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      • Only windows updates are free, so how does Mac have cheaper updates? Do they pay you to update? Makes sense since Mac sucks so much.

      • Hey Tony Mac updates are cheaper the Windows. So fuck your 10 cent piece of plastic crap, and fuck you too.

      • Actually Windows updates are free, and Mac updates cost $79.99 on the low end. Where are you getting your information?

      • You’re right, I suck cock and I love it. I have never felt so understood until now. Disregard my prior comments. Go Windows!

      • I think he means OS upgrades. Like Windows XP/Windows 7 or Tiger/Snow Leopard. Not the minor service pack upgrades that are usually free for a given OS. =\

      • Chris is right. Tom was referring to how upgrading to the new windows OS can cost over 100 dollars while the mac upgrade is 30.

      • Mac updates have to be cheaper, they are normally on a 1 to 1.5 year releases… of course it is purely to get extra money

      • ROFLCOPTER… Funny seeing you Windows and Mac fanboys fighting amongst yourselves about who charges the most for their OS updates. With Linux it is Free to Upgrade most of the major distros and always will be. So you’re getting an up-to-date operating system for nothing. You lot can shove you Windows and Macs up your holes.

      • Ya. Linux is free but the only people who use linux say stuff like ROFLCOPTER and don’t ever get dates. Windows users who are fan boys are usually the ones who play games on them and generally adore there lives indoors but know lots about computers. Mac users believe that we know everything better than everyone else when we are arrogant because we have more money than you. But on the up side we go outside and have social lives much more often then linux/windows fanboys. These are facts.

      • new mac os requires purchase but improvement update in a current os is free in mac. for e.g.. you have mac os x lion, then u can upgrade for free to mountain lion. but if apple releases a new os, then you have to purchase it

    • Uh…. definitely not “spot on”, couldn’t be more untrue… Mac upDates are completely free and are basically automatic and don’t require a reboot and their OS upGrades are much less expensive than Windows yet MUCH higher quality. This comic is a complete lie made by a Linux user trying to make themselves feel better…

      • Actually Eli Mac update need rebooting too…just not as often and with fewer in number.

      • Haha, “Mac updates don’t require rebooting”, you’re funny!
        (inb4 ‘disregard that, i suck cocks’)

      • The cartoon was written by a Linux user but he doesn’t have to make himself feel better. He ALREADY feels better because he knows Linux can do anything Windows and Mac can but it’s all free. By “all free” I mean everything… the OS, the apps, the updates to the OS, the updates to the apps, no matter whether those are major updates or minor updates and bug fixes.

        Upgrades from one version of Windows to another have been priced ridiculously and mostly what you get is just new eye candy. Linux has all that eye candy and more and it’s free.

        Mac may have cheaper upgrades but the cost of the hardware is ridiculous. It’s the same hardware Linux and Windows runs on just rebranded with a half eaten apple and stuffed into an Apple case. Ya gotta be stupid to pay the price Apple wants for their hardware. Do they have better warranty or support? Not from what I’ve heard. I build all the PCs I run with off the shelf parts. I run BOINC which means they run 24/7 and I haven’t had a hardware failure in years. The fact is that modern electronics are very tough and durable as long as you protect them from heat and voltage spikes. Take care of them and they’ll become obsolete before they break. So I just don’t see any need for slapping a half eaten apple on them and doubling the price even if that gets you a better warranty.

        Linux rules, the rest drool and all you Windows and Mac users know it but you’re just too stupid to change. Yah, some of are forced to run Windows/Mac at work because that’s what your boss wants but we’re talking here about what you run at home when YOU are footing the bill and making the decisions. Anybody with half a brain in his head is running Linux.

      • well… if you tried GNU/Linux, you too would see that Linux _IS_ better than Mac and Windows altogether… hey, cheer up!

      • Actually Eddie, that’s not true. While Linux and Mac OSX are both modeled after Unix, and have similar command lines, OSX is not Linux but is based on a mix of NextStep and FreeBSD. Making this claim is similar to saying openSUSE is Ubuntu

      • WTF? Mac rules. Windows takes days to date. Mac does updates in the background. You can’t run more than one program at a time on a Windows based computer. A Mac run counter can have many windows open and still run well without bogging down. And I have never paid for an update. But I can run Windows on a Mac. Try that on Windows. And Richard, I don’t know where you got your fucking info, but you are so wrong. You must be checking your info on a Windows based computer.

  • It’s just… if Windows weren’t so aggressive about its updates, then it would be a lot easier to handle.

    I have a crappy computer that I need to completely decommission. I would like to load Linux up on it and give it a whirl. Everyone makes it sound easy, but I tried to book Linux from a flash drive and it didn’t work. I followed all the instructions, but… no luck.

    I’ll get it done one day, tho, and the walls will rejoice.

    • Ubuntu is pretty easy as far as Linux goes. But if you’re really a beginner, I’d go with Linux Mint instead (linuxmint.com). Linux Mint is 100% Ubuntu, but with all the software included which you need to play any kind of media, be it flash, DVDs, MP3s, or whatever. It also comes with a pretty default them. It sounds like a minor difference, yes, but for a beginner, it’s kind of a big deal, as you won’t have to spend time Googling for “how to enable DVD playback in Ubuntu.”

      As for USB booting, look into utilities like Unetbootin (http://unetbootin.sourceforge.net/) or Lili (http://www.linuxliveusb.com/). These utilities make creating a live linux USB “CD” very easy. However, you should keep in mind that the success rate of using these utilities over simply burning a CD is a little lower. Your computer also must support USB booting.

      Best of luck!

      • Linux Mint is the way to go. I was a Puppy Linux fan, and still am for fixing Windows computers, but Linux Mint was so awesome when I tested it, I immediately installed it on one of my machines and am using it now.

      • The real question is…why would anyone make an operating system that didn’t have basic features like DVD playback? I realize I know nothing about Linux so this comment may sound dumb, but the “features” you listed for linuxmint seem to me to be more like “essential components of any modern day operating system.”

      • DVD playback is there kind of it’s just not turned on without some work. THis is entirely due to licencing/legal reasons brought to you by the MPAA. Basically you need to pay for a license to legally decode the DVD’s and since linux is free they have no money to buy these and then give it away.

      • @nope wrote “The real question is…why would anyone make an operating system that didn’t have basic features like DVD playback?”

        The U.S. government has made it illegal. It’s part of their plan to “encourage innovation”. The basic ideas is to allow people to patent math when the math is written in ones and zeros and executes as computer program, and so thereby prevent anyone else from using the same math in “unauthorized” computer program. They don’t seem to have noticed that progress, both in the industrial and information revolutions, has come from standards that anyone can implement without fee.

        Don’t believe me? Anyone can write software for the Internet without fee. Can you imagine that The Microsoft Network, or Compuserve, or America Online could ever have evolved into the global network we have today? For an industrial era example look at the history of the U.S. airplane industry. A plane first flew in the U.S. but the airplane industry first developed elsewhere because the U.S. manufacturers were tied up in patent litigation.

      • “The real question is…why would anyone make an operating system that didn’t have basic features like DVD playback?”

        @nope: Believe it or not, I don’t primarily use my computer as a DVD playing machine. There are far many other basic things a computer is useful for. I would surely not list the ability to play DVDs among the essential things an operating system should be able to do.
        If I want to play a DVD (which happend to me only twice since I got my computer in 2008), without bothering with the technical details, I just boot under the old pre-insalled Windows system I keep just in case (*).
        The other qualities of linux largely compensate this minor problem.

        (*) By the way, I never had the problem described In the comic: I couldn’t get the network to work under Windows, so I’m not bothered by updates (or by viruses ether).

    • Linux is a slow, miserable death. It is miserable to work with, you have to spend entire weekends on forums trying to fix problems you haven’t had since win98, and when you are done you have a stripped down computer with crappy freeware apps and half of your hardware doesn’t work. You get what you pay for.

      • The quality of your Linux (or Windows or OSX) experience really depends on what you use your computer for.

        I’ve found linux to be a really good troubleshooting tool, core server, or media manipulation(compression,transcoding, packaging and mastering) environment. If you make the correct tradeoffs on the stability/convenience/cutting-edge decision space, it is easy to build server infrastructures with down times measured in seconds per year. I am the person responsible for the robustness of a safety-critical infrastructure, so I really value this.

