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Why did you choose Apple? (A celebration)

Snow4maen said:
I think being autistic gives me a sort of affinity for computers in general. I got my first computer when I was about six, an Amstrad CPC. I’ve never really been without a computer since then and I just have a love for them in general. Very much now into retro stuff, grew up with the Spectrum, Atari ST, Amiga, etc. I’m not quite sure why I have this fetish, but of course computers are fun and very useful. Not sure it’s the autistic in me that makes me appreciate a Mac. It’s pure aesthetics. My PC is a humble useful utilitarian thing. But it does not inspire me to be creative. Apple care about aesthetics, from the physical design of the computer to the operating system. And they make it easy to use and very helpful if you want to be creative. I find the design of Mac OS to be inspirational compared to the functional nature of Windows. Macs are beautiful, and I find that appealing. But it’s probably not specifically an autistic thing. I just like beauty. I have very fond memories of my old 486 PC. Grew up playing Monkey Island, and Space Quest. But I’m not all that bothered with games anymore. Also, when I use a PC, I have a certain amount of paranoia in that as it’s all from different manufacturers, with possible compatibility issues and really could develop issues any time that would be a pain to fix. A Mac is streamlined with much tighter control over the interaction of hardware and software, so I usually have more confidence with it. But of course, things can go wrong on a Mac too, it’s just less likely. I like reliability.
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I really appreciate this, thanks!

For me, it was actually an early version of iMove that brought me back to the world of Macs 20 or so years ago after a while in the management of Windows NT and Windows networks. The simple genius of iMovie's workflow in letting me create home movies, and then more slick and professional training videos for my job was amazing. Leveraging these systems, which seemed designed to empower yet never get in the way, I've always felt it far easier to get things done on a Mac than I ever have done on Windows.

ever since the first iMovie experience, while my job has been in IT and data security management, I have always come home and booted up a Mac to get my own stuff done.

Your thoughts and observations are truly appreciated!
 
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Some retro Apple goodness, the original Macintosh, and alternative graphics based interfaces of the time......

archive.org

The Macintosh Computer : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

An in-depth look at the early Apple Macintosh computer, available software and hardware add-ons. Originally broadcast in 1985. Guests: Joanna Hoffman, Apple;...
archive.org

EDIT - Something I found odd about the commentators is they seem to be only assessing the Macintosh as a business machine. Would seem the unique advantages of it are more beneficial for creativity?
 
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Snow4maen said:
EDIT - Something I found odd about the commentators is they seem to be only assessing the Macintosh as a business machine. Would seem the unique advantages of it are more beneficial for creativity?
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Back in the early days of the Mac, there really wasn't a 'creative' market. The sheer cost of these systems put them firmly into the business rather than personal use category, and it was only once here was some sales traction that developers and software houses began to see wider market opportunities.

Even then, with 9-inch black and white displays, the move into creative use was principally business-related at first, hence the DTP market once the first laserwriter was available. It took some effort to visualize complex color page layouts the size of a magazine spread, on a compact b&W screen using Pantone codes only!

Arrival of the modular systems with color displays was needed to open up graphic design and photo work.
 
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Ctrlos said:
So I guess what I'd like to know is why Apple? Why did you choose them over the competition?
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Fall, 2019.

My Galaxy S10e had developed an overheating issue due to a major Android update. I was looking for an off-ramp. I decided to watch the Apple keynote in September, just for fun. Nice to see what the other guys have coming, right?

iPhone 11, $699. A price drop compared to XR, very generous, Tim!

I decided to wait for the Pixel event in October. Google had been trouncing Apple's camera quality until the 11 series, and it was exciting to see how Google would respond.

Pixel 4, $799.

You mean to tell me the iPhone is... Cheaper?

That's why I switched. Bought an Apple Watch that winter, and an iPad Pro in 2020. Apple has been my mobile brand since.
 
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In 2008 my Toshiba Satellite Pro A60 laptop started to "fall apart". A lines on a screen(which might have been caused by me upgrading the RAM to 1GB in only one slot, the other slot had a soldered 256 MB of RAM, which probably caused a dis-balance and more heat dissipation).
An introduction of aluminum unibody MacBooks in late 2008 is what tipped the scale for me in Apple's favor. Bootcamp was also a nice bonus which helped my decision making.
Now in 2024 my 13 inch Late 2008 unibody MacBook with 8 GB of RAM is still as relevant as ever for the everyday tasks with macOS Mojave and very good heat management. Battery, subwoofer/speaker, thermal compound are the only parts I ever had to replace.
 
