In from the wilds to get some propane - actually I believe we will actually have Internet connection for quite awhile, since we are headed for Springfield, IL. As I understand it, except for their governors, that is a civilized part of the world :)
i've had the opportunity to scan this tread. Although I've probably missed some points, I do have some comments.
5thwhelleroldman,
If one was starting from scratch, I believe they would find the Mac OS an easier system with which to be comfortable. A long time Windows user has a learning curve to go through, but that curve is much less steeper than a long time Mac user switching to Windows.
If you choose so stay with windows, don't buy into the notion that a cheap PC is as good as a more expensive one, or even that it is good enough. Every cheap PC that I have ever seen was, in fact, just that - a cheap PC, in every sense of the word. I use top-end Lenovo Think Pads and Apple Macbook Pros. I have found both platforms to be suburb.
If you are one that may need someone to hold your hand from time to time, and you have an Apple store within a reasonable distance, then an Apple product is the way to go. You will not find better support and help form another vendor.
For those that express this opinion,
MS has its quirks for sure but at least if you want to change something in your computer, you just do it. Try that with an iMac or MacBook! Ain't going to happen!
Apparently, you don't know that Mac OS is unix based and its terminal app, give you access to very low levels of the operating system and the ability to change almost everything. Tell us something that you find useful to change in the Widows OS and you don't know how to change in OS X - we might be able to tell you how to make the change.
To strollin (and Altern)
I don't see how a honest evaluation of what has transpired with the two platforms would allow one to conclude that the Mac evolution is as "bewildering" as what has transpired with the the Windows system. Apple made a bold step in completely changing not only their operating system to one far more modern but also the processor under which it ran. In doing so, they provide a backward compatibility for period of time, with a clear indication that the backward compatibility was for a limited amount of time (6 years I think, but that could be off by a year or so.)
To me, the bewilderment with Windows starts with the various editions, which is just another way of referring to Microsofts subtractive business model. They produce a "complete" operating system and then they subtract features to sell different editions at lower (or higher) prices, depending on your point of reference. It costs Microsoft no more to sell you a pro system than a basic system, but they sure will charge you more.
And there different editions have, at least in the past, made little sense, except to extract more money. For example, with Window Vista, the complete PC backup feature was not available on any of the home editions, including Home Premium. One would think that we would be encouraging the less technological inclined users to do complete backups. So a knowledgeable home user would have to move up to the business edition to get the complete PC backup feature. But wait, the media center feature that was really wanted and was a part of the home editions was not available on the business edition, nor the enterprise edition. One would have to purchase Ultimate to get both of those feature; and they would have to pay a higher price. Although one could find it cheeper, if one searched, Microsoft priced the Ultimate edition retailed at around $200.
On the other side of the coin, the new editions of Mac OS X is the same for everyone, and cost $29. That seems to me to be a much less bewildering concept.
Tom
