07-11-2004, 03:55 PM

I think it completely depends on exactly which computer you get.. and I don't mean which type, I mean which one.. I get a powerbook, you get a powerbook, one is great, one bytes (get it? *smirk*) I have had my powerbook for 3 1/2 years and I have only had one kernal panic and everything else has been great.. sure it's getting slower now that there is bigger and better software that I am using that is requiring bigger and better processors, but it definitely does everything I need it to do and when I got it, up to two years ago all the software, everything I did ran very fast. Now my friend who works for me once in awhile has a pc laptop and he had nothing but trouble with it.. and now it doesnt even work, so he can't even use it until he pays for some expensive hardware to get it back up and running. I have a massive amount of people that I know that have nothing but problems with their pc's and then there are those that have troubles with their macs, especially during that time that Apple was putting out subpar hardware, due to bad QA testing.

I have had nothing but wonderful experiences and I am not an apologist at all, I know what I have experienced and the people around me have experienced and it's not even a hard choice.. I will be purchasing macs until they give me more trouble then the pc's that my friends have, then I just might switch. We all have had different experiences.. obviously and you have to do what you have to do to be up and working.. if that is to buy a pc because your mac experience has been horrible, then you definitely need to do that! or vice versa.. it's pretty simple.. and one day you might start having serious problems with your pc and decide.. man Im going to try mac again.. I just can't hang with these problems anymore.. and then later on after buying a mac you might have problems again.. it's a back and forth race between mac and pc's.. it's always been around and will continue to be so.. The mac was far superior than PC's for a long time.. then they grew stagnent and PC's rocked over Macs and that's when I went back to PC's.. then OS X came out and I tried mac again.. and it didnt give me half the problems that my pc was giving me.. so the next time I bought.. I got a mac.. havent looked back since..

Again it's user experience and Im sorry that yours was so subpar, and I appreciate your comments, and I appreciate the mac users comments, but to say what is right for me is right for you and vice versa.. no matter who is saying it.. is kind of thinking everyone should be the same as me.. not a good thing to think.

Enjoy your pc, I really hope it works out for you and it sounds like it has so far and you've been one of the lucky pc users just like I've been one of the lucky mac users.. so let's be happy for using our computer of choice

07-11-2004, 05:08 PM

I just wanted to chime in with my opinion. I have been a diehard PC user for 15 years, all the way from MS DOS up to Windows XP. I'm a systems administrator and work mainly with PCs. At home, I only use my Powerbook. Why did I switch? Several reasons.

For starters, when you erase a program in OS X, there's no files left behind. In Windows, you have to reformat once a year because so much crap gets built up on your drive, and in your registry. I was absolutely anal about keeping Win XP clean and still have to reformat now and then. Secondly, when you DO reformat, finding and backing up all of your stuff in Windows is a joke. It took me an hour the first time, to find where Outlook stashed my data. Crap is just thrown all over the drive in Microsoft's maze of nonsensical folders. In OS X it's a pure Unix file structure. In other words, drag your home folder to your backup drive, and you're done. And when you do that, you're also backing up your address book, iCal, and even your little auto-completes in Safari, and your saved passwords and whatnot.

As for speed, I will agree that Macs are slower. There's simply no debating that. I still use my Athlon 2400 PC for gaming. As for stability, I would say OS X and Win XP are identical. Both are very stable operating systems. This is of course, assuming your PC doesn't get infested with viruses and spyware.

Lastly, there's little things about Mac that just hooked me, and I love. Such as when I'm typing in a messenger to a friend, and the OS automatically spell checks for me. This works in any app and it's wonderful. Or how about the auto-form fill in feature? I love that. I REALLY love that I can just close the lid on my Powerbook at the end of class, and slip it into my backpack. At the start of each class, all these people are booting up their PCs and they look at me funny when I just open the lid of my Powerbook and start typing.

As for price, the Dell 600M I was looking at getting (wanted something small) was $1800. I paid $1550 for my Powerbook. There's simply no comparison there.

