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09/05/2008 10:41:46 AM · #1 |
Hi
I'm currently a microsoft XP user and have been for many years, but i'm thinking of going over to the dark side and buy an apple computer,
therefore are there any views on this please to assist my choice
thanks
John |
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09/05/2008 10:59:05 AM · #2 |
For a photographer, the Mac is a great choice. I love the way that OSX does not insulate the user from the file system (Like Windows does by the separation of the file system and start menu) You can put your most often used programs in the dock, but you really don't want to put everything there. When you go into the applications folder to look for something less often used, you will find that an application presents itself as a single executable, rather than a folder with dozens of obscurely named component files inside. It's still a folder, but this way of presenting it simplifies things without insulating the user from the file system. Niccccceee.
I don't like Apples keyboards and mice. They are very pretty, but I find other products to be way more ergonomic. These replacement items are fairly cheap, however.
Many long time Mac users from the OS9 and earlier days don't know that under OSX, they can right click something to get a context menu, just like in Windows. (No more rants about MS stealing ideas from Apple, it goes both ways!) Apples mice finally have two buttons, but for some reason, the laptops still have just one. (BTW, a Control-click is the same thing as right click, if you only have one button)
Being in a job that is considered on the edge of IT, y belief is that the Mac will be gaining far more market share in the coming 2-5 years. This will mean better driver and hardware support as not supporting it will impact sales.
If Apple would allow OSX to be installed on normal Intel/AMD hardware, I would go to Mac in a heartbeat. They dicker up the OS to make it installable only on their own hardware. There are open-source projects to allow it to run on other hardware, but reports of how well it works have varied. I prefer to build my own system from components, so will probably stick with Windows. I may get a lesser or slightly older Mac at some point as a second computer. (Like my wife's 400Mhz G4 when she gets an upgrade to a newer one)
Message edited by author 2008-09-05 11:07:31. |
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09/05/2008 11:08:07 AM · #3 |
I use Macs at the studio where I work and Windows PCs at home. Both have some pros and cons, but honestly I find them all to be minor things. Really, they work about the same and I see NO clear benefit to one over another.
The major point against Macs, in my book, is the price. Macs are very expensive for no good reason - you can buy a PC that performs just as well (if not faster/better) for half the cost. (Co-worker just shelled out $2600 for a mid-level Mac. I have a $1100 Dell desktop that works great.)
If the whole Vista scare thing is making you doubt PCs, reconsider. Vista works fine - I run it on two systems and have no problems.
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09/05/2008 11:18:49 AM · #4 |
I like my Mac. It is 4 yrs old this month, and so far I have never had to unplug it except to move it to a safer place to protect it from hurricanes.
It takes a while to learn the little differences in the way things work after using windows, so change over would take some patience. It's pretty easy to transfer your files from windows into the Mac.
I'm happy with the one I use. It's a PowerMac G5 1.8Ghz with 2.5G ram and 2-160 G internal hard drives. I also have 750 Gb of external HD on it. I like the easy way to move files and images around, and that emailing or putting images in my .Mac gallery on line is just a matter of select the images and click "web".
It took me a while to figure out how to make discs that windows computers could read, but it is relatively simple. I just have never had anyone to show me the shortcut ways to do things with this one.
I use a windows laptop with a faster CPU when I am on vacation, but it's a job to just email a photo home with it for me.
I wish you the best with which ever system you choose in the end. Mac's are great, but not everyone who changes from windows feels comfortable with them.
One of my favorite features is that they just keep going without any baby sitting.
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09/05/2008 11:35:58 AM · #5 |
Originally posted by OdysseyF22:
...The major point against Macs, in my book, is the price. Macs are very expensive for no good reason - you can buy a PC that performs just as well (if not faster/better) for half the cost... |
I found the opposite to be true. Macs come with pre-installed software, useful software at that. Any current Mac, for my purposes, is ready to go to work, out of the box, without requiring any immediate investment. Backups are done automatically, in the background, as part of the OS (Time Machine). I can access and work on files that haven't been on my computers for months, in seconds.
There are seven Macs in the house, and if I were to spend $2600 on a new Mac, it certainly wouldn't be "mid-level". |
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09/05/2008 11:37:03 AM · #6 |
Hardcore Mac fanboys are fun to pick at, however.
