Sunday, Sep 7, 2008
Aug 26, 2002 |
[Read the story.]
Let us read from the book of Jobs, chapter 1984, verse 1-4:
1. Thou shalt love the Dock and store thy programs there.
2. Thou shalt use one-button mice, lest thy forefingers become restless and jittery.
3. Thou shalt always choose the default options when saving AppleWorks documents.
4. And most of all, thou shalt upgrade to Mac OS 10.2 when it comes out.
Best of luck with your switch. Given a little more time to work out the kinks, I think you'll not regret it. Buy yourself a two-button mouse if you're really feeling homesick, and let the undulations wash your doubts away. But you put your PC on eBay as soon as you got the Mac? You really wanted a trial by fire. There's such a thing as giving yourself time to transition and learn the ropes (and identify problem spots) before your sermons depend on it. That said, I hated those gosh darn printer errors myself, until they went away. See verse 4 above.
-- Dan Mason
My name is Matt, I am a computer salesperson for a chain of retailers in western Canada. I am the Macintosh specialist for my store.
I feel your pain. I am curious though: Did anyone ever mention to you that the switch (while ultimately probably a good choice on your part) would be a little bit of a bumpy ride?
Here's the thing: Mac OS is completely different from Windows. Yes, it can do anything that Windows can (with a few exceptions, most of which will be added this Saturday), but it does them in a completely different way.
Why are you afraid to show your machine in public? Most people want to have a look at my iBook when I have it out in public. Only the most closed minded of individuals shoot off comments such as "You bought a what?"
What was the problem you were having with your Mac that required a call to tech support? E-mail me back and I will see what I can do to help with the problem. Alternatively there are numerous forums and Web sites available for you to discuss your problems and get free support. Heck, if you called your salesperson at the Apple store you bought it from, I am sure that he would help you out, and you can probably take it in to him, point to the problem spot and say, "This is where it hurts! Help me fix it, please?"
Mac OS isn't for everyone. There are some people who for no real reason at all do not seem to jibe well with Mac OS. This is not a bad thing; these people can find fully satisfying experiences with other platforms. You may well be one of these people, but I hope that you are not, because in the end I think you could be, will be, very happy with Mac OS and all of its features.
-- Matt Simpson
Well, I just read Astrid Storm's article about switching to the Mac and wanting to switch back, and it really seems as though she didn't even try to use her computer properly. The entire article seemed a rather pointless exercise in fear, uncertainty and doubt.
She rambles on about "Error -NNNN"... These don't exist in OS X, which she purports to use. They're a part of OS 9, which indicates she's been rummaging around in Classic, which to be honest is something a new Mac user need never do -- all the main apps are now OS X friendly anyway.
She goes on about floppy disks ... Why? Macs haven't had them since '97; I can't think of any software that comes on floppies anymore; and most files are too big to fit on them anyway. Hasn't she heard of Zip disks, or e-mail? As for the "newfangled" CD-RWs -- it's not that complicated, they've been around for ages, and it's not any different using them on the PC platform.
She complains about lack of printer driver support ... So, when I get the options to do USB printer sharing, Rendezvous printing, CUPS printing over IP, and a choice of hundreds of built-in drivers from HP, Lexmark, Epson and Canon -- am I using another operating system? Is it part of my fevered imagination? Or is it more simply that she did not even try to print?
The entire article is just an exercise in complaining for the sake of it. If she stopped for one moment and actually sat down and attempted to use her computer she might discover that it does all work -- she just wasn't paying attention.
Before I am accused of being a Mac advocate, I'd like to point out that for 10 years I was a Microsoft code tester for the Windows platforms, and before that a Unix systems administrator. I've also dabbled in VMS, CP/M, OS/2 and countless other operating systems. I don't think I'm biased when I say that in my opinion OS X is the best OS to hit any computing platform in a very long time. The power of Unix and the simplicity of the Apple human interface. Wonderful -- I am glad I switched.
-- Ian Abbott
Your cry scrawled out in a moment of frustration is a symptom of buyer's remorse, not switcher's remorse. Buyer's remorse is a form of insecurity in which you fear scorn for having made the wrong decision. Ten minutes after you wrote it, I'm sure you found the keys you asked God to help you find: Control (Ctrl), Page Up (Pg Up) and Page Down (Pg Dn) on the bottom row of your iBook keyboard.
Lament the death of the floppy, but don't blame Apple. Learn to e-mail and Ethernet your files. And here's a tip: Use that "cryptic little Apple key" on an Apple the way you would use "Control" on a PC. Does it feel better now?
-- John M. Glenn
Astrid, the writer of "Switcher's Remorse," asked where she could find a Switcher's Support Group. The answer is quite easy: Apple has a long history of supporting its User Groups, which in America number over a thousand. Visiting www.apple.com/usergroups and entering "Columbus, OH" into the search field yielded seven in the Columbus area alone. All U.G.'s are dedicated to helping people like Astrid with her various problems, and all do it for no charge. User Groups are mentioned both in every Mac owner's manual and also in the ReadMe files found on the hard disk after initial setup.
Speaking of her problems, I would have to say that Astrid's biggest problem is her persistent desire to live in the past. Her remarks about her "beloved floppy disks" are a dead giveaway. This woman obviously took no time whatsoever to learn about her shiny new Mac but rather assumed it worked just like the old ones she knew so many years ago. This is as absurd a notion as a Windows 3.1 user thinking he or she could start using XP and have no problem adjusting.
I'm the program coordinator for the MacValley Users Group in Northridge -- the largest active Mac User Group in Southern California, and we deal with "newbies" all the time. None of them have been as whiny as Ms. Astrid in her wailing confessional. What's the Command (Apple) key for? The same one that's been on every Mac since 1984? If she really wanted to know, a quick look in the Help menu would have revealed all. She can't communicate with her Euro boyfriend? What does that have to do with a Mac? "Gobbledygook" file attachments? I'm not sure what e-mail program she's using, but no Mac user I know has this problem when using up-to-date software -- not to mention it can happen to PC users as well.
I'm not trying to be unsympathetic to Astrid's plight, but I cannot buy in to it. The issue isn't whether "switching" was the right thing to do, but whether Astrid bothered to take the time -- either on her own, or by joining a user group, calling Apple tech support, buying an O'Reilly "Missing Manual" book, or consulting the Genius Bar at a local Apple store -- to learn how to use a most powerful and wondrous device.
Whether PC or Mac, this problem seems to be an endemically American one. (The Japanese still complain about why we won't read our A/V equipment manuals, but "Japlish" is another story and I digress.) I wish I knew why this was so.
-- Ken Gruberman
I am willing to offer free online e-mail support for Astrid.
It will be in the evenings after work, but I am more than willing to help.
Mac users support each other.
-- Doug Wray
Get Salon in your mailbox!