Mac or PC? - Page 2

Wondermonkey · 02-02-2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by Quo

I can't believe it took you like... 17 posts...

That has to factor in somewhere, though!

Sorry man! I was away - I thought the boards stopped when I wasn't on them, turns out that they don't!

Stewii Griffin · 02-03-2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by Quo

I can't believe it took you like... 17 posts...

That has to factor in somewhere, though!

LOL no shit. I just scrolled until I saw what wonder had to say. I would vote for a PC. I have had both and I did like my macbook but using a PC for the past 18 years makes it hard to leave. Although I will admit that I only used my mac for school when I wasn't home to use my PC. I know they do have some pretty awesome programs for photo, audio, and video editing which could be very helpful to you. But I never used them. I would say the main factor is price and limited choice of programs. They do have programs for just about everything. My problem is that there is usually just one choice for that program. Anyway you can still get or build a PC with xp on it if you don't like vista. Plus Windows 7 looks like it will be out in the fall/winter. But mac's are some good looking machines. They definitely beat most PC's hands down in the looks dept.

Or you could always build a Hackintosh

Hack Attack: Build a Hackintosh Mac for Under $800 The article is a little more than a year old so for $800 I'm sure you could buy much better hardware.

Wondermonkey · 02-03-2009

Quosef,

You'll probably find twice as many programs for the mac to do what you want, and you'll probably find them for a 1/4 of the price and done by independent developers.

You may not find those programs that are compatible with Windows programs though, so you won't be able to share them with your peeps. So for that, you'd have to go the dual boot route.

What you will find is top notch video, photo, audio editing, the easiest way to stream to your Xbox 360, the best Xbox friends list applications, an abundance of top notch shareware fully supported by the developers in frequent updates, a more stable system, a gateway to an iPhone (you can't fully experience an iPhone without a mac), one of the best bit torrent programs, better Skype, better Address contacts, better photo management, faster Firefox, better media management (Delicious Library is oh so damn delicious), and less headaches.

Generally.

There is much more, but that's what was important to me. You know all the times you've asked yourself on the PC "why the hell do they do it this way?" It's finally answered when you start to use Leopard.

And the answer is "because they don't know no better."

Quo · 02-03-2009

I've got Dmiller, Supa et al on one shoulder and Wondermonkey, Jon Liu on the other... trying to figure out which of you are the devils.

I totally love the idea of the mac. The timing is very poor though. Any additional expense is totally unwelcome. I'm researching more today and making the final call. I may present all my options in here if there's time.

Jon Liu · 02-03-2009

Wonder mentioned something that is SOOOOOOOOOO worth it.

Delicious.

Library.

OH so wonderful!

Don't get me wrong, Qua...

I will continue to use both a PC and a Mac at home. I like PC's simply because I can tinker and screw around with the internals of a PC tower.

If you don't want extra expenses, simply use *cough* torrents *cough* to get your programs!

Peench · 02-03-2009

Just be careful with those torrents, even on a Mac.

Trojan virus spreads to as many as 20,000 Macs : Boy Genius Report

Untitled Document

Jon Liu · 02-03-2009

True, Mac's are still susceptible to Viruses especially while getting Torrents.

Stewii Griffin · 02-03-2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wondermonkey

What you will find is... a gateway to an iPhone (you can't fully experience an iPhone without a mac),

So I have to ask what am I missing out on wonder?

supafreak · 02-04-2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jon Liu

True, Mac's are still susceptible to Viruses especially while getting Torrents.

What? Macs can get viruses too. Where is the cute, trendy commercial on that one?

Peench · 02-04-2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stewii Griffin

So I have to ask what am I missing out on wonder?

I wanna know too as this may affect my decision to get an iPhone. I currently don't own a Mac and don't like missing out on stuff.

Wondermonkey · 02-04-2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by Peench

I wanna know too as this may affect my decision to get an iPhone. I currently don't own a Mac and don't like missing out on stuff.

