What DONT you like about your mac?

[Kraythe]

I am a potential convert to Mac. However, I am also a person that likes to have the full information on a system. I would really like to know what people DONT like about their macs. I have heard quite a bit about what people like about them and I have done quite a bit of research.

As background Im a senior software architect and O'Reilly author so I know my way around computers; feel free to spit out the technical terminology. I have used windows and several variants of unix heavily but havent used macs since the mac classic days.

Lets hear the dirty laundry =)

How often does it crash?
How often do you feel compelled to reinstall the system?
How do your non-computer professional family members handle OS X?
Do you still keep a Windows machine around and why?
What annoys you the most?
Would you ever switch back?
Would you quit a job that wanted to make you switch back?
What OS did you use before OS X (non Apple OSs) ?
What is your profession; or area of study if a student?

 

[Mitthrawnuruodo]

What's wrong with the What you don't tell your Windows ® friends...-thread?

 

[Kraythe]

What's wrong with the What you don't tell your Windows ® friends...-thread?

Ahh because these things might be something your friends know. At any rate I dont get into the emotional, evangelical stuff. I just prefer to stick with the facts and hear people talk about it.

 

[Mitthrawnuruodo]

Ok...

To answer your more specific questions:

How often does it crash? System: Happened a couple of times with my (almost) two year old iBook, both times because of the official BitTorrent client. Applications: More often. Safari crashes almost daily, most often caused by closing tabs on pages made with questionable CGI programming. But, since it doesn't affect the system, at all, it's just a minor inconvenience/annoyance...

How often do you feel compelled to reinstall the system? I thought of doing a Clean Install when I should upgrade to Tiger back in May, but didn't bother and went for an Archive and Install (which is a kind of reinstallation of the system).

How do your non-computer professional family members handle OS X? Those I've managed to switch to Mac tend to call ALOT less with computer related questions. I almost miss being designated computer support central... nah, not really, it's actually bliss...

Do you still keep a Windows machine around and why? I have a PC, but it hasn't had Windows on it for a couple of years, just Linux, and it hasn't been turned on for about a year, now, and before that I had it at the office on the university, as a Linux terminal.

What annoys you the most? The above mentioned Safari crashes...

Would you ever switch back? Not in the foreseeable future, but of course, if Apple doesn't deliver and some *nix distribution, or even something from Microsoft , seems like a better alternative then it's bye-bye Apple.

Would you quit a job that wanted to make you switch back? Since I'm currently unemployed I would give a potential employer almost anything they wanted, and I would have small problems working from day to day on a PC.... but if they tried making me switch privately I would probably tell them to mind their own business (literally)

What OS did you use before OS X (non Apple OSs)? Amiga OS. I just had an Amiga 500 before "switching" to Mac in 1994.

What is your profession; or area of study if a student? I'm have a bachelor equivalent degree in computer science engineering, and I should be finished with a master in Informatics at some point in the not to unforeseeable future... Just need to find a job, first...

 

[Sly]

How often does it crash?
How often do you feel compelled to reinstall the system?
How do your non-computer professional family members handle OS X?
Do you still keep a Windows machine around and why?
What annoys you the most?
Would you ever switch back?
Would you quit a job that wanted to make you switch back?
What OS did you use before OS X (non Apple OSs) ?
What is your profession; or area of study if a student?

In answer to your questions:

I have been using OS X since 10.2 in 2002 and have had two kernel panics, total ever, one when burning a DVD in 10.2 and one for no apparent reason in 10.3 none so far with 10.4 (touch wood). Individual programs do crash occasionally say once or twice a month.

When a new version of OSX is released, and then it is only an archive and install.

My Wife loves it, and gets depressed when she has to use XP. My Son is too young to make his own decisions just yet (he is seven months old so is stuck with using OS X for the time being).

Yes, my wife has a Windows laptop (Dell). She is a teacher and the school provide the laptop and insist she uses that machine only.

There are still some web sites and programs that are not Mac compatible.

Never! (ok not unless forced see below).

