I’ve been playing around with Microsoft’s search engine LIve.com and books.live.com and just find the whole direction Microsoft is taking to be wrong-headed. But far worse is the miserable new Q$A system the company has set up called QnA. Oh brother what a turkey. I think I’ll do my PC Magazine online column on this clunker. Click on the image below to see an example of the “usefulness” of this dog.
I ask a simple question at the top. The answer I get is a joke and the related questions (suggested in case the answers are in there) are incredibly weird.
I noticed that Google has a similar offering that seems more adult-like and useful. Microsoft not only copies everything Google does (poorly) but has now adopted the crazy practice of tagging everything “beta” just the way Google does. This company is getting seriously pathetic.
#37 Lauren the Ghoti
Lets not redirect like politicians and give yet another link. I made it easy and this addresses common everyday issues users have.
The rules are:
Simply type ‘Y’ for yes or ‘N’ for no according to the number 1-10
If you type Y for Yes as an option you can give an explanation like so:
1/ Y (with or without additional reasons or explanations)
If ‘N’ for No you must give some information in support like so:
1/ N (You have to give a valid reason – no links)
This is easy for any Mac user to master!
Ready to play? Ok, get your Macs fired up!!
1/ OS X – ‘Finder’ In five major releases of Mac OS X, it lacks many features that Windows users take for granted, resizing windows from any corner or edge, using cut and paste to move files around, and renaming files from within a file requester nor does it offer a working “maximise window” button. (Looks pretty though)
Does OS X Finder lack many efficient features that Windows Explorer has? Y/N?
2/ OS X – With Apple service packs cost you money and aren’t free “Puma, Jaguar, Panther and Tiger – with a fifth, Leopard, due imminently”
Windows service packs are free so is Apple ripping people off? Y/N?
3/ “I was designed for the home,” as per Mac ads. What about games? The top-selling Mac games on Amazon.co were World of Warcraft (gee), Age of Empires III (oh gee) and The Sims II (Gosh!)
Want the adrenaline-filled 3D action and spectacular graphics of Rainbow Six: Vegas? Can these games run on a Mac? Y/N?
4/ Gaming PCs, video workstations, media centres, digital photo PCs, build-your-own, mini-chassis, midi-towers, business PCs… need we go on? What something different in a Mac? If the Mac mini, iMac and Mac Pro don’t meet your needs, take a hike.
Limited choices for Macs out of the box? Y/N?
4/ If you want cutting-edge hardware, you need a PC. The PC has up-to-the-minute 3D video hardware, but Macs are an entire generation behind. PC users have had super-fast draft 802.11n wireless for nearly two years but only now have Apple users just acquired it.
Are Macs behind in cutting edge technology? Y/N?
5/ Macs never ‘crash or go wrong’, thank GOD, because the standard Apple technical support offering is well mean!! Apple’s standard warranty, is a ‘generous’ 90-days of telephone support and only one year’s return-to-base hardware warranty – unless you want to pay more (of course this is Apple)! Compare this to Dell ultraportable laptop and Mesh Elite Extreme PC both include three-year, on-site warranties as standard.
Is Apple ripping people off with charging for extended warranties which are standard for many PCs? Y/N
6/ Here are the operating system requirements for Apple’s iLife 06 suite: “Mac OS X v10.3.9 or v10.4.3 or later; v10.4.4 recommended.” Aperture, meanwhile demands “Mac OS X v10.4.7 (or later)”; while Logic Express 7 recommends “Mac OS X v10.4.3 or later for PowerPC-based systems; Mac OS X v10.4.4 or later for Intel-based systems.”.
However Apple’s website proudly proclaims, “there is only one version of Mac OS X”. WTF? Is this easy to understand? Y/N?
7/ Macs are like Happy Meals: there’s a shiny menu to choose from, but very little real variety. The open architecture of the PC platform, allows you to build your own PC with your own choice of case, CPU, monitor and other components.
Can you do build your own Mac how you like it? Y/N?
8/ Click on a file in Mac OS X’s Finder – press the delete key. Nothing will happen. Seems OS X is not a logical, intuitive OS.
Is Windows Explorer more logical and intuitive than OS X Finder? Y/N?
9/ Apple currently ranks low in Greenpeace’s Green Electronics Guide rankings. According to Greenpeace Apple “scores badly on almost all criteria”, including the use of hazardous chemicals, product take back and recycling. Funny how Macs seem to be popular with Treehuggers.
Is Greenpeace correct about Apple? Y/N
10/ Windows’ virtual memory is better implemented than the Mac. A PC that’s low on memory might be slow, but it won’t be any less reliable. Do that to a Mac…opps.
Are Macs more sensitive with virtual memory than Windows? Y/N
Well Lauren as a Mac user up on everything ‘Macish’ this shouldn’t be hard to do – so lets not continue ‘The war of the Links’ and get down to what are everyday issues for users. Ok 😀
No response or yet another link defaults YES on all ten – so sad.
