Getting a new computer

[Grandpaw]

Hi Jeff,
I've been a Mac user since 2008. After we got a Windoze Vista machine for use at work, I saw the writing on the wall. I made the switch and after the initial learning curve, I love my Mac. I think I can count the system crashes requiring a re boot on one hand, maybe even one finger. Macs are works of art that just work.

They aren't perfect though and like Michael said they can have their problems too. My MBP had a optical drive failure, but I precipitated it, by stepping on my MBP. I replaced the drive myself and it's been fine since. My parents are inheriting my 15" MBP and I just purchased a 17". I also picked up a 27" Cinema Display at a decent price and hooked that to my MBP. What a nice monitor!

First thoughts were that I'd just sell the monitor, what the heck would I do with such a big monitor. But now that I have it all hooked up, it's really nice to have all of that real estate. Many photos take on a whole new look on that big monitor. It's also nice to have several programs open and have them peeking out a corner out and just click to bring them forward.

Lastly, I've only found 1 program that I really miss on Windoze. I was able to get the Mac version of the rest of what I used without trouble. I finally bought VMWare and installed XP on a partition, but all I use it for is Proshow Producer, IMO the best slide show program out there. Looking at your specs, I see Parallels is included, but that's just a virtual machine that will run Windows on a partition. I think you'll still need to purchase a version of Windows and install it with parallels in order to use Windows programs.

It takes a little practice to get used to the OS, but if you put a little effort forward and use the internet when you get stuck(there's a lot of information out there on tips, tricks, and the basics) you'll have the new OS down in a short time. I've become a complete Mac fanboy: iPod x2, iPhone, iPad, MBP 17" and Mac Mini media center.

You are correct about needing to get a copy of windows if I want to use it. Everyone that I have ever talked with that has a Mac just goes on and on about how much they like it and how few problems they have with it. A buddy of mine told me that he has a Mac that he bought in 1968 that has never had any trouble and still works fine. It won't run any of the new programs that are out but it will still get on the web and check e-mail. Another friend of mine has this same machine with Parrallels software with Windows 7 and says that windows actually runs faster on the Mac than it does on his PC. After I get it I will post some pictures and let you know what I think about it, Jeff

[EOSThree]

You are correct about needing to get a copy of windows if I want to use it. Everyone that I have ever talked with that has a Mac just goes on and on about how much they like it and how few problems they have with it. A buddy of mine told me that he has a Mac that he bought in 1968 that has never had any trouble and still works fine. It won't run any of the new programs that are out but it will still get on the web and check e-mail. Another friend of mine has this same machine with Parrallels software with Windows 7 and says that windows actually runs faster on the Mac than it does on his PC. After I get it I will post some pictures and let you know what I think about it, Jeff

I like my Mac, but I wonder if they are growing too big for their britches lately. Don't get me wrong, I will still continue to use Mac, but little software glitches and driver issues are creeping in here and there. It's like they are starting to set unrealistic deadlines just like Windows did and that is starting to produce slightly sloppy products.

A recent example is my Apple Cinema Display. The drivers for the speakers in the monitor weren't ready for prime time. My sound (and the sound of thousands of other users) would just stop and you'd have to unplug and plug in the monitor. This $1000 (at that price it had better be RIGHT) monitor went on sale in the late summer, the permanent fix just arrived recently. That was the same kind of stuff that constantly plagued Windoze and finally led to my leaving for Mac. I just hope they take a deep breath and slow down and get it right like they always have in the past. A 1K monitor with sound problems out of the box is unacceptable in my book.

I can't think of the other examples right now, but there have been other small software and driver glitches, just makes me a little nervous. That's exactly the way Windows lost parts of the market share to Mac in the first place.

[mwfanelli2]

I can understand the frustration with drivers for Apple products. They build them , sell them, they should be tested first. The same thing with all the problems with that Airport box thingie (the router). Nothing but problems with the Apple drivers.

But drivers in general, both Microsoft and Apple, the responsibility is with the manufacturer. For example, when an Epson printer dies it is Epson's fault. They build the equipment, they build the driver. Its the same with every piece of equipment out there. Too many manufacturers are lazy and cheap.

