Mac or PC? Options

[mitchntx]

Which platform do you use?

Experiences on both?

I have used a Mac platform to edit video and multi-media for almost 10 years.

Thank God Almighty that Premiere Pro was finally released.

CYA Mr. Jobs ... your platform freaking sux.

The OS is buggy and unstable and heaven help you if you have a motherboard issue ...

[rmackintosh]

Just bought a new Mac....had them all my life....

Long story, but I had them all my life...NEVER had a PC until two years ago...my wife, who is a CPA, always bitched she couldn't get her work stuff to work at home on the Mac...even though it would work....she just didn't like doing it that way... (IMG:http://www.frrax.com/rrforum/style_emoticons/default/rolleyes.gif) ...so...new computer time and SHE FORCES ME to buy a pc laptop so she can use it more at home for work....

....two weeks later she gets a job at Apple and had the top of the line Powerbook... (IMG:http://www.frrax.com/rrforum/style_emoticons/default/mad.gif) ...me no happy....

Flash to two weeks ago...she is quiting Apple...but in a parting gesture, we buy a sweet Powerbook, network, etc. for home...AT THE FAT EMPLOYEE DISCOUNT (IMG:http://www.frrax.com/rrforum/style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif) ...all wireless....it is cool....got the iPod, iTunes, all my CD's will be put away now...run my stereo in the living room with the Powerbook...got the iPhoto and iMovie thing going to....got lots of video to edit....me happy now...

The new operating system is something to get used to after "converting" for the past two years, but I am getting used to it....

to each his own...

(IMG:http://www.frrax.com/rrforum/style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)

[sgarnett]

Linux (IMG:http://www.frrax.com/rrforum/style_emoticons/default/tongue.gif)

I do use a Windoze PC sometimes, but most of the time it's Linux or Unix (Solaris, HP/UX).

I just don't get Macs, and don't know many engineers that like them. OTOH, My artist friends wouldn't use anything else.

[shortbus]

Mac OS X all the way.

My servers run linux.

PC is only at work. Where all the frustration is.

My home has been MS free since 2000.

I've had linux in my home since 1997.

In 94-97 I was the biggest MS promoter on the planet next to BG himself. Then when I was two years into a CS degree I realized what an idiot I was.... I downloaded linux and put it on a old machine.... then on a new machine... then canned the MS box... when OS X came out I bought a iMac which has been flawless.

Now my dual 2Ghz, 2gig ram, 700gig HD is my server/devel box and my Mac is the daily cruiser.

Windows is for solitaire.

(IMG:http://www.frrax.com/rrforum/style_emoticons/default/tongue.gif)

[conemark]

Diehard Mac OS X user here. I've been using various forms of the Mac OS for the past fifteen years. Certainly the older Mac OS 7,8 & 9 versions were getting quite a bit long in the tooth and if you didn't play witht he extensions properly, you would have something about as stable as an old sway-bar less Corvair. My daily Mac OS X bruiser is a much modified Power Mac 9600, so there is quite a bit of life left in something from early 1997!

Like many others, I do have to deal with various flavors of Windows at work. I really shouldn't be so critical of Windows, as it's collection of problems has afforded me the cash to buy the race car and race tires :-). I will say that Windows XP finally is getting to a point of parity with the Mac OS, but it is still saddled with a User Interface that confounds. Also, despite what the Microsoft Certified Solitaire Engineer's (MCSE) say, there is a wide variety of pro's who could really troubleshoot things when Windwos goes bad. What kinda stinks is that our company java programmers like to use MS's interpretation of java and then wonder why their retail products don't work so well for our Mac users.

Other that that, I have a Solaris x86 server that the Macs connect to.

[DanKeen]

I'll jump on the bandwagon, but Mitch already knows I'm a diehard OS X fan. Been using Mac computers since '91 or so... stopped in '97-'00 - still used the hardware, but ran linuxppc. OSX brought me back.

Glad to see so many advocates here...

Dan

[mitchntx]

OS X did stabilize the operating system. That I was happy for.

The problem was, none of the software would run reliably on it.
It required a MAJOR investment in upgradwed software to use OS X.
Hello ... backwards compatibility ... Hello, McFly ...
Now, if I were a believer in conspiracies ... (that was for you, Randy)

I now have a nice G4 I'm gonna use as a wheel chock

No more of that Jack Russell Terrier icon thing at the bottom of the screen.

And I absolutely hated that optical mouse. The mouse jumps all over the screen.
It was like trying to catch a fly with chopsticks, sometimes.

[beuke23]

I'm not on either side, but I've only been using PC's so far. At work, the workstation I operate uses its own proprietary software, but does run on Windows NT. I have a PC at home that runs on XP and I love it.

I have used Macs to transfer files at work. I don't like it, but it's because I only use Macs when I need to , which is not very often, so I'm not familiar with it.

The composer that I work with is a Mac guy all the way, and his Mac crashes ALL THE TIME! He's using his Mac at its limit though, and he works A LOT.

We have 1 Pro Tools at work that runs on Mac, and all the rooms will eventually have it. I had to ask my boss not to convert my room yet, not until I finish the season. Then I'll learn this Mac stuff. So far I'm not liking it compared to my current workstation, but I'm comparing apples to oranges.

[Bud M]

5 Macs at my house! (and several others long gone) My wife does graphic art production. A lot of people at Apple and Adobe are sending their kids to college thanks to her...

[sgarnett]

Apple does have some cool hardware ... except for that infernal mouse. Add a few buttons to it and I might be able to accomplish something.

As it is, though, with no right mouse button AND no command line, I'm nearly paralyzed on a Mac.

