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Wondering if Mac os X is right for me.

N

nerd0795

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jul 22, 2008
27
0
Between keyboard and chair
Well dejavu. I'm planning to switch to mac after using Windows ME then Windows Vista for such a long time (7 years) but since I'm only 14 it will take a long time to save up for a macbook pro or imac. Now I'm wondering if I will even like os x. (my mac experience is very limited I used System 6 (I think) to mac os x 10.0) At a school. But a school won't tell you very much if you will like it. Here's some stuff I'm interested in:

-Programming
-Computer repair
-Video editing (only used Window's movie maker and Sony Vegas PRO trial)
-Linux
-Virus/Spyware removal
-Garage Band (my school had garage band and I was in love with it:D)
-3D modeling (blender)
-Tweaking
-Doing risky stuff (Like doing a risk take such as installing another os by partitioning for my first time)
-Being reliable when I'm sad (I actuall don't like ease of use and reliability sometimes it's not awarding lol. That does not matter at all lol)
-using windows (under bootcamp if have mac)
-Researching

Here's some stuff I hate:

-Being locked in (not able to install linux for example)
-Too easy to use that a computer newbie can become pro (it's offending to people who spend years learning about computers--in my opinion)

That's about it. But I do want my computer (if i choose imac or macbook pro) to last a couple of years. The reason why I'm asking this is because Macintosh computers are normally a bit over priced. and I want to build my own computer, but the mac is the only thing that I might choose over it.

I will use this in High School and I might use this to help repair computers (might use Windows).

I will stop by an apple store to try it out but not for a couple of weeks and that won't tell me if I will. Since normally I have to get involved (tweak, change, mod, learn alot about it. This normally takes about a week.) Operating systems before I like them.

No biased answers like "mac's are so reliable" "Windows Sucks"

Thank you.
 
Very impressive post for someone of your years (no offense intended). I will address what I feel comfortable with.

Programming: Read the first article here. It is about the Win95 and 98 lead architect who has just switched to a Mac.
Video Editing: Macs are largely considered the platform on which to edit video: Final Cut Studio being the apex.
Linux: Can be installed (just as Windows can) via Parallels; there are also native Ubuntu installs (but I don't know much about linux); OS X is, of course, a UNIX system
Garage Band: enough said; lots of fun


Too easy to learn: I have been at this for more years than you and still learn new things every day.

Overpriced: feature for feature, I think a comparison will show the Mac is comparable to a Windows box with the same feature set

Hope this helps...
 
nerd0795 said:
-Too easy to use that a computer newbie can become pro (it's offending to people who spend years learning about computers--in my opinion)

.
Click to expand...

Actually the opposite is true.

OSX is a POSIX certified (?) Unix.

For me a PC laptop (Linux on laptops is only now becoming good enough) was always a huge pain because I work with scientific applications that are usually unix or linux based. This mean a PC based laptop, usually a X-windows client to a Unix server to run things. Now I can do my day to day work on my OSX laptop and only use my servers when I need parallel processing power of my cluster.

So far I have been able to compile most well written Unix applications on my Mac.

Also I love OSX because you can always open up a terminal and you have a unix command line at your disposal. This is not a Windows command window, it is so much more.

Scripting like that found on Unix OS's is supported on OSX. Most importantly is out of the box Perl support.

The only thing that I really don't like about OSX is that there are not as many games available that run native on the OS.
 
Mac OS X will do you fine. Start saving. Be sure to add MobileMe for those times you are nostalgic for Windows.
 
nerd0795 said:
Well dejavu. I'm planning to switch to mac after using Windows ME then Windows Vista for such a long time (7 years) but since I'm only 14 it will take a long time to save up for a macbook pro or imac. Now I'm wondering if I will even like os x. (my mac experience is very limited I used System 6 (I think) to mac os x 10.0) At a school. But a school won't tell you very much if you will like it. Here's some stuff I'm interested in:


Thank you.
Click to expand...

How did you use System 6? It came out 6 years before you were born and was discontinued 3 years before you were born.:D
 
shakenmartini said:
Actually the opposite is true.

OSX is a POSIX certified (?) Unix.
Click to expand...

Apple finally applied for the trademark license agreement and registration under Open Brand Program: UNIX 03

Registration Cert. Picture.pdf

So we went from a *nix to a tier one Unix joining HP, Sun, and IBM with the Unix 03 certification.

