Man of Honour
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The majority of pc's dont have office bundled with them you get a trial
Macs price tag... why?
- Thread starter Richard Beer
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The majority of pc's dont have office bundled with them you get a trial
Didn't need them for my camera or my phone...
Soldato
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my K750i didn't work without drivers... and my EOS 40D still isn't. And its not like there are more than about 100 Nikon/Canon Pro D-SLRs to include the drivers with SP3 either.
This is exactly the reason why I bought a mac.. it does actually... just work.
Sorry to hear that. But it does seem a bit extreme to switch platforms *just* over one issue
Perhaps I'll buy a used Mac myself and see what it is like day-to-day since I only used one regularly in the OS 8.x era.
Soldato
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Sorry to hear that. But it does seem a bit extreme to switch platforms *just* over one issue
Perhaps I'll buy a used Mac myself and see what it is like day-to-day since I only used one regularly in the OS 8.x era.
I didn't switch. Infact I had a Mac 6 years before I built my PC.
I've used everything from 7.6 to 10.5.3, OS 9 wasn't brilliant but it was better than windows at the time.
I remember my B&W G3 450Mhz... aaaah
If it wasn't for the fact I play FS-X sometimes I wouldn't even have a PC
Associate
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I didn't switch. Infact I had a Mac 6 years before I built my PC.
I've used everything from 7.6 to 10.5.3, OS 9 wasn't brilliant but it was better than windows at the time.
I remember my B&W G3 450Mhz... aaaah
If it wasn't for the fact I play FS-X sometimes I wouldn't even have a PC
You wanna see my Graphite G3
Maxed the ram up and it has a whopping 7.2gb hdd... 'tis amazin!I didn't switch. Infact I had a Mac 6 years before I built my PC.
I've used everything from 7.6 to 10.5.3, OS 9 wasn't brilliant but it was better than windows at the time.
I remember my B&W G3 450Mhz... aaaah
If it wasn't for the fact I play FS-X sometimes I wouldn't even have a PC
Oh ok. Well I used both back when 14.4k modems were the norm
I have to admit it was fairly impressive, a 66Mhz Mac that played FMV smoothly.. although the CD drive was external hehe .
Associate
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Agree. Having lots of peripherals plugged in isn't going to make going mobile convenient.When I use my macbook with an external display, my keyboard and mouse are both wireless...
I dont need millions of ports...
I aim to have all bluetooth/wireless peripherals.
Soldato
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Office is not bundled with PCs unless you pay extra otherwise you get a trial, normally along with a load of other crap installed, especially if you get the PC from a high street or big Internet seller. Who wants loads of trial crap and stupid Dell Advisor or whatever taking up system memory. Apple ships useful stuff like iLife (stuff people would want to use and they don't load at startup!)
Sure PC hardware can be stable, especially the higher end stuff but how many times has a crappy component on a motherboard made the rest of the hardware unreliable?
Windows XP nor Vista is a really stable OS compared to Unix based ones. Linux and OS X simply owns Windows in this area. Again XP and Vista can be stable but it only takes one piece of dodgy software and its all to pot. Won't happen in a UNIX/Linux OS as the kernel is protected*.
You can't overclock a Mac as they aren't designed for that, hell you can't even really get in the BIOS. Macs are not for hardware geeks.
Whilst you may not care what you hardware looks like I and a lot of people do. I'd rather been seen with my MacBook out in public than some generic PC laptop. If that makes me vain then so be it.
I don't want a 2k PC box form an Internet seller, if I needed speed to do my job (I don't game on the PC) I'd buy a Mac Pro. Your 2K machine would look like it was standing still. I really don't need 3 x SLI Nvidias. That's what you get in your 2K PC along with all the associated reliability problems.
macs have had two button mice for ages, you just happen not to be able to see any separator between the buttons - again it is that little design touch that makes all the difference, just like the MagSafe power adapter on the laptops.
Seeing as Macs do Windows now (infact the MacBook Pro was rated the best Vista laptop) I can't see any point in getting a PC unless you are some kind of uber gamer who cares more about the FPS in Crysis or the game of the month or are some hardware tinkering geek.
Your mileage may vary but can we drop the falsehood that Macs are overpriced?
* It is possible to get the Kernel to panic but it is a lot harder than it is on Windows and usually requires some software that isn't ring-fenced so usually is down to Apple!
Depends what you compare them to. I could just as well go build the same spec as the mac mini, stick it in my small case and run Linux on it, and save 40% in the process.
Then again, as I said above, some sort of used Mac system isn't out of the question.I'm still using a 5 year old PowerMac Dual G5, this goes to show how optimised the operating system is. I would'nt be using it if it wasn't fast.
A 5 year old PC would be horrible to use.
Josh
EDIT - Wow, i keep on finding new things on my mac, even after 2 years of ownership. Just noticed that if i highlight words i can then drag the highlighted word to somewhere else! Cool!
Well, a 5 year old PC could be an Athlon 64 system so you'll have to quantify what you mean there...
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Lord Splodge - you need a job for Apple PR - or at least a column in a tech magazine!
I agree - i would say in the time that I've had my mac, i've had one kernel panic and that was after installing some shoddy 3rd party software! I cant say the same when I was using pc's at home. Both XP, and Vista have been tricky for me... but I have to say I'm quite impressed with Vista - although I've never really tweaked anything on it - or given it a thorough work out..
