MAC or PC?

[cre8tor]

I'm sure this question gets exhausted around here lol

I just started a new job as web and graphics manager and I have to basically get everything brand new; software and hardware.
I would like to propose getting a new system either a PC or a MAC.
All of the files my predecessor were created on a PC, the machine I am on now. If I switch to a new MAC OS what would be my advantages switching to a MAC over the PC. I have been on a PC for the past 3 years and my MAC skills are a bit rusty, especially since my jobs have all had PCs.

I will mostly be working on website designs and updates and graphics as well.

I have a list of software that I will be getting.

Any advice or suggestions would be helpful!

Thanks all,
~ Inayah

[Navian]

I'd look into part avalability (upgrades), locality of part stores (near you, for emergency part replacements) in your area.. and the major thing is overall cost.. Either system works, and what works for you. Majority here will vote/convince you to go with a Mac. Might aswell stick to what you are used too. I personally prefer PC's because I can't get Autodesk's AutoCAD for the Mac.

Also I haven't had the best of luck with using a Mac, especially at school (2nd associates), which use the EMac's. But then again they just could have been a bunch of bad apples. yes pun in ten did! (bad spelling/grammer intended.)

[mac.FINN]

Advantages to getting a Mac:

you won't be berated by all of us for using a pc.
Stability.

err... whatever. (get a mac) I'm a pretty staunch mac supporter, but you can work fine on both really. (get a mac) You'll probably never even run into compatibilty issues. (get a mac) I own a mac at home for my own work - but at my job (get a mac) I use a PC. I die a little inside everyday, but it get's the job done. (get a mac)

[DrummerHead]

Mac OS can be run in PCs, so you could buy a pc either way. Stability and all that included.

http://www.windowsdevcenter.com/pub/a/windows/2005/01/18/PearPC.html

asgpagijagnleqhqpi

[mac.FINN]

Windows can be run in a Mac too. Natively.

[Exodus]

See Beating a Dead Horse (http://www.graphicdesignforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=2356&page=1&pp=10). Please note number of pages on said thread.

[reuber1]

^^^ And note the date range of posts.

[Navian]

Maybe Apple, should give up on the hardware fight (do what sega did, and just make games, and no systems), and just focus on the OS like windows? then let the hardware manufacturers build the parts to work on both OS setups, then restrict the manufacturers to supply part drivers for both OS. Also the parts manufacturers should also be complient, and compatable (drivers) with other manufacturers (other parts). think about it? AMD with OSX? hum... Think I'll wake up now.

[(gra-ph!c-D'sig-nah)]

mac. mac. mac. mac........ummmmmmm I am bias....mac!

[Navian]

mac. mac. mac. mac........ummmmmmm I am bias....mac!


Haha, almost sounds like a duck: quack, quack, quack, quack

[D-Frag]

oh geeez.... what to do....lock thread....beat head against keyboard...... molest my mouse..... hmmmm decisions, decisions

[Exodus]

D-Frag, I vote lock...

[reuber1]

oh geeez.... what to do....lock thread....beat head against keyboard...... molest my mouse..... hmmmm decisions, decisionsWhatever you do, make sure you clean up.

[Riya]

PC or a MAC?
Yes.

[cre8tor]

Thanks for all of the feedback! I appreciate it.

Off to talk to my IT peeps :)

[Kool]

oh geeez.... what to do....lock thread....beat head against keyboard...... molest my mouse..... hmmmm decisions, decisions

Eh, lets just let whoever wants to beat this horse go ahead and do so. If anybody gets belligerant we'll boot em out of the thread. I know at one time we used to stop these lame debates but I always thought not allowing a mac vs pc debate in a GD forum was akin to not letting a con vs lib debate in a political forum. No one is forcing anybody to read any threads. http://home.comcast.net/~rnick9/koolsmiley.gif

[distruktor]

buy a mac cuz they look prettier

[Exodus]

Eh, lets just let whoever wants to beat this horse go ahead and do so. If anybody gets belligerant we'll boot em out of the thread. I know at one time we used to stop these lame debates but I always thought not allowing a mac vs pc debate in a GD forum was akin to not letting a con vs lib debate in a political forum. No one is forcing anybody to read any threads. http://home.comcast.net/~rnick9/koolsmiley.gif

But do we need more than one thread on said subject? :confused: Just curious... :rolleyes:

[Kool]

But do we need more than one thread on said subject? :confused: Just curious... :rolleyes:

As long as noobs keep starting them and you guys keep replying to em I guess we do LOL. http://home.comcast.net/~rnick9/koolsmiley.gif

[Ned]

molest my mouse.....

