Have a question? Ask an expert! Navigation Used Mac Dealers Apple History Best Used Macs Video Cards Email Lists InfoMac's Low End Mac Forum Favorite Sites MacSurfer MacMinute MacInTouch MyAppleMenu InfoMac Macs Only! The Mac Observer Accelerate Your Mac RetroMacCast PB Central MacWindows The Vintage Mac    Museum DealMac DealsOnTheWeb Mac2Sell ramseeker Mac Driver Museum JAG's House System 6 Heaven System 7 Today the pickle's Low-End    Mac FAQ Abandonware    Petition Mac vs. PC Info Affiliates The Apple Store Mac Connection MacMall TechRestore MacResQ ExperCom Crucial Memory batteries.com Advertise All of our advertising is handled by BackBeat Media. For price quotes and advertising information, please contact at BackBeat Media (646-546-5194). This number is for advertising only. Problems viewing this page with Internet Explorer 5.5 or 6? It works fine in other browsers, including IE 7. We recommend Firefox for those using Windows, as it is standards based and more secure than IE 6 (and earlier). More LEM visitors use Firefox than any other browser. Analogies to Help Pundits Comprehend the Difference Between Macs and Windows Low End Mac Reader Specials Memory To Go Special: New 2008 iMac 2GB $42 / iMac Intel Core2 DUO & MacBook Pro 2GB $36 - 1GB $20. MacPro 8 Core Memory 8GB kit $286 / 4GB kit $143 / 2GB kit $93 -- Free shipping available. LIfetime warranty. Download Typestyler, still the Ultimate Styling Tool for Internet, Print and Video Graphics. Works great in Classic with a Native OS X Version on the way. Free Tryout: www.typestyler.com LA Computer Company: Specials on AppleCare, iMac's, Apple Batteries and Apple A/C Adapters. Also Great prices on Used Apple Computers. Call 1-800-941-7654 Click Here. OWC: NewerTech miniStack FireWire/USB 2.0 HD & Hub Up to 1.0TB of Performance Storage + FW/USB2 Powered Hubs - convenient & sleek 6.5" x 6.5" x 1.5" Featured: 500GB $169.99; 750GB $209.99; 1.0TB $339.99 Mac users can finally play Party Poker for Mac. Not only that, they can also learn how to play PokerStars for Mac. Laptop Hardware Provided by TechRestore - Overnight Mac & iPod Repairs. Compare products like desktop computers, laptops, and LCD TVs side by side! All the information and reviews to make the best purchasing decision for a new cell phone GPS products or MP3 players. The Ciao network makes searching products easy for you. - 2004.12.16 Hello Pundits! Welcome to the Lite Side, where we're about to do our civic duty in providing analogies to help you understand the difference between the Mac OS and Windows. I thought these things were old-school, tired analogies, but after recent events in Sarasota, Florida, it's became apparent that certain pundits (who shall remain nameless) need these analogies repeated because they have no direct experience with Macs. I wrote one of these hoary old analogies myself, If Cars Were Like Operating Systems, about two years ago. I urge our friends in Florida to copy it into an email and send it to the Powers That Be to help them comprehend why we like Macs. Anyway, I thought I'd toss a few more analogies into the mix to help you understand why we "fanatics" are frustrated with your fumbling of this fundamental issue. Aimed at Pundits: Having a pundit tell a teacher to switch to Windows when the teacher is a Mac specialist is like... having a pundit tell a surgeon to use a pair of baby scissors to cut open a chest in preparation for heart surgery because baby scissors are cheaper than scalpels. having a pundit tell a mechanic to install an engine that doesn't fit in your car because those engines are cheaper and exist on the majority of cars on the road. (It's a no-brainer!) having a pundit tell a farmer to use a hoe to prepare his field because hoes are cheaper, and not many people own tractors. having a pundit tell a contractor to install all plastic pipe in a house because it is cheaper than the copper pipe you were thinking of using. having a pundit tell a jockey that riding a donkey would be better than riding a thoroughbred because donkeys are cheaper. Old Standards Macs are like BMWs. They don't have a large market share, but those people who own them like them a lot. Windows is like McDonald's. Popular does not always mean best. New Ones Windows is like a housing development where all the houses are variants of