Macintosh

[FR]

Well theres a PSP thread and a Wii thread why not a... Macintosh Thread

I personally am not a Mac user but I wish I had one: http://blogs.pcworld.com/staffblog/

well nothing left to say but discuss.

P.S. hopefully this won't get closed.

Update:http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,141398/article.html

http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,141407/article.html

[Effef]

Macs are good, but overpriced for what they are. They no longer have the exclusivity of the PPC processor, which gives me even less of a reason to buy one.

The new Air is a technological marvel, but it is MUCH too expensive for me to ever consider buying.

[atmuh]

nobody cares

[The Coop]

I've known a number of 'Macatics' as I call them (Mac fanatics). They swear up and down that Macs out do anything and everything a PC does, no matter what they're presented with. For them, Macs are better for image work, editing, gaming... you name it, and Macs are better to them. Me? I'm not impressed with Macs at all, and this comes from several years of having to work on them in various programs like Photoshop, Illustrator, Lightwave, and Final Cut Pro. They're every bit as crash/freeze prone as PCs, they're way more expensive, and their upgrade ability is not particularly good.

But what puzzles me the most, is why anyone would find a one button mouse to be a good thing. Those things make me frustrated enough to punch a baby with how oversensitive that damned button is, but boy do Macatics praise that thing all to hell.

[MechaFone]

When I'm on here at work, I hail from a Mac. I've been on it long enough to say: I'll never get one for home. I already have the whole 'find my way' map of the PC, I'll not go through the trouble of having to learn to get my way through one file wise. I dislike it very much. 'Sides...I already learned one doesn't have to have a Mac to use an ipod, and that's all I need to know.

For now.

If the Mac would help me learn how to create music for vg remixes, I might consider it.

[siven7]

I'm all about the Mac - crashes less, everything works together, programmed for security... really dig it. I'm not toooooo crazy about the MacBook Air because I like having CD/DVD drives and other ports, not having it all through remote wireless to another computer. Just an opinion, very cool machine, though.

[Bigfoot]

The Coop pretty much nailed it, but he forgot one thing.

"WINDOWS SUCKS BECAUSE IT GETS TOO MANY VIRUSES, MY MAC DOESN'T GET VIRUSES!"

No, people suck because they get viruses. All it takes is a little common sense, and you can avoid viruses.

[Effef]

programmed for security

Macs aren't programmed for security, its just the fact they are immune to viruses and spyware made for a Windows based PC. This includes 99.999 percent of all viruses/malware/spyware made.

Sort of a de-facto security.

And bigfoot is right, if you have any common sense at all you will never get a virus.

[Bahamut]

I've known a number of 'Macatics' as I call them (Mac fanatics). They swear up and down that Macs out do anything and everything a PC does, no matter what they're presented with. For them, Macs are better for image work, editing, gaming... you name it, and Macs are better to them. Me? I'm not impressed with Macs at all, and this comes from several years of having to work on them in various programs like Photoshop, Illustrator, Lightwave, and Final Cut Pro. They're every bit as crash/freeze prone as PCs, they're way more expensive, and their upgrade ability is not particularly good.

But what puzzles me the most, is why anyone would find a one button mouse to be a good thing. Those things make me frustrated enough to punch a baby with how oversensitive that damned button is, but boy do Macatics praise that thing all to hell.

As someone who has been using a Macbook for 1 1/2 years now, I'm gonna have to agree with much of that (although I know little about graphics work with a Mac, my friends do just fine on a PC). I'm sick of my Macbook, iTunes, 1 click mouse, and no customizable parts on a desktop, and I want to build a desktop so badly and get back to Windows.

Also, I'm very skeptical about the Macbook Air because my Macbook has a 2.0 Ghz Core Duo, while the Core 2 Duo is not much better for laptops and the Macbook Air has CPUs with lesser clock speeds. My computer has been trudging along a good portion of the time, and for a computer with roughly the same specs as my Macbook, it doesn't impress at all.

I'm all about the Mac - crashes less

I have crashes just as often as I did on Windows, if not more.

