My switch story (gather round PC guru's)

:spook:
I began my highschool career August 14, 2002.
My highschool had a computer program there called Student Technology Leadership Program, STLP for short.
I joined their ranks and really didnt know alot about computer, i just knew i had a great interest in them.
As i progressed in my learning of PCs and PC repair, i never got to know the mac. And as always, in human nature, we are afraid of the unknown.
By January of 2003, i was a PC fanatic. I was going to lan parties, most notably LANWAR, building PCs, i was doing it all.
My Freshmen year is what i call, the introduction to the computer world.

In August of 2003, i was in the STLP again, for the year, again. So, in december, one of our faithful G3 iMacs died for no reason. I was commisioned to repair it.
Until that day, i hated mac, i hated everything about mac, i hated the way they made their business circled around where you have to buy their product.
I started investigating. I checked the PSU first, then i took out the HD and discovered it just died. I poped a new one in and had to reinstall 10.2

It was the easiest OS install ive ever done in my life. From that day on i started tinkering with the iMac, playing around, seeing what was going on.

And now, Christmas 2004, i got my 12 inch powerbook.

Although in August and Sept., my father wanted to get laptops for my brothers since they were attending college now. I recommended 14 inch iBooks. And thats what they got.

So, i say i switched about that time.
But here i am, spawn of the PC world, member of the Mac philosophy.

Thank you for your time. :headphone

I hear that. Our backgrounds are pretty similar. I'm sure if more PC guru's were introduced to Apples there would be a lot more switchers.

Desolate One said:

I hear that. Our backgrounds are pretty similar. I'm sure if more PC guru's were introduced to Apples there would be a lot more switchers.

Click to expand...

Applause.
Nice story it's pretty funny how in some way or form our switching stories are all pretty much simialr. Being scared of the unknown or just listening to our trusted Windhoes friends.

Hehe I was the same as you. For a long time I actually thought Macs or anything by Apple was a joke. If you haven't done it already, check out my "switcher" review http://www.blackhaloinc.com/gadgets/index.php#123

when i switch (still need the $$$ ) my story will be almost the same (heh)

how's the 12 incher? ive been thinking about getting... but, i think the screen is too small....

Tell me about it

I wanted the 15 inch, but the cost is too much. But after i got my 12 inch powerbook, i am MUCH more glad that i got this than the 15inch. Because its alot easier to carry to school, and just bring it with me everywhere. And thats why i wanted a laptop. At home i run a dual monitor setup with another keyboard and two button mouse so i can edit my movies and make music. im a big multi-tasker. Its wonderful
I game on Return To Castle Wolfenstein, and it runs wonderfully.

I highly recommend this.

i hated windows for the same reason people hated Macs ... ignorance.

then i learned the PC, and worked in PC repairs and can say i know windows as well as i do macs.

so now i hate windows for the same reason i love macs .... knowledge.

MacAddikt said:

i hated windows for the same reason people hated Macs ... ignorance.

then i learned the PC, and worked in PC repairs and can say i know windows as well as i do macs.

so now i hate windows for the same reason i love macs .... knowledge.

Click to expand...

That's an exellent statement. Because only when you know both worlds, you really know which one's better... :mac:

ya, a lot more people would switch to macs if they were just exposed to them. i mean, exposed to them in a good way. for example, in my hs all the computers in the lab are the crt imac g3's running classic. a lot of the people i know, (save for a few who swear by macs), think mac's aren't good because they are exposed to ones that are not a good example. they are slow and they freeze a lot and we have to pull the cord out lol. if the school had computers like imac g5's, running osx, then i think a lot of people's opinions would be different. :mac:

My Switch Story

Unlike a lot of PC users I always loved Macs but simply could never afford one. A close friend when we were kids father got a Lisa. He let me use it and I loved it and later he sold it and got a Plus. I loved that also but could only afford an Atari ST. Later I started building PC's as they were so low in cost but kept dreaming of a Mac. I was later given an old Plus with 4 megs RAM and 40 Meg HDD. It was way behind the II Series macs and my PC's but I used it for all I could use it for. I later got an IICI but by the time I got it used it was so far behind the rest of the world but I used it for a lot of things and used the PC for the rest. It went on like that year after year with me getting a Quadra when Power PC's were out and I had a PII. Finally I got a G4 500 with Panther and even though it's not up to my PC that I use for Gaming it's Quite fast for 500 Mhz. Panther helps in that respect but still my AMD is faster at Video Encoding but most everything else can be done on the Mac. Am saving for an IMac G5 but might settle for the $500 Headless Mac as an Interm till I can get the $$$ together so at least I can do 95% of my work on OSX and not have to put up with Windows. Mostly now I use my AMD system as a glorified Xbox or PS2 just for Games or editing large Videos as it saves a lot of time but use the G4 for everything else.

So really I have always been a Mac person but just could not afford a newer mac that would keep up with what I needed to do. Things are changing finally! Thank god!

Desolate One said:

I hear that. Our backgrounds are pretty similar. I'm sure if more PC guru's were introduced to Apples there would be a lot more switchers.

Click to expand...