I spend time with the Apple user forums. The vast majority of problems complained about is due to user error and user stupidity. How many users decide to manually "fix" things that aren't broken or install garbage software because it looked "cool"? How many assume that hardware never breaks on an Apple so it can't possibly be a bad drive or circuit.

I do have to admit that I have less babysitting with Apple. Almost always, an OS reinstall is never called for as opposed to Windows where its almost always the only solution. There is no registry to get corrupt. You can trace where programs are going on a Mac. The OS is simpler (as is the GUI, something Windows has the advantage with).

It will be interesting to see if Apple resorts to Microsoft's quick and dirty approach to QA as it gets bigger or if they pull in the reins and keep things under control.

[Marc2B4]

The first Mac was made in 1976, so your' buddy is pumping you. Anyway, I'm typing this on a 24" iMac. I've got a 4 year old MacBook Pro that I use on the road/location for image editing. Photoshop was originally written for the Mac, it inherently runs better on a Mac. For image editing, there is no better tool. It is the industry standard in the DTP industry. I've used Macs since 1992 and have never had a hardware problem. During my last deployment to Iraq in 2005 I watched state of the art PC laptops dropping left and right because of the dust. I kept chugging along on the 3 year old iBook I brought and never had a problem. There is no networking problem with a Mac integrating it into a PC LAN. As long as you're running OS 10 it's almost automatic upon connection. I had 14 Mac workstations, 3 Mac print servers, 2 Mac Xserves all seamlessly integrated on the Air Force LAN. I did all the system admin as a secondary duty. Talking to the PC sys admins who worked for me in the Network Control Center, they were astonished that my Macs never crashed, never had a virus problem, and didn't require all the constant maintenance that the PCs did. You won't regret switching over to the Mac platform, instead you'll be kicking yourself for not doing so earlier. True, you'll pay more for a Mac, but you get what you pay for.

Mark

[Grandpaw]

The first Mac was made in 1976, so your' buddy is pumping you. Anyway, I'm typing this on a 24" iMac. I've got a 4 year old MacBook Pro that I use on the road/location for image editing. Photoshop was originally written for the Mac, it inherently runs better on a Mac. For image editing, there is no better tool. It is the industry standard in the DTP industry. I've used Macs since 1992 and have never had a hardware problem. During my last deployment to Iraq in 2005 I watched state of the art PC laptops dropping left and right because of the dust. I kept chugging along on the 3 year old iBook I brought and never had a problem. There is no networking problem with a Mac integrating it into a PC LAN. As long as you're running OS 10 it's almost automatic upon connection. I had 14 Mac workstations, 3 Mac print servers, 2 Mac Xserves all seamlessly integrated on the Air Force LAN. I did all the system admin as a secondary duty. Talking to the PC sys admins who worked for me in the Network Control Center, they were astonished that my Macs never crashed, never had a virus problem, and didn't require all the constant maintenance that the PCs did. You won't regret switching over to the Mac platform, instead you'll be kicking yourself for not doing so earlier. True, you'll pay more for a Mac, but you get what you pay for.


Mark

Mark, thank you and everyone else for your input.
I looked at the year in my post and I mistakenly inverted the last two digits, it should have read 1986 not 1968. This is my fault, not anything he said. The main thing I am getting from all these posts and from people that I talk with is that I will have MUCH FEWER problems with a Mac, it will be easier to use, and that I will like it once I make the change over, Jeff

[armando_m]

The first computer I used was an apple II

here is an interesting history chart


linked from wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Lisa

[OldClicker]

The first Mac was made in 1976...

Mark

I'm pretty sure that there were no Macs until the mid-80s. Maybe the Apple I in '76??? - Terry

[mwfanelli2]

A bit over-zealous!

The first Mac was made in 1976, so your' buddy is pumping you.

Nope, you are about a decade too early.

Photoshop was originally written for the Mac, it inherently runs better on a Mac. For image editing, there is no better tool. It is the industry standard in the DTP industry.

Nope. It runs no better on a Mac than on Windows. For many years, new stuff come out on Windows before Macs. The PP market in Windows is so much larger. But yes, it came out on Apple first and it is the industry standard.

I've used Macs since 1992 and have never had a hardware problem.

You've been lucky. Many components come from very few sources. Lots of parts are identical in both PCs and Macs.