I'm glad you're happy with at least one platform, and Athlon's are great chips. I personally have had it with Windows. I still love PCs, but I only run Unix/Linux on them. I switched to this Mac about 6 months ago and I don't see myself ever going back.

Oh and just for the record, several of my friends including my girlfriend all used my Powerbook and loved it so much that they went out and bought one. They all love them, and feel the same way. The fact is, you're in the minority, almost nobody switches to Mac and regrets it.

07-11-2004, 05:31 PM

Originally Posted by lnetubaplyr

i know i've owned gateways, hps, compaqs, emachines, toshibas, alienwares,

If you've owned so many different machines, obviously you must be very choosy about what you used. Everybody here knows Macs are not really for gaming, but then again, why would i wanna play a game on my Powerbook when i can use one of the brilliant applications that my Powerbook can use with ease. I'm a longtime windows user, and still am, but after having a Powerbook for a few months, i know how much more powerful it is when running application. And, for those who know this, clock speeds don't mean diddly squat when making comparisons. My friend at work is slowly falling in love with my Powerbook, he's a hardcore pc user, does all the usual ip changing and chasing games, hacking etc, very knowledgable, but he knows enough not to slag off Macs, simply because they're both so different.

07-11-2004, 06:20 PM

clock speeds don't mean diddly squat when making comparisons.

Thats why i was using fps (frames per second) its a good unit of measurement for me because it dictates my playing.

I don't understand the "macs arn't for gamming". You all say they can do video editing. I can do anything and everything on my desktop with either my athlon or my p4 system, games, video editing, typing, putting it on standby.

As for the BWM vs Ford thing. That has to be the biggest bunch of bull i've ever heard. Options? HA. What options? The option of NOT having a mic port? The option of crappy support? Would you buy a BMW without one tail light? Or with a warrenty that only covered the trunk lid, for 90 days? You can't compare macs to bmws and pcs to fords, just b/c there are more pcs that macs floating around doesn't mean that macs must be better or have more "options". Tell me if you would be happy with a bmw that you bought for 45000 dollars. And it didnt' have a radio, the dealer tells you, well bmws just arn't made to have radios. Then you high tail it down to your honda dealer (i hate fords too ) and get a accord DX (low end) and it has a radio, and can drive just as nice as the bmw. Would you want the dealer to be truthful to you, telling you it had to radio in the first place? not have people on THIS FORUM say it would be faster in all aspects. I'm not saying you all are resellers for apple but if you'd like to see your beloved company grow i would think it would be nice to get a truthful answer.

If anything apples are like hybrids, cost more, crappy performance, and a few smooth edges.

Basically i game on any computer, thats what i think they are best for, and if someone said "don't buy a mac for gamming, they suck" i would have closed the apple store window and never looked back. But b/c at least 3 people said it would be "faster" than my celeron i believe it.

I guess my whole point to this thread was to complain about my crappy situation with apple, not to offend anyone, or say that their computer sucks. I do believe that not all computers will work for all people and thats why we have so many companies so you get exactly what you want. It just seems that you shouldn't have to spend 600 dollars to find out.

07-11-2004, 07:06 PM

Originally Posted by lnetubaplyr

I don't understand the "macs arn't for gamming".

It's because most games are built from the ground up to run on PC hardware and mac's are just an afterthought. Go to the apple website and look at the amazing selection of games or gaming hardware (video card/sound card). There just aren't many options when it comes to gaming on a mac and that's why they say "macs aren't for gaming". It's a pretty simple concept.

07-11-2004, 07:09 PM

Originally Posted by lnetubaplyr

I do believe that not all computers will work for all people

The more i think about it, the more likely it was you got a bad Apple out of the barrel to quote the user that coined this phrase. Gaming sucks on Macs, but video and photo editing on macs wipe the floor all over pcs. I'll hold my hands up and admit i did get a little defensive when i read this thread, but at the end of the day, everybody is entitled to their opinion, but you gotta be ready to back it up as you've seen here first hand with people here having their own say.

