h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I wasn't aware that H2G2 had become a 'free advertising' site. So much pro-Mac and anti-Microsoft propaganda. Maybe I should post my C.V. on my h2g2 home page, just in case some one out there needs a software engineer!

Hey yeah, and I could post my ad for my free bodyguard and traditional PI service. I could make a tidy profit.

I'd just like to know, what have you got against Apple. If you can name what is so wonderful about Microsoft , I would be stunned. You can call it advertising if you want, but really, I just want to get my opinions out, and if through this Apple is promoted, then so be it. I just want to say that I KNOW Macs are better than PCs. That's it. If that's advertising-expressing your opinions, then maybe every opinion is an advertisment!

Where have I said, anywhere on H2G2, that I have anything against Apple? (Aside from the fact that, when I was looking at buying a home computer, Macs were more expensive than PCs and software to run on Macs wasn't as readily available.) If you look at some of the forums I have posted to, you will find that I am pretty anti-Microsoft. This is because I am a software engineer and have had to use the junk they churn out. Most, if not all, Microsoft software is bloatware and badly tested/documented at that! My home PC has nothing on it by Microsoft except the operating system, and if software for other operating systems was as widely available, Windows 95 would go too.

Opinions become advertisement (IMHO) when they stress how wonderful ONE PARTICULAR product is without giving any evidence to back it up. I reckon MS products are crap, as you obviously do, but wouldn't go out of my way to extol the virtues of Linux, Borland (yes, I know its Inprise now), or any other software manufacturer. And I don't recall seeing any other 'researcher' extolling any other product so emphatically.

You keep saying Macs are better than PCs, without saying why. Are they faster? More powerful? Cheaper? Is the software that runs on them better? (Don't bring the OS into this, I've already said what I think of MS software!) What makes the new iMac so wonderful? As I said on another forum, I can't see any way of changing the monitor if I want a bigger one, which could be a major drawback to some customers. Others might be put off by the lack of floppy disk drive, especially if they have a lot of data / documents backed-up on floppy.

Then there's your H2G2 nickname. Maybe you're THE Steve Jobs of Apple, maybe you just think he's the bee's knees, or maybe you just happen to have the same name. If the first is true then I would certainly call your opinions advertising, i.e. trying to drum up sales for your company. If the second is true, I would suggest you get a life. I enjoy 'Star Trek - Voyager', but I wouldn't dream of using the nickname 'Captain Janeway'. If the third is true then your opinions probably are just opinions, but they still sound like advertising.

I love Apple. I'm typing this on a Mac. But quite frankly, you ARE advertising when you go off on an Apple spiel. You've taken a nickname that is vaugely familiar to anyone who knows anything about Apple computers, which sort of makes you look like a company man. Saying "I like my Mac, and I don't see what's so good about your Windows compatible machine" is just fine and dandy, but building your whole online personality around it????

~Irving

And this response also disproves your statement, on another forum, that any response posted by a Mac user will have the correct spelling and correct grammar. I already know that you can't spell (see my response to your posting 'Microsoft is crap' - or words to that effect). Irving can't spell 'vaguely', but I bet that he (or she) doesn't care, and certainly wouldn't associate ability (or lack of it!) in this area with the machine he uses. You will find people with poor spelling and poor grammar using Macs as well as PCs, so don't try associating Mac use with proof of superior intelligence / word power / anything else.

I'm going to have to agree with Cheerful Dragon here (let's face it, I can't spell!). I certainly don't judge a man's intelligence by his OS (though I'm quick to pounce on Mac haters who think I'm a moron). In fact, I like Macs for the very reasons that they are more user friendly (did I spell that wrong again?), easier to use, and just generally simpler than Windows machines.

~Irving

"Can you judge a wise man
By the way he speaks or spells
Is this more important
Than the stories that he tells?"

I also have to agree. My bad spelling is a reference to my bad typing as well. However, I would also like it to be known that I ded recieve a post from Mr Jobbs entitled "Sorry for teh put down" Actually, it was better spelt) Which I am taking as an aoplogy. I will happily mention teh down sides to anything I like (cofee, Steak, American Football, sci-fi) But I agree that pushing points with no eveidence and very fre counter arguments sounds like advertising. As for Apples. I do have something against them. I don't like using teh OS. and I don't liek the way apple seem to be trying to monopolise both the hardware and software markest but always painting Microsoft as teh "Coproate baddie" I don't liek large companies and if I was in any way clever, I woudl be using LINUX right now as a point of personal choice. I also don't liek teh Imac's keyboard or mouse. Just a big hands thing

I will conceded the mouse and keyboard on the iMac. They're awful. I know, I'm using them now. The OS I like because it's much simpler than Windows, and the last time I checked, there wasn't nearly as much software on the market for Macs as there was for Window's machines... perhaps what you're percieving as an attempt at monopoly is actually just a push to catch up?

