Macintosh Users

[Kansas Viking]

I was just wondering how many people here on the board use a Mac. I have become increasingly interested in Mac and the Apple platform and was just wondering if we had many users here and what their thoughts are on that system.

I think it would handle everything I do with the exception of my web design program and probably do it much better.

[jackal]

I have used them at work and had no problems at all.

In fact I have never met anyone that didn't love Mac's
once they used them.

My brother in laws whole family are Apple nuts

[Greg]

been a Mac user since they started out (got hooked at work) now it's my preference (even though I have both platforms) -

[VikingMachine]

I have used them at work and had no problems at all.

In fact I have never met anyone that didn't love Mac's
once they used them.

My brother in laws whole family are Apple nuts

Your my boy Jackal but .....now you've met someone that doesnt love Mac's.

I pretty much despise them. Nothing is where its "supposed" to be. It takes me 10 times longer to do things on a mac and they crash all the damn time. Maybe my mac just sucks but my experience hasnt been a pleasant one.

[Cliff]

Your my boy Jackal but .....now you've met someone that doesnt love Mac's.

I pretty much despise them. Nothing is where its "supposed" to be. It takes me 10 times longer to do things on a mac and they crash all the #### time. Maybe my mac just sucks but my experience hasnt been a pleasant one.

I personally think the "PC is better than mac" or "mac is better than pc" thing is way overblown anyway.

Computers are like cars in that they have a lot of parts so you've got a lot of room for error. When you add in all the software you could be using you've got even more problems.

That said the reason I prefer PC is because in my experience it's easier to go under the hood and troubleshoot problems if one comes up. Since you've got a lot more people using PCs you've got a better chance of finding someone that has the same problem as you and thus a greater chance of fixing the problem on your own.

Macs certainly aren't "flawless" and if you do run into a problem you're more likely to not have an easy solution ...

Of course, if I bought a mac I'd probably replace OSX with Ubuntu but even then you're opening up another can of worms and probably voiding any warranty you may have had.

[Mothman]

Mike, you already know I'm a Mac guy. I love them. They're user-friendly, very stable (it sounds like VM found a rare lemon because my experience has been that Macs don't crash often) and beautifully designed. As Cliff said, they aren't flawless but we all know that the first flawless computer hasn't made yet.

If you make the switch you may initially find that, as VM said, "nothing is where it's supposed to be" but that's usually the case when you switch products. I feel the same way when I sit down at a PC but it really doesn't take long to adjust and as I said, Macs are very user-friendly.

Once you go Mac, you won't go back.

Jim

[mefford76]

I use a mac and PC

That said the reason I prefer PC is because in my experience it's easier to go under the hood and troubleshoot problems if one comes up. Since you've got a lot more people using PCs you've got a better chance of finding someone that has the same problem as you and thus a greater chance of fixing the problem on your own.

This is definitely true. If you like tinkering with stuff, PCs allow that a lot more. Macs like to hide it.

Personally I think the Mac OS will always be more beautiful and more usable, but that's just me.

Some things to consider if you are going to get a mac... You can't use the watch now feature in netflix on mac

Macs don't have a lot of the computer games

Macs don't have a DVD movie burning program (achooo) that I use on my PC

I have not had many crashing issues with my PC so I would tend to agree with Cliff on that one thats it is based more on what you put on it. Macs tend to not let you tinker so there's less of a chance of messing that up.

I do just feel better using a mac though. It just makes you feel good.

[MrDonut]

both have their pluses and minuses but the one good thing about a mac is that since the same company makes both the hardware and software, theres better integration between the two than on a pc.

my main problems with mac are the price and software. if you compare, macs are generally 1.5-2x as much and the software selection is not even close to pc.

[Cliff]

both have their pluses and minuses but the one good thing about a mac is that since the same company makes both the hardware and software, theres better integration between the two than on a pc.

my main problems with mac are the price and software. if you compare, macs are generally 1.5-2x as much and the software selection is not even close to pc.

Aside from that, generally speaking, if you play games you'll also need to get some kind of an Windows emulator.

IMO, the fact that you've got more people out there making software (and lot of people making open source software) is a big plus for PC.

Heck, take this message board for example of excellent open source software. It's run using phpBB which is open source and free. vbBullitin is a comparable software that runs $160 and is essentially the same.

[Kansas Viking]

Excellent information everyone. I'm not making a switch now as my laptop is only about a year and a half old. But I would consider it if something happened and I needed to purchase another computer.

From everything I have been reading, a Mac does just what I want. I don't do games at all. Primarily Internet, mail, graphics and photography. Next time I'm in Minnesota and have time to cruise the MOA, I will drop into the Apple Store and check some things out.

[CalVike]

I switched to Mac for work a couple years ago, painful in some ways. But I agree with the statement they do not crash often. Just got a new Macbookpro for work with Intel Core Duo chips. Now I can run Windows native on my Mac using VMWare fusion (an emulator I know but the performance is much better than the old Virtual PC).

The point I add to the conversation is that a Mac can now run Windows very, very effectively. So you don't really have to lose anything by switching to Mac. And much is gained. I know the concept of running Windows on a Mac is anathema to some Apple enthusiast but as a long-time PC user I find it a very useful technique, particularly for some engineering software applications I wrote years ago that are PC-based.

[Minniman]

The new Macs have Intel CPUs, so with the Leopard OS and some XP drivers, one can dual boot into Windows XP anyway (stay away from Vista).

[VikeMike]

I've been a Mac guy since 1984 ... I'm a graphic artist ... and have had nothing but Macs. I'm about to upgrade my laptop and my desktop. I can't say much about running windows on Leopard, but it's a great option to have — if you switch you can always run Windows apps you already have. Moth is right ... they are very stable now.

[S197]

My only issues with Macs are they're expensive and don't have the software support PC's do (I suppose if they can run Windows this isn't an issue but I have no recent experience with running a Windows OS on a Mac).

But they're superior to PC's in stability, security and multimedia, IMO.

[jackal]

If I wasn't so cheap I would own one and the fact
I got a super good deal on a AMD dual core.