Apple

[K2012]

Hi Guys,

Ok I know a lot about most things but I have no idea about the Apple Mac.

I have heard a lot about it and I believe it is totally and 100% safe from virus threats etc.. Can somebody simplify why the Mac Situation is best and which would you buy???

I have bought a few months back the Apple Iphone 3GS 32g - and have to say it is amazing and I would never dream of turning away from such a phone again..

I appreciate any feedback.

Kev

[sysconfig]

1) It just works! No driver bull****, hardware conflicts, crashes etc
2) Usability. You find everything where you expect to find it. It's intuitive.
3) It will never let you down.

4) This is more of a geek argument: It's derived from FreeBSD, which is rock-solid (and for SysAdmins like me very nice, because it has everything on board, which I need for my work)

It is reasonably secure, but this is also due to the fact that hackers and malware programmers usually target bigger audience as it's more likely to succeed there. Over time this may change a bit, and no computer system is 100% secure.
That said, have I found any viruses or malware on my Macs in the last two years? No, never. (Touch wood.)

[FireFleur]

There are a lot of security features that are possible in BSD style (and Linux based systems), which in the event of malware threats becoming greater can be 'turned on', and they are not things like antivirus, it is protection that works at a deeper level and far less processor intensive.

You are in the Unix family of Operating Systems with a Mac, and that over time has proven to be one of the best styles of operating systems.

If you are interested in BSD history, The Design and Implementation of the 4.3BSD UNIX Operating System (http://library.poisedsolutions.com/coding/system/the-design-and-implementation-of-the-4-3-bsd-unix-operating-system.xhtml) is a good book on BSD, and whilst things do change a bit, a lot does remain the same. It is a bit of a tech book, but if you have it hanging around when someone needs to admin your mac, you will probably get a comment :)

The Mac has got a good windowing system, and most of your admin can be done via dialogues, that have been fine tuned for human computer interface interaction, and there is a command line below it all as well, if you feel brave and want to adventure.

[sysconfig]

FireFleur, I'm totally with you there, but didn't want to scare the OP, who's about to buy his first Mac :D

Plus, I didn't want to start the usual Windows vs. Linux/Unix/BSD security debate, although BSD is certainly much more secure than Windows (and than Linux). :cool:

(If the demand for Linux in the server market wasn't so high, I would only be administrating BSD/Unix -- but King Customer forces me to deal with Linux, too :eek:)

Ok, back to Apple: Go for it, Kevin! Go, go, go! And in two weeks time you can add many more reasons here yourself :D

[FireFleur]

I was agreeing with you sysconfig, that is why I thanked you :)

I was just adding to it. A lot of people think Anti Virus is the security, but in reality there are many other techniques that are more effective.

[sysconfig]

Absolutely agree with you. Did I make the impression that I was contradicting with you? Didn't mean to. Can I use the lame excuse of not being a native speaker? :D

[FireFleur]

No you didn't give the impression of contradiction, it just looked like you were defending your post, when it wasn't necessary to. I thought it was a good post :)

[sysconfig]

Oh, alright then :D

[FireFleur]

I should probably add I am on a Linux system at the moment, with a FreeBSD server fused to it :)

I like the Linux Kernel, it makes for an excellent desktop system, and they are pretty good for servers as well. I am actually more of a Linux head than FreeBSD, but I do appreciate how stable FreeBSD systems can be, and I do like the security model in OpenBSD.