Looking for a laptop...

[Greg]

I'm looking for a laptop, mainly because I'll be traveling quite a bit and will need something to access the 'net from the hotel. I'm seriously leaning towards a Mac, which would be new territory for me. I like the philosophy behind the Mac & the fact that it's so media-friendly is super cool. I do a lot with pictures, music & would love to get into video editing.

I'm just looking for some feedback on Macs, I know there's a few Mac uses out there. What do you guys dis-like about them? And what do you really love? How difficult are they to transition to, from a PC? Caleb, anyone else?

 

[78mitsu]

osx is based on freebsd 4.3 it's pretty stable and it's user friendly, if you're confident in a linux shell. I know people will argue mac is more secure then windows, it depends on the user. If you're more confortable securing a windows box, they're cheaper and there is a lot of software that comes with a windows box now to compete with a mac it's lighter and no where near as feature rich, but it is there. Most of the freebsd ports will work on a mac osx+ box too, so... it's really personal preference.

 

[Caleb]

osx is based on freebsd 4.3 it's pretty stable and it's user friendly, if you're confident in a linux shell. I know people will argue mac is more secure then windows, it depends on the user. If you're more confortable securing a windows box, they're cheaper and there is a lot of software that comes with a windows box now to compete with a mac it's lighter and no where near as feature rich, but it is there. Most of the freebsd ports will work on a mac osx+ box too, so... it's really personal preference.

also, if you know how to compile then you can usually get *MOST* *nix programs to work as well, not always but usually.

Out of the box, no windows machine can compare to an out of the box OS X machine for security. Yeah ofcourse, if you don't know crap about any system but know a ton about another system, the system you know is going to be more secure, IMO thats a given.

 

[STPPINZ]

I do a lot with pictures, music & would love to get into video editing.

I'm just looking for some feedback on Macs, I know there's a few Mac uses out there. What do you guys dis-like about them? And what do you really love? How difficult are they to transition to, from a PC? Caleb, anyone else?

With what you want to use it for a Mac is the only way to go, its what they are built for. I use both platforms but still prefer a Mac over the PC for sure. The software that comes on a Mac is untouchable in the PC world and that is what sounds like you will be using most. I know it is over played a bit but its true, Macs are just easier to use for what you described. You wont regret it.

 

[Seth]

I work almost entirely on macs. The work flow is much faster. And I don't worry about viruses. And now with the "Bootcamp" you can run windows and osx on the same machine. So you can test look, feel and performance of web and graphic elements super quick. I agree, you won't regret it. Everyone I have got to switch won't go back.

 

[Caleb]

I work almost entirely on macs. The work flow is much faster. And I don't worry about viruses. And now with the "Bootcamp" you can run windows and osx on the same machine. So you can test look, feel and performance of web and graphic elements super quick. I agree, you won't regret it. Everyone I have got to switch won't go back.

Bootcamp only works on the intel macs (just so there's no misleading info in this thread )

 

[Spork]

Just so these Mac guys don't lead you down the rosy path too far...

Some people don't think that Macs are easy to use... I've used my sisters and I just don't get it.

 

[AINT SKEERED]

Just so these Mac guys don't lead you down the rosy path too far...

Some people don't think that Macs are easy to use... I've used my sisters and I just don't get it.

I really truly hate them.

Macs seem to me to be a dumbed down operating system. If you know how to use Windows a Mac wont get you any further or get you there any faster.

 

[Caleb]

I really truly hate them.

Macs seem to me to be a dumbed down operating system. If you know how to use Windows a Mac wont get you any further or get you there any faster.

thats all!

They are different for sure, if you've used one thing your whole life then ofcourse anything new is going to take some getting used to. THERE IS A LEARNING CURVE and anyone that says otherwise is living in another world. Like mentioned though, once you learn how the mac works it's a whole new outlook on computing.

 

[AINT SKEERED]

thats all!

They are different for sure, if you've used one thing your whole life then ofcourse anything new is going to take some getting used to. THERE IS A LEARNING CURVE and anyone that says otherwise is living in another world. Like mentioned though, once you learn how the mac works it's a whole new outlook on computing.

I know how to use a mac... still seems dumbed down to me.


In elementary I even had a mac guy tell me "Windows is for people to like to fix things themselves, Macs are for people who cant fix it themselves."

 

[Caleb]

I know how to use a mac... still seems dumbed down to me.


In elementary I even had a mac guy tell me "Windows is for people to like to fix things themselves, Macs are for people who cant fix it themselves."

how about some examples of how Macs are dumbed down??? cause I really don't get it. Not that having a more powerful operating system thats easier to use is a bad thing, but I just don't see how it's dumbed down

 

[STPPINZ]

I know how to use a mac... still seems dumbed down to me.


In elementary I even had a mac guy tell me "Windows is for people to like to fix things themselves, Macs are for people who cant fix it themselves."

I think there are bigger problems when you want things hard...WHY? Life is to short. For 95% of society they use there computers for internet, email, video, music and pictures. Why make a computer difficult and hard on the eyes?
I don't need to know how to fix a computer when it dosen't break. Not that all Mac's never break but I am on year 5 with my iMac and am still ripping DVD's and making movies with digital media with little to no upgrades hardware and software. I doubt you can find a 5 year old PC that is even still running let alone do what my iMac does.

