mac vs. pc

[tubabuddha]

so im in line to buy myself a laptop and i was wondering if any of you guys had a preference.....im looking at a new toshiba laptop but ive heard that windows vista doesnt allow some programs to work then theres the new mac powerbooks also....or what do you prefer

[tubabuddha]

im most likly going to use it for mp3's ,recording , MSoffice and mabye something like finale

[THE TUBA]

I use Finale 2006 on my IBM laptop. It works fine 98% of the time, but I occasionally run into a few glitches. Sometimes the MIDI output stops working (which can be fixed by closing and re-opening the program), a blue triangle will appear on top right corner of the score when playing in scroll view and will cover most of the page (which can also be fixed by restarting the program), and sometimes when I try to save a file as a .wav or .mp3 file, one track will be much louder than the others, to the point where it is painful to listen to and the midi instrument is indistinguishable.

Yeah, I run into a problem on my laptop here and there, but it hasn't been anything a Ctrl+Alt+Delete hasn't fixed. I think the whole mac/pc dilemma is mostly personal preference.

[LoyalTubist]

Many of us here are diehard Mac users, including the LoyalTubist. Too bad all the computers at work are PCs. (Which is where I am now--at work.)

[ThomasP]

Would you rather have a cheap car that you have to repair or change the oil in every thousand miles, or a more expensive car that you'll probably have to put in the shop once or twice in its lifetime?

PC's require a fair amount or routine maintenence. Mac's do not.
PC's require more software (this is declining...) to execute certain functions or activities. Mac's have many native applications that you don't have to buy.

Bottom line, if you have the money, get a Mac, you won't be dissappointed. I would also stick with just the MacBook, the MacBook Pro seems a little "over the top" unless you're using it for high end audio/video/picture production.

Any questions you might have, I'll answer.

[The Big Ben]

PC's require a fair amount or routine maintenence. Mac's do not.
PC's require more software (this is declining...) to execute certain functions or activities. Mac's have many native applications that you don't have to buy.

One more thing on the software front:

If you are a little geeky, Macintosh offers the entire suite of open source applications. Underneath the pretty surface, the Mac OS is open source Unix (BSD) and there are hundreds if not thousands of applications that can be downloaded, compiled and used.

If you are really geeky, Mac OS comes with all of the open source programming tools you could ever want or need to use.

I've used Mac since 1987 and this latest OS, OSX, has everything I've ever wanted.

Oh, yeah: With the latest Macs with Intel processors, you can run Windows if you want. No emulators and it is fast and reliable.

[ZNC Dandy]

As far as audio recording goes, Mac is far better. The studios at the radio station here are about 1/2 Mac, and its hard to get into one.

[pulseczar]

Macs are great for video/audio editing. There's a mac compatible MSOffice out there, and iTunes is a decent mp3 player. I have no idea Finale works on mac but I'm assuming it'll be just as confusing as it is on a PC.

I've been a PC guy all my life, but if I was going to buy a laptop for uses you described, I'll definitely look into a Mac.

ps if you've considered doing a little video editing in the future, definitely get the mac. Final Cut Pro is much better and easier than Adobe Premiere.

[tubacdk]

I switched to Macs 3-4 years ago and have been overwhelmingly pleased. I was always having to tweak my PCs to keep them running smoothly. A couple times I had fatal issues that I couldn't fix and had to re-install Windows XP... each time it was one of those random .dll files or whatever had corrupted and hamstringed the system.

Anyway, I considered myself a fairly satisfied PC user for the most part, then I got a free ancient Mac from work and started fiddling with it. It didn't take me long to see the positives in the Mac, and the next computer I bought was an iBook. It's wonderfully stable, things are designed more intuitively and the different apps talk to each other in a way you never see on PCs. There is an amazing amount of open source software being developed for the Mac as well.

With the constant progress Apple is making with OS X, the Intel processors, it honestly makes no sense to me for anyone to buy a PC, so long as you can afford to get even an entry level Mac. If you have the install discs for WinXP, you can run both platforms on the same machine, if you still have a need for Windows programs (either in a window on the Mac desktop, using Parallels, or you can boot up the computer as a Windows machine).

I use my Mac for sound editing, Sibelius work, web design, family photos & movies, and other general web/e-mail stuff. If you do digital photography at all, iPhoto is amazing for organizing/editing photos, making slideshows, etc. If you use iTunes on your PC, that's a small glimpse of the quality of Apple software. If you want to do recording, there are multiple open-source (free) programs out there for multi-track recording (cross-platform app Audacity is what I've used - http://audacity.sourceforge.net), and there is also Garageband, which gives you many many options including making loops you can record on top of, built-in podcast functions, for example.