I had been a pretty content PC user for a number of years, largely as I wanted to play games. I could do some of the other stuff I wanted to do on it fairly well too. Ableton worked fine, Cubase was fine. So long as I used the plugins/software synths, etc. On the pretty rare occasion that I tried to plug my guitar into the PC through my Solo Scarlett and use Guitar Rig I found no matter what I did it just didn't detect the audio. I Googled it and tried several work arounds, nothing would work. I tried Guitar Rig as a stand alone app, and as a plug in in a DAW. It just didn't work. I had a Mac mini at the time, and decided to try it on the Mac. Worked without hassle pretty much straight away, as a standalone app and in Logic. I put it down to the better audio drivers on Mac, but I'm not really sure. I'm not a good enough guitar player for this to be super important, but I was not very happy knowing it just wouldn't work on the PC.
 
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I've been around computers since the early days of DOS. I recall IBM's Micro Channel Desktop computers and the invasion of Microsoft and its manipulative tactics. Jumping ahead, when I worked at a large insurance company we put Microsoft Vista on the bench. Around that time Apple had moved to the Intel CPU. Having seen Vista, I knew it was time to jump ship. We stayed with Microsoft at work and I bought myself a Mac Pro. I have stayed with Mac since those days though I do use Windows at rare times and still admire some of the Linux distros.

Today, I only have some of my Apple stuff for day to day - Studio Max, iphone 15 and 12.x iPad pro.
 
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IMG_0920.jpeg
Found this and thought it was kinda awesome!
 
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Originally when I chose Apple, I chose Apple for the Unix foundation it was built on, Mac OS X, and the things that were just simply crazy to me at the time like Safari and its tabbed web browser (from my recollection this was uncommon if not even really seen on Windows at the time), the way text and images rendered so beautifully, a built in PDF reader that was actually useful (it was insane then and I still think its nuts) and just the overall look and feel of the system.

Not to mention the computer itself. My first Mac was a used PowerMac G4 Digital Audio (with a GeForce 3!) which by that point was about two years old, and my friend gave me an insane deal at $300.

Next of course at a time like 2003 it was for the iPod which the applications of the iPod, not just a MP3 player but use it as a light "PDA" and as storage for my Mac was a huge plus. Overall these products just were durable, felt great to use, and the strange thing with Apple products is you tend to get a bond with them, which doesn't really happen with other electronics. I love my MBP, it has unique stickers on the back, and Im sure overtime it will have its own unique nicks on the sides here and there. My iPhone 11 is still in perfect condition (minus the screen which is a bit scuffed and gets smudgy very easily) and my Apple Watch I can't live without it anymore, and it definitely has character with lots of scuffs along it that I don't particularly mind.

Every time I visit an Apple Store it's a damn treat. Come to think of it, the mall the Apple Store is in is a damn treat anyways. I love that mall so much. It's a proper mall that isn't dying. That's the great thing about it being around a bunch of rich people I guess!
 
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za9ra22 said:
Why Apple? Because despite the imperfections in policies and the loss of direction in user interface design, I can still spend all day tending to Windows PCs, but come home to a Mac (or two) to get something actually done.
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Just that! I used many computers over the decades, but the time in which I used a Windows PC is pretty short. And in those 6 years or so I spent too much time restoring them. There were so many moments when I just wanted to print something, a task that should barely take 5 minutes or so, and turned into a 2 hour struggle because some update broke something again.
Before I started with Windows I had GeoWorks on a NCR Pentium machine and before that GEOS on Commodore 128 for almost a decade. Never had such annoying and time consuming issues as with Windows and it still continues today (at work). Not mentioning the issues that are occurring at this moment when I'm writing this. There's always something with Microsoft crap.
Back in late 2000 I was looking at the new Mac OS X and it triggered something in me. I had the budget so I got the new PowerBook G4. Then things went fast... within two months I had moved everything I did on my PC to this PowerBook G4. While the CPU speed was half of what my Pentium PC had, it still was faster completing anything. Just browsing the internet on the same connection was so much faster. All the constant driver issues and updating problems where gone. I had this HP portable CD burner and it immediately worked on the PowerBook without having to install drivers. Windows had Zeroconf too, but unlike Mac it always needed user intervention.
It's now 23 years later and I'm still using Mac. At work I use my own MacBook Pro as much as possible.

Over the years I'm convinced that Windows PC's are fine for some consumer tasks and games, but not for professional/industrial/military use. It is just not reliable enough. Fortunately for Microsoft, Gates was smart/stupid enough to aggressively push training material in schools and subsidising certain industries in order to sell their systems anywhere and create the big market share (this last decade). Its declining slowly though... and maybe after today a bit faster.
 
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Not so much why I chose Apple, but partly why I stay with Apple.

Recently I had an issue with my car after installing some upgrades: new rear gears, upgraded air intake, headers and a custom tune for them to work properly. At first everything seemed to have gone well, but soon enough I noticed somethings were not right: the engine light stayed on, the transmission delayed upshifting and the speedometer was way off. Upon consulting with the individual from whom I purchased the custom tune he recommended I get hold of a Windows laptop we could connect to the tuner I had purchased to diagnose my car.