No I work with PC's all the time, how do you avoid them?

Dos, Windows 3, 95, 98, NT & XP

Broker

 

[cc bcc]

I don't like the price (performance per dollar), the lack of games, bad performing games, expensive upgrades (videocard, soundcard etc.). And the mac is addictive! The knowledge of it's existence makes me feel bad when working on a wintel machine!

I must say that my list of positives is a billion times longer.

 

[fayans]

I wish I don't have to pay a lot of premium for its brand of "Apple"

Go Things No Cheap; Cheap Things No Good

 

[eXan]

How often does it crash?

Happend about 6-7 times in the more-than-3-year period, but caused byt some bad 3rd-party software

How often do you feel compelled to reinstall the system?

Never

How do your non-computer professional family members handle OS X?

Well they use Windows

Do you still keep a Windows machine around and why?

I don't. The PC in my sig is sitting near my eMac however I dont use it. It my mom's computer

What annoys you the most?

Speed of my machine

Would you ever switch back?

NEVER

Would you quit a job that wanted to make you switch back?

No, I'll use my Mac at home and PC at work if I have to

What OS did you use before OS X (non Apple OSs) ?

Mac OS 8-9

What is your profession; or area of study if a student?

Im on my last school year right now

 

[Applespider]

How often does it crash?
Rarely. I'm yet to have a kernel panic under Tiger. I had a few under Panther mainly due to some dodgy USB modem drivers. I've had a couple of system freezes recently due to a weird Safari bug; which can be avoided if you switch off your network. The only app that I can say crashes on a regular basis (and I'd still say that it's less than once a month) is Safari when you hit a site with lots of scripting or with lots of tabs open. I do however believe that the more RAM OS X has, the more stable it will be. I run with 1.25GB.

How often do you feel compelled to reinstall the system?
Rarely. I've reinstalled twice in 18 months. Once to resolve an iSight conflict when it continually logged me out whenever I plugged it in and once to install Tiger. Both were archive and installs which keep your key apps, settings, email etc so they took less than an hour.

How do your non-computer professional family members handle OS X?
Easily. Mother, sister and cousin are all switched. They've never called about a weird grey screen with writing so I assume they've never had a kernal panic. They are some of the least techy people I know since they couldn't cope with the concept of updating virus definitions etc when they had PCs; they just want to use their computer. They joke about becoming mini-geeks since they have Airport-based wireless networks (which one of them has had to reset once by switching off/on), are ordering photo books and transferring images/music to and from their phones. My mother has taken to carrying her iBook around with her; she just assumes that it will find the wireless network and join it or plug in an ethernet cable and go online. I don't think she's ever been near the Network system preference to configure anything!

Do you still keep a Windows machine around and why?
Nope... none of my apps are windows only

What annoys you the most?
That it can be a pain to get hold of good OS X drivers for USB peripherals (ADSL modems particularly since that's what UK ISPs offer free rather than ethernet ones). And that I can't update my phone firmware since it's only available through an XP program

Would you ever switch back?
Currently? No. I did switch from System 7 to Windows and then stayed there til Panther arrived on the scene. In 2000, if you'd asked, I'd have said I'd never buy another Mac. So I guess you can never say never. But looking at what Windows is currently offering and the previews of Vista, no.

Would you quit a job that wanted to make you switch back?
I have to use XP at work which drives me batty since some of the things that bug me most, I could change if it wasn't centrally administered. I can work at home currently although without access to all systems without a PC. If they told me I had to have a PC to work at home at all, then I'd drag myself into the office rather than switch to a PC at home. I'll use XP when they're paying me, but I'm not inflicting it on my spare time.

What OS did you use before OS X (non Apple OSs) ?
Most varieties of Windows from 3.1 through XP Pro. At home, Win 95 and 98

What is your profession; or area of study if a student?
I'm a business analyst.