~Irving

Well, no. As you know. Microsoft have a monopoly on software. If a company set their collectiev nose out of joint they could ban themn from writing windows software. On teh other hand, thsi software empire was created by smashing a hardware empire from IBM. Because teh origional IBM pc was built out of parts from otehr companys (Intel's processor) there was teh opportunity to build compatable machines even if you weren't IBM. All you needed was DOS. The simple renaming of PC dos to MS dos allowed Microsoft to sell it to other companys who could tehn build their own PCs. So where does apple fit into this. Well, you buy your imac. You have 100% apple parts in it. Heres your problem. Say Sony release a better CD drive. Tough luck, you're stuck with teh apple version unless you want to pop for an external drive and loose valuable desk space. So, say apple suddenly becomes standard. Every new computer bought will be apple hardware. Andy hardware company taht annoys apple could be made instantly incompatable with the machine. Also, you can only buy your Apple form Apple. I can buy my PC from Packard bell, or time or olivetti or millions of others, or I can make my own. That is why I feel that apple cannot call itself teh good guy. Its not their fault, they're in it for teh money like everyone else. (Except for LINUX which is free)

Yawn.

h2g2 is in it for money, too...

The iMac keyboard is the best I've ever typed on. It's small, nicely-styled, and has a lovely touch. The round mouse is something that you can get used to. Check the way you grip your mouse. If you grab it by your fingertips, you will have no problem with the round mouse.

Advertising. Anything here is advertising. I dare you to write a completely non-biased article (that consists of more than three words).

Why is an iMac great? It is probably not great for you guys. It doesn't have to be. There is a whole market out there of newbies and first-time buyers who the iMac is built for. It's easy to use. It's fun to use. And that's why it's great.

-Calroth

How is H2G2 in it for the money? They don't get any money from us, and although they do have advertising at the top of every page, this is just to finance the operation (as far as I know).

I have never used an iMac keyboard being perfectly happy with the old-fashioned, non-Windows keyboard I have always had. That goes for the old-fashioned two-button mouse as well. I don't know any one who 'grabs a mouse with their fingertips'. How do you do that?

If you are taking advertising to mean 'stating one's opinions', then yes, just about anything is advertising. But I (and most people I know) take advertising to be a means of drawing other people's attention to a product (or job). In that respect, what Steve Paul Jobs has on his H2G2 page (and other places) is advertising, whereas what most researchers have on their pages is not.

As for the iMac being great for newbies and first-time buyers, you still haven't said why and I'm still not convinced. When I was a first-time buyer I wasn't happy with the monitor on offer and upgraded to a bigger one. How would I do that with an iMac? Ditto all the other built-in bits and pieces, many of which I have upgraded since I bought my PC. Is the iMac faster than the opposition? More processing power? More RAM, hard drive space, better software? Until you back-up your opinions with evidence, you won't convince me or any one else. And your opinions will just sound like advertising.

Money? Have a read of this wonderfully enlightening article from Don't Panic: http://www.h2g2.com/dontpanic.cgi?name=#1.8

Grabbing a mouse by your fingertips (is this worthy of an article?): Hold your hand like a claw. Lower it onto the mouse. Your fingertips or the pads of your fingers hold the mouse, your palm doesn't come anywhere near the mouse. You get more precise control because it's your fingertips driving the mouse, not your wrist.

Advertising: Hey, I'm drawing attention to the Mac here. That's advertising in anybody's language.

You may be a first-time buyer, but you don't seem to be typical of first-time buyers... most mums and dads will just want to do a spot of web browsing, maybe some e-mail, and maybe a few games for the kids. They haven't used a computer before, they're learning. They wouldn't even think of upgrading. These are the people who should buy iMacs. That's the definition I'm shooting for. Sorry if you misinterpreted that.

I don't know if you're accusing me of saying that I think that the Mac is faster, cheaper, got more RAM or hard drive space (because I didn't). I think the software is easier to use (granted, there's less variety of it). I think it's less confusing. I think it's more user-friendly. And ultimately, I reckon that computers should be rated by how much you can get done with them, not how fast they go. (Opinion.)