07-11-2004, 08:19 PM

We're all going to have our own opinions, wether or not i can "back it up" to yours or anyone elses standards is irrelevant.

I'm sure many people come to this site before buying a mac, read around, find it on google, thats what i did. i accomplished my goal of sending out a message that macs are not a one stop solution to all your computer problems.

To anyone who reads this: Please take into consideration all opinions. As you can see, if you're into video editing by all means consider and apple. If you're into gamming, please take my mistake for your gain.

Thank You.

Rob.

07-11-2004, 09:25 PM

I recently switched to an iBook with absolutely no regrets or problems. Of course, I wouldn't have switched if all I cared about was speed for gaming.
No computer is a "one stop solution" for anyone. That's why it's important to do research first and figure out what you really want to use one for. As for me, I've been so impressed over the past few months I don't plan on switching back to a PC for any reason.

07-13-2004, 07:30 PM

Originally Posted by lnetubaplyr

If anything apples are like hybrids, cost more, crappy performance, and a few smooth edges.

Macs are like hybrids? Then that's a compliment! Of all the cars out there, hybrids are the friendliest to the environment, and even though they may cost more, they're probably less money to maintain, as they don't need as much gas as normal cars since they only run on gas for half of their operation, while clean electricity powers the rest. So, they're friendlier for the environment, and if I ever got a car (out of the choices available now), I would definitely go for the hybrid. I want to extend global warming as far away as possible.


Now, SUVs also cost more. And, while I don't know much about their performance, they're TERRIBLE for the environment (they guzzle gas insanely quickly), and are more dangerous (both to the people and cars surrounding the SUV, and even the people inside the SUV itself, including the driver!). Also, I think SUVs tip over more easily.

So, if you wanted to insult Macs, you should've compared them to SUVs. :p

07-13-2004, 10:47 PM

That's a good point. I'm as satisfied with my hybrid as I am with my Mac. Sure, I'd like a little more power but the other benefits generally outweigh the benefit of speed. That goes for both my Mac and my hybrid.

07-13-2004, 11:16 PM

Funny I purchased a PowerBook in Jan 2004 and I never had a problem with it other than the Safari Browser not show all websites right. I too sold my last PowerBook for a loss. I will not make that mistake again.

Good luck with your new laptop but from somebody who did the same thing I will tell you I miss my PowerBook and can't wait to purchase another one.

07-14-2004, 05:11 PM

Heck, no. There isn't a computer out there that's good at *everything*

I haven't had a Mac for long, but I know they're crap for gaming. I knew this when I bought my PB 12". That's why I have a big, fat, heavy XaserIII sat here with a P4-3GHz HT, 1GB dual channel RAM and FX5900 whirring away. *That* is a gaming computer, not a Mac

Just like everything else, including the tired Windows vs Linux debate that people insist on picking sides with, there is no "good" or "bad" side, no answer to all, just different tools with different advantages and disadvantages. The best way to work with computers or any tools is to pick the best tool for the job. For comfortable, fast gaming I use the PC. For productivity, reliability and generally having an enjoyable working experience however, the Mac wins every time.

The way I see it:
PC with Windows - perfect for gaming, very high compatibility, fairly easy to use but gets "messed up" (clutter, bugs, viruses etc) very easily and is a victim of its own success (prime target for all the scumbags out there on the internet who like to create viruses, spyware, malware, exploits etc). Hardware can have lots of different drivers, and the wrong driver can really screw things up.

PC with Linux - perfect for hacking, programming, tinkering and day-to-day stuff. Free, open source and wonderfully stable. On the negative side, not many games, low compatibility with others, hundreds of tools that do the same thing but are incompatible, and just "getting things working" can take weeks whilst on a Wintel or Mac you just plug and go. Also always the last to fully and *easily* support new technology like Bluetooth, ACPI, USB 2.0, 802.11 et al.

