www.iFourWinns.com

Go ahead, laugh. After three years with my iMac, I've never had a virus. I reboot about once every two to three months. My iPhone DOES accept meeting requests from my exchange server. If you can't it's the fault of your exchange server, not the iPhone. My iPhone battery typically lasts all day. But, honestly, if I surf a lot during the day plus use the phone for an extended period, it will run down in less than a day. I don't like that, but rarely experience a problem because of it. Most days, it uses less than 25% of the available battery. My old blackberry lasted much better, but couldn't really web surf.

You are right, the Mac is far from perfect. But, compared to the five hours I spent "repairing" my PC after it got hit by adware and spyware for the hundredth time in a month, it's a breeze. My PC had more issues in one week than my Mac has had in three years.

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2008 Four Winns F224
5.0 Volvo Penta
Towing with Audi Q7 4.2 V8

I've used Windows since it's beginning and have NEVER been hit with malware. Which is totally due to running the machine responsibly and taking care not to load crap on it. Malware requires at least some irresponsibility on the part of the user. Here's one immediate step you can take, use Firefox and load these extensions: NoScript and Adblock Plus. The combination works wonders for eliminating the temptations idiots fall for that lead to having malware problems. I don't even run a virus checking program, I'm THAT sure of being responsible with my computers.

I've had my share of Macs and they've got their share of hassles. Most significant of which is lack of software choices and monopolistic behavior on the part of Apple. As for an iPhone, it doesn't matter for me because AT&T's network is absolutely miserable in the areas I'd NEED it. Been there, done that, switched to Verizon.

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-Bill Kearney, 2005 348 Vista

I have always had PCs and will admit that viruses have been a major issue with me over the last few years. The last virus I got was one I accidently downloaded that said it was a Windows update (or Microsoft update) and that was the final nail in the coffin for that computer. However, on my new computer, corporate has installed a "block" where we can't download squat without an administrative password. This has stopped viruses due to operator "ignorance” (I like that word better than “irresponsible" and "idiot") and it was tested when I Googled up Neda (the Iranian girl who was shot during the recent demonstrations in Iran) and damned if it didn't have a virus attached to it when I opened up the site (not even a download!!). Thankfully, the administrative block stopped it, but whoever creates these viruses are very intelligent and they no longer target just the seedy sites.

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Current Boat: 2000 Four Winns 298 Vista
Previous Boat: 2000 Carver 406MY

I donno......I'm not easily converted.......

(isn't a Mac some sort of a truck?)



Office? I have Office.......The "open" one.....there's a version for the MAC and Windows.... It's free......
http://www.openoffice.org/


I already have an operating system too......
http://www.opensuse.org/en/ (free)

Been using it since 1999 and will probably never go "Back" (unless someone "converts" me!! )

Got a photo editor ..... http://www.gimp.org/ available for Linux/Unix, MAC, Windows (free)



Just so I'm keeping with a Four Winns boating subject, I now have a LINUX device in my 211 Liberator!

It's funny...... I just bought a new Lowrance HDS5 Fishfinder/GPS Chartplotter

What a cool GPS, Sonar device! Got to doing a little research and found out it runs on LINUX!




I am thinking about getting my Wife a TOM-TOM GO for her car......It runs on LINUX!

I have a Netgear wireless router sitting next to me....It runs on Linux!

My wife has been bugging me to get a TIVO..... It runs on LINUX!

Anybody thinking about getting the new Palm "Pre"? It runs an operating system called "WebOS" (Linux based)

My daughter wants a Sony Playstation 3. They come directly from Sony with instructions to install "Yellowdog" LINUX for the Power PC.

WHAT IS GOING ON HERE with this Linux stuff??


ALL the distributions of Linux that you can load on ALL the PC's out there (about 100 at last count) can be downloaded and installed for free. There's also versions availble for the older PPC MAC's You can install it on ANY computer along side Windows and or the MAC OS in a dual boot or multi-boot configuration (I confess.....I'm dual booting XP and OpensuSE on my laptop )

All the distro's out there are free. http://distrowatch.com/



Is this what they mean by "free" market?








Oh...........what's a "Malware"?

