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01/14/2007 03:06:23 PM · #1 |
My computer is on the fritz. I have long been wanting to try an Apple. Can anyone tell me if they think its right for me. Here are my computing needs.
1. Internet
2. Chatting
3. Photoshop/Photo Manipulation
4. Web Browsing
5. HTML
6. FTP
7. Word Pad and stuff
Pretty simple really. |
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01/14/2007 03:08:41 PM · #2 |
| Don't know what #7 is, but for everything else, give a Mac a try if that's what you're wanting. If you're near to an Apple retail store, go in for a look. |
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01/14/2007 03:16:22 PM · #3 |
Originally posted by CalliopeKel:
... Apple. Can anyone tell me if they think its right for me... |
An Apple a day keeps the techie away. |
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01/14/2007 03:22:25 PM · #4 |
Bottom line, modern Mac and PC hardware are nearly identical. They have ong used the same PCI bus, and now both use the same Intel processors as well. The Mac OS is a good operating system, and Apple does put a lot of thought into product design. Apple manufactured products are of generally quite high quality.
There will be a learnign curve switching to the MacOS interace, but it's honestly not a big one at all. I did it once when I switched jobs and my new employer was 100% mac... then switched back again when they went PC. This was in the '90s, when the differences were arguably much greater than they are today.
The one *big* caution is to look at your software licenses. Photoshop in particular is a single-platform license, meaning if you have the PC version, you'd have to buy a Mac version. I believe that you can get a deal on a cross-platform transfer, but I don't know the details of Adobe's current policy. |
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01/14/2007 03:30:04 PM · #5 |
Originally posted by strangeghost:
Don't know what #7 is, |
#7 (Word Pad) is a really basic word processor that comes with WinXP - Not as powerful as Word. One of the OSX widgets probably does the same thing.
ETA: Yea, here it is, on OSX it's called TextEdit
Message edited by author 2007-01-14 15:34:03. |
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01/14/2007 03:40:45 PM · #6 |
Do it! Make the switch.
You'll never look back. |
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01/14/2007 03:45:07 PM · #7 |
On a Mac, an app called "Text Edit" is similar to "Word Pad" PC.
I have not upgraded my 3 yr old single processor G5 to OS 10.4 (tiger) yet, but will soon, and will be using Photo Shop with it at that time.
I have been doing all the things you mentioned for the entire time (except no PS) without any problems that I could not solve. It took about 3 minutes to install a second 160 gig hard drive, and another 2 gig of Ram, which made things run faster and smoother.
I am on the net for at least a couple of hours daily, and so far there have been 0 bugs or anything like that. I have gotten it hung up a couple of times by clicking the mouse all over the screen faster than the system could respond, but a simple reboot has solved that each time.
I have used my son's PC notebook, the latest HP when traveling, and it seems like it takes a lot more clicking to work with photos when compared to the Macs.
I will be buying another Mac when programming outgrows this one.
Bummer about your PC getting clunky. Maybe it will be a good thing in the end.
Message edited by author 2007-01-14 15:47:33.
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01/14/2007 03:50:23 PM · #8 |
Originally posted by ladyhawk22:
Do it! Make the switch.
You'll never look back. |
also can be stated as: once you go mac you'll never go back... |
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01/14/2007 03:55:13 PM · #9 |
Originally posted by asimchoudhri:
Originally posted by ladyhawk22:
Do it! Make the switch.
You'll never look back. |
also can be stated as: once you go mac you'll never go back... |
Don't forget the Performance upgrades :-)
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01/14/2007 04:14:10 PM · #10 |
| LOL that was funny Leroy, thanks for the linky. |
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01/14/2007 04:23:30 PM · #11 |
I've been a PC user for man, many years (started way back in '86 with an IBM PS/2), and in my mind there's no doubt what to buy when my PC is to be replaced:
I'll go for a Mac
(I used to work with Mac's 10-15 years ago when I worked at a photo agency and I've always liked them, but always thought they were too expensive. They are still more expensive than PC's, but the difference isn't as big as it used to be).
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01/14/2007 07:02:03 PM · #12 |
Originally posted by MelonMusketeer:
I have not upgraded my 3 yr old single processor G5 to OS 10.4 (tiger) yet, but will soon, and will be using Photo Shop with it at that time. |
If you are going to pay to upgrade or buy a new puter, OS X Leopard is soon to be out (read in February). If you do buy a new puter, Apple always has a system OS upgrade if bought within 2-3 months (probably more).
I have been an Apple guy since 1982 with the IIe....just don't wanna change. I hate using the PC's at work.
