Check this out. FSJ pointed out that this Microsoft dude bought an Apple, and he’s happier about it. Funny thing is, and I quote:
For now, at home, I just run XP on my Mac with most of the automatic features turned off.
And I like it that way.
For most of the post he went on to praise how much more intuitive OSX is vs. Vista/XP. But he ended the blog post with those two lines. Kinda ironic, don’t you think? So the guy got Mac hardware to run Windows. That’s got to be the dumbest thing I’ve heard. PC’s main strength is its ability to run on cheap hardware. Buying overpriced hardware to run in his opinion an inferior OS is just beyond me.
Sorry FSJ, but this guy’s decision is nothing to be proud of. Like you said, he’s a Microtard. Unfortunately, he’s now converted himself to an AppleMicrotard.
Leaving my "logs" on the web. 
Did you even read my post?
I’ve been using Macs for years, but finally decided to switch entirely to Macs at home.
I use OS X for OS X, and I use Parallels for Windows apps that I still use, but which don’t exist for OS X.
When I wrote the line you quoted, it was after having gone on about Parallels. Anybody who read the post would have picked up on that. Anybody who skimmed it looking for another petty reason to swing his dick around [Company or Technology X] might only see what you did.
I even wrote about how I love that, with Parallels, I can modify default apps so that, rather than seeing IE open automatically when an app opens a URL under Parallel, it can be routed to an app of my choosing such as Safari.
At least your viewpoint is unique among all the others who clearly understood what was being said. In that event, there’s something to be said for being wrong.
Congrats.
Hey Rory,
From what I got out of your post, your point is that you LOVE OSX, but can’t live without XP.
Sorry if I pissed you off there, but I DID read your whole post, and I get that you love the flexibility that Parallels affords you. Despite what was said, I do know that you still can’t pull yourself away from using XP (No shame in it, cuz neither can I). Yes, it’s great that Parallels or VMware Fusion allow you to associate file type from one environment with apps from another. I get it.
As an employee of MS, you sure sound miserable. They are obviously not paying you enough to make the changes in their OS to compete well with OSX. Maybe you should consider switching camps.
Buying two copies of Operating Systems and spending the time+money to afford you the choice is something only the geeks like us would ever think of doing. Then again, a few reg tweaks in XP/Vista is all you need to snuff out all the annoyances. Switching camps just seems a bit overdone, but it’s your prerogative. Personally, I think both Vista and OSX are still faulty OS’s. But it’s your money (actually, your dad’s), vote with it however you want, even if you don’t mind voting twice.
This comment from you sounds much more reasonable, but it’s nothing at all like:
“Buying overpriced hardware to run in his opinion an inferior OS is just beyond me.”
I didn’t buy overpriced hardware to run an inferior OS – While I didn’t pay for this Mac, I’ve purchased quite a few over the years, and I’ve never felt that it was overpriced. I’d rather spend a little extra to get something I want than spend a bit less for something I find rather lame.
Back to the point, though, I probably spend about 5% of my time – tops – using Windows apps on my Mac. The rest of the time it’s all OS X.
And this is a good thing – any amount of real world work that can be done with Windows apps under OS X is a very good thing.
For the past few years, I’ve switched back and forth between Windows machines and Macs. Now I don’t have to do that.
At this point, I consider XP an app running inside OS X. Technically, of course, that’s not the case, but that’s how it feels, it’s my perception, and so that’s how it is.
The reason I might sound pissy to you is the combination of your shallow appraisal of my post (you don’t have to like it, but have a little discretion with your unprovoked distaste) and bits like this:
“Sorry FSJ, but this guy’s decision is nothing to be proud of. Like you said, he’s a Microtard. Unfortunately, he’s now converted himself to an AppleMicrotard.”
My irritation isn’t so much with you as it is with *all* the people on the web who slam things before understanding them – thinking about them.
I feel the same irritation with people on the road who either drive like idiots or selfish brats. It’s unnecessary.
But people are small – petty – and want to pass that on to others.
As for pay – you’re right. I’m not a coder, I have a very flexible schedule, arguably one of the funnest jobs at MS, and I get paid much more than I should, but it’s quickly coming to the point that I might not be able to continue because of my alignment.
What I won’t do is switch. If I quit, then I’m done – with the industry on a whole. I’ve had it with pedantic geeks who want to squabble about the tiniest things over and over. Life is too short.
I’d just go write. And be poor.
And happy.
Rory,
FSJ is a satirical blog. Not sure if you read him regularly, but he even makes fun of the real Steve, and got a name for everyone. Don’t take offense. I merely mimicked his tone.
For some people, computing is a fun experience that warrants paying extra for. I personally use these things for a browser and a command prompt. I could really care less which OS is better, because they run Firefox equally well. But I perfectly get the reason why people would invest in a Macbook and run both OSX & XP. It’s the same reason people would buy iPhones or Ferraris– experience does matter, and selling it is a damn profitable business.
The Apple vs. Microsoft debate will never end– I just find it funny that people get so personal and defensive about it. As for your pay– we both know that you’d need plenty of discretionary income to invest so much in computing alone. Don’t get me wrong– you gotta be doing pretty well to be investing time and money in Mac+Parallels+XP.
In the end, it’s an opinion and everyone’s entitled to their own. I love Apple as I think they keep MS on its toes, much like how I love AMD, but currently buy Intel. It’s a business to me, being a consumer.
Wow… a blog with two guys commenting to one another. The internet is so cool.. so cool infact that if you could lick it your tongue would get stuck.
Thomas,
Isn’t it though? It’s almost like a private conversation that you got to listen in on. 🙂
“Buying overpriced hardware to run in his opinion an inferior OS is just beyond me.”
Out of interest, I bought a MacBook to do the same thing. The only problem is, I wanted a fairly small laptop (13″ screen or smaller) and a Core 2 Duo CPU. In the UK, the MacBook *is* the cheapest laptop in that class. I went to a number of sites to do price comparisons and as soon as I put that criteria in, the MacBook was almost always the first laptop listed when ordered by price.
I’ve had to explain this to a number of people who wanted to know why I’d spend ‘so much’ on a Mac.
Tim,
In that case, I would probably do the same thing. unfortunately though, that means in your market, the PC vendors are gouging the UK consumers. I bought an HP DV2000T in early 06 for $450 after rebate. Adding another $100 for 2GB of RAM, and $50 for a battery upgrade, that amounted to $600 for a smallish laptop that lasts 6-7 hrs on a charge. That’s about half the price of a Macbook here in the States. My choice probably isn’t suitable for everyone, but for what I do, it’s enough.
But like you said, if a Mini Cooper costed the same amount as a Porsche Cayman, I’d take the Cayman too. 🙂