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1987 Four Winns Liberator 211, formerly OMC 460 King Kobra powered, replaced in 2006 by a 1997 Mercruiser 454/Bravo III

First off, in the interest of public disclosure I own a computer consulting company that happens to be a Microsoft Gold Partner. We were also an Apple reseller for a couple years. I ran Vista from the time it was RTM (about five months before it was released) and I've been running Windows 7 since the public beta was released. I was a Windows Mobile user for many years but switched to an iPhone a year ago.

I love Windows 7. It's gorgeous, fast, and so far it makes Vista look like crap. I mean, not really look, but Vista is a dog compared to 7. 5 of us at the office are running 7 on our laptops and it just owns.

I'm also a huge OSX fan and own a year and a half old Macbook Pro. On top of that I've done a crapload of work on Redhat/Fedora over the years. There's room for everything.

In other words, I'm a computer whore. The list of things I'd like in Windows 7 is very small (64bit virtual machines under Virtual PC is the major one). I'll probably switch back to a Windows Mobile phone pretty soon because there are a few applications I need that don't have iPhone versions yet (Office Communicator Mobile and the Cisco Mobility client for our phone system).

I'm not sure I've actually said anything but I hope you get the point anyway.

Tom

There sure is!!!

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1987 Four Winns Liberator 211, formerly OMC 460 King Kobra powered, replaced in 2006 by a 1997 Mercruiser 454/Bravo III

Great feedback from everyone...

I'm a computer-whore and I've actually never had any issues with Vista -- but then, I also don't use slack-ass old hardware. I tend to upgrad as times change because of the inner-nerd in me.

Apple... and open source for that matter --- all have their own places in the industry. Fortunately, we'll call is the 7% of the industry. It's good stuff. BUT -- it's not for the every day user. Apple fans... great hardware design, but I just can't get off the 'you paid too much' soapbox - or the - Apple can't do anything that Windows doesn't do.

I love the apple fans - but I'd sure like to see anyone who actually writes enterprise quality and scalable software on a Mac... just doesn't happen.

Enterprise = ALOT.

Linux... super powerful. Very enterprise friendly - but holy cow, put on your genius hat to use it!

Windows = bang for your buck, scalable, not perfect by any means, and ready for grandma to tier 3 support and enterprise.

As for Office.... that's a whole different conversation =)

Open Office is grat for consuming scenarios though.

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2008 318 Vista -SOLD, but I am still around!
All Night Long, Seattle WA

All right I bite….. For Scientific and Graphic world MAC is tough to beat….. Thanks to Intel Mac Windows software can be run on MAC…. But Mac software can not be run on Window machine …. My work originally a MAC shop back in early 90s. However as time and business progress it is coming out to be 70% PC and 30% Mac now.
Only Scientific and Graphic related department remains with MAC at may work.
I have both Mac and PC and as a engineer I have no preference in either one. Both are good and I use them both depend on what I am working on. My 9 old use both as well but he uses more on PC since gaming seems better I hope the both PC and Mac continue to co exist in future and bring us a better thing.
I have to admit Window 7 seems very good …...

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08 H260 VP 8.1Gi DP.....Previous
2013 Crownline E6 Merc 8.2MAG BIIIX, DTS/SC

Operator ignorance, aka ID ten T errors. There's just no polite way to put it when repeated user behavior disrupts the machinery. There's also the EBKAK label that applies.

Googling non-work related material when on work machines, and the work policies stopped the attack. I again refer back to operator ignorance. Both of the technical risks and the work policy violations. I sympathize for the hassles the office IT department must go through. No amount of preventative measures is going to be foolproof, because fools are so ingenious. Or as Einstein put it, "Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the the universe." Eventually the malcontents will finagle their ways into convincing the Mac users to engage in likewise stupid behaviors. It's inevitable and no OS can fully prevent it.

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-Bill Kearney, 2005 348 Vista

Malicious software, aka Malware.

A single purpose application (like those mentioned) can run on just about any OS. When all it has to do is provide one application the underlying OS doesn't matter that much. Especially when there's no user-added flexibility being offered. It doesn't have to worry about added hardware, printer drivers, networking, etc. This is not the same thing as providing a robust user desktop environment, and maintaining it over time. If you're going to compare, at least pick remotely similar situations.

