Mac ads

[Dys]

I though they were genuinly funny until they started getting silly.
"I'm a mac, and cannot upgrade, therefore I'm superior"

..umm the main reason I bought a PC was so I could keep it up to date easily if I so choose :S

but some of the earlier ones were definately funny, and brilliant marketing.

 

[Ursus Astrorum]

Do it everytime. The problem is that the end your last post has nothing to do with why Macs aren't a fad and you don't see the irony in your post. I'll quote and address each part of the post I plan on responding to, thank you very much.

Looking back I do agree with you there. That would be my bad.

Sorry, the camera I have in your house stopped working some time ago so I haven't been able to keep up with your personal life and what you've built for a while now. I'll be sure to update it next time I'm nearby.

Yes, please do. And be sure watch out for Fluffy, you know how he is about strangers with cameras.

 

[Dr Pussymagnet]

The only thing that the Mac commercials have made me do is hate Justin Long.

 

[Gxas]

Sorry, the camera I have in your house stopped working some time ago so I haven't been able to keep up with your personal life and what you've built for a while now. I'll be sure to update it next time I'm nearby.

Yes, please do. And be sure watch out for Fluffy, you know how he is about strangers with cameras.

^^^ The reason I love the Escapist. Any flame war is resolved over time by people agreeing to disagree. (I still miss you all... RIP Shivari, Juandonde, TaxiDriver...)

 

[Ursus Astrorum]

I apologize; I must have misconstrued what you were saying in respect to Microsoft and it's marketing. Although it seems you're misconstruing what Microsoft's advertisements set out to do. You can't fault it (as you initially were) for not doing something Microsoft never intended for it to do anyway.

It's alright, internet folks get so worked up over consoles that sometimes anything sounds like a challenge. I've done the same thing as you.

And yes, I do see your point with Microsoft's premise here.

Mac OS X comes with very amateur editing and content creation suite that is easily surpassed with freely available software (on both Mac OS X and Windows). Outside of hipster "artists," it really isn't an advantage for the OS X; it's just more bloatware on my studio Mac Pro.

And if Windows is freezing often for you, then you're doing something very wrong. I've built dozens of Vista machines in the last year and...they're all running beautifully. Maybe I'm just really lucky?

Modern Windows machines don't get bogged down by respectable AV software. I wish I could say the same for Mac programs like Digital Performer and even Logic Pro. Why is it that my quad core/4GB Vista computer is far more responsive than my octo-core/16GB Mac Pro?

And the rest isn't really advantages for OS X. Just more reason why Apple can't live without Microsoft.

Yeah, those were just half-assed ripped from the commerials, just to show that Mac makes a show of why you should buy theirs, whether it's actually better or not. I was more focused on the style of the advertising rather than the content anyway, as we've come to realize.

 

[Dr Pussymagnet]

(RIP Shivari, Juandonde, TaxiDriver...)

Shivari? She left the Escapist?

 

[Gxas]

(RIP Shivari, Juandonde, TaxiDriver...)

Shivari? She left the Escapist?

Haven't seen her around for months. Maybe I'm just not looking at threads she is though.

 

[intergral]

Meh. Everyone in my household and almost everybody I know owns a Mac. I use my Macbook for Adobe Creative suite and my Powerbook G4 for Final Cut Pro 4. The Mac ads, while amusing the FIRST time they were shown, are now just pretentious and annoying.

Yes, buy a Mac. No, don't act like a douche. There, I have already outdone the advertisements.

That also goes for the 'spin-off' PC ads. I mean, you don't combat the douche by becoming a douche. In the end, though, it just comes down to personal preference of the OS.

Kudos to Linux for not giving a shit.

 

[MorsePacific]

Yeah, let's talk about all the attacks on Apple the Microsoft spin-off advertisements have mounted.

I'm all over it. The one I've seen gets on my nerves, too. I realize it was just a counter to Apple's ads, but Microsoft seems to have taken a "HAHA, I'M POPULAR TOO, SO PROVE ME WRONG" approach. I honestly don't care if Hank the plumber likes PCs better than Macs. How about giving me some facts to go off of?

 

[MorsePacific]

You're completely missing the point of these ads. And the approach isn't "I'm popular too."

Honestly, that's just what I got out of it. They made it seem like PCs are the best, because a lot of people use them, but of course, I could very possibly be dead wrong.

 

[Elurindel]

Agreed. I have a Mac, it's great. I don't mind the commercials, but I dislike the new PC commercials. I think we can all agree though; when it comes to commercials TiVo rules.

Hmm, I have yet to see these new PC adds can you send me a link to one or something? Just PM it don't waste the forum space. and yes TiVo does rule!

