Today!
I prepared an assessment seminar for a local teacher training college. I prepared everything on my Macbook, Powerpoint, slides, Word docs the lot. Practised like hell to get it right, as I don't work there, but wouldn't mind doing so.

I get there early, get the IT guy, set up the laptop ready to start and..........nothing! The college IT setup is not Mac compatible. I downloaded everything onto a stick, and cobbled the presentation together in a (for my liking) very unprofessional Windows manner. It worked, but I was pretty hacked off to say the least.

So I started the seminar by holding up my laptop, saying "I'm a Mac. This is a PC....."
( The Lone Groover has mal des nuts., Thu 15 Mar 2012, 20:12, 49 replies)

and that is why you are a loner

( The Scrunt Wants a Dozen Pints, Thu 15 Mar 2012, 20:22, closed)

you own fault for being a mactard

( Reme Philips laid an epic dump on, Thu 15 Mar 2012, 20:25, closed)

I think you just won
uzzard's game.
(Misery McUglywife an attention seeking sociopathic fuckstain., Thu 15 Mar 2012, 20:25, closed)

Gosh!
Sorry for offending you by actually addressing the QOTW. Maybe I should post a picture of a fluffeh kitteh?
( The Lone Groover has mal des nuts., Thu 15 Mar 2012, 20:31, closed)

wait, you offended yourself?

( janet aylia y'all motherfuckers need jesus, Fri 16 Mar 2012, 7:56, closed)

Get a proper laptop then
(I had the same problem at uni - I'd been using PC's for most of my course, but suddenly had to play catch up with macs / mac software for my 3rd year. Hated the damn things)
(mr-lizard Hell's teeth man!, Thu 15 Mar 2012, 20:33, closed)

Sorry!
I like my Macbook. I use it for photography mainly, and it knocks pc software into a cocked hat. Plus I got peed off with viruses on my old laptop. No such problems now!
( The Lone Groover has mal des nuts., Thu 15 Mar 2012, 20:40, closed)

You really
aren't helping your cause here.
(Misery McUglywife an attention seeking sociopathic fuckstain., Thu 15 Mar 2012, 20:43, closed)

Don't need to.
You either are, or you aren't!
( The Lone Groover has mal des nuts., Thu 15 Mar 2012, 20:54, closed)

Looking at all you responses I think I can safely say - you are drunk and alone
AICM$5P
(Misery McUglywife an attention seeking sociopathic fuckstain., Thu 15 Mar 2012, 22:11, closed)

Who gets viruses these days? I havent had one in ten years (running 7 and Ubuntu). Stop going to dodgy russian porn sites.
(tyrellsOwl, Fri 16 Mar 2012, 8:06, closed)

A Mac is a PC, fucktard.
They even named some of their Personal Computers as such.
Of course, they're running the operating system of St Jobs which works with Windows about as well as any machine running BSD or Linux but costs more.
(Me, I'm not... in any way intoxicated, Thu 15 Mar 2012, 21:30, closed)

did you then tell everyone how good your mac was
in a really smug manner?
(Dan dan dan They tik urh jerbs!!!, Thu 15 Mar 2012, 20:40, closed)

Errrr
No. Why would I? Why do you assume that all Mac users are the equivalent of Jeremy Clarkson? We're not all cocks you know, despite what you'd like us all to believe. Some of us even have a life and families.
( The Lone Groover has mal des nuts., Thu 15 Mar 2012, 20:45, closed)

This is why Mac users will never be taken seriously.

( drimble he'd been white, he'd been black, Thu 15 Mar 2012, 20:45, closed)

I Don't Think
I asked to be or expected to be. I was just answering the bloody QOTW. I'll just pop off and die instead.
( The Lone Groover has mal des nuts., Thu 15 Mar 2012, 20:56, closed)

Pardon my ignorance, but aren't Powerpoint and Word documents cross-platform anyway?

( drimble he'd been white, he'd been black, Thu 15 Mar 2012, 21:01, closed)

Yes
But I still don't know why they wouldn't work on the college's system!
( The Lone Groover has mal des nuts., Thu 15 Mar 2012, 21:05, closed)

Probably something to do with IRQs or VGAs
Luckily Apple don't make you have to learn all that boring stuff!
(Eukanuba, Thu 15 Mar 2012, 21:06, closed)

To be fair, none of the Windows users that I know could tell you anything about that stuff, or in fact anything remotely technical.
Much like none of the drivers I know could service their own car.
( drimble he'd been white, he'd been black, Fri 16 Mar 2012, 8:57, closed)

They couldn't tell you anything about VGA?
Looking further down it seems that that was exactly the problem: his Apple computer does not feature a VGA output. I've never seen a projector without a VGA input, they probably don't exist.