I'm running at the mouth here... anyway, I'm a happy convert. Feel free to e-mail me if you'd like with specific questions.

-ck

[Leland]

Mac's have many native applications that you don't have to buy.

Right -- it can do a whole lot right out of the box. If you really want, or need, to do more, pro-quality apps aren't far away.

Bottom line, if you have the money, get a Mac, you won't be dissappointed. I would also stick with just the MacBook, the MacBook Pro seems a little "over the top" unless you're using it for high end audio/video/picture production.

Macs are always perceived to be more expensive because Apple doesn't sell a stripped-down Mac. Every one of them has all the software & networking abilities that almost anybody needs.

MacBook vs. MacBook Pro -- as ThomasP says, unless you're doing big stuff with lots of video production, effects rendering, multi-multi-track recording, and other neat things (such as Motion, for example), you just won't need the Pro model. Put 2 gigs of RAM in the MacBook (Apple's RAM prices, surprisingly enough, weren't that bad the last time I checked), get a nice big HD, and have fun.

There are more things to learn about how the Mac OS works, but really, they make pretty good sense once you see how Apple approaches things. As you come up with questions, come back & ask.

[The Big Ben]

Macs are always perceived to be more expensive because Apple doesn't sell a stripped-down Mac. Every one of them has all the software & networking abilities that almost anybody needs.

Also, Apple hardware is top quality hardware. Not all PC hardware is good. Some of it is just cheap and some of the perception that "Macs are more expensive" comes from that.

However, the original poster is considering a Toshiba which is top quality hardware in most cases.

[ThomasP]

Also, Apple hardware is top quality hardware. Not all PC hardware is good. Some of it is just cheap and some of the perception that "Macs are more expensive" comes from that.

However, the original poster is considering a Toshiba which is top quality hardware in most cases.

The difference isn't the Hardware to me. The difference comes with what's communicating with the Hardware. Another difference I remembered with MacBook v.MacBook Pro is the keyboard, they're just different, and also the screen, MacBook Pro is a little higher resolution and what not. Not a big deal for normal things.

[Leland]

...and also the screen, MacBook Pro is a little higher resolution and what not. Not a big deal for normal things.

Apple's being targeted by a lawsuit that says they misrepresented how many colors the MB Pro's displays (basically, all the ones 15" and up) can really display. Bottom line there is that nobody makes laptop displays in those sizes with 8-bit processing, which is what would allow "millions of colors" -- they're all 6-bit screens. Apple is not alone on this, since every other computer manufacturer has also been putting 6-bit displays in their large laptops.

But anyway... the resolution thing is going to matter less, too. One of the extra things said to be present in OS 10.5, aka "Leopard", is resolution independence. That means that onscreen objects (buttons, dialog boxes, etc) won't simply be measured in pixels but, say, in inches. For example, extra-high resolution displays with tight pixel density can sometimes end up with menus and control icons that get pretty tiny. However, with resolution independence, you'll be able to change the size of things without making them look worse. This has been brewing as Apple's Quartz drawing layer since 10.0, so it's been in the works for a while.

[Leland]

The value for money argument is what turned me off to macs.

About a year ago, I was looking to buy a laptop with 3 main contenders with prices $900, $1200, and $1400. They have near identical specs (dual core intel, 1 gig of ram, integrated graphics, 80-120 gig hard drive). ...

What about the other specs? What about the included software? Did they all have cameras built-in, Wi-Fi, DVD burning & editing software, photo management & music creation software, etc etc?

Spec-for-spec and feature-for-feature, Macs match up very well. Just to see for myself, I'm building up a Thinkpad T60 at IBM's retail site with typical Apple laptop features, and it's pushing $2500, supposedly at a sale price from nearly $3K. Same setup with a 15" MacBook Pro comes up to a little over $2500, but with twice the video memory, too.

[Arkietuba]

My family just bought a new Gateway lap-top that has Windows Vista and we love it. There were a few problems when we first got it but that's to be expected when a new os is launched. Now it works pretty well, some of my games crash it but that's b/c I try to do run them at a higher detail level than I should.

My friend who's a composer bought a lap-top w/ Vista as well and he loves it. Though when he composes, he runs it with a different os since Vista won't let him use Sibelius yet. That's really his only complaint.

