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General discussion

Windows Vs Mac

Oct 7, 2010 1:40AM PDT

Looking at a point in the future when I want to get a new computer. I have windows and have always had windows but the Mac really interests me.

Would it be difficult to change to a Mac? Would my applications that I already have say, adobe photoshop be OK with that change? Or once you have been using an operating system should you stick to it because it would be to painful to make the change?

Thanks!
deb

Discussion is locked

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No those apps will not be ok,.
Oct 7, 2010 1:44AM PDT

The apps would have to be obtained again. The good news is that some companies offer a side-grade or upgrade from your windows version to the Apple versions.

In short the apps die unless you install Windows but then why get the apple?
bob

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As with most major decisions
Oct 7, 2010 12:26PM PDT

As with most major decisions, it pays to spend the time to do your homework. If you get a Mac, you need to know what you're getting into beforehand, and decide if that's something that will work for you.

So, figure out what apps you have that would be deal breakers if they didn't work on a Mac (though you can run Windows on a Mac these days) and then look into whether or not Mac versions are offered, and what would be necessary to transfer licenses, etc.

This isn't something you're going to want to rush, otherwise you'll just end up frustrated and with an expensive new computer that doesn't suit your needs. Take a week, two weeks, a month, however long it takes to make sure you have a pretty good idea what you're getting into. Think of it like buying a new car or house. You rush into it, and you're almost certain to wind up having some rather unpleasant surprises.

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Make the change
Oct 8, 2010 12:18PM PDT

I changed to a Mac over 3 years ago and bought a macbook pro. Even though I had windows installed I hardly ever even need it. I work with my Pictures and Movies with the program that comes on the Mac.Easy and works great. I did upgrade to operating system to snow leopard and upgrade to ilife also. Which a new one would have. My computer runs like new. Low maintenance. No running viras checks etc. No more defragmenting. Also so easy to use my Ipod and Kindle with it. I encouraged a girlfriend to buy a Mac last week when she needed a new laptop. She bought the macbook. Now essentially the same computer as the pro was 3 years ago but a bit smaller. She loves it. Its really not all that different to make the change. I can still use a PC without problems. Go to the Apple store and ask questions. Explain what you want to do with it. For me It was the right decision. Take the time to check it out.
Good Luck and Enjoy your new computer whatever you choose.

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Mac vs MS
Oct 8, 2010 12:43PM PDT

Mac bytes. There is a reason 90% of the market is MS sponsored PC's. The only reason you don't have to worry about v-infections is a) nefarious folk will always go after a larger target audience b) no one cares enough about Mac to bother.
Win 7 dominates and combined with Droid(Active Sync) or the upcoming Win 7 mobile, it's the perfect choice.
There is nothing a Mac can do that a PC can't do better, unless we're talking about exceeding in compatibility issues, network irritations and general overhead. Believe it, I work in Tier2 Support and can't tell you how many Mac folk come to me with issues, issues they can't resolve themselves due to lack of support from Apple and in general. Mac's are like parachute pants; yeah, I once thought they were a cool novelty, but now that I'm a grown-up...put on your big boy pants and buy a PC.

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Re: Mac vs MS
Oct 8, 2010 2:21PM PDT

Thank you, bikeandski! I'm relieved that MS users continue to advocate for Windows systems. It's too easy for those nefarious Mac folks to fly under the viral radar. So what if they don't have to worry about those stupid buggy things that MS has. Just fill up with more antivirus go juice. Please keep on shouting out your message from the rooftops. Darn those Macs for not taking their fair share of the world's tech illnesses. Who do they think they are? Healthy? Robust?

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Forget about windows vs. mac thing;
Oct 8, 2010 1:25PM PDT

Here's my take on this. Buy a mac if you think it's cool. Buy a windows pc if you want to save money.

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Mac or PC?
Oct 8, 2010 3:40PM PDT

What a can of worms that question opens!
The difficulty you are going to face are commands first. Even the commands for PhotoShop are different. When I changed to Windows from Apple eons ago, I found the commands to be the hardest. Next you're going to find that you can't do some things that you could with Windows, so everything will take longer as you learn.
Mac's are wonderful machines, albeit limited. I would compare what tasks you want to do, between the two of them. It once was Mac for art, but that isn't the case any more.
The main reason I went to Windows, was popularity of programs. I got tired of waiting for software for the MAC (Apple) world. I still look to see when something is going to be MAC ready, usually it never is.
Change isn't always bad, it isn't always good either. Maybe you should rent one & see what it's like. You could look up a MUG (Mac Users Group) & see if there is an old one someone may part with. Also, look up your favorite programs & games & see if they are available for MAC. Good luck.