 

[Les Kern]

How often does it crash?
How often do you feel compelled to reinstall the system?
How do your non-computer professional family members handle OS X?
Do you still keep a Windows machine around and why?
What annoys you the most?
Would you ever switch back?
Would you quit a job that wanted to make you switch back?
What OS did you use before OS X (non Apple OSs) ?
What is your profession; or area of study if a student?

1. When a new OSX is released
2. My 10-year old daughter has her own Mac, as does my wife. My daughter is very proficient, my wife is as well
3. I have a killer PC. Games mostly, and I write software so I like checking it native on XP.
4. No switchie back... ever.
5. I TURNED DOWN a job making 100K a year BECAUSE it had all PC's
6. Lots
7. I am a Director of Technology

 

[dcv]

How often does it crash? I have only experienced two kernel panics and both of those were caused by Virtual PC.

How often do you feel compelled to reinstall the system? Never so far, but i've only been a Mac user for about 4 months.

How do your non-computer professional family members handle OS X? My sister is also a recent switcher. She's not really that hot on IT stuff, but she loves her iBook and uses it with ease. My parents have my old PC (running Windows 2000), because that's what they're used to and they don't use it very often.

Do you still keep a Windows machine around and why? Yes I still have a Sony Vaio laptop that I haven't got around to selling on eBay yet! I do need a PC however, so I have installed Virtual PC on my mac because i need to run certain Windows-only apps for work purposes.

What annoys you the most?The only thing that annoys me is that in the PowerBook range the 12 inch model (which is what I have) seems to have an inferior graphics card and no backlit keyboard. Why does Apple equate "smaller notebook" with "lower specification"? I don't want a large notebook.

Would you ever switch back? No.

Would you quit a job that wanted to make you switch back? I HAVE to use Windows for work, so no.

What OS did you use before OS X (non Apple OSs) ? Mostly Windows (since 3.1 and DOS), have also used some sort of UNIX systems on some previous projects (don't remember the details). At work i use both XP and NT (can you believe we still run that crap?)

What is your profession; or area of study if a student? I am an IT Contractor.

 

[andiwm2003]

i have a pb 1.5 ghz, rev.c, 80gb hd, 1.25gb ram, dell 24" display, 250gb ext. lacie hd, ipod 40gb, used 10.3.4 - 9 and now 10.4.2. airport extreme.

the dirty laundry:

How often does it crash?
i had ~3 crashes in 15 month, i needed to restart the mac about 10 times because it behaved strange, slow. all other restarts were because of updates (and because i wanted to switch it off for travel or so).

How often do you feel compelled to reinstall the system?
only reinstall i did was when my extra ram was faulty and when i upgraded to tiger.

How do your non-computer professional family members handle OS X?
nobody touches my baby! (o.k. my friend had no problems using it when she was visiting me for two weeks.)

Do you still keep a Windows machine around and why?
only at work because the company makes me to.

What annoys you the most?
price. and the fact that the pb sometimes does not go to sleep (when iphoto is running) and that it not always automatically logs on to my internet upon wakeup.


Would you ever switch back?
are you kidding?


Would you quit a job that wanted to make you switch back?
no, of course not. it's a great computer&system. but it's not as important as my job or the rest of my life.

What OS did you use before OS X (non Apple OSs) ?
all versions of windoes crap and some ms-dos (that i preferred to windows) and some ancient unix stuff years ago.


What is your profession; or area of study if a student? scientist, biotech.

 

[iSaint]

Lets hear the dirty laundry =)

How often does it crash? iBook has never crashed, some apps (MS Word, Firefox) have locked up, but you can do a simple Force Quit, restart the app, and everything's fine with me.

How often do you feel compelled to reinstall the system? I don't, I haven't...

How do your non-computer professional family members handle OS X? With complete ease. My 11 year old daughter loves it and handles it well. My wife (who prints her emails) finds it easy to use, also.

Do you still keep a Windows machine around and why?
NO

What annoys you the most?
nothing, though I wish my iBook had a higher res screen

Would you ever switch back?
NO

Would you quit a job that wanted to make you switch back?
No, I'm not that dumb...

