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Mac PC's
- Thread starter glassdave
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I'm with Chris.....We've had PC's but I run a printing company and the guys at work LOVE those MAC's. This spring I bought my first Macbook. I love this thing, but it handles files differently so you'll spend a few weeks getting used t that. I have the microsoft software package that I was able to get from a friend. The only thing I've had problems with (and it could be my lack of knowledge) is viewing some of the videos posted on these sites that were created in some Microsoft software.
NJgr8ful
Charter Member
When you actually get a boat he might paint it for ya! :26::26::26::biggrinjester:
stecz20
PROUD
thats a low blow, i think my felings are hurt....
NJgr8ful
Charter Member
The other thread (40'Baja) was a low 'brow' blow LOL
DISTURBING where Ratickle finds them pics!! :26::03::26:
NJgr8ful
Charter Member
Dave IMHO this is the primo setup. 17" or 15" MacBook Pro sharing, with a dual video card, twin 30" Apple Cinema monitors 
Kinda like twin Merc 1075s in a 46 Rough Rider .. well maybe a slight exaggeration, but you can appreciate where I'm coming from LOL :cheers2:
Kinda like twin Merc 1075s in a 46 Rough Rider .. well maybe a slight exaggeration, but you can appreciate where I'm coming from LOL :cheers2:Attachments
Sea-Dated
Charter Member
You have feelings??????:sifone:
Member: 541
New member
Just got a Mac, very pleased with it. Very user friendly. Lots of software, MobileMe is great and a plus with Itunes.
Heard to many horror stories about Vista.
Heard to many horror stories about Vista.
rbhudelson
E Dock
Uh. On the security note. They are not equally vulnerable. Macs today comprise nearly 10% of the marketplace. So if they were equally vulnerable, Macs would comprise 10% of all virus's and spyware. But they comprise 0% of them. Macs are more resistant to viruses and spyware because the underpinning of OS X is Unix. Unix has been fighting virus's for nearly 40 years. Windows architecture is flawed at the kernal level and can't be fixed, or secured until the kernal is re-written.
Before you start. One of my past jobs was running Desktop and Server Engineering for Dell IT. I carry a Mac and have since 2004.
socalstone
New member
He's right. I've been mac-based for 20 years. I'm amazed when I see/hear stories of the issues and viruses with pc's. Macs aren't perfect but for anything creative they are the best. The lack of issues is just icing on the cake.
rbhudelson
E Dock
my oldest son uses the powerbook i bought in 2004 for his college computer. it runs better today than it did back when I bought it. Try that with any pc running windows.
why do you think windows 7 will be any different than any OS they have ever produced? it is getting harder for them to patch the thing up instead of easier.
socalstone
New member
My last mac (G5 Powermac) lasted me 4+ years 24/7 before the "great crash of September" a few months ago. Motherboard went down. I'm ordering a new Mac Pro soon. Been on my laptop in the meantime. Been working well... it's got enough balls stock to drive my 30" monitor.
My g4 mac - before the g5, lasted me 3+ and sold it to a friend. It lasted him til last year some time.
My g4 mac - before the g5, lasted me 3+ and sold it to a friend. It lasted him til last year some time.
NJgr8ful
Charter Member
Exactly what will be so "amazing" about Windows 7??? Your statement that Apples "seem to have a useful life span of about 2 years" is totally off base. Windows PCs, especially laptop variety, have a 6mo-1yr recycle/lifecycle. Look around eBay and see
2,3,4yr old Mac Book Pros are still selling for $1000-$1500 upgraded to Leopard OS X and using all same hardware. Guess it's a matter of comfortability with some and unwillingness to move over to a new format. Their market share alone convinces me they are doing something right. May only be @10% today, but that was less than 5% not more than 1-2yrs ago ... and market share is steadily climbing.
I'm ordering a new MacBook Pro this month for my office. It will be running XP Pro for the two remaining Windows apps I run. I have a G5 iMac at home, purchased over 4 years ago. Also an old 2000 iMac, and a 2003 Powerbook. All are running perfectly, and with the exception of the oldest, can use the latest OS from Apple.
With Flip4Mac software, you can run any WMV files via Quicktime. My new book will have both the Mac and Windows version of Office on it. On average, my Macs have lasted about 50 longer than my PC's, although I did have one Gateway running for six years.
In the office, my old Dell server is being replaced by a Mac server, a rack unit probably. Servers serve, and the platform makes little difference. The Mac server is less costly, and for $999, it has unlimited seats, plus all the development software.
BBB725
Benefactor
Dave IMHO this is the primo setup. 17" or 15" MacBook Pro sharing, with a dual video card, twin 30" Apple Cinema monitors
Better setup is 4 G5s setup together.:biggrinjester:
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rbhudelson
E Dock
Mac Leaves The Also-Rans In The Dust
Saw this on CNBC this morning.