        OSX is good as a general end-user productivity and entertainment solution. Due to the core unix underpinning it, it can sometimes also serve as a “good enough” lightweight server environment, low level network troubleshooter (think wireshark, lldp peer discovery, etc). It is also superior at video and audio authoring.

        Windows is still best for gaming, and is the only realistic option for enterprise centrally-managed and access-controlled environments (yes, the unix crowd has been able to do all that since the late ’80s, but the dominant infrastructure is Active Directory, and there is a huge investment already spent there, so nothing else is really viable now). It also has the widest range of commercially supported hardware and software. Do not underestimate the importance to an IT staff of “Call Dell, make them fix it. Oh, they’re being stupid? Buy the next batch from HP, let’s see if they can do better.”

        To me, it is not “best/worst”… It’s more like “rock/paper/scissors”.

      • your comment just shows your ignorance Linux and computers. For many years i’m using Windows Photoshop and Autocad. But when i want an operating system that is fully functional and free of trouble i use Ubuntu Linux. But of course you know something about computers.

      • Lol. Only if you have two left legs and hirurgically tied hands. Or some shitty hardware even Windows barely works with. SiS?

      • I have to disagree. I installed Linux on my HP TouchSmart laptop that came with Windows 7 installed on it because Win7 was having issues with hardware. Linux Ubuntu installed off a flash drive and within about 10 min I was able to get all the “restricted” software that does not come with the release. It is much quicker then my windows 7 boot and the only problem I have had with it so far is that I can’t watch Netflix (this is because Netflix will not stream to linux, because they do not believe the customer base is large enough). I don’t know when you tried out linux, but from where I am sitting it is much more user friendly then the current Windows.

      • Really, I’ll ad my two cents to the conversation and publick flagging of you by linux fans.

        Being a linux fan, I have to say that you have to be very careful about what linux are you talking about, even more so, the impression of a slow and painful death can be brought to you by Gentoo, I myself have trouble understanding why the hell make it so un-user friendly, unless for educational reasons, or maybe you tried some KDE-flavored linux. But dude, seriously, “Plasma crashed” is not a reason to think so of normal linux: Ubuntu. Which is the best working machine ever. Seriously, I, as an IT manager, then CIO at my firm have experienced so many frecking problems with windows that I have no love for MS whatsoever. It is if they on purpose make crappy software for a lot of money. Even more so, Win 7, which is one of the best of the sorry lot, is quite a nightmare, seriously, no DHCP – no internets for Windows? Who came up with that idea?

        Once you fully switch to linux you won’t want to return. I have my double boot windows only for gaming.

        PS: if there’s a problem you’ll always find a solution for linux, if there’s a problem with windows then you’ll have to google hard. The windows community just sucks compared to the linux community, not to mention Ubuntu Forums.

      • Sound like comments from someone that hasn’t tried linux in a long time. Regular Ubuntu is significantly less resource intensive than Windows, works after fresh install with most hardware, and plays well with external peripherals like monitors, printers and what not much better than Mac OS. Ubuntu is better at dealing with Windows shares on my home network than Windows Vista or Windows 7 are ironically. Yes their are flavors of Linux like Xubuntu that are very lightweight and require an end user that is willing to put in some terminal time to have only what they use running.

      • You obviously don’t know anything about the power of linux. If you are not capable or have never used a linux based system (which by the way is why we have things like the internet today) Then yeah you are going to get frustrated and not know what to do. If you take the time to learn and don’t want to be a slave to microsoft than you will have the most functional, powerful, and customizable operating system in the world. I know where your coming from though, I just had the desire to learn and linux taught me everything about computers. If you want a stable operating system go with linux. If you want an os that is constantly having security vulnerabilities and is the most exploitable os in the world than go with windows. Easy choice especially since you can do everything on linux that you can do on windows and then some you just have to be somewhat intelligent.

      • Ubuntu Linux is a lot more stable than xp(I don’t know about 7) my friend used to be running xp. It would always lock up because of the hard drive or the CPU and eventually it blue screened like 4 weeks after using it. But then I just decided to install Ubuntu on it and after I got everything set up for him it never locked up again.

    • Ya, I know. Usually, old desktop boxes are a pretty easy linux install, but some old boxes won’t boot from USB. Laptops can be a problem sometimes too. Sometimes one linux distribution can be a problem but another is OK. So give it a couple of tries.

      By the way, have you ever tried to install Windows on a random computer, without a customized install CD? Believe me, more often than not, it’s a nightmare.

      • Mee too using only #Ubuntu #Linux, in My lap and my Home Comp., I also converted some peoples to Ubuntu.

    • I’d been burned by so many destructive updates to my MS systems that I’d been using Linux for 2 years + before I got up the confidence to try allowing updates. Now I too react with “cool, more free stuff” when my Linux OSes (Mint & openSUSE) tell me that updates are available.

      • update vs. upgrade. macs don’t make you pay out of the ass for updates, just for the computer itself lol

      • Neither was Windows 7. Both companies charge for new versions of their software, not for minor patches. The difference is that a) Apple’s upgrades are cheaper, and b) there’s never been a version of OS X that was as crappy as Vista.

      • Snow Leopard was a $29 upgrade, not $99.

        Apple updates their software almost every week, and it’s always free.

        The last time Apple came out with a $99 upGRADE was four years ago for Leopard.

        Sorry, this comic would be funny if it were true, but it’s not so it isn’t.

      • I love this comic, even though the UPDATES may be free, the computer is sure not. I think its hilarious so many people fall for the marketing scheme. 13,00$ for a mac when a 7,000$ HP is just as good. also Vista is a very good OS if you are using it as a production to a SAN’s, or Terminal setup. there is ultra fast transfers no crashes ever (when used properly) and to boot It never has gotten a virus on any of the computers at the data center. now thats all assuming you haven’t got the money to buy the right Windows Server OS, but it is a very good substitute. and I dont know what you all are talking about,I use Vista on all my office computers and there are no problems once I get end-point users past the -if it doesnt work in the first second ill click it until it does-. after that it works like a charm, depending on the version you can set up a network boot type stye that updates the local hard drive, and in my experiences requires little to no restarts for any updates. also vista is one of the only OS’s that natively supports SATA hot swaps of the OS drive. email me at “wilson.jonathan1@gmail.com” for more information.

    • A few weeks?!??!? AMATEURS!!!!!¡!!

      We have been fighting The Platform Wars for many generations in my office. I have slaughtered many a WinHeathen using a NuBus card that my father’s father honed during the Time of The RISC Uprising.

  • You have no idea, and it’s no funny.

    I would say it’s more like:

    Linux update:

    Hell, what will broke this time.

    PC update:

    What?

    Mac update:

    Whoohoo free stuff (we pay for everything else)

    You suck monkey ass!

  • I don’t do .INI, .BAT, or .SYS files. I don’t assign apps to files. I don’t configure peripherals or networks before using them. I have a computer to do all that. I have a Macintosh, not a hobby.

    • Okay dude, MACs are complete shit. You get a unix based operating system and middle of the road hardware for over a thousand dollars. Guess what, I can build a machine with better hardware and install ubuntu 10.10 on it. For $400. And guess what…….. the software is free. The other great thing…….. I’m not sucking Steve Job’s dick in the process. So congratulations……… you are a tool.

    • I’m not really sure about Windows because I haven’t been using it for a few years, but I can guarantee that “I don’t do .INI, .BAT, or .SYS files” either. Nor do I “assign apps to files” or “configure peripherals or networks before using them”. The fact that things “just work” is not an Apple patent.

      I don’t know why Mac users are convinced other people spend most of their time resolving problems. My Ubuntu computer just works, just like my Mac.

      You won’t convince anyone that your OS is superior by inventing problems that other people don’t have.

      • Apparantly you will. As I see it, that’s definitely one of the strategies Apple applies.

  • this makes no sense at all…. OSX software updates are free and when a new version of the OS comes out its like 20 or 30 dollars unlike the $500 windows packages…

  • You forgot the part where I scream because Linux keeps trying to install update components to packages I’ve uninstalled. See: OpenOffice. Or the updates that totally mess up GNOME or crash my system. Updates are smooth on NO operating system.

    • I’m running Kubuntu Linux and have not noticed the problems you describe. I am wondering if you properly uninstalled the software. Quite possibly you need to update the database.

