The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #126646 Message #2815470
Posted By: Janie
18-Jan-10 - 09:32 PM
Thread Name: BS: PC or Mac ...play nicely, please!
Subject: RE: BS: PC or Mac ...play nicely, please!
Hi Anne,
I'm not a techie, and no more than semi-literate when it comes to using the computer. I have a Mac desktop, an older PC, and a PC laptop. Got the Mac about 2 years ago. While I have had very few problems with the Mac, and expect it to have a much longer life than the PC's, I have not found it easier to use, and the fact that it is mostly a PC world "out there" does make a difference.
When I can't figure out how to do something on the Mac, with a Mac program, I am pretty much up the proverbial creek. The Mac help menu for the assorted programs is not nearly as complete, nor as well indexed as is Microsoft, and their tutorials suck for air. The Mac programs and interface between programs is so proprietary that I feel like a captive when trying to move music, photos, or recordings I have made into another program. And I found that when I installed my printer on the Mac, I do not have all the options available that I have on the PC. I have found that with a couple of other programs that offer OSX versions. The OSX versions do not have the same functionality that they do on my PC.
Some one mentioned this above, but with enough research, I could often find answers to problems using google to research assorted forums related to Windows and Windows compatible programs. Much less help available on the internet for Mac. (Plus, much more tolerance for ignoramouses like me on the microsoft related forums.)
I actually prefer the Mac word processor and spreadsheet (Pages and Numbers), better than Word or Excel. However, I can not send attachments using those programs that most of the world can open. The clinic where I work, and my private practice use PCs, thus Word and Excel. I did download Open Office onto the Mac, but when it converts to a Word or Excel document, formating is changed or lost so I can not work from home on the Mac. I can use my laptop, but do not have a wireless printer, so must go through some hassle and move tables around to plug in the printer to the laptop.
Speaking of printers, I loved my Canon printer with my PC, especially all the options I had for printing photos. When I installed the printer software onto the Mac, I found that most of the menu options regarding photo printing that were available on the PC are not available on the Mac. I assume iPhoto pre-empted them. I also find that the photo-editing and cataloging programs I used on the PC do not offer the same full range of options on theOSX platform. (Maybe a techie can explain this?) I do not like iPhoto. It is way too basic. But I also am not up to using Photoshop.
Were I younger when I started on computers, or had Mac been the one I learned on, I might have a very different perspective, or be more capable of a steeper learning curve.
Some, perhaps most, of the issues I have with the Mac would be resolved if I bought Microsoft Office for Mac, but it ain't cheap.
Now, having said all of that, I am not sorry I bought the Mac, since I also have the PCs. It was more expensive than a PC, but I expect it to last a whole lot longer, so I think it is still cost effective. I have not had any of the hardware or software glitches I encountered within two years of my purchase of my last PC desktop. It is much faster after two years, than was my PC after two years, and if I will go and add another thingy of memory, I think the Mac will serve me well for many years to come. I worry hardly at all about viruses or other malware. It takes up very little space and can be easily relocated when I move furniture around without me having to deal with miles of confusing cable. For web-browsing and purely personal use it is fine, and if it was all I had, I would figure out a satisfactory solution to my discontent with the photo-editing. The one and only software issue that is important that I have not been able to resolve is that Javascript does not work and I can not find help on-line that I understand.