Back in the dark ages of the 90's, I used to tease my wife that the Mac was not a real computer because it had no command prompt. When I decided to learn the Mac for work reasons, she took it as a victory, that I was now the "Mac expert" where I worked, and she reminded me of my previous statement. I informed here that the Mac was now ok, because OSX runs on top of Unix and it does have command prompt for the Unix shell. |
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09/05/2008 12:09:17 PM · #7 |
Originally posted by zeuszen:
Originally posted by OdysseyF22:
...The major point against Macs, in my book, is the price. Macs are very expensive for no good reason - you can buy a PC that performs just as well (if not faster/better) for half the cost... |
I found the opposite to be true. Macs come with pre-installed software, useful software at that. Any current Mac, for my purposes, is ready to go to work, out of the box, without requiring any immediate investment. Backups are done automatically, in the background, as part of the OS (Time Machine). I can access and work on files that haven't been on my computers for months, in seconds.
There are seven Macs in the house, and if I were to spend $2600 on a new Mac, it certainly wouldn't be "mid-level". |
Simply out of curiosity, what software (besides a web browser and the backup feature) do they come with that's so useful?
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09/05/2008 12:16:17 PM · #8 |
Originally posted by OdysseyF22:
Simply out of curiosity, what software (besides a web browser and the backup feature) do they come with that's so useful? |
iPhoto, iMovie, iDVD, Mail (like outlook), iWeb (tool for building your own web sites), iTunes |
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09/05/2008 01:49:31 PM · #9 |
hi all
many thanks for all your thought's, also i have heard that powerpoint for macs are coming is this correct
just a thought most software you buy today id normally for pc and mac is this correct
thanks again |
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09/05/2008 01:57:51 PM · #10 |
Originally posted by jarjar:
many thanks for all your thought's, also i have heard that powerpoint for macs are coming is this correct
just a thought most software you buy today id normally for pc and mac is this correct
thanks again |
Actually, Powerpoint for mac already exists, I have Microsoft Office 2004 for Mac and this version of Powerpoint is way better than the version I have to use at work (for pc). I think the 2008 version may even be better still.
There are some things that you cannot get for mac (some PS plugins), but largely most of the key things you need/want are available in mac versions. Oh, and add Garageband to the collection of pre-installed software (comes bundled as iLife). |
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09/05/2008 02:16:01 PM · #11 |
| I agree with the whole vista thing. I have my main machine running and prefer vista over XP now. |
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09/05/2008 02:34:38 PM · #12 |
| Speaking of office suites, if you are feeling broke after buying that new Mac, have a look at NeoOffice. It is a port of the open-source OpenOffice, but runs natively within the OSX environment. (OpenOffice has a Mac version, but it runs under the Unix style X11 interface.) |
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09/05/2008 02:40:15 PM · #13 |
Originally posted by salmiakki:
Originally posted by OdysseyF22:
Simply out of curiosity, what software (besides a web browser and the backup feature) do they come with that's so useful? |
iPhoto, iMovie, iDVD, Mail (like outlook), iWeb (tool for building your own web sites), iTunes |
I don't know a lot about how well any of these work, but compare:
PCs come with Windows Photo editor, movie players, DVD reader/writers (if purchased), and Windows Mail. iWeb does sound cool. iTunes is a free download for anyone.
Sorry, but I really don't see how that smattering of software boosts a Mac up above anything. Like I said before, they're both about the same now in what they offer. The difference lies in personal preference and in pricing.
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09/05/2008 02:50:16 PM · #14 |
| I'm sure I'll get blasted for this, but IMO, ITunes is becoming a larger piece of bloatware with each successive version. I used to use it in order to purchase music. I don't use an IPod, though, so the first thing I did was to burn an audio CD and the re-rip it to MP3 files. Since Amazon started selling MP3's without DRM, I have no use at all for Itunes. |
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09/05/2008 02:52:52 PM · #15 |
I went to Macs for personal use about 2 years ago--my only regret was not doing it sooner, as it turns out. Well, my other regret is that having a mac at home makes using a pc at work nearly intolerable.
If you like really fooling with computers, pc's are the way to go. If you are a gamer, I think you would want to stick with pc, too. But if you like things to work out of the box, plug and play, with not mucking around with drivers and such, macs are GREAT. Took a long time to get my home pc laptop to recognize and work with a simple little canon scanner. ("missing dll") and was a big pain in the ass. Plugged it into my mac, voila, running.
