How do you think about Apple in comparison with Microsoft?

I believe Apple is superior in its focus on consistency and quality, and Microsoft is superior in… In… Well, they got the jump on the market and made themselves the standard in the minds of everyone.

You’re right about the ui though, in windows you never know what the menus will have in them, whereas on macs stuff is reliably in the same place. ie Preferences… On a pc it could be in the File menu, or Edit, or Options, or Tools… On mac, it’s in the same place every time.

Apple understands why people use computers. Microsoft understands why people buy computers. This is the fundamental difference.

I only know the Apple world for 2 years but I can notice that the tendency is inverting, just like update of update and other quick releases bugged versions, or Apple focusing too much on the iPhone thing, to the detriment of Mac.

Apple—extremely nice interface,stable OS, innovative (somewhat) , over*priced*, arrogant, snobs, lack of respect for old users, polished products, “think different”, “change the world by buying a $ 1200 computer”, cult fan-base

Microsoft—- “just works”, cheap, “computing for the masses”, buggy, brought computer to the masses, the computer for the average person, abundance of applications, developers, comes off as more user-friendly to everyday people, evil corporation, copy-cats, IE6 sucks,lack of marketing skills

the only objection i have to apple is there lack of customisation and upgrading potential. In a PC you can easily upgrade whenever something new comes out but mac its not so easy. Although I’m still a firm believer in mac superiority

I couldn’t agree more with cwilbur’s answer, adding that Apple’s interfaces seem (for as far as I know them) to be a “take as served”, i.e. hardly room for customization. Not that Windows is that customizable, but it’s not like Apple does it better to me (though one might argue that Apple is better at preserving usability).

@joeysefika: If you are referring to hardware, you can upgrade a Mac just as well as you can upgrade a PC. The cases aren’t hard to open (not referring to iMacs and laptops). The hardware options are not limited – almost anything goes.

The un-upgradability is a myth…

@mirza, when did Microsoft’s Windows become cheap? Also, how does it “just work” if its buggy.

@ipodrulz :I meant that windows computers are generally cheaper. Lets say you are a college student with limited income (like me). You can get a decent Dell (or HP) laptop for about $600. A Macbook would cost you a bare minimum of $ 849 (even if you get the refurbished version) . Now you can go on argue that Linux is free and whatever. But Linux lacks a lot of applications and its a lot more complicated.

And yes most Microsoft products are not perfect. But the fact is, I can live with that because there is an abundance of applications out there for Windows that can replace most of Microsoft’s buggy programs. And it just works perfectly for everyday people with minimal tech skills.

@mirza: Make sure you’re looking at comparable machines, with comparable specs; my experience is that the Windows machines are within 10% of the price of the Mac, once they have comparable specs.

Then add the cost of virus protection (or data recovery when a virus hits), and the difference doesn’t seem so great.

@cwilbur: i agree that a 13 inch laptop might be in a similar price range. But what I am saying is that Apple has no low-end laptops. As for the virus protection thing, i thing it just has to do with how you sue your computer. I work for Apple as a “genius”, but I have been using my around 2 and half year Dell laptop with no virus protection at all , and it still runs without a problem. Windows isn’t really as buggy as most people think it is. A few tweaks and it can be just as stable as Tiger .

@mirza: Well, please let me know what ‘few tweaks’ will make Windows as ‘stable as Tiger’. I’ve been using Ubuntu Linux on my laptop for months,
and no real probs. It’s got support for some Windows programs, and there’s open alternatives for nearly every program. And you can put both Ubuntu and Windows on your machine easy as pie. I am a geek, but you seem to be one too.

There’s a bit of a learning curve, but it’s easier in the end to use than Windows or Mac.

@Truefire: the first thing I would do is turn off all un-necessary start-up programs to amke windows start faster. Turn of the MS Error console. Replace most basic windows apps with freeware like replacing Windows Disk Defragmenter with Auslogics Disk DeFrag and so on.

I think Ubuntu is great. Its probably the most easy-to-use linux OS out there. But i think it has a long way to go. I know alot of people love it , but personally since I have no command line skills whatsoever, I refuse to use LInux

@mirza – you tried Ubuntu and needed command line skills? What happened? Some hardware problems?