      Try ” sudo apt-get update ” followed by ” apt-get purge (name of program)

      for further details, open a terminal and type ” man apt-get ”

      Also @ LOL … drivers for my wifi adapter (ASUS laptop) worked out of the box. So did the drivers for my printers (on the lan) and 2 x 1T lan storage. It all just worked.

    • Actually they did charge for the last update. You had to pay for the snow leopard update which really did nothing but improve the kernel. So they charged for adding the functionality that should have been there to begin with. They also charge for ipod updates and what not. Check into what you say before you say it.

      • this change of the kernel was a complete rework of the kernel .. so in fact it was an upgrade .. not just a update ;)

        and it changed much more of the system-behavior than in the transition from Vista to 7. And win7 costs more than 300 € in the full-version.

  • Not funny and a lie. I have been using Macs and PC side-by-side on a daily basis since 1986, I have never paid for an upgrade for a Mac. Not once, not ever. Yes, I have paid for a new OS such as Snow Leopard, but that isn’t an “upgrade” At $29, that is trivial compared to a Windows release. Subsequent versions of Snow Leopard, to continue the example, have all been free. I’m currently at 10.6.6, and have paid for nothing.

    None of the other software upgrades, even from non-Apple vendors have cost anything, either.

    I’ve used Linux on an ex-Windows system and, while it worked fine for me, it clearly was “not ready for prime time”.

    Every version of Windows I have ever used has been a poorly-done, expensive, and unreliable copy of the Macintosh OS.

    • You don’t get it. Snow leopard didn’t change anything major, it really wasn’t a new release. They charged $29 for something that should have been free. All they did was enhance the performance of leopard, which by the way is an update. An update that you paid for. Everyone knows that snow leopard was a paid upgrade.

  • Linux Options:

    * – reboot with the Linux Mint LiveCDrom and run the best distro!

    * – click on the Live Linux Mint desktop “install” icon, and let it do the
    automatic work Linux is known as best at doing!

    * – Whilst running the Microsoft “50 million virus” Magnet, insert Linux
    Mint CDROM, and you may install it in a “folder”!

    http://www.Linuxmint.com has the distro, tools, and the answers!

      • Talk about believing the FUD. Mac updates never cost anything until snow leopard. $29 to increase the functionality of Leopard. That is a paid update not a release. They charged you for something that should have been in leopard to begin with. Sucker!

  • Hey, Mac users who left unhappy comments:

    I understand that this cartoon is not 100% factual, but that’s because it’s a joke. Still, I checked my web traffic logs and you are almost all using the latest Mac OS 10.6. This means you either got a new Mac in the past 1.5 years or you bought the OS upgrade. By comparison, half the people who came here using Windows had an older version than the most current Windows 7. (My reports don’t break down Linux versions, unfortunately.)

    Anyway. Just sayin’.

    • Wait… what? The defense of your joke is that more Mac people browsing your site have upgraded their OS ($27) than PC people ($80+)? The comedic premise of this joke makes no sense. You’re confusing updates and upgrades to try to contort it into a joke.

      I use both at home and I can tell you there’s plenty to make fun of without making stuff up. Here’s a cartoon about the sadness of being an Apple user when new hardware comes out:

      http://theoatmeal.com/comics/apple

      • “Fragmented”?

        You’re an iPhone user right?

        Anyway, Linux is not fragmented; it’s diversified. Ubuntu (with Mint and other Ubuntu derivatives) and other Debian-based OS’s dominate, so it’s rather unified, but you ca ]n chose whatever OS you prefer.

      • Fragmented? Oh, you mean that Linux people actually have choice and can customise their system whatever way they want. That sounds terrible :D

  • you failed to realize the part where “update” refers to adding to the current OS and “upgrade” refers to changing the OS. therefore your joke still doesn’t make sense on behalf of the mac UPDATES costing money.
    Also your web traffic logs showing most mac users on 10.6 means they are more willing to pay for the new software that costs only $29 to upgrade to the new OS because they know when they upgrade, it’s still going to work with their old software and documents.
    just sayin….

    • So, what you’re saying is that when new versions of Adobe Photoshop come out for your Mac, they cost nothing? You have already admitted that new versions of Mac cost money.

      You see with Linux you can actually upgrade your software down to the actual kernel for free. The update manager can handle this.

      However, upgrading from one Distribution version to the next. Well that’s a whole ‘nother joke. There is no easy way, painless way to upgrade a Linux distro in place. The only easy way is to download the whole thing and install over top of the existing one. Then doing all the configuration again. Someday, far far away, some bright FOSS person will come up with a tool to extract the configuration for an installed distro, and then restore said configuration with an in place Linux upgrade. When that happens that distro will dominate the market and the world will flock to Linux.
      Lighten up Mac folks, it’s a joke. Let’s face it Mac folks spend a lot of money on software. But, I think the whole point is Apple likes to charge for everything and control everything. No FOSS allowed on iPad, iPhone, etc.

      • Debian Lenny to Debian Squeeze: change your apt sources by searching for “lenny” and replacing with “squeeze”. Type “sudo aptitude update ; sudo aptitude dist-upgrade”

        Done.

        :)

      • Hey Jack, try Ubuntu? When a new OS comes out the update manager births a button that says HEY LOOK AT ME CLICK HERE TO CAN HAS A NEW OPERATING SYSTEM. So you click it and it asks you for your permission, then downloads and configures everything. Once you reboot you have a new OS with all of your programs and configurations intact.

    • OMG people snow leopard DID NOT change the OS whatsoever. It streamlined os x leopard which is an update. It made modifications to the kernel which increased speed thats it. It was an update and all you mac suckers paid for it.

    • WRONG! They charged me and every one else $29 to update from 10.5 to 10.6. It was an update. All they did was streamline the operating system something that is an update and should have been free. Basically paying for os x leopard to run the way it should have to begin with. Just because they call it snow leopard doesn’t mean that is a whole new release. It was an update they disguised as an upgrade and you all fell for it. You obviously never checked into it because there was an outcry from users about being charged for something that should have been in leopard to begin with.

  • The difference is when we get an OSX update, it’s great shit. With windblows, they’re just fixing crap that was broken while breaking other stuff. I don’t miss that life at all. I just want to do my work.

    • Dude it was a comic. It was just showing the difference between paying for software and getting free open source software that does the same thing and then some.

    • It was $99 if you were updating from below leopard. All you people who think you weren’t charged for an update, apple put snow in front of leopard and made leopard work the way it should have when it was released and you all ate it up.

    • For serious? It pokes fun at all 3 operating systems- Linux users for being cheap, Windows for massive updates and slow downloads, and Mac users for expensive upgrades (yes, I did notice the difference between update and upgrade).

      Don’t be so defensive of any single OS. They all have their own strengths and weaknesses.

      • Huh? Linux users are cheap?? No, they’re just not stupid enough to pay for something you can get for free.

  • I don’t remember having to pay for any Apple updates???
    @christiann My latest Mac is a Mac Mini – I funded half the cost of it by selling my previous FOUR YEAR OLD Mac on eBay.

    • Hahaha. I feel terrible for the person who purchased your old Mac. If it truly was 4 years old then the hardware is near obsolete and probably close to frying.

      I think your comment also exemplifies the idea that Mac users pay more money than they should for Mac hardware in particular. It must be assumed that the buyer could have purchased a brand new (non-Mac) system for that price which would obviously be superior in terms of hardware and would come with a warranty, etc.

      To your credit, you apparently made out well on the deal. But, for this thread, you only clarified the willingness of Mac users to pay more money for inferior hardware…

  • We all acknowledge the greatness of Apple products, but the fact is they are more expensive hardware than Windows. Of course with Linux it’s all free and just takes a bit more effort to get it to work like you want. Choose wisely.

      • wait wait… what?
        who said anything about people giving you free hardware for using linux?
        comparatively it IS free, as you can install it on just about anything, but i really don’t see how that does anything but obfuscate any and all points. =\

  • Fun comic, exept making Apple look greedy :C.

    I hate updating my linux system since once it crashed my system. Note to self: do not mess with the system and use updates.
    Windows got a neat background-updater, but the reboot-countdown does not check if anything is running in full-screen mode. Always fun to reboot while playing a game or watching a movie…
    I never liked the updater on Mac, although it gives you more information than the one on Windows (i.e. if you need a reboot on a certain package).

    • Note: Linux updates are trouble free. Unless you fiddle around with your settings and repositories. Linux upgrades, cannot usually be done in place.

