Since I started working with pc’s people have been very adament about the superiority of the Mac to the PC. During my days at the Artschool I first came in contact with the Mac, back then it was still the very old Macintosh machines that had Photoshop installed. At home I had my nifty 386 with 40mb HD and Coreldraw. The sentiment of the graphic sector I slowly grew into was clear: only people working on a Mac are real.
I mostly work with PC and before Windows 7 I was like every other pc-user: sick and tired of blue-screens, virii and other crap. People would again refer to the Mac as the saviour, praising it’s workflow and all the other stuff you’re likely to hear in the Mac-lovers youtube video.
During my course I was able to work with one of the newer Mac’s and am currently working on a Macbook Pro and suffice to say: I am not impressed.
Here’s my list of things I dislike about the Mac, and please bare in mind that these are all strengthened by the fanboy comments on how great this thing is supposed to be. We all shit on the pc and Microsoft so yeah, we’ve always known that but praising something that is clearly flawed… No Ma’am.
The list
- No cut and paste
One of the most basic features… and it doesn’t exist. Sure there are work-arounds but there are work-arounds for everything but that’s not the point. - Resize only in one corner
In windows all edges of a window are able to resize the window you have. On a Mac this isn’t the case and often trying to get to the lower right corner can be a pain in the ass. - Positioning of close buttons
For all the praise of the workflow of a Mac I expected something more ergonomic then this upper left placement. This is a nitpick but it’s easier to go up and close instead of drag alllllll the way to the left - Moving folders
Moving folder with the same name overwrites complete folder instead of adding different files to the original folder nor does it give any information when you are replacing a folder and/or file. Windows still has a lot to learn on a similar subject but at least you can compare the files and replace/cancel/rename with one click. - Frequent crashes
“It just works” they said, but… No, it doesn’t… Hell, it doesn’t even work as much as a pc? Adobe products crash more often then I’m used to on a PC, Firefox is abomible, there aren’t many decent RAR-solutions, some programs on the Mac are meager copies of their pc counterparts. Is this the fault of the programmer or of the system. I don’t know, I just know that it doesn’t just work. - Fascistic VS Open
For all the crap Microsoft gets for “forcing” people to use their browser there’s a lot to think about Apple’s policy of open-source programs (or apps) on their platforms. Ofcourse things are going to break more and be more open for abuse if the system allows it, ofcourse you won’t have virusses if you keep your iOS in a secluded environment. - Minimizing “windows”
Upon minimizing a window on a Mac it disappears in your icon on your dock. Clicking this will open a window but not all. Ofcourse you can right click but it often doesn’t reappear whatever you minimised… At least not on my Mac - No right-mouse click
Easily remedied but still… Why the right click hatred? And why no delete button on many mac keyboards. Why shift-backspace? Why often key combinations that require two hands (no I don’t have the example just yet but there are)? - Load and lock
Often upon launching the program I was launching it simply locks up and crashes. Over and over. This might be a problem on my Macbook but still. - UPDATE: Adobe Crash and Lock
A special attention to the biggest crasher on the Mac next to Firefox: the Adobe Suit and all it’s products. For all the praise given to how Mac is the tool to perform graphic design there are equally as many crashes and lockups for these products. Some programs are worse then the others but they generally all crash more then my PC versions. It just works… right. - Please wait
Again this might be a problem with my Mac but why does it take over 20 seconds to load the time and date when pressing shift-F4? - Delete the trash
If there’s one file in the trash bin that cannot be deleted upon emptying it doesn’t delete the trash bin at all.A similar problem occurs when you are moving files. - Cancel that
Cancelling an action often doesn’t cancel what you are trying to cancel. Granted, Windows has this problem too at times. - Games
What games? - iTunes
It works better then on the pc but it’s still a crappy program. - The Big workflow debate
I don’t work faster on a Mac and it’s not cause I’m not used to it. The feature of windows being “open” even if they are not the front window often creates the problem that you’re suddenly on another window. The whole thing isn’t as intuitive for me as it is on a Windows… it’s hard to explain but I’m not the only one who seems to have this problem. Maybe this simple proves I’m not a Mac-person in my genes? - The Mac-attitude
I do not like the attitude of Mac-users nor Apple. Not their hypocritical stance on piracy, not their patent wars, not their puritanical ideas, not their arrogance. - Connectors
Custom power adapters are always a pain in the ass and so are the adapters on a mac. Forget about easily docking via usb, no buy this 40€ adapter that only fits on the device it’s meant for. Magnetic plugs are novel but it’s always a scare to see things stick to your Macbook pro or to have pencilpoints stick inside of it.
Things I do like
Nothing is perfect so here are a few things I do like.
- One button @
So simple, alas ruined by the two-button delete - Spaces
Never use it but it’s neat nevertheless - Corner swipes
Even though you’re often doing this accidentally - The screen
Bright and clear - The battery
3 hours and more? No boring trainrides. - Interconnectability with other Apple products
- The Ipod
Quite frankly the only choice you have for an mp3 player and even that choice is gone now. I have an ipod classic 160gig… Where do I need to put my 90gigs of mp3’s when this one breaks? And don’t give me the bullshit about “you’re not gonna listen to ALL songs” cause you never do everything but I’d like to have the choice nevertheless.
So there you have it. I’m no fan of Mac, nor Apple. I use their products cause I have to and there’s where our relationship ends. Every program and OS has their problems but they either are quite impossible for quite honest about their difficulty (Linux), just what people know they’ll get (Windows) or quite modest (all the rest).
Why I’m telling you this? Cause I can. I could very well make a picture of the food I’m eating and put a nice filter on it or write 150 characters to get some attention. But to all companies who insist that people must use a Mac to be a decent graphic designer: A big dick doesn’t necessarily make you a good fuck either. And to all people who swear with a Mac: Sticking with your highschool girlfriend is great but there’s something to be said about experience.
PS That voice over stuff I can’t seem to turn off (even though it’s all muted and shut off in the options I have found) is pretty annoying as well.