Mac Leaves The Also-Rans In The Dust
Posted By:Jim Goldman
Topics:Retail Sales | Information Technology | Internet | Technology
Sectors:Internet | Technology
Companies:Hewlett-Packard Co | Dell Inc | Apple Inc | Microsoft Corp
Talk about timing: When it comes to a customer satisfaction survey comparing Apple's Macs with everyone else, the Forrester Research report out this morning could not have come at a better time.
Forrester polled 4,600 consumers to come up with the Customer Experience Index for 113 firms in 12 different industries, and in PCs, "Apple dominates in customer experience." Overall, "there's no doubt about which company wins the customer experience battle among PC manufacturers: Apple. Apple's rating of 80 percent was 14 points higher than that of the next firm on the list, Gateway." Dell, by the way, brought up the rear with the lowest overall score and one of three firms rated "poor."
Apple also enjoyed double-digit gaps with all its competitors in categories like "easy-to-use," "useful," and "enjoyable."
Anything over 85 on this list is considered "excellent," and overall, Apple scored an 80. Gateway came in second at 66, Hewlett-Packard scored a 64, just missing the "Okay" category by a single point and relegated to "Poor," along with Compaq (63) and Dell (58.) In fact, in the "Enjoyable" category, Dell scored a 47, well below the "Very Poor" threshold of 55. Ouch.
The reason the timing of this report is so important: Microsoft has embarked on a significant ad campaign detailing the differences between Macs and PCs, focusing specifically on price. But it's these kinds of intangibles, above and beyond price, that make Mac a better buy. It's something the Mac faithful have been roaring about since those Microsoft ads began. And now it's something that no less a research authority than Forrester is validating.
Forrester isn't making purchase recommendations here. But it's clear that buying something as important and complex as a computer should be about a lot more than merely price. Couple that with design and overall experience and it isn't even a contest, even with the Apple tax that Steve Ballmer always carps about. There's tax, and taxing, and based on Mac sales these last couple of years, it appears consumers are buying that message. By the millions.
Saw this on CNBC this morning.
Mac Leaves The Also-Rans In The Dust
Posted By:Jim Goldman
Topics:Retail Sales | Information Technology | Internet | Technology
Sectors:Internet | Technology
Companies:Hewlett-Packard Co | Dell Inc | Apple Inc | Microsoft Corp
Talk about timing: When it comes to a customer satisfaction survey comparing Apple's Macs with everyone else, the Forrester Research report out this morning could not have come at a better time.
Forrester polled 4,600 consumers to come up with the Customer Experience Index for 113 firms in 12 different industries, and in PCs, "Apple dominates in customer experience." Overall, "there's no doubt about which company wins the customer experience battle among PC manufacturers: Apple. Apple's rating of 80 percent was 14 points higher than that of the next firm on the list, Gateway." Dell, by the way, brought up the rear with the lowest overall score and one of three firms rated "poor."
Apple also enjoyed double-digit gaps with all its competitors in categories like "easy-to-use," "useful," and "enjoyable."
Anything over 85 on this list is considered "excellent," and overall, Apple scored an 80. Gateway came in second at 66, Hewlett-Packard scored a 64, just missing the "Okay" category by a single point and relegated to "Poor," along with Compaq (63) and Dell (58.) In fact, in the "Enjoyable" category, Dell scored a 47, well below the "Very Poor" threshold of 55. Ouch.
The reason the timing of this report is so important: Microsoft has embarked on a significant ad campaign detailing the differences between Macs and PCs, focusing specifically on price. But it's these kinds of intangibles, above and beyond price, that make Mac a better buy. It's something the Mac faithful have been roaring about since those Microsoft ads began. And now it's something that no less a research authority than Forrester is validating.
Forrester isn't making purchase recommendations here. But it's clear that buying something as important and complex as a computer should be about a lot more than merely price. Couple that with design and overall experience and it isn't even a contest, even with the Apple tax that Steve Ballmer always carps about. There's tax, and taxing, and based on Mac sales these last couple of years, it appears consumers are buying that message. By the millions.
BlackJack58
New member
Dave, if you go with a nice Mac setup, you won't be disappointed. It will cost you a little more, you'll have a little less selection in terms of software, and you will probably be less susceptible to some viruses.
Now, as someone who has actually used both professionally for graphic design and advertising for about 20 years, I will tell you flat out that in terms of using anything like Adobe illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign or any other brand/type of graphics, image editing or page layout program - a PC will perform just as well as a Mac. The software runs the same on either one - and frankly, there's nothing you can do on a Mac that can't be done on a PC. Both platforms handle files a little differently, but the difference will seem insignificant.
Macs have a leg up in the graphics field because they were the first systems designed to be used for those applications - like page layout, photo editing and illustration. The first (and best) apps came out for Macs, and every ad agency and design studio dumped their paste-up boards and graphic cameras for shooting halftone photos and bought new Macs. The copywriters and accountants got PCs, since they were using MS Word and Excel, and the first versions of graphics software for PCs weren't very good.
By the late 90's however, PCs and Windows software had improved significantly, Apple lost some of its focus after Steve Jobs left (PowerPC) and lost market share; as a result, companies like Adobe started focusing on building graphics software for PCs first, because they weren't sure about the long-term viability of Apple. As a result, the playing field got levelled.
