Posted on 04/06/2012 7:03:59 PM PDT by TexasSecede79366
I know Macs are based on Unix so I'm very particular who has access to the root password. I'd also had an alpha version of CLAM.
The last access to my root was a version of Tux. (Remember Tux Racer in Linux?) but this was like Tux/Mario.
Shortly after playing the game my mouse went nuts,then my keyboard developed a mind of it's own.
I rebooted into "Bootcamp" and XP and it ran fine.
Long story longer,it was not a hardware problem but a software one. I pulled the network capability and it took almost an hour for the restoral CD to load.
I now have a nice shiny new install with all my data restored but WTF?
I love Linux but went to Macs because they're simple and my time is limited. Maybe I screwed up.
When I check out other Mac or Linux forums they say "No, but did you see the latest version of sally rotten crotch and her band of merry elves."
Some of the best IT minds in the business are here. Gotta clue?
I'm sure you know this, but these days (indeed since the mid-1990's) there is no such thing as a user-accessible "low-level format" any more. That's the term for re-writing the sectors on the media. It simply cannot be done by the user on any hard drive manufactured since about 1998 or so. The reason is that the "bad block list" management required for a true low-level format is no longer available to the user.
Obviously, there are manufacturer's utilities that will in fact do a low-level format. But they also have to re-do the bad block list from scratch. No operating system I'm aware of today will allow that.
I think what you meant was "full erase, repartition, and reformat", as opposed to simply doing a "reformat" of an existing partition. Yes?
Yup
Apparently Macs.Just.Do.Not.Work like the zealots would lead you to believe.
Stick with the other 90% of the worlds population and go with the PC.
That's because you have unfortunately been given some bad info.
The spinning beach ball is equivalent to Windows hourglass -- it's just a "busy" indicator.
There are some situations on OS-X where the beachball goes on forever -- it means the application has locked up. What you do is go to the "Force Quit" menu and kill the errant application. No virus is involved. Just a misbehaving program.
While there is a small amount of malware out for Macs, I am unaware of any "virus" as such. The Mac malware is all "Trojans" meaning that at some level it requires user intervention to either download it, or to authorize its installation, or both. A true virus can self-replicate to other machines, and to the best of my knowledge no such thing exists for the Mac at this time. It's not impossible for someone to develop such a thing, but it hasn't happened yet.
Many such malware programs exist for Windows. However, the latest release, Windows 7, is quite robust and its security is on a par with the level OS-X reached a few years ago. These days I consider them roughly equivalent.
> I was thinking of spending way more for a mac than a PC but if it can get a virus then why would I want to pay more for a computer.
I suggest you choose your computer and operating system based on what you want or need to DO with it, rather than perception of malware resistance. Both Mac OS-X and Windows 7 are excellent in that regard. Choose based on what you want to do, and which platform supports those activities best. IMHO.
Do you feel better for misdirecting another FReeper because of your hatred of Apple?
Are you that foolish that you think only Apple customers can be zealots?
Or have you never heard or read a Windows zealot? Windows doesn't work like they would lead you to believe, either.
Zealots of all stripes are pathetic losers.
You might try reading -my- response to gunsequalfreedom at #23 above. I think it's a more helpful answer than your hatred allows.
Some mac person got mad at you in this thread.
I’ve worked on both macs and pc’s and there is nothing the mac is better at than a pc other than taking more of your money to but it. Oh, and the irritating beach ball of death that requires a “force close” and a loss of all your work.
I guess the force close is not called a crash cause macs never crash they just force close.
Anyhow I better stop because the mac zealots are going to come after me. I guess I would be a mac zealot too if I spent a few hundred more on a computer than I needed to.
There’s a substantial number of MAC users on this forum and many of them have enjoyed mocking the PC users every time there’s a discussion of a PC getting a nasty virus and how that doesn’t happen to them and how the PC users are fools to continue using PC’s. I will grant you that overall OSX is more secure than the typical flavor of Windows, but there is some payback due.
The “Blue screen of death” in Windows meant that your system was unable to respond to any command other than a reboot. Although that can happen in OS X, that is rare enough to write home about.
I guess the force close is not called a crash cause macs never crash they just force close.
Until and unless it becomes possible to write perfect software every time, there will be crashes. But some of us think that there is a difference between having to force close one application that is misbehaving and having to reboot the entire OS and all apps, losing unsaved work in all applications. Besides, I’m under the impression that OS X currently is designed to autosave. I wouldn’t really know, ‘cause I haven’t had enough crashes of anything I cared about to really have to find out. I just know that I can log out, come back later, log in, and seem to have everything right back where it was. I suppose I could deliberately unplug my computer without logging out first, just to see. But I don’t think I will.
On the very rare occassion when my pc crashes, locks up, I do not end up "losing unsaved work in all applications." Amazingly, as soon as I reopen whatever program I was working on before the crash all my work is still there waiting for me." I think you are repeating a myth about today's PC's based on a total understanding of how stable they are now. You don't work on one so I can understand your not knowing.
On the mac on the other hand, when you have to hit force close, you lose all work in that application. I'll admit it has been about three years since I worked on a mac so perhaps mac has corrected that problem."