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MAC Vs PC the view of an 'Old timer'
Oct 8, 2010 7:38PM PDT

Hi,
My penny worth!
I have been looking at getting a MAC, just to get some insight into the 'MAC world', so to speak.
My findings are:
1) MAC's are overpriced, about twice the price of an
equivalent self assembled PC.
2) If they break, out of warranty, they are
virtually impossible to self fix, as parts are
as rare as rocking horse dung. Repair by Apple
requires a mortage.
3) OSX is only Linux with a fancy GUI.
4) Now that Apple have moved to Intel OSX runs
quite nicely on a PC.
5) MAC hardware is prettier than PCs, but what the
heck it's a computer, not a piece of art.
6) All apps that only used to be available on MAC
have now been ported to Windoze.
7) In general PCs can be upgraded cheaper and easier
than MACs
Cool Yes OSX is good, but of course it is! It is now
based on Linux, a port of UNIX, just about the
most mature OS there is.

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Wow
Oct 8, 2010 11:54PM PDT

Wow that is some amazingly bad info, but points for the BOFH reference.

1: Apple systems really are not that overpriced compared to PCs. Some of the things that make Macs seem more expensive is they have high end video cards and expensive DDR3 RAM, whereas most PCs still only come with DDR2 RAM. Apple also doesn't tend to do low end like say HP and Acer do. Apple also uses more expensive aluminum for most of their system cases, as opposed to cheap plastic for most PC cases. You go to a Fry's or anywhere else, and look at the Aluminum cases compared to the plastic, and they will have a premium price tag attached. And try to find an LCD panel out there with LED backlighting like is used in the iMac and MacBook/MacBook Pro then compare prices.

2: You can get parts on eBay pretty easily if you know what you're looking for, and there are plenty of guides out there for taking different systems apart. Systems like the iMac take a little prep work, and you need to be careful if you don't know what you're doing, but the same could really be said of PCs. I learned the hard way not to forget screw standoffs for a motherboard some years back. If you rush in, and don't plan ahead, PC or Mac, trouble awaits you.

3: It's actually based on FreeBSD, something of a cousin to Linux, but unlike Linux, is actually a (BSD) Unix descendant. That last bit really only matters to people with way too much time on their hands, but at one point Apple had I think 10.5 certified as an official Unix. And the GUI is based in large part on NeXTStep, and implements the OpenStep API, and has added a lot more since then.

4: This is against the license agreement, and is really a lot more trouble than it's worth if you ever look into what all is involved.

5: While I generally agree, function trumps form, until the iMac came along, computers were pretty much nothing but blocky beige boxes. In the years since the introduction of the iMac... Those now ugly seeming CRT all-in-one systems... You've seen a veritable explosion of design choices for computers. Clearly Apple tapped into a dormant desire of people or we'd still have beige boxes for everything. Amusingly, Apple has gone back to a sort of beige with their aluminum unibody cases, and they changed their logo from the rainbow fruit to a simple black apple.

6: No they haven't. Maybe all the big name apps like Photoshop, but there are plenty of great OS X specific apps. I don't use it myself, but Final Cut Pro is supposed to be something of the standard setter when it comes to high end video editing, and it's made by Apple, so it's OS X only. Just as one example.

7: Depends... The Mac Pro is generally a true joy to work with. That case is a work of art IMO. Everything is modular, all the cables are neatly tucked away, independently controlled fans in three distinct zones so you maximize cooling to the parts that need it while keeping fan noise at a minimum... In earlier models the RAM was installed on trays that just pulled right out, now the RAM and CPUs are on a specific tray which just pulls right out, making access incredibly easy. Just pull it out, set it down on a table, and you don't have to worry about bashing your knuckles into anything or tight cramped spaces around the memory banks. But Mac OS X has a number of interesting software engineering aspects which means performance tends to stay considerably better for longer. The process scheduler in Mac OS X 10.6 is generally heads and shoulders above anything else in the PC world. You'd probably have to go to mainframe systems to find something better. Linux developers probably deserve a lot of credit for trying out a bunch of different ideas the past few years, and giving the OS X developers some idea of what works and what doesn't, but Grand Central Dispatch really is a very well thought out bit of software engineering.

