I finally received my TR this week, and I’ve spent several days getting it set up (i.e. making a recovery disc set, deleting random partitions, etc). To be completely honest, I wanted to dislike using this machine. I’m a die-hard mac user who switched from Windows around 4 years ago out of disgust for the operating system. I love OS X and, considering the rather weak hardware offerings from Apple these days, it’s the main reason that I stay devoted to the platform. I only purchased this machine because it is a requirement of the school I will be attending this fall. Now, I really wanted to dislike using this machine.
...but I love it.
XP Pro has yet to crash, and although I consider its file system to be abysmal and bloated, at least it’s functioning as it should. I don’t care for the integrated Microsoft-branded software all over the place, however, I’ve been using Apple-branded integrated software on my macs for the better part of 4 years without complaint. As George Carlin said, “Let’s not have a double standard, one standard will do just fine.” So, I don’t see reason to complain there.
Software aside, the actual hardware is beautiful. I get the same kind of thrill when I open up my TR that I used to get when I would open up my first iBook. The keyboard is surprisingly comfy, and overall the machine is quite nimble. I haven’t thrown any really difficult tasks at it yet, but I plan on doing some of that this evening.
Thanks to everyone who answered my questions about this machine. It was definitely the right one to buy.
Welcome back from the dark side. XP is lightyears ahead of 95/98/ME, you won’t be dissapointed. Everytime you miss you OSX, just use the right click and think, ‘This is not a dumbed down OS’, and everything will be fine.
Hey tifosiv122 you can right click in os x, (just not with an apple mouse).
I have to admit that XP pro has been much better than I thought it was going to be.
XP is a big bloated beast of an OS. Sure it looks funky with all the options for display of cool icons….but is that worth the 200+ meg of RAM it uses just to run. And try opening one explorer window and see how much RAM you chew through. Although more stable than a lot of OS’s i have had it crash and resonably regularly. Sure it won’t it you are doing pretty easy stuff, but try doing 3D or video stuff with it. I remember once, years ago when my Mac crashed while doing some video work but this was a big exception to the rule. XP crashes pretty regularly though and you wouldn’t really think i am pushing a P4, 2 GB with a GB of RAM while just doing some fairly basic video and sound editing.
On a brighter note i actually think Windows ME was hard done by. I have successfully run it on my Libretto L3 for ages and it hasn’t even given a hiccup. The first thing i did after loading was to visit microsoft and download every patch and driver, but after that nothing. And it is running like a dream.
I’m always suprised by people who have bad Windows XP experiences or say that it crashes all the time. I’m always tempted to assume they had bad hardware or simply had a bad combination of software and unsigned drivers.
I’ve been using Windows XP since its beta stages and it’s been rock solid. Heck, starting with Windows 2000 it’s been stable with no crashes. I’ve done so on a lot of different machines including at least 5 branded laptops, numerous branded computers, and even more custom built systems. All of the systems ran XP great with no crashing issues. Of course, I only buy quality branded components and make sure all the systems get thoroughly stress tested.
The only time I’ve had crashes were either installing unsigned drivers or because I was manually messing around with the system registry. Other than that, the OS itself is stable. Occasionally programs will crash but it’s typically because the programs themselves weren’t programmed well…not a fault of the OS. I’ve run heavy duty projects using 3DS Max (animation renderings of high polygon count models) and Adobe Premiere (DV editing/rendering) without any problems.
I think people sometimes jump to conclusions too quickly and blame the OS for stuff without really looking into the problem.
Now, I will admit that XP can be somewhat bloated with the eyecandy. Of course, you do have the option of turning it all off. Mac OS X also has a lot of eyecandy as well so I don’t see why people complain about it.
[quote author=“gr00vy0ne”]Now, I will admit that XP can be somewhat bloated with the eyecandy. Of course, you do have the option of turning it all off. Mac OS X also has a lot of eyecandy as well so I don’t see why people complain about it.