[Harmony]

I dislike Macs for all of the reasons mentioned so far, and more. I haven't really worked with one for any significant amount of time, but every time I've tried, it's been a headache. I can understand not being familiar with the OS, but for a product with a fanbase that constantly touts that "it just works" I would think that the learning curve would be shallower.

That said, in order to get the best of both worlds at work, I am constantly switching between Windows and linux on my pc. Windows has the graphics processing power and document authoring stuff I need, and the ease-of-networking gods continue to shine on all flavors of linux. Macs however seem to have a good helping of both, which, in spite of the learning curve, is appealing to me. In fact, I'd say 30%, of the engineers I run across in my academic wheeling's and dealings sport Macs. I guess as with any platform, the choice depends on the application.

[atmuh]

i use windows but when i HAVE used different oses i have a zillion less problems running a linux distro than running any mac os

and thats free

[zircon]

Previously, I was skeptical about switching to a Mac for music making purposes. The Air obviously doesn't convince me. However, because Macs can dual-boot and run Windows XP pretty much as well as a PC can, there's little reason to NOT have one outside of cost. You can't get programs like Logic or Digital Performer on a PC, which are incredibly cool, but you CAN run Windows-only software like Sonar on a Mac. Additionally, iLife is really a killer product. It basically justifies the higher base price of most Mac notebooks/desktops, as it has the functionality of hundreds of dollars worth in software. Garageband alone is easily worth $200.

[BlueMage]

I'm all about the Mac - crashes less, everything works together, programmed for security... really dig it. I'm not toooooo crazy about the MacBook Air because I like having CD/DVD drives and other ports, not having it all through remote wireless to another computer. Just an opinion, very cool machine, though.

Granted, the latest macs now leech a bit of the security inherent in unix-like environments, but programmed for security? I think you're confusing what's been targetted with what's targettable.

And to echo what's already been said re: virii - I run Vista, with only default security settings. I haven't had a crash (aside from those caused by poor videocard beta drivers - however, I choose to blame nVidia for that) and if I do have virii ... well, maybe my beast is so powerful I don't even notice the slowdown.

The Macbook Air is intriguing, I admit, but a Mac for me would just be an exceptionally expensive toy. An Asus Eee on the other hand... Might still be a toy, but for nowhere near the price

[Patrick Burns]

My first computer was an Apple Performa (Power Pete FTW!), and since then I've had three iMacs and a Mac Book Pro with two PCs squeezed in there somewhere. When it comes right down to it, if you're willing to get used to a new UI, either platform will get the job done for you. Really, you just have to decide what software you're interested in and which platform will deliver it to you.

btw, don't get caught up in the whole Mac user / Windows user / trendy / anti-iPod / Steve Gates / coffee shop / oxford / turtle neck / wtvr / k thx / bye / wait / wtf was I talking about thing. Just go with what makes your life easier.

[Rozovian]

I grew up with mac, cuz my dad worked with dtp back in the early 90s, and evidently saw it as more important to get a work machine than a game machine. Yeah, there's not much gaming for mac, but nowadays, most macs come with iLife (including GarageBand) so if you wanna do "creative stuff", "get a mac".

Moving from trackers (whatever there were for mac) to GB was a huge step up in quality for me, and now with Logic, it all just works. It's not like macs don't crash or are overall superior, but it's rare for me that the whole machine crashes, and only once have an entire hard drive been lost for me. And that was ages ago.

But, whatever works for you is cool. Mac works for me, and I recommend it.

[anosou]

I've been a mac user for years, I do everything on my MacBook Pro and I've gotten so used to it that I can't handle a PC ;P

[Fishy]

I made the switch from PC to macbook pro, and a month later I'm fully accustomed and much prefer the OS. I agree the price was a bit steep, but weighed against the ludicrously low price of Logic Studio, I can't complain. Also I've got bootcamp with XP on 10gigs of my HD, and installed all my games on an external HD.

Soooo, I can use all Mac specific programs, I can use all XP specific programs, and I can play COD4 and UT3 at FULL specs, on a LAPTOP.

Needless to say I fucking love my Mac, and as of yestuday I'm longer in debt to my dad for it XD.