8: No, it's FreeBSD, as I said above. But I'm failing to understand how this is a bad thing. They took a solid OS, with around 30 years worth of development experience behind it, and then decided to build on top of that. Where is the bad part in all of that?

Now, there's a lot to be said about Apple the company, and their annoying "I know what's best for you" nannying, but that's largely confined to iOS devices. And iTunes, IMO, is a steaming pile of dung, but it's killed off virtually any serious competition for music playing software on OS X, even Windows. And if you go into an Apple store, you swear at any minute you're going to see an employee popping another Prozac because they are so annoyingly cheerful.

But allow me to offer some perspective. I work as an ACMT. My job, is to fix Apple systems. I also have fixed Dell systems in the past, and currently tinker with Toshiba laptops when I don't have enough Apple systems coming in to keep me busy. I held Dell's Warranty Parts Direct (now Dell Online Self-Dispatch) certification for over a year, and Apple certification for close to 2 years now. Toshiba doesn't really have a certification program, they just expect people to be A+ certified, which I've also looked into.

If you compare the certification process of Dell and Apple, and even A+, the others are a joke compared to Apple's. Apple's certification material, printed out, sits about a foot high off the ground. It covers both their hardware AND their OS, which is something all other certification programs leave out, but is very important. You can't be a good hardware tech if you don't know enough about software to be able to tell which one is causing the problem.

Dell's certification was a joke. The whole thing was essentially open book, you take it online, and getting recertified basically meant just paying annual dues to Dell. Until recently A+ certification, which basically amounts to a bunch of "best practices" garbage, was good for your entire lifetime. You could be certified 10 years ago, and it would be still valid. Now they've changed that to something like 3 years I think, but if you look at the A+ material, it's a joke. If you can't pass that, you have no business even thinking about fixing computers.

Apple requires you go through material covering every system that is still in service. Apple stocks parts for systems up to 5 years, then they hit Vintage status where only systems bought in CA can get parts, due to CA state laws. After 7 years, systems go into Obsolete status and they destroy any remaining parts. So even though Apple had long since shifted to Intel, I still had to learn about a number of their PPC systems.

Tests have to be taken at Prometric testing centers, you can't take anything in with you, and you have to get pretty high scores to pass. There are also two sections on technician safety and ESD, which you MUST get 100% on or you fail the entire rest of the test, even if you get every other question right.

To renew your certification, it's an open book, online test, but the questions get considerably more specific. Like, if you have a Late-2009 MacBook Pro, what screwdriver head do you use to remove this part.

Apple's was the first certification I've obtained, or even looked at, where I felt like the material was actually pretty comprehensive and prepared me for the task of fixing systems. Most certification programs are book selling scams, money making scams, and exist so that managers in companies don't have to actually learn anything about the subject for which they're hiring someone. Which is really kind of stupid when you think about it. However, the comprehensiveness of Apple's certification actually managed to impress me. And there are plenty of valid gripes one can have about Apple, but not when it comes to their computer hardware and software. I can't speak for the iPhone, iPod, iPad, AppleTV, or whatever else they may come up with, but their desktop and laptop computers are first rate bits of hardware, and OS X is quite probably the single best desktop OS that exists today. All of which may be subject to change in the future, but right now, it stands.

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Good Feedback
Oct 9, 2010 12:29AM PDT

Thanks everyone for the great feedback. You all gave me lots to think about.

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some of these responses are quite strange to me!
Oct 9, 2010 9:21AM PDT

So. I've used Windows since 95. I've *never* been an advocate of it; I just used it because I knew it and didn't want to change.

*Every* and I do mean every person I've ever known and respected in terms of computer savvy has advocated for the Mac. All the tech support people. All the programmers. I've only met one person ever who said he switched from Macs to Windows and was more satisfied (I think he may have been on drugs). Just lately (like a few months ago) I finally switched over to Mac when I got a new job that bought me a computer. I'd been wanting to for years (for above mentioned reasons). It has taken me a few days to figure some things out. Occasionally, I need to use google to find an answer to a question of "how to?" Very inconvenient. It's even frozen like twice when I had 15 apps open and removed a faulty thumb drive.