My only complaint is the same as his...I can't run some of my games even some of the newer ones (it's weird b/c GTA III runs perfectly but Vice City and San Andreas don't work right).

As for the Mac vs. PC...I've always been a PC guy. I've used Macs before and they're great but I'm just so used to PCs that I can't use a Mac, plus I like playing games and there are very few games that run on Mac nowadays. I do think Macs great for designing and music stuff though...but you can get free versions of the same programs for PC.

[Leland]

My PS2 and Wii are what I use for gaming...

[Tubaryan12]

There are only 2 factors I use when buying a car or a computer: How much does it cost and does it do all of the things I need it to do. For me, it will always be P.C.. I just can't justify the price of Apple products for what I need a PC for: surfing the web and playing games.

[Leland]

My PS2 and Wii are what I use for gaming...

Leland this is completly off topic but...what games are you playing on your wii?

I'm playing Wii Sports almost every time. I've also only gotten started on Zelda (I want to save it for days off since it's so involving), The Godfather (really, really cool control system), and Trauma Center. I have Monster 4x4, too, but although it drives reasonably well, it still feels like a beta program. I've also downloaded Excitebike, Super Mario Bros. (the NES version) and MarioKart64 -- all three run just as if they were on their original systems, no signs of emulation.

The only things I use the PS2 for anymore are racing games and Guitar Hero.

[LoyalTubist]

One of the lamest excuses I hear for not changing to a Mac is that you can't play the same games as you can on the PC. The truth is there are BETTER games you can play on the Mac that you CAN'T play on a PC.

Check out this site:

http://www.ambrosiasw.com/

More about the expense issue--I have NEVER spent over $200 for a used Mac. Apple does a good job of providing support for defunct operating systems, although you have to do a lot of your own research for anything before Mac OS X. You will never run the risk of using counterfeit software.

On my wife's PC (yes, this is a PC/Mac marriage--she was a PC software engineer a few years before we met) I wanted to update Internet Exploder because there was some content on a certain site that required the latest version. So, I tried to upgrade it. The system had to be verified genuine. I downloaded a verifier. I didn't think anything about it. But it said all the Micro$oft software on this computer is bootleg and Micro$oft wants their money. I found out that almost every Windows system in Vietnam is bootleg because no one can afford the full price. (One exception is the computers at my work--the company I work for is based in Singapore, so the computers were purchased there.)

To get a good deal on a Mac--Buy a used computer built after 1998. Get the latest Mac OS. Currently this is 10.4.9. You can buy earlier OSs on eBay for fair prices. I got a 10.3.9 system on DVD sent to Vietnam for $50. You should also get the last Classic system on CD-ROM, just in case something happens. That system is 9.2.2. And go exploring around for programs that work with Mac.

You might see a program called VirtualPC. This allows you to run Windows on most Macs. I like the earlier versions--the ones made by Connectix. Connectix was purchased by Micro$oft a few years ago and the performance of VirtualPC has gone way downhill.

The computers with Pentium processors allow you to install Windows without VirtualPC. I haven't heard any reports about this.

So, in reality, I use both PC and Mac but I prefer the Mac.

[fpoon]

Software is more expensive and not as easily available

Agreed, BUT tons of free stuff is out there - you just know how and where to look. I had to buy Sibalius back in the day for class, but other than that and the OS updates, I've never paid for one piece of software for my Mac.

If money is an issue, skip out on office and use any one of various open source java office clients. Still saves stuff in the .doc and .xls formats, and it 100% free!

One of the lamest excuses I hear for not changing to a Mac is that you can't play the same games as you can on the PC.

As a former (rather hardcore) gamer, I'm gonna have to disagree on that one. Yeah, the Mac does have some fun apps that you can't run anywhere else gaming wise, but if you want to play most of the bigger name releases, you are out of luck on an IBM CPU equipped Mac. Yeah, stuff like WoW runs fine, but classics such as Half-Life, etc. are no where to be found.

However...

The computers with Pentium processors allow you to install Windows without VirtualPC. I haven't heard any reports about this.

This is done with a program called BootCamp. And it is awesome. There are driver issues here and there, but if you want the simplicty and reliabilty that Mac a gives, but still want to play the newest gaming titles, you are good to go on most modern MacBook Pros. The regular MacBooks run XP (have not tried Vista myself) just fine, but most of their GPU's can not handle high demand games.

As for the Wii - You guys should try Wario Ware: Smooth Moves. It's glorious.