@mirza Hey… you run ziked.com don’t you? I’m one of your followers (name should be familiar.)

Apple will always be on the forefront, Microsoft will continue to emulate and or buy what it cannot make in house!

@ipodrulz: yes ziked is my tumblelog

@Vincent: I tried ubuntu on my dell. At first I couldn’t get the wifi to work. Then when I finally got a matching driver, the wifi would turn off automatically after like an hour or so. I never figured out why this was happening. And the thing that I couldn’t stand about ubuntu was the lack of games. I am not a hardcore gamer or anything, but i do like to play this game called XIII once a while .

I’m sure it’ll change as time goes by but for now I love not having the virus and spyware problems on my Mac that I do on my PC. Why run an operating system that requires a lot of “support software” running in the background eating up my processor time when it shouldn’t be required.

I love Apple. They really focus on every single detail. I remember reading Steve Jobs was outraged when the iTunes music stores font was a little too big than what he wanted. Apple are really artists. They have amazing taste unlike most other companies. Look really does matter! It gives you a sense of how it will work and really just makes you feel good. I love Apple because they make computers because they have a passion for it. Not to make an extra buck.

I really don’t care about games. Thats another reason. I’ll play games on the XBox around 2 or so times a month. Not a hardcore gamer.

Apple is fun. microsoft is business. I’m a fun guy, I like Apple. At work I’m working so I use a PC.

wow..talk about controversial questions!! well anyhow, I have used an XP HP laptop, a Vista custom-made PC, Ubuntu on the PC, and I’m typing this answer on a Macbook pro…Like some of the people here, even I was heavily influenced by popular opinion, that Macs are cool and fast, Windows is slow and buggy, but I don’t really find that completely true. There are some elements where Apple shines: My macbook starts up faster than any Windows PC in the world could dreeam of starting up! (I have on occasion started up my mac to check my mail while waiting for the PC to start when i get impatient!!!)
also, the beautiful UI is of course a plus point…but the biggest advantage I found, was that there was no registry, and no need to install apps most of the time…I’m the kinda guy who downloads and tries out and uninstalls a LOT of apps, and over time, my PC gets really messed up, but my Mac is still surviving fine…
However, theres a lot of really irritating problems with the Mac. First of course, is the ridiculously high prices, and how Apple loves leaving users high and dry, releasing new OSes and hardware every 3 months that makes the old stuff look like crap… I mean, Leopard released like 4–5 months after i bought my mac, and now half the apps out there are leopard only!! Many apps don’t work on tiger simply because the latest version of java doesn’t work on tiger! but the best part is, an independent developer made a compilation of the latest java on his own, that was compatible with tiger…one unfunded developer working outta interest could achieve more than a billion-dollar company which made millions from the machines they sold but refused to support just a few months later!!

oh god i could go on and on about the topic, but i have to go now. thing is, after using a mac for a long period, i realised how flawed it was too, and that no OS is perfect…but for now, windows wins for its large number of applications and support, while the mac wins for pure speed…i simply cannot wait for my windows machine to start…but theres too much detail for me to post in one simple answer…

@skorned You indeed have a lot to tell :D and I can see your points.

May I recommend osx.iusethis.com. It lists practically every app for the Mac and everything is tagged and user-updated.

About hardware-updates: completely true, though most Mac OS X versions run suprisingly well on Mac from +/- 6 years ago.

I agree with your conclusion that not every OS is perfect, but I personally think Windows is just garbage. It’s slow (I’ve never had a Windows-PC that booted in under 2 minutes, while still fitted with latest technologies) full of bugs and security holes, a pain to use, and requires too much maintenance.

Also, Apple products just work. Period.

