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Re: [OM] More Memory (OT)

Subject: Re: [OM] More Memory (OT)
From: Jan Steinman <Jan@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Thu, 30 Sep 2010 12:03:30 -0700
> From: Ken Norton <ken@xxxxxxxxxxx>
> 
> Malware and viri are rampant on Apple computers.

Huh? You got data to back that up?

> Most users are just not aware of it because they have HISS (Head in Sand
> Syndrome).

No, most Mac users are not aware of it because they never have a problem with 
it. I've had 4-6 Apple machines, directly attached to an always-on Internet 
connection for nearly twenty years. None of them has ever gotten any sort of 
malware infection.

> Apple O/S does what it does
> extremely well, but doesn't do nearly as much as what Windows does.

<grin>Especially when it comes to getting infected with malware.</grin>

If you aren't going to be specific, then this is a non-argument.

But I guess it is true: I don't have to defrag my disks, for one thing -- 
there's a good example of something Windows does that Apple doesn't do!

This is kinda like the old days, when Windows users spent their evenings 
figuring out how to set their DIP switches while Mac users were spending their 
evenings figuring out how to use alpha channels and layer masks. "Your Mac is 
inferior because it doesn't have as many DIP switches!"

It is certainly true that Windows has about 50% more system calls available 
than MacOS. That's called "bloat," not useful functionality.

"You know you have reached perfection of design not when you have nothing more 
to add, but when you have nothing more to take away." -- Antoine de 
Saint-Exupery.

Sometimes, doing less is more. It's all about abstraction. Don't bother me with 
the details, I'm busy working on the concepts.

> My
> Windows laptop is getting no less than five security updates a week.

Ah yes, another fine example of something that Windows does better (or at least 
more often) than Mac -- get security updates!

Could it be perhaps that Macs simply don't need as many security updates?

> Operating systems don't wear out, but they do rot. Windows tends to rot at a
> higher rate than Apple. An occasional reinstall of the O/S can clean up a
> lot of issues making machines run far more efficiently than they have in
> years.

Ah yes, another good example of something that Windows does better than Mac. I 
can't remember the last time I re-installed Mac OS to "clean up a lot of 
issues."

Having worked with UNIX since the '80's, I disagree strongly that "operating 
systems... rot." At least not good ones. I've had Sun and Apple computers up 
continuously (exposed to the virus-infested Internet) for over a year. They 
only come down for important security updates, which thankfully come 
considerably less often than "five security updates a week."

(I get perhaps one or two updates month or so, which I sometimes ignore for 
several more months, unless the update addresses something of particular 
concern. Apple is very good at listing all the things that an update addresses.)

It does seem to be true that your average Mac user is more timid in this 
regard, and that Windows users tend to be more self-sufficient, because they've 
been trained to "reinstall Windows" at the slightest disturbance. Case in 
point: two friends with email problems lately, one on Windows and one on Mac.

The Windows user re-installed Windows, and email started working again -- at 
least after he re-configured his email from scratch. Total time lost: about an 
evening and a half, with some email "lost." Yea' that's the ticket!

The Mac user called me over to "fix" his email, because his Inbox "disappeared" 
and Mail wanted him to re-enter all his connection data. I went to Time 
Machine, restored his Mail Preferences file, and everything was as it was 
before. Total time lost: about five minutes, with NO loss of data. He insisted 
I take $25 from him, even after I told him I'd be happy with a beer. :-) 
Another example of how Macs are more expensive... :-)

Now it's true that the Windows person probably could have restored some file 
and made things work, but that's not the point: that Windows users have reduced 
expectations, and are willing to put up with much more crap.


----------------
Once a nation parts with the control of its curency and credit, it matters not 
who makes that nation's laws. -- Mackenzie King
:::: Jan Steinman, EcoReality Co-op ::::

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