You can DO that!? :eek:

[distruktor]

You can DO that!? :eek:


nice candle lit restaurant, a few glasses of wine, romantic music, gazing lovingly into your mouses.... err... roller ball... i can see where D-Frags comin from. Especially the mouse has made an effort and done its hair and got all dressed up ;)

[DrummerHead]

So then it wouldn't be molesting. That sounds like an old fashion provider date! :D

[Navian]

Maybe make 3 sticky threads:

Whats new with the Mac's?
Whats new with the PC's?
Whats the news with both OS crossovers/compatabilities?

or combine the all the existing mac vs pc threads to one official stickied thread: mac vs pc ?

I dont know, that way updated news people find on the net can post'm in those threads.. then let the pros/cons, biased opinions/debates float in those threads, then people who visit can read them and make there own judgement.

What has been bothering me every time I see it, is that I guess I'm confused to a certain level, and see it starting to be repetative. I don't want to start anything, and no, I do not want a new ***hole, but I am just curious to know why. Why is it that when a Mac vs PC thread pops up and the origional poster and commentors rip on the pc's its okey-dokey-A-okay.

Yet when someone does a Mac vs PC with a lean to go towards the PC, as with some other commentors, someone has to jump in with the "beaten horse" comment (yes I know its been done, there is no harm in a clean debate, technology does change every day), then the thread is threatened to be locked or deleted. I try to balance out the PC end of the debate, because thats what I use, and know. But, I am capable of using either, for what ever is needed. If I could get/have both systems, I would, nothing like being universal with both.

I think/believe this same issue goes with a comment in another thread that urked me a little. When people hire for a design job, and see "PC" experience and non to very little mac, the resumes/portfolios get the junk pile. This irritated me, because its wrong. Just because someone has PC experience designing, doesn't me they can't do the job.

I'm going to quote a teacher: "If you dont know more than one way to do a single task, then you do you really know how to do it in the first place?"

If the job/task requires that I use a Mac (file integrity), then so be it. It's just another tool to do a job. Do you use a hickory handle or a metal handle claw hammer to pound a nail in? does it matter? do the job get the nail pounded in.

If I stepped on any toes, sorry. I have to quit speaking my mind.

Oops wrong forum. /soapbox
http://www.luclin.info/forum/images/smiles/soapbox.gif

[Kool]

Maybe make 3 sticky threads:

Whats new with the Mac's?
Whats new with the PC's?
Whats the news with both OS crossovers/compatabilities?

or combine the all the existing mac vs pc threads to one official stickied thread: mac vs pc ?



These are good ideas Navian, they really are but they just won't work. Most of these and other topics are well covered in our linkage to frequently asked questions sticky but that doesn't stop people from asking them anyway. Or a quick forum search will bring up all kinds of threads.

What is a mystery to me is why people are so bothered by them. If you see a thread named "Mac vs PC" there is no doubt as to what you're going to find inside. If it's just going to irritate you why even open it? :)

[Ned]

If you see a thread named "Mac vs PC" there is no doubt as to what you're going to find inside.

Instructions on how to date-rape a mouse? :D

[Kool]

^^ heh heh, well that was just an added bonus.

[reuber1]

The icing on the cake is when someone talks about poop.

[MD]

and see it starting to be repetative....
Stick around here long enough and everything start to be repetitive. Almost everything has been discussed on the forum at least once.

Yet when someone does a Mac vs PC with a lean to go towards the PC, as with some other commentors, someone has to jump in with the "beaten horse" comment
This is a Standard response from the mods and older forum users. (like "try identafont" or search google) This topic usually gets posted by a noob every week, or about 52 times a year. That means older forum members like Kool have seen this same thread about 200 times. The same points get brought up in every time and eventually things will get out of hand. When that happens a mod will post the official forum response (Macs and PC are just tools ...blah blah blah) and lock the thread.

But if your computer is just a tool and the end result is all that matters, why do people bash microsoft publisher?

Personally I try not to get involved in these threads because I know for a fact that macs are better than PC's. ;)

[reuber1]

Stick around here long enough and everything start to be repetitive. Almost everything has been discussed on the forum at least once.Cannibal wallabees eating each other while drinking Guiness?

