How "Customizable" Are Macs?

[budafied]

Hey guys, I'm debating going Mac or PC in fall of 2009 for whichever grad school I end up going to. My decision will be easy if one campus requires PCs (like some law schools). But anyways, i've been a PC user for all my life, and I'm recently becoming more interested in macs due to Leopard and the dual boot XP option. I've heard that Macs are less customizable than PCs. For instance, my boss was using iMovie and could not change many aspects of the movie that are easily changed in Movie Maker on windows. She described it as "doing everything on its own and somewhat against her will." Can anybody comment on this? Is Windows better as far as options on programs go? I know a Mac is supposed to "just work" and be "intuitive," but I wanna make sure there is enough freedom.

I've used Leopard a little at work when teachers/administration at my colelge buy new macs. I've worked with them enough to get a gist of it, but not too much fooling around besides internet, office, etc.

 

[Noels]

budafied,

I'm new at the Mac, about 3+ months, but I can talk to the programs question a little - I find there are many Mac programs out there that I can find by Googling, reading Mac World and Mac Life and reading posts here on Mac-Forums as well as other sources which keep popping up. You can also find some good references at book stores like Borders, and the Apple Stores. It's possible there may be more programs out there for Windows, but then you can install Windows on your new Mac and cover yourself that way as well...

If I may, I'd suggest that you do some research on-line for the kind of programs you use now, and insert the word Mac or Apple when you Google and see what you come up with. That could give you an idea of what's available for your uses and how well you'd be covered using OS X.

I have a 13" Macbook and have installed Windows XP and Parallels on my machine, and as a result there isn't a program I can't find and use. A great option and more expansive than just using a PC.

Hope this helps a little,

Noel

 

[louishen]

I am not a switcher so cannot help on that point

But if you give a list of your favourite apps, I am sure that the mac world can come up with similar apps or better

 

[budafied]

I'm less wprried about specific programs and more worried about general customization. I am anal about having things done my way, especially with my computers. I guess I'm just so used to Windows that I perhaps need to just learn more of Mac. I'll research more about programs for Mac. Thanks, and any more help is appreciated...

 

[Alexis]

What do you mean by 'customization'?

You've given us an example of two programs: Windows Movie Maker vs iMovie, which is comparing apples and pears, plus it sounds like your boss hadn't got a clue how to use iMovie.

A program is a program, whether it's on Windows, OS X or Linux.

She described it as "doing everything on its own and somewhat against her will.

I think your boss just doesn't know how to use the particular program and is saying "it's doing things against her will" because she knows where things are in Movie Maker, but not iMovie.

I thinks she's planted some sort of seed in your mind which is making you think OS X is rigid and won't let you do things your way, which is rubbish.

 

[budafied]

I used iMovie vs. Movie Maker as the only real-world example I have.

I have heard from a number of people who use both XP and OS X, most find XP to have more options. I guess they are implying (and I'm not sure if they'd be correct) that some things in OS X are dumbed down to appeal to the average incompetent computer user. I'm probably not being very clear, but I'm unsure of any other way to explain this.

I'll try to come up with a better explanation.



EDIT: Here is an example of what I am talking about. I guess the issue here is the limited software, not OS X. But is this type of thing common on a Mac?

 

[BeaufordBuddy]

She described it as "doing everything on its own and somewhat against her will."

It's funny because this is exactly how I feel Vista is. It's the main reason I switched.

People that have switched from using a PC for many years to using a Mac may sometimes complain, as in your bosses case, that the OS is working against them and not doing what they want it to do. When in fact the OS is not at fault but that the user doesn't want to change their old ways of doing thing and adapt to the new system. You learn that not only will you be able to accomplish the same tasks that you've always been able to but you'll also discover that you can do so much more.

You have to be open to learning new things and to change certain habits and ways of doing things.

 

[BeaufordBuddy]

I used iMovie vs. Movie Maker as the only real-world example I have.

I have heard from a number of people who use both XP and OS X, most find XP to have more options. I guess they are implying (and I'm not sure if they'd be correct) that some things in OS X are dumbed down to appeal to the average incompetent computer user. I'm probably not being very clear, but I'm unsure of any other way to explain this.