I consider my self a pc guru and mac user. I know for a fact that the PC community hates macs mainly because of how much they stop tweaking/overclocking. If this was different there would be many more switchers

My friend and I both started law school with a 12" and 15" G4 powerbook this fall (mine's bigger, nyuck nyuck nyuck). I'd suggest the 15", and my friend has often said this. It's just nice to have more real estate to work around in, and the 128 mb radeon is a nice addition. His laptop is easier to carry around, but carrying it in a backpack as he does, he worries sometimes that he's going to crush it with books or hurt just putting his bag down. I've never been too worried with mine, it just feels a bit more solid. But, in the end, it's a lot more expensive, so, at the end fo the day, his 12" powerbook doesn't mean he can't take notes, look up junk on lexis-nexis, or type up a final exam (which was pretty sweet). Sorry, kind of off-topic, but my two cents there.

Wow...So you build PCs? Now that you've been introduced to the Mac world, do you think you might try to build a Mac? I don't think there's anyone on these entire forums that can, but I do personally know someone who has done it a few times. If you could build Macs, we (that is, all of us on this board) could learn a great deal!

Id consider myself a guru on both ends, Ive built both, I started on pcs at age 7, so I knew nothing of macs, later, the first time I used an apple II, I was hooked, but macs arent really harder to build, the only problem Ive ever encountered is port positions and case fitting. I once took ALL the insides of a g4 ibook and put it all into a clamshell ibook. its what the person wanted wiuth the performance of the g4 ibook. the kb didnt fit, so I had to use the clamshells kb, the combo drive was stuffed in VERY tight, and the tray was slightly misaligned, but thats mostly cause of the shape of the clamshell ibook.

let me just add that Im still trying to forget all that I knew about pcs, except a few bits that may help a mac user networking with pcs and such.

I use to be an avid reader of maximumpc. I knew where to even find the hippopotamus information.
I was sitting in my 4th class today and my friend pulls out a maximumpc magazine. i read through it while he lectured me on the things within. AMD making a tiny computer similar to the mini mac. Then i turn to a page with the 30inch apple display review. he says
"thats the only good thing apple ever made"
I gave a small laugh. After i walked away, i took my powerbook out of my backpack, he glanced over and never said another word to me.

oh i felt good.

I edit a sitcom for a living. I've always preferred video editing on Macs. Those that work in the same industry can relate on the fact that technology change is a constant, and in all honesty, proprietary platforms are just your best bet. FCP is a very decent, affordable alternative to Avid and is much more reliable than the PC alternatives (i.e. Premiere and Vegas). I have been using Macs ever since I knew what a computer was; I am Desktop and Portable Certified; and my long-time best friend is a Apple Tier 2 Tech Agent, so it's fair to say that Macs are no mystery to me.

So I introduce my alter-ego: I own a Custom PC Manufacturing company "Dreamware Limited" (DreamwareLimited.com) that caters to the serious gamer/PC enthusiast. I started the company several years ago out of my garage building the boxes myself and selling them locally or on eBay. I made quite a decent living. My main selling point was the fact that my machines were considerably faster than what was available on the general consumer market. Being EXTREMELY involved in the PC enthusiast community, as well as having an almost limitless amount of funds, I was able to spend weeks on end testing and benching components to determine how far they would OC and how to cool them, so I knew what exactly should go in my machines. Honestly, I really did it out of hobby, money just happened to be an added bonus. To this day, nothing has really changed except for the fact that I do quite a bit less building, I mostly just do the deciding.

Having such an in-depth understanding of both sides, I think I'm in a position to say that PC's are awesome, and so are Macs.

When I read posts by crazy Macheads who bash the heck out of their friends Dell or Alienware, all I can do is laugh. I mean how? How? How can you compare an Apple to a Dell. It's like comparing a $49.99 half-slab of baby-backs @ Zekes BBQ to the $4.99 McRib @ McDonalds. I mean it really isn't a fair comparison, and it really doesn't do the PC justice. Dell/Alienware/HP/Compaq/Etc. are like the fast food chains of PC's. They do everything they can to put the cheapest fixed components in their machines to ensure maximum profitability with minimum support. Basically bypassing everything that makes the PC great.

While it may seem like a hassle, the only way to really buy a PC is to build it yourself. That's taking advantage of an open-source platform. Many people find it intimidating and too time consuming, but honestly, the amount of time wasted waiting and dealing with problems caused from factors of or relating to the fact that your new system was built by Dell definitely outweighs the night you would spend researching what to put in your own. Any other way is just bologna, and its probably the cause of quite a few more switchers than there really needed to be.

Stupidest reasons to go to Mac:
Spyware
Viruses
Crashes

Speed shouldn't be an issue. My pc sits right next to my Dual 2.5 G5, and it kills the G5 in everything except video editing/DVD Authoring.

Both systems have their strengths and weakness. Everything depends on where your interests lie..... In my case, they lie in both.

Ocforums.com, XtremeSystems.org, XbitLabs.com, Tomshardware.com, Rage3D.com. <- Those are the places to read about PC's. (Not MaxPC)