Jay Farrell wrote:
I gotta ask myself WHY I'd want another PC.....no viruses or spyware, and all I do is web and Photoshop anyhow....seems like the more logical choice....the  only drawback I hear of is lack of business software, which doesn't really apply to me....any other reasons NOT to go Mac?

Can you go down and build me one? I always build my own PCs.

Jay Farrell wrote:
I gotta ask myself WHY I'd want another PC.....no viruses or spyware, and all I do is web and Photoshop anyhow....seems like the more logical choice....the  only drawback I hear of is lack of business software, which doesn't really apply to me....any other reasons NOT to go Mac?

Mac is the 'Big Lie', for 20 years Mac said, "Pentium is the Enemy", now they conform?  It's all about money, Mac sold out!  If all you are going to do is Photoshop and Internet, stick with the PC, it's hella cheaper and less problematic on the internet...

Mac is NOT as internet friendly as the PC...  There are things you can do on the internet on a PC you can't with a Mac, and there is nothing you can do on the internet with a Mac that you can't do on a PC...

Just for the record, I have the new MacBook Pro top of the line Pentium 2 Duo bullshit whatever, made in China, hella expensive laptop, it crashes on the internet.  Have complained to Mac, all they can say is they are working on compatibility issues...

Hamza wrote:

Mac is the 'Big Lie', for 20 years Mac said, "Pentium is the Enemy", now they conform?  It's all about money, Mac sold out!  If all you are going to do is Photoshop and Internet, stick with the PC, it's hella cheaper and less problematic on the internet...

Mac is NOT as internet friendly as the PC...  There are things you can do on the internet on a PC you can't with a Mac, and there is nothing you can do on the internet with a Mac that you can't do on a PC...

Just for the record, I have the new MacBook Pro top of the line Pentium 2 Duo bullshit whatever, made in China, hella expensive laptop, it crashes on the internet.  Have complained to Mac, all they can say is they are working on compatibility issues...

Not sure what sort of difficulty you are having, but I am on this site right now using an iBook...  Using the Camino browser from Mozilla.org, I have yet to find a website or anything else on the web I couldn't do...

Gina McNeil wrote:
I just got a mac last year. I will never buy another PC as long as I live.

I've had my PowerBook G4 for a littli over a year now and love it. I doubt I will ever buy another  PC again. My next purchase will be a 24" iMac.

CYC Young wrote:
For the creative professional, the mac is really by far the stronger platform.

Unless you are using 'APPLE' Programs (Aperture, Final Cut Pro, etc..), how is this statement even valid?  Mac is 'NOT' the only computer company using the new Pentium 2 Duo Chip, it's just the most expensive!  The Mac's don't have the PCMCIA card to go mobile nationwide wireless!

Monica Jay wrote:
I don't like the mouse, but that can be changed...

subliminal message ~ get the wacom tablet!  Once you get the hang of using the pen, you won't ever use a mouse again either...

Hamza wrote:

Unless you are using 'APPLE' Programs (Aperture, Final Cut Pro, etc..), how is this statement even valid?

The "option" key.

RoadRunner Photography wrote:
Not sure what sort of difficulty you are having, but I am on this site right now using an iBook...  Using the Camino browser from Mozilla.org, I have yet to find a website or anything else on the web I couldn't do...

Try uncompressing a Ram file or playing an old Real Video file...

The ONLY reason I use the MAC is Final Cut HD Studio!  Been using FCP for almost 10 years now, actually was one of the Original Beta Testers back in the day.  If it wasn't for that little editing program, there wouldn't be any reason for me to use a Mac today.

I would love to be able to get the new Nationwide Wireless Internet all the phone companies offer, but it's ONLY available if you have a PCMCIA card slot.  Mac 'HAD' it on the old G4 MacBook Pro's, but not on the new ones...bad move on Mac's part.

Other than APPLE programs, what can you do on a MAC that you can't do on a PC?

Hamza wrote:

Unless you are using 'APPLE' Programs (Aperture, Final Cut Pro, etc..), how is this statement even valid?  Mac is 'NOT' the only computer company using the new Pentium 2 Duo Chip, it's just the most expensive!  The Mac's don't have the PCMCIA card to go mobile nationwide wireless!