You're not missing out on features, you just don't have the "iPhone as an extension of your mac" feeling that mac users have when they carry around their iPhones. The native apps on the iPhone like iCal, Contacts, Mac Mail App, Safari, etc. are all native apps on the mac as well. It's not that way on a PC. You aren't missing out on any features (that I can think of) but it ain't the samesies.

Quote:

Originally Posted by supafreak

What? Macs can get viruses too. Where is the cute, trendy commercial on that one?

They'll probably do one when it's the fifth virus to hit in the history of the entire platform. The fourth isn't really all that monumental.

supafreak · 02-04-2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wondermonkey

They'll probably do one when it's the fifth virus to hit in the history of the entire platform. The fourth isn't really all that monumental.

Sweet. I guess they are due to have one out any day now then. I am sure it will be awesome.

dmiller68 · 02-04-2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by supafreak

Sweet. I guess they are due to have one out any day now then. I am sure it will be awesome.

I can hardly wait for that ad.

I predicted a year ago that Apples glory days would soon be over as the popularity increased. The fact that the OS is based on UNIX/Linux now and they use standard Intel processors is only going to make it easier to port viruses. Heck Linux viruses exceeded windows viruses last year. This is the side affect of making your product more mainstream.

Wondermonkey · 02-04-2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by dmiller68

I can hardly wait for that ad.

I predicted a year ago that Apples glory days would soon be over as the popularity increased. The fact that the OS is based on UNIX/Linux now and they use standard Intel processors is only going to make it easier to port viruses. Heck Linux viruses exceeded windows viruses last year. This is the side affect of making your product more mainstream.

I think they knew that going into the Intel decision, at least I would assume they would.

I remember when I first bought my Mac, it had Virex on it (I think that's what it was called). I uninstalled it when Apple recommended to remove it due to compatibility issues. I haven't used a virus program since 2003. PC people seem to forget, as the 11 year old article that Supa posted shows you, that virus threats are patched by Apple, rendering them useless. Since there are software updates released by Apple every 4 days, even if there are vulnerabilities, they are few and far in between. When you go Mac, you also abandon the Service Pack mentality, which can be tough to get used to. Frequent and steady updates were weird for me at first, but I've learned to embrace them.

And I agree with Dmill, if Windows market share continues to drop, and Apple's market share continues to climb, I bet we'll soon see a virus program shipping on new Macs, most likely by 2010. Unix/Linux will always be more secure, but it's not invincible.

supafreak · 02-04-2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by dmiller68

I can hardly wait for that ad.

I predicted a year ago that Apples glory days would soon be over as the popularity increased. The fact that the OS is based on UNIX/Linux now and they use standard Intel processors is only going to make it easier to port viruses. Heck Linux viruses exceeded windows viruses last year. This is the side affect of making your product more mainstream.

Yeah it is. I just think it's fair to point out that it isn't about a superior platform, but more about if the user base is worth the effort of those that create the viruses. That selling point of no viruses isn't one that can really be used anymore.

I also get frequent updates for my Vista machine a bit more often than a service pack. Which in turns patches the holes.

Quo · 02-04-2009

After all this talk... are you ready for a letdown? I'm not sure I can justify EITHER expense right now.

For the moment I'm trying to upgrade the RAM on this machine and installing the Windows 7 beta.

Of course, that means a complete backup in necessary. And since it took me 3 hours to figure out how to simply plug in a network drive and have windows find it (and a couple of system reboots)... I'm not sure windows is gonna cut it for me anymore. If anything, at least I'll know better once I've tried the Mac route. It's not like it would be hard to go back.

Any way, for the moment the cheapest solution is to backup, wipe the machine clean, install more ram ($55), and try again with the Windows 7 beta. If this machine so much as farts during this whole process, I will make sure I have all my data backed up, then chuck the colossal piece of turd in the yard and watch the buzzards reject its useless, sorry metal ass.