[Moseph]

I used Macs for music and audio editing stuff while I was in school, and I like the OSX interface (especially being able to uninstall stuff by just deleting it). As far a crashes go, I think there may be fewer crashes caused by the OS alone (hard to tell, though), but programs themselves screw up as often as on a Windows machine.

Aside from the lack of hardware customization, what I dislike about Macs really stems from the fact that I don't like Apple as a company all that much. The only Apple software besides the OS that I really like is the high-dollar stuff like Final Cut Pro and Logic -- I hate iTunes and iDVD, and for example. Not just dislike them. Hate them. OSX and the bundled software are not in themselves enough to make me spend hundreds of dollars to buy a Mac. The only reason I would buy a new Mac (I own an old iBook) would be for the Mac-only software I like. Meaning Digital Performer and Final Cut Pro, both of which have PC alternatives (SONAR, Avid).

Also, I can't stand Apple's trend of updating the OS every year and breaking half of the available third-party programs until they get patches three months later. And it rubs me the wrong way when they (and Mac fans) crow about how Macs are so cool because they can run Windows, too, when the only reason OSX can't run on a PC is because Apple goes to great lengths to make sure it can't, because they want to sell hardware in addition to software.

[Ramaniscence]

As someone who has been using a Macbook for 1 1/2 years now, I'm gonna have to agree with much of that (although I know little about graphics work with a Mac, my friends do just fine on a PC). I'm sick of my Macbook, iTunes, 1 click mouse, and no customizable parts on a desktop, and I want to build a desktop so badly and get back to Windows.

Also, I'm very skeptical about the Macbook Air because my Macbook has a 2.0 Ghz Core Duo, while the Core 2 Duo is not much better for laptops and the Macbook Air has CPUs with lesser clock speeds. My computer has been trudging along a good portion of the time, and for a computer with roughly the same specs as my Macbook, it doesn't impress at all.

I have crashes just as often as I did on Windows, if not more.

I was an exclusive PC user until I got my MacBook Pro, and now I almost never use my PC. I really like iTunes, but there are lots of alternatives, and I find that almost every application I use on a PC has a equal or greater equivalent that runs on OS X.

The only instance where I've preferred PC programs over Mac apps are mIRC for IRC and EditPlus for text editting, both of which I have running on my Mac via CrossOver. The ONLY thing I WISH I had on a Mac was Tag&Rename. Oh well.

NOTE: MacBook users have no place to complain about a 1 button mouse. If you ARE you don't know how to use your OS (much like where most problems with Windows Vista stem from).

System Preferences -> Keyboard & Mouse -> Trackpad -> Check "FOR SECONDARY CLICKS, PLACE 2 FINGERS ON THE TRACK PAD AND CLICK THE BUTTON"

Note: I've never been a big PC gamer other than R:TS and WoW. I purchased C&C3 for PC and later got a Mac version (which runs with my PC CD and key). WarCraft 3, StarCraft, and WoW all play on a Mac, so I was satisfied with that. I installed Portal via CrossOver (and sacrificed DX9 support in doing so).

EDIT: I should note that my MAIN announce with OS X is the lack of window management. If you're not using Expose and/or Space you have windows ALL OVER THE PLACE, not really docking/sticking to anything, and alt-tab only goes through programs, not windows WITHIN programs. Fusion is still using the drop-down menus to toggle windows -______-. l2 OS X people, seriously.

[Schwaltzvald]

Protip: The Mac AirBook's target consumer/audience are the "on-the-go" people. When I say "on-the-go" I'm refering to those that travel a whole lot through out the year. The thing has software that lets you "borrow" an optical drive there for making a preinstalled one nearly moot.

If you need a flash drive, get the Time Capsule also by Apple Corp....

All that said...

Fuck that shit I'd rather build a good cheap pc for general work purposes.

[anosou]

I was an exclusive PC user until I got my MacBook Pro, and now I almost never use my PC. I really like iTunes, but there are lots of alternatives, and I find that almost every application I use on a PC has a equal or greater equivalent that runs on OS X.

I agree. I think iTunes is sweet, always smooth for me and the different views and organization is just tops, but maybe it's just because I'm used to it.

