Apple Macs! anyone got one???
- Thread starter CLEM
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I had the first iBook in blue 
Solid hardware! Never had any problem with it at all. Still works if I dust it off and plug the power in.
Would I recomend it???? For play yes but for work, windows is better.
singteck
Solid hardware! Never had any problem with it at all. Still works if I dust it off and plug the power in.Would I recomend it???? For play yes but for work, windows is better.
singteck
What do mean exactly when you say for play???singteck said:I had the first iBook in blue
Would I recomend it???? For play yes but for work, windows is better.
singteck
Do I-macs and E-macs count?
In school, we had no choice but to use either an i-mac (on os9) or e-macs (on osx). And I hated every minute of it
Macs are designed mostly for media. If all you want to do is listen to music, look at pics and browse the net, by all means get a mac. But if you want flexibility, Windows beats it every time, IMHO.
(minor rant coming)
The macs drove me nuts. Programming potential was horrible! The only real advantage is, like I say, they're better suited to pics and music.
That being said, Windows is getting pretty good with that too, far more user friendly than the old Windows...es...
In school, we had no choice but to use either an i-mac (on os9) or e-macs (on osx). And I hated every minute of it
Macs are designed mostly for media. If all you want to do is listen to music, look at pics and browse the net, by all means get a mac. But if you want flexibility, Windows beats it every time, IMHO.
(minor rant coming)
The macs drove me nuts. Programming potential was horrible! The only real advantage is, like I say, they're better suited to pics and music.
That being said, Windows is getting pretty good with that too, far more user friendly than the old Windows...es...
Got my first in '93, had 5-6 since then, 2 laptops and 3-4 towers.
Go for the pro models if you can swing the cash outlay. Really worth the difference.
Every one I have owned is still running somewhere. I give them to needy families when I upgrade. Happens every 4-5 years. I do serious design CAD and business graphics as well as spreadsheets and word processing. Only place I don't use it is for play. Don't have time to play.
Don't have time for repairs, endless updates, lost files, crashes either. I get more done in less time than the PC crowd in the office and no problem swapping files with any of them, they come to me when they can't open or translate something, the MAC always handles it.
Go for the pro models if you can swing the cash outlay. Really worth the difference.
Every one I have owned is still running somewhere. I give them to needy families when I upgrade. Happens every 4-5 years. I do serious design CAD and business graphics as well as spreadsheets and word processing. Only place I don't use it is for play. Don't have time to play.
Don't have time for repairs, endless updates, lost files, crashes either. I get more done in less time than the PC crowd in the office and no problem swapping files with any of them, they come to me when they can't open or translate something, the MAC always handles it.
CLEM said:
For play means anything other then work. Works well in the home enviroment where you just use it for browsing the net, listening to music, view and edit photos, movies etc.
I use my notebooks for network installation and maintainance, the mac is not set up for such work. You can do alot with the mac if you install the required softwares but that cost money. With windows you get lots of freewares and sharewares and most of the utilities are built into windows or comes with the hardwares.
singteck
I don't mean to insult or to degrade anyone. Of course, if you repair and maintain Microsoft networks you must use their equipment and software or if you work exclusively in those environments you should use their equipment.
If you are free to choose and must maintain for your self then you may be happier working with an easier interface and more reliable hardware.
Not for those who like to take apart and rework the hardware all the time.
If you are free to choose and must maintain for your self then you may be happier working with an easier interface and more reliable hardware.
Not for those who like to take apart and rework the hardware all the time.
I've had a macbook for about 3 months.... and I'm delighted with it!!!! Now I control the computer rather than the other way round.... everything just works! Have you seen the tv ads on apple's website? Brilliant! http://www.apple.com/getamac/
Then get a Mac! Despite other comments they are proper computers for work and home. Yes they do have excellent and integrated media applications but are equally suited to work use. I think you may have already convinced your self to buy one any way!!
With a Mac you do not need to?
What absolute tosh I have both Macs and Pc's at home that talk quite happily to each other, when the PC's behave. There are massive amounts of freeware and shareware applications for Mac. The main difference is a Mac tends to work straight out the box without needing a lots of added software and tat to jazz up an under performing and dull operating system.
Clem get a mac and you will be constantly amazed, surprised and delighted
Nigel
.nigelp said:
In 14 years all I have ever done is add memory, bigger hard drives and once needed to add a special card for data acquisition (Special project). Sound, networking and graphics cars are included.