[mitchntx]

Just bought a new Mac....had them all my life....

That explains a lot .... (IMG:http://www.frrax.com/rrforum/style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

[bigshoe]

I cant believe how many mac guys are on this board!

anyways, i use xp at home, 2000 at work. I have pretty much no problems with xp, now older ms os's were big problems for me though.

anyways, i would just like to reinforce how much the mac mice SUCK, and other than that, I havent used them much, nor am willing to learn. I guess i'm rooted in the pc. Having said that, as a gamer (or at least WAS, since i never have time anymore), the mac is pretty much useless in that area.

I've breifly tried linux for a small fileserver at home, and I havent had the time to really set that up. For me, I cant spend time learning something new i guess.

also the security issues suck for windows if you don't lock down your pc and keep from installing bad crap and going to bad sites.

and I'm along with sgarnett, I can accomplish alot mroe with my 5 button intellimouse explorer (yes i know you can upgrade the mac mice, but why would they cripple that machine from the factory with that garbage)

since i build my own pc's, i kind of like the upgradeability of the pc platform, although i do end up doing reinstalls after motherboard changes usually. Also, nowadays there are lots of products to make your pc quiet, which i've spent some money on in the last year.


it'll be windows for a while for me,

[rmackintosh]

Just bought a new Mac....had them all my life....

That explains a lot .... (IMG:http://www.frrax.com/rrforum/style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

....hey....with a name like Mackintosh....what else would I own....

Heidi had a few exchanges with 'ol Steve over the name though..... (IMG:http://www.frrax.com/rrforum/style_emoticons/default/wink.gif) ....I made her quit because the cheap bastard wouldn sponsor my habit... (IMG:http://www.frrax.com/rrforum/style_emoticons/default/tongue.gif)

[SuperCricket]

Wow there are a lot of Mac users! Personally I'm a PC man. You'd be surprised how much time you can cut off video processing times when you submerge your computer in mineral oil, water cool it to below freezing, and run the stock 2.4 ghz P4 at 3.4 ghz!

My Computer

[bigshoe]

SuperCricket, you've just reminded me of the other thing about pc's, if its your thing, its a very modifyable platform, just like our fbodies.

I've played around with overclocking a bit, and mine is more mild than yours, an xp-m 2500 from 1.8ghz to 2.2ghz, but still on regular air cooling. i've overclocked all of my video cards, i used to use ps2rate to increase the sampling rate of my mice (when i was using ps2 mice), and in the past i just plain tried tweaking everything.

I was surprised the other day to find that you can overclock TI calculators! I have to say, i read the article, but i'm not about to do that, i need more features and resolution out of it before processing speed. too bad they cost over 100$ for those silly calculators.

I got another story, my chemistry instructor uses his powerbook to do powerpoint presentations, and he keeps complaining about how he cant convert certain symbols and whatnot from the pc version to be displayable on the mac. happens every class and he always says something like "oh vell, i still vill not change to vindows vorld. I love my mac" in his romanian accent. thanks buddy, thanks to you, there are 75 students in your class that cannot solve these problems since you cant show them how to do it (sometimes he'll use the blackboard, but seldom).

anyways, its a problem that can probably be solved easily, but he cant do it.

[CrashTestDummy]

Heh, I guess it is what you get used to. I am more at home with a Mac on the desktop. We have a mix (primarily due to work requirements) at the home office. The servers are Linux/Solaris. The last place I worked at provided WinTel boxes for the desktop, but when I knew I was going to get laid off, I got an iBook. Used it in the office for the last couple of months of employment. The great thing about the machine was it just worked. Mere seconds and a couple of mouse clicks, and I was accessing the company Sexchange server for email, doing their VPN for network app access, and utilizing ssh and X11 to access all my servers in the datacenter. And, for when I _had_ to use a Windoz app for something that didn't have a parallel app in the Mac world (Visio was the big culprit at the time), I fired up Virtual PC.

The thing just ran. I used to day I work on Windows PCs for my job, but to get my work done, I use a Mac. (IMG:http://www.frrax.com/rrforum/style_emoticons/default/thumbup.gif)

But I find myself on anything from Win98->Win2K, Mac OS8-> OSX, Linux 2.4->Solaris10, so I run with just about anything. I do like the way OSX looks and feels, but most of my formative years were spent in front of a Macintosh. And, throw away that factory mouse and plug a Micro$oft optical Intellimouse to that OSX box, you will be glad you did. :-)

[98_1LE]

At home I have a Dell PC (Celeron 1200, 512 RAM, Radeon 7500, boring) running Win2K and a Sun Ultra 10 (440MHz, 256 RAM, 64-bit, Creator 3D) running Solaris 9. I use the PC for email/Internet, and the Sun box as a file server, web server, use wget to download large files, and for whatever else. Both are connected to a Sun 21" monitor, but I usually don't run a window manager on the Sun box and just ssh in.

I have an HP laptop at work, and work on Sun boxes from Netra T1's to SF6800's.

[CrashTestDummy]

I have an HP laptop at work, and work on Sun boxes from Netra T1's to SF6800's.

Do you need any help? :-)

[98_1LE]

I have an HP laptop at work, and work on Sun boxes from Netra T1's to SF6800's.

Do you need any help? :-)

Yes we do, unfortunately we can't get any headcount approved (IMG:http://www.frrax.com/rrforum/style_emoticons/default/rant2.gif)

[94bird]

The last time I even sat down at a Mac terminal to use one was my freshman year in college, 1985. I suppose things might have changed since then, but it's PCs for me. I have no desire to change to anything else. I've never worked at a place that used Macs for anything but graphics design.