What is that which makes a Mac device stand out still

[ajcletus500]

Ive heard this from a million guys that there is something in mac that Windows devices just cannot have. One such thing is the smoothness of the trackpad and it unique gestures that Mac laptops have. What other features do you think that a apple laptop has that is yet needed in a Windows device?

PS: I haven't tried the trackpad of the surface book yet, but IMHO the trackpad of the HP Spectre falls just a little short of being excellent when comparing it to the Mac.

 

[Chintan Gohel]

Ive heard this from a million guys that there is something in mac that Windows devices just cannot have. One such thing is the smoothness of the trackpad and it unique gestures that Mac laptops have. What other features do you think that a apple laptop has that is yet needed in a Windows device?

PS: I haven't tried the trackpad of the surface book yet, but IMHO the trackpad of the HP Spectre falls just a little short of being excellent when comparing it to the Mac.

A million guys ... seems you work in a survey company :grin:

Personally I found them to be limiting and confusing - so the aren't an atraction to me at all, plus the one I held was quite heavy and hot - even though it wasn't doing anything much

The unique thing about apple products in general is that generally people believe they are overpriced and overhyped

Prospective users should always go with their needs in a device and not for any prestige value or to fuel their egos

 

[ajcletus500]

A million guys ... seems you work in a survey company :grin:

Personally I found them to be limiting and confusing - so the aren't an atraction to me at all, plus the one I held was quite heavy and hot - even though it wasn't doing anything much

The unique thing about apple products in general is that generally people believe they are overpriced and overhyped

Prospective users should always go with their needs in a device and not for any prestige value or to fuel their egos

I agree with you that's why I was looking for answers from non Mac users if there is something really that great

 

[Scienceguy Labs]

I've never used a Mac, so I can't give you specifics regarding how it feels to use. I think the real difference maker in Macs compared to PCs is the brilliantly arrogant advertising campaigns that Apple pushed down everybody's throats around the time of the iPhone release. Before that, too, but when the iPhone came out, Apple products became devices of the wealthy in appearance and price. They dangled the fruit over the masses and became the envy of a lot of people who needed some sort of boost in status. That image they put out there is still pretty powerful.

 

[PerfectReign]

I think the current allure of mass is that they run Unix and have full CLI abilities.

My Mac is a little outdated and doesn't even have networking built in.

Sent from mTalk

 

[tgp]

Ive heard this from a million guys that there is something in mac that Windows devices just cannot have. One such thing is the smoothness of the trackpad and it unique gestures that Mac laptops have. <snip>

PS: I haven't tried the trackpad of the surface book yet, but IMHO the trackpad of the HP Spectre falls just a little short of being excellent when comparing it to the Mac.

IMO the Mac's trackpad is one of its biggest advantages over a PC. One thing about the Mac though that does NOT work well though is scrolling with a mouse. If you look online there are a myriad of complaints about the jerky and accelerated scrolling. There are many apps provided to produce a smooth Windows-like mouse scrolling on a Mac.

Personally I found them to be limiting and confusing - so the aren't an atraction to me at all, plus the one I held was quite heavy and hot - even though it wasn't doing anything much

You know, the exact same points could be made about W10M. Any OS is confusing if you're not used to it. Yes, Mac OS is can be somewhat limited due to less software available, but Windows phone has exactly the same issue. And a Mac is 100x more capable than what most people do with a computer anyway.

The thing is, a lot of consumers use a Windows PC to run the Chrome browser, and little else. Too often I see customers bring their PCs in to work because it has a virus or they got a call from Windows Security or something. Most people are naive when it comes to their PCs. They can be convinced of almost anything. Because Windows has >90% market share, it is targeted. It is also relatively easy to exploit.

I've posted here before that I extensively use almost all OS's. I work in IT and I have several Microsoft certifications. I use SQL Server, and an ERP that uses SQL Server. I know Windows inside and out, from using PCs day in and day out for many years and from spending time doing PC repair. I use a Macbook as my personal computer at home.

