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Is it really Worth it??
- Thread starter Carguy172
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Macs generally haven't been built for gaming, but the iMacs and Mac Pros can run games pretty well.
If you want to experience Mac OS, buy a Mac, and if you decide you don't like it, you can just run Windows off it
If you want to experience Mac OS, buy a Mac, and if you decide you don't like it, you can just run Windows off it
no virii, hardware/software integration (no worrying about drivers), Ease of use (IMHO, once you get used to it), lots of other stuff too but i have to go so I won't list them now.
ease of use, software, "look and feel", no viruses, not crashing on a daily basis, a ton of things. And, you can run windows off it if you need to/want to/ decide you dont like OSX.
I bought one because:
1) No viruses.
2) Good support.
Now the 2nd one is iffy because from what I hear, some people have had less-than-stellar service from Apple, but they seem to work well for me. If something goes wrong, no problem, it's just off to Apple. I don't have to worry about being out of warranty (unless I actually am, but I'm paranoid and buy Applecare [extended warranty] for everything), or calling this-and-that number to try and figure out what the hell is wrong. I just go to the store, hand it off, and come back a few days (or weeks - lol) later and everything's fine.
It is eye candy, but it's functional too. I find myself being more productive in Mac OS X than I do in Windows XP. Maybe because everything looks nicer and operates smoother.. I feel compelled to use it more.
As for features - Widgets are definitely a bonus. I can't think of others off the top of my head but surely someone will be along who knows of more amazing features.
1) No viruses.
2) Good support.
Now the 2nd one is iffy because from what I hear, some people have had less-than-stellar service from Apple, but they seem to work well for me. If something goes wrong, no problem, it's just off to Apple. I don't have to worry about being out of warranty (unless I actually am, but I'm paranoid and buy Applecare [extended warranty] for everything), or calling this-and-that number to try and figure out what the hell is wrong. I just go to the store, hand it off, and come back a few days (or weeks - lol) later and everything's fine.
It is eye candy, but it's functional too. I find myself being more productive in Mac OS X than I do in Windows XP. Maybe because everything looks nicer and operates smoother.. I feel compelled to use it more.
As for features - Widgets are definitely a bonus. I can't think of others off the top of my head but surely someone will be along who knows of more amazing features.
If you use a computer to generate income, productivity is crucial.
You want a system that just works when you need it to work.
What is your time worth?
What is your peace of mind worth?
What do you expect from your computer?
What are your primary must have applications?
What is your comfortable budget?
You want a system that just works when you need it to work.
What is your time worth?
What is your peace of mind worth?
What do you expect from your computer?
What are your primary must have applications?
What is your comfortable budget?
FFTT said:
Right. And if you're a student, macs are really helpful ways of avoiding all the pitfalls that windows and, really more of an issue these days, pc makers entail. The number of times I've heard from colleagues of some unidentified 'glitch' that ate their work.. I might be rich!
On the whole, macs are solid systems. PC's can be too, but my personal experience has been + with macs and - with windows. Some people are bummed by apple - especially these days, I get the impression apple is going downhill - but I am not yet one of them. Ultimately, this comes down to personal experience...
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Its really hard to list all the reason why a person might switch. I dont really consider myself a switcher because i have a windows desktop. I purchased the macbook. I love this little machine and i rarely use my desktop unless i need to use windows based programs for my work.
But i must say that the main thing that i love about apple is its easy of use. It kinda reminds me of Linux but much easier to get up and running.
Everything just seems to work. Its all streamlined. It really wouldn't take long to get use to it. I think the hardest thing to get use to is already having pretty much everything that your going to need right on the computer. So, off the back the OS seems to take up a lot more space then a typical OS install. I decided to get a mac laptop because i was tired of windows. I was tired of the same boring GUI and simply the way that everything is done. Nothing seems new and interesting with windows anymore. But i would say the best medicine for trying to figure out your own reason for switching would be to go into a apple store and ask one of the works to run you thorough the workings of the OS and see for yourself first hand what apple could offer you.
But i must say that the main thing that i love about apple is its easy of use. It kinda reminds me of Linux but much easier to get up and running.