[Kool]

This is a Standard response from the mods and older forum users. (like "try identafont" or search google)

Not all mods, I personally and officially discourage this kind of reply.

[MD]

Cannibal wallabees eating each other while drinking Guiness?

Sorry roobs I brought that topic up last year.
http://www.graphicdesignforum.com/forum/showthread.php?p=87969#post87969

Oh and I did not mean to generalize Kool. :D

[reuber1]

My mistake, lol.

[Ned]

'Macs and PCs are just tools' would be my standard response, too...

After all, it's the software we use (ie, Adobe and Macromedia) that is 'Industry Standard', not the operating system, and these companies mostly all create the exact same programs for both platforms.

Now, if Adobe decided that it would only release Illustrator on a Mac, and PC users had to use Freehand, then I would say that yes, the platform makes a big difference!

[Kool]

.....


Oh and I did not mean to generalize Kool. :D

No worries, I know exactly what you were saying. :)

Those kind of posts bother me a lot. It all comes back to that dead horse I've been beating throughout this and many other threads. If you (I mean the collective "YOU") don't want to participate in a subject why read it and then post just to complain about it? It baffles me but after all this time of seeing it I guess it's just human nature.

[Exodus]

Kool, I guess it is kinda like watching a car wreck. You don't want to, you just do.

"Oh No! Can't Stop! Don't wanna..." [Posts on Thread]Hey, this is like beating a dead horse![/Posts on Thread]

Mayhem ensues, cans of worms open, Armageddon gets prophesied, etc...

[reuber1]

Personally, I don't get bothered about these threads, I mean for people new to the industry it is a legitimate question because as it is, it seems like a big deal. Short answer: it's not.

[Kool]

Kool, I guess it is kinda like watching a car wreck. You don't want to, you just do.

"Oh No! Can't Stop! Don't wanna..." [Posts on Thread]Hey, this is like beating a dead horse![/Posts on Thread]

Mayhem ensues, cans of worms open, Armageddon gets prophesied, etc...

LOL, no doubt about it. It's like that one word story thread, where a group of creative and artistic people once again prove they can artistically and creatively create gibberish. I hate those threads but I still can't help looking in occasionally LOL. ;)

[Ned]

LOL, no doubt about it. It's like that one word story thread, where a group of creative and artistic people once again prove they can artistically and creatively create gibberish. I hate those threads but I still can't help looking in occasionally LOL. ;)

I can truthfully and honestly say that I haven't even peeked into that thread. Neither the two word story thread I saw on another creative forum.

Although, in the days before the Internet, I ran a Bulletin Board System (modem access) which was one of the busiest hubs in Edmonton. We had a Three Word Story thread there, and I actively participated in it. :)

[reuber1]

LOL, no doubt about it. It's like that one word story thread, where a group of creative and artistic people once again prove they can artistically and creatively create gibberish. I hate those threads but I still can't help looking in occasionally LOL. ;)Oh come on, it's funny! Get's the creative juices flowin'.

[Ned]

Not

[Ned]

true!

[frankster]

Again, I'll post these for a laff. I love them because my husband is a linux geek...

mac vs pc upgrading (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LuVjpZtXGME)

mac vs pc portability (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oBM3euaPgSM)

mac vs pc networking (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NejhlUCL5Kg)

mac vs pc gaming (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJtS-FywqQ4)

mac vs pc performance (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xOF6YZh2WaQ)

[Patrick Shannon]

Remember, the dead horse response is a dead horse in itself, as previously said you will always get this question popping up because new people are always coming.

Maybe Apple, should give up on the hardware fight (do what sega did, and just make games, and no systems), and just focus on the OS like windows?

On paper, it'd seem like it'd work. In reality though, Apple makes it's money off hardware and going software-only would take all of that away. They tried something somewhat similar in the 90s with clones and that nearly put them out of business (amongst other things). While you have an x86 compatible Mac OS now, Microsoft is notorious for insisting exclusitivity with vendors (see Linux) so that wouldn't help Apple's case any, either.

Considering that Apple is profitable and doing fine, there really wouldn't be any reason for them to travel from that path.

[Ned]

Again, I'll post these for a laff. I love them because my husband is a linux geek...


Bwahahahaha... I love the Networking and Performance ones.

