Linked by Robert Gering on Tue 17th Sep 2002 18:11 UTC
First, a little background. I am a Windows user who has been using Windows since 3.1. I am not a programmer or a developer, I am a user. I process photos, use the internet, e-mail, write letters, play the ever important games and even use it to develop my comic strips. I am not computer illiterate and I use my computer with confidence and skill. Now with that said. I hate Windows.
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Well, to put my experience with Win2k and OS2 out there...
Using the latest flat panel iMac in the Apple store, I could NOT stand it. Using Photoshop on their latest hardware was like scratching my eyes out with very little in the way of performance. To say load times were pathetic would be FAR too kind.
My home machine, a dual PIII 500 running on a motherboard dating back to 1997 ( as printed on the board ) was considerably faster. It just seems to move out of its own way. That isn't to say it's a speed demon, but it is definitely faster in every way to what I dealt with in the store.
On a whim, I checked software titles. Having recently upgraded to Photoshop 7 for 150$ I was stunned to see the same product for Mac in the store, at 250$. In general, MOST, if not all, the software titles were more expensive for the Mac. Warcraft III was ~60$ which seemed to be the going rate ( overpriced, but the going rate ).
So the question becomes, do I spend MORE money to buy a brand new Mac, with more expensive software, and less performance? I don't see why.
I could try any number of Linux distros, and keep bouncing around because I can't find any I like. I inevitably find things that annoy me to no end.
So, I run FreeBSD. It does most of what I want to do. What little it won't do, it can either emulate or I boot into Win2k to do so. More importantly, to ME, I find things to be more sane and organized. This may not be as much of an issue as the different distros start to become more and more standardized.
It is all subjective. Some things "feel" better than others. I don't much care for Windows. I would prefer to do without it. However, Adobe does not support Linux. Newtek also does not support Linux. Although both support Windows and Mac. So, what's the bottom line? I can either run Windows, or Mac ( with all the brutal lack of speed ), or I can do without Photoshop and Lightwave.
Your mileage will obviously vary as my hardware is in no way typical. We're talking P2 era board running almost a Gb of RAM and server class discs. However, to me, NEW hardware should be able to match the speed of 5 year old hardware. I make no excuses for that requirement. But I will admit it IS entirely a subjective issue.