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Ryan1524 · Oct 14, 2003, 04:14 PM

after many unpleasant experiences with Windows 95-98-ME-XP....i've developed some sort of system paranoia. i'm scared to install games or software becasue i'm worried if it might screw up the registry and other parts of the OS and rendering it unusable. i'm afraid to plug in new hardwares out of fear it screwing up the system too. and i have in fact experienced this. my Belkin BT adapter's software casued my DHCP on XP to malfunction and stop updating..rendering my connection to my network...which uses DHCP, dead, until i remove the software and do some blind tinkering. i say bling becasue i never know what might happen next if i do this or that. it's very unpredictable. i'm responsible to manage 3 XP machines at home, and my comp's internet connection decided to stop working one day and duplicating the settings of other computers didn't help...but everything came back online few horus later...lol. joys of windows computing. you never knwo what might hit you..

i'm looking forward to switching...but do i have to worry about these sort of things anymore on the mac side of things?? i ask this after reading many threads about the v.1 of 10.2.8 causing problems on most machines and the epidemic that plagued the rev a 15" Als. well, the hardware side might not be so much a problem...but the software side..especially how an OS update can casue so much trouble. when reading them...i imagined going through what i do in XP. a sense of being lost and not knowing what's gonna happen next.

so....should i worry ??

Cipher13 · Oct 14, 2003, 04:19 PM

No.

Installing software, such as a game, does not alter the system, so you don't need to worry.

If you want to uninstall said software? Just drag it to the trash, and all of its components apart from preferences will be trashed along with it.

The 10.2.8 updater was a real messup - but you must realise it only effected Mystic DP machines, and iBooks (battery wise). It was also patched very soon thereafter.

If you couldn't wait for the patch? It took a whole 10 seconds to reinstall the older version of the kernel extension.

It isn't something you should worry about. I can't gaurantee it, but I doubt anything like 10.2.8 will happen again anytime soon.

- - e r i k - - · Oct 14, 2003, 04:36 PM

The whole 10.2.8-thing happened BECAUSE users are almost too comforted by Apple's high standards. You go without failure for a very long time, and blindly jump at any chance to upgrade to the latest and greatest. When Apple do make a mistake (everyone does), these people "who just couldn't wait" get bit. Just a fact of life that.

I'm certain you'll be more than satisfied when you switch.

Ryan1524 · Oct 14, 2003, 04:49 PM

thx. i was never going to let anything like this to prevent my switch. there's far more to gain. i was just wondering if such problems still exist on the mac side. i used to think not, but recent events got me to rethink them. i guess it was just a minor fluke.

LaGow · Oct 14, 2003, 05:07 PM

Yeah, a minor fluke that konked out my Ethernet. Still, the overall OS X experience has been very pleasant for me and I never worry about software hosing my system. I am comforted by the idea that the architecture was designed from the beginning to prevent that kind of thing.

Then, of course, there's APE...

Gankdawg · Oct 15, 2003, 08:28 AM

Dad? When did you start posting in the MacNN forums?

Sorry, couldn't resist......

blah · Oct 15, 2003, 09:48 AM

Mama, that's just egg paranoia.

wulf · Oct 15, 2003, 10:35 AM

Originally posted by Ryan1524:
10.2.8 causing problems on most machines

If you want to be on the safe side, just wait a day or two after any new software update is released and check these forums. Any problems will always be reported and you can then make an informed decision about whether it's likely to be safe or not

hoopz · Oct 15, 2003, 01:22 PM

Originally posted by blah:
Mama, that's just egg paranoia.

[Homer Simpson]

So one of those Egg Council creeps got to you too, huh?

[/Homer Simpson]

mitchell_pgh · Oct 15, 2003, 01:33 PM

What's going to really freak you out is that games "can't" hose your system. They don't have sufficient privileges to do so.

Naturally, there are exceptions, but not all that many...

WJMoore · Oct 16, 2003, 01:55 AM

Originally posted by mitchell_pgh:
What's going to really freak you out is that games "can't" hose your system. They don't have sufficient privileges to do so.

Naturally, there are exceptions, but not all that many...

Games are equally less likely to hose your system because there's a pretty good chance that the game you want won't be available for OS X. Sorry I couldn't resist and I know it's off topic. I love OS X but for games a PC or console is the way to go IMHO.

ph0ust · Oct 16, 2003, 10:47 AM

Originally posted by Ryan1524:
after many unpleasant experiences with Windows 95-98-ME-XP....i've developed some sort of system paranoia. i'm scared to install games or software becasue i'm worried if it might screw up the registry and other parts of the OS and rendering it unusable....
so....should i worry ??

you will love your apple. once you get to understand how it works you will wonder why ms hasn't got its sh!t together. the only way you are going to hose your mac is if you explicitly leverage unix in the command prompt and start doing stuff. so if you don't know unix... you aren't going to do this. otherwise, os x is like a layer cake, and each layer represents part of the overall os. the very bottom is the unix kernel, then there are proceeding layers for presentation, apps, etc. your apps, hardware, etc, *never* get into the os, they simply sit on top of it and do there thing. even the largest of apps is actually akin to a simply .exe that sits there and runs. no registry, no additional system files, no new dlls, or shared files.

os x is the best os out there hands down!

btw, i switched only a year ago

NeXTLoop · Oct 16, 2003, 10:53 AM

Originally posted by ph0ust:
otherwise, os x is like a layer cake, and each layer represents part of the overall os...

I love good analogies, and that one's a keeper. I'll definitely be quoting that one when explaining OS X to some of my PeeCee friend. Thanks.

JB72 · Oct 16, 2003, 11:25 AM

Originally posted by Ryan1524:
after many unpleasant experiences with Windows 95-98-ME-XP....i've developed some sort of system paranoia. i'm scared to install games or software becasue i'm worried if it might screw up the registry and other parts of the OS and rendering it unusable.

LOL I hear ya. I have a Windows box for HTPC and just installing an application is a risky affair. Sad. But I wouldn't worry about that on OS X. I would exercise due caution, however, when installing any non-Apple software that adds a kernel extension (ie something that asks for a password and requires a reboot.) Most stuff is just drag and drop though.