QOTD: What Don't You Like About Macs?

By published

I think it's fair to say that Apple has a hard time catering to the audience that reads Tom's Hardware. Based on some of my past articles, some things are really clear, while others are still up in the air.

A recent report by analyst said that Apple would have to reduce its price significantly, to do well in the current economy. The analyst gave a suggestion to Apple: reduce the price of its MacBook (the white one) down to $700. But, realistically, this one price reduction isn't going to make much of a huge impact for Apple during the recession. Let's look at some of Apple's prices:

- Apple Mighty Mouse Wireless: $69
- 8 GB 1066 MHz DDR3 SDRAM (2 x 4 GB) for the iMac: $1000
- 8 GB 1066 MHz DDR3 ECC SDRAM (4 x 2 GB) for the Mac Pro: $250
- 1 TB 7200-RPM SATA2 HDD: $300

I honestly think the above prices are stratospheric, insane. The 1 TB HDD for example, can be had for less than 1/3 of the price that Apple is selling it for. The 8 GB of memory for the iMac--which is Apple's mainstream system--costs a whopping $1000, four times as much as the same amount for the high-end Mac Pro. Obviously, there's the price issue here.

The question of the day is: What don't you like about Macs?

Is it the pricing?

Is it the software?

Is it the operating system?

Is it the compatibility?

Is it Mac users?

Or is it simply that it's Apple?

Explain your case.

About software: essentially now, there's hardly discrepancy between a Windows system and a Mac, because you can reboot into Windows natively. So in terms of software compatibility, both are the same. Moot point there for Apple. Also, with some recompiling of most Linux applications, you're able to run them on your Mac no problem. While Parallels and Fusion do virtualization, they're not as fast as running something native--hence Boot Camp.

Save for the actual design and some features, a Mac Pro a nicely built PC. The difference is clearly in the operating system. So it must be about workflow and the method in which you go about doing things. But even this isn't enough. And Apple's got a pretty bad rap with PC users.

But Apple's made some (limited) progress. Cutting some prices here and there. Apple's latest system, the Nehalem-based Mac Pro is quite a beast. The 8-core version is quite powerful, but it's priced at $3,299. Most PC users here will argue that they can build a very similarly equipped system for far less.

Challenge: Build your own Nehalem Mac Pro. The specs are as follows: 2 x 2.26 GHz Quad-core Nehalem-based Intel Xeon processors, 6 GB 1066 MHz DDR3 ECC memory, compatible server boar, 640 GB 7200-RPM SATA2 HDD, Nvidia GeForce GT 120 512 MB, sound card, DVD-RW drive, case, mouse and keyboard. In fact, use our store here to find prices for cheap components, or use a well known online retailer like Newegg (opens in new tab) to build your PC. Try to beat Apple's pricing as far as you can. And then throw in a good operating system.

What's your final price? Post your build and price in the comments!

We all know Apple gives some heavy competition to big PC builders like Dell, and HP, and even give Microsoft good competition. So we welcome its presence in the industry. Competition is great for everyone. If you do like Apple hardware, what then would be the one major thing you would suggest Apple do differently

Update: Try to explain your arguments as best as possible; give examples wherever possible--but keep the comments clean guys, don't insult other commenters.

Tuan An Nguyen
170 Comments Comment from the forums
  • jaibot18
    the main gripe that i have with apple is the overpricing of their products. If only a little research is done one will be able to see how they can get a much better deal.
    The main thing that annoys me is not the company itself but some of the consumers that buy their products. These are the people that will drop 500 bucks on an mp3 player before researching the alternatives, and when asked why they like their ipod will respond by saying, "Its awesome."
    that's it though, i feel that apple is a fairly innovative company and is necessary as they provide some competition for microsoft
    Reply
  • twanto
    I think you mean "moot" point.
    Reply
  • IzzyCraft
    It's their upgrade options seriously over priced you think their ram is from rambus and the hdd are made of gold or something. Then it's the obscurity they put around upgrading their hardware to make us fearful of buying anything not from apple If they really opened it up to allow anyone to build mac computer then we might actually have something to compete with Microsoft but their whole quality control bull shit doesn't fly for their overpriced stuff.
    Reply
  • twanto
    For me it is a combination of the price, the inability to build your own (that is officially sanctioned and supported), and the fact that mostly all the good games are only released to Windows. To a lesser degree I don't care for the front-end design of their OS. There are many quirks about the OS that I just hate, but not really worth going into detail about here. Maybe it is because I am so used to Windows, but I have used OS X extensively during the 10.2 and 10.3 years so it is not for lack of experience.
    Reply
  • NuclearShadow
    "Is it the pricing?