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01/14/2007 07:13:28 PM · #13 |
You are going to hear from all the Mac people to buy a Mac, but unless you do the things the Mac are good at, but have lost their lead or are about to lose their lead to PC and PC based software, what you are going to end up doing is paying a lot more for the name Apple and run into a lot of the issues that Apple users have... namely, cost of software and the lack of software in some areas. If all you are doing is what is on your list, save yourself a LOT of money and buy a souped up PC that screams with a extra large monitor. You will get more and it will cost you less.
Don't let the rumors that Mac's are immune to virues either. They have them, you just don't hear as much about them because the number of Mac users is so low compared to PC users.
Mac's are nice. I bought my first Apple II+ in 1979, my second one in 1981, the first Color Mac and Apple Laser when they came out in the mid 80's. I've watched Apple shoot themselves in the foot, one toe at a time over the years and they are probably as surprised as anyone that they are even still around. I switched to PC's in 1988 (12mhz 286) and haven't had anything else since other than a few machines that have run Unix and Linux (which if you were going to go to anything for stability, that would be what you should go to).
As the saying goes... Choose Wisely. Cause it won't be a cheap change. ;)
Mike
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01/14/2007 07:29:47 PM · #14 |
Originally posted by MikeJ:
You are going to hear from all the Mac people to buy a Mac, but unless you do the things the Mac are good at, but have lost their lead or are about to lose their lead to PC and PC based software, what you are going to end up doing is paying a lot more for the name Apple and run into a lot of the issues that Apple users have... namely, cost of software and the lack of software in some areas. If all you are doing is what is on your list, save yourself a LOT of money and buy a souped up PC that screams with a extra large monitor. You will get more and it will cost you less.
Don't let the rumors that Mac's are immune to virues either. They have them, you just don't hear as much about them because the number of Mac users is so low compared to PC users... |
lol |
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01/14/2007 07:43:36 PM · #15 |
Originally posted by MikeJ:
...unless you do the things the Mac are good at, but have lost their lead or are about to lose their lead to PC and PC based software, what you are going to end up doing is paying a lot more for the name Apple and run into a lot of the issues that Apple users have... namely, cost of software and the lack of software in some areas. ...Don't let the rumors that Mac's are immune to virues either. ...I switched to PC's in 1988 (12mhz 286) and haven't had anything else since... |
ROFL! Your post may have been true in 1988. It isn't now. |
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01/14/2007 07:51:09 PM · #16 |
So you're asking Mac or Windows? You know they are both personal computers ;-)
You'll definitely be able to do all the things on your list on either, for a similar price. If you are very comfortably on Windows then it'll take you a little while to learn how to do the same things efficiently on a Mac. So you need to weigh that against the major benefit of Macs: less downtime. The chance of getting a virus on a Mac is practically none (the reason you don't hear about Mac viruses is because there are practically none, ask any IT professional). Also, and equally important, when things go really wrong on a Windows computer, you often have to wipe the hard-drive and start all over. That almost never happens on a Mac, at worst you just reinstall the one misbehaving application. |
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01/14/2007 07:54:48 PM · #17 |
About the only thing Mac users are missing out on are game titles and the BSOD. :-)
I'm a PC user, but OSX is a cool OS. Can't really beat the Unix core on it for stability and security.
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01/14/2007 07:56:17 PM · #18 |
Originally posted by magnus:
...when things go really wrong on a Windows computer, you often have to wipe the hard-drive and start all over. That almost never happens on a Mac, at worst you just reinstall the one misbehaving application. |
or just re-open it, without having to reboot. |
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01/14/2007 07:56:23 PM · #19 |
Originally posted by kirbic:
The one *big* caution is to look at your software licenses. Photoshop in particular is a single-platform license, meaning if you have the PC version, you'd have to buy a Mac version. I believe that you can get a deal on a cross-platform transfer, but I don't know the details of Adobe's current policy. |
I saw that in a lightroom conversation (someone wanting to swap from RSP to mac-LR). The support guy indicated that Adobe will swap the license both LR and PS to a mac version but you need to contact them directly and there is some confirmation stuff that needs to occur. There might be a smaller (which for adobe could mean anything) charge - not sure.