The gaming one I found interesting. I don't play games at all, so I didn't know that Mac had a limited number of games available for it.

I remember 'back when' (pre-internet) that Apples/Macs were supposed to be the computer for games, because of their far superior video and sound capabilities out of the box, which could only be obtained with expensive after-market hardware on a PC. Of course, I've never been a gamer, so I really can't say...

[activeseven]

Science vs. Religion
Christian vs. Muslims
Ford vs. Chevy
Male vs. Female
Black vs. White
Mac vs. PC

Humans are so quick to divide ourselves and bicker.

Can we please break the cycle this generation?

[Ned]

Black vs. White
Mac vs. PC


We got both of the above in this link: Mac vs PC: Performance (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xOF6YZh2WaQ)

[activeseven]

LOL yeah I saw that one...I spit up my soda laughing :)

[MD]

Science vs. Religion
Christian vs. Muslims
Ford vs. Chevy
Male vs. Female
Black vs. White
Mac vs. PC

Humans are so quick to divide ourselves and bicker.

Can we please break the cycle this generation?
Nope.

Science
Neither: Atheism
Neither: Dodge/Chrysler
I <3 Boobies
i prefer blue
Macs - no doubt

[Ned]

My answers are close...

Science
Neither: Agnosticism
Neither: BMW
I like the ladies, too
Blue is my favorite color
Mac - with some doubt

[Virgo Nightingale]

Science vs. Religion
Christian vs. Muslims
Ford vs. Chevy
Male vs. Female
Black vs. White
Mac vs. PC


Science
Athiest (hence above answer)
Well I'm female and like males....
Purple
Both - I have Mac at work and PC at home, both running the exact same software (Quark 6.5 and Adobe CS2). Only issue I have is font compatibility. Though their specs are relatively comparable, I find my PC is a little slower with processing images though.

[Ned]

You mised the Ford vs. Chevy question, Virgo...

[activeseven]

Oh crap I started something now..... LOL

[Ned]

That you did... You gotta be careful what you say around here!!

[ecsyle]

Use linux you ****ing chodes.

[Navian]

chodes.
hehe, you said chodes. http://www.luclin.info/forum/images/smiles/lolbonk.gif

[colonel5]

Science vs. Religion
Christian vs. Muslims
Ford vs. Chevy
Male vs. Female
Black vs. White
Mac vs. PC

Humans are so quick to divide ourselves and bicker.

Can we please break the cycle this generation?

here are my answers

-In my world science and religion don't need to be separated
-I prefer Christina Aguilera to Muslims
-I prefer Gerald Ford to Chevy Chase
-I also <3 Boobies
-Jessica Alba
-Mac

[Ned]

Oh come on, it's funny! Get's the creative juices flowin'.

Thank you very much, Reuber. Now you've got me posting in the One-Word Story thread. Poo on you!

[ecsyle]

Science vs. Religion
Christian vs. Muslims
Ford vs. Chevy
Male vs. Female
Black vs. White
Mac vs. PC

Humans are so quick to divide ourselves and bicker.

Can we please break the cycle this generation?
pssh, my answers

SCIENTOLOGY
STINGRAYS DONT CARE WHAT YOU BELIEVE
ABRAMS TANK
FLESH LIGHT
RAINBOW ARM BANDS
SPEAK N SPELL

i win. It's not a MAC, it's a Mac, and a Mac is a PC, what you want to debate is OSX vs Windows.

Oh, and abortion is ok, gay marriage is ok, bush is an idiot, but he isn't the problem, and this coke tastes way better than pepsi.

[Ned]

a Mac is a PC, what you want to debate is OSX vs Windows.


That is actually a very good point, Ecsyle. Though one that only a Nerd would point out. :D

[MD]

Flesh Light - Bwahahahahahahaha

and this coke tastes way better than pepsi...
only mixed with alcohol.

[Navian]

Nerds vs Pez

[Ned]

Flesh Light - Bwahahahahahahaha

I'm proud to say that I had to look that one up. You sickos! :eek:

[ecsyle]

That is actually a very good point, Ecsyle. Though one that only a Nerd would point out. :D
I would hope that anyone who uses a computer knows the difference, but, I would be wrong, as usual.

Might as well debate Toyotas vs Cars. (yeah, I am a nerd, I used a car reference in a computer thread)

[Ned]

I would hope that anyone who uses a computer knows the difference, but, I would be wrong, as usual.