      Linux is much like C.

      The greatest thing about Linux is you can do anything with it.

      The worst thing about Linux is you can do anything with it.

  • Update/upgrade, some of them don’t work on my 6 year old Mac (iBook G4). The store that was helping me solve my slowness problems downgraded my system. I always decline all updates on this computer. It still is pretty slow with Hotmail, where my desktop (also Mac) is plenty fast.

  • The only excuse for running Windows of any flavor rests in specialized apps that may be convenient on a Windows platform. Windows OSs are too vulnerable and not as stable as Linux. Macs are interesting and some of the apps attract people who really need those apps. The problem is in the price of the better,specialized programs. Linux remains the logical choice for most users. BSD of various flavors also has its advantages. But all is about to change. There are new cowboys heading in to Dodge carrying new pistols. We may see all of the more established OSs struggling for survival this year as newer and perhaps better OSs come storming in. Google and IBM are both big, able, well funded players who can drop a bomb in the industry.

    • Precisely. The only thing I use Windows for right now is Netflix, running on a vm. Take a snapshot and you don’t even need an AV. Granted this is just a temp fix until Google gets permissions to a Netflix Chrome app, but anyway there are precious few things i cannot run natively, but what i cannot wine or imaginary Windows will.

  • This comic is a compelling critique on Mac user culture. Through hyperbole and spot-on graphical expression, it captures the innate entitlement infused by Apple into many Mac users. Mr. Steve Jobs, sheathed in black turtleneck from waist to chin, tells us of the latest, newest Mac product. We, salivating at its slick, smooth, gleaming fantasticness, are not only willing to spend whatever it takes to possess this product, but we thank Mr. Jobs for the opportunity. We love our sweet Mac products. And we will have them, whatever the cost. Thank you, Mr. Jobs. Thank you.

    • While I do appreciate your humility, your writing style reflects the appearance of someone who was a creative writing major. I am not trying to bash your educational venture. Simply put, the culture that surrounds Mac is typically a well-educated, non-technical community. I have never met a programmer who uses a Mac. Stumble on to a poetry thread where people will appreciate your efforts.

  • Yeesh… I guess some people are having difficulty discerning mentality vs. literal truth.

    The observation of how each platform’s users are conditioned is spot on.

  • I love my apple stuff and i have a ton of good free vs purchased apps. Android Tablet free apps are really limited and low quality was so disappointed in Slideme marketplace IT SUCKS! And No thanks, I don’t want to root my device and get it stuck in boot loops or worry about it being broken on surprise vendor updates, Apple Updates are Free and Easy. Did you know if you buy an apple app you can update it to the next Device for FREE and not have to pay for it all over again like you do on Android devices so I can buy an app and share it on my Itouch/Iphone/ IPad – It is a wonderful thing! BTW I just got a Verizon I-Phone and just love it, so glad I got rid of my BlackBerry!!

  • People buy new OSes for Macs because they don’t cost hundreds of dollars. I would see it as a negative for Windows that most of their users are running relatively obsolete releases because they can’t afford to upgrade.

  • Let’s look at this:

    Snow Leopard = $29 (Has been since the day they launched it)

    Windows 7 = $180

    (Note: Amazon sells a $99 bitbuilder version. It says right on the page that 75% of people buy the $180 version, and 12% buy the bit builder version. This is corroborated by the number of reviews on each)

    Now, both Snow Leopard and Windows get updates for free.

    In what fucking world does your comic make sense?

    “Still, I checked my web traffic logs and you are almost all using the latest Mac OS 10.6.”

    Uh, did you account for where your traffic came from, and what types of demographics they are. Your audience (tech people) are a lot more likely to have updated software than the average mac user. Not to mention that given Windows 7 costs 6x as much as Snow Leopard, many more people would have upgraded.

    All that you’ve done is make something up about OS X, and then use what you just made up to make fun of both OS X and mac users.

    You really didn’t even bother looking into the prices for each operating system, did you>

    • “You really didn’t even bother looking into the prices for each operating system, did you>”

      LOL! I don’t think he did. Do you know why? Because it’s a joke!! Sometimes jokes poke fun at attitudes (and people) by exaggerating reality.

      Was this the first time you’ve encountered a joke? If so, welcome to reality.

  • Dear Apple fanboys trolling on this page,

    On one side with an OS from 2001 (XP), you can get service packs for free to get to a supported version (SP3).
    On the other side you need a version from 2007 (Leopard) to be able to be still supported.

    You pay only for upgrades with Mac, but you are forced to upgrade frequently.

    My first contact with Mac was to install a X11 sever on a Panther. At that time Apple was providing the X11 server (it was a packaged XFree86, but try to compile it yourself…). However you were required to have Tiger to install it. Tiger was like brand new. There was no archive of previous releases of XFree86 binaries that could work on Panther.

    Several distributions of Linux have long-term support program. It is made for the sake of just being able to run older machines, and to avoid complex updates, even though upgrades are free. I do not see how Apple with the price of its operating system cannot do the same.

    I do not see how I would have to pay, even for an upgrade anyway. I do not find Microsoft very appealing forcing you to upgrade at least to XP SP3. But when I see Apple, I am sorry I am just laughing.

    • Apple releases since 1999: 8

      Windows releases since 1999 (x86): 6 (not counting all the buggy patches in between)

      Average retail price for a full Windows package :$250
      Average retail for Mac OS X major release: $99

      • Ah, there’s only been XP, Vista and Win7 in that time frame for end-users. $250? You’re kidding, right?

        And nowhere in the joke was it specific to the OS. Apple stuff almost always costs more (a lot more). Hard to get that *magical* 40% margin otherwise.

        LOL… the comments prove the Apple mentality.

  • I think the fact that all the Apple fanboys have come out to explain why the joke is not funny, simply suggests that (1) they have no sense of humor, and (2) they are the only ones who have been conditioned to respond to otherwise fun-intended satire. Steve Jobs IS doing a good job.

  • After reading all these comments, I have come to the startling revelation that comics are sometimes not factual. Sometimes they aren’t even based on actual FACTS! I then began to wonder, “If a comic on the Internet isn’t true, then maybe other things on the Internet are also not true!” The revelation that not everything is true and factual 100% of the time on the Internet has so shocked my psyche that I collapsed onto the floor, convulsing violently and muttering about upgrades and updates.
    In short, this comic has ruined my life. Thanks a lot, Christiann.

  • I don’t get it.

    Mac OS updates are free, just like Windows. Mac OS upgrades, on the other hand, are usually around $30, while Windows OS upgrades are closer to $100-$200. OS X is cheaper than Windows to upgrade from one version to the next.

    I don’t get it.

  • Even as a Mac user, this still gave me a chuckle.

    While the $99 isn’t completely accurate, it does poke fun at the ridiculousness of certain updates, among which are:
    – The old Airport 802.11n enabler update, which costs $2 when it could’ve been free
    – iPod Touch major firmware updates (i.e: 2.x -> 3.x) which costs $10, when iPhone users got it for free

    Apple fans, chill out. I’m sure many of you got a kick out of OSX’s BSOD icon for Windows computers on the network. =P

    • Wrong.

      The only reason Apple had to charge for those updates was because of accounting practices. They were able to get the law changed so that they could add functionality without charging more for iPod touches.

      This is the exact same reason they have to charge 99c for Facetime on old machines.

      They weren’t trying to make money.

      • I’d agree with you. However from a consumer perspective, there would be no good reason why the company couldn’t just absorb the cost. Consumers would be saying, “iPhone users got it free; why not iPod Touch users?”, or “iPhone 4 users get it for free, why not for OS X?”

        As for the wireless n enabler, maybe it was a licensing fee? Regardless, it would have been nice for Apple to roll it out as a free update.

      • Whether or not they were making money on it doesn’t really change the fact that you were paying for an update.

  • @ all of the people whining about how mac upgrades aren’t that expensive and windows bla bla bla:

    I don’t think the point of this comic was to go, “wow, mac updates are so expensive windows sucks lol linux is t3h ultimate win olol”, but just highlight how linux is a free, quality OS; how windows has a lot of consistent problems and “fixes” for those problems; and how macs are generally more expensive than PCs at the same practical value (which you cannot refute without looking like some sort of pretentious asshole).

