Mac “Nice Touch” Features That Make You Smile

[aryayush]

Mac “Nice Touch” Features That Make You Smile

By: Chuck Konfrst
Published: Thursday, September 6, 2007


It seems my last article Top 7 Most Annoying Mac “Features” struck a nerve with some folks, which is always fun. It’s not easy coming up with annoying features of the best platform in the world.

I thought I’d shift gears this time and pick some of the best features of the Mac platform that give your Mac that Apple polish. Hopefully I will strike more nerves again. These are the features that when first discovered actually make you smile and a little amazed at how much thought Apple puts in its products.

In no particular order -

Software Install & Uninstall - With some exceptions, to install software you just drag the application into the Applications folder. To uninstall, just drag it into the trash. It’s (mostly) that easy. Windoze? Lengthy and complicated install/uninstall processes. Even when you’re installing something that requires an installer, it’s much more straight-forward and intuitive. Read more...

[Via My First Mac]


I can add several more to that list...

[alsiladka]

Not bad, nice stuff there. No flames, but every OS does have some exclusivity to it.

Must say, since these few articles in the last two weeks, i am eager to try out a mac! But i dont see my urge getting fulfilled in the near future! Too bad we dont have the apple stores over here in india.

I feel apple has simply not utlized the indian market atall!

[iMav]

bada ambani la raha hai na

[alsiladka]

Really ? Mukesh la raha hai? Anil p jyada suit karta tha lekin.

[contactpraven2001]

i m agree with u anil pe suit karta hai ..........

[Gigacore]

wow. . . i wont get it even if i sell my 15 year old tricycle

[chesss]

It Just Works - My favorite Mac feature is that in most instances, things just work. New digital camera? Just plug it in and iPhoto instantly recognizes it. No need to install drivers or anything. Wireless network configuration? What configuration? It just works. New external hard drive? Just plug it in. My favorite instance is when I was desperate for high-speed internet and had DirectTV satellite internet. It wasn’t supported for Macs so I broke down and bought a dirt cheap Windows machine to network the internet connection. I hooked up a wireless network on the PC that itself couldn’t see, but my 3 Macs simply connected to it no problem.

I could go on and on. There are thousands of nice touches that Apple puts on their hardware and software. Like starting to type a word and pressing the ESC key to get a list of possible words.

these sound too good to be true. Do macs really work like this?

Originally Posted by alsiladka

Must say, since these few articles in the last two weeks, i am eager to try out a mac!

I've already decided that my next comp will be a Mac. No more Windoze for me . But it won't be soon. Hopefully they would've become a bit cheaper by then.

[alsiladka]

I feel a Mac upto 60K may just be within my reach, but then, it must have the horsepower.

Even if it is capable of playing HD movies without framing or stuttering, it is more than enough for me.

[gxsaurav]

Originally Posted by krazyfrog

Even if it is capable of playing HD movies without framing or stuttering, it is more than enough for me.

Then u better look for Windows because Blue Ray & HD DVDs play better on Windows & so do X.264 encoded HD Rips

^^ I'm not buying anytime soon. By the time i buy, Apple might've upgraded the hardware. Actually i'm bored by Windows and want a change. Plus all the Windows advantages over Mac don't really affect me since i'm not a power user. I just want a simple computer that does all the basic stuff, but with style. And Mac fits the bill.

[Pathik]

Well buying a Mac isnt the only way to try a Mac..
And if u r a gamer then Mac ll surely disappoint u as it has in my case..

^^ i don't like the idea of gaming on a pc anyway. I think games are better played on console, thats why i bought my ps2. Also i don't just want to try a Mac. I've taken a liking to Macs, their general look and feel. Thats why i want to own one. But as i said, its not gonna be anytime soon. I might even change my opinion later on.

[aryayush]

Originally Posted by chesss

these sound too good to be true. Do macs really work like this?

Apple, you have a customer for life!
Read that. People will say I am going overboard about a simple auto-save feature. I accept that I am. But what they don't get is that it saved my butt without my having to do anything at all. Zero configuration. Wordpad on Windows is the closest equivalent of TextEdit on Macs. Can it do what TextEdit did? I am sure that even if I was using Microsoft Word 2007, it would not have been able to save my document like TextEdit did. I was typing and had not saved anything at all; the cord got pulled and the machine was immediately turned off. I rebooted and launched TextEdit and there my document was, without my having to do anything at all. "It just works." This is what the "nice touches" are all about.

My brand new Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ3 camera, which is not even out in most countries yet, works perfectly on Mac OS X 10.4 "Tiger", a three year old operating system and it does not work with Windows Vista out of the box (but does work if I install the drivers and software on the included CD).

