Do you own an Apple product

[johncarbaugh]

Got my first one last week. A friend at work gave me an older Nano 1Gig. I said I was wanting a MP3 player to put music on for working out. The next day he gave me the Nano. All ready loaded with some FFDP and more good work out music.

 

[Cemetery-man]

Got me a Macbook pro this winter and just love the darn thing. As soon as I sell my AR, I will be getting one of those I Macs for the homefront.

 

[Archbishop]

Not a single one. I refuse to own apple products.

I'm right there with you. Can't stand the way the way they do business.

 

[3gunshooter]

27 inch Imac ,17 inch Macbook, Pro Apple TV and 2 Iphones.

 

[x10]

Itunes is a virus

nuff said

 

[Grizhicks]

iPod

 

[sclark]

iPod and a iPhone 3, debating on upgrading to iPhone 4.

 

[redbaron]

I have the iPhone and both daughters have iPods.

 

[eldirector]

Currently have a couple of iPods (his and hers). We sold the old Mac to another INGO-er a while back. My wife wants another one.

 

[AppleBonker]

That's funny I'm the opposite: I don't run Linux because I'm too savvy for that sort of thing.

Intriguing comment. Care to explain?

I've got a couple of iPods (one is older). But that's basically only because they integrate so well with aftermarket mobile audio. If someone made something that functioned as well with a Zune or Sansa I might make the switch.

I used to own an iPhone, but switched to an Android phone when I ran away from AT&T. Now I don't think I could go back to another iPhone. My stock Android phone is already far more functional than my jailbroken iPhone ever was.

I do also own an iPad, but that was mostly a luxury purchase for me. I would have never picked it up if I didn't already have my other computing devices (desktop, laptop, netbook, HTPC) in place. For something that doesn't get that much use, I am ok with the locked-down nature of the operating system. If I had to use Mac OS on any of my computers that I use more often, I would probably end up wanting to curb stomp a kitten.

 

[spasmo]

All of these Macs and still no one just wants to give me one???

 

[Fletch]

I was a die-hard Microsoft fan and Apple hater for 15 years. The only use I saw for Apple products was in a landfill.

Then I went to work for an organization that developed software for both Windows and OSX, and I was required to have one of each on my desk to do my work.

After 2 years of doing this, I realized something: I spent more time working ON my Windows box and more time working WITH my Mac. The Mac required less maintenance, less screwing around, and less mindshare about how the system worked so that I could focus more of my attention on my actual work.

I attended the Apple World Wide Developer's Conference a number of times, and frankly the folks who claim Apple doesn't use open source don't know what they're talking about. And those who think Apple is just out to screw people are delusional. Apple does everything that it does for one reason and one reason only: To make the best user experience possible -- not for geeks, programmers, or armchair tinkerers, but for the average person. WWDC is a week-long course of education in end-user relationships by way of your UI. It doesn't matter if your program will solve world hunger, if the UI sucks they'll tell you to fix it before you release it.

Are their products expensive? Yes and no. Part-for-part, they cost about the same as a similarly-configured Windows/Linux box -- there are articles done regularly on this. If all you want is a $500 piece of ****, sure: spending $1200 or so on a bottom-line Mac probably won't seem like a good deal. But quality components cost money. If all you do when looking for a 1TB drive, for example, is find the one with the lowest price and swipe your credit card, Apple products probably aren't for you.

Apple isn't perfect by any stretch of the imagination, and they've pulled some really bonehead moves at times (my current favorite being the iPad rotation-lock debacle). But they deliver a consistently high-quality user experience at a completely reasonable price, because user experience is their end product, not technology. Technology is just a means to that end.

I'm a tech guy. I love everything about technology. I'm the anti-Luddite in the strongest sense of the word, but at the end of the day I use and promote Apple products for two reasons:

1: I spend less time working ON them and more time working WITH them than any other system I've experienced, including the current versions of Windows that I'm forced to use for work.
2: My mother could never figure out anything when they had Windows, and she's all but terrified of computers. But she loves her MacBook and iPad. She's no "Mac Pro" by any means, but she's confident and independent when she uses them, and that's worth more than gold to me.

Starting about 6 years ago, I converted all the tech in my house to Apple, and tossed the PC **** in the trash where it belongs. Current inventory:

several iPods
iPad
2 iPhone
2 iMac
AppleTV
MacBook Pro
Mac mini

 

[indyjoe]

I own one. I won't buy another. Can't work within the way the company chooses to restrict my operation. Everything is in their walled garden or not. No in between without crazy things like jail breaking and the such.

After 2 years of doing this, I realized something: I spent more time working ON my Windows box and more time working WITH my Mac. The Mac required less maintenance, less screwing around, and less mindshare about how the system worked so that I could focus more of my attention on my actual work.

