the Mac Pc debate thread

rockstah · Post by **rockstah** » Tue Jul 24, 2007 7:52 pm

so having been into computers since 1996 and starting with macs i eventually went to PC in 2000 -
Cheaper and there was more software was available for them. i think this is still the case. of course i built of few PC's this far.

anyway now with the desire to purchase a laptop I'm trying to convince myself to spend the extra bank on a mac laptop compared to a PC laptop. am i just being decadent or what?

mac or pc?

Flames1950 · Post by **Flames1950** » Tue Jul 24, 2007 7:55 pm

Does it matter anymore? A lot of Apple stuff is available with the same hardware as the Windows-based PC's........load the latest Apple OS on the PC and go.........

rockstah · Post by **rockstah** » Tue Jul 24, 2007 8:02 pm

true but again im wanting a mac and i guess wanting someone to convince me not to or to go ahead and endulge in a new macbook pro.

Flames1950 · Post by **Flames1950** » Tue Jul 24, 2007 8:06 pm

Well, if you're really in the Mac mood we're not going to be able to stop you..........otherwise it would be like wanting the Gibson but getting the Epiphone.

rockstah · Post by **rockstah** » Tue Jul 24, 2007 8:07 pm

yeah huh. I'm waiting to see more comments. maybe from mac users as well as PC users. maybe not.... heh

MassTone · Post by **MassTone** » Tue Jul 24, 2007 8:17 pm

Mark, I'm in the same boat. Started with Mac's back in the early 1990's and have been PC for the past 10+ years. Mostly motivated by the cost and software availability. I'm due for a new notebook this Summer.

I love my iPod and believe I want to make the switch back to Apple for the benefits of A/V capabilities, user friendly interface, and reduced targeting from hackers etc. Just not sure the $ for hardware and software are worth it.

Be curious to know what you do including a follow up review.

-Matt

cole · Post by **cole** » Tue Jul 24, 2007 8:18 pm

Listen Mark,

If your going to go Windows OS...then you will not benefit from the mac drivers and awesome dependability and stability.

I know that the line has been blurred but do not let anyone kid you - a Mac is a better machine. Stick with the Mac OS. 90% of the software built for Windows doesn't work because of the Windows OS - it's to say it bluntly CRAP!

I am a professional computer programmer and went Mac a year ago for my own personal work at home (DAW)...and I laugh at why the hell it took me so long to do it.

OTOH, if you don't care about crashes, the blue screen of death, viruses, and bad drivers running on a time-bomb OS, then your a Windows man all the way.

Seriously, anytime I run into a Windows software geek I tell 'em "You like Windows stuff eh? Sorry, it's crap - we all have to use it in our day-to-day business, but Bill never put out a god damned piece of good software from day f*ckin' 1!"

We live in a Windows dominated tech world - not because the stuff is better - but because of the marketing hype and underhanded business acumen of Bill G.

Sorry for the rant...

Cole

rockstah · Post by **rockstah** » Tue Jul 24, 2007 8:29 pm

cole wrote:Listen Mark,

If your going to go Windows OS...then you will not benefit from the mac drivers and awesome dependability and stability.

I know that the line has been blurred but do not let anyone kid you - a Mac is a better machine. Stick with the Mac OS. 90% of the software built for Windows doesn't work because of the Windows OS - it's to say it bluntly CRAP!

I am a professional computer programmer and went Mac a year ago for my own personal work at home (DAW)...and I laugh at why the hell it took me so long to do it.

OTOH, if you don't care about crashes, the blue screen of death, viruses, and bad drivers running on a time-bomb OS, then your a Windows man all the way.

Seriously, anytime I run into a Windows software geek I tell 'em "You like Windows stuff eh? Sorry, it's crap - we all have to use it in our day-to-day business, but Bill never put out a god damned piece of good software from day f*ckin' 1!"

We live in a Windows dominated tech world - not because the stuff is better - but because of the marketing hype and underhanded business acumen of Bill G.

Sorry for the rant...

Cole

spoken like a true Mac user.

winblowz bloat ware.

Post by **Scumback Speakers** » Tue Jul 24, 2007 9:25 pm

Well, I got a PC programming degree in four languages (basic, COBOL, Foretran & Pascal) way back in 1984 after my club touring days were over. Within a year I was double-clicking on a Mac, and within two years my four languages I paid to learn were all dead.