  • i dont get why all mac users are so mad, this is totally sarcastic about the situation about mac users feeling compulsive because apple releases new products that just have minor upgrades and they need to buy it because it is an apple product, this comic just refers to this attitude mac users have in this comment page, no real reasons for using macs, not real experts reference, always saying mac is the best, and always ready to get money for buying the new apple’s product that cost more than the double for less hardware than PC’s ones costs

    • Nope, it’s none of that things. Just plain ignorance.
      I still find it really funny, but I can’t understand all the “so true” comments.

      But yes, it’s just a comic stripe, not a newspaper article.

    • We’re getting mad for the same reason you get mad every time someone says your mom’s a whore: because it’s not true.

      (Now excuse me a moment while I process that horrible run-on sentence so I can respond to it…)

      As has been previously pointed out, Mac OS updates are free, and full OS upgrades haven’t been $99 for quite a while now, so from the start this comic is inaccurate, and therefore not funny. (The last WIndows upgrade was, what, $180? $300? Which version did you get?)

      The knee-jerk chorus of “LOL, it’s funny cause it’s true!” coming from the non-Mac-using community has the same effect on us as “no, your mom’s not really a whore, it’s a joke!” does for you. It never seems to matter how many times it’s spelled out how great your mom is to the community, and how reliable she is, and how safe her house is, and how she makes the BEST chocolate chip cookies, and how great she is with her budget. Some uninformed knuckle-dragging assclown has to come around and call your mom a whore just to try and be funny. Then you have to start from square one and defend her all over again from some idiot that has no clue what they’re talking about, and doesn’t have the mental capacity to see past their own nose.

      That’s why we’re mad.

      • well, if i buy my pc components to get the same specs than your mac, then i expend half the cost of your mac, so i buy my new windows OS for $500 (assuming i use windows) and still it is cheaper than buying a mac, so simple to me
        im not saying updates are not free, im just saying how much do mac users like expending money for less
        by the way when somebody says my mom is a whore i laugh, somebody is really mad, so it’s funny to me

      • True that, some whores bake cookies. But they are still whores. All the cookies in the world won’t change that. Expensive and overpriced whores, at that.

        Btw, this is one of reasons why I absolutely detest Macs and Mac users. If you say something about Apple, it is like raping their mother. The overzelous praise of Church of Apple is something that no corporation deserves. They would sell you out for a nickle, you are worthless to them and they don’t deserve your praise. People that can be so defensive when talking about some amoral multinational corporate shell that they are comparing criticism with libeling their own mother, should get their head examined immediately. It is a disease and you should be treated.

        Take your head out of Steve Job’s arse and go see a doctor.

  • I picked up a second hand macbook with 10.4 Tiger. The software I use on my Mac desktop doesn’t work on it. It requires 10.5 Leopard or higher so I had to buy an upgrade.

    If I was still using a PC, I would not have had to – most PC apps will still work with XP.

    So yes I get the joke. And yes it is funny.

  • It’s amazing to see Mac users rage out over this. Get over yourselves, guys, the comic is meant as a joke. The joke behind the comic is that generally while Linux is free, Windows OS costs a decent amount of change but your hardware is ridiculously cheaper and Apple charges a pretty penny for a set quality standard that you expect from them.

    If you’re angry that the comic writer made a joke over the cost differences between the 3 platforms then you need to re-look at your lives.

  • Not all Mac users are bitches ….. for me (as a Mac owner) this joke is extremely funny and so true :) I can acknowledge that having a Mac costs money, but I prefer it that way … I’d rather pay and have a Mac than get everything for free with no Mac and struggle to get things done … for me the money is worth the end product.
    Great joke !

    • The problem is that you think you’ll struggle to get things done. Which you won’t. Apple want you to think that. I can do plenty on android or windows. Even linux is easy enough to make you productive. As is apple, for the most part. I prefer to have freedom of hardware and features, so I use windows. I like games too…

      I watched a couple of apple’s keynote and I was furious about the number of time they say things like “for the 1st time” “Innovation”, etc when presenting tech that have been available for years.

  • This comic fails on nearly every level. It would be funny if it was indeed an attempt to ‘distort the truth’ as some people have claimed, but it’s not that; it’s obviously just ignorance toward the subject matter, plain and simple.

    When I install updates on my Linux box, I do not ever think “yay, more free stuff.” The updates rarely include more stuff of any sort – they are bugfixes, drivers, and the like, as it should be.

    When I install updates on any of my four Windows machines, I don’t think “ugh, not again.” That’s stupid; I am rather glad that Microsoft supports their OS by rapidly patching security holes.

    And then there’s the part of the comic that tries to mock the Mac. It’s so horribly false it really doesn’t deserve a response, but some brilliant individuals here seem to think it’s true. Software updates have never and probably will never cost money on a Mac. Yes, users pay a premium for hardware, but that’s not what the comic is talking about.

    Overall, the comic is just …not good.

  • Meh, I have all three, my MacBook Pro, Windows 7 laptop and a Linux (Crunchbang) laptop.

    I thought it was funny. Sure, the price isn’t quite right, but it is a fair representation of mentality. I’m looking forward to Lion. I think it has great features, and will gladly pay for them. Then again, I said the same thing when Windows 7 came out.

    To each their own I guess.

  • I am deeply offended by this comic. It suggests that we Linux users are cheap because we always want free stuff. This is patently untrue. We are “thrifty”.

  • I have found Dreamlinux to be the best for most machines, especially old ones (P3). it has been the most trouble-free of the bunch. Runs like Linux, looks like Mac.

  • Another take:

    Linux-Let’s recompile the kernel to gain CD ROM support!

    Windows-“Windows will now forcibly reboot to update your computer. Yes, right now.”

    Mac-It only took until 10.2 to be useable!

  • I tried Ubuntu at least a half dozen times and ended up removing it in less than a day. It’s totally un-cool. What an ugly system it is and everything you do is a hassle. For me it’s windows 7 ultimate which to me is the ultimate,,,at least for now.

    • really? i had the opposite problem. installed windows 7 ultimate x64, tried to get bluetooth drivers through microsoft and my hardware provider. three times. after two weeks the system “fixed” itself on its own. on the other hand i installed ubuntu and had bluetooth out of the box. i kept windows installed only because i already had my videogames installed already, and just linked playonlinux to the partition to save the bother of reinstalling.

  • Dear god people need to lighten up. IT’S SATIRE FFS. If you can’t take a joke then maybe you shouldn’t be here in the first place. And if you think you can do better, go do it and stop pitching. No-one is forcing you to read these funnies. But I suppose far too many people exist on the web for the sole purpose of trolling. Get over yourselves and go through a childish emo tantrums somewhere else. I hope the author now takes it upon herself to dedicate this site to mocking all OS just to upset the petty trolls that have nothing better to do than to criticise someone else’s hard work. Where is your positive contribution?

  • Linux: “Maybe this update will make Linux usable/popular…”
    Windows: “I just want to get some work done :(”
    Mac: “Stop dicking about with the look of iTunes!!!”

    or

    Mac: “Phew! My 2 year old machine is still supported”

  • Ex2bot and various others, you’re experiences of “Linux” are really rather out of date. The days of fighting with recompiling a kernel for CD / DVD support are really rather long gone. This is pure miss-information.

    Other posters have things better summed up:

    1:- Servers / server infrastructure for HPC environments, *nix wins hands down. Indeed MS are finally putting in a decent HPC offering but they are way behind in terms of user base here. Don’t under rate the size of this market. As for managing systems at this scale there are many many options, ranging from tftp based role outs of the OS through to automated software / OS management packages (all free in all senses of the word) and LDAP is often used in place of or side by side with Windows AD. So the OS argument on management is a non-issue for those who know what they are doing.

    2:- Home / desktop systems. All the above OS’s do this well for general purpose use BUT Windows really shines when it comes to games. OS X wins on the multi-media experience. Linux wins on small platforms, i.e. netbooks where it really is a far far quicker option on the atom etc based systems.

    3:- As a development platform, MS used to charge like a wounded Rhino for their full SDK / compiler sets, better now but sure as hell it isn’t free. OS X, dropping Java support (although Mac Java has been bust for some time…), going html5 only, no flash. Only really supporting the Jobsian track of which chosen language on the SDK etc side (see the recent pulling of apps from the iStore for this reason). A real pity as the MAC was a fun platform to develop code on. At present *nix the only really scalable and open (in terms of choice, cost and freedom) to now develop in :(

    So all have pro’s and cons. Your mileage as always may vary but ultimately many here are spouting past truths in the place of current fact and really aren’t either doing themselves or any discussion any favours.