Its really is cheesy - but Mac's DO just work out of the box, no faffing around...
In relation to the mouse, I fail to see how people with the Mighty Mouse have trouble - yes the first few times it does feel a bit weird (doesnt it always!?) but when you get used to it (bout 5 mins) right clicking is a dream... at least in my eyes!
EDIT// @ josh, in terminal type “say -vGood blah blah" - where blah blah is whatever you want - make it really long for hours of fun!
check out Oli's article and see the comment from EVH - 'tis a cracker!
I agree - i would say in the time that I've had my mac, i've had one kernel panic and that was after installing some shoddy 3rd party software! I cant say the same when I was using pc's at home. Both XP, and Vista have been tricky for me... but I have to say I'm quite impressed with Vista - although I've never really tweaked anything on it - or given it a thorough work out..
Its really is cheesy - but Mac's DO just work out of the box, no faffing around...
In relation to the mouse, I fail to see how people with the Mighty Mouse have trouble - yes the first few times it does feel a bit weird (doesnt it always!?) but when you get used to it (bout 5 mins) right clicking is a dream... at least in my eyes!
EDIT// @ josh, in terminal type “say -vGood blah blah" - where blah blah is whatever you want - make it really long for hours of fun!
check out Oli's article and see the comment from EVH - 'tis a cracker!
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You can do that on Windows..
I use both OS X (mac pro), Vista (sig spec) and XP (5+ year old machine which is fine to use) and while OS X is certainly good, it's not perfect by any means: e.g. Finder is still not very good (Explorer is better, and neither is great!).
That's a bit unfair, don't you think? I'm not sure why you have to be an 'uber gamer' to care about getting more performance for your money, at least as far as gaming is concerned. There are plenty of reasons to get a PC over a Mac, just as there are plenty of reasons to get a Mac over a PC. It largely comes down to personal preference, but there's certainly nothing wrong with wanting to be able to get better gaming performance for your cash, or with wanting to have the ability to upgrade and change components. It doesn't make you a 'geek'.
You're starting to sound just as bad as the PC users who bash Macs. There's no reason for either side to be resorting to such tactics.
Soldato
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Lord Splodge - you need a job for Apple PR - or at least a column in a tech magazine!
!
Awww, shucks! Thanks but I am just a passionate Apple fan. Sometimes too much so,
see below!There is nothing wrong with tinkering with settings to get an extra few FPS out of your game but I should imagine the majority of people (outside of these forums!) would just want to stick a disc in and game. Hence the rise (and rise) in popularity of consoles. However, wanting to tweak said hardware or swap to the newest components does make you a geek. There is nothing wrong being a geek, after all I am a proud geek (roleplaying more so than computers)
As for me being as bad as the PC users who bash Macs well I am afraid you have my number there... sometimes my love of all things Apple can cloud my judgement. C'est la vie, though. I like being vocal about the thigs in my life that I enjoy. I am sure the PC Brigade (eh?) can handle that and will give me an anti-Mac bashing in return...
Depends what you compare them to. I could just as well go build the same spec as the mac mini, stick it in my small case and run Linux on it, and save 40% in the process.
Exactly. I love linux, but get frustrated with the lack of support for some hardware and I'm not good enough to write my own drivers.
Mac OS is bascially a unix system with full support and maximum optimisation (due to limited hardware variations).
I think Apple hardware is over priced (well just the iMacs really), but for the price, you are getting a great system.
I don't own a mac at the moment, but as soon as they support blu-ray and allow me to have some upgradeability I'll be getting one.
They do everything that a pc does, but in style and efficiency.
Oh, a question for current mac owners? Can I dual boot mac os and linux. I use ubuntu for programming.
cheers.
Have to use Parallels or VMware.
On the topic, I think Macs are pricey because of what you get. The hardware is superb, the operating system is even better and the two work perfectly together. That's what you pay for, the optimisation and that can't be found anywhere else.
I can totally understand the view from the gamers and PC users who want to upgrade components and I have nothing against that, and all to your own. But for me, the way a Mac integrates and always works makes it worth every penny. Plus a MBP turns a few heads in public too, or are they looking at me?!
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Thats because Windows dominates the market. The manufacturers would have a tough time selling anything without Windows drivers. The same cannot be said of Linux support. Fortunately, most of the stuff I use has native Linux support or has addon packages available.
Soldato
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I've used both extensively. I only went Mac at home under two years ago. Before that I used to build and look after my own Windows machines for home, and use Macs at work. I've used both plenty, at home and at work, and I prefer mac for both things, personally. Also, I'm only 23
Actually I've just realised I was 18 I first started working on them I think.
I do know what a top end PC can do, I've had them. Games aside, I've always found that for the stuff I do, Macs are faster, £ for £. For a serious gamer to buy a mac to play games on would be ridiculous, but likewise I feel for graphics work, photography, video editing and the like, macs are the only sensible choice for me. For everything else it's a matter of choice, although personally I still feel Macs are better for nearly everyone except gamers. As I say though - that's just my opinion. I'm not one of those militant pro Mac people, they're just my preference. Everyone else can do what they like.
And macs don't have one button! The mighty mouse has four buttons, and the Macbook and Macbook Pro trackpads have a simple action for their 'right click' - either two fingers on the pad and click, or, on the Air and Pro, tap with two fingers. That point is moot, and has been for years