The Great Pc/mac Quandry....

[Axeman]

Hi all,

Well.... I've been playing about with something over the last week or so. There's a reasonably new freeware PowerPC emulator called PearPC, available for Win32 and Linux (and probably a few others). It basically lets you run PPC OS's (for example Mac OS X) on x486 hardware. I've been running OS X Panther on my PC for the last week on top of windows, and although slower than a real mac, ir's really suprised me how well it runs.

It's all started me thinking.

I've always been a staunch PC user, with any mention of Macs being rubbished as being 'too simplistic, too unconfigurable, or too expesive'.

BUT

After a week of OS X, I'm really starting to warm to it. Firstly, what an absolutely GORGEOUS interface - both to look at and to use. It makes XP look so nasty when you go back. I also run Mandrake linux, and that's closer, but still not perfect - mainly ease-of-use issues, I must admit. I'm actually starting to falter, and thinking, should I take the plunge and go for it? I mean, there's a damn sight less in the way of viruses, spyware and the like for the Mac. It's also much nicer to use, has a Unix-based kernel (so stable as hell) and it does all I need to do on my PC, but all wrapped up in a much nicer way, and a joy to use!

I wouldn't want to drop the PC entirely. There's some stuff I still couldn't do on a mac, but there's a lot of stuff I could...

I was looking at the new iMac - how's this for minimalist :-

http://www.apple.com/uk/imac/

I mean, it's gorgeous, no? Sorry - getting carried away...

Also, the low-end G5 powermac is nice, same spec as the above, believe it or not, just in a bigger, more expandable case (and without the screen)... Other than that, the price is only £50 more than the iMac. Sort of defeats the minimalist side of things a little though...

http://www.apple.com/uk/powermac/

Basically, the way my mind is working is this.... I've been using Windows PCs for the last eleven years, non-stop. I'm BORED! Yes, my PC can do 90% of what the Mac can do, and also stuff that it can't (games for instance). Thing is, I feel like I've got to the end of my 'tweaking' phase (after all this time!) , and what a machine that just works, with no pissing around and no compatibility issues. I want to start USING the machine properly, to do all those things that I'd like to do (video editing for one), and takes so long to get sorted on a PC that you're sick of it all by the time you get it working, and can't actually be arsed to do anything...

My main problem is, the Mac community (and PC community for that matter), is full of wanky fanboys who's sole aim in life is to rubbish the other platform (hmmm.... where have I seen THAT before? ). It's very difficult to get a balenced view on it all. I myself have found I like OS X, but I wanted to get the opinions of others who either use Macs regularly, alongside PCs, or who have made the swap entirely.

And before people answer - yes, I know they're expensive (though not THAT expensive - where could you get a top-end PC with a 17" widescreen TFT for much less than a grand? - I've seen the iMac G5 with DVD-RW, 1.8Ghz G5 and all the trimmings for £910) and I know they have a lower level of software available. I'm curious to see other's opinions on the matter....

Anyways, humour me, chuck your views my way!

Ta

Axeman

 

[thecheat]

Figures, I'm the first to post
Ok, i'll keep the fanboyism down
i haven't always used macs, but when you first start one up, its like... radically different, in a really good way. i'd been using windows before, and I finally convinced my mum to buy a mac (actually, pestered and pestered til she gave in ). anyway, that's my story.
Definitley go for a mac if you've got the cash. I have heard of Pear, but I haven't used it due to a few reasons:
-my PC is too slow
-and duh, i have a mac!
Once you warm up to it, its really hard to go back to PCs, and that's why there is so much mac evangelism/fanboyism. Once you've had mac, you'll never go back

As for buying: personally, I think the new iMacs are ugly. I'd spring for the G5 tower, mainly because its way fast and more expandable. you can get new gfx cards, add PCI cards, etc.

Good luck, and if you have any questions, i can try and answer them

glad to see someone new is interested in the mac scene

 

[PinkSpider]

Im on a G4 Ibook atm but I have 2 pc's behind me:

Its not that stable, bittorrent regularly crashes it and so has Mplayer but still it feels fun to use; its like using linux but with a good user interface and better support.

Plus ive been playing Warcraft 3 alot so games wise they are okay.

Ill be buying a G4 mac and building my own gaming pc soon.

 

[generalnmx]

Windows is for games and the best software compatibility.

Macs are for a pretty interface and speed, and somewhat stability.

Linux is for customizability, speed, and stability.

Compability for games and software, and what are available for each platform:

Windows: Highest compatibility
Linux: Medium compatibility
Macintosh: Lowest compatibility (Mac OS)

Remember - Windows has Cygwin and a Mac emulator. Linux has WINE and Cedega (WineX). This also doesn't count Linux running on a PowerPC, since we're talking OSes and the hardware they are designed for.

Note I am not saying any one is better then the other, but boasting Macs as having higher usability then Windows or Linux is absurd. It's all about what you need it for.

 

[spray]

pear pc you say, may give that a little look

 

[leebf]

I have a PC at home and I use Macs at Uni.
I personally find this is a good setup. Games and stuff at home and G5's for video editing at Uni.
Not sure if I'd buy a Mac, a bit too pricey I have built two medium spec PCs for the price of one basic spec Mac.

But they do look nice.

 

[Klown]

Macs are only good for their interface and stability. There are no real advantages after that. I'd rather stick with the more functional/compatable windows + linux.

 

[BaDToaD]

Macs are only good for their interface and stability.

​

I think that's one of the main reason to use them.

Personally I have a Windows PC. They're shit! (this is not fanboy talk it's fact)anyone that tells you otherwise has never used a serious computer before. I used to run mainframe systems where it was Months between glitches let alone crashes. Our VME system once went for 10 months without a single minute of user down time (over 3000 hours) and that was due to a hardware fault not the operating system.