I know you'll dismiss me saying that I am a fanboy or whatever, but the fact is the fact. Macs just work.

[gxsaurav]

Originally Posted by aryayush

I am sure that even if I was using Microsoft Word 2007, it would not have been able to save my document like TextEdit did.

Yes it would have, autorecovery is there since 7 years in Word. Doesn't matter whether u save or not, an autorecovery files is always made.

[infra_red_dude]

Originally Posted by pathiks

And if u r a gamer then Mac ll surely disappoint u as it has in my case..

BootCamp, sir. You can comfortable run Windows for all your gaming needs Currently Mac is the only platform that can LEGALLY run all the x86/64 Operating Systems in the market.

Originally Posted by aryayush

I am sure that even if I was using Microsoft Word 2007, it would not have been able to save my document like TextEdit did.

I know TextEdit is a great app. But it'd be better if you compare it with Notepad and not Word. If I remember it correctly, Word has the autosave and autorecovery feature since Office 97 or even Office 95!

[goobimama]

Macs can very well play x264 HD content. Even Bluray when the software support is there. Right now there's no bluray/hd dvd software. But the hardware is definitely capable. I can play 1080p 16:9 x264 on my Core Duo 2.0Ghz iMac...The new Core2Duo Macs can definitely play all kinds of HD amazingly well. The case for PCs are better at HD is something like a PC will use 25% CPU to play the video, while the Mac will use 50% CPU to play the same. But the drop-dead silence of the Mac more than makes up for them whiny PCs...

Of course, if it's gaming, then definitely look elsewhere, cause OS X is not a gaming system as of yet. Of course, rebooting into bootcamp to play an occasional game isn't all that bad.

[aryayush]

If TextEdit is Butter Masala Dosa, Notepad is the chutney!

Wordpad inches somewhat closer but even then TextEdit has the lead.

And I am not comparing TextEdit to Word. (Microsoft Office costs thousands of rupees, TextEdit is free and included by default!)

Even Parallels Desktop and VMWare Fusion do games now.

[gxsaurav]

Originally Posted by goobimama

Macs can very well play x264 HD content. Even Bluray when the software support is there. Right now there's no bluray/hd dvd software.

Correction, right now there is no BluRay/HD DVD Playback software for Mac OS. On Windows we have Nero Showtime, WinDVD & PowerDVD.

But the hardware is definitely capable.

The current hardware is not capable. Neither your iMac, nor arya's Macbook will be able to play BluRay & HD DVD content due to the lack of such optical drive & lack of HDCP support in the graphics card you are using in your computers. Even if u use an external drive or upgrade your drive using 3rd party Mac upgrade service which isn't available in India, even then u can't play cos U don't have a HDCP complaint graphics card & HDMI supported monitor.

Unlike a PC, you are stuck. In our case we can simply upgrade as & when we want, in your case you have to buy a new iMac.

I can play 1080p 16:9 x264 on my Core Duo 2.0Ghz iMac

Yup, obviously, even we can on Windows. But you can't play the real thing, & I guess U know that X264 is a 3rd party encoder & the content is usually pirated. R U supporting piracy now?

Originally Posted by aryayush

Wordpad inches somewhat closer but even then TextEdit has the lead.

Wordpad sux since a long time. I never even opened Wordpad.

Even Parallels Desktop and VMWare Fusion do games now.

Its slower then a native application on Windows, & definitely lacks support for latest titles.

[infra_red_dude]

@GX
Do you think by the time Bluray/HD DVD becomes common in our country nobody would haf upgraded their current PCs or Macs?

[goobimama]

I never mentioned anything about piracy. It being 'generally' pirated has nothing to do with the codec.

As for HD DVD/Bluray playback software, I meant for the mac. Of course these are there for Windows. I should have been more specific.

Again, I know you can play 1080p/x264 on Windows as well, it's just that the guy above was asking if he could play them on the mac stutter free. Don't have to take this as PCs can't play them.

Yes, wordpad sucks.

[aryayush]

Originally Posted by infra_red_dude

@GX
Do you think by the time Bluray/HD DVD becomes common in our country nobody would haf upgraded their current PCs or Macs?

I will have, that's for sure.

Did you notice something?

People crib about the iPhone not having 3G and Macs not having support for Blu-ray and HD DVDs, despite the fact that even with that support they would have been pretty useless in India.

And yet, they don't give any credit to the lots of USA-only services and accessories for Macs, because they are not available in India.

Here's an idea. Why not use the same yardstick for both? Either look at it from an Indian resident's point of view or an American's (I would suggest the former).

Originally Posted by goobimama

Yes, wordpress sucks.

Where'd this come from!

[ax3]

mac r the best .......... am willing 2 pay 60k .......