You as a mac user on simply basing your opinion about macs on your near cult like faith and belief in them.
Your impression that mac has an autosave program is correct. But it so slows down the mac in a production setting it renders it an unusable feature, at least in a production environment. Everyone I worked with chose to save often, finding it faster, rather than use the autosave feature that mad the mac run slower than a pig.
And with that we should end this mac pc debate. We could go back and forth until I'm blue screen in the face and you get dizzier than a spinning beach ball.
Yes Unix is different than Windows. If I can get a user to take an action such as opening an email, I can take control of their computer.
Every time someone starts a thread like this, I see adolescent flame wars coming. I have a Mac, my wife a PC w/7. We’re both happy. I dislike Windows, but realize that it is a viable and competent system (I run XP on a VMWare pseudo-box). Clearly, it is more virus prone. That is changing. Clearly Macs had superior hardware in the earlier years. That may be changing too. Why don’t we all put our soapboxes away and discuss something more important?
Ever notice how platform zealots behave like liberal democrats? That’s a thread WORTHY of discussion here. Anyone care to try?
“To the best of my knowledge there is no trojan/virus that self installs on osx without an admin password and no hack that doesn’t require LAN access.”
This Flashback virus exploits a Java vulnerability and is able to install if you haven’t installed yesterday’s Java patch (check software update) and visit a site crafted to distribute the malware. No password needed.
Yesterday’s patch does address the vulnerability, and if you do a little searching there are instructions to make sure your machine isn’t infected, and to clean it if it is. Supposedly this virus does nothing malicious, but it does set your system up for remote control - supposedly the control server has been taken down.
There is free AV software for the Mac, and Apple is constantly working to keep things secure. The situation is still far better than on Windows, and IMO both the OS and the bundled apps are superior.
“All bets are off in OSX when you are playing around with ROOT access.”
This virus doesn’t require root access. It exploits a Java vulnerability to install system-level software.
“I believe, to get back to a truly clean Mac OSX install, you are going to have to low level format your drive and do your install.”
There are relatively simple instructions available to remove this malware without reformatting. It doesn’t do anything evil on its own, only if remotely activated and I believe that capability has been squashed.
As I mentioned above, there’s a Java update out that fixes things. Check Software Update.
“I was thinking of spending way more for a mac than a PC but if it can get a virus then why would I want to pay more for a computer.”
Nice troll, I’ll bite.
Mac prices are quite competitive with Windows boxes, _for comparable quality machines_.
When you consider the added value of the OS and bundled applications, Macs are a great buy.
“And with that we should end this mac pc debate. We could go back and forth until I’m blue screen in the face and you get dizzier than a spinning beach ball.”
The debate should end, simply because you’re spreading disinformation as fast as you can. MacOS has evolved a lot, even in just the last couple of years. The hardware has also sped up to the point where things that might have been slow a few years ago are now just fine.
Under MacOS X 10.7, all programs now include a “save a version” capability that makes it very easy to checkpoint your work as much as you want. That’s in addition to the autosave features that are prevalent in office apps. There’s also the Time Machine backup system - I hear Windows 8 will include something similar.
At least on a Mac you will never have to deal with the unnecessary single point of failure known as the “Registry”.
“the grandparents who just could never grasp the concept of “merge” with those newfangled interstate on ramps”
You have to be from South Carolina. That’s the only place I ever saw people stop entering the interstate.
Careful, you are being reasonable. (c;
“Stick with the other 90% of the worlds population and go with the PC.”
Computers have become a commodity. The brand or OS make little difference to most users. They do email, surf the web and occasionally type something.
The only reason to worry about brand is if you have a specific need for a specific program that only runs on a particular machine.
I still prefer to build my own because it’s fun. I usually install Linux and Windows and dual boot to whichever I want at the time.
I’m thinking of creating a Hackintosh, but haven’t gotten around to it yet. I have what I need, just haven’t had the bug to do it.
Sad to say, there are zealots of all types, on FR as elsewhere -- Windows, OS-X, Linux, Unix, whatever. Their presence is an annoyance to those of us who work with all operating systems, at work and and at home, every day. I don't play "Mine's better than yours" games.
I -do- call out zealots who push their agendas with false representations. I've defended Windows, OS-X, Linux, and Unix, against untrue attacks, at various times.
I suppose that there's emotionally satisfying schadenfreude available to Windows users when reports come out of an OS-X problem. But IMO there's no more need for that to be expressed as a broad-bush slur against Apple customers, than the equally obnoxious broad-brush wielded against Microsoft customers by Apple zealots when there's a Windows problem. It would be better to express one's glee at the individuals who expressed theirs previously.
But I grant that it's more difficult to be a sniper and pick off only the obnoxious a-holes, and it's easier to just drop a massive stink-bomb in the midst of the entire community. :)
Do you get paid for that? I guess you could be an evangelist with a mission to save computer souls from the evils of Mac. But ten years is a lot of time to devote to mindlessly arguing with an unrepentant group of Job's devotes, who really don't respond to your gospel.
Pearls before swine, you know.
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