it’s cleaner and quicker to get things up and running (because the Apple MacOS is restricted to their computers, where can you go wrong?) but why don’t I like it? I like Windows and Linux because they help me understand my computer more. If Windows wasn’t such a problem then I wouldn’t be able to do what I enjoy doing. And that’s problem solving. Numerous times I’ve been asked to help people who need help with their computer and I enjoy helping them and solving the problems as it’s something that keeps my mind active, instead of sitting in front of a single computer all day (during the holidays and evenings during term time).

To answer your question, the reason I don’t rave about my computer(s) is because they’re not perfect, and I enjoy working on them. They’re not idols or godly objects as one or two Mac users seem to treat them (hehe). I don’t think many people want to know, or even understand how I can enjoy configuring and compiling a Linux kernel (long and frustrating but a good learning experience) because it’s not ‘the norm’. I’d rather not get a computer all packaged and ready to go. I built my own computer and have upgraded it over time. I enjoy it, but few others understand that enjoyment or fun, so it’s hard to convey across to others.

In extending what Poser said, essentially it is the interface that is the main difference. Yes it does have a number of interesting features, but it’s mainly an over-hyped, ‘sexy’ UNIX OS. The Apple guys have it easy, surely building an entire operating system for a range of about 30 different computer types compared to a whole World’s worth of random technology which Microsoft has to deal with is much easier, right?

Ooh another note (long post heh) surely if Apples become more and more popular and they become more standard then hackers and virus programmers will begin to target them, right? Isn’t that one reason Apple users use against us Windows users, because Windows is so popular then people write viruses for it, but what happens if Apple manages to get half the market share Microsoft does in terms of OS distribution? heh.

One last thing (lol) if Apple’s are made for fun and not work (which is what a number of their adverts were targeted towards) how come the majority of Mac users I talk to use it to program/design? You know…work based things…I want a chance to game damnit, not program all the time (and don’t go on about all this running XP within MacOSX using whatever, I’m talking about the MacOS itself) which is another reason I like Windows, compatibility.

On a side note I have an Apple iPod and I wouldn’t change that for anything else (well, I’ve not tried anything else much yet…) but they’ve developed an interface that just is so hard to break from :(

ukasaka's avatar

I’ve used Windows or some form of Windows (currently XP SP2) all my life, but a few years ago I really started wanting a Mac. I’m an Apple fanboy but one who is just out of reach of the beautiful Macs because of the price. Come on Apple bring out the new laptops, I’ve been waiting….

waterskier2007's avatar

i love my mac but i do have to post this

Skyrail's avatar

@waterskier I lol’d thanks for that. A very extreme view of it indeed but certainly funny. hehe.

waterskier2007's avatar

yes. you should check out his other pages too. while i dont quite agree with his view on macs and apple in general, all of his other articles are spot on.
if i may recommend

fashion tips for women from a guy who doesnt know dick about fashion

the titanic truth

and idaho blows

counteragent's avatar

Yeah, at least for the first 3 months or so until it’s obsolete and I can afford a new one. 3 months may be generous.

dragonflyfaith's avatar

@counteragent Maybe I’m just spoiled. My husband works with computers for a large company and he’s always upgrading or installing the newest stuff for free.

Poser's avatar

I’ve been using my laptop for two years, and it works just as well now as it did when I bought it. Since when did newer versions make older ones obsolete?

zarnold's avatar

@uber

I know exactly what you mean. I’m becoming more frustrated with mac because of some really stupid problems. I’ve never had a problem so bad in XP (that I didn’t cause by my own stupidity) that I had to reinstall the OS, but I’ve done it twice with leopard in under a year. I’m also frustrated as a linux person, because it seems like the terminal and gui in the mac OS don’t see eye to eye. OS X seems like a more polished OS, and it certainly does away with some of my inor grievances with XP, but the problems it does have appear to be so much worse (like lose all your data without warning worse).
I still like the OS, but the honeymoon’s over, and I’m glad I have boot camp installed.