Thats because in the eyes of Mac fans, Apple can do no wrong.
Yes XP is bloated, but as groovy said, it can be turned off.
AphexTwin - If you can’t use the mouse (that you get with the computer) to right click…there is a reason…it’s a dumbed-down PC (IMO). No command line…eek.
The Mac/Windows debate can go on forever with no real winner (unless you want to count sales which Apple accounts for less then 10%) but I think if a lot of X PC users try XP they will come back…and not complain.
I’m no mac fan either..
Can’t really call an OS rock solid unless it’s good for uptimes above a few hundred days..
And that it can’t be rebooted by some worm, that you did nothing to bring upon yourself.(Sasser)
MS is killing itself with Longhorn not scheduled to come for a couple more years…
All this open source software comming out lately, is definitly raising the bar, and surpassing windows offerings..
Firefox, Thunderbird, Openoffice, MySQL, PHP, Apache, The Gimp…
Actually can’t think of a commercial app that I do use on my windows box…since all those apps are cross platform also.
[quote author=“tmkt”]I’m no mac fan either..
Can’t really call an OS rock solid unless it’s good for uptimes above a few hundred days..
And that it can’t be rebooted by some worm, that you did nothing to bring upon yourself.(Sasser)
MS is killing itself with Longhorn not scheduled to come for a couple more years…
All this open source software comming out lately, is definitly raising the bar, and surpassing windows offerings..
Firefox, Thunderbird, Openoffice, MySQL, PHP, Apache, The Gimp…
Actually can’t think of a commercial app that I do use on my windows box…since all those apps are cross platform also.[/quote
I disagree with Openoffice, I have a lot of unresolved issues. As far as MySQL, I don’t see SQL Server as dominant, I see Oracle as #1, and I personally don’t think MySQL or SQL Server can compare.
Yeah, behind Oracle I’d put DB2 before MS SQL Server… :wink:
Yeah, I think the Opensource movement is nice but there’s such a lack of cohesion that I don’t see it making a dent anytime soon. I know some distributions are getting easier and easier but there’s still a lack of uniformity at so many levels (UI, applications, etc.) that I don’t see it being really useful for most people.
I also don’t like all of these newer and newer version of the GUIs essentially mimicking Windows. I understand why they’re doing it but don’t think it’s a good way to go. These people should be working on newer desktop metaphors that will make the platform much more compelling to use. With so many smart people working on this stuff it’s really amazing nothing groundbreaking has surfaced.
tifosiv122, you can use terminal in os x. Lets just agree to disagree on the mac os. I use it 7 days a week and love it. But I am also growing to love XP. They both have their ups and downs.
[quote author=“tifosiv122”]...but I think if a lot of X PC users try XP they will come back…and not complain.
Consider this a first complaint: one evening on the internet surfing seemingly harmless sites and I’ve already had a piece of spyware that needed to be removed. XP may be better, but it’s not perfect.
[quote author=“smashedapart”][quote author=“tifosiv122”]...but I think if a lot of X PC users try XP they will come back…and not complain.
Consider this a first complaint: one evening on the internet surfing seemingly harmless sites and I’ve already had a piece of spyware that needed to be removed. XP may be better, but it’s not perfect.
—smashedapart
Not XP’s fault…user fault. I’ve never had spyware on my system.
1. Don’t open attachments you don’t know what they are
2. Don’t agree to download spyware ridden apps like weatherbug
The only reason Macs don’t have this issue is because the Apple market is not big enough for spyware companies to target.
AD-AWARE 6 from lavasoft is a great, free spyware zapper. I have to admit to being happy that my mac is not worth the trouble of creating spyware or viruses for, it makes for trouble free computing, but, and this is a big but, I don’t like being out of the loop, which you are with apple for the the same reason. And XP is bloated but a good OS. I actually like all the fluffy stuff you get with XP and OS X, it makes things fun as long as it isn’t slowing down the system too much.
