Submitted by Paul Thurrot continues losing his religion by switching his wife to the Mac: “This conversion deserves a bit of background. I am, as you might know, one of the more prominent Windows-based writers on the Web. This simple fact makes the notion that I’d buy a Mac for my wife seems like an April Fools joke, I know. But the truth is, I’ve owned one or more Macs since summer 2005, and I’m a big fan of Mac OS X, albeit one who is perhaps more honest about the system’s shortcomings than the typical Mac fanatic. That said, Apple’s computer systems are viable for a wide range of users, including graphic artists, photographers, and other creative types. And a truly simple system like the Mac mini is perfect for the mass market, those people who simply need email, Web access, and word processing.”
See this is what trolls need to pay attention to, you can love your operating system, because it does what you need it to do the best. but being able to realize that there is something out there that may suit the application better, why not use it? or be able to recommend it to someone who would be more productive on it? I use linux for almost everything, but games, since I have a machine that is now aging (athlon xp, nuff said) , windows gives me the best performance and stability in 3d. bravo to diversity
What the f–k is so significant about this? Thurrott can bash MS with the best of them. One of the reasons I like him is his objectivity.
Converting his wife to Mac didn’t surprise me when I read it in his blog. It’s more news to me that this is significant enough to go on OSNews.
Edit: I’d like to point out to the OSNews staff that your software doesn’t kid-friendlify (no, it’s not a real word) the titles of the posts, as it does the body. Just so you know.
Edited 2006-01-04 13:25
Converting his wife to Mac didn’t surprise me when I read it in his blog. It’s more news to me that this is significant enough to go on OSNews.
Besides illustrating that (some!) people can actually think about OS’s as reasonable adults, I think the article really makes it clear that switching between Mac and Windows really isn’t that difficult anymore. Especially if you’re an average computer user like Thurott’s wife.
It’s nice to have a bit of sanity in between wild zealot rants once in a while, it keeps things in perspective 🙂
When I first read the title, I thought the guy traded in his wife for a Macintosh.
Dude, that is the funniest thing I have seen in weeks. Thanks for making me laugh, it helps shed the post holiday blues!
Thurrot is a *known* windows zealot… first he gives Ubuntu 5.04 a good review, then he tells people to boycott IE and switch to firefox, now this? Whats next, he starts working for SCO?
/me puts on my tinfoil hat.
He’s more of a Windows Evangelist, than a zealot.
Zealots have no reason, can’t be reasoned with and certainly can’t be objective.
Thurrot is a *known* windows zealot…
Well, he’s a Windows enthusiast, but he’s alright Paul Thurrott. He’s been enthusiastic about Macs for some time and he’s given Internet Explorer a right good panning when it’s deserved it.
Thurrot reminds me alot of John Siracusa on arstechnica in that it is clear that he likes Windows and he highlights the progress of the development of it but, at the same time, he is not a fanboy zealot and points out the flaws and helps to steer the development in the way that he wants it. If you just read John Siracusa’s section on the Finder out of each of his reviews you wouldn’t think he was very pro-Apple but if you just read other parts you would think he was a fanboy – same thing with Thurrott. The only people who call him a troll or a zealot are the ones who can’t believe that there is anybody out there would likes Windows or would be that interested in it’s new products and beta versions to commit the time and energy to his reviews and website.
I was in a similar situation to Paul but for myself in December – I am a long time Windows and Linux user, and my day job is MS IT support, but I was shopping for a new laptop and ended up getting a really good deal on a 12″ PowerBook. I had been getting more and more interested in OSX as the years have gone by here and I have heard more and more good things from Unix-minded friends and couldn’t pass up the deal that I got on it. I went through many of the things he said with my conversion of settings and moving my Outlook 2003 pst file info into Entourage (I can’t believe I had to buy a third party converter to do this – shame MS). I absolutely love the PowerBook – perfect size, perfect build quality so far, and beautiful and elegant OS. I havn’t had as much fun with a computer in years as figuring it all out and exploring their unix layer.
I read both Siracusa and Thurott and enjoy both of them and the products they review. They both have their strength and weaknesses and their place. I wish more osnewsers would move beyond the insults and fanboyism to see that too…
Yeah, the latest flurry of honesty coming from Thurrot has really put him in a different light. I don’t always agree with him (and I still often find his statements about esp. the latest Vista CTP downright lies (having that CTP on my machine myself)), but at least he is a big enough man to say some alternatives are better suited for some situations.
Great!
I don’t mind Thurott, if he reviewed it and saying that it is from his perspective based on what his requirements were – however, the way he presents his articles is if they were some sort of definate fact and that you can’t and shouldn’t argue with his ‘facts’.
He is a fanboy, but at the same time, he is all too unwilling to admit the faults in Windows and the short comings – its about a balance between appreciating a product and admiting the short comings of it.
Anyone who comes and stay at my place switches to Linux and OSX for web, webmail and the odd word processing they might need. And most consider Linux an amazing … gaming platform cause they mostly play solitaire and other card games. You guess, they are completely non-IT types.
So it shouldn’t be news to anyone here that OSX is suitable for this sort of tasks and has been for years.
