If you had told me all she wanted was the file printed off, I could have directly connected her hard drive to my PC using an eSATA cable and had the file printed off in less than a minute.  So there... another situation where the PC method is easier

The only reason I told you the method I described earlier is because you implied that they needed the files to take to a meeting.  I guess I could also have just done the eSATA cable method and used a flash drive for her convenience to speed up the earlier process a few minutes.

Ok, I see your points although I personally think almost the opposite, that Macs have (almost) the best of closed and open source. Big parts of the OS X are actually open source, but big parts are not. I guess I tend to be more pragmatic in that I don't think open source has that much intrinsic value, it's more about what are the end results that matters. And in that, for some things open source is the superior way but for other things it is not.

About the software library, I do agree that Windows has a much bigger library. Luckily MS Office is available for OS X, if it wasn't that would be a huge hole right there. For other things pretty much everything I need is available for OS X so I'm good, but not everybody is as lucky, although you can run Parallels or BootCamp or whatever and have your Windows software at hand if you so want. I don't have any experience of that so I can't comment on how good things run on Parallels, BootCamp of course is as fast as normal Windows but I at least would have to have to reboot everytime I need something running on Windows.

I just recently (few years) started working with Linux to be honest, however WOW. You can write some ridiculously badass automation scripts, and some of the things you can do are just amazing. The only downfall is that I do have to work more at setting even the simplest things up, because drivers and software is not usually released for Linux. That's also why i have my Windows. I havent had I virus on Windows in 4 years and counting, and honestly I'm having no problems with it, it's just not as flexible and easy to use as Linux at some things.

Now where a Mac comes in is right in between those 2, and that's the worst place to be. I have no use for a Mac, and honestly I don't see why normal people would too. You can google how to dual boot Linux and Windows and you are basically set. Then there's also the price, while Linux is free. All in all, Macs to me are nothing more than a PoS on the street because they can't do anything better than I can already do for a lot more money.

Just one more point to show Apple is just retarded. With their newest designs for laptops, they effectively remove the user's ability to upgrade their own laptop. Sure you can probably do it with the right tech experience, but it will void the warranty and they specifically recommend all new MacBooks be upgraded by Apple. Hmmm.... sounds like they are doing all these monopolistic things to keep any and all possible upgrades and the resulting high installation fees going to them rather than buy the ram on NewEgg and install it yourself for much cheaper.

OS X is a full Unix operating system, so you can write all the same scripts for it, and it has Automator and AppleScript, meaning you can do much more than just shell scripts. With about maybe 30 lines of code, I made a script that can be compiled into an App that you can drag-and-drop pics into, click a button and have them resized to one of three preset sizes. Of course, a similar thing can be done with a shell script, or even piping on the command line, but using drag-and-drop is usually easier since you don't view photos from the terminal. Honestly, apart from gaming and certain special professional applications, I don't see much reason to use Windows.

Is that why the user's manual for the new MacBooks and MacBook Pros has instructions for the user on how to replace the battery, change the hard drive and upgrade memory? Also, unless you damage your computer while doing the upgrades, it has no effect on the warranty. Sure does sound like effectively removing the user's ability to upgrade, doesn't it?

Yes, considering the unibody design involves exposing all the internals instead of just the ones you wish to replace.  Also, what is the purpose of this statement, then:

Any general user that sees that will think, "Oh I have to go to Apple to upgrade.  This sounds scary and difficult."

As I said earlier, anyone with tech experience could still do it.  I guess I was wrong about voiding the warranty (that is as long as you don't break any of the stuff that becomes vulnerable when you are just trying to replace one part), but the whole purpose of this new design is to discourage self upgrades.

Oh please. You said Apple has effectively removed the user's ability to upgrade, and I plain and simply showed that is not true. Also, replacing the battery or HDD does not expose the internals, you just flip open the battery/HDD compartment lid and it's all there. To upgrade memory you have to unscrew the bottom plate and that does expose some of the internals, but judging from the internet ramblings, it's not a hard thing to do. Considering how most PC laptops are designed, I don't think memory upgrades are usually much easier on that side of the fence, either.

And I hope you're not telling me Dell, Lenovo etc. don't write similar warnings and recommendations on their user manuals? I'm pretty sure they do, that's just standard practice for corporations that you're trying to make somehow Apple-specific. The purpose of the statement is to tell the owners that if you break your computer while upgrading, that's not covered by warranty. And speaking of these "general users", how many of the Dell/Lenovo/HP users do you think know how to replace the HDD or upgrade their memory? And do you believe for a second that ANY warranty will cover something that the owner himself breaks, unless there is a manufacturing defect?

Lastly, the point of the new design is to make the laptop more durable and enviromentally friendly, not to "discourage self upgrades." Claiming that is ridiculous and just shows you can't talk about Macs rationally.

1.  You are right, I worded it wrong.  I should have said "Apple has effectively influenced the willingness of a user to upgrade on his/her own"

2.  Not sure about the battery, but the HDD and the RAM BOTH require the back plate removed.  As shown in this document, page 38 (the newest version of the MacBookPro and the 17" model:

http://manuals.info.apple.com/en_US/MacBook_Pro_17inch_Early2009.pdf

3.  Most laptops just require a single compartment removed to replace HDD and RAM.  Some Dells are gay and split up RAM like Apple has been known to do and put it in hard to access places, but Dell is not an MS company, and I dispise them as a PC maker.

And lastly, I could care less about how Mac wants to be all "green" lately.  They have always been known for their proprietary and idiotic hardware decisions.  Sure they run off of mostly the same hardware these days, which is why the price is by no means justified.  They fail at the same rate as PCs, there is just so many less of them, that people are given the illusion that they are more reliable and somehow "safer" even though year after year it is the Macs that fall the fastest and hardest at hacking conventions.

You are probably right about me not being able to hold a 100% genuine conversation about Apple computers, but that is entirely because of the personal oppinion I have developed from all the awful first hand experiences I have had with their hardware and I have personally seen that there is absolutely no justification for it.  I really do hope that more companies like those Apple-Clone builders pop up to screw Apple and force them to un-monopolize their products.

Plaupius, save your patience and stop taking nightsurge seriously. I stopped taking him seriously when he claimed he was an IT professional but couldn't figure out any one of three different ways to protect a Mac against dreaded boot disc attacks. The guy's way more interested in finding problems than solutions.