The full story of how my machine is so messed up currently relates back to installing IE 7 after all... it was during this "upgrade" process that everything went haywire. Whenever I used IE (which several work programs REQUIRE me to do), the machine would lock up. I had to use a system restore point to get the automatic pieceofshitupdater to quit "re-wrecking" my machine every time it started up. Since that point, nothing but lockups, slowdowns, constant hourglass icons. I reverted back to IE 6. It runs, but it's slow as christmas. I keep getting told that I need to upgrade to IE 7, it's much faster... but screw that noise. I have stuff to do.

The only thing that's NOT an option is endlessly trying to get this thing running.

So bottom line... this is window's last gasp with me. And only because it's my cheapest option. If it craps on me again during this proecess, all bets are off and it's Mac time. I'll still have to use VMFusion or something to emulate IE in, but at least that way I can turn the crapper off that way and it won't affect the rest of my work.

Wondermonkey · 02-04-2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by Quo

If this machine so much as farts during this whole process, I will make sure I have all my data backed up, then chuck the colossal piece of turd in the yard and watch the buzzards reject its useless, sorry metal ass.

That may be the funniest shit I read today. I'm sensing you're frustrated Quo, is that accurate?

I hear you on all the fronts though, and taking it the cheapest route is probably the best right now, considering how bad the financial world is. Today Apple retired my Powerbook officially, so while I'm feeling nostalgic, I'm also feeling like I'm going to have to upgrade sooner rather than later, which means I need to decide on an iMac with a purty screen or the portability of a Macbook Pro. This, of course, rests on how much my wife sells her soul to a large law firm. Or rather how much of that soul goes. It's pricey for sure, but I justify it in that I don't have computer headaches anymore, and I can't really put a price on that.

When I went home based, the phone my Job gave me was free, and static ridden. It worked fine, but it pissed me off every time I used it. I tried to get them to buy a new one, but they weren't having it. I decided it was worth buying my own multi-line phone to save me from going crazy. That's how I look at the Mac.

Maybe we can go Mac shopping together if it all times up right. We can even hold hands. Don't tell Kyle. Hopefully though, the cheaper option works out for you man.

dmiller68 · 02-04-2009

Quo I'm sorry your having issues, it does suck. I will say I have been running the Windows 7 beta on my piece o crap Dell that I replace with my HP. I have been very happy and amazed how well Windows 7 runs. It only has a couple face lift changes. Most of the work was done to make it a more solid OS again. That appear to be what they have done. In fact there are several petitions to MS to release it now so people can move on.

Monkey the new Macbook Pros are nice looking machines I think you would enjoy having one.

Quo · 02-04-2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wondermonkey

I'm sensing you're frustrated Quo, is that accurate?

Dude, sometimes I think you're actually inside my head. We've go this "thing", you and me. You're very perceptive.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wondermonkey

When I went home based, the phone my Job gave me was free, and static ridden. It worked fine, but it pissed me off every time I used it. I tried to get them to buy a new one, but they weren't having it. I decided it was worth buying my own multi-line phone to save me from going crazy. That's how I look at the Mac.

Yeah. This is what's killing me right now. I had this convo with Supa the other day and I was laughing because he said, "dude, your OS is screwed. You need to reinstall." At that point I had already been messing with it ALOT and the amount of frustration was bubbling over. So I was like, "What? Why? Because windows mismanages its own registry and gets all screwed up over time?"

To someone like Supa, who's elbow deep in windows machines all day long, wiping a system clean and reinstalling windows is easy. To me, I have to drop everything that makes money. Make sure I'm fully backed up. Follow a set of instructions that's not always readily accessible and not always crystal clear. Then it's boot. Reboot. Boot. Reboot. Boot. Reboot. Now reinstall 1 billion minor programs that are necessary to my business. Oh yeah, don't forget little apps like MSN Live Msgr. Or foldershare... or whatever it's currently called. And all google's little apps. oh, and the printer drivers. Oh, and the virus software. Oh crap... accounting sfotware. Ack. Blackberry. The list goes on.

So i hear what supa's saying. I make things more complicated than they are and i demand a lot of my machine. But on the other hand, i'm the one paying for it. I want my machine to serve me, not the other way around. Making money's hard enough as it is.

I'll keep my fingers crossed on Win 7.