We’ve all heard it before. Macs are cool and Mac software is better than anything for Windows – blah blah blah.
I had almost begun to think that we had gotten past this elitist’s better than thou attitude, especially when people like Louis Gray is willing to give Windows a chance. But no, the self-righteous belief that only Mac developers know how to produce elegant and easy to use software once more rears its ugly head in a post by Rob Fahrni.
What is it Mac developers do differently? They create elegant, useful, stable, simple, to-the-point, software. You see it time and again on the Macintosh and I’ve come to appreciate it. The application I use to post to this weblog is a prime example, MarsEdit is something I use everyday, and it fits all those qualities I’ve listed above. Most Windows applications have noisy UI’s, just look at Microsoft Word, and you’ll see what I’m talking about.
Leaving his jab at a corporate level application like Word aside, the fact is that there are a lot of Windows developers out there creating just as elegant and easy to use software. Rob uses the example of MarsEdit as an elegant Mac application and while I agree it is nice to look at I would suggest that Windows Live Writer is as equally good to look at
I am really happy that Delphi is working on a Mac version of their compiler so that more developers can work across more platforms. It’s too bad though it doesn’t seem to be doing anything to help improve the pompous attitude some Mac fans have.
Interestingly enough MarsEdit retails for $29.95 and Windows Live Writer … free.
Update Note: fixed the grammatic error with the apostrophe in Macs before someone had a apoplectic fit
Hi there! This is Daniel Jalkut, the developer of MarsEdit.
I agree with you that Windows Live Writer is a stellar example of Windows application design. I am not too familiar with the entire PC market, but I'm extremely impressed with Windows Live Writer.
As for the pricing disparity, it would be a lot easier for me give my application away for free if I was a multi-billion dollar corporation and could view the application as some kind of strategic leverage point as opposed to a means of making a living
Daniel
Daniel thanks for dropping by and adding your thoughts. I know that if I was on a Mac I would be hard pressed to pick between your product and ecto as I have used, and paid for, the Windows version of ecto in the past. So I am in total agreement with you needing to earn a living from your work. I didn't mean that last comment towards you as the developer but rather at the original poster's attitude that Windows programs are grossly inferior.
Again thanks.
Gotcha – yeah, it's not worth beating up a particular platform just for the sake of it. As a Mac developer, obviously there are reasons I prefer the platform and think that it makes it easier to achieve great apps. But there's no reason that great apps can't also exist on the PC.
I think at least Mac users know to use “Macs are elitist” instead of “Mac's are elitist.” In English, we use the apostrophe to indicate possessive: “It was Mac's software that made it better.” But when we are talking plurals, we don't use the apostrophe: “You can't take our Macs away from us.”
But maybe the rules of Enlgish are elitist, too?
and the point of this game of semantics is..?
Wow…all those interesting points he made, and all you can come up with is a missing apostrophe? I'm a bit of a grammar Nazi myself, and even I let that kind of thing slide. So I suppose now we're all supposed to bow to your obviously superior intellect, since nobody else could have possibly ferreted out that glaring error.
Tool.
Dang…I forgot to fun of the typos HE made in his complaint about yours.
ya well I fixed it and made note of it in a post update … now maybe people will actually make real points instead of being dickwads
This is the internet, so good luck with that.
Refer to John Gabriel's Greater Internet Dickwad Theory.
Normal Person + Relative Anonymity + An Audience = Instant Dickwad.
From what I've seen there are plenty of inelegant and ugly user interfaces in Mac software.
The difference is that there is a lot more software available for Windows therefore statistically there is a lot more ugly software.
It's funny to find people correcting grammar usage. The USA elected a guy who didn't know his ass from a hole in the ground and GWBush as elected again. So much for thinking or proper grammar required for success.
“I love my Mac's Computer”
There is already a solution for compiling Delphi code to Mac. Have a look at wxForms from http://www.twinforms.com