Community Newsletter: Q&A: Is the Mac right for me?
- 4/5/07 11:48 AM
Mac is a GREAT choice!
by thelastsamurai - 4/3/07 10:49 PM In reply to: Is the Mac right for me? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Ok good questions, I'm a mac user and system support myself, been using eMac G3, G4,iMac G5 to Powerbook Pro.
Let me cut straight to the point...
<i>"interested in photography"</i> Mac gives you powerful yet easier to use multimedia application which is iLife.
<i>"I don't want to be crashing often"</i> Windows definitely going to crash more often if compared to Mac.
<i>"Microsoft Office"</i> There is Open Office that you can use for free of charge, Why pay?
In short, Mac still wins for the things that you like to do with.
Don't listen to the fanboys
by b8375629 - 4/4/07 6:19 AM In reply to: Mac is a GREAT choice! by thelastsamuraiMake your own choice. It's not as clear cut as the Cult from Cupertino would have you believe.
<i>"interested in photography"</i> Mac gives you powerful yet easier to use multimedia application which is iLife."
Agree
<i>"I don't want to be crashing often"</i> Windows definitely going to crash more often if compared to Mac."
FUD, FUD and more FUD. Prove it.
<i>"Microsoft Office"</i> There is Open Office that you can use for free of charge, Why pay?"
Open office is garbage. You get what you pay for. Used it for about 3 months and people using Word couldn't read any of my documents created in Writer for some reason. I lost a lot of valuable time over that.
However, I will agree Microsoft Office 2003 is overpriced and with the edition that's now come out with Vista, I would've expected Microsoft to cut prices on the older version. They haven't, reinforcing once again the image of being the greed hogs that they are.
Enough is enough
by death2spam - 4/4/07 6:40 AM In reply to: Don't listen to the fanboys by b8375629Ok, I give up. If people looking to purchase a computer with digital imaging in mind, go ahead a buy a Mac, it's your money. I gave up using Macs because I'm stupid, naive and uninformed. Gee if I could only "get it". Just when I thought my Intel based custom PC was blurry fast and ultra reliable..well, I just had no Idea how delusional I have become. Apparently it crashes all the time, does not work well with Photoshop, or any video editing suites and well, is just plain slow, crashes alot (did I mention instability and crashes alot?) I feel ashamed as a professional for switching from Mac to intel...I have no Idea what ever possesed Apple to allow intel chips anywhere near their products! All these years my images have not been correctly sized! My customers must have felt sorry for me, thats why they never told me how substandard my windows generated products were. I should pay closer attention to the ads.
Enough is right already
by PhotoMan - 4/4/07 10:56 PM In reply to: Enough is enough by death2spamI fully agree with you that our minds are mud for using PC's to insult photographs with. I shall flush my PC down the toilet immediately and wear Macblinders on my eyes and commit to memory every gospel word of those increadably "accurate" Mac<>PC tv commercials......just as soon as I finish invoicing a wedding, a 25th anniversary, 23 hockey and basketball teams and two corporate clients for their work done on my incompitant PC. I am so ashamed for the embarrassment I have caused to my clients for many a year because I had the audacity to do their work on a PC.
Shame on me !
Steve Jobs loves Intel and Linux..
by death2spam - 4/5/07 6:03 AM In reply to: Enough is right already by PhotoManOh yes Mac minions, your beloved leader and CEO of Apple is also the beloved CEO of yup, you guessed it PIXAR. You know the creators of award winning animated films. Does he use Macs? nope...try Intel based Linux machines. Most Fine arts academies, Universities, schools and private training firms offer both Mac and Windows based training and equipment. The unnamed company (no names means no unwanted flames to their company website)whom I received my advanced Adobe certification from informed me that when they started years ago, all their workstations were Apple. Now the ratio has shifted to one Mac for every three PC's. This shift was client driven(Federal government, newspapers, print houses etc.) I know, I know, they are not a "serious" company otherwise they would be totaly Mac...well they used to be, and three out of the seven instructors used to work for Apple, and do still work closely with Apple. I personaly have no problem with those who wish to use Macs...just don't lie to those trying to make an informed choice. If you twist or distort the facts, it will have the opposite effect. They will expect a flawless and stellar performance from the platform you are touting...now leave me alone while I try and figure out how to accurately resize this image in Photoshop using a PC..it's..so...hard..sucking life from..aaargh. *wink*
Mac Fanboys are Apple's own worst enemy...
by b8375629 - 4/5/07 9:31 AM In reply to: Steve Jobs loves Intel and Linux.. by death2spamOS X Tiger does have it's good points and bad, but for the first time user, going over to one of the Apple forums like Macworld, Macrumors or Slashdot.org can be a real pain in the ass. Too many uncritical fanatics over there. Only the most gullible would fall all the FUD that's said over there.
Actually I'm using still PC and Mac
by thelastsamurai - 4/4/07 10:34 PM In reply to: Don't listen to the fanboys by b8375629FUD, FUD and more FUD. Prove it.
If you using PC and Mac then you will find out yourself.
Of course is your own choice to buy it or not, is your own money =)
Still too much FUD
by b8375629 - 4/5/07 9:16 AM In reply to: Actually I'm using still PC and Mac by thelastsamuraiI do use both. Probably PC more than Apple because I already have an Office 2003 licence from Microsoft and I do most of my work on there because of that.
That being said, I still haven't had any XP machine I've owned crash in the last four years. When I mean "crash" I mean *blue screen of death*, not a system lockup like I've ALSO experienced with Apple and it's spinning, candy-coated beachball.
