What you don't tell your Windows ® friends...

[rockandrule]

Only thing that disappoints me is the range on the PowerBook's wireless card. I have a wireless network in my dorm building's atrium, and most people can get on it in their dorms (not supposed to be able, but can. Even my friends iBook can get on in my room), but I can't. Sadness overwhelms me. And no, we're not allowed to get wireless routers either, because for some reason they'll take down our network, and that has happened wayyyy too many times.

 

[MattG]

Except Kiera Knightly doesn't have titties.
Bee stings maybe, but not titties.

Thems fightin' words 'round these parts.

 

[caveman_uk]

Only thing that disappoints me is the range on the PowerBook's wireless card. I have a wireless network in my dorm building's atrium, and most people can get on it in their dorms (not supposed to be able, but can. Even my friends iBook can get on in my room), but I can't. Sadness overwhelms me. And no, we're not allowed to get wireless routers either, because for some reason they'll take down our network, and that has happened wayyyy too many times.

The ibooks have always had much better reception. They aren't made of metal

 

[kretzy]

I love my PB, but there are a few things that give me the s***s"

- Not so great battery life
- Dashboard fonts have mysteriously turned frumpy for no apparent reason (this is really really annoying)
- The base gets a little too hot for comfort sometimes
- Ever since installing the last security update, a problem has returned; when I un/plug the power adaptor the computer freezes up for up to 30 seconds (grrr!!!). This was an initial problem with Tiger, but was fixed with a little update.
- Ever since installing Tiger, I can't use a HP Colour Laserjet 1500. It worked perfectly with Panther though. Also the internal mic has stopped working.
- Slightly poor wireless reception
- Lack of game variety
- Doesn't do my homework for me

Regardless of these things I will NEVER be returning to Windows, because the benefits totally outweigh the negatives.

 

[kjr39]

Lets see:

- My chirping PM.
- Having to restart Safari after waking up.
- File sharing with Windows boxes.
- iTunes deciding to lose all of ratings.
- my iPod skips when it is just sitting there.

 

[Arnaud]

Oh yeah, I forgot one: the lack of Full Screen option in QT Player.

I mean, you fork out a rather huge pile of banknotes for what Apple wants to be the digital hub, but you still have to pay a nasty little fee to use it full screen. AND you have to pay AGAIN when there is a new release of QT.

I know there's a work-around script, and other software, but still, I think the deal is quite cheap from Apple's side.

Just the same for using MPEG-2 data with QT or iLife, where you need an additional (not free) plug-in. (Unless I'm completely wrong on that one).

Well, I never really mention this to my Windows-using colleagues...

 

[MrSugar]

The apple display USB hub doesn't work very often

Ichat isn't as good as advertised

Sometimes applications quit without warning....







But I love my macs with every last thread in my body. Even if apple denies some of the problems with their products, even if my applications crash and my OS becomes unstable for a day. Things always get fixed, and in the end, I am always happy and more productive.

 

[TEG]

Sometimes my USB Soundsticks sputter (ie sound transfers between the built-in speakers, and the Soundsticks, leaving several seconds of dead air when listening to iTunes) when downloading at 30kbps or higher over AirPort.

Sometimes my Soundsticks are not recognized when I plug my computer into them. Just reseating the USB plug does it though (usually).

I can't run SC3K in Classic Mode, must boot into OS9

Classic File Sharing (Where you could share anything to anyone) no longer exists.

AppleCare replaced my Screen, with one of lower quality (it actually had dead pixels on arrival, and what looks to be pin pricks in the plastic, and they somehow lodged a small piece of cardboard in the apple) and they wouldn't fix it.

TEG

 

[m-dogg]

Sometimes, for reasons unknown, my iMac won't recognize my HP printer. It's like a 50/50 shot when I hit print if it will print without me having to fiddle with it for 20 minutes. Luckily I don't print that often. But it certainly goes against the 'plug and play' reputation of the Mac.

 

[baummer]

I have two Lacie USB drives, 120GB. Usually when I reboot my computer, despite the two drives being powered up and plugged in, the computer doesn't mount them when it comes back up. I've got to power off the drives and power them back on to make them appear. This is particularly annoying when I have to restart the computer remotely. I can't access anything on the two drives until I'm up at the other building and can physically turn them off and on again.

This is not an issue with OS X. This happens on Windows as well. When you do a reboot, you are powering down the USB ports, which tells the USB drives there's no power, so they shut down as well. The only way to turn them back on is to manually do so. That's just the way it is.

 

[ChrisBrightwell]

This is not an issue with OS X. This happens on Windows as well. When you do a reboot, you are powering down the USB ports, which tells the USB drives there's no power, so they shut down as well. The only way to turn them back on is to manually do so. That's just the way it is.

... I've never had this problem.

 

[baummer]

... I've never had this problem.

Hmm I've had it on my XP machine at work in addition to my Mini at home. Maybe you're lucky.

 

[ericssonboi]

Here's my list:

- Mac hardware is simply more expensive for the power of what's supplied (with the exception of the iBook line and possibly the new Mac mini, which are great values)
- not only is the money spent on the one-button mouse included with the desktop models essentially wasted for those who used to right-clicking, but they'll need to spend more (on top of their system purchase) to replace it

- crippled Messenger client (which means a lot to IM users here in Canada)
- poor webcam support unless you want to buy an iSight. Heck--why not toss in a HD camcorder while you're at it?