That is what I realized once I switched to Ubuntu. But it requires the occasional Google search for 5 minutes to do something new. I'll take that for not getting locked into what Apple wants for everything. (Although this is LEAST true on OS/X for desktop.)

 

[AppleBonker]

After 2 years of doing this, I realized something: I spent more time working ON my Windows box and more time working WITH my Mac. The Mac required less maintenance, less screwing around, and less mindshare about how the system worked so that I could focus more of my attention on my actual work.

As much as I disagree with a lot of Apple's practices, you could not have made a better argument for using their products. There are a number of things that you are limited on (based on what Apple will/wont allow). However, what Apple does, they do right. It may not be the answer to everything one would need from a computing device, but if it fits all of your needs it will definitely do it better than any other option available.

You, sir, have written the perfect pro-Apple post. While I would rather not use a computer than be forced to use an Apple laptop/desktop, I have absolutely no rebuttal to your argument. You've have highlighted exactly what makes Apple products desirable. Repped.

 

[Fletch]

You, sir, have written the perfect pro-Apple post. While I would rather not use a computer than be forced to use an Apple laptop/desktop, I have absolutely no rebuttal to your argument. You've have highlighted exactly what makes Apple products desirable. Repped.

Right back atcha. I won't claim that it's the best solution for everyone. I thought it was a straitjacket myself for the 2 years I was getting to know it. I have friends who are compulsive tinkerers (I used to be one as well), and the Apple platform is certainly designed to discourage tinkering. But if tinkering falls off your list of "fun ways to spend a Saturday while the wife *****es at you in the background", I think Apple tends to rise to the top as a choice.

ETA: can't rep you just yet, but I will.

 

[Andyccw]

Just IPhone 4s... the wife has older ipods as well.. but I HATE iTunes!!!

 

[Cemetery-man]

Just don't buy an apple computer from Best Buy. I had mine 2 days and when I installed my printers neither one would work. I used the 6 months "free" Geek Squad I recvd when I bought mine and after 2 hours with a specialist on the phone, they ended up charging me $100 to install them.

Seems when I used the printers install disk it overrote the printer drivers that were pre-installed on the macbook and screwed everything up. He told me never to use install disks again and if the driver isn't listed, then download the lastest version and use that one.

I have a flatbed scanner that I need but I'm scared to death to plug it into the mac for fear of screwing something up again. Are all Macs this finicky with hardware.

 

[mrjarrell]

Just don't buy an apple computer from Best Buy. I had mine 2 days and when I installed my printers neither one would work. I used the 6 months "free" Geek Squad I recvd when I bought mine and after 2 hours with a specialist on the phone, they ended up charging me $100 to install them.

Seems when I used the printers install disk it overrote the printer drivers that were pre-installed on the macbook and screwed everything up. He told me never to use install disks again and if the driver isn't listed, then download the lastest version and use that one.

I have a flatbed scanner that I need but I'm scared to death to plug it into the mac for fear of screwing something up again. Are all Macs this finicky with hardware.

Well, as a matter of course, you should never buy anything from Best Buy. They're terrible.
As for your scanner, you should be able to just plug it in. My Kodak multifunction was like that, plug and play, no software or drivers necessary. It scanned right into Preview at the push of a button. You could always go to the manufacturer and download any Mac software they have available or download a copy of Gimp, for retouching and the like (think Photoshop, but free). The software that came with your scanner may already have compatible Mac ware with it. Give it a shot, you're unlikely to screw anything up.

 

[Fletch]

Just don't buy an apple computer from Best Buy. I had mine 2 days and when I installed my printers neither one would work. I used the 6 months "free" Geek Squad I recvd when I bought mine and after 2 hours with a specialist on the phone, they ended up charging me $100 to install them.

Seems when I used the printers install disk it overrote the printer drivers that were pre-installed on the macbook and screwed everything up. He told me never to use install disks again and if the driver isn't listed, then download the lastest version and use that one.

I have a flatbed scanner that I need but I'm scared to death to plug it into the mac for fear of screwing something up again. Are all Macs this finicky with hardware.

Generally speaking, no. Macs are set up so that you should never need an install disk of any sort. The idea is that you plug it in and "it just works". Printers generally do.

That said, some peripheral manufacturers are so entrenched in the PC/Windows way of doing things that they tend to try and force you to follow that model. HP is particularly bad about this. The software they provided for my printer/scanner/fax combo is all but useless. The printer function runs through the default Mac driver, and I've never had a problem with it. The scanner/fax functions run through the HP software, and drive me absolutely crazy.

Short answer: plug in your scanner with no device drivers and see what your Mac does. It may just pick it up and take you where you want to go. If it doesn't, you probably need to go looking for Mac drivers from the manufacturer.

 

[Shadow]

2-phones,,but would like to check out a i-pad.