Of course, since that time, Steve Jobs returned to Apple, they got back on track, and have returned to a high level of excellence like they had originally. But over those years, PCs have caught up in just about every way, and like I said, are every bit as good for the applications you are using. For some applications, a PC may be the only choice. Many people in the graphics field have only used Macs from the very beginning, and they swear by them - understandably. But being in advertising for over 25 years, I know better than to base my purchasing decisions on TV commercials. The Mac commercials are brilliant, but the advantages are vastly overstated, and they are based on the PC world of 1992, not 2009.
As far as the virus issue is concerned, installing and using good virus protection is the most critical factor. Macs aren't immune - in fact, if you keep up on tech news on sites like slashdot.org, you will find that viruses have entered the Mac world, too - and Apple encourages users to install and use anti-virus software: http://www.pcpro.co.uk/news/240255/apple-recommends-security-software-for-mac-owners.html
Most Windows problems arise when users load their PCs with crapware, too many programs, too many registry entries - it's a recipe for problems. Regular maintenance will keep you from most serious issues - I have not seen a "blue screen of death" on a PC in over 10 years. Conversely, I worked at an ad agency a few years ago that had a horrible network setup (all Macs) and lost more work from "frozen" machines in two years then I had in the previous 10, using both platforms. I use XP now, would not upgrade to Vista, but may look at Win 7 later.
That said, I am typing this on a Linux PC, which is working pretty well, too. All the software is free, there's usually a free alternative available for most every WIN/Mac program you would want, and it pretty much works the same. File systems are a little different, as is the process of loading/installing software, but it has a lot of potential.
Whatever you do, the major hurdle is the learning curve on new software, should you decide to try something different. It's frustrating when you're thinking - "by the time I learn how to use this new stuff, I could have done the job using the OLD stuff ten times over." But sometimes you just have to bite the bullet and devote a weekend to learning new software. Good Luck. Whatever you decide to do, we all know you'll put it to good use. :sifone:
Now, as someone who has actually used both professionally for graphic design and advertising for about 20 years, I will tell you flat out that in terms of using anything like Adobe illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign or any other brand/type of graphics, image editing or page layout program - a PC will perform just as well as a Mac. The software runs the same on either one - and frankly, there's nothing you can do on a Mac that can't be done on a PC. Both platforms handle files a little differently, but the difference will seem insignificant.
Macs have a leg up in the graphics field because they were the first systems designed to be used for those applications - like page layout, photo editing and illustration. The first (and best) apps came out for Macs, and every ad agency and design studio dumped their paste-up boards and graphic cameras for shooting halftone photos and bought new Macs. The copywriters and accountants got PCs, since they were using MS Word and Excel, and the first versions of graphics software for PCs weren't very good.
By the late 90's however, PCs and Windows software had improved significantly, Apple lost some of its focus after Steve Jobs left (PowerPC) and lost market share; as a result, companies like Adobe started focusing on building graphics software for PCs first, because they weren't sure about the long-term viability of Apple. As a result, the playing field got levelled.
Of course, since that time, Steve Jobs returned to Apple, they got back on track, and have returned to a high level of excellence like they had originally. But over those years, PCs have caught up in just about every way, and like I said, are every bit as good for the applications you are using. For some applications, a PC may be the only choice. Many people in the graphics field have only used Macs from the very beginning, and they swear by them - understandably. But being in advertising for over 25 years, I know better than to base my purchasing decisions on TV commercials. The Mac commercials are brilliant, but the advantages are vastly overstated, and they are based on the PC world of 1992, not 2009.
As far as the virus issue is concerned, installing and using good virus protection is the most critical factor. Macs aren't immune - in fact, if you keep up on tech news on sites like slashdot.org, you will find that viruses have entered the Mac world, too - and Apple encourages users to install and use anti-virus software: http://www.pcpro.co.uk/news/240255/apple-recommends-security-software-for-mac-owners.html
Most Windows problems arise when users load their PCs with crapware, too many programs, too many registry entries - it's a recipe for problems. Regular maintenance will keep you from most serious issues - I have not seen a "blue screen of death" on a PC in over 10 years. Conversely, I worked at an ad agency a few years ago that had a horrible network setup (all Macs) and lost more work from "frozen" machines in two years then I had in the previous 10, using both platforms. I use XP now, would not upgrade to Vista, but may look at Win 7 later.
That said, I am typing this on a Linux PC, which is working pretty well, too. All the software is free, there's usually a free alternative available for most every WIN/Mac program you would want, and it pretty much works the same. File systems are a little different, as is the process of loading/installing software, but it has a lot of potential.
Whatever you do, the major hurdle is the learning curve on new software, should you decide to try something different. It's frustrating when you're thinking - "by the time I learn how to use this new stuff, I could have done the job using the OLD stuff ten times over." But sometimes you just have to bite the bullet and devote a weekend to learning new software. Good Luck. Whatever you decide to do, we all know you'll put it to good use. :sifone:
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