I thought they were kind of funny to begin with, but they've gotten old.

Yeah, all the first ones were funny. Now only a few of the new ones are funny.

The new PC ads were basically starting off with the enrdy guy saying "I'm a PC", then it went through a whole bunch of other people saying "I'm a PC, and this is my office", ranging from out on the ocean to open markets and everywhere else. I thought it was a nice riposte to the Mac ads.

 

[Nivag the Owl]

I like both but I only own a PC. Thing is, I'm not just a gamer, I'm a musician and own a lot of recording equipment. PCs are better for gaming but MACs are better for like... everything else, really.

I don't particularly want one but I don't have a personal vendetta against them. I hate the way the PC-owner is portraid in the MAC adverts but to be fair the new PC adverts are pretty funny So it doesn't bother me that much.

 

[leecho7]

Meh. Everyone in my household and almost everybody I know owns a Mac. I use my Macbook for Adobe Creative suite and my Powerbook G4 for Final Cut Pro 4. The Mac ads, while amusing the FIRST time they were shown, are now just pretentious and annoying.

Yes, buy a Mac. No, don't act like a douche. There, I have already outdone the advertisements.

That also goes for the 'spin-off' PC ads. I mean, you don't combat the douche by becoming a douche. In the end, though, it just comes down to personal preference of the OS.

Kudos to Linux for not giving a shit.

My point exactly. It's really personal preference.
As an extensive Mac user for video editing for school and freelance work, I can't honestly say either OS is better. The only reason why I chose Mac OS X is because of the professional software that is OS X exclusive (Final Cut Studio 2).

I prefer this bundle of softwares over what AVID and Adobe have to offer. I use all three quite a bit to make a sound decision, and it just so happens FCS2 appealed to me more because of its interface and cost.

I still have Vista installed on my Mac Pro, and sure it has its flaws, but so does OS X.

 

[Gxas]

DO NOT ACTUALLY TYPE THE CONTENTS OF THE SPOILER INTO YOUR TERMINAL WINDOW!!!!!

The fact of the matter is that Macs are now a fad to any person in college who has used a PC all of their life. It doesn't matter if you say you think it is better than a PC or not, the reason you bought that computer was simply because it is 'hip' right now. Sure, you may like that it has no learning curve to it. hell, I'll agree with you on that point. What I would love to do is have one of these Mac users I referred to above open Terminal and type in four simple keystrokes:

Spoiler: SEE BELOW BEFORE VIEWING SPOILER!!!!

rm *

That would solve a whole lot in my opinion.

Spoiler: THIS!!! READ THIS BEFORE YOU VIEW THE OTHER SPOILER!!!!!!!!

(In regard to above spoiler; to all mac users who have no clue as to the basic working of the Unix operating system; DO NOT DO THIS!!! It will completely wipe everything off of your computer rendering it completely useless! Please, DO NOT DO THIS!!!!!)

I warned you!!! I did!!

Just for the record, it's:

Spoiler

rm -rf /

That clears all folders without any confirmation prompts.

Really? I was told it worked either way. Whatever, as long as it clears everything I'm happy.

 

[geizr]

Ok, so its a way of software-frying a mac?

Yes. The perfect practical joke for a 'hip mac user' with tons of money.

Okay, this little run of hypocritical condescension kinda took the cake for me.

First off, plenty of us mac users are quite aware of Unix commands and how to use them(though there is definitely a set that do not). This command, by itself, will not perform the horrible action you desire. It will simply erase all the files in the current directory(if you have proper file permissions for those files). The correct set of commands are

cd /
sudo -u root rm -rf *.*

or more specifically, on mac, you open the terminal while logged in as an administrator with permission to sudo to root. Then you would enter the commands

cd /
sudo rm -rf *.*

This does a forced erasure of all files and directories starting at the root directory and doing so as the root user(which is a higher level of privilege than even the administrator, and you will have to enter a password to complete the action). The reason this permanently bricks a machine is that the firmware is also a directory(/dev) from the root directory, as fair as the Unix operating system is concerned, and root has access to those firmware directories. So, this command will delete the firmware from the machine for every device, including the CPU, motherboard chipset, GPU, harddrive chips, DVD/CD-ROM drive chips, etc(the next time you are on a Unix machine, take a glance at the /dev directory).

Actually doing this to someone's machine is not a practical joke; it's a serious act of vandalism because the machine is a literal brick at that point. If you are such a small person that you would actually do this to someone's mac just because you can't stand the unjustifiable smugness of a select few, then you prove that you are much less a person than they are.

NEVER, EVER, EVER DO THIS!!

Edit: Had to add admonishment at the end.

 

[Gxas]

Ok, so its a way of software-frying a mac?

