Is Mac the right choice for me?

Hi,
I currently use Ubuntu and Windows a little bit too, but I heard about Mac and all about it's extremely user friendly interface and i thought why not get it.
So I am, at the moment thinking of buying a Macbook. Due you think it's a wise move?

Will I have trouble with getting used to it our running some of the vital applications in it?
I am a moderate gamer (but not a hardcore one).
I don't do much video and music editing (just a tad bit), nor do I make any graphics.

I mainly work around with viewing and making documents, files and presentation, and listening to music and watching movies. That sums up most of the work I do on a computer on a regular basis. Nothing more or exotic than that.

So, due you think a Mac is necessary for doing this, will it simplify and make my work easier and peaceful? Or is it advisable to simply stick with a PC? Please don't be biased. What benefits do I get using a Mac rather than a PC? And are there any disadvantages or difficulties that one faces in switching to a Mac from a PC?

Please reply soon. Thanks in advance.

i have had my macbook for less than a week and its the first time i have really used its OS. I really like it and can fly through it now pretty well. every so often i may have a question but this place is great for that.

for music/pictures/document viewing the mac is actually amazing. when you choose the preview setting in the finder, like how you see album covers in itunes, its so simple and great and so easy and fast.

if you understand itunes setup youll actually be fine for the most part. installing stuff and a few other things are pretty weird/different, but no biggie.

lite.taker said:

I mainly work around with viewing and making documents, files and presentation, and listening to music and watching movies. That sums up most of the work I do on a computer on a regular basis. Nothing more or exotic than that.

So, due you think a Mac is necessary for doing this, will it simplify and make my work easier and peaceful? Or is it advisable to simply stick with a PC? Please don't be biased. What benefits do I get using a Mac rather than a PC? And are there any disadvantages or difficulties that one faces in switching to a Mac from a PC?

Please reply soon. Thanks in advance.

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I can see no reason for you to get a Mac. What you have now seems to work just fine for you.
Whether or not something makes things "easier" for you is entirely subjective... what is easy for some is extremely difficult for others.

If you are curious about Macs, visit an Apple Store or other Macintosh retailer and try one out. If you are still interested, then I would suggest getting a previous generation model opposed to a new MacBook, something at least in the G4 range. Just be sure to purchase one that has all the installation discs included. That way you can acclimate yourself to the OS and not drop too much money on something that you may not enjoy or need.

D3v1L80Y said:

I would suggest getting a previous generation model opposed to a new MacBook, something at least in the G4 range. Just be sure to purchase one that has all the installation discs included. That way you can acclimate yourself to the OS and not drop too much money on something that you may not enjoy or need.

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Yeah you dont HAVE to get a mac.

what he says is actually a great idea, thats what I did, an a few days later I was at the store buying a macbook...haha..

I use the laptop for web design and other things out n about, and have my windows desktop for gaming and w/e else i would need it for.

it's true...unless you have used a mac & been really happy with how it felt...or if u need more performance than most pcs can provide...i cant see any reason why you need to switch...for the work you do...you dont need a mac...as far as games go...you will find way more for pcs...

on thr flipside...go check it out at an apple store... hehe....you maynot want to listen to any of us

Well, here is my $.02. I wouldn't say that it is necessary that you get a Mac...but I certainly recommend it. As far as I am concerned, I have much greater reliability, and when I use it for my work at the Campaign Office as well as for taking all of my notes for class and managing my blog, that is a big deal.

That being said, now for the fun.

I also use it for music and movies. I installed a 250 Gig WD into my Macbook as well as using the old 60 Gig as an external in addition to a 500 and 250 Gig MyBooks...So I have 15,000ish songs, 200 Movies, as well as several complete TV shows, and it all works seamlessly.

My verdict. Yes...Get a Mac. I can promise you that you will not regret it.