---

Big step up from, conforming to *nix standards and not being a licensed company able to use the Unix trademarks.
 
I was a Windows user for about 8 years and now a Mac for 2. I would say that Mac OS X is for just about anyone minus gamers and hardware junkies. Outside of those areas you're going to find something (read: application) that fits your need in some way. And if it doesn't, you always have the option to run Windows natively with Bootcamp, or as a virtual machine with VMWare.
 
It was System 6 but they were very obsolete in the mini computer lab (for 3 other classes for games). It was only black and white that's all I know and it sucked compared to windows me lol.
 
I can tell you how to do that:

Install OS X.

No viruses, no spyware, no malware.
Click to expand...

Bzzz... your wrong. there is 3 viruses for mac (more of trojans). You have to go download unsafe files (the extension should sway people away from downloading it) and you got an infected :apple: The newest one is really bad, it uses icam to take pictures of you, keylogs your keystrokes, share your files, and more.

http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=837810
 
You were doing pretty good there for a while nerd0795, but you are going downhill fast

Woof, Woof - Dawg
pawprint.gif
 
nerd0795 said:
Bzzz... your wrong. there is 3 viruses for mac (more of trojans). You have to go download unsafe files (the extension should sway people away from downloading it) and you got an infected :apple: The newest one is really bad, it uses icam to take pictures of you, keylogs your keystrokes, share your files, and more.

http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=837810
Click to expand...

Notice I didn't say trojans. I don't download things and then give them permission to be installed if I don't know what they are.

You'd notice the newest one. The iSight light is hardwired into the functionality of the camera. For the camera to be on, it must be on.
 
nerd0795 said:
The computer's my school had were very obsolete. They got an imac G1 in 2003 and a image g2 in 2005
Click to expand...

Okay, it's not terribly important but the original iMac shipped with System 8 but it's all good. At any rate you should have no issues with movie editing, the Mac ships with iMovie and if you want extensive editing they still allow you to download their previous iMovie version complete with Timelines and more editing choices. Final Cut is still the industry standard.

You already mentioned Garageband and the latest version is better than ever. The Mac OS is still the preferred platform in the music industry.
As far as being too easy to learn, the Mac OS itself is an easy to learn OS as Windows is as far as the basics of point and click but if you want extensive learning pop open the Unix Terminal and enjoy, I've been on the Mac since before you were born and I've only learnt a few Unix commands.

The versatility is a huge factor in buying a Mac. You don't have to be concerned if someone gives you a piece of software that's Windows only, you can either install Windows (at a cost) or you can use Crossover Mac, a utility that runs Windows applications without Windows.

Apple makes a decent office suite but if you want the name brand Microsoft, Office for Mac is available.

The best thing to do is spend some time at a local Apple store (if you live near one) and ask questions. Don't buy right away, come back and try them out again and play with OS X until you are really ready to buy.

The best recommendation is to understand that the Mac is not Windows and Windows is not the Mac OS. They are different and you will enjoy your Macintosh experience the moment you remove your Windows centric thinking.:)
 
Got iWork, with NeoOffice as a backup, and the 30-day free trial with MS Office as a last resort.
 
I use Openoffice. I believe it works with mac. I saw someone talking about neooffice as openoffice. I don't know much about that. I'm just starting to think about mac and I'm on vacation -.-
 
nerd0795 said:
So far I think I'm getting a macbook pro or an imac.

One more question

-Does Warcraft III run good on mac os x (I keep on getting a fatal error when playing it on windows)
Click to expand...

warcraft is pretty old game, it should work on MBP or iMac pretty good.

Neooffice is macified openoffice, its obviously not latest openoffice core.

Apple is all about control, relatively, Macs are free-er than other apple products, but still, apple is the opposite of open and free. (IMHO)
 
Good posts... I have decided to save up for a macbook pro (I normally have a 2 month vacation to my family every summer and I would like to bring my computer with me so I don't lose any knowledge)
 
In reference to computer repair, I have a close friend who works in IT for the university I go to. He fixes PCs that run Windows (and usually works with students' laptops). The university gave him a MacBook. He runs Windows, Linux, and of course OS X on it. I think that's quite something if the IT people use Macs.

He's also into graphic design and short films and has found the MB to be adequate for what he does.
 
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