    As for the cartoon, Fantastic and spot on :D

  • Great cartoon…and sooooo true!
    ==
    To update or not update. That is the question.
    Whether ’tis nobler in the mind to suffer
    The virus and spyware of script kiddies,
    Or to accept updates and delay that ebay bid,
    And by opposing end them? To die: to sleep;
    ==
    Personally what I find most amusing is the lack of a neck the cartoon characters have…donuts and youtube obviously

  • I need to add a bit about the various OS’s. Having been a computer expert for about 12 years now, I can truthfully say that a RAW beginner will find Linux a bit if a challenge, but only if that person is truly NOT a raw beginner and NEEDS, just NEEDS to mess with something.

    Linux Mint (and there are others) is complete enough for a new person that I doubt much will be added for the first six months. So that system will be rock solid. I use Mint myself, and it is an excellent–and absolutely free operating system.

    MS on the other hand does not come with much of anything and friends will be assisting with apps that like, installing them and making problems. Raw beginners usually associate with other nearly raw beginners who like to show off. Soon… BOOM! MS blows something out sideways.

    Next, this new person will likely explore the pleasures of the Internet and unless something is very different either an actual virus or a bit of miserable code somewhere will find it’s unpleasant way to your machine. It will sneak past your defenses and plant a most distasteful seed. Those are the experiences that Windows people dislike most of all. A pop-up! Over and over it presents itself until you promise to never, not ever, even under the threat of castration to purchase a penny’s worth from that company. But it’s still there because you and your friends do not know how to disinfect it. It likely sits in that mess called the REGISTRY!

    I use both Windows and Linux. At first Linux was a problem primarily because of the horrible documentation that the Linux people swear is good–except that it isn’t! It’s missing steps, has undefined acronyms, and assumes others are as adept as those who write it. So why don’t they fix it? Writing technical how-to stuff is extreme;y difficult, for one, but there are many professionals who write proficiently to a beginning audience daily. They can be found, hired, and that problem would vanish like the greens of summer. I know, having been a technical writer for over eight years now.

    The problem lies in the attitude–or should I say lack of attitude. A writer who cannot admit problems exist, one who must see his/her work as flawless is seriously lacking confidence. Those who will not accept criticism easily often lack ability to work at a completely factual, unemotional level. Instead of discussions, they speak egotistically, inserting emotional concerns rather than those terms and concerns that address only the subject, thinking there must be a winner and a loser. A realist does not see things that way. They look only for reality, leaving all the petty emotional problems for children. This is the difference between being objective and subjective, and the subjective writers always find a way to interject their difficulties into the writing–with missing steps, undefined acronyms, and assumed knowledge that beginners cannot follow.

    If you want a good example of this type of writing difficulty, set a new person in front of a computer and be ready to assist them with the basics. Now open Photoshop and pick almost any tutorial on the Internet for them to follow. Chances are good it will lack something necessary for a beginner. Something that will make following it almost impossible. Soon, if the desire to learn is strong, those Photoshop tutorials will produce a real stomach churning level of frustration. I know. My wife is learning Photoshop and I spend hours correcting–no, make that completely rewriting the PS tutorials.

    No, not complaining here. Not to those who write the Photoshop tutorials. They are not writing professionals and they probably do not notice the inherent difficulty of writing a tight How-To without missing a step or assuming knowledge–and it’s not easy. I respect the work they go to in an attempt to bring others difficult solutions. Seriously, I do respect them.

    To the Ubuntu writers, I am complaining. These people are in a professional position and what they do, as well as how poorly they approach the public is a disservice. They simply need to realize that no one is attempting to be disparaging when they complain–they are simply expecting professionals to be professional–and they have every right to expect such abilities as well as a professional attitude to accompany the responsibilities that come with such a position–whether the person doing it is providing it for free or not.

    How would you like it if a manual on auto repair told you everything but how to remove the spark plugs–expecting that you could figure that one out by yourself. I’m certain many of you can conceive of someone who may not know what a spark plug is, much less how to remove and install one. There is a young man down the street who just bought a car manual, and just for spark plugs. Yes, it happens. Assuming differently is extremely arrogant. More so when you additionally insult a person for bringing this to your attention. Ubuntu did exactly that to a friend of mine who was being polite. A very proficient writer, a Dr. of psychology, an extremely kind and giving older gentleman. Although he did not seem to be bothered by that rashness, I was. It was absolutely unnecessary and for Ubuntu to allow such atrocities to occur is a display of something very, wrong internally.

  • I have to say I’m quite amused at the unbridled RAGE on display here by the Apple Faithful(tm). I guess when you buy an Apple(tm), you buy a mindset as well–after all, you have to justify the expense somehow! :-)

  • Amazing how people get so tetchy about a cartoon. I’ve got all 3 OS installed, and I use all 3 for different jobs. All 3 are nice, and all 3 are nasty. Best comment somewhere above:
    Rock, paper, scissors, …

  • im still wondering about all that difference between updates and upgrades… ;)

    no really. what’s the difference? was service pack 6a an update or an upgrade. is the same kernel with a completely new look and update or an upgrade? does it have to do with the size? Lines of code? Or that you have to pay for it? Or just because you give it a new name or a new number behind the name, does that make it an upgrade?

    maybe it depends on the OS…

    an update on windows:
    oh no. hopefully i don’t have to reboot… i get a couple of bug fixes, maybe something breaks or something gets installed that i might not really want.

    upgrade on windows: i have to purchase a new CD, format the disc, install the OS, reintall all the programs I need…

    update on mac: barely notice them. i thought everything was working fine.

    upgrade on mac: mostly, when I buy I new mac. ;)

    update on linux (depending on dist): on my debian (which i have on testing/unstable) maybe I get a new kernel. maybe I get a new GUI, maybe I get bug fixes, maybe i get a new version of firefox, maybe i get openoffice bugfixes, maybe I get a new version of gimp, maybe I get, what most of you would call an upgrade. and that, on ALL the software I use, not only the OS. just imagine if your package manager would handle perfectly all updates and upgrades of all the software you use on your computer…
    maybe a real upgrade is changing a couple of lines in my sources list,

    on gentoo: ill come back next year and maybe my computer is done compiling no matter what i do.

    on ubuntu: bugfixes, maybe a new version of firefox, depending what sources i use.

    upgrade: i do the exactly same thing as an update, but it takes a while longer. on my main computer, works like a charm, sadly on my laptop, major upgrades break the sound sometimes… my mac breaks less, my windows breaks more often, so i can’t really complain.

    so at least for me, there isnt a clear distinction between update and upgrade from the user perspective in linux world.

    as a software engineer, I can say technically there isnt any difference either. just depends on how you develop. if you slowly bake in new features and remain backward compatible, everything is just an update, a new build number, and there is “never” an upgrade.

    the amount above $99 isnt crazy either. leopord to snow was 29, but tiger to snow was more expensive… and then you have all the problems with buying “updates” for all your other software.

  • I must admit I too do not understand why so many mac users are so upset over a cartoon. I was an avid mac user I had a G3 Tower 2 G4 towers I still have 2 clam shells and a G4 iBook but I will not buy another Apple product again. I paid what $129.00 for OSX 10.5 and now if I want to move to OSX 10.6 I have to buy a new computer. I use GNU/Linux every day I have Ubuntu on a laptop my wife uses and I have gentoo on a Dell XPS and an HP mini 311 (Yes I have to wait for my updates to compile but that is the whole point ITS MY CHOICE!) and yes I enjoy seeing new options. As for how hard it is to install GNU/Linux Ubuntu installed with no problems on state of the art equipment all I had to do was point and click. The point of the open source movement is that it is a choice so if you want Windows or Mac OSX thats great it’s your choice just don’t condem me because I choose to use what I consider to be a better product.

  • All you people who think you weren’t charged for an update, apple put snow in front of leopard and made leopard work the way it should have when it was released and you all ate it up.

  • Guys, the apple one isn’t supposed to be real, it’s just a joke on how apple makes you overpay for everything (hyperbole),

    but snow leopard was not a major update (IMHO), so in that case it’s true, you did pay for an update.

