Apple told to halt 'world's fastest' claims for G5

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What you mean is why Windows users are slower...

...and I don't agree with you. You're describing interface issues, not the performance of the hardware or the OS. I will grant that problems issuing commands can significantly affect productivity, but that's another question. And as I (and others) have been saying for years on these boards, it's a matter of what you're accustomed to using.

I can't express an opinion on SQL Server Administrator and Query Analyzer, because I don't use them. However, since you're painting with a broad brush, I can speak to your general comments. I've been using right mouse button support in Windows since before MS added it, when I was using Norton Desktop as an interface enhancement in Win3x. I wouldn't do without it anymore. I have a Mac running OS 9 at home (got it a few years back just to play around with it) and the main reason I use it rarely is the lack of right mouse button menus in the interface. My productivity (kind of a loose term in this case, since I don't do much at home that's critical) is substantially reduced compared to using my Win98 machine, much less the one running Win2K. Admittedly, OS X is supposed to be a different animal (enough so that many Mac users complained when it first came out), but since OS 9 was supposed to be more intuitive that Windows, I'm not going to rush out and spend money to experiment with it. I didn't find it to be true then and once burned, twice shy.

There are inconsistencies with different programs in Windows, but there were at least as many in the Mac programs I've tried under OS 9. Again, OS X may have dealt with most of those, but since one of the selling points of earlier versions was the uniformity of the experience, why should I believe it now?

As for Outlook Express, where do you see the Actions menu option? I have only a Tools option under OE 6. Actually, I don't see anything referred to as trash anywhere, only as the Deleted Items folder. And just because you've been "emptying trash cans for a long time", it doesn't make the way you do it the right way. Whatever you're used to, you're used to.

Everyone knows that many of MS's programs are acquired and that may explain the interface differences. I'm certainly not going to claim that Windows programs are without flaws (interface or otherwise), much less programs from MS. But all programs have flaws and while Macs may have set the standard once upon a time and maybe they do again now with OS X, I didn't see that with OS 9. All the while that Apple and the Mac faithful were saying how wonderful it was. Admittedly, I've been using Windows and DOS before that for a long time, so that colors my perceptions of interface strengths and weaknesses. Just as yours seem to be colored by your experiences with Macs. But considering how long Apple has been trying to get Windows users to switch, if I find the GUI counter-intuitive, I can guarantee that the people using Windows who come to me for advice would have much greater trouble.

You love your Mac and I'm happy for you. I'm not too thrilled with mine and that's reason enough for me to hold off on buying a new one running OS X. I just read about something called "kernel panic attacks" in OS X in a Q&A column from someone who is hardly an MS apologist. Apparently, this causes the affected Macs to be very unstable and takes some work to correct. Of course, MS wrote the book on stability and reliability issues, but it just shows that no system is perfect, regardless of claims to the contrary. But Windows today is much better than it was five years ago and I'm generally happy with it, even if there are times when I curse the name of Bill Gates. I'd imagine that I'd do the same for Steve Jobs if I had a new Mac (as I did when trying to troubleshoot problems on my old one). Computers are a complex, evolving technology, a long way from being foolproof (dependent of course, on the fool using them). But each platform raises the bar and forces the others to improve. Praise be for competition. Don't think that Mr. Jobs is any more concerned with your best interests than is Mr. Gates. They're in business and they'll do what they have to stay in business. If they produce better products, it's just a means to that end and our happiness is only a fortunate consequence. If Apple is ahead of the curve, it's largely because they're number two and have to try harder.

My Windows machines make sense to me in a way my Mac does not. That's far more a question of time and experience, than of interface superiority. It occurs to me suddenly that you may be talking about MS products on the Mac, at least in Outlook Express. But if so, that's Mac OS/application issue, not Mac vs. Windows.

Posted by: mds_z   Posted on: 03/29/04 You are currently: a Guest | Members login | Terms of Use

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