about four basic designs. One day, a Mac user tries to build a geodesic dome in the neighborhood, but he is denied a building permit from the city despite the fact that domes are more earthquake resistant, energy efficient, and when all the interior parts are installed, not much more expensive than a regular house with the same features. Buying Windows is like buying tires that don't quite fit your car. They're cheap, but sooner or later they're going to cause you to crash. Windows is like going to the grocery store for food and finding everything on the shelf is some variant of bologna. You'd like to get some steak, but it's too expensive, and you have to mail order it or go out of town to get it. You know people who can eat steak, and you're jealous. You decide to ask for steak, but you're told by the police waiting to escort you home that you're only allowed to buy bologna even though you would pay for steak yourself if you were allowed to have it. Macs are like rap music. Not everyone likes it, but there's a definite niche market for it. Some people try to mimic it but don't do it very well. Other kinds of music are being influenced by it but are not allowed to admit that rap has an influence. Everything bad that happens is blamed on it. Windows users are like that guy you meet at a party who dominates every conversation and speaks in a no-nonsense, folksy way (sort of like Bill O'Reilly) so no matter what he says it seems to make perfect sense. He tells you that if you were smart, you would support drilling in Alaska because there's big money to be made, and your idea of using wind power is nice but just not practical for the majority of people. Windows is like the English system of measurement. Everyone you know uses it, no one knows it really well (what's a rod?), and those people who suggest we should switch to metrics (Mac OS) because it is better are considered to be unrealistic and naive. Windows is like pop music. Everyone would rather listen to something else, but it's the only thing playing on the radio. Some people claim to like it, and we all respect their opinion, because it's politically incorrect and not nice to make fun of stupid people. "Architects cannot learn to design grand cathedrals if they are taught all their drawing courses using only an Etch-a-Sketch because the company struck a deal with the university." (One of a series of security related analogies from this excellent page detailing analogies by Dr. Gene Spafford.) Another from the same site: "...you buy a car and say that you don't care if it is made of cardboard or has any brakes, so long as it is cheap." Send along your favorite analogy comparing Macs to Windows, and we'll post 'em here. You know the drill: If you send it, I can post it, and if you don't want your name and/or email attached, you have to say so. P.S. It's time for your weekly reminder to send a note to Rich Brooks in Sarasota, asking when is he going to actually (a) use a Mac and (b) visit a classroom using Macs and try to "improve" it. Recent Lite Sides What if Apple thought like a PC company?, 11.01. Apple has innovated and blazed its own trail. But what if it had followed the path taken by the PC copycats? How Microsoft can turn Vista lemons into lemonade, 10.22. How Microsoft could profit by no longer allowing manufacturers to sell new PCs with Windows XP installed. iPods that never passed beta or focus groups, 09.13. "What most Apple fans don't realize is that there were a few iPod variants that never made it out of beta testing and the focus group stage." Pigs fly, snow in Death Valley, and Dvorak uses a Mac, 08.03. What has the world come to when John Dvorak, founding member of the Axis of Macevil, walks into the temple of All Things Macintosh? More in the The Lite Side index. Links for the Day Mac of the Day: Power Mac 8200, Apr. 1996 - The minitower version of 7200 was never sold in America. List of the Day: G4 List is for those using Power Mac G4s or G4 upgrades. October 7 in LEM history: 98: Love that PowerBook G3 - 99: Troubleshooting 101 - Love at first sight - 02: Hot rodding a Power Mac for OS X - Beefing up Windows networking - 05: Choose FireWire 800 over USB 2.0 and FireWire 400 - Faster Mac minis shipping - Speedy 100 GB 7200 rpm notebook drives Recent Content on Low End Mac $19,800 Bentley Ego Laptop Remarkably Similar to 1999 Clamshell iBook, Charles W. Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 10.06. Granted, Apple's iBook didn't have white gold trim, a padded leather exterior, or come in colors to match your Bentley automobile. Use Your FileMaker Pro Databases on Your iPhone, Adam Rosen, Adam's Apple, 10.06. Although there's no version of FileMaker Pro for the iPhone, FMTouch will let you use your data and layouts on it. The Cost of Moving to Small Business Server vs. Moving to Leopard Server., Andrew J Fishkin, Best Tools for the Job, 10.06. Upgrading the existing SBS 2003 Server would cost less, the the server will run up against hardware limitations long before a Mac Pro does. Best eMac Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 10.06. Used 700 MHz CD, $110; CD-RW, $130; Combo, $170; 800 CD, $170; 1 GHz Combo, $250; SuperDrive, $280; 1.25 Combo, $290; SD, $360; 1.42 Combo, $359. Best MacBook Air Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 10.06. Used 1.6 HD, $1,299; refurb, $1,499; new, $1,669 after rebate; 1.8, $1,919 a/r; 1.6 SSD, $2,294 a/r; used 1.8 SSD, $1,997; refurb, $2,299; new, $2,349 a/r. Best iPod shuffle Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 10.06. Refurb 3G/1 GB, $39; 2 GB, $59; new 1 GB (3G or 4G), $47; 2 GB (3G or 4G), $67. Prices include ground shipping. Mac Netbook Coming?, $179 64 GB SSD, Apple Owns 20% of US Notebook Market, and More, The 'Book Review, 10.03. Also head of Norton AntiVirus team uses a Mac, Toshiba demos new battery technology, 1 TB notebook drives due in 2010, bargain 'Books from $150 to $2,699, and more. Getting the Most from Your G3 Mac, Simon Royal, Mac Spectrum, 10.03. Most G3 Macs can be upgraded so they can run Mac OS X 10.4 'Tiger' quite nicely. Here's how. Apple Drops iPhone NDA, Defecting to Android, Auto Performance Apps for the iPhone, and More, iNews Review, 10.03. Also more research needed on cellphone cancer link, file sharing app for the iPhone, three new power accessories from Macally, several new iPhone apps, and more. Best Power Mac G4 and AGP Video Card Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 10.03. Used 450 MHz, $75; 500, $99; 733, $150; 800, $199; 1.25 GHz, C$349; 867 MHz dual, $225; 1 GHz, $349; 1.25, $499; 1.42, $600. 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"If you want to work with someone, don't attack or try to take over part of what they think of as theirs." The Best Browsers for Older Macs Running Tiger, Charles W. Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 10.02. A dial-up user's overview of browsers for Mac OS X 10.4 puts the emphasis on reliability, downloads, and speed. Best MacBook Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 10.02. Used 1.83 GHz, $649; 2.0 SD, $750; refurb 2.1 GHz, $899; 2.4, $1,099; black, $1,299; new 2.1, $1,019 after rebate; 2.4, $1,204 a/r; black, $1,394 a/r. CodeWeavers Brings Google's Chrome Browser to Intel Macs, Alan Zisman, Zis Mac, 10.02. Google's new Chrome browser uses separate processes for each tab and brings other changes to Windows users. Now Mac fans can try it as well. Best iMac G5 Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 10.02. Used 17" 1.6 GHz Combo, $450; 2.0 SuperDrive, $500; 1.9 iSight, $625; 20" 1.8 GHz, $550; 2.0, $600; 2.1 iSight, $650. Best iPod touch Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 10.02. Used 1G/8 GB, $160; refurb, $179; new, $198; used 16, $200; refurb, $219; new, $265; refurb 32, $319; new, $345; 2G/8 GB, $229; 16, $280; 32, $380. More links in our archive. Go to the Lite Side index. Entire Low End Mac website copyright ©1997-2008 by Cobweb Publishing, Inc., unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved. Advice presented in good faith, but what works for one may not work for all. Please report errors to .   LINKS: We allow and encourage links to any public page as long as the linked page does not appear within a frame that prevents bookmarking it.   Access our RSS news feed at http://lowendmac.com/feed.xml.   Email may be published at our discretion; email addresses will not be published without permission, and we will encrypt them in hopes of avoiding spammers. If you prefer your message not be published, mark it "not for publication." 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