O/T - any Apple users?

Been thinking about jumping the IBM ship.

I know that a few of you are Mac users - just wondering if it lives up to the hype.

No crashes?

No virus problems?

Not constantly updating drivers etc. ?


Can it be true?

I want to come to the Dark side - but I am steeped in IBM to the bone - and I use some very IBM based softwares.

AutoCAD.
Photoshop.
Illustrator.


Plus all of my (650 gigs) music is Windows Media (.mp3) format. And my digital photos are .jpg format.

It sounds like I'd be converting a BUNCH of crap.

Advise.


to keep this semi board related the photos are all hot-rods and lowbrow art ant the music contains every kind og hot rod rock you can imagine...(there ).

 

Photo shop and illustrator like to be on a mac, but autocad doesn't. as for the rest, that's alot of music. fortunately, you can network a mac with pc's with a router and pull the files off like a server.

 

I'll tesify about the no virus and not constantly updating drivers problems, but these still crash sometimes.
actually ...if ya wanna step "into the light", go to your nearest Apple store, their help program and Genius techs are amazing! Got problems, they fix 'em.

Once you go Mac, you'll never go back

 

mp3 and jpg are just fine on a mac. there is nothing windows specific about those two formats.

As for autocad, get parallels and install a copy of windows and then you can run all your windows software on your mac without rebooting.

 

I use both. I am kinda in the same boat. Don't know if I want to jump the PC ship or not. Of course the iMAC I am using now is ancient, getting a new one today if the guy shows up to install it on the network at work. Also curious about ACAD, although I gave that up in Janurary. The next OS X is suppose to be able to run both operating systems natively. So I'll be watching to see how that goes come income tax refund time.

 

I use both a Mac and PC at work every day. (graphic designer). I love my Mac for graphic stuff and PCs for everything else. You can work between them which is damn handy, but that shit about Macs not crashing? HAHAHA! It may not be the blue screen of death, but I get the bomb on my Mac at least a half dozen times a day. Solution? Save constantly!

 

I switched about 6 month ago - I wish I had done it years ago!
It took a little time to get used to it and to transfer all my stuff from my PC, but I'm running with no problems. No viruses, driver problems or crashes - but it will lock up every once and a while. Word of advice - make sure you have a friend or someone you know that is a mac user to help you make the switch. If I hadn't had a mac guru to help me, my transition may not have been as smooth.

 

Hype? which hypy?

I have been using Mac for ages... its the world standard for the graphic industry. Like mentioned before most of your programmes or files will work on Mac/OSX with no problem or need to rename or anthing like that... but some might.

If you have been on a PC long, it might take some time to get fully adjusted. But once you ae adjusted to it... you will NEVER want to go BACK!!!

Macs are just so user friendly.... and they are getting more and more compatible with the PC stuff all the time.

 

I am getting a copy of AutoCAD Inventor as soon as I get a new computer.

that one is the one I am really wondering about.

It's really sweet to know that the Mac will adapt. that's exactly what I wanted to hear.

I knew the .mp3s would still work - but I am looking to convert the files - because I don't want to be constantly doing this as I go. So I figured that if it could be done all at once that would be sweet.


Jeff - what other soft ware (especially art/vector based) stuff do you run.


I was aware that you could get windows on a mac - but then aren't you inviting the same kind of crap that "effed" the PCs?


I was totally sold on a new & super fast PC last week. Then I went to a Mac store....ohh my god.

My reaction:

Apples are from the future!

It's like seeing Star Wars at your fingertips.


Now I am obsessed.

 

i got one of the first mac-mini's over a year ago,
the one that has the solo-intel chip.
Still using the same huge PC monitor.
I've got all the typical programs except autocad, works great.
There are no drivers needed for accessories,
however they do security/program updates monthly, no big deal.
Since the mini is a home computer,
i've also gotten a Lacie harddrive that fits underneath, worth it.

story -
a friend MATT got me hooked,
he bought the imac 17 inch pre-intel chip about 2+ years ago.
it always had problems for some reason, a lemon.
Well the first and second time it crashed hard they replaced some internals,
came over and did it.
The third time it crashed they replaced the computer totally.
They gave him the 20" lightly upgraded model,
basically the same price he paid at the time for the 17 incher.

GET THE APPLE-CARE INSURANCE!!!!


The only thing I don't do are video games.
I think thats the only drawback to apple.

TP

 

Let me tell you one thing...
You'll be damn sorry about one thing if you 'switch'....