What OS did you use before OS X (non Apple OSs) ?
Windows 2000 was the most recent. But I'd been through all Windows versions.

What is your profession; or area of study if a student?
Student/Youth Minister/Teacher

 

[ObsidianIce]

How often does it crash?
Never

How often do you feel compelled to reinstall the system?
Never

How do your non-computer professional family members handle OS X?
Very well!

Do you still keep a Windows machine around and why?
No

What annoys you the most?
That i'm on my 3rd logic board replacement ( g3 iBook)

Would you ever switch back?
No

Would you quit a job that wanted to make you switch back?
No

What OS did you use before OS X (non Apple OSs) ?
Win 98 and win XP Pro

What is your profession; or area of study if a student?
Customer service

 

[Fender]

How often does it crash?
Never, so far.

How often do you feel compelled to reinstall the system?
Thought hasn't come up yet.

How do your non-computer professional family members handle OS X?
I don't let anyone touch my Powerbook. Ever.

Do you still keep a Windows machine around and why?
Not right now, but I'm going to build a barebones system to play CS: Source & DOD:Source. Also, will build it to test Web Sites on Windoze

What annoys you the most?
Front Side Bus is pretty crappy @ 167 MHz. Some could also argue the price, but I'm not.

Would you ever switch back?
Yeah, right.

Would you quit a job that wanted to make you switch back?
A work computer and personal computer are two different things. I'd take my PB to work anyway.

What OS did you use before OS X (non Apple OSs) ?
Windows 98 / Debian GNU

What is your profession; or area of study if a student?
Work @ Luxury Car dealership.

 

[muzikool]

How often does it crash?
I've had a Mac for over a year and never had a kernel panic. No system crashes yet.

How often do you feel compelled to reinstall the system?
I only did this when moving from 10.3 to 10.4. I did a clean install since that was what I was used to before when using Windows. On PCs I was used to reformatting twice a year -- I haven't felt the need to do that yet with my Mac.

How do your non-computer professional family members handle OS X?
My wife has begun getting used to OS X and I think she likes it.

Do you still keep a Windows machine around and why?
Yes, my wife has a laptop running XP Home. She had it before we got married (a bit over a month ago), so naturally she kept it.

What annoys you the most?
Browsing through the Finder and moving/copying files to and from folders doesn't work quite like I wish it would -- it was easier in XP.

Would you ever switch back?
I doubt it. I can do so many things on my Mac that I could never do with my PC. The integration of iLife (and it's price) gives me so much flexibility -- it would have cost much more and been a much bigger headache to accomplish the same things on my PC. When people see DVDs I've made or slideshows and photo albums, they always ask how did you do that? I say because I have a Mac, and that is the real reason. It's easy to do these things on a Mac when you would never consider trying to do them on a PC.

Would you quit a job that wanted to make you switch back?
I work with PCs all day, every day at my work. I'm a network administrator and so I'm on XP and NT 4.0 machines all the time. Luckily, we have a creative department that uses Macs, so I still get to enjoy them at work from time to time.

What OS did you use before OS X (non Apple OSs)?
I grew up on Windows 3.1 and 95, then had 98, 98SE, 2000 Pro, ME (unfortunately) and XP Home and Pro. The company I work for had all NT 4.0 machines when I first started earlier this year, since then we've moved to XP Pro almost entirely.

What is your profession; or area of study if a student?
As previously stated, I'm a network administrator. I graduated from college 2 years ago with a BBA in Management Information Systems.

 

[Chaszmyr]

What don't I like about my Mac? It's too damn perfect, it transforms me into an obsessive computer junkie!

 

[forumBuddy]

How often does it crash?
OS rerely crashes, but applications such as DVD player, iPhoto, Safary sometimes do.

How often do you feel compelled to reinstall the system?
I had to reinstall Tiger when 10.4.2 update killed my Linksys wireless card support. If Tiger had a restore system like Windows I wouldn't had to waste 2 hours of my time.

How do your non-computer professional family members handle OS X?
Mostly they like it, but noone sees it as superior to Windows XP. My girlfriend thinks the interface is way cute, but my brother was surprised that I can't play Divix and WMA10 movies.