Also, I could probably say I loved one of my windows PC’s as much (as much as I could love a piece of electronics). It’s great when you have all of your cutting-edge hardware working perfectly in a computer you built, and have a linux/windows dual boot with tons of disk space and all of your settings just right. Nothing beats that nirvana-like feeling, in my opinion.

mcbealer's avatar

current Dell owner, will buy Mac next time because of innovation and simplicity

iceblu's avatar

I love my XP for games, and music Other then that, ehhh…

megalongcat's avatar

I think the majority of PC Users love their computers. We just don’t feel the need to justify the fact that we spent 2k on computer that we can’t even take apart.

I love my Acer Desktop, HP Laptop, and my Gateway power house.

IchtheosaurusRex's avatar

Heh, I’m a Windows programmer, so of course I love it. The more complicated and annoying Microsoft makes it, the better it is for me. I spent some time over on AV yesterday trying to explain to someone how to get access to his Vista desktop settings back with the GPO editor. If PCs were as simple as Macs, I’d be selling shoes.

bluemukaki's avatar

Exhibit A: The reason the majority of computers are still difficult to use. We have an industry built upon helping people at the end of the process.

How about fixing things at the design phase and using tech support resources to develop new and interesting ways to use the easy-to-use tech?

IchtheosaurusRex's avatar

@bluemulaki, I agree more needs to be done to design user-friendly computers. But there is nothing a programmer or engineer can do to make an end user less stupid or less lazy. People expect to bring a computer home from Best Buy, plug it into the wall, and start surfing the Internet. They get pissed off at the first configuration screen they have to deal with and start calling tech support.

XCNuse's avatar

just a little note to add, designers aren’t helping the general public by making computers more “easy” to use, infact all it is doing is making it harder for more people who are computer illiterate, because then they expect everything to be all easy and simple do this do that but how do i do this or that easy, all it is really doing is dumbing down the general public until our computers turn into HAL 9000 or at least we expect because the public is so retarded they don’t even know that typing ever existed on a computer before.

IchtheosaurusRex's avatar

@XCNuse, what do Mr. & Mrs. Dumbass do when Hal doesn’t open the pod bay doors? Call Tech Support.

maccmann's avatar

I have always considered my Mac my Personal Computer, and never a “PC.” I have always been able to do what I want to it. I tweak the GUI and the OS to how I want it. The Mac looks like I want it to look and feels like I want it to feel. When someone else tried to use it—even a seasoned Macuser—they get confused.

I have even considered getting it “tatooed” with laser etching!

The Mac is My Mac! I even named the System Volume “Mattbook Pro!”

justn's avatar

When I built my first computer I loved it to pieces. It was a screaming machine for it’s time, but now it is terribly outdated (it still runs XP great though, but I wouldn’t dare put Vista on it with only a GB of RAM. (This was back in the day when 1GB of RAM was insane, and insanely expensive, like $130 for a stick. About around 2005). But I sure loved that thing. Now I have a MacBook and I love it even more.

XCNuse's avatar

Apple just takes out the “personal” from personal computer, everyone conforms to this overbearing “awesomeness” fad which might stay here for a while, but personally.. i like the looks of my laptop, although it isn’t true to its cover (e1705 dressed as an XPS 1710), but in the end.. i have yet to see someone with an XPS or a laptop that looks like mine, all macs look the same, its like a uniform, plus my GUI is unlike anyone, like maccmann said about his mac, windows users get on mine and are totally confused what’s going on, my desktop .. isn’t really like anyone has seen typically.

this was my desktop a few months back: http://twitpic.com/ke3c/full (did change the objectdock bar theme since then though, it’s much slimmer than the leopard 2D)

had a tie theme goin on for a few months, still the same but now it’s a carbon fiber theme, either way, people come in my room (at college) and shout mac bar! blah blah!.. screw you, you have to conform and use that bar, i use it to get to all my stuff faster, heck out of all the mac users i’ve yet to see someone use their dock as much as i use mine!

this is no rant, if you feel the hate sorry, i love macs and wouldn’t mind having one (until you see me only running vista on it lol), only because of their graphical power, but personally… i like to stand out in a sea of silver and aluminum

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