PC vs. MAC

Stephen Gambrell · From: Over there

I guess that says it all. I'm thinking about upgrading, and my old Compaq 433Mhz is destined to be left behind. I've got a real good friend, who's real knowledgable about these things, who swears by Macintosh stuff.
I don't use the computer a lot now, except for Net stuff, but I want to do more, and I understand the Macs are faster and easier. The obvious drawbacks are cost, and availability of software. HELP?!?!?!?!

Ernie Renn · From: Brainerd, Minnesota USA

Stephen;
My sister-in-law has a Mac. I have a PC. When visiting her house I use her Mac to check my mail. If you're used to the functions on a PC, (such as right clicking, which apparently I do a whole lot,) you could end up kinda frustrated. Her new computer is a Dell 4800. BTW: She gave me her even older Mac. She said when she got it new it cost over $7,000.00. (Holy crap!)

She's in publishing and says that the entire business world is slowly converting to PC. The biggest holdout is the entertainment industry. (Movie stuff I'd guess.)

Maybe see if your friend could loan you a Mac for a day or so. It won't take you long to tell if you'll have problems or not.

Good luck!

------------------
My best,
Ernie

www.buddyemmons.com

David L. Donald · From: Koh Samui Island, Thailand

On the other side of the coin.
I have a twin 1900 CPU PC for 3D animation on win 2K 3,500€
I got it because 1 VERY specialized app wanted it.
It is ALWAYS an agravation for me.

I have a twin 1000 Mac for video editing, audio production, composing, WP, photo work, DTP, web design etc etc.
It usually runs like a top, and cost less than the same power on a PC.

Yes, you can get cheaper PC' s , but that's what they are.
If it's mostly a net machine and letters and you don't want to always be downloading saftey patches so you don't get slammed by hackers, Mac's are much less trouble. And not as expensive as they may seem.

I have no problem getting any app I want.
now including the only one I couldn't get at the time I built the PC.

A plus it is not a constant target for viris attacks,
and if you need to reinstall a system you need not reinstall every app with it.
I have right click, and can work much faster.
Basically just look at both platforms and see if it does what you want.
A small change in how you do things will become 2nd nature in a short time.

[This message was edited by David L. Donald on 11 October 2003 at 06:42 AM.]

Stephen Gambrell · From: Over there

Where's a good place to check out Macs?

David L. Donald · From: Koh Samui Island, Thailand

Most any good sized town has a Apple dealer, look for the Apple logo sign with a bite out of it.

Bobby Lee · From: Cloverdale, California, USA

I always find Macs a little harder to use than PCs, but it's probably because I don't use them as often. I don't buy the "Macs are easier to use" argument, though. I think that all computers have a learning curve. Linux is hard to learn, but Macs and PCs seem to be about equal.

I've been thinking of buying a Mac because there's so much good music recording software for it, and because Mac OSX is a slightly better platform for Java development (I write programs in Java).

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Bobby Lee - email: quasar@b0b.com - gigs - CDs, Open Hearts
Sierra Session 12 (E9), Williams 400X (Emaj9, D6), Sierra Olympic 12 (C6add9),
Sierra Laptop 8 (D13), Fender Stringmaster (E13, A6),
Roland Handsonic, Line 6 Variax

Doug Brumley · From: Nashville, Tennessee, USA

Good points above. I use both platforms regularly, though I spend most of my time on a PC because I've worked on that longer and that's where I have most of my applications. But I really like the Mac and the OS X operating system. As mentioned above, if you are interested in graphics, video editing, music recording/editing, or sheer intuitive simplicity when conducting the routine basics you mentioned, then it would be hard to beat a Mac. I bought an iMac after failing to find applications for my PC that--to my satisfaction--allowed me to edit video footage and burn DVDs without ripping my hair out in frustration. The Mac makes this incredibly easy, and even Apple's free software (iMovie, iDVD) is capable of really good results. And I regularly discover cool new features built into the Mac, such as PDF creation as a standard feature. In my opinion, OS X is far superior to Windows, and might be worth the switch alone. (My wife is a pretty novice computer user and is finding her own way around her new Apple Powerbook much easier than she did on her former hand-me-down Windows PC.) As for the cost premium for Mac items, if you can try a Mac out and are at all drawn to it and some of the software that isn't available on the Windows platform, the higher price shouldn't deter you from going that route (if your budget allows, of course). I wouldn't be too scared of software availability, either, since you can get stuff by shopping online if you can't find it in your local store. Good luck.