This level of technical knowledge is exactly as much as you need to know not to try to plug an HDMI cable into an analogue TV, so I think we can safely say the OP is at fault given that it's his job to go and do presentations at customer premises.
(Eukanuba, Fri 16 Mar 2012, 14:01, closed)

I wish people would stop taking the piss out of Macbooks
They have the best ethnic-bead selection software I've ever seen, and their sandals-with-socks app lets you choose from literally several combinations.
(Eukanuba, Thu 15 Mar 2012, 21:05, closed)

You've Clearly
Hacked my Facebook page!
( The Lone Groover has mal des nuts., Thu 15 Mar 2012, 21:13, closed)

yes, but they are no good at all on a general business server plus they are menopausal at the best of times.

( janet aylia y'all motherfuckers need jesus, Thu 15 Mar 2012, 21:14, closed)

oh, wait.

( janet aylia y'all motherfuckers need jesus, Thu 15 Mar 2012, 21:16, closed)

That's alright then
Mine hasn't even started its periods yet.
( The Lone Groover has mal des nuts., Thu 15 Mar 2012, 21:22, closed)

You utter nonce.

(General_Manchego, Thu 15 Mar 2012, 21:31, closed)

Apple fanboi twat. Serves you right.

( Fucking hell Jeff I am not a robot, Thu 15 Mar 2012, 21:40, closed)

Ah! I understand the rules now
You can be as vitriolic as you like, and I'm not allowed to reply! How very silly of me. I'll get my coat then.
( The Lone Groover has mal des nuts., Thu 15 Mar 2012, 21:51, closed)

Please reply as much as you like
It's increasingly amusing.
(Eukanuba, Thu 15 Mar 2012, 21:59, closed)

You deliberately bought an Apple Mac knowing that most places you go would use Windows.
Learn to convert your files and stop being a whining bitch. Besides, I thought that Macs "just worked" so what in the name of St. Steve happened? Did you not phone Cupertino and ask them to help?
Why did you buy a Mac if it is hard to use and you don't know how to work it?
(Me, I'm not... in any way intoxicated, Thu 15 Mar 2012, 21:57, closed)

Did I say it was hard to use?
But I'll give best to you all. Mac's are crap. PC's and their users are wonderful, tolerant and the most erudite posters of wit upon this forum. I will immediately sell my Mac and henceforth use only machinery baptised in the name of the blessed Bill. Sorry to have upset you all. G'night.
( The Lone Groover has mal des nuts., Thu 15 Mar 2012, 22:07, closed)

This isn't about the computer
It's about *you*.

Who goes to give a presentation without checking the facilities? In the good old days you might have had 35mm slides, but you would check that a slide projector was available.
( Ghoti Fingers, Thu 15 Mar 2012, 22:16, closed)

What ^she said
Forward planning, innit
( drimble he'd been white, he'd been black, Thu 15 Mar 2012, 22:25, closed)

But Macs are PCs, you oaf.
You told us it was hard to use because, apparently, it could not be used to display your slides.
Had you bought a Windows machine there would likely have been another problem, which the guy at the place you visited would have been able to solve. It's not their fault you use an operating system but didn't buy support for it.
(Me, I'm not... in any way intoxicated, Thu 15 Mar 2012, 22:17, closed)

True!
I made the mistake of pretending we're in the 21st Century. Should have done my homework.
( The Lone Groover has mal des nuts., Fri 16 Mar 2012, 7:53, closed)

The century we're in has fuck all to do with it.
You should have phoned Cupertino for support -- the IT guy obviously wasn't paid to support an operating system nobody at the place you were visiting used.
Why are Mac owners so damn arrogant and entitled? Your OS is supposed to "just work" and when it doesn't it's everyone else's fault because they didn't spend their time and money on learning how to use it or buying things to support it.
(Me, I'm not... in any way intoxicated, Fri 16 Mar 2012, 12:03, closed)

I'm curious as to what exactly
the incompatibility was?

Apart from a few obsure mainly firewall related issues, I don't know what an OSX machine can't do when you connect it to a Windows network.

To be honest, I'm not sure exactly why you'd want to connect it to a Windows network to run a powerpoint presentation anyway.

Are we talking about a problem between an ADC connector and a VGA plug perhaps, which is nothing to do with Windows/OSX or any OS issue.

Not convinced here. It's more likely the IT person was a bit of a tard and couldn't be bothered.

Also, stop wittering on about how Mac apps beat Windows apps into a cocked hat. Other than a different set of max/min/close buttons, they're all exactly the same.
(username failed moderation, Fri 16 Mar 2012, 9:09, closed)

You're not serious
Macbooks don't come with a standard vga socket? *googles* Haha, you're right, they don't.

store.apple.com/uk/product/MB572Z/A

Hahaha! £21 for a crappy cable to fix the problem as well!
( emvee cruor deo cruoris, Fri 16 Mar 2012, 9:52, closed)

Welcome to my world
I've been teaching IT in Adult Ed for a number of years now. At the moment I use a Mac at home, and use two PC networks at work. The first of these, the Intranet, if you will, I use to communicate and share resources with my colleagues, is running Windows XP Professional on a Citrix (Shitrix) metaframe, has never been upgraded beyond Office 2003 and the current version of the browser is still Explorer 6 (E6 for FFS!). The learner network, the one I use to teach on, is also running XP but has Office 2007 loaded on it and Explorer 8. In another room, we have Windows 7 and Office 2010. For a number of tedious security reasons, the networks are not allowed to talk to the other and you are not allowed to use memory sticks on the Intranet. Which makes for an extremely frustrating working environment, I am constantly having to jump from one computer to another just to do a screenshot, or email myself stuff.