Do you still keep a Windows machine around and why?
My father has a Pentium II 350Mhz machine which was my first kick - ass machine from 6 years ago. Still good for web browsing, documents and classic games.

What annoys you the most?
There is no Add/Remove system like Windows has - you have to search for each application and then guess whether it's ok to just trash the folder. Finder is inconsistent and really poor compared to Windows Explorer. Can't Cut all files and paste them somewhere, applications won't cut and paste - you have to copy. No real game support built into Mac OS making it not sutable for 100% PC replacement.

Would you ever switch back?
It crossed my mind multiple time, if .3 update won't address my main gripes - I will switch back.

Would you quit a job that wanted to make you switch back?
Hell no - it's just an OS, it's a tool, it's like saying would you quit if company switches from Microsoft Word to Open Office.

What OS did you use before OS X (non Apple OSs) ?
All Microsoft Platforms, Linux and Solaris.

What is your profession; or area of study if a student?
Software Engineer.

 

[Mitthrawnuruodo]

If Tiger had a restore system like Windows I wouldn't had to waste 2 hours of my time.

That's what Archive and Install is for...

 

[vouder17]

Ok i'll play

How often does it crash?
With Tiger never..but i think once with my old iMac which wasn't meant to run Panther...

How often do you feel compelled to reinstall the system?
When i feel that my whole system is just bogged down and i have too many files, but not really cos of poor performance

How do your non-computer professional family members handle OS X?
Everyone thinks the iMac is groovy, we all play nicely

Do you still keep a Windows machine around and why?
Nope

What annoys you the most?
The extremely poor sound configurations you get with all Macs

Would you ever switch back?
never switched, have always been a mac man

Would you quit a job that wanted to make you switch back?
well i will always have my Home comp and work comp...

What OS did you use before OS X (non Apple OSs) ?
N/A

What is your profession; or area of study if a student?
Medicine (student)

 

[smitty078]

How often does it crash?

Individual apps crash on occasion (i get an individual app crash perhaps once daily on average). When these occur the system is never affected, I have never had a crash where a single app crashing has brought down any other part of the system. As for kernel panics (a crash which occurs in the kernel and brings down the whole system), I have had 4 ever and I have been using OS X since 10.0.4. Two of the 4 were on a system that about a week later was determined to have bad RAM. The other 2 were while I was developing a custom kernel extension and my code was bad (oops).

How often do you feel compelled to reinstall the system?

Never. In all honesty no matter how much gets installed and no matter how much use the system gets it never starts to get flakey like windows will. The only time I ever recommend reinstalling the system is on major upgrades (from 10.3->10.4 for example) as some people have had problems with doing an upgrade install.

How do your non-computer professional family members handle OS X?

My mom used windows exclusively at work until I gave her my old mac. Now she uses her mac at home and refuses to ever use a windows machine ever again. She gave up all of her computer related duties at work because she can't stand using windows and just loves her mac.

Do you still keep a Windows machine around and why?

No, but I do use virtual pc (a pc emulator) on my mac only for the purpose of using MS Visual Studio which I am required to use for one of my classes at school.

Would you ever switch back?

I have always been an apple user since the day i started using computers. I would never ever switch to a windows machine, although I have no issues with PC hardware running non-windows operating systems. I would never leave OS X for my everyday use machine.

Would you quit a job that wanted to make you switch back?

If i had a job that forced me to stop using my mac I would definitely quit that job.

What OS did you use before OS X (non Apple OSs) ?

Before OS X I used OS 9 :-D And before that OS 8.5 and before that... point is I've always been a mac user. I do have experience using windows all through school, so I have experienced the other side.

What is your profession; or area of study if a student?

I'm a 2nd year student studying to be a software engineer with a concentration in embedded/operating systems.

edit: formatting issues

 

[jaw04005]

How often does it crash?
Honestly, I've only had one kernel panic. That was an iBook G3 (10.2) I owned several years ago, and was caused due to a lose video cable. I've owned an iMac G4 for almost 4 years, a PowerBook G4 for almost 2 years, iBook G3 for almost 4 years, and a PowerMac G3.

