I've never really liked Apples, even back in the early 80s I recognized that the Apple II really sucked when you put it up against similiar offerings from Commodore or even Atari. However, I hadn't really spent any quality time with a Mac since the System 6 days but changing careers recently into Network Administration has changed all of that.
Currently we provide total IT for a variety of sites, many of them non-profit churches with a large number of Apples. This includes Macbooks, G4s, you name it. So having now spent a considerable amount of time with these shitboxes I can say with renewed authority on what I've thought all along - Macs are overpriced pieces of shit.
Here's some observations --
First off, who buys Macs?
Mac User 1 - The Superior Douchebag - Here's a twat that likes to be "different" (but in reality read that as "better") than other computer users. They buck the Window$ corporate ethos by taking the road less traveled. Problem is Apple is just as greedy (if not more so) and soul-less as anyone else. Smugly printing "Made in California" on every scrap of paper doesn't make a better company, it just lets them charge 3x for the same hardware as Dell only because it makes the Superior Douchebag feel super cool at Starbucks. Of course even the non-conformity bit is a joke because every site I've seen with this type of user will have a whole bevy of them because they all want to be as cool and non-conformist as everyone else. Douchebags.
Mac User 2 - The Idiot - I don't understand computers nor how they work, but the Apples are somehow better than the PCs so I want one. Nudge one of these folks about their $3k Applebook iPro Leopard 2000 and you'll quickly find out they have no fucking clue why it was worth all that extra cash other than maybe the screen was nicer than the $500 Dell sitting next to it. You get a lot of old people in this boat, probably the parents of the aformentioned douchebags.
Mac User 3 - The Desktop Publisher/Multimedia Guy - Back in 1987 the Mac was the machine for Desktop publishing, nobody is going to deny that. However, by 2008 you can pretty much do anything you want on a PC but don't tell some of these guys that. OK, I've heard Final Cut pro is decent and some of the other Mac A/V tools aren't bad so I can maybe let this guy slide, but typically only a few people at each location fall into this category yet there are many more Macs than that.
Mac User 4 - The Follower - This is like #1 but without even the stupid superiority complex or the ability to form his or her own opinions. Everyone that's cool has a Mac so I must as well. Who gives a shit if it cost more or does less.. i need one, nownownownownow!
I'm also sick to death of the 'Mac Cult' bullshit. You can't just have a Macintosh, oh no!! You've also got to have a Bumper Sticker (preferably on your VW), maybe a poster or some witty Apple cartoon on your desk.. you've definitely got an iPod attached to it and I'm seeing a lot of iPhones roaming around now. Basically if the good lord Steve Jobs places an Apple on it, you need it.. doesn't matter if its good or not, you just have to have it. You also have to tell everyone who super cool your Macbook is even as it burns the shit out of your leg because the hippies that designed it were too high on goof balls and all the wads of cash they made to notice that the damn thing overheats.
The leads us to the second big rip off, the supposed Mac Quality. Don't let anyone fool you, these things aren't super well made or reliable. Perhaps back in the glory days you could count on their build quality but for now it doesn't appear that its worth the California hippy juice that was used to make it (by way of China I'm sure). I can't tell you how many fucked up Macbook Pros i've seen, one particular model at one location just came back from its THIRD trip to that californian nirvana where superior computers are made. No sir, your $3k gets you a Laptop or a desktop slapped on a nice LCD but it does not get you any more quality than a Compaq, hell perhaps even less.
I could write 4 pages on how miserable it is to use these things. How the GUI is totally counter-intuitive or how common functions, commands or information is hidden (probably because they assume it would only confuse their users). Try to do something simple on a Mac and it quickly turns into a multi-step fiasco worthy of an 80s Sierra adventure game and one that changes with each silly named OS revision. (Oh I need to do this, well let's see am I running Leopard, Panther, Siamese Cat, T-Rex or Hippy Douche?? Damn..) It also appears that they go out of their way to make these things blow up on Windows based networks. Sure you can say 'Well thats the Microsoft Network being a piece of shit' well fine, but it doesn't change the fact that MS pretty much owns the small network landscape so you either learn to play in their sandbox or you sit with your iBook trying to figure out why the fuck you can't print anymore.
ANYWAY sorry for the rant, but in summary.. fuck apple.
OKOKOKOK Xenoina likes her iPod, i admit its slick (but still overpriced). I'm sure the AppleTVs have their uses, etc. But for the most part, fuck 'em.