During my last deployment to Iraq in 2005 I watched state of the art PC laptops dropping left and right because of the dust. I kept chugging along on the 3 year old iBook I brought and never had a problem.

Once again, just circumstances. Dust affects ALL unsealed machines. More than likely you were much more careful with your Macs because you like them more. Also, I'm betting the Windows machines were used much more heavily as that is what most soldiers would be used to.

There is no networking problem with a Mac integrating it into a PC LAN. As long as you're running OS 10 it's almost automatic upon connection.

You are obviously not a full-time system admin. Ours is laughing as I type. Every place I've been has more problems getting Macs working with the existing network than PCs. Once set up, both types work well.

I had 14 Mac workstations, 3 Mac print servers, 2 Mac Xserves all seamlessly integrated on the Air Force LAN. I did all the system admin as a secondary duty. Talking to the PC sys admins who worked for me in the Network Control Center, they were astonished that my Macs never crashed, never had a virus problem, and didn't require all the constant maintenance that the PCs did.

Yes, Macs require much less babysitting than Windows. MacOS is much more stable than Windows. MacOS is faster than Windows. They are also free from viruses thanks to "immunity by obscurity." As Macs become more popular there will be lots of surprised Mac users. Look at iOS (and Android): they are under attack big time. Numbers determine this. But yes, for now, no viruses but plenty of trojans.

You won't regret switching over to the Mac platform, instead you'll be kicking yourself for not doing so earlier. True, you'll pay more for a Mac, but you get what you pay for.

Let's hope so. Not every one experiences this "euphoria"!

Cheers.

[Marc2B4]

The first Apple computer was built in 1976 by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak in Jobs' garage. The first Apple Macintosh came out in 1984. I think you'd better check your facts regarding Photoshop on the Windows platform. Wasn't ported over to Windows until either v 3.5 or 4.0; Can't remember, drank too much in my youth and damaged too many brain cells. As far as the reliability of Macs in the desert; I had Army troops sitting next to me who went through 2 Thinkpads during my 6 months. Far as I know, the old iBook G3 is still working, at least it was when I retired. And if your sys admins are having that much trouble integrating Macs onto a Windows LAN, they've probably never worked on Unix systems because since OS X came out, that's what Mac computers are running. The OS runs on top of the Unix kernel. Same way as Windows runs on top of DOS. It's all a matter of education, I've been to all the Mac sys admin schools and networking schools. As far as being accused of being overzealous, I'm far from that, just stating my own personal experiences. On my desk when I retired, I had both state of the art Mac and Windows machines. For admin, I used Windows because the Air Force had custom Windows software for admin functions. For everything else, I used a Mac. I still use a Mac, they just work.

[mwfanelli2]

First, you stated in your original post that the first Mac was created in 1976. I stand by my statement about that being wrong.

Look, I don't want to start a big argument here. I use a Mac and I'm happy with it. But like it or not, sunshine does not flow out of Steve Job's you know what. You are mixing realities and coming to false conclusions.

Microsoft does not manufacture computers, they only manufacture Windows, a software product. You can not compare Apple hardware with Windows software and make any sense! You might say "Apple hardware is more reliable that Dells, or HPs, or Toshibas..." It has NOTHING to do with Windows. Plus, look at how many people choose to run Windows on their Macs! For the record, not me.

Second, Apple hardware is expensive. More than once, comparisons have been made between the hardware you can get FOR THE SAME PRICE. They are compatible. Do you really expect a $500 PC to match the quality of a $1600 MacBook Pro? Apple caters to the high end, the other manufactures emphasize value for the price.

Talking about value, my very old P4 Dell 2100 still runs Windows XP wonderfully well. My even older Toshiba laptop still runs fine. Another creaky old P4 Dell here in the computer lab is still running it's heart out. But hey, the G4 died. Oh oh, PC's are more reliable that Apples! Anecdotal evidence just isn't good enough.

Our network manager is a guy of over 50 years old who has spent his entire life with networking, including large scale UNIX and Linux networks. He knows Apple networking inside out. No, that does not make him right by default but I am much more likely to believe him than someone I've never met. Please don't denigrate people when you do not know their background.

Look, you like your Macs, I like my Macs. There are advantages and disadvantages to both MacOS and Windows. I expect much more from my BMW than I do from my Honda Civic. That doesn't make one better than the other across the board.