Y'know, I would be willing to wager that half of the users out there don't even know what PC stands for (except for Politically Correct). Between clients and girlfriends, I've seen it all... :D My biggest gripe is the inability to distinguish between the Internet and the Local Computer.

(By the way, PC used to be a political party in Canada - the Progressive Conservatives. The abbreviated "PC" was used exhaustively up here to describe the party, before the term PC was used for "Politically Correct". Now the Progressive Conservatives have shortened their name to the Conservative Party of Canada, or the Conservatives - probably too many jokes about their oxymoronic name).

[ecsyle]

Y'know, I would be willing to wager that half of the users out there don't even know what PC stands for (except for Politically Correct). Between clients and girlfriends, I've seen it all... :D

(By the way, PC used to be a political party in Canada. The Progressive Conservatives. The abbreviated "PC" was used exhaustively up here to describe the party, before the term PC was used for "Politically Correct". Now the Progressive Conservatives have shortened their name to the Conservative Party of Canada, or the Conservatives - probably too many jokes about their oxymoronic name).
Anytime anyone says mac vs pc i roll my eyes and fight hard to hold back the nerd rage. Even when apple used PPC, they were still pcs. So angry.

Progressive Conservatives sounds kinda, impossible maybe?
I'm proud to say that I had to look that one up. You sickos! :eek:
hahahahaha. awesome.

[Ned]

Anytime anyone says mac vs pc i roll my eyes and fight hard to hold back the nerd rage. Even when apple used PPC, they were still pcs. So angry.

Now now, ecsyle... Don't get too excited... You don't want to have an asthma attack. :D

Do you need a tranquilizer? I've got a good selection: Valium, Ativan, Xanax, Librium...

[morea]

*smacks forehead*

God, will this topic never die?!?

[PersonasBinar]

Science vs. Religion
Christian vs. Muslims
Ford vs. Chevy
Male vs. Female
Black vs. White
Mac vs. PC

Science is my religion
Mercedes and my bicycle
Male vs. female is sooooo last century
as is this....call me a humanist
My new MacBookPro will run both and it's applications so moot point...

NEW SOFTWARE...Crossovers in beta...allows you to run most Windows apps in OS-X

AND ecsyle is 1000% correct in that a MAC is a PC, always has been. If it fits on your desk and is sold for the home market then you have a PC.....sorry to burst any bubbles but if you're gonna argue you might as well be correct in what your fighting about. OS-X vs. Win-blows

[ecsyle]

*smacks forehead*

God, will this topic never die?!?
Not when you keep brining up religion :rolleyes:
Now now, ecsyle... Don't get too excited... You don't want to have an asthma attack. :D

Do you need a tranquilizer? I've got a good selection: Valium, Ativan, Xanax, Librium...
Little red-and-blue Tuinal, lipstick-red Seconals...
MAC is a PC
MAC != Mac.
nerd rage

[PersonasBinar]

Here snort these...I mean take a couple of these ...with food. *looks around* :o

[urstwile]

Progressive Conservatives sounds kinda, impossible maybe?


Not really. Teddy Roosevelt was a Progressive Republican who was also a huge conservationist. Lincoln was a Republican. Progressive can also mean an ideology for social reform, not just liberal reform per se. If you consider that in the pre-civil rights movement era, many Democrats were anti-civil rights reform, it gives a new perspective on things, I think.

[ecsyle]

Not really. Teddy Roosevelt was a Progressive Republican who was also a huge conservationist. Lincoln was a Republican. Progressive can also mean an ideology for social reform, not just liberal reform per se. If you consider that in the pre-civil rights movement era, many Democrats were anti-civil rights reform, it gives a new perspective on things, I think.
Hence the 'maybe' in my post. I wasn't sure. I have this idea of what progressive means, and what a consrevative is, and they are probably a tad misguided.

[urstwile]

Well, the current hype is of course very misleading. Politicans and the media don't help things much in our understanding of what these words actually mean. :rolleyes:

[colonel5]

i win. It's not a MAC, it's a Mac, and a Mac is a PC, what you want to debate is OSX vs Windows.

1. If that needs to be defined for someone than they probably shouldn't be involved in this conversation in the 1st place.

2. I think murder is ok too

[Virgo Nightingale]

You mised the Ford vs. Chevy question, Virgo...

oops, my most sincere apologies.