    But i do ever so much love linux, the ability to customise any piece of my operating system is important to me.
    Want to change the task bar background in windows – download some shitty-ass 3rd party software
    Want to change the taskbar background in mac – not possible / get sued

  • Linux Mint might appear as a good solution since it’s very easy to get it to work, but it’s absolutely not in the free software spirit to include, as it does, unfree content such as flash plugin or other similar crap.
    GNU/Linux is not only this good nowadays because it is free as in free beer ; it’s so good because it is free as in free speech. Using such distros, you’re being lazy and contribute to destroy the free software spirit, without which none of this would exist.

    Linux requires you to learn how your computer works ; using a noob-friendly distro only hides the dust under the carpet instead of vaccuming it (and Windows does the same, of course).

  • Dear Mac users, stop complaining about the fact you don’t like a comic, this one gets more hate than the ones with Muhammad in it. You’ve payed 29$ or 99$ for something that comes free for any Linux user, I’m sure you knew it before you whipped out your wallet. Why not leave a smiley face in the comments instead of trying to convince everyone Mac updates are free? (They are not. The updates Mac users get do not add features, instead they fix bad code that should not have been sold to begin with).

    Dear Linux users, for those of you who are not aware, both upgrades and updates can be done “in place” – without reinstalling, and for free, in any system running an RPM or DEB packaging system (so this includes Ubuntu, SuSE, Debian, Red Hat, Mint and you name it). 99% of the users will never have a need to “recompile a Kernel”. Oh, by the way – good luck explaining what “recompiling a Kernel” is to someone who’s used paying 29$ for a recompiled OSX kernel and thinks it’s a new OS now.

    Dear Windows users – well, at least you know your OS sucks.

  • Look Mac users… Get over yourselves. Apple overcharge for their hardware, have stated publicly that they want to filter the internet into easy to use “channels” through apps from the app store (whilst doing away with the “clunky browser approach) so they can make even more money and any iteration of OSX that costs money is by definition a paid for OS UPDATE. Yes Windows is expensive but you’re not forced to upgrade your OS to run the latest version of some program, pretty much everything runs on XP. Also Vista was shocking, it’s not so bad now because of the free updates (which admittedly take an age to DL) and you only ever get forcibly rebooted or have your user experience impacted by the updater if you haven’t set it up right… In most cases the problem exists between the chair and the keyboard.

    I have both Macs and PCs running on my home network as well as a Linux box and I have done for years. I fully endorse this comic as an IT professional, it’s funny because it’s true. Oh, also the mac users who are sounding off are probably doing so because deep down they know they’ve been ripped off by Apple…
    Final word on the subject, my PC laptop can run OSX, has the exact same hardware inside as a macbook pro and yet cost £250 less…

  • umm, windows updates are free, but their upgrades are crap and pricy.
    Linux is free all around
    mac is:
    -hard to upgrade
    -overpriced (by a couple thousand dolars!!!)
    -upgrades on mac software are usualy about the same as windows, but -upgrades on mac hardware are thousands of dollars.

  • Mac updates are completely free. They do not cost $80. maybe the complete OS does, but so does windows, so take that and shove it up your butthole. I suck cock too.

  • ya macs suck just over glorified operating system with over priced hardware. Don’t get me wrong they put top of the line hardware in their comps just at double the price you can get the parts elsewhere. I am getting a PC oh wait macs are better, they are the same fckin thing people. If you want a mac so bad just download a cracked mac OS online for free and install it on your PC. Save yourself like 1,000 and runs just as good if your hardware is up to par.

  • the ios 5 is a free upgrade!!!
    but windows7 is not even an upgrade you need to buy another computer
    with w7 windows kind of sucks :/

  • The Snow Leopard upgrade was a worthwhile one, it gave users various performance enhancements, altered the kernel and added loads of drivers for audio/visual equipment.
    If you think $29 is expensive, you should probably take a second look of how much you’ve achieved in your life.

  • alright… noone actually grasps the concept of wat their talking about. some OS upgrades are more expensive than others varying between the brands of computers in light of what the upgrade actually is. most mac upgrades are more expensive than almost any other on a given day due to the fact that a mac’s performance is generally better than other computers. while this may be, a pc’s upgrades won’t cost as much due to its lesser performance capabilities(same goes for linux), aside from cost, the biggest difference between a mac and almost any other brand computer is that, assumming there’s no outside interference, is that the other brands will generally speaking last longer than a mac.

    • “mac’s performance is generally better than other computers”

      What? How’s so? standard ram, intel cpu, standard ssd, onboard gpu… performance wise, it’s exactly the same as a normal laptop…

      Have you tried windows 10 on a ssd? Boots in less than 15 sec (on my machine which is 3 years old) and is smooth as butter. Same goes for linux, less then 15 sec boot time… Everything opens instantly… Explain to me how is the mac’s perf better?

  • You guys are missing the point of the personality type of each user. Linux user thinks and wants every thing free. Windows users doesn’t like any thing that getting in their way. Mac user will spend a ton of money as long as someone like Steve jobs throws some marketing ploy as to why you need it or how cheep the iPad is when its expensive.

  • Yeah… but a Mac will get you laid. Macs don’t get bullshit spyware from porn sites(not yet anyway). Listening to you fucking nerds argue about what is better is like hearing people argue over what fast food is better. It is just a tool. Let people buy what they want. Each one has some better features than the others. Macs are too pricey. I can build a badass linux box for a fraction of the price, but The MacBook pro is fucking awesome.

    • mac will get you laid… I won’t touch a girl who wants me for a brand with a freaking stick. You sir need to review your taste on girls… ffs!

      Mac book pro is a grey metallic laptop. Nothing more. It’s not awesome in any way. It’s the same as any windows grey metallic laptop, with an apple on it. Could have been an alien… You are a dumb follower!

  • Dear Mac Users:
    Costs at release to upgrade:

    10.0 $130
    10.1 $20
    10.2 $130
    10.3 $130
    10.4 $130
    10.5 $130
    10.6 $30
    10.7 $30
    Total: $730

    xp $200
    vista $240
    7 $70 (upgrade)
    Total: $510

    Ubuntu: FREE

    Getting you to tell you to SHUT THE F*CK UP: Priceless

    • OSX
      Time Spent on Google getting your fucking wifi adapter working: 0

      Windows
      Time Spent on Google getting your fucking wifi adapter working: 15 minutes

      Linux
      Time Spent on Google getting your fucking wifi adapter working: 5 hours

      • Common misconception. 80% of the time Ubuntu will have drivers it need. Of that 20% left, 15% of the time it will auto-download what ever it doesnt already have, and only 5% of the time do you have to download your own (takes 5 minutes to install).

      • Yep. Most drivers are built into the Linux kernel. There are occasionally a few drivers you may have to go hunting online for, but the rest of the time, you’re good to go out of the box. I remember having to hunt down drivers just to get ethernet working in Windows, but in Linux distros I have used, right out of the box it works fine. Same with Wi-Fi. :D

      • ive never had a driver problem with any os, except windows so there so STFU. And ive used 10+ linux distros (google if u dont know what a distro is lol)

    • Obviously you don’t understand the difference between “update” and “upgrade”. Also, starting 2013-10-22, all Apple OS upgrades are free, JUST LIKE UBUNS.

      • As they are with Windows. All Windows updates have always been free but to upgrade the OS from, say, XP to Vista was not free. And, in the year that Win10 has been released, upgrades from 7 and 8.1 have been free. That will, however, in in the next day or so.

    • yeah you didn’t add windows me, or windows 10 which would put it over your apple budget plus you didn’t list any apple os updates that are from starting at 10.8 and is still free at now at 10.11.

  • Firefox Windows: $0
    Firefox Linux $0
    Firefox Mac OSX:$0

    Comic is not completely correct OSX updates are free, upgrades are not as Richard has pointed out, as he has also pointed out there have been 7 in the recent future, Windows had 3. By that logic count the first 3 updates of OSX =280 and none have been as much of a failure as vista =$240

    Yes the updates are a way to make money, but no one forces you to buy them.

    Linux is free
    Linux is great
    I can hack your Linux in 15 minutes
    end of story

      • Yeah, can you believe this guy! I’m a computer science engineer and I once was able to lock myself out of my drive, could not access anything because I changed some permissions where I should not have.