Neither OS X nor Windows are confusing to me, because I understand both of them deeply and am very familiar with them. But put Windows and OS X in front of someone who has never used a computer before, and I'd give the edge to OS X in being intuitive.

OS X also requires little to no maintenance by the user. What it does need it does automatically. There's no deleting temp files or defragmenting the hard drive or anything like that.

 

[Drael646464]

Dunno. I found the OS limiting. Some basic functions like changing file permissions require commandlines, finding things often requires a search, right click functionality requires the mac button.

I haven't use one for a few years, but my experience was many functions required more effort to get to, more clicks etc. On the plus side, its app launcher is pretty and the commandline system seems solid.

But I have no idea what appeals about them. Back in the day, I might have said "creative software" but that's no longer true. At one point I might have said "premium design" but surface has that locked down these days.

I had a friend who wanted to use a little mini-projector with video. To get the file from his mac, he had to transport it to a PC, convert it, rename it, and then shift it back to his mac. And this sort of thing is not uncommon for him. It's like he actually needs a PC to make his mac fully functional, lol.

He still loves mac, but for all the trouble it seems to cause him, I can't honestly say why.

 

[Drael646464]

....defragmenting the hard drive or anything like that.

I thought that was completely automatic in windows 10....

 

[Zachary Boddy]

I believe the main drive for Apple's Mac laptops, besides the obvious brand lust that goes hand in hand with Apple, is the build quality. It's not necessarily that they're the most powerful, or have the best screen, or the best keyboard, because they don't. It's because it combines a set of components that each do their job more than adequately in a chassis that just feels incredibly solid and well-designed. There's always Windows laptops that are more powerful, or have a better screen, or have a better port selection, but finding a Windows laptop that does everything better than a Mac is almost impossible.
HP does a great job but their trackpad and speakers aren't there.
Dell does a great job but their keyboard and their build quality isn't quite there.
Microsoft arguably does the best job challenging Apple at their own game with the premium price, breathtaking build quality, and innovative design. That doesn't mean Microsoft is the best Windows OEM, just that they do a great job challenging Apple.

 

[raycpl]

The logo!!!



... !!

 

[mtf1380]

Good marketing.

 

[Chintan Gohel]

The thing is, a lot of consumers use a Windows PC to run the Chrome browser, and little else.

I've had experience with thousands of students since I used to be student myself in college and the one thing I realised is that students had many softwares installed

They had office (word, excel, powerpoint, onenote, even publisher), browsers - it was either firefox or chrome, idm, video converters, study related software such as matlab, graphing software, autodesk, autocad, sketchup, music software, vlc or something similar, and a lot more besides

And they regularly used them and most of them still use them in their workplaces or at home

People here buy pcs or laptops based on a high level of need and not just for the sake of having a pc/laptop at home. If they needed a device for media consumption and basic browsing, their phones are there

And he percentage of apple devices at college? less than 0.5% (and that's a conservative estimate) And the college has over 15000 students

 

[xandros9]

Mac OS, with all it's pluses and minuses.

Excellent touchpads.

Well-made hardware that tends to push the envelope in various ways that may not be a big deal but they do attention to detail well, even if their MacBook Pro only has USB-C ports now.

EDIT:

And he percentage of apple devices at college? less than 0.5% (and that's a conservative estimate) And the college has over 15000 students

Well that really varies, out at my school I'd peg the percent marketshare of Macs on-campus (not including school-owned computers) to be somewhere in the 30's-40's.

 

[tgp]

And he percentage of apple devices at college? less than 0.5% (and that's a conservative estimate) And the college has over 15000 students

Wow! I'm not sure what Apple's market share is in US colleges, but I'm sure it's higher than 0.5%!

My statement about consumers using little more than the browser is anecdotal, but it's what we see coming in for repair at work. Probably 75% or more of our customers don't use their PCs for anything that a Chromebook couldn't do. Like I said, they use their PC to run the Chrome browser. They're using a sledgehammer to drive a thumbtack.

I certainly realize that some people do use the features and capabilities of a Windows PC. I'm not denying that, and never did. I make a living in Microsoft enterprise software, and I myself am dependent on Windows (at work).