No preference, I have a Nissan.

[MD]

Read the article in full at:
http://www.macuser.com/ihnatko/ihnatko_harsh_words_for_window.php


...In the meantime, how do I hate Windows? Let me count the ways:

In Windows, plug-and-play is an implication, not a promise.

All too often, getting a PC to properly acknowledge and configure a common thing like a USB network adapter means having to grab the cable by the PC end in a firm pinch and then squeezing the electrons over to the peripheral one by one, and declaring victory when Windows finally announces that it has detected a generic USB device but doesn’t have a driver for it.

The only thing that’s consistent about Windows user interfaces is that they all blow.

Yes, throw an over-ripe tomato at the side of a white van and the result will be a far simpler and more intuitive interface for moving music files onto a portable player than what the developers of Windows Media Player came up with. Here, I’ll plug in my portable music player. See? WMP is now copying songs to the device. That’s nice, but please explain to me why I’m looking at two active buttons, shown side-by-side in two separate panes of the same window, reading “Sync Now” and “Stop Sync.”

As Mac users, we haven’t had enough exposure to wretched software design to develop any natural antibodies, and for this, we envy our brethren in the Windows community. We truly, truly do.

The malware situation is completely out of hand.

Let’s not get cocky here. Although the number of current Mac viruses can be counted on the fingers of one hand of a man who once said to himself “You know, I bet this table saw could cut much faster if I took off that pesky safety guard,” the Mac OS is not without security vulnerabilities. But operating a PC without buying some serious and up-to-date antivirus protection is absolutely inconceivable. It’s a mortal danger to you, every PC on your network, and the hardware of everybody in your address book.

The annual fees to keep your antivirus software hip to the latest virus definitions aren’t exorbitant. Still, it rankles that I have to pay five bucks a month to defend myself against attacks that shouldn’t be happening to begin with. It all sounds like something that Joe Pesci’s character in “Goodfellas,” or perhaps the cellphone industry, would have thought up.

Microsoft doesn’t know how to name things.

Apple product names are either perfectly descriptive (“iMovie”) or non-descriptive but also non-confusing (“iPod”).

Microsoft either keeps complicating a product name until you feel as though you should douse it with Malathion to keep it from spreading further (“Microsoft Windows Media Center Edition 2005 Service Pack 2”) or else they take something straightforward like “Windows Live” (which is what they call their Internet offerings) and bankrupt it of all meaning by sticking it on dozens and dozens of only vaguely-related products and services.

Keeping Windows running and stable is like maintaining a pair of underpants.

Ideally, you could just patch the holes and tears and thin spots as you go, but deep down you know that you’re just staving off the inevitable. The thing is designed to be used it until it no longer has any structural integrity whatsoever, at which point you’ll have to toss the whole thing.

It’s just a fundamental truth of Windows. A once-stable OS installation slowly grinds itself to pieces over time. Hour after hour, week after week, hundreds of bits of poorly-designed software each leave their individual dings, scratches, and fingerprints in the system directory. Unless you’re fairly knowledgeable and extremely aggressive about preventative maintenance, the only truly successful solution is a clean re-install.

I’ve got some good friends who are top Windows experts and I’m no slouch myself (dammit)…yet many of the PCs that I’m loaned for review purposes don’t even stay 100% operational for the 30 to 60 days I have ‘em. Here’s a notebook that three weeks later, keeps tabbing itself to another window without warning. A desktop that is suddenly fully-functional except for the trivial matter of actually showing anything on any monitor. Another notebook which takes (no joke) nine minutes to wake from hibernation.

And I’ve had problems with Macs, too. But it’s an uncanny syndrome with Windows.

Every new PC comes pre-loaded with useless junk.

Apple pre-installs some software on new Macs, but it’s either terrific free stuff (like iLife) or demo apps that don’t bother you if you don’t use them.

Thirty days after you unpacked a new PC, it starts. The DVD decoder starts asking you if you want to now purchase the optional super DVD decoder. The antivirus app tells you that your subscriptions are out of date and you need to provide a credit-card number. There was some kind of branded media player that you never launched even once, and it continues to throw popups in your face every five minutes despite your yelling at the screen every time it happens.

Yes, your user experience has now turned into Pledge Week at your local public television station…and you didn’t even get to see a Monty Python marathon first.