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PC vs. Mac:Convince me
- Thread starter digiddy
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Using MRoogle you will find plenty of those "convincing" threads.
It comes down to Mac OS X and if you want to use it or not.
http://www.xvsxp.com/
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&...=&gs_rfai=&redir_esc=&ei=ZA_PS8uaKKKJOK2NhfgP
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Mac OS X keyboard shortcuts
Mac Beginner's Guide
Finding Mac Software
List of Mac Software
http://mroogle.*************/MRoogle.gif
It comes down to Mac OS X and if you want to use it or not.
http://www.xvsxp.com/
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&...=&gs_rfai=&redir_esc=&ei=ZA_PS8uaKKKJOK2NhfgP
Mac OS X keyboard shortcuts
Mac Beginner's Guide
Finding Mac Software
List of Mac Software
http://mroogle.*************/MRoogle.gif
Well, 2.4GHz i5, 8GB RAM and matte is ~2200$, not 2500$. It's mainly the OS as you can't get it for PCs. Keep in mind that FCP is Mac only, so if you get a PC, it may make your school work harder.
OS!
Hardware developed for OS. No troubles in a Mac setup.
Eh... OS!!
OS saving time.
OS saving energy.
Did I mention the OS??
Hardware developed for OS. No troubles in a Mac setup.
Eh... OS!!
OS saving time.
OS saving energy.
Did I mention the OS??
Hmmm, so seeing your background, lets bring the discussion closer to what you will be using it for.
I'm in a band with a few of my friends and basically we all own macs (unibodies strangely enough). Well the other day during practice, I had to plug in my Alesis Firewire multi-mix to do multi-track recording, my bassist was doing some normal everyday word processing, she is a graphic artist professionally and freelance, uses Adobe CS4 on her macbook pro.
My drummer was working on a video we were shooting in iMovie.
Another friend of ours is a professional photographer and multimedia specialist, has a macbook pro using aperature.
Oh right, and I myself is a software Engineer, who loves the *nix based OS because of its security and the stuff i can do on it.
So yeah, I would like to consider it a very "commerical" moment.
Can a PC do all this, well yeah.... but I really must say it isn't as easy. (besides, the clips my drummer was editing came from another person's inability to get anything done in windows movie maker without it freezing on her C2D with 4GB ram.)
Whatever you choose is up to you. But i do remember a PC commercial saying "I got what I paid for".... well my response (and i can speak for everyone in my band. "I got what I paid for (my mac) and then some"
+1
I couldn't care less what computer you buy or use. Figure out what you want, then buy it. You want to be "convinced"? Go talk to a sales rep in a store. On the other hand, if you want to do research and gain an understanding of the benefits of Macs, searching the forum with MRoogle will reveal thousands of threads on any topic you might want to know. After you've done your homework and have searched and still have unanswered questions, come back and post them and I'm sure you'll get answers.
Or just walk into an Apple store and play with a mac That's why they're there: To convince you.
Staff don't bite either. And they'll happily leave you alone if you ask.
Build it yourself; horror stories about upgrading ibuypower machines abound. Or spend the money for a slightly higher-priced workstation from another major vendor to get a support contract.
Well, the main thing is that you don't get sued for using OSX86 if you're making money. Not to mention major companies often measure the amount of time a machine can pay for itself in weeks at a minimum. Then there's also official support as compared to the self-support OSX86 offers.
The main reason I bought my machines instead of building them is the very reason that I can make some revenue on the side and not have to worry about an audit.
Spend 2 weeks with OS X. I'm convinced anyone that does, will never go back to Windows. I tried this with my brother, because he sold his desktop and needed a laptop, I let him use my then Unibody MacBook until he decided what to get, and he ended up getting a 15" MacBook Pro. Now he tells me, he cannot stand using Windows, he says it feels "archaic" by comparison. He doesn't mean to slam Windows, nor do I, but OS X feels like 3-4 generations ahead in many aspects, like UI, stability (lack of virii) to name a few. I believe OS X can do more with less hardware, than Windows can with far more.
I once estimated I lost about 5-hours work per week when I was exclusively in Windows, when I switched to OS X, that went down to well...nil. I'll never look back, I Bootcamp into Windows because I have to for 3D Studio Max (and various games). If they made 3D Max for OS X, I'd only boot into windows for gaming. There is nothing else I need or want to do in Windows.
I do believe Windows 7 is better than previous versions, and is definitely on the right track, but for me "work and productivity" are paramount, and a Mac is the obvious choice. I was once like you, always spec'ing out the highest end PC, in fact; I recently decided to buy a high-end Sony Vaio Core i7 with 6gb ddr3 laptop for playing games (instead of having to reboot for them.) I found that my Mac played the games just as well. That Vaio was LOUD and got super hot. Within 24 hours (of downloading patches for games) it already had a virus (or trojan or something.), I gave up and decided I'm just going to stick with Mac's for "everything".
I could go on-and-on, but I suggest you try using a Mac/MacBook Pro for 2 weeks, and let us know how you feel after that.
I once estimated I lost about 5-hours work per week when I was exclusively in Windows, when I switched to OS X, that went down to well...nil. I'll never look back, I Bootcamp into Windows because I have to for 3D Studio Max (and various games). If they made 3D Max for OS X, I'd only boot into windows for gaming. There is nothing else I need or want to do in Windows.
