Mac vs PC

I saw this commercial the other day about how Macs are better than PCs because Macs never crash. This is complete and utter BS. If you are planning on buying a Mac rather than a PC, don't let it be for that reason alone. Macs are crash-resistant for one reason and one reason only: they don't run the most popular operating system on the planet. If 80% of the computers on the planet ran the Mac OS, then the majority of hacker attacks would be directed against the Mac OS. Well then, “Why not buy a Mac if they're not the ones under attack?” you ask. There are 3 simple reasons. Apple is the most pretentious company that I have ever had the misfortune to smell. "Our stuff is the bestest, the most beautifulest, and the most greatest stuff on the planet and we never evar screw up." Everything that Apple makes, they make using their own proprietary components that only Apple makes. That also means that only Apple makes the replacement parts and only Apple makes the upgrades. How the Hell they get away with this crap is a mystery to me. Microsoft gets sued for adding their own media player to THEIR operating system but Apple can bundle iTunes with every program they make, including QuickTime. QuickTime, as we all know, is a requirement for anything like satisfactory web surfing these days. The "superiority" of their customer service, design, and programming is a myth. Take the iPod for instance (NEVER BUY AN IPOD): The first 2 versions of the iPod had battery problems. Battery problem number one with the first 2 versions of the iPod - the battery won't hold a charge for very long. Why is that? Well, after 6 hours of searching through iPod forums I finally found out that those iPods had an internal clock that keeps drawing power from the battery, even when you've shut the iPod down. So, you charge the battery and then, less than 16 hours later, you have a dead iPod. BTW - they never did make a fix for that clock thing even tho iPods have updateable firmware. Problem number 2 with the early edition iPod batteries was that the battery itself only lasts about 6 months with constant use. After that? You need a new battery. Search for "how to replace an iPod battery" on Google. It quickly becomes apparent that Apple did not design these iPods to be disassembled. Once they are snapped (or, in the case of the iPod Mini, glued) together, Apple essentially considers them to be a disposable item, and warranty/repair work (you know, like replacing that lame-ass battery) consists of swapping the broken iPod for a new one. Great, just great. You'll want special tools and special medicine and even with those you'll still probably mar the case. It's easier to learn to fly a 747. You'd think they'd cover that crap in some kind of warranty, but you'd be wrong. So much for the "superiority" of their customer service, design, and programming. The iPod uses a laptop hard drive. These laptop hard drives are nothing so much as they are ghettoes for moving parts that would like to stop moving and just go to moving parts heaven. You can send them there by dropping the iPod oh, say 12 inches. Great, just great. Next time you see an iPod? Ask it if its hard drive has been washed in the blood of the lamb, 'cause it's sure as Hell gonna die soon. And when it does? You are now the proud owner of a 400 dollar paperweight. You want an mp3 player? Get a memory stick. Memory sticks are tuff. They are so tough, they can even survive you breaking their freakin' cases. To sum, up I'm not saying that Apple sucks (please don't fly off the handle if you're a Mac freak), only that they have just as many problems as Microsoft (or PCs). To say that a Mac is better than a PC or that a PC is better than a Mac is like saying hamburgers taste better than sloppy joes. It's a matter of taste. I have played with both. In my opinion, though, you only need to get a Mac if you also need to be spending lots of money. Here's a way better commercial about the Mac than the one I saw that started this whole rant: Hunter Cressall demonstrates the proper use of the Mac in this video - "Crash Different." Hunter uses a Mac every day. Yes, Virginia, he even owns two of them, not including the one that he dropkicks in the video.