MacOS - bad for gaming. I agree - don't buy one for gaming! It's silly! Bad if you don't like windows bouncing around and doing silly animations (I love it though). Can be slow (presumably unless you get a real high end machine.) Hideously expensive (especially the high end ones). Pros - delightfully well-made and robust (my PB is anyway), pay for quality and get quality (like a BMW? hehe), all the pros of OSX (stability, ability to tap into its Unix backbone and hax0r, great looks, Exposé, tidy file structure and install/uninstall mechanism etc etc etc I could go on for hours) and generally so much nicer to use *for apps*. Things "Just work", yet if they don't (never happened yet) but have a Linux/BSD background you can still tap into a terminal and *make* them work. The 12" powerbook is just sleek as they get and the sleep function works really well. But yeah.... bad for gaming. I don't expect my toaster to play games either, but for what it's designed for... making toast... it works great

07-17-2004, 07:11 AM

Let's turn the tables around - welcome to the other side. I'm on a Windows PC at the moment.

It's a Pentium III 600MHz, 384MB RAM, 32MB nVidia GeForce 2.

It doesn't crash (apart from in Windows Movie Maker), it isn't too slow - but that's how I'm using it. I can't upgrade to Macromedia Studio MX 2004 because it can't take it.
I have all the green/blue Windows XP GUI turned off because: it's ugly and I need the resources.
The top programs I use are:
iTunes
Firefox
Dreamweaver MX
Photoshop Elements
and Word.

All of those work or are avalible for Mac (or a better alternative, Safari).

I'm buying a new computer in September.
I want a notebook. I want it to be really small and light. I want it to have dual screen. I want it to have wireless networking. I want it to have Bluetooth. I want it to have a CD-RW (and maybe DVD-R). I want it to come with some decent software rather than the **** stuff Microsoft give you. I want to do video editing. I want to do photograph editing. I want to beable to take it around with me. I want to have all my music on it. I want it to work with my iPod.

How on earth do I get all that? PowerBook.
There is no company on the planet that does all that for £1300 ($2400). Dell, HP and Acer: the smallest notebook they make is 14.1" and weighs the same as my desktop. The software they provide is pants.

Apple provide a 10% discount because I'm a student! That's a 10% on everything. Dell don't do anything, or HP. Infact, only Office is avalible with a student discount. That's it.

If I buy more than one Mac, then I just have to buy the Family Packs to upgrade. iLife '04 is $49 for one computer, the Family Pack is $79 and works on five computers. Microsoft: I have had to buy three seperate versions of Windows because they don't offer anything. I would have saved about $100 if I was using Mac.

Editing photos on Windows is pants. It has nothing at all. I love iPhoto, I want it.

iTunes - got it and love it

Make music! I love making music, I even play the piano. But somebody wants me to shell out £50 so I can make it. Nope, GarageBand comes on a Mac.

iMovie vs. Windows Movie Maker. No comment required.

iDVD - Windows can't.

Web browser. I hate MSIE. Stupid 3 year old technology. I use Firefox. Only one thing better than Firefox: Safari.


But, don't get me wrong. Windows isn't that bad. My copy is well worn in and hasn't reached its half-life yet.

Windows isn't bad - it can just be 500 times better: Welcome to Mac

07-17-2004, 07:15 AM

Yes I've tried out Macs. I use them in school for video editing. Everything is so logical, it just clicks and works. I remember one of mate's comments, he was trying to do something in iMovie which he thought was really complicated (I think it was adjusting how long the clip was). He was pressing every button on the keyboard and looking through all the menus, when all he had to do was just drag it.

07-17-2004, 07:17 AM

Oh and another thing, I'm tired of getting technology and ideas 3 years after everybody else. Apple bring out Mac OS X, which looks great, then suddenly a few years' later, Microsoft bring out a "pretty" version of Windows (didn't work very well). All these features that have popped up in Panther and in Tiger will appear in Longhorn - but I want them in January, not half way through 2006!