Everything just seems to work. Its all streamlined. It really wouldn't take long to get use to it. I think the hardest thing to get use to is already having pretty much everything that your going to need right on the computer. So, off the back the OS seems to take up a lot more space then a typical OS install. I decided to get a mac laptop because i was tired of windows. I was tired of the same boring GUI and simply the way that everything is done. Nothing seems new and interesting with windows anymore. But i would say the best medicine for trying to figure out your own reason for switching would be to go into a apple store and ask one of the works to run you thorough the workings of the OS and see for yourself first hand what apple could offer you.
It's hard to describe what makes the Mac better, exactly. It's really the sum total of all the little things that OS X offers that Windows doesn't. It's not like you sit down at a Mac the first time and just go "WOAH." It grows on you, you have to adapt to how it works, learn the tricks and stuff it does that Windows doesn't.
I'd say the best way to learn why OS X is better is to dive into it for a month or two, learn the cool stuff and get used to it, try to actively put it into your daily workflow, and then go back to Windows. If you miss the stuff you've learned, you've found out why the Mac is better. For me, those things are Exposé (and it's Dashboard cousin), and spring-loaded folders, plus the prevalence of drag and drop. I've gotten so used to them that I find myself struggling to use Windows effectively now.
I'd say the best way to learn why OS X is better is to dive into it for a month or two, learn the cool stuff and get used to it, try to actively put it into your daily workflow, and then go back to Windows. If you miss the stuff you've learned, you've found out why the Mac is better. For me, those things are Exposé (and it's Dashboard cousin), and spring-loaded folders, plus the prevalence of drag and drop. I've gotten so used to them that I find myself struggling to use Windows effectively now.
What interests me in a Mac and OSX is the underlying BSD (*nix)-root of the system. I think if you are doing any kind of development on the system this becomes a huge pro.
But then again it is not like Linux where one has to configure the whole lot, since you get a fully functional system out of the box, including the ability to run applications such as Photoshop and even MS-Office natively.
I like the sequential upgrades (security and otherwise) that make a lot more sense to me than the way windows handles these things.
Also the tight integration with the hardware is a definite pro. OS and hardware from the same company means there is a lot less that can go wrong in terms of drivers etc.
I have no bad experiences with Windows either. I think XP, freed from all the un-necessary ballast can be a highly reliable platform too (I write this on a 2 1/2 year old XP installation that so far has never crashed on me - not running any games on it though). However, I do not like the way MS is trying to get you and your money by forcing you to play to their rules while changing them throughout the game when they discover that they could make even more money.
But then again it is not like Linux where one has to configure the whole lot, since you get a fully functional system out of the box, including the ability to run applications such as Photoshop and even MS-Office natively.
I like the sequential upgrades (security and otherwise) that make a lot more sense to me than the way windows handles these things.
Also the tight integration with the hardware is a definite pro. OS and hardware from the same company means there is a lot less that can go wrong in terms of drivers etc.
I have no bad experiences with Windows either. I think XP, freed from all the un-necessary ballast can be a highly reliable platform too (I write this on a 2 1/2 year old XP installation that so far has never crashed on me - not running any games on it though). However, I do not like the way MS is trying to get you and your money by forcing you to play to their rules while changing them throughout the game when they discover that they could make even more money.
You don't get to decide which is better, OS X or Windows, until you've had bothCarguy172 said:
That should be reason enough! On a more serious note, there's some sort of emotional attachment I feel toward Mac's that I've never experienced with any of the many PC's I've owned. I feel much more 'in control' and generally enjoy computing again for the first time in years.
they are a ton more snappier than windows machines and everything just works with it. I got mine recently and i got used to it after a few hours!
I have both, a mac and a windows machine that i am required to use at work. And I have used WIndows since 3.0. My 'switching' experience entailed a bit of a learning curve but I figured out the basics in a couple of hours and picked up some of the more intermediate functions (as they came up) pretty quickly. Things I have notice are stablilty. My Mac (see sig) is rock solid. Its crashed maybe 5 times since I owned it. My POS crashes about 5 times a year or more.
Speed. I have a iMac G4 1.25 machine. It goes from a cold boot to full start up faster than my Xp wakes up from suspension. Heck, it cold boots faster than my XP machine shuts down.
Updates. Apple sends you a message whenever updates are available. In the four years I have using my Mac, I can think of only one or two updates that I had to avoid. And then, Apple produced a patch pretty quickly.
