I have been thinking for a while about my next laptop. Is there any advantage of having Mac instead of PC?

I'm going to grab some popcorn & sit back to watch the sparks fly.
I have both PC & Mac... But do all my editing on my Mac.

I don't remember anyone asking this before

I use a mac laptop for travelling and have a PC desktop for editing and work at home.


I don't really see much advantage to a Mac.  I like to be able to build and pic the parts I want in a computer and switch them out when necessary.  I wouldn't be against using a mac desktop but it is cheaper with a PC and I have more options.

Though I certainly know of the advantages of Macs in the past - the first time I used a mouse was in an Apple at display at Glasgow University in 1990, when we were still using CGA monitors at work - is there really any advantage today?

Mac OS X has both it advantages and disadvantages. The Macs are (for the most part) suberb and sublime. And costly. And limited if you need anything else than what Apple wants you to have.
I have been using the Mac since 1991 and just don't feel at home with Windows.

I wasnt going to say anything but I can't help myself.

The Windows OS has to be made to work on many different machines.
Dell, Asus, HP etc, etc.

The Mac OS ( based on Unix) is purpose built to run on the Apple architecture.
This makes them inherently more stable and faster.

Is there any other REAL advantage to a Mac. Nope.

But I promise you, if you get a Mac Pro and use one for six months, you will wonder why anyone bothers with a PC anymore.

Quote from: nosaya on October 31, 2009, 00:01


But I promise you, if you get a Mac Pro and use one for six months, you will wonder why anyone bothers with a PC anymore.

Here! Here! No headaches, no viruses, no vista - who could ask for anything more! I was converted 6 years ago, and I could not go back to PC.

I just upgraded to a nice machine with 12 gigs of RAM, a 1.8gb video card and Windows 7.  My previous machine had Vista, but like many others I ditched Vista and got an OEM XP home disk. 
Windows 7 so far runs my programs nicely, so for now I'm still a PC guy.

I was a windows guy until OSX. After I gave that a try (and waited the obligatory time required of any new os to become stable), I switched and haven't looked back since. Today when I use a Windows computer (which fortunately is rare), it's a reminder of why I switched. It's sort of the same feeling I got when I drove through Trenton NJ recently and saw the crappy apartment I used to live in over by the state prison, and I think about where I live now in a good house in a nice neighborhood. For me, going back to Windows would be like moving back in next door to the Iceman.

Windows guy.

8GB ram, 1.28tb hard drive, intel core i7 920 2.67ghz (8 cores), 512mb ati radeon 4850 graphics card, and two 24 inch flat panel hd monitors all for under $1500.

I have vista ultimate and have had no problems with it. It runs fine and has never crashed on me. To buy a equivalent machine from mac would cost at least twice as much if not three times and wouldn't be nearly as customizable.

commodore 64

Macs are so much more elegant and simpler to use...no virus issues, no clunky Windows OS. Mac OS X is brilliant...what is not so great is Apple's software offerings...they seem lightweight compared to MS Office, Adobe etc.

Quote from: PixelBitch on October 31, 2009, 05:25
Macs are so much more elegant and simpler to use...no virus issues, no clunky Windows OS. Mac OS X is brilliant...what is not so great is Apple's software offerings...they seem lightweight compared to MS Office, Adobe etc.

i switch back and forth between mac and pc due to the above reasons. it can be frustrating to not be able to use an ap (or game) that's only available to the pc. however, the mac pro notebook is a real pleasure to use...

one thing is that if you ever want to offer footage or do video/film, apple's final cut pro (which is not available to pc) is the gold standard for editing and post processing. we were even able to do a green screen shoot and stitch it together in final cut afterwards (plus numerous special effects).  

Quote from: PixelBitch on October 31, 2009, 05:25
what is not so great is Apple's software offerings...they seem lightweight compared to MS Office, Adobe etc.

You can get MS Office for Mac too. And what Adobe software doesn't have a mac version? Why would you insist using Apple's software?

I switched from Windows to Mac a few years ago and never looked back. My Mac(s) just work; they very seldom crash, freeze, have viruses or some unlogical weird problems. Life seems just much easier and brighter with a Mac (And I get my work done, too)

The Mac OS ( based on Unix) is purpose built to run on the Apple architecture.
This makes them inherently more stable and faster.

For me, that is the REAL advantage.

Quote from: cclapper on October 31, 2009, 12:36
The Mac OS ( based on Unix) is purpose built to run on the Apple architecture.
This makes them inherently more stable and faster.

For me, that is the REAL advantage.

I'm not sure if you've noticed this but on each reply there's a quote button at the top right that automatically formats quotes for you.

Quote from: Kngkyle on October 31, 2009, 04:06
Windows guy.

8GB ram, 1.28tb hard drive, intel core i7 920 2.67ghz (8 cores), 512mb ati radeon 4850 graphics card, and two 24 inch flat panel hd monitors all for under $1500.

I have vista ultimate and have had no problems with it. It runs fine and has never crashed on me. To buy a equivalent machine from mac would cost at least twice as much if not three times and wouldn't be nearly as customizable.

There it is!

Yes Mac is good! I used it for 7 months but It is just not as practical for me! I think a mac is pretty much useless apart from work.

Mac used to have very big advantages over windows but not anymore. The developments have been huge in recent years and right now you can get a much better PC than any Mac for half the price if not less. And that's not the only good thing about it.

Quote from: cidepix on October 31, 2009, 13:00
I think a mac is pretty much useless apart from work.

There it is! 

Quote from: whatalife on October 31, 2009, 13:03

Quote from: cidepix on October 31, 2009, 13:00
I think a mac is pretty much useless apart from work.

There it is! 

Couldn't help it, could you

Getting ready to buy my 4th Mac, a Mac Pro Quad-Core. My current G4 is almost 7 years old and still runs great, have never reformatted it, but need the intel processor to run Deep Meta and other apps. I used to have a Windows machine for some freelance work but it sat gathering dust for years and I finally got rid of it. I subscribe to the idea that working on a beautiful machine makes your work more beautiful.

  I hope all the Windows people realize that you can run Windows on a Mac. Have been able to for quite some time now. Although I haven't actually heard of anyone switching back and forth, once they start using Mac OS. Once you go Mac, you never go back!

IMO, the Macs are highly over-rated and they are WAY TOO EXPENSIVE.

I just upgraded my computer and built a quad-core machine (Intel Q9550 w/ 4 GB RAM) that is super-fast for under $500.  If I had to do it from scratch, it would have cost less than $1000.

Mac quad-core computers go for over $3000.

With new technologies coming out every year and computers becoming defunct shortly thereafter, I can't see spending $3000 on a computer every few years.

EDIT: I forgot to add that my first computer was an Apple II back in the late 70s.  It had only 4K RAM, no hard drive (none were available), no floppy drive (none were available), and no monitor (it hooked up to a TV similar to a gaming system).  If you wanted to save a program/application, you had to hook it up to a tape recorder and hope for the best!  When a floppy drive came out the following year, it was $600 for a 5 1/4" double-sided "floppy" drive!

  As with all investments, whether a computer or camera equipment, you have to ask yourself, "Have I reached the level where I can afford the best, and will it pay for itself many times over?" For me, the answer was yes.

Quote from: rimglow on October 31, 2009, 14:25
"Have I reached the level where I can afford the best, and will it pay for itself many times over?" For me, the answer was yes.

There is nothing about a Mac that makes it "the best".  You might like it a lot and that is fine, but trying to quantify something that is a personal feeling is a stretch.