If you wanted to make a similar comparison, ask a mac user about having to use Microsoft Office on his Apple machine. Not quite the same thing, but at least getting there.

Oh, ask a microsoft fanboy about the Zune and he’ll likely laugh, too.

‘Course if you ask me, everyone should be running OpenOffice.org.

Coincidently, when it comes to the way the OS looks, Mac and Ubuntu are not so different.

That said, I do wonder about this concept of trade-in value. Again, from my standpoint as a Linux user – meaning that I can use computers from the 1980s and get netbook functionality out of them, so I’m quite used to running my computer into the ground – do Mac users frequently trade in? I’m intrigued by this concept.

Is there some software that requires newer and newer hardware to run? (I’d assume the same is true for Windows users.)

For example, if you needed SecondLife to do your job and each successive release was built on more and more high end hardware requirements (as SecondLife is) would that be the cause of a trade in?

And if it isn’t a software driven trade-in system, would you mind explaining to a very confused individual what makes you trade your machine in?

(PS I love the source of cheap machines on ebay that I can rehab and use with Linux, so I really am curious as to how they get there.)

1. Disable all scripts on webpages. Firefox has an add on to do this. Most sites run just fine without them. For sites that require scripts, just selectively reenable the scripts you need to run the site.

2. DO NOT FILE SHARE. Avoid BitTorrent sites. Just deal. There are FOSS alternatives that are just as good, if not better, if you cannot afford to pay the folks who actually coded the program. Use Pandora or Last.fm if you really must listen to that music. Or watch the video on YouTube. Most unscrupulous virii come from you thinking that you can steal.

3. No internet pron. Those sites, especially the free ones, are lousy with crap.

4. Safe email habits. Use GMail or Yahoo email. Don’t open emails that seem too out of character for their sender. I mean, who writes an email with a subject of “I love you,” or sends pictures over email anymore?

I find it funny that older people who have brand loyalties, unprotected browsing habits, and a need for an expensive antivirus program for “piece of mind”, project their same mental state on those of us who are technology natives.

Thank you for your comment. It makes me feel less alone.

I buy computers for their specs and then customize the operating system and programs to my tastes. I’m fine with it not running completely out of the box.

I’ve got a computer running Linux, one running WinXP, and one running (gasp) WinVista. All three were purchased for under $400. Two are laptops and one is a gaming desktop. None are netbooks. All have at least 2 gigs of ram and 250 gigs of hard drive space.

On the other hand, I send the truly technology ignorant to buy Macs. Because you are locked away from changing anything that may actually affect your computer experience, it is better for those people who just cannot understand how they bricked their machine when all they were trying to do was send an email. In that case, they aren’t paying for the specs of the machine, but for the babysitting, Mac Geniuses, and childproofing that go in to Macs.

I hope that Apple is around for a long, long time because it keeps the family members off of my back with the requests for computer maintenance.

We know about, respect, like, and even use OpenOffice. Free and open source is the way of our demographic.

Why? We are still broke ass post-college (or in college) students. We like making our own decisions. We have been marketed to since we were young and have learned to see the “we expect x behavior of you because you fall into demographic y” and smile a bit when we buck the trend.

Piece of mind with antivirus? Please. Why run something that is going to slow down my machine just because I don’t know how to protect my browser. Two firefox add ons will completely take care of that and make it so that the occasional virus scan I may need to run (when Mom – in the 60+ demographic – hands me a flash drive with a file she’s created on her crapware infested machine) can be handled by AVG Free.

If I had a $$ for every machine I’ve seen by someone who didn’t grow up touchtyping on a computer at home that was infested with awfulware and was running microsoft office, then I could afford a Mac.

Who doesn’t use OpenOffice? Google Documents? Zoho Office?

Your ignorance is astounding. Douchebag.

When you ask a Mac fanboy about a Zune, he just laughs…

When you ask a Microsoft fanboy about a Mac…he gets very defensive.

Strange.

Please…

Stop the fear mongering and misinformation.