Software. DOn't know what you intend for your computer but iLife is pretty comprehensive for consumer usage. Comes free with your computer. iWork, while no Office, is pretty good for newsletters, word processing, great pesentations. No dedicated spreadsheet program yet. But if you are needing Office, well its available for the Mac as well and plays very nicely with Windows Office.
Printing. In all honesty, this is my main beef with Macs. I went through 3 printers before I found one that 'just worked' when i hooked it up. I have heard this from others as well. However, that was about 2 years ago. Printer support may be different. It may be good to ask around.
Options. If you want to try a Mac but are unsure about your need for Windows (you may run into some programs you require that are only Windows-based), you can run XP inside OSX or you can run it on a dedicated harddrive partition. I believe the Mac partition can read the Windows partition (or the other way around, cant remember.) You have the best of both worlds. Especially running in a partition. You basically have a windows machine. You can pick up a full OEM version of XP for $125.
Really I's say that going with a mac if you are curious is a win-win situation. You can't lose.
Speed. I have a iMac G4 1.25 machine. It goes from a cold boot to full start up faster than my Xp wakes up from suspension. Heck, it cold boots faster than my XP machine shuts down.
Updates. Apple sends you a message whenever updates are available. In the four years I have using my Mac, I can think of only one or two updates that I had to avoid. And then, Apple produced a patch pretty quickly.
Software. DOn't know what you intend for your computer but iLife is pretty comprehensive for consumer usage. Comes free with your computer. iWork, while no Office, is pretty good for newsletters, word processing, great pesentations. No dedicated spreadsheet program yet. But if you are needing Office, well its available for the Mac as well and plays very nicely with Windows Office.
Printing. In all honesty, this is my main beef with Macs. I went through 3 printers before I found one that 'just worked' when i hooked it up. I have heard this from others as well. However, that was about 2 years ago. Printer support may be different. It may be good to ask around.
Options. If you want to try a Mac but are unsure about your need for Windows (you may run into some programs you require that are only Windows-based), you can run XP inside OSX or you can run it on a dedicated harddrive partition. I believe the Mac partition can read the Windows partition (or the other way around, cant remember.) You have the best of both worlds. Especially running in a partition. You basically have a windows machine. You can pick up a full OEM version of XP for $125.
Really I's say that going with a mac if you are curious is a win-win situation. You can't lose.
Try reading one of the other million threads on this topic.Carguy172 said:
We shouldn't have to spell it out for you. If you can't make sense of the obvious differences right in front of you, perhaps you are better off with Windows.
How does that make me better off with windows? I want more info on the imac so what? if you cant give me an answer then don't say anything. ive never used a mac before so im asking questions.
I want to know how responsive is it how fast do apps open (native or non-native) how fast is it compared to windows starting up, opening apps closing apps. How fast is it on wireless internet, does it hook up easy. Has it crashed on anyone.
I want to know how responsive is it how fast do apps open (native or non-native) how fast is it compared to windows starting up, opening apps closing apps. How fast is it on wireless internet, does it hook up easy. Has it crashed on anyone.
Sorry, I didn't mean to be rude. It's just that these questions are asked over and over again, everyday, by people in your exact position and a simple search through the forum would yield tons of results containing all the answers you could ever want and more.Carguy172 said:
Besides, what do you think you're going to hear from the Mac crowd about Macs? Yes they are fast, easy to set up, and never crash. That's what I would tell you, because that's my experience with Macs, so it is with most others around here as well.
Like others have said, if you are questioning whether or not to get one, just go for it! You can always run Windows on it if you decide you don't care much for OS X, or if you need it for work or whatnot. As long as the money isn't a big issue, you will undoubtedly be happy with a new Intel iMac.
The only question on your mind should be, which size do I want. That 24" looks pretty tempting, IMO.
Carguy172 said:
I don't know how far away from an Apple store you are, but the best thing to do is go actually kick the tires yourself for an hour or so. I'm about 2.5 hours away from the nearest Apple store, but it's worth the 5+ hour round trip to use one yourself. That's what really sold me on the 12" iBook since I had never used/seen one before, but once I held it in my hands and played around on it I was hooked.