Lets be honest, XP is a pile of shite, it's an Operating system that was designed as an afterthought. They do seem to have made some sensible improvements to Windows 7 and I'm reasonably impressed with Office 2007 on a PC - Microsoft do at least seem to be thinking about the functionality of their software and how the end user might actually use it, and for once it actually looks like they might have employed a graphic designer. The thing that really irks me is the complete lack of any consistency, things rarely work as they should, or as you expect them too, you frequently find that things like flash or Java haven't been installed properly and you can't fix anything yourself because the technicians won't give you access rights!

What you describe sounds like a number of Interview situations I've been in, I've had beautiful gradient filled blue backgrounds turned vomit green by a PC colour schemes and dodgy projectors.
(Nitrous Nitrous, Fri 16 Mar 2012, 10:33, closed)

Thank fkuc I don't use a Mac.
I hosted a quiz in aid of the Red Cross Japan Earthquake appeal and had a load of slides I put together with picture rounds, music rounds, car logo rounds etc... I made those slides using Open Office Impress (pre Oracle) installed on Suze linux.
When I got there, I was (as expected due to the high level of saturation) a laptop running Windows 7 with Powerpoint on it.
I opened up my slides and got on with the quiz.
You'd think, if anything, an open source bit of software wouldn't be as compatible with something running on say, an Apple Mac wouldn't you?
(dchurch bah, Fri 16 Mar 2012, 10:45, closed)

So, what you're saying is...
...you were required to give a presentation, with slides n' shit, and didn't think to enquire as to the practicality of plugging your kit into their infrastructure?
(minimalist ..., Fri 16 Mar 2012, 12:00, closed)

Errrrr
Yes! I take it you can read the above? It appears that bt3ans have a pathalogical hatred for macsusers who attempt (and I use the word in its loosest terminology) to post a (ditto) REAL occurrence on the board as opposed to their fantasy delusions of what actually happens in reality. Yes, I cocked up! Wow! Big deal, first time in the history of man etc etc.Let's give the sh*t a big kicking and tell him what a loser he is! Aren't we the big cocks all of a sudden? Man makes a mistake? Queue up here chaps, easy target ahoy.

Oh well! (Fleetwood Mac c.1969) Can't help it 'bout the shape I'm in, I ain't pretty , cant sing and my legs are thin. But don't ask me what I think of you.......

And I already know the answer. And it's not 42.
( The Lone Groover has mal des nuts., Fri 16 Mar 2012, 22:14, closed)

Whoa - easy there big fella'...
...I don't have a problem with Mac users (except the uber-smug ones) and I certainly wasn't trying to give you a "big kicking"... more of a merry (and knowing, for I have been there too) dig in the ribs for screwing up, getting pissed off and blaming it on the kit.

Sorry if I've caused any offence.

(Word to the wise though: This really is the wrong place to post stuff about yourself if you've got a bit of a thin skin / tendency towards hissy-fits.)
.
.
.
And now I guess I should stop digging this hole!
(minimalist ..., Fri 16 Mar 2012, 22:56, closed)

Thanks!
I don't have that thin a skin, and I understand the rules of engagement on here. I just thought one or two of the comments went beyond what I've come to expect. There are a couple of amusing digs up there, and there are a couple which are not.

He who lives by the sword....



Now, can I borrow your shovel please!
( The Lone Groover has mal des nuts., Sat 17 Mar 2012, 7:41, closed)

McCompatability
If you got the Macbook to somehow compensate for your inept social skills, then I‘m afraid to say it isn’t working.

Why not try Beats By Dre?
( Dervel OTBC, Tue 20 Mar 2012, 15:56, closed)

Sad!
I don't need a Macbook to compensate for my lack of social skills. I didn't have any before I bought it. And red earphones don't suit old bald blokes. Maybe I should get a pair of Vans too? Or skinny jeans? Anything to make me seem more socially acceptable. I know, a huge thread in the bt3a QOTW!!

Sadly, if you come late to the party, you find fag ends in the beer cans.
( The Lone Groover has mal des nuts., Tue 20 Mar 2012, 20:40, closed)

Yes
Do buy a pair of Vans, they're very hardy and offer good value for money.
( Dervel OTBC, Wed 21 Mar 2012, 10:09, closed)

Thanks, but....
I'll stick with my pipe & slippers, watching Richard Bacon documentaries about trolls.
( The Lone Groover has mal des nuts., Wed 21 Mar 2012, 20:00, closed)