I do believe Windows 7 is better than previous versions, and is definitely on the right track, but for me "work and productivity" are paramount, and a Mac is the obvious choice. I was once like you, always spec'ing out the highest end PC, in fact; I recently decided to buy a high-end Sony Vaio Core i7 with 6gb ddr3 laptop for playing games (instead of having to reboot for them.) I found that my Mac played the games just as well. That Vaio was LOUD and got super hot. Within 24 hours (of downloading patches for games) it already had a virus (or trojan or something.), I gave up and decided I'm just going to stick with Mac's for "everything".
I could go on-and-on, but I suggest you try using a Mac/MacBook Pro for 2 weeks, and let us know how you feel after that.
Good to hear about your decision, but I will point out that you can spend all the time you want in the store (assuming Apple owned store) and certainly take advantage of their free introductory classes. Heck, I spent an hour and a half using a 27" iMac in the store one day before deciding to purchase, and I'd been a Mac user for five years! Nothing beats your own hands-on experience.
I know Apple offers 14 day money back on everything i have bought. I am unsure if it extends to Imacs, and Macbooks. You may be able to use it for a week or two and then decide.
Personally I love them, I don't even use PS, Final Cut, or garage band. I simply surf, game, word processor.
Personally I love them, I don't even use PS, Final Cut, or garage band. I simply surf, game, word processor.
For me it has always been the mantra "it just works". There are times that you fight with Windows -- trying to upgrade drivers, trying to connect to a wireless network, trying to set up monitors and projectors. Even silly things like plugging in a USB drive and waiting for it to show up on My Computer. "Hmm, it didn't seem to work, let me try unplugging and plugging in again." "Oh yes, usually this works fine, but sometimes, you know..."
You don't think of it as fighting because you've always dealt with this stuff and you figure it's just normal. Then you try it on a Mac and realize that, for the most part, hey, it worked the way you expect it to. The first time. Yes, there are occasional glitches, nobody's perfect, but 99% of the time, it works.
It's often stupid little things. Case study: I'm typing this on my machine at work. It's a nice Dell machine with 2 large LCD monitors, but there's a glitch: if I turn my 24" LCD off, Windows seems to forget about it and I won't be able to log in again until I reboot. Sometimes, Windows gets it wrong too, putting the Start menu on the other monitor. And each time, my icons end up all lined up on the left of the screen instead of laid out in groups on my desktop the way I like. Workaround: never turn the LCD off. It's probably a driver issue.
Some people like dealing with that. They like a challenge. They like to tinker. You're running driver version 2.6.4.3, and the manufacturer just released 2.6.4.4b6, so you just have to try it out. If that's you, then you'll want to play with Windows or some Linux version. I have a friend who would spend entire weekends reinstalling the drivers on his PC to make it perform better (or not - necessitating a reinstall from scratch). Hey, he enjoyed that stuff. Me, I spent my weekends doing, you know, useful stuff.
The perfect example of this was a story I posted some time back about plugging in a new networked color laser printer. I literally simply plugged it into my network and my Mac automatically found it and configured itself for printing to it with absolutely no intervention on my part. My attempt to install the drivers on my Windows PC had me visiting the Lexmark website to download the correct drivers -- twice, because the first time I chose the wrong one -- and dealing with a defective installation CD and multiple reboots while I worked out a few glitches. I was so blown away by the fact that the Mac "just worked" that I sat there staring at it in shock. (The real reason it worked was because the printer and the Mac both took advantage of Bonjour/Rendezvous/zero-configuration networking. But who cares how the technology works, it's good to know it just does.)
Mac software makes you look good. You set up that beautiful slide show in iPhoto. You get asked to videotape the school play and you burn it onto a DVD with chapters and full motion menus. Everyone thinks you're a genius. Of course it's possible on a PC, with the right software, but you did it with what was included out of the box. (This is probably a weak example for you, since you're studying media and you'll be using far more advanced stuff than "make a pretty slide show".) But you get my point, I hope. I find that I work with my Mac to get stuff done, instead of fighting with my computer.
There's more to a computer than just specs. When you get mired "down in the numbers" you tend to ignore the less quantifiable, qualitative factors which also play an important role in how your computer works for you.
When I bought my first Mac in 2003, I had been using a high-end (for the time) Dell Latitude laptop. It had an incredible 1920x1200 15" screen, and a 1.5 GHz Pentium M ("Centrino") processor. Then I bought a 12" PowerBook G4, running at 1024x768, at 1 GHz. By specs alone, the Dell spanked the PowerBook, but I sold the Dell a few months later because I found myself using the PowerBook more and more. It was my exclusive day-to-day machine for 5 years.
One of the things that caused me to look at switching to a Mac was, silly as it sounds, iMovie. The reason I bought my Dell Latitude rig was to have a nice machine for video editing (using Ulead Media Studio Pro). My machine, powerful as it was, just wasn't up to full-screen real-time previewing. My friend's lowly Titanium PowerBook, however, could do it just fine! That blew me away, and caused me to look at editing with Final Cut Express and iMovie once I eventually got a PowerBook of my own.
I agree. We shouldn't have to convince you of anything. Go do your own research and hands on testing then make your own decision.
persuade vs. convince
Some people like to distinguish between these two words by insisting that you persuade people until you have convinced them; but “persuade” as a synonym for “convince” goes back at least to the 16th century. It can mean both to attempt to convince and to succeed. It is no longer common to say things like “I am persuaded that you are an illiterate fool,” but even this usage is not in itself wrong.
Some people like to distinguish between these two words by insisting that you persuade people until you have convinced them; but “persuade” as a synonym for “convince” goes back at least to the 16th century. It can mean both to attempt to convince and to succeed. It is no longer common to say things like “I am persuaded that you are an illiterate fool,” but even this usage is not in itself wrong.