The iMac is an incredible machine. My friend bought the 20" iMac about 9 months ago to replace is gateway laptop, and he actually uses it as a portable. He bought a backpack case for it and he brings it to school and takes it home everyday (we are architecture students so he has a studio desk to use it on) but it's the most amazing portable desktop computer I've ever seen. The wireless internet is basically the same as on any other computer, depends on your router speed. Connecting to a network is so fast compared to my windows desktop.
Start up is amazingly fast. OS X starts up in about 30 seconds on average (comparted to my iBook which takes 90 seconds). As far as how fast applications are... it is really hard to say in words. You really do need to go try it out at the Apple store like I said before. They all have MS Office installed on them too so you can see how fast non-native apps run.
As far as crashing goes, I haven't experienced that on the new iMac, but I've crashed my iBook a few times. It's usually when I'm just doing too many things at once and working on a huge Photoshop file at the same time.
http://www.apple.com/imac/
I agree with someguy... The real question should be which size to get
Mac OS X applications thrive on RAM more than anything.
If you want performance, you'll want to configure your system with 2 GB RAM
Wireless networking is a breeze.
In most cases, the minute you log on, your Mac will automatically detect the signal
from your router and ask if you'd like to connect.
If you plan to run both Mac OSX and Windows Only applications or XP games, you'll need a full retail copy of Windows XP INCLUDING SP2, Home or Pro.
If you'd rather not dual boot then you can purchase Parallels Desktop, which allows you to run your Windows applications side by side with OSX in emulation.
You'll still need a copy of Windows XP
IF you plan to run Windows, you'll still need A/V protection for your Windows partition, but Windows viruses and malware will do nothing to your OSX partition.
For this reason, many users simply run their Windows applications offline
and use OSX for any online work.
If you want performance, you'll want to configure your system with 2 GB RAM
Wireless networking is a breeze.
In most cases, the minute you log on, your Mac will automatically detect the signal
from your router and ask if you'd like to connect.
If you plan to run both Mac OSX and Windows Only applications or XP games, you'll need a full retail copy of Windows XP INCLUDING SP2, Home or Pro.
If you'd rather not dual boot then you can purchase Parallels Desktop, which allows you to run your Windows applications side by side with OSX in emulation.
You'll still need a copy of Windows XP
IF you plan to run Windows, you'll still need A/V protection for your Windows partition, but Windows viruses and malware will do nothing to your OSX partition.
For this reason, many users simply run their Windows applications offline
and use OSX for any online work.
Personnally it's all the small feature that make a Mac so wounderfull. Exposer it's probably my favorite. Dashboard is usefull, spring loaded folder, spolight, iLife make it easy to small or personnal project. One thing I really like is the Unix subsystem, you can run apache, php, mysql, webdave, ftpd, SVN server in no time. You don't like one shortcut in a application, change it in system preference, you don't like the position of a button on a cocoa appz, open it in Interface builder and change it. Want to do an automatic task or a repetitive one: automator, applescript, cron job, shell script are all there for that. Having many machines want to sync them, rsync is avaible. Booting from an external drive.
For a programming point of view, OS X rock, especially that the new machine can boot Windows, you can install KDE desktop directly into OSX to switch from Aqua to KDE.
The drawback now: expensive to updgrade machine, expension limited except on MacPro, some printer indeed are a mess to use (check your model before buying one) but HP Epson and the like shouldn't pose problem. Game are defenitly the major drawback if you're a gamer, but the dual boot save the day here. Few appz is missing: Autocad, Catia, 3DStudioMax... there's equivalent but not the real appz.
I strongly sugest you a good launcher to replace the dock launching (Quicksilver, Dragthing, drop drawer,...).
For a programming point of view, OS X rock, especially that the new machine can boot Windows, you can install KDE desktop directly into OSX to switch from Aqua to KDE.
The drawback now: expensive to updgrade machine, expension limited except on MacPro, some printer indeed are a mess to use (check your model before buying one) but HP Epson and the like shouldn't pose problem. Game are defenitly the major drawback if you're a gamer, but the dual boot save the day here. Few appz is missing: Autocad, Catia, 3DStudioMax... there's equivalent but not the real appz.
I strongly sugest you a good launcher to replace the dock launching (Quicksilver, Dragthing, drop drawer,...).