I don’t think this counts as ‘losing’ religion, but rather sticking to it. What people overlook is that some people don’t believe in one or the other system but believe in the right tool for the right job.
Kind of reminds me when I bought my iBook: I had many people asking me “So, did you switch because you don’t like Windows?” – “Uh…no…? Just because I think that the iBook was the computer that met my requirements best (small, cheap, long battery life) doesn’t mean I think bad about Windows. I didn’t switch anything. I just bought a laptop, period.”
Paul didn’t lose any religion, he didn’t betray anyone nor did he switch his wife. He just bought a computer, nothing more.
Edited 2006-01-04 14:05
Paul didn’t lose any religion, he didn’t betray anyone nor did he switch his wife. He just bought a computer, nothing more.
Heh, don’t take it too seriously, I was just making a joke. You see, Thurrot is one of the biggest Microsoft proponents on the net, so when he starts promoting Macs and Firefox, it’s just as if he is ‘losing his relgion’.
I understand the joke and it is indeed very interesting to see the switch by Paul Thurrott, but Paul has been and still is the most objective reviewer I have ever seen. I think being objective is his religion.
I am, as you might know, one of the more prominent Windows-based writers on the Web
…
I’m a big fan of Mac OS X, albeit one who is perhaps more honest about the system’s shortcomings than the typical Mac fanatic.
Well, Mr. Thurrott, an inferiority complex is not your defect. 🙂
Nice for him, but I think he is cutting Macs short by making them seem like a “dummy computer”
Nice for him, but I think he is cutting Macs short by making them seem like a “dummy computer”
Paul almost always has good things to say about OS X and in his reviews of the Vista betas has slammed Microsoft for features that do not meet or exceed the features found in OS X. I wouldn’t say that he “cuts Macs short”. As for the “dummy” thing, that’s the beauty of OS X: simple enough that a moron can use it, robust enough that serious IT guys have made OSX their primary development platform. Guys like James Gosling, Tim Berners-Lee, and jwz have made OS X their platform of choice because of the simplicity of the OS. They are very sophisticated and knowledgeable computer users, but they have better things to do than spend time tweaking the OS to make it fit their needs. There is definitely something to be said for a system that “just works”.
I’ve had my wife’s system running Linux (for a year) and FreeBSD for the past 3 years. She’s been perfectly happy on it. All she needs is email, web, and IM. I wouldn’t give her Windows because 1) I need a server 2) I can’t monitor her box, and 3) I don’t want the rest of my network exposed (only one other winbox but still).
But seeing as that box is my server, I frequently do things to it and have to (or want to) reinstall. Having it be her system makes that take longer because I need to back up her stuff.
Now, the problem with it as her desktop system is, occasionally I can’t get her some stuff she needs. I could never get Flash working on it, Firefox started to segfault (and I tried lots of things to fix), sound was flakey (would work, then just stop altogether until I rebooted, then eventually stopped altogether, and I could never get any printers working with it (partially because KDE’s Control Center would lock up whenever I tried to go into Admin mode).
Two weeks ago I got a Dell 3100cn color laser. It’s on the network. I gave up trying to get her to print. My friend had a Mac Mini he didn’t want, so I bought it off of him.
Gave my wife the Mac, reclaiemd my server, and she has been 150% happy. Her system Just Works, and she’s not missing any features now. She LOVES the Mac, even with the single button mouse; I haven’t heard a peep out of her about it!
She LOVES the Mac, even with the single button mouse; I haven’t heard a peep out of her about it!
The only people who complain about the single mouse button are ĂĽber l33t teenagers who have this fetish for needing to have a mouse with 20,000 buttons and programming each of them to do something from opening up a window to scratching their ass and picking their nose at the same time.
As I see it, its pointless feature creep that merely ads complexity where it is not needed.
I’ve been using windows on my hp constantly, except for when I edit or do flash creation. Windows is nice, but I still like Mac OS X. I truely miss the Dock Bar, Aqua, Expose, but that aside, XP is ok. Sure runs fast on this Athlon 64 stuffed into this laptop!
Make that “the stereotypical Mac fanatic”.
I bet most Mac users are neither fanatics, nor stupid.
Nothing incredible. I switch my wife to Linux and she is very happy because she can browse internet and send/receive emails without fear of virus and spywares and she prefers KDE’s Solitaire than windows solitaire 🙂
“I’m a big fan of Mac OS X, albeit one who is perhaps more honest about the system’s shortcomings than the typical Mac fanatic.”
As one who switched from Windows to a Mac several years ago, I agree whole heartedly with this statement. Not everything in the Mac world is superior to what is available in Windows. That being said, would I consider switching back to Windows? Not under any circumstances that exist today.
A Mac with OS X is a far better choice for most home users. It requires much less routine maintenance and everything just seems to work the way it is supposed to. The combo also requires much less knowledge to maintain.
If you want a computer you will have to learn to maintain get a Windows machine. If you want a tool that just works and requires little extra effort, get a Mac. The reason I don’t mention Linux in this respect is that most of the people I am talking about would still need a Linux guru to properly set it up for them. And yes, I do have a Linux machine here and I do like it, but it is no where nearly as easy to do the audio and video editing I am into at the moment.
Bill