.... and that's why you didn't do it earlier.

Mac's don't crash often, at least not as much as Gigantor is saying. There must be a bad written program or a shortage of memory. And if something crashes, it's usually just a single program, while you can still work on with the system.
System-upgrades are shown automaticly.
Virusses and spyware are now for others to worry about.

.mp3 musicfiles are universal.

Just jump that patched up ship with all it's 'virusses' onboard and come ashore...

 

I'll be the first to admit that I'm working on a dinosaur - my company wont spring for new stuff (it works doesn't it?!?!) But I started out on a PC and I think there is some lingering loyalty. Like Ford vs. Chevy. I might drive one or the other, but somehwere there is some lingering guilt that I compromised my loyalties. Macs are the industry standard for graphics though. Sigh.

 

Macs rule.

 

Back in the late 1980's it took close to a YEAR for me to find a working computer so I could see what the internet was. All the stores wanted to take 2Grand from me based on faith that it was the greatest thing since sliced bread. Finding a working MAC to look at would take longer than finding a $2,000. '32 3Window.

 

Most graphics departments are all Mac's, I have worked for a printing company for 30 years and almost all the jobs we do come from the Mac platform. Mac's are wonderful.

 

my brother uses a mac for the internet, and a windoze computer for the pc board layout and other programs that are avialable only for the IBM.

I think nowadays you can get away with a mac for all of it, if you want to buy a recent mac...you can put windoze on a mac now, you know.

I run windoze, and don't have problems with crashing or with viruses. I seem to be either lucky or very good at setting up the computers and surfing in a way that avoids problems. I don't know why everyone bitches so much about windoze, it works fine for me, even though it is a piece of junk. Macs are also junk in that you can have plenty of problems with them if you want to.

 

Well the only question that hasn't been answered so far is if running xp/vista, is that inviting all the nastys to invade your mac?

 

Macs are great. You'll love 'em.

 

My wife bought an iMac 4 years ago and liked it so much she went out and bought an iBook lap top too. No problems and the Mac store Genius Bar is very helpful for tech support.

 

You guys...man thanks a million.

You're making this easy.



I played with the 2.4 gig - 20" all in one iMac. It was stunning.


More questions:

How does the out-of-the-box mac stuff compare to some of the "aftermarket" stuff - like Aperture vs. Photoshop or maybe the standard Office progams vs. Microsoft Office - etc.


The impetus behind this purchase is that my wife is going back to school for another degree.

And that fact that I am hoping to get back into some digital art stuff since I seem to be loosing my Art Room in all likelyhood...



Just wondering.

 

I will always remain loyal to Adobe products.

 

Macs are for artist and crative people...Pc's are for old ladys in BFE
Macs are really the best my wife has a Pc lap top and its the biggest POS
and she pay'ed the same,, I rarely have any issus with my macs..usally fixed by restarting,,, get the warrenty and you will be good..

I have both Macbook and a G5 and its like being in computer heaven.

Sean on here works for Apple and he can answer any questions you have..

Pc's suck.

Also you can now run windows on macs with a special program.

 

Mac's are worth most of the positive hype. That is what i run, and i know that they are EXTREMELY reliable i havent ever had a problem with mine, and i even bought it second hand!

 

Damn skippy. Its worth the extra coin.

 

I bought an old used imacDV, those little bubble ones,
from a friend for $40 for the kids, with tons of programs.

During that same time period,
I had bought 3 PC's for at least $1k each that continuously needed upgrades.
none of them exist while that Imac is still pounded on every day!

again - GET THE APPLE CARE INSURANCE!

tp

 

Is there something other than Macs?

I have been on a Mac since 1989. I have never owned or worked on anything else.

 

I love it. Im on my 4th now, going to possibly sell (15" powerbook) to get the same with a slightly better processor. I stepped down in performance from my mini to pbook, but needed the laptop. They are expensive, but if you are getting a desktop version you are at least getting a break in price there.

The new ones are amazing, but the price is just way out of my league. My gf bought a new (last year) HP 15" notebook for $450 or so shipped. Works great. My powerbook is 3 or so years old, and cost $650 on ebay, and at that its cheap. 1g proc, 1g mem. It just gets sluggish when I have itunes going and also switching between net, iphoto and photoshop. Especially when testing filters and stuff like that.

Point is Id never go back. Gf doesnt like using it, neither do many of my friends, but I love it.

 

Stop reading this and go buy a new Mac right now.
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