Should I make the switch?

Hi Captain_Rightfoot, got to be honest with you. I still use a G4 iBook but that’s for internet use only. All the other problems you had with the PCs, I’ve had with the Macs and I’m still expecting to have problems with the PCs

The one major difference is that the local butcher can fix a PC while there are very few people who REALLY know anything about Macs and this you will find out quick enough. Worse still, if your new Macs has to go back to Apple for any form of warranty work, you are out of a computer for at least 3 months. The pack of mongrels at Apple can’t even fix there own gear.

My biggest problem with using Macs and OSX was getting any form of support. Apple doesn’t want to know you and as stated, there are few people that can help.

I know quite a few people how are using Macs and are happy with their Macs but I also know people who switched to Macs and FCP to do weddings and the likes and have switched back to PCs for the same reason I have gone to PCs, because of the total lack of any useful support for OSX.

Captain_Rightfoot, if you stay main stream then you will probably be happy with you Mac but don’t waste your money on any Pro Video applications from Apple unless you plan to spend a hell of a lot of time using them.

Cheers.

I really appreciate the range of opinions expressed on this thread. [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif[/img]

I must say, at the end of two weeks it's been a really big learning curve for me. For the first few days I was thinking "oh no...what have I done". Fortunately I'm now starting to think like a mac user and nothing is too hard [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif[/img]

From a technical standpoint, I **really** appreciate the way the OS is put together.. It's really well done. The flashest Linux distribution around [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif[/img] beautiful.

Today I picked up the last item from Dave in the order, a black 30gb video ipod. Well, just like the whole computer... what a piece of gear. And it all seems to work really well together.... [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif[/img]

On the downside if you want to do something that isn't really mainstream I can see that there are limitations with the mac because of SW availability. However I'm lucky because we are pretty much mainstream [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif[/img]

In summary... I'm hooked and if things go as they have been going.. i'm going to take a lot of switching back [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/wink.gif[/img]

For those that want to laugh at me have a look at this jab at the mac users of the world (in windows media player) lol.

http://www.users.bigpond.net.au/wofienet/mac.wmv

Quote:

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Originally posted by Captain_Rightfoot
The flashest Linux distribution around [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif[/img] beautiful.

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*cough cough cough* IT'S NOT LINUX!!!! :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil: Sheesh - BSD is as much like Linux as a Jeep is to a Landrover! To the untrained they may look alike, but boy they are completely different! :x

/rant
Sorry but that really irks me (being a computer head like I am). BSD at least has a standard for commands etc., whereas linux is just whatever anyone feels like putting in there. Yes ok that makes BSD not as flexible (in some ways) as linux but at least you know what options / commands to use.
/rant off

Hi Captain_Rightfoot, as much as that video seems like a good chuckle, a good portion of it is actually based on reality.

I’ve had to go through many of the situation that were mad fun of on that clip but there have been lot more problems, some of which you will eventually come across.

Having problems on a Mac is in itself, no great drama, it’s getting those problems resolved that IS the great drama.

As a toy to play with at home, great, but as a serious business machine. Unless you are prepared to spend up big on service contracts, you can forget even trying to use a Mac because even Apple won’t support you unless you pay them an arm and a leg.

The Mac looks great when it’s working, but there are some many little quirky operating requirements needed to keep them going and this is where the hair pulling comes in because you will very quickly find there are few people that know anything about them.

Over the passed 10 months or so I have been getting my revenge on Apple, when I need printer cartridges and I go to my local David Jones store, while waiting at the count I talk people out of buying Macs after the Apple rep has just spent half an hour trying to convince a potential new Mac user to buy one.

It’s easy to do as many of the potential buyers are uni students so I simply ask them what subjects their doing and if it’s anything other than multi media I then tell them to go check with their respective departments to see if the Macs are compatible with these subjects and time and time again, the DJs staff have told me that these same people have come back and bought PCs because they found out that the Macs are not supported in weird subjects like say Accounting, Law, any Science oriented subjects and so on and if that doesn’t seem to convince them, I suggest to them to go and ask the Apple rep, what is the current waiting time for a repair if the Mac has to go to Apple. With the answer coming back as being at least 3 months waiting time, this is usually the final straw.

Mind you, after the rep has finished showing them how easy the Mac is to use, I like to show people about the requirements needed to try and keep the Mac’s speed up, you know, the one about having to periodically “repair Permissions” crap and when you tell them that the more video they do the more often they have to go through this crap, the more disinterested they become.

Yes the new Macs are a fine TOY and that’s what they have degenerated into.

BTW, don't get me wrong, I'm not a PC lover but this is not just my opinion, a number of articles and even computer shows on TV are now saying that the Mac is way ahead of PCs when it comes to doing video, particularly if it’s for home use but they are now even less business oriented they they use to be.

Cheers.

I picked up a mac G3 with a G4 upgrade cpu in it off the street yesterday.

Oh yeah, the punters love 'em.

Don't get me wrong, I started on macs and you've got to admit, they make the most beautiful laptops out there.