If you want your computer to work for you, rather than the other way round, macs are good for that. Price may be an issue in some cases, and yes, one can cobble together windows systems, hardware, and software on a pc for cheap. With mac, though, you get an integrated solution: the hardware and OS are designed for each other: in the pc world you have hundreds of competing hw platforms attempting to run the same OS, with varying degrees of success (and Finger Pointing when you call tech support).
Microsoft even makes a version of Office for the mac, and I like it way better than the pc version. I had thought, prior to getting that, that I would do the Parallels/Bootstrap thing and purchase a windows os just to have access to Office and a couple other things. Have never needed to. As long as you are not a hard-core gamer, you will likely not find anything that cannot be done on a mac--and a mac is just more fun to use, too.
Aperture 2 is a great photography tool, as well. |
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09/05/2008 02:53:22 PM · #16 |
Originally posted by OdysseyF22:
I don't know a lot about how well any of these work, but compare:
PCs come with Windows Photo editor, movie players, DVD reader/writers (if purchased), and Windows Mail. iWeb does sound cool. iTunes is a free download for anyone.
Sorry, but I really don't see how that smattering of software boosts a Mac up above anything. Like I said before, they're both about the same now in what they offer. The difference lies in personal preference and in pricing. |
The question you asked was what software the mac comes with. These are some of the applications (outside of the operating system which has it's own cool stuff). Please don't ever try and compare windows photo editor with iPhoto. The two are incomparable. |
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09/05/2008 02:56:26 PM · #17 |
Originally posted by yospiff:
I'm sure I'll get blasted for this, but IMO, ITunes is becoming a larger piece of bloatware with each successive version. I used to use it in order to purchase music. I don't use an IPod, though, so the first thing I did was to burn an audio CD and the re-rip it to MP3 files. Since Amazon started selling MP3's without DRM, I have no use at all for Itunes. |
I second that--I purchase mp3s from amazon and use them on my iphone (and other players). I expect, in time, Apple will offer mp3s directly--but may be impeded by contracts they have now that will have to expire or be renegotiated with the music labels.....
And, see, a Mac guy can agree with a HardCore PCer on things without it getting ugly!! We CAN get along! :-) |
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09/05/2008 02:58:04 PM · #18 |
Originally posted by salmiakki:
Originally posted by OdysseyF22:
I don't know a lot about how well any of these work, but compare:
PCs come with Windows Photo editor, movie players, DVD reader/writers (if purchased), and Windows Mail. iWeb does sound cool. iTunes is a free download for anyone.
Sorry, but I really don't see how that smattering of software boosts a Mac up above anything. Like I said before, they're both about the same now in what they offer. The difference lies in personal preference and in pricing. |
The question you asked was what software the mac comes with. These are some of the applications (outside of the operating system which has it's own cool stuff). Please don't ever try and compare windows photo editor with iPhoto. The two are incomparable. |
Even the simple Preview app on the Mac is orders of magnitude greater than the windows photo editor! I kid you not. Go to an Apple store and play for 5 minutes. End of hesitation. |
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09/05/2008 03:09:59 PM · #19 |
Originally posted by chromeydome:
Originally posted by salmiakki:
Originally posted by OdysseyF22:
I don't know a lot about how well any of these work, but compare:
PCs come with Windows Photo editor, movie players, DVD reader/writers (if purchased), and Windows Mail. iWeb does sound cool. iTunes is a free download for anyone.
Sorry, but I really don't see how that smattering of software boosts a Mac up above anything. Like I said before, they're both about the same now in what they offer. The difference lies in personal preference and in pricing. |
The question you asked was what software the mac comes with. These are some of the applications (outside of the operating system which has it's own cool stuff). Please don't ever try and compare windows photo editor with iPhoto. The two are incomparable. |
Even the simple Preview app on the Mac is orders of magnitude greater than the windows photo editor! I kid you not. Go to an Apple store and play for 5 minutes. End of hesitation. |
I use Preview app to filter the images that will be going into iPhoto, my main editing and file handling app for images. I upload the image files from the cam card to a monthly file in the 2nd HD then use Preview/Slide Show to choose which ones are good, and one click during the slide show puts each of the good ones into iPhoto when I close the slide show. It keeps the file with all the shots out of my iPhoto library. It sure makes life simple for me in that regard. I backup the monthly file to external HD and DVD twice a month.