Bill Llewellyn · From: San Jose, CA

I just graduated from a 1994 Mac PowerPC (with the original 601 PowerPC chip) that I had been nursing along for almost a decade to a new 1.25GHz G4 tower. OSX is quite cool. It is based on a Unix-like operating system, which I have been using at work for about 18 years, so it's familiar territory to me. More and more OSX applications and cool utilities are showing up out in netland all the time. My Midi/digital audio software (which I had to upgrade when buying the new Mac) seems to work great. I've also made one DVD from a Hi8 home video so far on this Mac, and it turned out really well. With the exception of some electronic noise which is a signature of this G4 model (see http://www.g4noise.com ) things have gone well. I have used PCs extensively at work and when things have gone wrong I've had to call in the cavalry to fix it (and I'm not uneducated in computers). The Mac, which is my sole home computer, has been quite a bit better about that kind of thing.

The Mac/PC debate has been going on for years. I don't know if there's an authoritative answer to the question. I prefer Macs, but I do get along well with both Mac and PC.

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Bill, steelin' since '99 | Steel page | My music | Steelers' birthdays | Over 50?

Rich Paton · From: Santa Maria, CA.,

Back when Seymour Cray was in business, Apple put out a press release stating that they had bought a Cray to use in designing "The next Apple". When Cray learned of this, he commented "that's really funny...I just bought an Apple to help design the next Cray".
When asked what were his preferred CAD-CAM tools, he replied " #3 pencils and 1/4" quadrille vellum paper, turned inside-out.
What a dude... http://research.microsoft.com/~gbell/craytalk/index.htm

Brad Sarno · From: St. Louis, MO USA

Once used to the operating system, the Mac is much more friendly. I've used Mac's exclusively in the audio world. I dont think I'd even consider using a PC for audio work. These days you can get tons of software for PC's so it really doesn't matter at a basic level. All the original audio sofware, ProTools, Performer, Deck, SoundDesigner, Sonic Solutions, Peak, etc. were all native Mac only programs. Only in recent years have the codes been re written for PC. For me it's a general feel thing. Mac's have a smooth and precise feel to them. PC's have a clunky, jittery feel. If you put a Mac and PC head to head with the same processor speeds, the Mac will typically be almost twice as fast. I dont buy the argument that Mac's have limited software availablity. I've run a recording studio and a mastering facility quite effectively for years without a PC in the building. Anything you could possibly want to do with audio, the Mac has it. Even in the photo world, Photoshop, Illustrator, etc. were Mac native and many graphics designers still swear by Mac. As PC's have gotten faster and cheaper, the sofware has been developed to run quite well on PC's. But I'm totally biased. It's also a vibe thing. Mac's are developed by young brilliant creative California hippy types. Windows is designed by greedy evil privacy-invading world donination types

But seriously, either platform will do whatever you need.

Brad Sarno

David L. Donald · From: Koh Samui Island, Thailand

I have a wireless 5 button scrolling mouse, works great.

I also have last count around 900 apps of all sorts residing on various partitions of my 400 gig's of Mac disk space. Some are a bit OLD, and many I don't use anyway.

I could care less if there are 6,000 PC apps available.

I could be totally content with about 40 on a Mac,and never look back.

Bobby Lee · From: Cloverdale, California, USA

I want to know why they can't cross-compile OSX to run on Intel processors. Unix is written in C, and is very portable. I seriously doubt that there's much, if any native G4 processor code in OSX.