I do periodic maintenance to the PC like defragging the hard drive every once in awhile, do a registery clean every once in awhile and keep your machine free of spyware as much as possible. That and downloading the latest security patches and you'd have few problems. I just discipline myself to do that, that's all.
PC: Crash and burn; Mac: Burn and crash
by yarlq - 4/10/07 6:19 PM In reply to: Still too much FUD by b8375629Relevant history:
Macs: 1984 - 1998
Vaios: 1999 - ??
Both: 2003 - ??
From the moment I first saw the Mac's GUI, I said 'someone got it right' and over the years bought 6 Macs.
Then I needed to do some financial modeling - there was nothing for the Mac. And broadband - no one here could sort it out on Macs. There was lots of free software - but not a lot that was worth much. And it locked up - not a lot, but occasionally.
I needed a machine for the road - and the superlight Vaio at <3 pounds was the answer. I screwed down Win 98SE and it was close to bulletproof - still is.
It seemed the gap between Windows and Mac was widening (the Consumer Marketing CEO - Scully - they brought in did for Apple what Roger Smith was doing to GM). Rather than support two platforms, I ditched the Mac and added a Vaio desktop.
And never looked back. Until SP2. And Gen-U-whine Windows and IE7 ('do it OUR way'), 1-way firewalls and automatic updates (or we'll smoke your machine) and -best of all- the trojan update that did in fact smoke something else that worked just fine until an update was installed.
Let's be realistic: MS 'Updates' are less of any kind of an update and more of a 'correction' - and, I suspect, more and more they are corrections of corrections.
Are we at the point where Windoze slowly implodes upon itself: the layers of bloat and redundant code make all corrections unpredictable and the great wobbly crashes under its own foibles?
For the last three years I've advised several tech labs that run both Macs and PCs. Aside from the OS X Sillies, the Macs are generally more stable - fewer requests for help.
The PCs grunt and belch, snort and grumble, then crash and burn or lose files or network connections or entire networks. First reaction to test installs of Vista: it's SP3 in a 400 buck box.
What to do? At home, I dual-boot my Vaio around XP and into $1800 worth of free Linux OS and software.
The Vaio purrs, I smile, and we just go to work with no Sillies or daily half-hour 'updates!'.
It's nice to get something done again - for a change.
Broadband
by MzSabina - 4/11/07 6:28 AM In reply to: PC: Crash and burn; Mac: Burn and crash by yarlqI agree with you on the broadband issue. I first got DSL as soon as it was available in my area. Back than the Mac was on System 9. I actually had to teach the company's techs how to turn on and off the extensions needed for it to run. But now with OSX there is no software and my only problems are with my IP provider. My mother signed up with the same company. It took me 1/2 a day to get it working on her PC. It took me 10 minutes to get it working on my Mac when I switched to to OSX and even less time when I bought my MacBook.
broadband
by PhotoMan - 4/11/07 7:25 AM In reply to: Broadband by MzSabinaThose times mean nothing really as everyones setup is different and there can be a myriad of things that can effect the install / setup of the broadband connection. My friend has two Mac's. One installed ok...budda-bing..budda-bang..budda-boom...done, the "mini" took several calls to tech support and a few hours to get hooked up. I was up'n running within seconds of the CD installation for my cable connection with my PC.
broadbrand
by MzSabina - 4/11/07 4:07 PM In reply to: broadband by PhotoManSorry, I guess I didn't make it clear. This was when the Mac was still running System 9. That and all of the systems before it allowed you to easily turn on and off any extensions that weren't being used, since they all take up ram and run in the background, many people do not know they are even there. The guys the Broadband company sent over did not have one clue as to "Extensions Manager" After several hours of them working, I finally went in to see why there were still there. They said the couldn't understand. Their meter was getting a signal, but the computer would not connect. It took me all of 10 seconds to go in and turn on the correct extensions needed. I was shocked they had no knowledge of this because they way the program is set up, even novices are aware of it. It is easy to access, right under the Apple. And all the extensions have an explantion of what they are for and what program they affect if they are not system, but program extensions). So there is no guessing about what needs to be on and off.
Actually the one thing I still miss with OSX is the ease of this. Now it takes a few extra clicks. Not as many as a PC, but getting close.
Broadband "experts"
by PhotoMan - 4/12/07 6:15 AM In reply to: broadbrand by MzSabina...And to think, you're paying for these "experts" to do the installation....wonder just what else they can mess up at the same time...scary thought.
...less clicks ???
Why would you be shocked?
by b8375629 - 4/12/07 7:38 AM In reply to: broadbrand by MzSabinaWhy would you be shocked, MzSabina? 99.9% of the of the desktop units that the Broadband techs would service are Windows machines.
If they seldom run into this situation with an Apple, how would they know?
So called experts
by MzSabina - 4/13/07 7:27 AM In reply to: Why would you be shocked? by b8375629Why would I be shocked? Wouldn't you if you were paying a so called expert to do a job that you ended up doing for them? Sorry, but when a company as large as Bellsouth sells you a service and then sends a tech that has no clue as to how to accomplish the job, I find that a bit odd. It wasn't as if they didn't go through the process of asking what computer and operating system I was running before hand.
If you can't service it, than don't offer the service to Mac users.
The only upside of the whole situation is that Bellsouth did agree with me and in the longrun I ended up with about 6 months of free service from them. I guess that was a good days pay for my few minutes of doing their job for them.
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