Somethings LACKING on OS X is a good PSX emulator pretty much. Since I don't really care to emu systems I own and can easily get games for I don't mind but I can see loads of people minding. Fishy did for example

Let me just say that FreeMacWare.com is your friend. Now they changed the owner and he's not as good but still!

[Vivi22]

My sister owns a Macbook, while I've always stuck to PC's. While I find some Mac exclusive programs like Logic and Final Cut Pro interesting, I don't think the cost of a Mac is justified by them. I'm used to using a Mac now from playing around with my sisters, and even toyed with the idea of getting one myself in the near future. In the end though, when I can build a computer that will mop the floor with most Macs for hundreds less than Apple would charge me, and have plenty of Windows programs that serve the same purpose as any Mac program, and often work just as well, I couldn't justify buying one. I'll stick to building a kickass desktop that can handle all my gaming and music making needs, and save some money that's better spent elsewhere (like on said music software).

[Kusabi]

Heh....I have two PPC Macs, and one oldish x86 box.

After last semester at school, I disconnected my x86 box completely, since it was getting in my way at my incredibly cramped desk. I'm considering putting it downstairs and just using a remote ssh login to do work on it (It runs some form of Linux, although the software is horribly out of date, and I don't feel like updating it)

I don't feel deprived with my Macs. Some things are counterintuitive (as in, I want my SVN server to start on boot. Where is the documentation to get launchd to start it? Answer: Use daemonic.), others are just a pain in the butt (Sharing directories over NFS on Tiger?). I'm really not looking forward to getting an SQL server running for my databases class.

So for me, a lot of the nitty gritty is far easier on Linux than OS X, but OS X does something that no other system I've used does: It gets the hell out of my way and lets me work.

I feel a lot of the Apple products are overpriced for what they are, and you don't get a lot of expandability (Anyone want to be the first to replace the disk on a Time Capsule?). The reason I got my Power Mac instead of an iMac was because I _could_ add things other than another stick of memory.

But hey, there is always ebay to go fetch me an old G4 Tower to get a home server going

[Effef]

I feel a lot of the Apple products are overpriced for what they are, and you don't get a lot of expandability (Anyone want to be the first to replace the disk on a Time Capsule?). The reason I got my Power Mac instead of an iMac was because I _could_ add things other than another stick of memory.

But hey, there is always ebay to go fetch me an old G4 Tower to get a home server going

I am actually a large fan of the PPC Macs myself, and I hope to find a good deal on a G4 Macbook on ebay one day.

Besides itunes, the thing that annoys me most about Apple is the way they will NOT distribute OSX. They keep it locked down to the computers that they produce, and try to justify the price difference by having it.

I just want OSX, not overpriced hardware.

[Kusabi]

I am actually a large fan of the PPC Macs myself, and I hope to find a good deal on a G4 Macbook on ebay one day.

Besides itunes, the thing that annoys me most about Apple is the way they will NOT distribute OSX. They keep it locked down to the computers that they produce, and try to justify the price difference by having it.

I just want OSX, not overpriced hardware.

Their desktops are overpriced, but their laptops are rock solid. Maybe if I ever decide to get a new 17 inch MBP, I could possibly sell you my 17 inch PowerBook G4.

Operative word: If. I'll probably keep my PowerBook until it dies.

Apple wouldn't be able to sustain themselves much if there wasn't a lock-in on OS X to Apple hardware, and you'd also see the quality go downhill to about where Windows is now. The standard justification is then that you aren't paying for the hardware, you are paying for the hardware, software, and the seamless integration thereof. Of course, the flipside to this is that full versions of the OS are $130, or a 5 pack for $200. A full, retail version of Windows Vista starts at $200 and goes up. (Yes, you can get Windows for less if you get an OEM version through Newegg, but let's compare carrots to carrots). The extra tax that you pay upfront subsidizes upgrades in the OS that you might make over the life of the system

Notwithstanding the fact that it does not change the damage done to your wallet

I paid somewhere in the vicinity of four thousand dollars for my Power Mac G5. It was worth every penny to me.