 

[AINT SKEERED]

how about some examples of how Macs are dumbed down??? cause I really don't get it. Not that having a more powerful operating system thats easier to use is a bad thing, but I just don't see how it's dumbed down

It seemed to me, granted its been a while, that the macs worked one way and one way only. Whereas with a pc you had many more options.

That was back in the day when software for a mac was a lot more limited then it is now.

The only real example I can think of is water cooling. PC guys add water cooling to overclock and custom do all of it. Mac guys buy their's already water cooled. Just different ways of getting at the same target I guess.

 

[Caleb]

It seemed to me, granted its been a while, that the macs worked one way and one way only. Whereas with a pc you had many more options.

That was back in the day when software for a mac was a lot more limited then it is now.

The only real example I can think of is water cooling. PC guys add water cooling to overclock and custom do all of it. Mac guys buy their's already water cooled. Just different ways of getting at the same target I guess.

so what you're saying is you have no experience with a current mac setup and just wanted to say you hate them I'm not the type of person that thinks Mac is the only way, I use whatever works best for ME for the current task. 99% of my tasks are best accomplished for ME with a Mac. I have found (for me) doing the same thing under OS X vs. under Windows tends to be easier, quicker and get better results. For a server I prefer a Linux variant. Just about everything else goes on one of my macs (and yes I even have a 2.0Ghz windows machine sitting here mostly unused). My windows machine mostly gets used for hacking my cell phone.

 

[AINT SKEERED]

so what you're saying is you have no experience with a current mac setup and just wanted to say you hate them

Yeah so? Greg asked for feedback and I gave it.

I even have a 2.0Ghz windows machine sitting here mostly unused). My windows machine mostly gets used for hacking my cell phone.

2Ghz is nothing... Maybe thats why you dont like PC's.





Whatever works for you works. Im not trying to say Macs are evil and should be burned. Im saying I really hate them, partly because I find IBM based computers to be MUCH better.

 

[78mitsu]

At this stage in the game MACS ARE PC BASED they're running on intel hardware - they might as well be. It's becomming symantical at this point, you can mount a windows kernel on a Mac box or run mac on a P4 or mount both of them within Xen inside a BSD kernel it doesn't matter. Basically the difference (performance wise) is how a mac uses memory vs a windows box. Mac acts like linux using as much memory as possible meaning the computer will scream all the time and manages it well. vs. a windows box that tries to keep as much memory empty for other things. I do a lot of work developing on both windows and linux platforms, I prefer a mac for doing graphics work it is just faster, it took a little while to get used to, but it's the same learning curve to get used to Gnome or KDE. Sure Windows boxes play nicer with Windows boxes its designed to behave that way.

 

[Meat_]

Although I've yet to use OSX (just never get around to putting it on my a64 ).... EVERY time I've ever sat down at a Mac I've walked away 30 minutes later with a migraine headache and zero accomplished. I just can't think Mac, even programs on *ders that were born Mac give me a headache, I can't use Photoshop or anything Adobe, everything is assbackwards

Until the very latest machines were Mac has finally started using an almost real processor they were so underpowered you'd better brew a pot of coffee or make some tea while you wait for some vid frames to crunch, now it's not so much of an issue as long as you don't mind getting 4 banger performance for big block V8 prices. But then again, OSX is pretty.

...I doubt you can find a 5 year old PC that is even still running let alone do what my iMac does.

You're joking right? I've got a 8 year old Intel box that has been running 24/7 since I built it and it's faster than your 3 year newer iMac

Whenever I read a comment like that I just have to post this video*


*Disclaimer to preempt someone telling me that this video is not about video editing, yes I realize that Greg never said anything about playing games

Edit: forgot what year this is :freak:

 

[Caleb]

Until the very latest machines were Mac has finally started using an almost real processor they were so underpowered you'd better brew a pot of coffee or make some tea while you wait for some vid frames to crunch, now it's not so much of an issue as long as you don't mind getting 4 banger performance for big block V8 prices. But then again, OSX is pretty.

78mitsu pretty much nailed it, OS X handles it's tasks much differently from windows, it has never taken nearly the same amount of processor to handle the same tasks. Even on my "non-real" G5 iMac I can knock out video projects pretty quickly (about 1.5 hours for every hour of raw video for a finished project ready to view or burn to DVD), I've yet to see a consumer PC do it any faster (especially a a factory configured PC).

video*


*Disclaimer to preempt someone telling me that this video is not about video editing, yes I realize that Greg never said anything about playing games

Edit: forgot what year this is :freak:

at this point in the game I'll say anyone that wants to buy a gaming machine should not even consider a Mac, although with the new intel stuff they are doing pretty good (it's still not a gaming machine though, and that's never been their focus).

 

[Caleb]

2Ghz is nothing... Maybe thats why you dont like PC's.

never claimed it to be much, but my 2Ghz iMac will walk circles around my 2Ghz Windows box, it's not even a comparison.

 

[Caleb]

really greg, the best bang for the buck, IMO, for laptops is the Macbooks. I know they aren't a 17" screen like you'd like but you can get a dual processor that will still run windows without any issues and you get all the bundled software and it's faster than most laptops out there. To get a comparable Dell or Compaq, or Toshiba, or whatever you'll be into it a TON more money.