My beef, these days, is that they come across as all user-y and underdog. And look at what they've done. Twice they've made such radical changes to their hardware that every user has to replace not only hardware, but all software at apple prices to get the use out of the machine. I call that betrayal.

Anyone who's done any graphic design or professional desktop publishing will tell you what happened when OSX came out. Just about killed Quark Express, and nearly killed DTP on the mac.

Like it has been said before, mac's are great when they're running, it's when they stop that they turn into the worst pieces of boat anchor around. At least with pc's when they breakdown or go wrong, and they will, no doubt, you can get in there and do something about it.

The great thing about mac's is their file system and keeping stuff in one place - no bloody registry.


Cheers
Simon. [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif[/img] [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif[/img]

My day is made.

Now don’t get me wrong, I think Macs have their place, just like an outside dunny has it’s place.

Today, while looking for a new camera at DJs, the Apple rep came over, We are actually good friends and he has tried very hard to resolve some of the problems I’ve encountered, but he informed me he won’t be helping me any more because he has had a gut full of the lies he’s had to spin to customers on Apple’s behalf, so he’s quit.

Now when Apple staff can’t stand the company, I mean what can I say. [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif[/img] [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif[/img] [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif[/img] [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif[/img] [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif[/img] [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif[/img] [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif[/img] [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif[/img] [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif[/img] [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif[/img] [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif[/img] [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif[/img] [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif[/img] [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif[/img] [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif[/img] [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif[/img] [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif[/img] [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif[/img] [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif[/img] [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif[/img] [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif[/img] [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif[/img] [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif[/img] [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif[/img] [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif[/img] [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif[/img] [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif[/img] [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif[/img] [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif[/img] [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif[/img] [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif[/img] [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif[/img] [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif[/img] [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif[/img] [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif[/img] [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif[/img] [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif[/img] [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif[/img] [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif[/img] [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif[/img] [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif[/img] [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif[/img] [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif[/img] [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif[/img] [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif[/img] [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif[/img] [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif[/img]

Cheers

The great PC v Mac v Unix,(Linux or other version) debate.
I just had to jump in, even though it’s an old topic.

Unix / Linux :
Tried Unix once about 10 years ago. That put me off Unix for life.
Had a real attempt to switch to several different distros of Linux, some reasonable, but NONE, (in MY experience) were as easy to set-up and get running with all drivers, programs and ancillary hardware as WindowsXP.

Mac:
About 8-10 years ago it was streets ahead a far superior machine to the Windows box, better Os, easier hardware configuration, easier to use; but then it sort of stood still until Windows caught up. That was it’s downfall, (well that and a good bit of marketing by Microsoft).

I would have to say that no system at this moment in time is perfect.
Nothing runs out of the box, without patches, add-ons or drivers with every bit of hardware and every bit of software that you throw at it.
Nothing runs everything without any conflicts.

But looking at the whole package from opening the box, cost of ownership, installing hardware & software, connecting to networks, sharing resources, ease of use and maintenance, (yes they need maintenance) in my opinion and experience, nothing at the moment beats WindowsXP.
Saying that had you asked me when 98’ or ME was still run of the mill it would have been a different story.

However …….
Whatever OS and hardware rock’s you boat, if it works for you stick with it !!


Just my 2 cents worth :- )

now the intel based macs are hitting the streets there will be some quantum leaps in personal computing

IMHO

xp is about 80% of what OS/2 was 8 -10 years ago and it is by far the best version of windows there has been so far.

I have seen nothing that compares to OS/2 for reliability or mulitasking power, dam shame ibm sold it out....

Hmmm OS/2, there's a name I haven't heard in a while.

Apparently When IBM stopped developing OS/2 a company called Serenity took over and called it E-Commerce Station, (or something like that) the last version was released about 2003/5ish ??
Maybe you should check it out?
But as you know an OS isn't much good without software to run on it.

The unfortunate reality is that Microsoft is winning the OS war with good marketing and software deals, just like Apple is winning the mp3 player war.

Also Apple cut it's own throat years ago when it decided not to allow third party manufacturers to develop apple components by refusing to release details of it's architecture.

I think Linux (or derivative) has the only chance of clawing back a share of the market from MS. It's big selling point of course that it's free!

But even a Linux enthusiast couldn't say it was anywhere near as user friendly as MS stuff, (yet).

Maybe this thread will stay alive long enough to see what hapens? :wink:

Apple may have cut their own throat by not allowed 3rd parties to see their architecture, but at the same time they were trying to protect themself.

One of the big things between Apple Macs and M$ products was that the M$ products were much more unreliable (the fabled BSOD etc.).

Now I'm not a M$ lover, however you have to take your hat off to them considering how stable the OS is when they have no idea what sort of hardware you are going to plug into it.

Apple got around this insecurity by not allowing others to plug non-apple kit into it. Hence they always knew exactly what was going to be plugged into it, always had the right drivers and knew all the API calls, etc.

M$ relied on 3rd parties to develop the drivers for them. The end result? A OS that gained a rep. as not being particularly stable.

Pros and cons either way.