Yes. The perfect practical joke for a 'hip mac user' with tons of money.

Okay, this little run of hypocritical condescension kinda took the cake for me.

Actually doing this to someone's machine is not a practical joke; it's a serious act of vandalism because the machine is a literal brick at that point. If you are such a small person that you would actually do this to someone's mac just because you can't stand the unjustifiable smugness of a select few, then you prove that you are much less a person than they are.

NEVER, EVER, EVER DO THIS!!

Edit: Had to add admonishment at the end.

Well in all seriousness I was totally kidding. With the way computers (especially Macs) are priced nowadays, I would never ever dream of doing this to someone. Way to go Mr. Literal.

As to my 'hypocritical condescension': I wasn't referring to you at all. See, the thing you don't realize is that people nowadays buy Macs because they are Macs. Not because they know what makes a Mac different from a PC. That was who I was referring to; The people I went to high school with who had never heard of a Mac before last year and then bought one. The people who have absolutely no idea whatsoever what Unix is. Those people are who I was referring to as 'hip Mac users'. You obviously know a thing or two about Macs because you know how to use Unix. These people I am referring to have no clue whatsoever. Don't try to lump yourself into the mix because you want to pick a fight. Believe me, I've won. Macs are, indeed, a fad nowadays. To those of you, like you and my grandparents, who have used Macs for years: kudos to you. You are in no way better than us PC users at all. To those of you who bought a Mac because these ads told you that Macs are so much better than Vista and all PC products and don't get viruses ever, way to go. Apple basically lied out their asses to get you to buy their product and you know what? It worked!!!

Look, I never, ever, said that I was in any way shape or form, better than any Mac user. You all assumed that I did because I don't use your OS. You know what? I'm too lazy to learn how to use a Mac because a PC can do everything a Mac can. What's the point in learning a new OS if mine can do the exact same shit as yours? Oh? Whats that? Yeah, ok. I can't take my PC out of the box and do everything yours can immediately. I don't care though.

PC = Mac = Linux

NONE IS BETTER THAN THE OTHER!!! IT IS ALL PERSONAL PREFERENCE!!!!

 

[TheTygerfire]

They're just annoying now. I like my PC. SO what if their are viruses, as long as you're smart you can avoid them.

 

[teh_gunslinger]

Ok, so its a way of software-frying a mac?

Yes. The perfect practical joke for a 'hip mac user' with tons of money.

Okay, this little run of hypocritical condescension kinda took the cake for me.

First off, plenty of us mac users are quite aware of Unix commands and how to use them(though there is definitely a set that do not). This command, by itself, will not perform the horrible action you desire. It will simply erase all the files in the current directory(if you have proper file permissions for those files). The correct set of commands are

cd /
sudo -u root rm -rf *.*

or more specifically, on mac, you open the terminal while logged in as an administrator with permission to sudo to root. Then you would enter the commands

cd /
sudo rm -rf *.*

This does a forced erasure of all files and directories starting at the root directory and doing so as the root user(which is a higher level of privilege than even the administrator, and you will have to enter a password to complete the action). The reason this permanently bricks a machine is that the firmware is also a directory(/dev) from the root directory, as fair as the Unix operating system is concerned, and root has access to those firmware directories. So, this command will delete the firmware from the machine for every device, including the CPU, motherboard chipset, GPU, harddrive chips, DVD/CD-ROM drive chips, etc(the next time you are on a Unix machine, take a glance at the /dev directory).

Actually doing this to someone's machine is not a practical joke; it's a serious act of vandalism because the machine is a literal brick at that point. If you are such a small person that you would actually do this to someone's mac just because you can't stand the unjustifiable smugness of a select few, then you prove that you are much less a person than they are.

NEVER, EVER, EVER DO THIS!!

Edit: Had to add admonishment at the end.

I'm curious, seeing as I don't really know a lot of Unix stuff. (Windows and Linux works for me just fine) To what extent is the Mac bricked after this command. You mention firmware being erased. Is it not possible to install that again? I'm in no way trying to mixed up in all af this, but I would like to know. Is it really completely bricked forever and ever (or at least an almost equivalent degree) or is it possible for a user to salvage the wreckage?

Edit: Oh, the hell with it. i might as well say my piece. I don't really like Mac. I'm sure it's an okay computer but I don't want one. The times I've tried them and had to work on them I've felt constrained. It seemed I had very little freedom. But that may just be me, so anyone should go ahead and get one if they feel like it. I just never will.
That being said, the ads are not helping to bring me over. Infact they do the oposite. They alienate me from the Mac userbase and the brand as a whole. By watching a Mac ad I don't think: "Oh, Mac sure seems like a good system." No, I end up thinking: "Man, what a bunch of half truths and blatant lies." They really don't give me any reasons to buy the thing. They just lie to me. How is that going to win me over?