Perhaps you may have heard of a program Adobe puts out called Photoshop?  Or Corel Painter?  I believe that would be validity.  As for the nationwide wireless, Airport express cards, and I believe the new notebooks come with it already installed...

Mark Sebastian wrote:
The "option" key.

LMAO!

Option = Alt

RoadRunner Photography wrote:
Perhaps you may have heard of a program Adobe puts out called Photoshop?  Or Corel Painter?  I believe that would be validity.  As for the nationwide wireless, Airport express cards, and I believe the new notebooks come with it already installed...

Like I can't get CS3 for the PC?

Airport express is not NATIONWIDE!  Go to Verizon or Cingular, read up on the Nationwide Wireless, then you'll know what I mean.

Remember I actually own the Top-Of-The-Line MacBookPro 2 Duo Core...  I know what it has.  I've been a Mac user for 10 years, I know it's capabilities, and it's drawbacks.

Mac Advantage: Apple Software
Mac Disadvantage: Gaming/Business/Internet Software, Price

PC Advantage: Gaming/Business/Internet Software, Price
PC Disadvantage: Can't use Apple Software

Once again this too will become a 'My Dick's bigger than Yours' argument, just like the Canon/Nikon threads...

LMAO

Hamza wrote:

LMAO!

Option = Alt

Anybody want to step in and clarify the differences between "ALT" on a Mac and "ALT" on a Windows machine?

RoadRunner Photography wrote:

Perhaps you may have heard of a program Adobe puts out called Photoshop?  Or Corel Painter?  I believe that would be validity.  As for the nationwide wireless, Airport express cards, and I believe the new notebooks come with it already installed...

Use both.. On a PC.. Got to use Photoshop on both Mac and PC.. Both of them based on Core 2 Duo chips.. 

Mac system.. Some aspects were faster.. Not many.. Some were quite a bit slower..  (Calculations.. Ahem.. Way slower..)

To be honest I saw more confusing glitchy shit the week I was playing with a Mac..

Does that mean I'd decry the Mac?  No, that's horseshit.. I know better.  They're both nice machines..

I just wish you freakin' Macheads would tout FEATURES not hype..  Hell, be nice if their advertising would, as well.. But its ok.. As we all know Jon Hodgman is cooler than anyone..

Mac benefits:
- unified architecture.. Well designed (although not an aesthetic I like, especially those gray chrome high end ones)
- smaller software/userbase (yes, it is smaller, that's just a fact) SHOULD and usually does mean less hassles with incompatibilities, hacking etc.
- designed for end users first, tech heads last (this is a GOOD thing... Until something finally does go wrong..)

So for the OP asking the actual question.. In spite of all this hooplah and hype that's built up.. As a PC user.. I'd still happily say, for your uses, absolutely go for a Mac if it's a comfortable fit for you.. I still highly recommend the advice I laid out for getting a computer to start and STAY playing nice for a long time..

W.G. Rowland wrote:

Use both.. On a PC.. Got to use Photoshop on both Mac and PC.. Both of them based on Core 2 Duo chips.. 

Mac system.. Some aspects were faster.. Not many.. Some were quite a bit slower..  (Calculations.. Ahem.. Way slower..)

To be honest I saw more confusing glitchy shit the week I was playing with a Mac..

Does that mean I'd decry the Mac?  No, that's horseshit.. I know better.  They're both nice machines..

I just wish you freakin' Macheads would tout FEATURES not hype..  Hell, be nice if their advertising would, as well.. But its ok.. As we all know Jon Hodgman is cooler than anyone..

Mac benefits:
- unified architecture.. Well designed (although not an aesthetic I like, especially those gray chrome high end ones)
- smaller software/userbase (yes, it is smaller, that's just a fact) SHOULD and usually does mean less hassles with incompatibilities, hacking etc.
- designed for end users first, tech heads last (this is a GOOD thing... Until something finally does go wrong..)