    Is it the software
    ?

    Is it the operating system?

    Is it the compatibility?"

    Yes to all of these and lets not forget their untruth marketing such as they try to say they aren't a PC and their annoying ads. Plus the censorship factor they will delete or lock any topic where people report common problems with their apple product and they also do the same to any constructive criticism.

    Anyways I'll try and make a similar or better system later and post the results.
    Reply
  • I think any unbiased "geek" could only have two real complaints about Macs. The first is price. The hardware is overpriced, no doubt about it, but the margin is lowering.

    The second complaint is more philosophical: Apple doesn't have the best track record recording DRM and restrictive, proprietary software. But then again, neither does Microsoft.
    Reply
  • deck
    They stole the linux kernel and returned nothing to the open source community. For that, they get a life time boycott.
    Reply
  • wicko
    It's the pricing, the OS, and the company itself.

    Cheapest macbook I could find was 1099 CDN, for a previous generation. The newest gen was 1399 at it's cheapest (at futureshop/bestbuy). The upgrades are unbelievably priced, and there wouldn't be a chance in hell I would ever purchase one.

    The OS isn't too bad, but I hate the dock. I hate that Windows 7 is copying it. It is not at all intuitive, and its inefficient. I much prefer reading a word or two rather than deciphering what each program's icons are. I do like how it organizes its apps though, in terms of switching between running programs. command+tab to switch between apps and command+tilde to switch between windows in that app. I hate how painful it is to select a section of a line of code when I'm developing. I have to do some awkward 3 button press, where on the PC I just hit shift+home or shift+end depending on the direction I want. I constantly use those keys along with page up/page down, insert and delete, and I find it awkward now that they are missing.

    I hate the company for the image they try to create for themselves. Especially their commercials.. sure, they can be funny, but it is so childish and completely off target. I don't think there's anything really revolutionary about their products that justifies their price, other than maybe the ipod touch.

    However I am extremely biased because I'm a PC gamer, and I've used windows for most of my life, from 3.11. I've only used OSX for about 2 months, and I certainly haven't "made the switch". If I could do ipod touch dev'ing on the PC, you bet your ass I would. I certainly would not have dished out 1300 for a macbook..
    Reply
  • Tindytim
    I don't like Macs because of their marketing, and their users.

    They make false claims in their marketing, intentionally marketing to people who are ignorant, and playing on that ignorance. In fact, they idealize ignorance.

    It's the only way they could get away with what they charge for their systems, and upgrades.
    Reply
  • radiowars
    First of all, lack of support from 3rd parties. Obviously, look at games. Mac games are absolutely terrible in terms of selection and quality. Also, they're harder to upgrade than a PC and they lack the free-form of PCs.

    They focus way to much on them being "simple to use". If you honestly can't figure out the "point-and-click" ease of today's OS, then you have a problem.

    Also, pretty much everything Tindytim said.

    And lastly the users. The uptight snobs who make retarded claims like "Macs can't get viruses" and such. They put themselves above PC users because they feel the need to "rebel" against spread sheets. PCs are perfect, all around computers, and I hope with Windows 7, people will learn how efficient a PC is, and why they dominate the market.

    *iTunes is a bitch too. I hate that software more than anything... anything!
    Reply