 

[geizr]

Ok, so its a way of software-frying a mac?

Yes. The perfect practical joke for a 'hip mac user' with tons of money.

Okay, this little run of hypocritical condescension kinda took the cake for me.

First off, plenty of us mac users are quite aware of Unix commands and how to use them(though there is definitely a set that do not). This command, by itself, will not perform the horrible action you desire. It will simply erase all the files in the current directory(if you have proper file permissions for those files). The correct set of commands are

cd /
sudo -u root rm -rf *.*

or more specifically, on mac, you open the terminal while logged in as an administrator with permission to sudo to root. Then you would enter the commands

cd /
sudo rm -rf *.*

This does a forced erasure of all files and directories starting at the root directory and doing so as the root user(which is a higher level of privilege than even the administrator, and you will have to enter a password to complete the action). The reason this permanently bricks a machine is that the firmware is also a directory(/dev) from the root directory, as fair as the Unix operating system is concerned, and root has access to those firmware directories. So, this command will delete the firmware from the machine for every device, including the CPU, motherboard chipset, GPU, harddrive chips, DVD/CD-ROM drive chips, etc(the next time you are on a Unix machine, take a glance at the /dev directory).

Actually doing this to someone's machine is not a practical joke; it's a serious act of vandalism because the machine is a literal brick at that point. If you are such a small person that you would actually do this to someone's mac just because you can't stand the unjustifiable smugness of a select few, then you prove that you are much less a person than they are.

NEVER, EVER, EVER DO THIS!!

Edit: Had to add admonishment at the end.

I'm curious, seeing as I don't really know a lot of Unix stuff. (Windows and Linux works for me just fine) To what extent is the Mac bricked after this command. You mention firmware being erased. Is it not possible to install that again? I'm in no way trying to mixed up in all af this, but I would like to know. Is it really completely bricked forever and ever (or at least an almost equivalent degree) or is it possible for a user to salvage the wreckage?

Edit: Oh, the hell with it. i might as well say my piece. I don't really like Mac. I'm sure it's an okay computer but I don't want one. The times I've tried them and had to work on them I've felt constrained. It seemed I had very little freedom. But that may just be me, so anyone should go ahead and get one if they feel like it. I just never will.
That being said, the ads are not helping to bring me over. Infact they do the oposite. They alienate me from the Mac userbase and the brand as a whole. By watching a Mac ad I don't think: "Oh, Mac sure seems like a good system." No, I end up thinking: "Man, what a bunch of half truths and blatant lies." They really don't give me any reasons to buy the thing. They just lie to me. How is that going to win me over?

As I understand it, it's bricked. It takes a factory reinstall to get the system to work again.

And I would like to give an apology to Gxas in that I reacted poorly. I let some of the other comments on this thread rile me.


To the haters, yes, there are some serious asshole mac users, but there are also some serious asshole PC users. Yes, there are some idiot mac users, but there are also some idiot PC users. Macs have their advantages and disadvantages; PCs have their advantages and disadvantages. As a mac user, I fully agree that macs are not the top-end when it comes to gaming, but, with the introduction of the intel macs, they are not that bad either(in fact, they are usually good enough such that other factors come into play in the buying decision).

While macs are not as much a target for viruses, trojans, or malware, they are not invulnerable(though it is debatable that they may be marginally more difficult to infect due to the way permissions are handled). Even with a mac, one should have a good firewall(properly configured and updated), a good anti-virus(properly configured and updated), keep the OS updated with fixes, and use good user practice. This is simple general computer literacy and usage.

For some, these things are obvious and easy, but for others, they're not. However, those for whom it is not obvious are not automatically idiots just because they can't do something you can do. It is not reasonable to expect everyone that uses a computer(be it Mac or Windows) to be an expert in technology(however, it is very likely most Linux users ARE technology experts), just the same as not everyone that drives a car knows how to take it apart and put it back together again. There will always be those who choose a machine and, yet, understand very little about its operation and use. If this were not true, services such as The Geek Squad would not have a market such as they do.

Technology is very complex and most of it is crap, in my opinion(including my mac). The choice comes down to the trade-off of what crap you can stand and what crap you can't stand. When things break you pay a cost, no matter what. The cost may be in your own time and effort to fix it yourself, or the cost may be in your money to have someone else fix the machine or to replace it. The choice comes down to personal values--which do you find more valuable, your time or your money?

 

[axia777]

Mac ads suck and I want to kick the Mac guys ass. I could to because he looks like some skinny ass snide, snobby, Gap wearing geek who needs an ass whipping.