virus warnings(off topic)

[Brett Dikeman]

Folks, I'm gonna get a little preachy here, since I'm sick of seeing
people complain about viruses :-)

You've been warned.  There's some parallels here, but for the most
part..no Audi content.  Consider it a small tradeoff for my running
this list for so long :-)

Viruses are a fact of life for those using Windows systems and a
problem inherent in the design of Microsoft products, has been for
years, so I'd appreciate people not 'warning' everyone every time a
new one comes out("Oh, a new Windows virus? <yawn>.  Anything new?")

Tired of the crashes, the viruses, etc?

Do something about it.  http://www.apple.com/switch/

I've been running MacOS X for almost a year now.

Guess how many times the OS has locked up and required a reboot, so far.  ONCE.

Guess how many times I've had an application crash.  Three times.
Total.  Two of them were in non-Apple beta software I was testing.
None of the crashes have affected other programs or the OS.

So far, I'm doing better over a year than most PC users do in a week.

Guess how many viruses I've been infected with, despite receiving
dozens, and having NO antivirus software installed.  Zero(further, I
have NEVER been infected with a virus on any of the half dozen Macs
I've owned, for at least the last 6 years.)

Guess how many times I've lost data, in all my years of using Macs,
other than hard drive crashes(physical media problems) or directly
from my own stupidity.  Zero.

Guess how many security updates my operating system has had in the
last year, not including security updates for the Mac version of
Internet Explorer.  Two.
(Each only applied to those with remote access and web serving
enabled, respectively; neither is by default.  Both were released
within a week of the vulnerability being announced.  Oh, by the way,
the Mac version of IE has had something like 3-4 security updates so
far I think.)

Want to guess how many spyware/adware programs I've had to remove?  Zero.
(my win2k box...8)

I strongly encourage any PC user on this list to check out Apple's
'switch' site, which by now you've probably seen the TV commercials
for.  If you've never used a Mac for more than a few hours, I
guarantee almost everything you think you know about Macs is wrong.
If you're still not convinced after looking over the Switch site,
checking out the various systems available etc...stop by one of the
Apple stores and check out the systems in person and talk with the
staff.  If anything, all the systems are pretty damn cool looking(any
mobile user who doesn't start salivating at the sight of the G4
powerbook needs his/her pulse checked, and I have yet to meet someone
who doesn't like the new iMac design)...plus you get to play with
stuff like the iPod(mp3 player the size of a deck of cards that
stores about 1000-2000 songs.)


Here's some food for thought, and the parallels I promised.

   If PCs are so much better because they're the most popular...
		...why aren't you driving a Ford or GM vehicle?

Food for thought item #2.

Are you an Audi "evangelist"?  You know what I mean...telling
friends, family, coworkers...anybody with a pulse...how much you love
your car and how great Audis are?  Have coworkers, family, friends,
who have told you they're looking for a new car, found Audi sales
brochures magically appear in their mailbox or on their desk?  Think
about what motivates you to do that.

Mac users love their systems so much and are so hard-core, some of
them actually used to hang around Sears and CompUSA stores and answer
people's questions because they'd see sales staff lying to customers
about Macs etc.(sales staff in both chains got commissions&training
for PCs, no commissions or training for Macs.  Which do you think
they pushed?)

I've owned 7 Macintoshes(2 currently), and I'm almost ready to
upgrade to a new Powerbook or iBook.  Despite a 1.5Ghz Athlon with 2x
the ram and a killer video card sitting next to my 3-year-old
Powerbook, guess which gets used more, and guess which one has been
turned off for the last 2 days?

I'd be happy to discuss any of the points above with interested
listmembers...just in private, please, since, well, this is off-topic
:-)

Brett
--
----
"They that give up essential liberty to obtain temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." - Ben Franklin
http://www.users.cloud9.net/~brett/
http://www.apple.com/switch/