        And mister know it all claim to be able to hack my linux… Ok, 100$ if you can… I’ll even give you an hour…

        MOron

  • Ok, I will not say any os is better then another cause honestly it’s a matter of taste, But as an apple user, Yes, the computer costs a small fortune, but i like it cause it works for me, Not to mention, in terms of customer service, Apple is top notch where with my old dell I had to claw and scream to make them replace an engineering flaw that it had as soon as it came out of the box, and they STILL made me pay shipping. And apple updates are free, The os’s are expensive(well not so much any more) and yes there has been a vista of apple…It’s called lion.

    • Depends on your experience, had a lot of good experiences with dell, and was not able to exchange a beat headphone 4 days past warranty because the genius was not kind enough to let me exchange it. (I won the thing, used it 10-15 times, 4 days past 1 year after BUILD date, not winning date) had it for 7-8 months max…¨

      So, yeah, customer experience is important. Support experience in not consistent as you can see…

  • As someone who has been doing IT work in Silicon valley for nearly 20 years, I never get tired of laughing at what the noobs think is a sane debate.

    At my company out Widows machines have cost us $500 between Vista and Windows 7. Each. As in, the price of the laptop almost. Luckily we don’t have many Windows machines, as developers aren’t choosing Windows much these days in the tech industry.

    To contrast, each Mac had cost $60 between Leopard and Snow leopard. As in, hardly anything. Which us great consisting most of the big tech companies are almost 100% Mac these days (Google, Facebook, Twitter, DropBox, Mozilla, etc).

    If you are reading this and nerd raging, it’s because you don’t actually work in the industry, and assume the world is like it is in your basement, with Ubuntu and Fedora DVDs all over your messy wannabe nooblabs.

    Though I know dozens of professional Linux admins, who work at places most of you couldn’t even get a phone screen at, I don’t know a single person who actually uses Linux on their laptops. You want to know why that is? Because Linux will always suck on the laptop, and for normal people, for the very reasons your young minds think it’s great: openness and free.

    You see, no great open product with zero cost has ever been great, because it makes no sense at all business wise. What’s the motivation? There us none.

    So you guys keep fighting over something you think is real, over your perceive notions of how the tech world actually operates, while the rest of us who actually do this for a living and have done so longer than many of you have been out of diapers laugh at how little you actually know about the world.

    In short, keep playing Pokemon while the grown ups work in the real world.

    /UNIX & Windows Admin, 1995-present

    • Web developpers… what you’re talking about is web development. I work in the game industry and we are all using windows desktop cause macs are so underpowered it’s just ridiculous and we can’t develop on a laptop.

      Our base config is 512GB ssd for os, 2x1TB ssd in raid1 for data, GTX970 videocard, xeon 12 cores 3.4GHZ, 64GB ram. An apple desktop with those spect cost 8000$ and a normal PC cost around 2000$.

      Gaming is a windows thing because of directx support and video card drivers. That is also the main reason I have a windows pc. If you don’t game, there is NO reason to have a laptop or a desktop. You can do it all on a mobile device, cell or tablet. Bluetooth keyboard, mouse and cast to a screen and now you have it, perfect pc, mac or linux right with your android, ios or windows phone…

      Not a lot of people really need the power of a laptop or desktop. mostly, they use some text edition, web browser, mail, calendar, music player, video player and that’s it.

      Everyone is so lame discussing this issue… Who cares about os preferences. Buy what you want, buy what you need, buy to brag, buy to be a dork, who cares!!!! Our planet is dying and we’ll all be dead in a 100 years (cause, you know, people don’t live very long)… go have a life, go out with friends or family, have fun with your kids… don’t give a crap about which os is the best, that’s nothing important…

  • I would like to say that whoever said that mac OS is the same as linux has obviously never used linux. The only people who use macs are people who are too rich and stupid to use a pc and the only people who use windows are too incompetent to use linux!

  • Hey folks, abstract a bit to the point of the comic:
    Macs are the most expensive, Windows next, and Linux is the cheapest.

    How many of you used XP for ten years without ever paying an upgrade yet getting many significant upgrades via the service packs? Over the same period you probably spent $29 for the Mac OSX beta, $129 for 10.0, $129 for 10.1, $129 for 10.2, etc with Apple occasionally throwing in a $29 OS upgrade. Not to mention that some of Apple’s upgrades required buying new machines to run them. Also note that Apple was the first to integrate the app store to make it easy to buy and install applications. I think folks are taking this as an insult to Macs, when it really isn’t. If you’re honest, just look at the costs.

    Of course the cost of hardware/software is insignificant to the productivity to gain you get from using the right tool for the job.

  • Linux = free = useless software that no one would buy anyway

    Windows = affordable = frustrating software that breaks down and slows your computer to an inevitable snails-paced processing speed

    Mac = expensive = fast reliable software that you know won’t get viruses and if you’re cheap just get the pirate version

    Mac = WIN – ooo argh!

  • Can we stop calling them macs. We all know, even the hardcore mac-fags, that there is nothing original about any mac hardware or software.

    FROM THIS DAY ON, ALL MACINTOSH/APPLE PRODUCTS WILL BE KNOWN BY THEIR RIGHTFUL NAMES:
    HARDWARE – XEROX
    SOFTWARE – UNIX
    FOUNDER – NOBODY, THIEF, PLAGIARIZER

    Thank You, now we can all be honest again.

    btw, windows blows.

  • I own a MacBook Pro with OsX Lion ($1500). I had to pay $20 for a poorly made codec to play mpg video files taken with a Sony camera. After buying it and installing it, it didn´t have any sound so I had to download another file just for my videos to have sound. This has never happened with my Ubuntu distro or my Win7 laptop (Both are installed in the same computer). You can´t even install Mac OS on a computer that is not Apple branded (An OS that good should be able to be installed on any computer meeting the minimum requirements, creating a hackintosh is really hard and it doesn´t work as fine as the real thing). I use all three of those operating systems and I know this comic is as true as it gets!!! Long Life Open Source!!

  • Windows users have no brains. They have no brain for learn Libre office and other utilities on Ubuntu Linux. I converted some of my co-workers and friend computers to Ubunut Linux and some brainless people don’t learn how all stuff going in Ubunutu, then they return to window$.

    • If you’re gonna talk about other people not having brains, at least proofread your comment before you hit post. “No brain for learn”, “friend computers”, “Ubunut”, “how all stuff going”. I rest my case.

  • Hah damn….so why are so many ppl still with Win, when there are so many ppl trying to explain us that Linux or MacOS is better…There are so many programs which don’t have so good analogy in other os-es different that win… for instance photoshop… don’t even try to tell that Gimp is so good….it is not!

  • This cartoon is rubbish.

    There are 2 types of MAC users.
    1) easy OOTB HW/SW. No tinkering/tweaking. It just works. Period. Pay Apple tax for that premium.
    2) love Linux but tired of being a Helpdesk monkey – give me premium HW, good commercial SW – the rest Open Source. Able to run VMs and use easy Linux CLI. Pay Apple tax for time saving using/developing other Linux apps/tools

    WIN HW is cheap for a reason – no support, short life span. Users are hung out to dry (pay tax on the backend for their personal time and support troubleshooting)

    Linux folks are purist that don’t mind tinkering/tweaking of both HW/SW. More power to the people!!! ;)

    Apple tax is a Roth IRA (tax upfront, no tax on tail end).
    MS tax is a traditional IRA (pre-tax upfront, high tax on the tail end)

    That simple.

    Yes, major upgrades for OSX are $30 and point upgrades free.
    WIN major u/g is $100+, point u/g free (but every 4 days and takes 30 min to shutdown, then 20 min to boot).

    Choose when/how you want to pay that tax.

    Either way this cartoon sucks

    • Linux is the most successful operating system on the planet, period. It’s in everything from your phone to the International space station. I run Windows 10, OS X, and Linux on different computers. The latest upgrade for all of them was free, which is pretty unusual for Windows and Mac, but not for Linux. It’s always been free

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Christiann MacAuley Hi! I’m Christiann MacAuley and I’ve been creating and posting comics on this website since 2006. For more comics and recent updates, check out my GoComics site, Instagram, and author page on Cosmopolitan. Join my email list for weekly new stuff! Please support me by buying my book, a print, or donating!

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what’s this?

Christiann MacAuley Hi! I’m Christiann MacAuley and I’ve been creating and posting comics on this website since 2006. For more comics and recent updates, check out my GoComics site, Instagram, and author page on Cosmopolitan. Join my email list for weekly new stuff!

keep in touch

Don't miss out. Get an email every Friday morning with my latest comics!