For a number of years I supported 68 companies with Macs, answering all hardware, software, network and troubleshooting calls and training new employees. Then I had time to play games!
Frankly its a taste thing.
Macs are well built, more expensive than the equivalent PC, generally they used to be better specified although that is less true these days, used to be more reliable (again less true although arguably the operating system is more stable than Windows X)
PCs are cheaper, generally run on windows which, although a little flaky, is far more common than MAC OSx. Software and hardware upgrades are unquestionably cheaper on Windows, and, if you stick to the common stuff (MS Office etc.) are far more common for file types etc.
You can consider it a bit like the old VHS / Betamax argument Betamax was (arguably) a bteer format but VHS was far more common. Most commercial offices these days reserve Macs for DTP and CAD at which they are certainly superior. Pretty much everything else is Wintel or Unix / Linux.
A good brand in PC or a Mac will do anything you want these days
Red
Macs are well built, more expensive than the equivalent PC, generally they used to be better specified although that is less true these days, used to be more reliable (again less true although arguably the operating system is more stable than Windows X)
PCs are cheaper, generally run on windows which, although a little flaky, is far more common than MAC OSx. Software and hardware upgrades are unquestionably cheaper on Windows, and, if you stick to the common stuff (MS Office etc.) are far more common for file types etc.
You can consider it a bit like the old VHS / Betamax argument Betamax was (arguably) a bteer format but VHS was far more common. Most commercial offices these days reserve Macs for DTP and CAD at which they are certainly superior. Pretty much everything else is Wintel or Unix / Linux.
A good brand in PC or a Mac will do anything you want these days
Red
I love Macs but I don't own one.
Four months back I needed a new machine. If I could have got a desktop I would have had a iMac in a flash. Very good prices for the kit compared to PCs. IMO.
As it was I needed a laptop. The Mac Books just didn't cut it for me and the price jump to Mac Book Pro just looks silly. But...they do look soooo good
Anyhow because of cost, I ended up with a Sony for the same price as Mac Book and have been really pleased. Came with Adobe Photoshop Elements and Premier Elements which seem very good and there seems to be some sound stuff too but not tried yet.
Maybe not all as easy as iLife but still very good.
Look carefully at what you want and need.
Four months back I needed a new machine. If I could have got a desktop I would have had a iMac in a flash. Very good prices for the kit compared to PCs. IMO.
As it was I needed a laptop. The Mac Books just didn't cut it for me and the price jump to Mac Book Pro just looks silly. But...they do look soooo good
Anyhow because of cost, I ended up with a Sony for the same price as Mac Book and have been really pleased. Came with Adobe Photoshop Elements and Premier Elements which seem very good and there seems to be some sound stuff too but not tried yet.
Maybe not all as easy as iLife but still very good.
Look carefully at what you want and need.
Brocktor said:
You need to look at prices carefully. They seem to have a good deal going with Intel and I've seen a couple of things about the big Mac Pro workstations being far cheaper than Dell equivilents. Identical chips etc but the Mac was about 30% cheaper. (this was a couple of months back, don't know about current pricing)
Also, Macs aren't designed to be fiddled with in the same way as PCs.
Horses for courses in that respect as many don't want to even entertain the idea of getting their own parts and doing their own mods.
If you're a fiddler then the Mac Pro would be fine; the only bit that you can't really upgrade is the motherboard. It is expensive, but then you get what you pay for (and with all the high end parts in there it does work out pretty cheap compared to it's competitors).
I've used Macs and Windows PCs side by side for years, but in my opinion Macs weren't really a viable "personal computer" (by that I mean the added cost of a Mac wasn't worth it unless it was needed for business) until System 8.0>
Since I got to using OS X regularly (dad's a graphic designer so he's always had a few high end Macs for me to play with) I've ditched Windows completely, and I can't see myself ever using it again (except to fix my mum's cheap laptops). I study video production at the moment and am moving on to multimedia technology soon, so Macs are always going to be a big part of my life.
All in all I would recommend a Mac to anyone; however if it's purely for using MS Office, web browsing or gaming then a Windows PC is probably the better (cheaper) option. If you plan on doing anything media related (editing home video, collecting digital images, building websites etc etc) then a Mac will more than pay for itself in no time.
