Re: Mac does Windows with Boot Camp OFFICIALLY!

On 4/8/06 4:23 AM, "Mxsmanic" wrote:

It wasn't a personal attack. I was wondering exactly what you did
know about it, since you say that you have no figures, and your
impression seems to be purely subjective. You wondered about your own
potential ignorance of the subject, and so did I.

Fair enough. I apologize for jumping to conclusions. Though I'd suggest that
your arguments appear to be somewhat subjective as well. Especially since,
by your own admission, you haven't really used MacOSX.

Well, I was one of the fools that paid money to beta test the damn thing. ;)

You're posting to comp.publish.prepress. As far as I can tell you're not
crossposting elsewhere. Are you lost?

I just reply to posts, without changing the groups.

That's probably a bad habit. Newsgroups are segregated into categories for a
reason. This particular discussion is so broad. All I can do is offer my own
perspective from the standpoint of my own personal experience which just so
happens to be prepress. After all, this is comp.publish.prepress.

I know exactly what I'm doing on my computers, so I'm in the cautious
category.

Good for you. Me, too. I'm in the same category.

Sadly I share a network with others who aren't in this category. We all do.
It's called the Internet.

Why don't you just educate your family and friends, and promise not to
help them unless they put in practice what you recommend?

If it were that simple I doubt this thread would be so popular.

You and I (and the others involved in this thread) know damn good and well
that we're not talking about a handful of people. We're talking about the
masses. You can't expect the masses to secure an operating system that isn't
secure any more than you can expect them to drive around on busy freeways at
80mph without putting your own life in jeopardy. That's why they put
seatbelts in cars. What's wrong with protecting an operating system? Why are
you so against that?

Only five percent of all desktop computers are Macs, so all else being
equal, problems with Macs among your entourage are 20 times less
likely. But Macs are also relatively rare targets of attacks, so the
ratio is probably closer to 200:1.

Given the fact that I'm in the prepress industry your numbers don't really
apply to me. I know many more Mac users than Windows users. Of course, we're
all still dependant and effected by Windows and the security risks it
introduces, which is why I'm involved in this discussion in the first place.

It's not a bad recommendation, provided that they don't have a tight
budget,

Yes, Macs cost too much. But I don't mind paying for the sense of security I
can enjoy today. I know full well that will end, but I'm enjoying it right
now. Now that Windows can be run on a Macintosh my sense of security is
likely to diminish rapidly. That's unfortunate.

and provided that they will never need anything other than a basic suite of
applications.

I don't understand. I've got a Mac, but I certainly have more than a basic
suite of applications at my disposal. Of course most of my tools are
prepress related, so that may not interest you.

I can't think of one single application I need that isn't available to me.
Perhaps you can fill me in on what I'm missing?

I've made similar recommendations myself, for people who only want the Web
and e-mail.

A Mac is perfect for that, but certainly not as limited to that as you'd
like others to think.

One must be careful, however, since these people may complain when they want
to do something new and they find out that it is available only on Windows.

Not very likely to happen unless they're into gaming or something much more
specific to anything beyond the realm of what most users are doing with
their computers. Remember, we're talking about the masses here.

They may also complain about the high prices of Mac systems.

A valid complaint, I must agree.

In fact, most accidents--even those caused by other drivers--are
indeed avoidable. This is how some drivers maintain perfect driving
records throughout their lives: they are able to avoid accidents
caused by themselves, and they are able to avoid accidents caused by
others, and they are never unlucky enough to be exposed to the
minority of accidents that are impossible to avoid.

Luck again. Funny how you bring that up again after dismissing it in the
beginning.

The main reason why it isn't there is a lack of demand. Protection
invariably inconveniences users, and most users want convenience, not
protection--except during the brief period following a virus infection
or other problem.

You haven't really had much experience with "most users" have you? Well, I
have. I do on a daily basis. This is not the attitude of "most users" since
"most users" have already been inconvenienced by some sort of malware due to
the security flaws in the Windows OS.

Also, the vulnerability of a system varies in close connection with
its functionality. More features mean more vulnerabilities. But
features sell software, whereas security does not, so from an economic
standpoint, vendors must provide more features in order to sell
software, not more security. That has changed slightly in recent
years and may continue to change, but that's how it works right now,
and that's how it has always worked outside of the military. And even
the military sometimes makes this mistake.

All the more reason for security to be built into the operating system.
You're arguing your way right into what you're arguing against.

I wonder if Apple will integrate such protection into MacOSX when/if it
becomes a problem the way it is with Windows...

Probably, in time. Apple may be slower about it, though, because
Apple has traditionally been more concerned with doing things its own
way than with making money, and it may be reluctant to admit that
there are any perfections in its software (its reaction to bugs in the
past tends to support this).

You should really get to know some prepress people. Your whole take on this
thing is a mirror image of the impression in the prepress industry in my
area: The exact opposite. Like looking at a negative piece of film and
picturing the result on press.

Have a great weekend!

Tim


BTW: MacOSX sucks if you ask me. All we needed was multitasking and
protected memory. We got that, and a cartoon, and a whole 'nother slew of
problems, too.



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