You'd have to try it out, it's all subjective. I really like Macs better than PCs and think they're easier, but once again that's just my opinion. Also remember that a Mac is just a piece of hardware, it can run windows as well as Mac OS X. Go to an apple store and try one out, use a friends, do whatever you can to try one out and if it pleases you more than your windows machine pleases you than get the Mac. Don't be afraid to ask anymore questions along the way.

the only problem i have with trying it at the store was i didnt really get a feel for it. i was just like wth am i doing. i didnt really get to enjoy it till i got the g4 which led me to the new macbook.

just throwin that out there.

True, but you should at least LOOK at a car before you buy it

Like many of the above posters, I don't see anything that suggests that you should get a Mac. You appear to be happy with Ubuntu and able to do everything that you need to, so why switch. If you are an experienced Linux user, you may find Macs a bit frustrating - they are not NEARLY as configurable as Linux is.

My advice would be to stay as you are unless there is some compelling reason that you would like to switch - something that you really wish you could do that Ubuntu won't let you do.

If you do decided to switch, check out my Linux to Mac Switcher's Guide, at http://www.campbell-tx.net/MacOSX/Linux2Mac/linux2mac.html.

Why did I write the above guide? Well, I ended up being a Linux to Mac switcher myself, and unable to find a switcher's guide that was oriented towards Linux users, I wrote one myself!

Here's how I went from Linux to Mac. I was a Windows user pretty much all my life, and eventually got very frustrated with it. I switched to Linux for a few years, settling on SuSE and Arch Linux. However, I found that I had to keep a Windows platform as well (dual boot of course) so that I could continue to use what was for me THE key application: Photoshop. Also, I needed access to iTunes. Neither of these was available for Linux (and to this day, neither is yet available for Linux, although I hear that Photoshop 7 (preceeded Photoshop CS) now works under Wine). Anyway, when the time came that I wanted a faster Photoshop engine, I decided to investigate Macs.

The rest is history. At the time, the PowerMac G5 was the fastest commercial Photoshop engine on the market. Mac OS X was SO superior to Windows that the decision was made even easier. And the kicker? Mac OS X is based on FreeBSD; there is a full unix heart beating under the glossy Mac OS X GUI, complete with good 'ol bash, X11, gcc... the works. Mac OS X actually allows you to run many of your Linux favorite apps directly under Mac OS X's X11. In addition, many of my favorite Linux apps had full Mac OS X ports already in place. For example, OpenOffice is fully ported to Mac OS X as NeoOffice. Ditto for Abiword, sox, and many others. You will find a list of such apps in the switcher's guide I mentioned above.

So, if you DO decide to switch, you may find that you can continue to rely on many (but likely not all) of your current Linux favorites. However, as I said above, I don't see anything that would compel me to advice a switch. Macs are not for everyone. If you are happy with Ubuntu, why mess with success?

Wow Mac57. That is a VERY good switcher guide. So much info. Very nicely done

Look through all the OS X information on Apple's website. If you think it looks funky, give it a go.

It's definitely the most attractive OS out there and it's fun to use.

The OS GUI is just unbelievable. Considering the cost of a new system, and the fact that you can't really get a feel for it tooling around the mac store, I would suggest you drop $50 and buy a cheap G3 imac from craigslist or ebay. Most of them are capable of running at least 10.2, and you would be able to play around with it at your leisure. This is what I did, and just fell in love with the interface.

Unfortunately, I have too much gamer in me. When I was about to drop my stack on a new mac, I changed my mind at the last minute and bought a new PC. Don't let that discourage you, however. If you can live with medium settings in games, the current Macs actually have respectable hardware for gaming. Plus you can use VMware and still use Windows or Linux.

Need a Mac? OK, I'll try not to be biased. I switched both myself and my wife about 1.5 months ago because I simply was sick of dealing with Windows and all of its inherent problems so I am a bit anti-MS at this point. It sounds as though what you have now works just fine for you. However, if you want to try out a Mac head down to an Apple Store or other retailer and check it out. It comes down to a personal choice. Personally, I'm glad I made the switch because it has lead to less time spent fixing problems or updating the OS and protective programs at my end. It truly has freed up time for me!