I've used Macs and Windows PCs side by side for years, but in my opinion Macs weren't really a viable "personal computer" (by that I mean the added cost of a Mac wasn't worth it unless it was needed for business) until System 8.0>
Since I got to using OS X regularly (dad's a graphic designer so he's always had a few high end Macs for me to play with
) I've ditched Windows completely, and I can't see myself ever using it again (except to fix my mum's cheap laptops). I study video production at the moment and am moving on to multimedia technology soon, so Macs are always going to be a big part of my life.All in all I would recommend a Mac to anyone; however if it's purely for using MS Office, web browsing or gaming then a Windows PC is probably the better (cheaper) option. If you plan on doing anything media related (editing home video, collecting digital images, building websites etc etc) then a Mac will more than pay for itself in no time.
when i got my new computer i wish i bought a mac in the first place. We'v got G5s at college. Supreme!!! Photoshop is worth nicking for it aswel.
There not so good for work though. I dont think so anyway.
They tend not to screw up like PCs though I find.
There not so good for work though. I dont think so anyway.
They tend not to screw up like PCs though I find.
I moved from windows NT to linux then to OSX, however I'm chained to an XP machine at work and run linux and OSX at home.
A few points from the experience of a typical user:
Microsoft Office runs like a pig on OS X, I learnt this the hard way writing a 18000 word dissertation in it. This is not the fault of the computer. I sincerely believe MS have written a turkey for the Mac. Be warned. However if you only write the occassional letter or essay you will have no problems. I use an Open Office variant instead.
My mac never crashes, however it does run hot (iMac g5). I am hearing much better things about the new intel macs. Despite this, my mac was last rebooted 117 days ago, due to a shortage of wall plugs and I needed to put the vac around!
Macs appear to have simple, underfeatured defualt software, however do not underestimate the power of apple scripting and automator, the built in automation software - you can so much more with a few iLife apps than you can with the microsoft equivalent (if there even are any).
If you want to exercise your ubergeek, you have no better opportunity in a commercial OS. OS X is derived from BSD Unix, and the terminal environment is fairly easy for a linux user to get to grips with. You also have access to the vast, unrivalled software base of linux through the various porting initiatives. This is leagues ahead of the freeware and shareware base available for windows, I assure you.
Networking? Plug and play. Perhaps a bit too easy. However unlike other operating systems OS x ships with sensible defaults and is fairly secure from the outset. A few configuration screens later and it's pretty darn bulletproof. Yes I am complacent!
File compatibilty with Windows? Never been an issue for typical home/office use.
Not found a graphics or audio or video file I couldn't open or convert.
Do I feel the need to use windows or anything? No. At work I find myself missing features from OS X, but never the other way round.
Gaming: you are out of luck if you are seriously into gaming and own a mac. There's a few big name titles like Uneal tourney and quake available. Goodd luck finding a game store which carries mac software. Head online for a better shopping experience. Buy a console instead.
Would I go back to linux or windows? Linux - perhaps, Windows? Never.
A few points from the experience of a typical user:
Microsoft Office runs like a pig on OS X, I learnt this the hard way writing a 18000 word dissertation in it. This is not the fault of the computer. I sincerely believe MS have written a turkey for the Mac. Be warned. However if you only write the occassional letter or essay you will have no problems. I use an Open Office variant instead.
My mac never crashes, however it does run hot (iMac g5). I am hearing much better things about the new intel macs. Despite this, my mac was last rebooted 117 days ago, due to a shortage of wall plugs and I needed to put the vac around!
Macs appear to have simple, underfeatured defualt software, however do not underestimate the power of apple scripting and automator, the built in automation software - you can so much more with a few iLife apps than you can with the microsoft equivalent (if there even are any).
If you want to exercise your ubergeek, you have no better opportunity in a commercial OS. OS X is derived from BSD Unix, and the terminal environment is fairly easy for a linux user to get to grips with. You also have access to the vast, unrivalled software base of linux through the various porting initiatives. This is leagues ahead of the freeware and shareware base available for windows, I assure you.
Networking? Plug and play. Perhaps a bit too easy. However unlike other operating systems OS x ships with sensible defaults and is fairly secure from the outset. A few configuration screens later and it's pretty darn bulletproof. Yes I am complacent!
File compatibilty with Windows? Never been an issue for typical home/office use.
Not found a graphics or audio or video file I couldn't open or convert.
Do I feel the need to use windows or anything? No. At work I find myself missing features from OS X, but never the other way round.
Gaming: you are out of luck if you are seriously into gaming and own a mac. There's a few big name titles like Uneal tourney and quake available. Goodd luck finding a game store which carries mac software. Head online for a better shopping experience. Buy a console instead.
Would I go back to linux or windows? Linux - perhaps, Windows? Never.