I use Windows PCs at work purely because they're the industry standard and as an IT manager I have to go with the flow. If I could convince my bosses I'd go for Linux or Macs but it's not worth the effort to try and change their view.

If the Mac does what you want Axeman then go for it. I think you'll be a very happy bunny. I would be tempted to go for the Tower though purely for the expansion options.

 

[markusdragon]

I used a mac once. It was enough to put me off them for life. I'm constantly told that all macs are more stable, faster and with a better designed OS than PCs, however, when you spend half an hour looking for a program that will rip music from the CD, and the next half an hour ripping A SINGLE SONG at LESS THAN 1X SPEED for the semi-geek girl you kinda have a crush on, the hype is somewhat shattered.
And OSX is kinda painful to the eyes for some reason, or maybe i'm just used to my widescreen and the eMac i was using was the standard, nontheless, it was a painful, slow and embarrasing operating system; not something i'm willing to exchange my comfortable but buggy windows system for. Especially with the extortionate prices apple want for their technology.

 

[Jarska333]

Workbench 1.3 all the way.

 

[trooper]

Workbench 1.3 all the way.

​

Nah! You want at least 2.04, Tis so much better.

Trooper

 

[Axeman]

Well!!!

Bugger me! (not literally please...)

I've only gone and bloody done it! I bought the 1.8Ghz G5 iMac. I checked out my options and decided that it was worth the effort. I went for the iMac because I will be weighing up whether I should get rid of my PC when I've been using the Mac for a bit, and dont want to be left without a display if I need to sell that too....

I've got a nice 19" Iiyama display too, so I can always span it

Anyways... I'm off to cry for a bit due to the huge hole it's just made in my pocket.

Cyas later

 

[spray]

bold

enjoy

 

[BaDToaD]

Nice one Axeman. I reckon you should Blog your adventures in Macland here daily. Axeman in Macland. LOL

 

[Swiss_Cheeseman]

Stability in MacOS is overrated, quite a few times I've had to reboot my mac at work. Also, the interface, while looking nice, can be a bit sluggish at times.

Windows, on the other hand, hasn't locked up once for ages on me. The only time it has was when my CPU fan conked out, though thats a hardware problem and therefore not Windows fault. I hate Microsoft as much as any Slashdot zealot, but Windows 2k/XP are actually very good products and do what they do very well.

Also, fuck single buttons. Yeah, I know you can hook up a 3 button wheel mouse, but the implementation is more of a hack than anything.

I may seem like I'm grilling MacOS, and I sorta am, but don't take is as if I think its the worst OS ever created. It certainly beats out Linux when it comes to usability.

 

[speedmike]

I use macs while I am at college because they work better than the PCs they have in the labs! Otherwise, I am pretty strictly a windows user.

I find that whatever your high school (or just school in general) used is the computer that your family got. My school was PC so my first computer in 1998 was a pc. I have friends who's high school had Mac and they use macs... I think it is a good corrolation (sp).

 

[Axeman]

Stability in MacOS is overrated, quite a few times I've had to reboot my mac at work. Also, the interface, while looking nice, can be a bit sluggish at times.

Windows, on the other hand, hasn't locked up once for ages on me. The only time it has was when my CPU fan conked out, though thats a hardware problem and therefore not Windows fault. I hate Microsoft as much as any Slashdot zealot, but Windows 2k/XP are actually very good products and do what they do very well.

Also, fuck single buttons. Yeah, I know you can hook up a 3 button wheel mouse, but the implementation is more of a hack than anything.

I may seem like I'm grilling MacOS, and I sorta am, but don't take is as if I think its the worst OS ever created. It certainly beats out Linux when it comes to usability.

​

I know this is generally the fault of not enough RAM. Also, what CPUs are they running?

 

[Gruntfuggly]

Th only reason I ever have mine crash is that I've installed quite a few third party additions to the OS - and subsequently updated the OS which can then cause incompatibilities (which isn't really that surprising).

Welcome to the mac world - I'm surprised nobody has mentioned the one really useful reason for using macs - no viruses (not yet at least). I'm sure it will happen someday, but all the while the mac market is so small compared to the PC market, it's less likely.

Personally my favourite thing about using the mac is to install a new app, all you do is download it and 9 times out of 10, you can just run it from the folder you downloaded it to. If you like it and want to keep it - drap it into your Applications folder and that's it. No arsing around with restarts, etc. and to uninstall it is usually a case of dragging it from the Applications folder to the Trash.

At the end of the day, as has already been said, PCs are good for some things and Macs are good for others - you've probably made the most sensible decision you could - kept the PC so you've got both.

Oh and one other thing - underneath OSX, it's basically running a version of unix (darwin) which opens up a whole new set of possibilities, X windows, for example which can integrate seamlessly with OSX, aswell as loads of command line tools, etc.

 

[thecheat]

i don't know why people can't stand single button mice; they seem perfectly fine to me. obviously in games it presents a problem, but i like the Apple Pro Mouse. And 3 button mice are not hacks; i have used two different ones (one a Microsoft mouse at that!) and never had problems.
and i'm not going to lie: macs DO lock up, but not once has my mac EVER actually crashed (kernel panic). usually its the fault of a program that crashes itself and ties up resources.
and, uh... marcusdragon? your CD was probably scratched. to add to that, you don't HAVE to use iTunes anyway, there are alternatives (audion, anyone?). plus, you could just change the codec to LAME.

@axeman- sweet, i'm jealous. i still havent got my mom to break the 1GHz barrier (i run a 700mhz eMac, first gen) good luck, and i can try to help if you have problems.

@BaDToaD: Whoa... IT guy who isnt anti Mac... its a revolution!

 

[Klown]

you could just change the codec to LAME.

I believe Lame is an encoder. Not a codec.