Why I Do Not Want a Mac
A bit of background…I’m an IT professional. My expertise is in the arena of enterprise level systems management. I have been working with Microsoft systems for approximately thirteen years. Occasionally I’ll get asked something similar to “why don’t you want a Mac”, “don’t you wish you had a Mac”, etc. Normally I just politely answer that, no…I don’t want a Mac…and go about my business.
I’ve been considering this blog post for a while and finally decided to write out the primary reason that I do not now…or any time soon…want a Mac.
Primarily…the reason I do not want a Mac…certain Mac users…not all of them…just the arrogant ones. Everyone knows the ones I’m talking about. They aren’t just Mac users…they have joined the Cult of Apple. They proselytize on behalf of a computer. (To paraphrase “Fake Steve“.) And…way too often…they treat non-Mac fanatics like they are idiots…people who simply aren’t bright enough to see that Apple is in all ways superior.
It can’t possibly be that some people actually prefer a PC. It can’t possibly be that Microsoft has ever done anything right. Can’t possibly be that there are valid reasons for a user to want a Windows system instead. And heaven forbid…don’t dare say that Windows might actually be better at something than a Mac…that’s heresy punishable by a flogging with iPod earbuds. No…the simple answer for Mac Cultists is that Windows users are just stupid. Give them a condescending pat on the head and send them away…maybe they will get a real computer someday.
And as for Apple…the company seems to want to foster that mindset. Their “I’m a Mac, I’m a PC” commercials certainly lend themselves to this.
Now I have to say…not all Mac users are like this. I am referring to the Mac cultists. Those who are snobby about their computer choice. Those who treat non-Mac people with disdain. Those who can’t speak of a PC except with a condescending tone of voice. Perhaps they don’t realize that they are treating people this way. Perhaps they simply don’t realize what they sound like. It might do them good to read this essay by C.S. Lewis on how we should treat those around us. (It would do all of us good to read that article…I know I need to be reminded often…even as I write this post.) And honestly…when people act like that…they just aren’t a lot of fun to be around. I’m not an idiot…I just have a different computer preference.
If you want to win people over to using a Mac…you’d be more successful by being nice.
So…with all that said…do I want a Mac? Simply…no.
Mac Leopard Firewall Holes
Mac’s new Leopard operating system included an “upgraded” firewall. However, according to security researchers (Leopard Has More Holes Than Spots), it’s not exactly an upgrade. Matter of fact it had some serious issues. Such as shutting off by default (even if you had the firewall turned on before upgrading). Such as having fewer options than the previous version for what to allow or block. Such as the “block all” firewall option not actually blocking everything.
Apple has since released a flury of patches to fix many of the issues, but it begs the question…why on earth did they think it was a good idea to turn OFF the firewall by default? Again…going back to a statement I made in my iPhone vulnerabilities post…didn’t they learn anything from mistakes Microsoft made in the past and fixed years ago…going back to XPSP2?
Another note: the patches that Apple released on November 14-15. There were 41 (yes, forty-one) patches released on the 14th to fix issues in OS X and Safari. Another three patches on the 15th to address firewall issues. [Note: in the comments below, nak mentioned that these numbers may be incorrect. I got the numbers from the article linked to above. I honestly don’t know who is right…nak or the article.] Never heard any uproar about that. Now…if Microsoft released 43 patches over a period of two days to fix a single OS…I am positive that there would have been all kinds of bad press about the “demon software giant” that keeps releasing shoddy software and has to release 43 patches in two days to fix it. In particular, I am confident that Mac users would have been gloating about the “idiots” running Microsoft software.
However…Apple gets a pass. No uproar. Nothing. Heck…I didn’t even know that there had been that many patches until an hour ago. For certain my Mac friends weren’t about to say anything to me!
Anyway, thinking about all of this finally got me motivated to write a post I’ve been contemplating for a while now…Why I do not want a Mac. And my reasoning has absolutely nothing to do with the technology…
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