If I had a recording studio, I'd use a Mac, but not because of "ease of use". As I said before, I don't find them easier, just different. But there is a lot of good professional recording software for the Mac. It's obviously the tool of choice for that environment.

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Bobby Lee - email: quasar@b0b.com - gigs - CDs, Open Hearts
Sierra Session 12 (E9), Williams 400X (Emaj9, D6), Sierra Olympic 12 (C6add9),
Sierra Laptop 8 (D13), Fender Stringmaster (E13, A6),
Roland Handsonic, Line 6 Variax

bob drawbaugh · From: scottsboro, al. usa

Well I made the switch. Not really! My wife made the switch. We needed to replace her desktop running windows 98. We went to CompUSA to shop and she feel in love with the iMAC. I made fun of her for about a week after we brought it home. I called it her little toy computer. I have made my living for the last 20 years using PC and windows. So I would never have bought an Apple computer. Well I have had to eat my words. This is one sweet computer. We have had the iMac for about six weeks with no problems. I have not had to reboot one time. In a side by side boot up of my Dell running Windows 2000 the imac blows the Dell away. The iMac is two or three times faster in booting up. Mac OS X may not be easier to learn than Windows, but the iMac is easier to use, no dought. I have made movies and put them on DVD without looking at the manual. it was so easy. The iMac is not much better in running email or web applications, but where is really comes on is in video amd music editing no dought who wins. The other area that has inpressed me is the customer support that Apple provides. Both hardware and software. You don't have to go to two or three places to find an answer to your questions. Since Apple makes the box and writes the software they can support both. The price is not that much more than for a good PC. If you want something cheap they have that covered also. You can get an eMAC starting at around $600. That's about what you would pay for something you would but from wal-mart for $500 or $600, maybe the emac would be better. Try getting a hardware question answered by Microsoft, good luck. Finding applications is just not a problem it you need it, it is out there for the MAC. I still have to use the PC for work, but I don't think I would buy another for the home. I have my eye on he new powerbook by Apple. Just my 2c worth. Well maybe I did make the switch.

[This message was edited by bob drawbaugh on 23 October 2003 at 06:37 AM.]

Andy Volk · From: Boston, MA

I worked in the corporate world on PCs for 15 years then started my own freelance business using a Mac G4. I'd never go back to a PC for many of the reasons stated above.

Rich Paton · From: Santa Maria, CA.,

Whew, I sure blew it that time! Forgot to post the URL! http://www.x86.org/
Sorry!
~
b0b,
After contimplating your comment re the OSX cross-pollenatiOn iasue a bit, I am posting for the Forum's digital techheads a website URL that I happened by chance to WebFerret out of Ether Obscurity, back in 1996 or 1997.
This site was founded by a Texas Instruments microprocessor applications engineer, who as an aside had, (and no doubt continues to) very thoroughly reverse - engineered the Intel family of x86 micros. Strictly for educational purposes only, of course.
Not long after putting his reliminary research results on those web pages, he was getting thousands of hits every day... nearly all the logons were done by engineers, logitians, scientists, etc. at Intel micro eningineering, as well as the terminally curious types at Amd and other "minor players".
While I muat admit that a lot of the info was at least a bit over my head technically, I learned a lot about how a given program, gui, or OS is "ported" to the processor / mainboard chipset.
Also quite interesting was his discussion of how uProcessior designers and manufacturers can and have produced entire familes of processor chips with various clock speeds and performance capabilities (read: "PRICE POINTS") from one die design, by "writing out" and disabling various registers etc. on the originaaly identical chips.
They actually would DO that? (Smirks, Chuckles)...
There may well be some pertinent info there re the OSX question. Perhaps you can come up with a working hybrid... "b0bbysOSX" ?
BTW, what has happened to WIN98Lite? Did Mr. Gates et al sue their pants clear off, or just buy W98Lite.org out and throw the tech files on a shelf next to the Ark od the Covenant and those nifty 100 MPG caruretors?
:^)

[This message was edited by Rich Paton on 02 November 2003 at 11:03 AM.]

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