Windows has had >90% market share for a long time, and continues to maintain it. And since Windows XP has been deprecated, we have seen a decrease in PCs with viruses/malware coming in, but there is still plenty of it, even on Windows 10.

The reason consumers buy Windows PCs is similar to why smartphone users get an iPhone or Samsung; it's just what people use, and they're very plentiful and easy to find and buy. It's also what they're used to, and know. It works, so why switch?

 

[Chintan Gohel]

Wow! I'm not sure what Apple's market share is in US colleges, but I'm sure it's higher than 0.5%!

Never said I was/am in USA - I'm in Kenya actually

 

[tgp]

Never said I was/am in USA - I'm in Kenya actually

Yes I know you're from Kenya. I was comparing Apple's presence in the two countries' universities.

 

[ajcletus500]

I guess I would completely agree with this. Ability to use the CL as a power tool is really handy

 

[ajcletus500]

I believe the main drive for Apple's Mac laptops, besides the obvious brand lust that goes hand in hand with Apple, is the build quality. It's not necessarily that they're the most powerful, or have the best screen, or the best keyboard, because they don't. It's because it combines a set of components that each do their job more than adequately in a chassis that just feels incredibly solid and well-designed. There's always Windows laptops that are more powerful, or have a better screen, or have a better port selection, but finding a Windows laptop that does everything better than a Mac is almost impossible.
HP does a great job but their trackpad and speakers aren't there.
Dell does a great job but their keyboard and their build quality isn't quite there.
Microsoft arguably does the best job challenging Apple at their own game with the premium price, breathtaking build quality, and innovative design. That doesn't mean Microsoft is the best Windows OEM, just that they do a great job challenging Apple.

I agree on this their quality and level of customer service is incredible. You can take a device into an apple store and if its possible they will repair it in 2 hours and give it back to you. this is really nice coz I cannot part with my laptop for long. Not sure if MS does something like this

 

[sd4f]

I can provide an analogy as to one thing which I like about mac devices, and something which I liked, but has been progressively cheapened to the point of not really being what it once was.

In a nutshell, apple pays attention to the fine details. They differentiate themselves in the little things, and when you add it all up, it counts for something much greater than the sum of its parts. Something really small and stupid is screen aspect ratio. Apple still pushes 16:10 on the macbooks, whereas every other manufacturer has gone to 16:9. For certain people, this is a bigger consideration than most would think.

I used to be really keen on thinkpads, while they were IBM devices, they were a 'goto' device which wasn't really equaled by much at all. My last thinkpad had an awesome keyboard layout which was one of the best around to move between a standard desktop layout, and portable nature of a laptop. Similarly, go find me a laptop with dedicated function row keys! In certain heavier duty applications, F1-12 keys are important. It's a real pain to have to toggle or press multiple keys where you otherwise could press one.

Next, backlit keyboards are ok, but thinkpads had the 'thinklight' which was above the display, the LED was even adjusted to have light go to the side of the laptop, which is really handy if you have documents to the side. While they probably could have kept the light, it kind of meant that a lip is required on the lid, and that allowed for latches to hold the lid down. I presume in order to cheapen production, the latches went, hence no need for a lip and as a result the light went as well.

16:10 displays were mentioned above, and they were around for a short while, but now all lenovo laptops are 16:9, and in short, they look too wide. I don't like them, I'm prepared to spend extra for 16:10 or now 3:2, but noone really makes suitable devices with those aspect ratios.

There was even a period where lenovo removed the dedicated buttons for the accupoint/trackpoint mouse. I much prefer it than a touchpad. They put them back when, what I assume was a little too much consumer backlash occurred.

In a really interesting thing, a couple of years ago, a person at lenovo ran a series of polls on what should lenovo's 25th anniversary thinkpad be. Basically what came of it were that customers wanted a laptop in the old style, with decent performance, but the old keyboard layout, 3:2 display and modern hardware. Can google it about the 'retro thinkpad'. Haven't heard any news about it though.

 

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