How often do you feel compelled to reinstall the system?
I "zero-out" and reinstall after every major release of Mac OS X. Not so much because of problems associated with an upgrade, but because I like to use Carbon Copy Cloner to create disk images in case of a hardware failure.

How do your non-computer professional family members handle OS X?
My mother handles OS X very well, although she primarily uses only Safari and iTunes. My brother has an iBook G3 (10.4) and loves Mac OS X more than I do. My grandfather has an iMac G3 (10.3) and uses Safari and Sherlock on a daily basis. He calls me every few weeks because Sherlock seems to lose his stocks, but that's the only real problem.

Do you still keep a Windows machine around and why?
I do have a Dell 3Ghz Pentium 4 desktop. I use it to process my RAW images from my Canon Digital Rebel XT, and to play certain games (Sim City 4, Sims 2, Rollercoaster Tycoon 2).

What annoys you the most?
The price of Apple hardware, specifically performance per dollar. I don't like the all-in-one approach to the low end consumer desktops. I also don't like how Apple cripples capable hardware to sell higher-end models (such as FSB on Dual 2Ghz PowerMac or disabling of desktop spanning on iBook models).

Would you ever switch back?
It depends on what happens with the Intel transition. I'm not one who thinks Mac OS X is worth an extra $500+. If Apple ships the same Intel motherboards as other manufacturers and charges a $500+ premium for virtually the same hardware in a fancy chassis, I will switch to Vista. At least now, you get a unique hardware set for the premium cost.

Would you quit a job that wanted to make you switch back?
No.

What OS did you use before OS X (non Apple OSs)?

DOS, Windows 3.11, 95, 95b, 98, 98SE, NT 4, ME, XP

What is your profession; or area of study if a student?
Mass Media Economics

 

[Josh396]

The only problem I have with my mac is a hardware issue. I hate not being able to change the video card in the iMac. If I was able to do this I would have no complaints at all. I know the 9600 isn't a bad video card but I would love the ability to put something else in there.

As for you questions, I have to go to class so I'll answer them when I get back.

 

[maddav]

How often does it crash?
Maybe once every couple of months, typically when I'm doing multiple things, that I really shouldn't be, on a 1GHz laptop (converting video + photoshop + listening to itunes + using safari)

How often do you feel compelled to reinstall the system?
Never

How do your non-computer professional family members handle OS X?
My mum uses it really well, she's always used a Windows machine, and has just taken up using my iBook, which she *hardly* ever needs help with.

Do you still keep a Windows machine around and why?
My brother's got a windows machine, and the only time that I've used it semi recently, was for a bit of 3rd party software that allowed me to create my own theme for my phone.

What annoys you the most?
The addiction to these forums and that the occasional website doesn't seem to agree with Safari.

Would you ever switch back?
Under my own free choice, never.

Would you quit a job that wanted to make you switch back?
No, I doubt I would jeapordise my career for an OS.

What OS did you use before OS X (non Apple OSs) ?
Windows XP

What is your profession; or area of study if a student?
I'm a student, at 6th form college, doing Maths, Physics & Business. I intend to study Physics at university next year.

 

[eva01]

How often does it crash?
Hardly ever (only when that stupid mighty mouse bug happens

How often do you feel compelled to reinstall the system?
Never

How do your non-computer professional family members handle OS X?
all we have is Mac in our house (aside from two company computers)

Do you still keep a Windows machine around and why?
Only the two company computers, all of ours are Mac

What annoys you the most?
That it can't do my design for me

Would you ever switch back?
Never had to make a switch in the first place :/

Would you quit a job that wanted to make you switch back?
Don't think being a doctor is going to make me go to windows

What OS did you use before OS X (non Apple OSs) ?
Never really used any other OS besides Apple

What is your profession; or area of study if a student?
Pre-Med