Before I get to the final part of my iBook versus XP Laptop comparison, let me rant for a few paragraphs about a particular Mac advertisement:
mac experiment finale
10 march, 2002
by johnmichael patrick monty monteithMac users looking for the reason that I.T. Directors and C.I. Officers everywhere do not give Apple a fair shot, you need look no further than Apple's own propaganda. Case and point: http://www.apple.com/powermac/
Here we see the Steve Jobs Reality Distortion Field hitting new power levels. I quote: "…the new twin-engined G4 runs professional applications like Adobe Photoshop up to 72 percent faster - and crunches digital video over 300 percent faster - than a 2GHz Pentium 4-based PC. …"
Is this for real? Lessee.. The cheapest available price I could find for a dual-processor G4 (without monitor or any extras) is $2,999. The cheapest price I could find online for a 2Ghz P4 system is a web based clone sales store that sold them for $899. So, Steve Jobs is comparing a computer that is effectively 300 percent more expensive, and find that the Mac is 72 percent faster? Digital video is 300 percent faster? Wow. You will pay over three times as much as the comparison system, too, but we'll ignore that.
Now, I'll be the first to admit that the new dual processor G4 is fast. It will certainly compete with the fastest Pentium systems out there. But, if we are going to do comparisons, at least compare a dual processor PPC system to a dual processor Intel system. Do not insult an I.T. professional's intelligence, Steve. And you wonder why highly educated I.T. professionals laugh at Apple? Case and point.
Perhaps I am just a little bitter because my great Macintosh experiment was not as successful as I had hoped. I genuinely had the goal that, if things went well, that I would be a Mac convert. Unfortunately, the goal was not achievable. I tucked-tail and returned to the land of the Windows XP laptop after two months of iBook use. Despite the fact that I liked the hardware much better than any WinTel notebook (I turned heads everywhere I drug the little computer), I was amazed to find that the software was severely lacking. If I could have put Windows XP on the iBook hardware, I would have found utopia. (I hear Mac users everywhere screaming in agony as they read that last sentence.)
This is not to say that OS X is not a quality product. It is excellent. The problem is that the applications I needed to run are not available on it. Don't even suggest Windows Emulation, it simply begs the question of why I would use a Mac laptop. I tried Citrix for remote controlling my work applications, which works fabulous in the office. However, without a single PPTP VPN client available for the Mac, I was unable to access those applications from home. (Sort of defeats the purpose of having a laptop, doesn't it?)
First, lets focus on the negative:
The iBook is still around. We have it at my place of employment as a loaner laptop for our Mac users that need to access their work from outside the office. It can dial into our work network, and run Citrix Metaframe to get to all our work applications. A very reasonable system. However, getting the Mac to work natively with our systems and applications, or be able to VPN into the office over the Internet were dramatic failures.
On the VPN front I have a news story that sums up some of the frustrations I had in store. As you know from previous columns, I have been unable to find a single VPN client for the Mac. A couple of weeks ago I read in PC World that PGP VPN was the only VPN client available for the Mac. So, off I went to their web site, and ordered a copy of PGP VPN. When I opened the software, there was a "ReadMe" PDF document explaining how to install the Mac version. I followed the directions to find that the program did not exist. I called them up, and after a week I received the response that their Mac version was never released to the public and they were getting rid of it.
Despite numerous Mac users emailing me to tell me "look beyond the end of your nose - there are VPN clients for the Mac", not a single one that works has materialized. I do hold hope that DigiTunnel will be released soon, and this issue will be solved. For now, though, I think it is safe to say that VPN does not exist on the Mac. And, for those that questioned why I believe the operating system should have VPN built in - now you know why.
Many ask why I care so much about VPN. Well, that is because there are numerous programs I use daily that will not work on a Mac. Numerous proprietary databases, the newest version of Outlook (to connect to an Exchange Server), the latest Crystal Reports software, Microsoft Money, FrontPage, various utilities, etc.. Citrix over a VPN connection solves this problem. Without VPN, there is no solution short of running Windows emulation. (And I might as well use a Windows laptop, then.)
My other major negative episode since my last writing was regarding "system update". A couple weeks ago I was working along in Entourage and Word and I got very frustrated because my apps kept crashing. In fact, while the operating system rarely crashed, the applications were crashing as regularly as they do in Windows 98. Only a few hours after showing this trait to my significant other, Apple came to my rescue. A message came up on screen to download OS 10.1.3 on System Update. This new patch is to fix bugs that make applications crash. My savior!
The only problem is that 95% of the way downloading the patch to stop applications from crashing - the System Update application crashed. Actually, it crashed the entire operating system. Worse yet, it rendered OS X useless, and I was forced to reinstall the entire system and the patches. Also, since re-installing the OS, my computer has slowed down considerably. Perhaps the hard drive is too fragmented now? I will get around to formatting and starting over, but not any day soon.
Now, let us focus on the good news:
The 10.1.3 patch did the job. Since installing I have not had to endure a single application crash. Fabulous stuff!
In addition, I took the advice of a reader and installed some more RAM on my system, and it did an amazing job speeding things up. While the laptop is still nowhere near as fast as the comparison XP laptop - it is entirely useable and an enjoyable experience.
Many of my quarms with the iBook hardware, including screen movement, and button for the touchpad and so on have evaporated. I love the hardware design of this laptop. It has a couple of quirks that bug me (the hockey puck power adapter is ridiculous, and installing an AirPort card under the keyboard is silly), but overall I give it a big thumbs up.
I also have learned how wireless networking is done right. The AirPort card works better than the WinTel wireless equipment I have used, and with considerably less complication. Yes, I had to upgrade the firmware on all of the Linksys wireless hubs, and yes the AirPort card does not have all of the encryption options that our WinTel hardware does. However, it does have one thing the WinTel world does not: wireless networking that most anyone could set up. I love it!
I was actually going to do another chart with all the scoring, but after talking to a few Mac users, I have determined that it really is not a fair mechanism of determination. Individually, Microsoft has all bases covered. They include everything in their operating system (that is why they are in legal trouble). So, comparing item by item is not fair to Apple.
Instead, I am going to complete this whole disgusting conversation with my highly biased and worthless opinions:
If my goal was to carry around the coolest piece of hardware available, it would be an iBook (or a TiBook). No question about it.
If you use Windows applications all day at work every day, and need to work on them from home (like me): You currently have no choice but to purchase a Windows laptop.
If you are not limited by your employer, and you are new to computers, then I suggest the iBook. I actually think Windows XP is a little easier to use initially, but long term the iBook will give greater satisfaction.
If you are a hardcore computer user that pushes the envelope of computing power, then I highly recommend the Windows XP laptop. It is more forgiving than OS X, and has fewer bugs and quirks, and runs much (much) faster.
If you can't stand Microsoft, and will be happy with anything that does not give money to Bill, I recommend a Mac.
If you are someone that likes to mess with bugs and quirks, and can't stand Microsoft, than I recommend Linux.