True about PCs being slow, mine had what I thought was the best hardware on the market, and yet it was frustratingly slow to boot.
As for the ‘It just works’ line, simply not true. A lot of my friends have recently gotten macbooks, its become like a fad, and oh, the number of problems! One’s battery just plain fell dead…the laptop doesnt work unless plugged in. One’s screen developed spots or something, while my screen randomly starts flickering sometimes with red lines across the screen…and believe me when I say I treat my hardware well! Two of my friends could never get their video conferencing through iChat to work. So please, don’t ever tell me apple products work. Flickering screens is hardly something I would expect from a piece of shiny hardware I spent a fortune on….

but my pet peeve is the sheer disproportionate resource usage on macs!! Apps are almost always bigger in the Mac versions (I recently downloaded the Dreamweaver trial, which was 345 mb on windows, 600 and sumthin on a mac). And when I saw how much virtual memory simple applications were using, I choked! Firefox quite often took up more than a GB. Right now, my stats are :kernel_task – 1.28 Gb, Opera – 975 mb, Itunes – 645 mb!!!! It’s no wonder then that my 160 gb hard drive just disappeared into nowhere!!!

and see what i said about me having a lot to say about this? I’m still not done :(

@skorned Yeah OK, true again, but with ‘it just works’ I more meant software. btw Sorry about hearing about that flickering. Must be very irritating..

ya…after i posted that response, some days later, the screen just refused to start up at all. Had to turn it in to a an Apple service provider, and they replaced the logic board. But I have to say, I was very very very impressed by their after-sale service. I just carried in my laptop, without warranty card or anything. They checked up the serial number, confirmed I had a 3 year worldwide warranty, and took the laptop in with just a small questionnaire for me to fill on what the problem experienced was. They did raise the question of physical damage, but a reassuring ‘no i use it as a desktop replacement’ was enough for them, despite the missing screw from the bottom.
And the next day, they phoned me up saying it was good to go, and I could pick it up that evening. All in all, I spent only around 25 minutes at their service center, and in one day, they diagnosed the problem, ordered the new part, replaced it, and returned my mac back to me.
Must say, I was very impressed. I had backed up my entire data to 2 other PCs fearing I might not get back the laptop for 2 weeks for a problem as serious as this. My HP laptop had a minor problem with the touchpad button not working, all those idiots had to do was replace one little button, and that too when the laptop was like 2 months old! And yet they just did some stupid driver upgrades and sent it back to me. When I demonstrated that it didn’t work, they took it back in again and returned it to me only after around 2–3 weeks. I guess you do get what you pay for when you buy a mac. And oh also, when returning my mac, they gave me a complimentary cleanup of the laptop with a cleaning solution that is ridiculously expensive (2000 rupees, or 40 dollars, for a bottle of cleaning solution and wipes!!!!)

The same way I think about Daimler-Benz in comparison with General Motors. One company makes glitzy, overpriced products, and the other one makes junk.

There is no Toyota.

Apple has too many fanbois who refuse to admit that Macs lost their edge in graphics years ago and feel that they have a monopoly on ease of use. Apple is full of absolute control freaks who insist on depriving people of the right to develop on their platforms without Apple having their finger in the pie and their hand in the developer’s wallets; you cannot do anything to an Apple product without their explicit approval and Apple taking a cut.

Microsoft has their issues, but at least they allow the user to use the product as they see fit so long as they only use one copy per license and do not try to turn a profit as a result of reverse-engineering an MS product; Apple will not even allow OS X to run on non-Apple hardware.

I beg to differ with @IchtheosaurusRex though; Linux is cheap and reliable, so I would say that Linux is comparable to Toyota.

BTW – Customer Service is only really an asset to people who can’t learn enough about computers to be trusted to use them. At least car owners who don’t know about cars bother to learn enough to know that cars sometimes need oil changes but many computer users can’t even be bothered to learn even the simplest, most basic things about their “magic box”. Apple has the best customer service there is, but I’ve only ever dealt with customer service for any electronic item three times in 36 years (and one of them was to confirm my shipping address) that I don’t consider that a selling point.

@jerv , I think there are more Toyotas on the road than any other car at the moment. How many Linux installations are there?

@IchtheosaurusRex If you include the server market, government systems, and super-computers, more than you think. Last I checked, more governments and government agencies used Linux than any Windows variant.

You forget that certain GM products are re-badged Toyotas, so there are some more hiding in plain sight. Also, look at the market share of Android (a variant of Linux) phones versus Windows phones and iPhones; one market where Linux is actually beating both MS and Apple.

Of course, Linux is less popular here in the US where many actively revile that which is different than in more Socialist countries where the free market is driven my the consumer rather than corporate whim, so it may seem like Linux doesn’t have as much traction as it actually does.