Succinctly, in order to get to my point more quickly, we ended up not needing the laptop because the tuner itself told us everything we needed to know (seems the custom tune programme had not been loaded into the car correctly so it was still on the factory setting). He talked me through how to install the programme into the car and in ten minutes the car was running perfectly.

But regarding the Windows laptop. Before we learned we wouldn’t actually need it after all I had purchased one just for this one task. It was a 15in. Asus VivoBook with an i5 and 512gb RAM—more than sufficient for our purpose after which I planned to return it.

I have setup Windows devices before (through work) and here was reminded partly why I dislike them. It took seemingly forever to setup. You have to go through a lot of stupid questions offering you things most people never want. It keeps telling you this will take only a few minutes until “the magic happens,’ but it takes a lot longer than a few minutes and you never see any magic. Unless you consider staying awake through all this being magic. Thankfully my account ID and password for Office worked for logging into my Microsoft account because I know what a hassle it us to reset a Microsoft (or Google) password. Suffice to say setting up my recent M3 iMac and iPad Air 13in. was a freaking breeze compared to this.

But the final thing that hit me was how noisy the laptop was. All it was doing was setting up and yet the fan was whirring like crazy and you couldn’t miss it. It needed to be cooled just while being setup?

It was actually not a bad looking laptop in a dark blue similar to Apple’s Midnight. But like Midnight it, too, was a fingerprint magnet. But despite its appearance it felt cheap. It’s a plastic chassis, of course, and flexed noticeably when you picked it up.

Not needing it after all I reset it back to factory and I’ll be returning it today. Nonetheless it reminded me partly why I much prefer Apple products. In my experience they just work as they should and they feel like solidly made premium devices.
 
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chmania said:
Are you sure Macs are used for professional/industrial/military use?
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Well, I'm only saying that in for these uses the people that have to the power to decide should open their minds for other systems than the ones they've used for the last few decades. There's this believe in those high positions that every task has to be done by "standard" software only - meaning Microsoft only. It's the same situation as in the 70's and 80's where IBM was the one and only option because CEO's didn't have any clue either then.

In terms of efficiency, software can be much faster if the OS it runs on isn't as bloated as Windows currently is.

In my line of work in television production/broadcast, most work is done on Mac fortunately. In the past, lots of automation for broadcasting used plain IBM DOS, some Unix/Linux variant, RISC OS and even MacOS 8,9 and X. Only in the last two decades, Windows started to appear more on production systems. Including more on-air fails too.
 
My first 'puter was an Atari; it had the GUI of an Apple, but priced more like a PC (plus a MIDI port, which was huge for me). When I left Active Duty and got a job with TRW ('95), they used Apples, and they were sooo much easier to use than the PCs I'd been using at work, plus I wasn't on the phone, on hold, with the IT guys a large portion of the day like I was with PCs. Had to replace the home Atari when the dot-matrix printer quit working, and nobody made ink-jet printer drivers for Ataris (now out of business) so I coughed up the $$ for the beige G3.

I didn't want to cough up the money for an iPhone but sure struggled with the android phone I purchased; then when Tracfone told me I had to upgrade the phone because they weren't supporting 2G anymore (!), I coughed up the $$ for an iPhone SE; worth every penny. Soon I was able to get around on it just fine.

And its only been since I retired 4 years ago that I started understanding/appreciating the ecosystem (have added an iPad and very recently an AppleTV). They're still expensive, but last a long time, built well, and (like Nikkor lenses, Lie-Neilson tools and All-Clad cookware) worth the money.
 
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MBAir2010 said:
too bad USA airports computers did not choose them s!
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Apple is a reputation of being "here today, gone tomorrow" in enterprise space. A/UX, Xserve, macOS Server...lasted a few years and poof--gone. Business ain't going to trust Apple for their business servers. Unix servers would be ideal, but then they'd need to hire IT people whose real skill lies beyond googling how to fix a problem.

Anyhow, I chose Apple because OSX. Recent bloat and undocumented features😏 has begun souring me on their OS. I'm liking Linux [Mint] more and more everyday.
 
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I fell in love with the design of my 2006 iMac. Just having that on your desk as more of a design object than a computer. But at the same time it was a damn good computer too. Beautiful, great software, and it just worked.

Now I still own a lot of Apple computers and I will never ever use the spyware and adware riddled Windows 11, so for everything else I am perfectly comfortable with Linux, which I have been using for longer than macOS. Most of my old Macs get repurposed as Linux test rigs and my next laptop will be a Framework. But I'll continue to use my iPhone and iPad with pleasure :)
 
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Ctrlos said:
why Apple?
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I just resonated, and the OS's allowed (allows!) me to do what I want to do.

Still interface linux's and BSD's on the daily, and often use my win64 stuff for various reasons.

Everyday use is entirely Mac OS
 
My main reason for choosing Apple is the seamless integration between iPhones, iPads, Apple Watch and MacBooks. I spent years building computers and I’ve spent a couple years coding software.. there is definitely an advantage to being able to control the hardware and the software.
 
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