The Macs are still with me. I've had a computer consulting business doing digital video editing system upgrades, repair and on-site studio fixes since 1993 and it's a shadow of it's former self for income. The Mac has come so far in reliability and ease of use for creative pros that it's just not really a contest, or consideration compared to PC's.

Everything Cole said is pretty much on the money as well, Evil Bill isn't putting out solid software, because there's a lot of $$$ to be made in upgrades, security fixes, version releases, feature releases, undocumented feature fixes, deliberate back door holes and virus eradication.

Now you know how he became the richest man in America (is it the planet yet?), and can afford to give away tons of money.

If you go with a Mac laptop, get an external backup drive to duplicate all your apps, OS and project files on. Cuz sooner or later those low power hard drives in the laptops fail, or you drop it, and then you're going to really be pissed to hire a data recovery service to save your ass.

One of my clients didn't listen to me awhile back. His 80gb wasn't backed up on his laptop. Sent it in cuz the drive controller wouldn't move the read/write heads....so DriveSavers got the call....ready for the bill?

2004, 80 gb drive, $3400 plus total plus the cost of buying a drive to recover the saved files to.

Surel, it was a large production for HBO, but even he didn't want to spend that cuz he forgot to backup, or take care of his laptop.

That was his LAST laptop he used for business, too. He went to towers ater that...and I've never had to save his ass again, either. There's a moral to that story somewhere.

Good luck with whatever decision you make.

yngwie308 · Post by **yngwie308** » Tue Jul 24, 2007 10:16 pm

Mac it man............

yngwie308

Smokin Tone · Post by **Smokin Tone** » Tue Jul 24, 2007 10:41 pm

Hi mark,

I have been in the computer business for the past 18 years. My opinion.. They all suck. Sorry Mac users but I have had more than my share of problems from those too. I have also dealt directly with Apples network engineers several times and I wasn't impressed. I currently support 130,000 + user and a few years ago we were 70% Mac. Now it's more like 30% Mac and 70% PC. My advice on a laptop is get a name brand if you go the PC route and buy all of the extended warranty that you can afford on PC or Mac. They will break and repairs are expensive. Mac repairs are usually even more expensive than PC. They both have their pros and cons. If you are interested in the Mac try to spend some time on one and also think about what you are wanting to do with it. Look at the cost of applications and add on hardware compared to the PC's. Make the choice based on what best fits your needs. Like I said, they all suck.

Winder · Post by **Winder** » Tue Jul 24, 2007 10:47 pm

Been using Macs since 1986 - never had a Winblows machine in my home. Started with a Mac Plus - then a PowerMac 7100 - then a PowerMac 9600 - then a Mac G4 Gigabit - and last Christmas I bought a Mac Pro Dual processor Dual Core and bought the wife a 20" iMac.

I don't know that one is better than the other, but I don't worry much about viruses, never have to "rebuild my system" and such, have all the apps that I need including MS Office, plus Garage Band which is cool and some other fun stuff.

If money is a real issue, go with a PC and deal with the security issues as they come. Again, the "mine is better than yours" type of arguments that pervade every aspect of our lives these days are more trouble than help. For me, my Mac just makes life a bit easier when it comes time to compute and the only thing that's ever failed in one has been the cheap ATA hard drives most computers use these days (Apple used to use SCSI, but they cost a lot more).

rockstah · Post by **rockstah** » Tue Jul 24, 2007 10:54 pm

i hear ya man. i started with a mac plus and later took out a loan to buy the 4000 dollar 8500. i later upgraded it to a g3 cpu and maxed the ram out. actually when i started in 96 i was into macs almost as much as i amp into building amps.

after PC prices finally drew me in i went to the other side and built a couple. a Intel machine and a amd machine. so i do understand the mac and PC thing pretty good.
i guess my reason for posting this was to hear someone say what i probably would say at this point to argue the point 'buy a mac laptop when you can spend half of what u are going for equivalent in a PC? " are you crazy? "

Flames1950 · Post by **Flames1950** » Tue Jul 24, 2007 11:31 pm

The difference in price could build you another amp....are you crazy??

rockstah · Post by **rockstah** » Wed Jul 25, 2007 12:03 am