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09/05/2008 03:17:12 PM · #20 |
Originally posted by chromeydome:
Originally posted by salmiakki:
Originally posted by OdysseyF22:
I don't know a lot about how well any of these work, but compare:
PCs come with Windows Photo editor, movie players, DVD reader/writers (if purchased), and Windows Mail. iWeb does sound cool. iTunes is a free download for anyone.
Sorry, but I really don't see how that smattering of software boosts a Mac up above anything. Like I said before, they're both about the same now in what they offer. The difference lies in personal preference and in pricing. |
The question you asked was what software the mac comes with. These are some of the applications (outside of the operating system which has it's own cool stuff). Please don't ever try and compare windows photo editor with iPhoto. The two are incomparable. |
Even the simple Preview app on the Mac is orders of magnitude greater than the windows photo editor! I kid you not. Go to an Apple store and play for 5 minutes. End of hesitation. |
Don't forget iWork ($79), since buying it I have not used MS Office.
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09/05/2008 03:38:00 PM · #21 |
Originally posted by chromeydome:
And, see, a Mac guy can agree with a HardCore PCer on things without it getting ugly!! We CAN get along! :-) |
Except that I am NOT a hardcore Windows fan. In fact, I'm the only one where I work that really knows how to use the Mac and thinks we need to support it better. I think in the next 2-5 years, everyone will turn around and realize that there are way more requests for support of Mac environments. I want to be ahead of that power curve and have suggested for the future, our products need to have Mac support (meaning drivers and software) that is equal to what we provide for Windows. Not sure if anyone is listening right now.
Mac is still going to have a hard time getting into corporate America, however. The home market will come easier and sooner. |
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09/05/2008 04:12:53 PM · #22 |
| I switched from XP to OSX three weeks ago. All I'll say is that I can't believe I wasted 20 years of my life on Windows. |
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09/05/2008 04:14:29 PM · #23 |
Originally posted by salmiakki:
Originally posted by OdysseyF22:
I don't know a lot about how well any of these work, but compare:
PCs come with Windows Photo editor, movie players, DVD reader/writers (if purchased), and Windows Mail. iWeb does sound cool. iTunes is a free download for anyone.
Sorry, but I really don't see how that smattering of software boosts a Mac up above anything. Like I said before, they're both about the same now in what they offer. The difference lies in personal preference and in pricing. |
The question you asked was what software the mac comes with. These are some of the applications (outside of the operating system which has it's own cool stuff). Please don't ever try and compare windows photo editor with iPhoto. The two are incomparable. |
The point is that both programs are included with the units and neither is anywhere near comparable with Photoshop - they are designed for the average user who'd be comfortable using Picassa (not dissing Picassa, is't great for people who want simple, auto fixes.)
I asked what a Mac came with because the post I was replying to stated that the included software was good enough to be a point in favor of Mac, at least for the person posting. My counterpoint was simply that a version of those programs comes with a PC as well.
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09/05/2008 04:36:26 PM · #24 |
Maybe the next generation will work on that.
My niece just started Jr. High School. This year they dumped ALL THE BOOKS and gave every student a MacBook instead, with the books for their grade on it.
Originally posted by yospiff:
........Mac is still going to have a hard time getting into corporate America, however. The home market will come easier and sooner....... |
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09/05/2008 04:42:01 PM · #25 |
Originally posted by MelonMusketeer:
Originally posted by chromeydome:
Even the simple Preview app on the Mac is orders of magnitude greater than the windows photo editor! I kid you not. Go to an Apple store and play for 5 minutes. End of hesitation. |
I use Preview app to filter the images that will be going into iPhoto, my main editing and file handling app for images. I upload the image files from the cam card to a monthly file in the 2nd HD then use Preview/Slide Show to choose which ones are good, and one click during the slide show puts each of the good ones into iPhoto when I close the slide show. It keeps the file with all the shots out of my iPhoto library. It sure makes life simple for me in that regard. I backup the monthly file to external HD and DVD twice a month. |
Yes! the Preview app is a great way to get a quick slideshow view of images (select the group, right click, "Quick Look"), and also to make quick easy edits without importing to anything. I often use it as my quick play tool, to see which images might be worthy of "full treatment" in Aperture (or iPhoto). Can do all the basics, plus some easy slider color balance, tones, hues, white point, black point, sharpening, sepia, saturation, contrast--all right there in a quick, slick app. |
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