I suppose that's the kind of people I'm shooting for: people who think, as opposed to people who blindly follow numbers. (Whoa, I managed to clock my graphics card to get Quake 3 to 75.1 fps!)

-Calroth

I tried using the mouse the way you suggested. It doesn't work for me, but then I've been using a mouse for more than 10 years and old habits die hard.

Advertising: Thanks for admitting that you're advertising. Steve Paul Jobs is also advertising. I was merely disputing your comment that it's impossible to string more than 3 words together without advertising. Hope I've cleared that up.

I no longer qualify as a first-time buyer. I WAS a first-time buyer about 6 years ago, but I didn't qualify as a typical first-time buyer even then because I'm a software engineer by trade, and knew what I was talking about. I agree that most newbies and first-time buyers don't know what they're talking about or what they want, so pretty much anything will do. It's only people like me who use their computer for their job (or at least want the option of doing so) who consider things like ease of upgrade. Although things have changed so much since I last upgraded my machine (only 2 years ago!) that it would be more viable for me to buy a new one if I wanted to upgrade again (which I don't).

As for accusing you, I haven't accused you of anything. I actually said that you DON'T say whether you thing the Mac is faster, etc. As for user-friendliness, I've never used a Mac so I wouldn't know. I'm happy with my PC running Windows 95 - I'm used to it. Having said that, I have no intention of 'upgrading' to any other Windows operating system. They're all bloatware and don't provide me with anything extra that I need. They even force you to have MS Internet Explorer, which I certainly don't want (I use Netscape 'cos I hate MS and all its works). I also rate computers by how much you can get done with them. This is why I hate MS (its Visual Studio products really suck) and why I need a 17 inch monitor (you can't use Visual Studio on anything smaller).

This is a quote from the real Steve Jobs. I'm posting it for reference, so you interpret it however you like

"You think it's a conspiracy by the networks to put bad shows on TV. But the shows are bad because that's what people want. It's not like Windows users don't have any power; I think they are happy with Windows, and that's an incredibly depressing thought..."
-Steve Jobs

Windows users generally are happy with Windows because they don't know anything else. Back in the '80s and for most of the '90s the market was swamped with PCs that were cheaper and had more software available, so everybody bought PCs. Mac couldn't (or wouldn't!) compete. I know. When I tried to buy a computer back in '94 there was only one place that stocked Macs and the Macs were more expensive than an equivalent PC and I couldn't find any software that would run on them. (I'm British, by the way. Things may have been different in the States, but you can't build your market on one country!)

As a software engineer for about 15 years I have used a wide variety of operating systems (never Mac OS though). I know some people who think Unix is great, but if you ever want an example of an OS with non-obvious command names ...

And no, TV shows are not bad because people want bad shows. TV production companies often cater for the 'lowest common denominator'. People watch the shows because they can't be bothered to do anything other than watch TV. Windows users stick with Windows 'cos it's what they've got and they can't be bothered / can't afford / don't see the need to switch to anything else. If a TV show is rubbish I don't watch it. But I stick with Windows 'cos it's what I've got, it does what I need, I can get software for it and if I want to do any work at home I have to have a Windows system 'cos it's what every company I've worked for recently has. (If you see what I mean! )

Thats a good point. I use windows here because its whats installed on the uni machines and I don't like teh mac O/S (Just a personal taste thing really) The programming argument is also accurate. Individuals don't like rubbish but People love Noels house party. On teh otehr hand genuinely creative programming is relegated to late nights on BBC2 (Sport permitting)(This is really for anotehr forum)
To bring back to the iMac's keyboard and mouse, teh standards in teh PC world are not really Microsoft set and more made up out of practicality. Mice are styled to be ergonomically comfortable and keyboards made to allow fingers to reach teh keys comfortably. Apples changes seem to have been for purely asthetic reasons. I liek asthetics but a computer is primarily a tool and needs to be functional frist and foremost. I have big hands and chubby fingers. The cursor keys on an apple are torture for me and the mouse (used any way) caused pain acorss teh back of my hand. I wa stold to press the button, not with my finger but with the top of my palm with my fingers spread over teh mousemat, makes my thumb feel wierd frankly. As for advertising, by arguing against aple you are technically advertising. The problem is that the proprietor of this page is only offering good points and its up to us to offer counterarguemnts (Note, tehre are no Microsoft is just great) pages.