So for the OP asking the actual question.. In spite of all this hooplah and hype that's built up.. As a PC user.. I'd still happily say, for your uses, absolutely go for a Mac if it's a comfortable fit for you.. I still highly recommend the advice I laid out for getting a computer to start and STAY playing nice for a long time..

You're ruining the Reality Distortion Field

Start with comparable Mac and PC, erase the hard drives. You have a poster to layout using Adobe CS2, with text, bitmaps and vector art. There is a file you must download off the internet to complete the assignment. You must print a final from a .pdf file. All installation discs will be provided. I get the Mac, you take the PC. I will be walking in the sunshine by the lake well before you even get to the part where you try to figure out why your drivers don't work! By the way, have been using BOTH at work for 10 years. I have two Macs at home and if somebody GAVE me a PC, I would put it up on ebay. Other than that, I agree with you (sort of). Plus, iTunes works WAY better on a Mac, you can do things with it that PCs only dream of (yes, I know it's Apple software, why use anything else?)

W.G. Rowland wrote:
If you want simple and relatively trouble free:

Select your applications.

Buy your machine.

Install your applications.

Use your applications.

Back up your data.

Do not screw with this formula.

I don't care if it's a Mac or a PC.  The key to screwing up a computer is letting it bloat.  The more apps you install.  The more widgets you say yes to.  The more things you don't know.  The more certain you can be that your computer will break on you and you won't know why.

You want to TRUST what's going on in your computer.. Learn how computers work.

You want to be a computer USER and just get on with your life.  Figure out what you want the computer to do, don't treat it like a junk drawer.

Thats it in a nutshell!!

I Have 10 PCs and 1 Mac

I use the PCs

I use the Mac as my cd player..

When your tunes matter ya use what works good!!

(:--------

Hj

robert christopher wrote:
i dont pretend to be computer literate, so all i can say is my pc crashed all the time, i loaded and un- loaded, then re-loaded software all the time. my mac has not crashed in 3 years, never had to reload anything. very simple, just like me.

I think you just summed up Mac's appeal better than Steve Job's advertising department or I ever will..

Mac, the computer for people who don't get it, but want to feel "in the know."

And dammit, that's NOT a bad thing..  (It's just not something to feel superior about, either..)

Hamza wrote:
Like I can't get CS3 for the PC?

Airport express is not NATIONWIDE!  Go to Verizon or Cingular, read up on the Nationwide Wireless, then you'll know what I mean.

Remember I actually own the Top-Of-The-Line MacBookPro 2 Duo Core...  I know what it has.  I've been a Mac user for 10 years, I know it's capabilities, and it's drawbacks.

Mac Advantage: Apple Software
Mac Disadvantage: Gaming/Business/Internet Software, Price

PC Advantage: Gaming/Business/Internet Software, Price
PC Disadvantage: Can't use Apple Software

Once again this too will become a 'My Dick's bigger than Yours' argument, just like the Canon/Nikon threads...

LMAO

I absolutely agree. The SINGLE biggest advantage of a Mac is Apple Care. Very well trained technicians, but of course like any warranty, it costs after the initial period is over.

Macs cost more. There is nothing a Mac can do that an equivilent PC cannot do. Except leave money in the bank. That was not always the case, but with WinXP and OS-X out, the differences are miniscule.

I just built a new PC. Top of the line Coolermaster Case and power supply. Top of the line Asus SLI motherboard (built in 10/100/1G ethernet, 7.1 sound, basic video, USB, etc.). Core2 Duo 2.4 Ghz processor, 2 gigs of RAM, 256 meg graphics card (rather inexpensive one - I'm not a gamer, and it supports 2 monitors, analog and/or digital), Firewire card, card reader, DVD reader, DVD burner, 160 gig C drive, 2x250 gig striped raid D drive. Wireless card (my router is in another room), 64 bit version of Windows XP Pro. Delivered to the door, about 2 months ago, and it was $1500.36. About 2 hours to assemble and install the OS. Installed full suite of CS2, Office, Dreamweaver Studio, and Nero (new version has both audio and video applications plus all the burning tools). Warranty? All the hardware were full retail version products. Technical assistance? From the manufacturers (ok, I would have to go to the different manufacturers if I needed it). Worries/complaints? None!