FWIW, Raymarine chartplotters run on Windows Embedded.

As far as I know there are no embedded devices from other companies running on the Mac OS. At least MS has programs for licensing such things.

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-Bill Kearney, 2005 348 Vista

I'd agree with the first part......not with the second part......(that might have applied 5-10 years ago but not now...)

My 20 year old daughter used OpenSuSE Linux on my old HP laptop during her first 2 years of college (2006/2007) and was able to do everything in all her classes using it with the software that was available for it from the OpenSuSE software repositories.

It never got a virus (what's a virus?) and never crashed during the whole time. (the college network was taken down several times during that period and when just about all the windows computers there were stricken with virus's. )

My 17 year old daughter has been using Linux on her desktop computer for all of her high school stuff including her little photography business (using GIMP) on the side.

Neither of these kids is into any sort of computer courses at all. They just use them.


It's finally becoming an alternative to Windows like the MAC.

Windows is still supreme for gaming (except being a gaming server.....Linux works pretty good for that I'm told)

I don't have time for gaming. I spend WAY too much time blogging on boating forums!!!

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1987 Four Winns Liberator 211, formerly OMC 460 King Kobra powered, replaced in 2006 by a 1997 Mercruiser 454/Bravo III

OK, so I Google and surf the internet, shoot me. Company policy limitations are unrealistic because employees who have to purchase their own equipment and use their PC's 24/7, feel that they have the right to use the computer as they see fit. I feel that I am in the majority when it comes to "realistic" computer use and it is you IT guys and Microsoft that need to come up with a way to fix the virus issue other than "only use the computer for work related purposes". That is the equivalent of saying "only have sex with your wife for procreation purposes". It just isn't going to happen. IMO, viruses are the #1 issue for PCs and why Microsoft hasn't come up with a foolproof way to eliminate them, I will never know.

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Current Boat: 2000 Four Winns 298 Vista
Previous Boat: 2000 Carver 406MY

As long as there is evil in the world, there will be virus' across ALL OS manufacturer's.

* Note * Apple released a patch for the iPhone because of an issue where a hacker or virus could take over your iPhone via the SMS app.


Now -- because virus' are an evolution and are created over time - there is no way to stop them. There are precautionary measures like firewalls, windows update, and general network security. But that's no replacement for stupid people opening stuff they shouldn't because 'they didn't know any better'.

Oddly enough, I've never contracted a virus from using Google or surfing the internet. My friends who have coincidentally did because they were surfing websites that are both professionally and personally inapprorpriate! I'm not saying don't do it - but if you are surfing where and when you shouldn't be surfing - then you better have the general intelligence to plan ahead and make sure you: a) aren't opening stupid stuff that opens the door to your computer or b) at least be smart enough to have your computer locked down appropriately.

It's not brain surgery - most people just don't have the awareness about what to look out for (my parents are a prime example of that - thus, I am there 'helpdesk'.)

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2008 318 Vista -SOLD, but I am still around!
All Night Long, Seattle WA

That is easy for you computer-savvy guys to say, but for the average Joe who makes the mistake of downloading a fake Windows (or Microsoft) update because "they didn't know any better", this is reality. Just this morning I had an Adobe update pop up and I gave the go ahead to download and thankfully our company administrator block popped up requesting the appropriate passwords so I don't even know if it was a real Adobe update or not. I guess the feud that I have with our company IT Department is universal. You IT guys think all us users are stupid and we all think you are incompetent. I mean you put man on the moon, yet you can't keep a simple virus from shutting down our computer (and livelihood) for a week or two? But, as the old saying goes: "You can't live with them, can't live without them". I guess you can look at that from either parties perspective.

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Current Boat: 2000 Four Winns 298 Vista
Previous Boat: 2000 Carver 406MY

I was die hard pc until a month a go when I picked up my mac book pro. I finally got fed up with my xp freezing and taking for ever to load. What made me start looking into mac was the fact I could run windows on it. So far I have had no reason to buy office for mac. I love keynote. My pc has been turned on once since I got my mac. I can't believe how much faster the mac is at everything. I still have love for pc, but highly doubt I will go back.

My palm treo has windows on it.

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Todd
1988 Four Winns Horizon 200
AKA "Summer School"