- some website-embedded Windows Media content won't play (because of ActiveX controls? Anybody?) I've looked up the URLs of some of these files through their page's source code and viewed them externally. What a hassle. Also, it doesn't always work.
- WMV3 files won't play at all
- some .avi files require conversion with secondary apps (ie. DivX Doctor 2; ) others won't play correctly at all
- no ability to use media Yahoo!'s Launch site
- some sites (although few) restrict access to IE for Windows

- sluggish window resizing
- the inconsistent behaviour of the green resizing button


Whew! Feels good to get that out!

Of course the benefits outweigh these drawbacks for most. But I'll only introduce them into conversation after bringing up the advantages of our platform.

Everything you said plus:
Lack of game/app. support (not that i game)
Poor Battery life on my PB (3hrs)
Possible corrosion on my PB

 

[Beligerent]

what i dont tell 'em

I dont tell my windows friends that chatting with a Mac is almost impossible. Yahoo chat has never worked, not even the text chat, nevermind the voice. MSN chat simply says "nope unsupported browser" Talkcity wont load.

iChat went downhill.. i dont tell 'em that either

 

[stevep]

Setting up a network printer in Tiger - aaaaaaargh!!!!!! Nightmare.

But even worse is the Apple help and knowledgebase documentation on setting up a network printer - almost as bad as the windows troubleshooters.

 

[ahunter3]

I like the OS but most of the highly-touted iApps I could do without.

I use GraphicConverter, not iPhoto
I use Audion, not iTunes
I use Fire or xChat, not iChat
I used iMovie once. I'm not using an alternative, I just don't edit movies much.
I am hanging onto AppleWorks, don't care for iWork from what I've seen of it


Also don't use TextEdit for much (I'm a BBEdit Liter from way back)
I don't use Mail (Eudora rules)
I don't use Safari (although I use Shiira which uses the same web engine)
Never used GarageBand (I don't even get Garageband. What does looping a bunch of prerecording soundstrings have to do with makin' music?)

I do use FileMaker (and make my living developing FileMaker solutions, in fact); FileMaker may not bear the Apple label but it's still a closely connected spinoff of the mother company. Definitely a cool Apple product.

I'm not saying Microsoft's OS comes with better homebrewed apps though. I like Excel a lot but there's not much else from the Redmond house that I care for. If I were a Windows user (ugh), I would use Firefox, Eudora (again), some decent text editor (certainly not Notepad or Wordpad), WordPerfect or WordPro with OpenOffice to deal with other folks' Word documents as needed, ...dunno what I'd use for tunes but it sure wouldn't be Windows Media Player.

 

[Ice9ine]

The Startup Chime Pisses Me Off

I really like my Powerbook. The only thing that gets on my nerves is the annoying startup chime.

I always forget to mute my Powerbook when I shut down. Thus, I experience immediate annoyance when startled by the startup chime. The old startup sound disabler doesn't work for Tiger so now I live a life of silent torture.

Do others in this world hate it to? If so speak up dammit!

 

[crazytom]

I really like my Powerbook. The only thing that gets on my nerves is the annoying startup chime.

<snip>

Take care of that chime with this.

My beef with Mac: firewire sucks! Heaven forbid if I plug TWO different devices in at once (iPod/scanner; hard drive/ipod, DVcam/hard drive, etc.). I have resorted to keeping only one thing plugged in at a time...meaning I'm under my desk (where my noisy MDD Windtunnel sits) a helluva lot more than I want to be. USB works perfectly fine with multiple devices...go figure.

 

[mersea]

Home/end keys.. 'nuff said
Palmrests start to look brown on iBooks...
Despite the "stability" of macs I've had several apps freeze up and once had to restart the finder..
MSN is butt-ugly (but Adium isn't )
Dust just shows up more on white..

But there are so many more positive aspects (my fav=no spyware )

 

[Mechcozmo]

I really like my Powerbook. The only thing that gets on my nerves is the annoying startup chime.

I always forget to mute my Powerbook when I shut down. Thus, I experience immediate annoyance when startled by the startup chime. The old startup sound disabler doesn't work for Tiger so now I live a life of silent torture.

Do others in this world hate it to? If so speak up dammit!

Press and hold F3 on startup. That's the default mute key on PowerBooks. Just plain ol' F3. That kills all sound on startup up until you login, and then your sound is muted there too. If you've ever started into FireWire target disk mode, it is exactly like that but with F3 instead of T.

Cool, eh? No need for hacks, built right in!

 

[Mechcozmo]

Oh yeah, I forgot one: the lack of Full Screen option in QT Player.

You can use an AppleScript to open a file and then view in full screen.

Or use VLC.

 

[ibook30]

What I don't tell my PC friends....

My dog's better than your dog
My dog's better than yours
My dog's better 'cause he runs OSX
My dog's better than yours.

'cause it would hirt their feelings.

(and I am occasionally disapointed to be hung up on a spinning beach ball ...apple's beach ball and windows hourglass, why not some simple, cool animation like of two aliens mating- make it three aliens)

 

[reberto]

Any mac older than 3 years doesn't get along with new software very well. I think the embedded clock knows exactly when your warranty ends, so that stuff only stops once you can't get it fixed.

Not in my case. My 17' iMac G4 1 ghz 256 ram works fine with Tiger.

 

[Chundles]

I dont tell my windows friends that chatting with a Mac is almost impossible. Yahoo chat has never worked, not even the text chat, nevermind the voice. MSN chat simply says "nope unsupported browser" Talkcity wont load.

iChat went downhill.. i dont tell 'em that either

Um, you sure about Messenger? I'm using it right now. Hope you went to http://www.microsoft.com/mac to get it.

 

[caveman_uk]

Or try Adium for chatting?