So. I don't anthropomorphize my computers. They are machines. I want a machine that works. One that doesn't get infected all the time (with Windows it happened ALL the time). One that has a very stable OS. I don't hate Bill Gates or Steve Jobs or anyone for putting out a product. I just want what works. So, IMHO...listen to the pros. If you find 5 people you respect for their computer savvy and ask "Mac or PC?" and find that any of the five actually advocate for PC, you might need to find new people to respect. Seriously though. I made the change and have loved it. I'm never going back (and I only use my virtual windows machine to do some data computing with progs that aren't available for Mac. Their bad...not Mac's fault).

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My side hurt like hell...
Oct 9, 2010 10:05AM PDT

for laughing so much...hohohoho.

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or?
Oct 10, 2010 4:20AM PDT

I won't rehash a lot of what's already been said, but will add a few things.

There are so many free apps available for Windows that if I spent every minute of my life, I couldn't even read the names of all of them. Not so for Mac.

When you do have problems, there seem to be nearly infinite resources available for solutions, many for free, forums, consultants, even the tech help counter at big-box and office supply stores. Google is your friend. Not nearly so much for Mac.

If the Mac OS is based on linux or freeBSD or whatever, why not just run linux on a PC for free? It's way cheaper than buying a Mac OR a windows PC. You'll also get all the supposed mac advantages like system stability and being too small a target for virus writers. There are free alternatives for many apps. Also, many windows apps have linux versions (sometimes in the same box). Of course, it depends on exactly which apps you need.

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And?
Oct 10, 2010 6:19AM PDT

And? About 90% of those apps are just notepad replacements or something simple and pointless like that. Most of the remaining 10% are completely worthless. There are some true gems for Windows, just like there are for Mac and everything else, but it doesn't change the reality that 90%+ are wastes of time. Most of the good free apps have been ported anyway. Firefox, Thunderbird, OpenOffice, just to name a few.

And Darwin, the Unix OS that makes up the core of Mac OS X, is based on FreeBSD. You're free to verify this with a little googling. Apple makes use of a number of open source projects with Mac OS X. FreeBSD for the base OS, OpenStep is the foundation for Aqua, they use GCC for Xcode, SAMBA powers the Windows file sharing, VNC is the foundation for Apple Remote Desktop, and KHTML from the KDE project's Konqueror, is the source of WebKit which powers Safari (and Google Chrome). The Chess program in Mac OS X was also based on GNU Chess.

But you get a Mac because of the Aqua GUI. There's just nothing else out there currently which can even come close. Windows 7 pales in comparison, though to be fair, it did improve on a few minor areas when they were stealing ideas from Apple right and left. You also pay to have someone else put all the pieces together for you. Something you won't generally find in any Linux distribution or FreeBSD. And, as someone who regularly rips Apple systems apart, I can say that their hardware designers should be the ones called geniuses, not the idiots in their stores. Toshiba laptops will have a motherboard that has huge sections of empty space. Absolutely nothing at all on it. Apple doesn't stand for that kind of thing. Just about every square millimeter of space is used, and the rest would be cut away. Saves them money, and reduces the amount of plastic used per system, so win-win.

There are plenty of places to get help with Apple systems. Here for example. And while other computer vendors don't exactly make it a high bar to clear, Apple's phone support is among the best I've ever encountered. You run into the occasional idiot, but where doesn't that hold true? Simple statistics... Half the world's population is below average intelligence. Meaning there's roughly 3 billion idiots walking the earth at any given time.

You can get a hamburger at pretty much any fast food place, but that's not why you go to a nice restaurant. There's a certain quality of life element to it. Linux and FreeBSD are great systems, and I've used Linux myself off and on for many years. But it's still more of an OS for people who are either looking for a server on the cheap, or have the time/energy/desire to tinker with things endlessly.

Also, the reason *nix systems, including Mac OS X, don't tend to be hit as hard by viruses, is more to do with an effective security model. Unix does a much better job of isolating processes and restricting their access to the system. Unix was designed from the ground up to have this kind of security, because it was designed to be a multi-user networked system. Windows was designed to be a single user stand-alone OS, where the user is given pretty much free reign because each system was an island unto itself. Over the years, Microsoft has kind of painted itself into a corner because of that. There's only so much security you can shoehorn in without breaking a number of apps. Until Microsoft is willing to do like Apple, and start completely fresh with a new OS, no backwards compatibility of any kind, Windows will always have security issues. It is a product of it's pre-Internet time.

While I'm sure you meant well, your analysis is incomplete in a number of areas, and doesn't really help anyone in its current form. You can't just stop half-way through like you did because you reach a point where it's something you agree with, you have to carry these thoughts to their conclusion.