Cheers
Thanks heartily for today’s five minutes of amusement, TIHZ_HO…
#39 Lauren the Ghoti
So I can take it is a big YES for all ten – thank you!
Glad we got that settled then 😀
Cheers!!
“So I can take it is a big YES for all ten – thank you!
Glad we got that settled then
Cheers!!”
OK, with that sign-off, I finally snapped to just where you’re coming from; time to lay off the cooking sherry, T_H…
LG: Where I am ‘coming from’ is not from the “cooking sherry” as you imply.
I am coming from the fact YOU made in clear and lucent statements that Apple’s OS X is a better, easier to use operating system than Windows.
I simply asked you to make some basic comparisons between the two systems which are relevant to everyday users QED. In reply you cited financial corporate reasons, UNIX certifications and unsupported rhetoric side stepping the simple comparisons everyday users will encounter.
Therefore should I assume you have pleaded “Nolo Contendere” (No Contest)?
Its all up to you Lauren, as your cleaver rhetoric does not address some basic comparisons between OS X and Windows that I and others have attempted to make.
Why is this so difficult? For example If we were comparing one brand of camera to another would we had the same type of exchange? No, I think not.
This is a point made by many Window users that that Mac users tend to be something akin to a religious cult and there can never be an intelligent discussion about the two systems from Mac users.
In my previous career in Outdoor Advertising many people in this industry especially graphic designers use Macs. In the past this was for a real reason – Macs out performed the PC in handling graphics. As times changed this was no longer the case but Macs continued on more as tradition. Many colleagues and friends of mine who used Macs at work had PCs at home. To them a Mac is a tool they use at work and by choice they opted for a PC for many reasons one being cost. Apple has obviously has realized this and is happy that as a consequence in using Intel Macs can now EASILY run Windows (they could in the past with software emulators) – thus not losing sales in this situation. If it were not the case why would Apple even bother – right?
There are many Window users who are angry that Apple does not let OS X run on their PC boxes. Is this fair? Apple is high on how Mac users can now run Windows and don’t have to buy a new box. However true to Apple’s form, Apple want only boxes THEY sell – Macs – to run OS X. That’s off! Its like iPods only work with ITunes – which is also unreasonable!! (iTunes – one MUST open an account with the iTune online store before it will display album art – not the case with Win Media Player – see the point? Freedom of choice is restricted unless it involves an Apple product)
If you prefer a Mac then that is you choice that is best for you. What rubs people the wrong way are the sermons from Mac users how stupid and wrong Windows users are. All sermon but no substance. Its like having a born again Christian in your face. No one likes that and so then reaction is quite predictable.
Lauren, you made statements – support them with no sermons – or simply agree that one is not ‘better’ than the other as it’s just a matter of personal choice. 😉
Cheers and Good day to you!
I wanna play TIHZ_HO! I think the answers may be educational. Please note that I rewrote the questions so they were easier to answer while retaining their original intent.
1. Is this argument a straw man? Y.
Being able to resize at any corner is hardly a feature that makes Explorer “more efficient”.
2. Are service packs the same as new versions? N.
Service packs are typically to fix bugs and possibly offer enhancements in software previously released, not so much to add completely new features.
3. Is the Mac a video game system? N.
Nobody said that the Mac could play every game a PC could. Not everyone needs to be able to play games on their computer. Some people actually do work on their computers.
4. Apparently a two part question (or TIHZ_HO can’t count):
a) Does Mac only offer computers that are already put together? Y.
Does this make them different from Dell? N.
b) Are Macs sometimes behind the times with features that nobody beyond enthusiasts use yet? Y.
Please note that other companies didn’t build in support for 802.11n on their computers until around the same time Apple did. It’s just that you could buy your own card and install it in their systems.
5. Did TIHZ_HO just use the fact that Macs never crash as an argument? Y.
Is this true? Not really, but I’ll take it.
Do companies of all sorts try to screw people over with extended warranties? Y. Try walking out of Best Buy without being offered one.
6. Do marketing departments sometimes say stupid things? Y.
7. Do most people buy their computers pre-built? Y. (repeat… See 4a.)
8. Did TIHZ_HO run out of questions and repeat a straw man he used earlier? Y. Is the fact that you have to press cmd+delete instead of just delete at all hampering to the productivity levels? N.
9. Has TIHZ_HO run out of straw men? N. Can we avoid it involving hippies? N.
Sure, Greenpeace is correct about what they said. Unfortunately, you must have missed the entire big deal Jobs made about it, vowing to turn the company around and make it the greenest.
10. Does TIHZ_HO know what he’s talking about when he throws around terms like virtual memory? Seems unlikely. We’ll go with N.
As you can see, we got about half yes, half no. Nobody wins. Everybody loses and looks more foolish for having played. That’s the way it always is when you argue about an issue that has no true “right” answer.
You admit that it’s a matter of preference and say it rubs people the wrong way to hear sermons, but you yourself are trying to preach a sermon with your questions. Nobody likes a hypocrite.
Yes it is a matter of personal choice – but tell that to a Mac user.
Cheers