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01/14/2007 07:59:59 PM · #20 |
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01/14/2007 08:04:48 PM · #21 |
Originally posted by scalvert:
Originally posted by MikeJ:
...unless you do the things the Mac are good at, but have lost their lead or are about to lose their lead to PC and PC based software, what you are going to end up doing is paying a lot more for the name Apple and run into a lot of the issues that Apple users have... namely, cost of software and the lack of software in some areas. ...Don't let the rumors that Mac's are immune to virues either. ...I switched to PC's in 1988 (12mhz 286) and haven't had anything else since... |
ROFL! Your post may have been true in 1988. It isn't now. |
I'm not sure what you are saying... are you saying that the PC was ahead in 1988? Or did you mis-read what I said? I'm saying that the Mac is no longer in the lead in what made it so good for years. The PC with Windows based software is not ahead in some areas and just as good in others. The areas that the Mac is better at has dwindled down considerably. I went with a PC in 1988 because I was running communications software and connecting with modems to the outside world... something the Mac couldn't do as easily and I don't even believe had any software for it at the time. The Windows based PC has been making steady inroads into the Mac's domain for years and is now ahead of it in most of them. You can all think the gamers for it, since that has driven most of the advances in speed and memory in the last 10 years.
I'd equate the Mac to film... there are lots of good uses for it still and it won't go away any time soon... but it's still a bit player in the computer world.
Mike
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01/14/2007 08:09:18 PM · #22 |
I bought a copy of Parallels so I can run the PC-only software I have on my new (and first) Mac, a 20" iMac. Frankly, if it weren't for the Intel Macs and Parallels I would never have made the move because I've got a few programs that are PC-only with no equivalent Mac versions.
Word of warning -- if you intend to run the Mac version of Photoshop, wait for the native-Intel version this Spring.
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01/14/2007 08:10:00 PM · #23 |
Originally posted by magnus:
So you're asking Mac or Windows? You know they are both personal computers ;-)
You'll definitely be able to do all the things on your list on either, for a similar price. If you are very comfortably on Windows then it'll take you a little while to learn how to do the same things efficiently on a Mac. So you need to weigh that against the major benefit of Macs: less downtime. The chance of getting a virus on a Mac is practically none (the reason you don't hear about Mac viruses is because there are practically none, ask any IT professional). Also, and equally important, when things go really wrong on a Windows computer, you often have to wipe the hard-drive and start all over. That almost never happens on a Mac, at worst you just reinstall the one misbehaving application. |
And if you believe all of the above, I have a Commodore C-64 that will run circles around a Mac that I will sell you.
LOL!
Mac's crash. Mac's get viruses. Mac's have to be reinstalled when they do crash. They might have less problems because of their design percentage wise, but that's because there are so few Mac's out there in comparison to Window's based computers. Less people use Mac's, hence less complaints to hear about.
I am a IT professional. And I disagree with you on your statement.
Mike
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01/14/2007 08:11:39 PM · #24 |
I use XP on a 3 year old Athlon. My programs list in the start menu is 3 pages long. Nothing crashes. I have been using computers for 20 years. I can't say their evolution was pretty. But for me, XP is stable enough.
Couple of days ago I tried to use a linksys USB wireless adaptor on a mac. Guess what? No drivers. This sucks. I doubt it's the only product out there unsupported on the mac. Yes OSX is nice (both above and under the surface), but you just can't beat the choice and low price of all pc offerings (hardware and software).
Don't get me wrong, I'm not a fanatic. I used amigas to their last breath and used to hate PCs. But nowdays the platform has just matured enough for any use.
Just my 2p
Harry |
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01/14/2007 08:30:07 PM · #25 |
Originally posted by hsolakidis:
I use XP on a 3 year old Athlon. My programs list in the start menu is 3 pages long. Nothing crashes. I have been using computers for 20 years. I can't say their evolution was pretty. But for me, XP is stable enough.
Couple of days ago I tried to use a linksys USB wireless adaptor on a mac. Guess what? No drivers. This sucks. I doubt it's the only product out there unsupported on the mac. Yes OSX is nice (both above and under the surface), but you just can't beat the choice and low price of all pc offerings (hardware and software).
Don't get me wrong, I'm not a fanatic. I used amigas to their last breath and used to hate PCs. But nowdays the platform has just matured enough for any use.
Just my 2p
Harry |
As someone who used to work in the industry that supplied the chips and drivers for these wireless devices I have to say that this problem is from the vendors of these chips putting the Mac OS low down on the list of supported platforms (with Linux coming before Mac OS).
Microsoft has a huge program in place to qualify HW on their systems which most HW vendors attempt to pass. I'm not aware of any system like that from Apple (or Linux for that matter). Also, Microsoft made a big push with XP's release to get as much HW support as possible. They would invite vendors to developer labs/kitchens and supply HW and work closely with them to get their drivers qualified for XP because they knew that the more HW support and easier to install HW the better for the OS platform.
Now having said that, I myself have been considering upgrading to a MAC because on my home systems I don't do anything that absolutely requires a PC. It will be interesting to see the comparison of native Photoshop CS on a Mac vs a PC. |
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