So far (knocking on wood) I've had a few programs crash, but the OS has been stable. The machine has been shut off only once in 2 months (to move it) and I outrun my partners G5 every day of the week. I don't know the specs, but he's got 2 x 2.0 Ghz processors and a ton of other stuff. He paid close to 4 grand or more for it.

If there was specific Apple software that you were assigned to use, say from a client or employer, sure - pick up a Mac. Otherwise you will find a PC just as easy, for much less money. As one person noted - just don't use it as a junk drawer. Don't install tons of crap. If you get rid of one printer and buy another, uninstall the drivers for the first printer then install the new one. Don't pick up a magazine with a disc in it and install all the crap from the disc. Most "free" software isn't free. It'll include spyware and other crap. As for viruses? Just keep your antivirus software up to date. Most internet providers are giving it away with your paid service. There are also a few that are free (I know, the caveat above). The only one that I could find that was 64 bit was a free one called Avast. And of course I tested it before installing any of the programs.

So - the best thing I can tell you is this: Find a store that rents Macs. See if you like it. If you do, determine if that amount of 'like' equates to the price difference.

Good luck,
Marc Stevenson
UCPhotog

Hamza wrote:
Mac is NOT as internet friendly as the PC...  There are things you can do on the internet on a PC you can't with a Mac, and there is nothing you can do on the internet with a Mac that you can't do on a PC...

Just for the record, I have the new MacBook Pro top of the line Pentium 2 Duo bullshit whatever, made in China, hella expensive laptop, it crashes on the internet.  Have complained to Mac, all they can say is they are working on compatibility issues...

sounds like your problem, not a Mac problem.

Macs not internet friendly .... yeah, you think one might hear about this.

Studio Spike wrote:
The hardware is gorgeous, the OS is much more elegant, and if you HAD to run some Windows application, you can easily fire up Windows XP on the Mac thanks to a nifty piece of software called 'Parallels'.

So no, there's no reason not to go with the Mac.

Parallels is developing freakishly fast, with major updates every week. We have a quad-core intel at work which is running Parallels.. now you can launch Windows apps directly on OS X without the Windows interface! And the windows performance is equivilant to a 3ghz intel processor

W.G. Rowland wrote:
If you want simple and relatively trouble free:

Select your applications.

Buy your machine.

Install your applications.

Use your applications.

Back up your data.

Do not screw with this formula.

I don't care if it's a Mac or a PC.  The key to screwing up a computer is letting it bloat.  The more apps you install.  The more widgets you say yes to.  The more things you don't know.  The more certain you can be that your computer will break on you and you won't know why.

You want to TRUST what's going on in your computer.. Learn how computers work.

You want to be a computer USER and just get on with your life.  Figure out what you want the computer to do, don't treat it like a junk drawer.

Great advice, no matter which TRS-80 you're working on.

Hamza wrote:
Mac is the 'Big Lie', for 20 years Mac said, "Pentium is the Enemy", now they conform?  It's all about money, Mac sold out!  If all you are going to do is Photoshop and Internet, stick with the PC, it's hella cheaper and less problematic on the internet...

Mac is NOT as internet friendly as the PC...  There are things you can do on the internet on a PC you can't with a Mac, and there is nothing you can do on the internet with a Mac that you can't do on a PC...

Just for the record, I have the new MacBook Pro top of the line Pentium 2 Duo bullshit whatever, made in China, hella expensive laptop, it crashes on the internet.  Have complained to Mac, all they can say is they are working on compatibility issues...

There are no Pentiums in any Mac computers.  In use are either Core processors or Xeons.  Comparatively, Pentiums were fairly weak.

Unless Hamza is hitting some IE6 only internet porn sites, I haven't once come across anything on the web that was Macintosh intolerant.

'Pentium 2 Duo bullshit whatever' isn't really computer language that inspires us to believe that your MacBook Pro has a competant operator sitting behind the wheel.  Perhaps reading the MacBook manual duhickey thing will help you out...