I'll try to come up with a better explanation.



EDIT: Here is an example of what I am talking about. I guess the issue here is the limited software, not OS X. But is this type of thing common on a Mac?

Not necessarily. You think that Microsoft is going to include in Movie Maker advanced features and tools that you can find in more expensive software. No, they won't. Very few programs that come bundled with an OS are going to be the end all be all for that type of application.

 

[budafied]

It's funny because this is exactly how I feel Vista is. It's the main reason I switched.

People that have switched from using a PC for many years to using a Mac may sometimes complain, as in your bosses case, that the OS is working against them and not doing what they want it to do. When in fact the OS is not at fault but that the user doesn't want to change their old ways of doing thing and adapt to the new system. You learn that not only will you be able to accomplish the same tasks that you've always been able to but you'll also discover that you can do so much more.

You have to be open to learning new things and to change certain habits and ways of doing things.

But in this case, it was a hindrance upon her work. iMovie would automatically determine certain things (i think transitions, sounds, etc) where Movie Maker would let you do all of it by yourself. As far as our local mac guy at work knew, there was no way to change that. If this is strictly iMovie, then no problem, as I rarely edit movies and ivdeos and such. I just want to know if, generally, the Mac OS X and accompanying software, does the work for you and does not allow for much customization...

 

[technologist]

iMovie 08 is an interesting case.

When iMovie first came out (ten years or so ago) it was designed to be a simple movie-editing application for people who'd never edited a movie before. Remember, ten years ago, "editing a movie" for amateurs usually involved two VCRs, a TV, and a finger on the "stop" button.

Over the next eight years, iMovie got more and more features, as people who used it came to want more and more professional-level capabilities. In the process, it became much more complicated for those who weren't used to editing.

So for 2008, they created a totally different version iMovie which was dramatically simplified, intended for new users. For experienced users, they left iMovie '06 as a free download. A sort of a reverse upgrade.

Note also that Apple has three (or maybe four, now) different video applications, ranging from beginner (iMovie '08) to Hollywood professional (Final Cut Studio.) Obviously, FCS gives the editor much more control.

 

[budafied]

thanks technologist, that helps a lot.

Perhaps this is just a one-case issue.

 

[katielb]

I think Macs are very customizable. Extremely. I switched in the summer of '07 and haven't looked back once.

 

[getuptogetdown]

I agree that they are very customizable. It's just a matter of how far you get into the program or the system, as is with windows. If you go deeper into advanced settings you'll be able to customize more than just playing with the general settings. I have been a PC user for about 18 years and never even thought about using a mac but now that I have decided to switch, I will never go back to windows.

 

[Alexis]

We're still only talking about individual programs here. iMovie on Windows would be no different from on OS X. It's nothing to to do with the operating system or the platform.

Computers come with operating systems and maybe a few programs. OS X comes with iMovie, iDVD etc. which is a bonus. They are decent programs but you'd go and buy Final Cut or Aperture if you wanted fully fledged professional programs. The programs that come with OS X are naturally aimed at beginners first and foremost, but they are still powerful programs for those who want to do a bit more.

 

[budafied]

Well as long as this is just a one program issue, then I guess I'm fine with that.

 

[Aptmunich]

Initially OS X will give you the appearance of being "simpler":

You start digging around and wonder where all the "the contents of this folder have been hidden" messages are buried.
Where's the hidden business like regedit, msconfig etc?

That's because OS X doesn't really have as much complexity it needs to hide, simply because it uses a different OS architecture to Windows.
Less is more in this case (IMO).


Another aspect that is often confused as being "dumbed down" is the UI: Windows apps often come in a variety of looks and routinely include skins as well (see Winamp or Media Player).

OS X tries to encourage a unified look and feel for most apps, which gives everything a weird feel at first. But you soon realize that the user experience is mostly better for it, and the apps are easily as powerful as their windows counterparts, even if their visual simplicity doesn't convey that at first.