Son Goku

Ah, the wonderful world of marketing driven PR and BS... Apple seems to be acting more like the stereotypical used car salesman in their advertizing pitch here, then anything else...

melon

Apple survives mainly by exploiting rampant computer illiteracy and anti-Microsoft sentiment. Some of this, however, is not misplaced, because the question to be asked is whether the average user should be expected to take the barrage of security issues and spyware/virus infections that happen in Windows-based PCs.

But for those of us here who do know what they're doing, Macs seem overpriced and unnecessary.

Melon

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muzikool

All* PC users have to deal with a barrage of spyware/virus infections. (*Unless the PC is never connected to a network). Even if they "know what they're doing," PC users still get infected, at least temporarily, by spyware and/or browser hijacks. I very much know what I'm doing, but I can't prevent infection 100% of the time.

Apple isn't "surviving" anymore. It is competing and even receiving the greatest amount of market share in certain areas. Sure, the price-point (in general) is not attractive to the average consumer, but Apple is changing that as well to become more competitive (Mac mini, iPod shuffle, iPod mini).

It's usually easy to tell when PC vs. Mac posts are heavily one-sided. In other words, the person posting has limited or no experience with either the Mac or PC. Characterizing a Mac as "unnecessary" leads me to the conclusion that you haven't really experimented with its possibilities... or used one at all for that matter. I've never been to Rome, so how much credibility do I have when I tell you that Rome sucks? Just an example.

Apple does like its marketing, and while a lot of it is great and brilliant, some of it does stretch reality a bit. Then again, find me a technology outlet that doesn't overmarket/overhype its products. Napster recently targeted Apple directly by stating that 10,000 iTunes songs is $10,000 dollars, while 10,000 Napster songs is only $15.00 a month. I hope I don't need to explain the fault behind this claim. Router X provides 600% greater coverage than Router Y, but notice the little star next to the claim, which basically means that the claim is absurd and can only be achieved under ideal/impossible conditions.

Just a bit of perspective from a PC and Mac user, who sees greatness and fault on both sides of the line.

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NetRyder

Really?

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muzikool

There is always the potential for infection and you have to be extremely safe to avoid getting something on your machine. I've seen plenty of members here, very much aware of threats, asking for help with some type of infection. When some new form of spyware or virus is released, it's possible to get it before the software vendors have updated their definitions. The combo of AV, firewall, Ad-Aware, Spybot, HijackThis, etc. still doesn't give me 100% confidence in staying clean. As long as there is a chance, then I think my claim has support.

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NetRyder

I see what you're saying, but it's just not something that most of us are constantly worrying about. I've seen several Mac users (on Neowin, for example...not here) who make it sounds like using Windows is this constant worrisome experience.

Initially, new users do have to make special efforts to make sure they're being extra-cautious. But after you've been a Windows user for a while, it almost becomes a part of life. Even if I were to switch to a Mac today, I can bet I'd still be using the same precautionary measures I take while using a PC (such as not opening emails from unknown sources, staying up-to-date with patches...you get the idea). And I think being cautious, in general, is a good thing - you never know when your OS could become a target.

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muzikool

Right, it's not something to be constantly worried about once you have an understanding of the threats. It does become routine to do scans though, at least for me. It will be interesting to when OS X starts to become targeted someday... that is assuming that its popularity continues to increase and that it is seen as a worthwhile target. Hmm... did I ever mention that OS X is horrible? Nobody use it!!!

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NetRyder

Heh, guess the future of OS X will be revealed in 12 minutes.

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muzikool

True. I'm one of those people hitting Refresh.

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NetRyder

Too bad it's not live.

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Ohzopants

this like comparing apples and oranges... get it it's a pun... mac.. apple..

sorry, couldn't help myself

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