Laptop conundrum - Mac or Windows

[visian]

Common knowledge says Apple stole it, lock, stock and trash basket...

But the Wikipedia says different.

Hard to say.

Friends of mine who were there at PARC claim the former.

Ian

ps => has anyone played with Vista? I got to mess around with it when I was in China... it ROCKS!

 

[knary]

Cost is not the biggest consideration, but where are you seeing a price of $999 for the 12"??

Rebecca,
Everyone always says waiting is silly when it comes to computers because something new is alway around the corner. But this time, if you're considering an Apple laptop, it makes sense to wait a little longer if you can. Apple is in the midst of changing to a new chipset. The new laptops coming out aren't just a little better than the old ones, they're a gigantic leap ahead of the old machines.

I have an older ibook that I use as my travel machine. I'm eager to replace it, but will be waiting until the new laptops, including the new incarnation of the ibook (macbook?), are fully released and the bugs worked out.

Besides, if you wait, we'll be very close to the release date of the Garmin software.

 

[SNOONE]

Our apple network consultant was in today installing our new Raid and he said most of the new line would be out by June.. They are taking orders for the intel processor powerbook now, however it will take a while for the software people to come up with all of the cross platform versions that will work on both pc's and macs.. All existing mac software will still work, but from what I understand existing pc software won't.. I wouldnt wait.. There are some good deals out there cause apple needs to unload their existing inventory

 

[knary]

Our apple network consultant was in today installing our new Raid and he said most of the new line would be out by June.. They are taking orders for the intel processor powerbook now, however it will take a while for the software people to come up with all of the cross platform versions that will work on both pc's and macs.. All existing mac software will still work, but from what I understand existing pc software won't.. I wouldnt wait.. There are some good deals out there cause apple needs to unload their existing inventory

No one, that I know of, is talking about a single piece of software being able to run natively on a mac or a PC. It's not just not going to happen any time soon. There's a still gigantic difference between how OS X and Windows are built. You can, however, expect a windows emulator to run MUCH faster than previous versions.

Universal apps (apps written to run natively on the intel macs) will be slow in coming (e.g. Adobe expects, IIRC, early next year), but early reports suggest that an old application running under Rossetta (allows 'old' OS X apps that aren't 'Universal' to run) on a mac intel is still a big leap ahead of the somewhat ancient G4 laptop.

If I were debating between a G5 tower and an upcoming Intel towed, I'd buy the G5 now. But the laptops have been lagging behind for a long time now. The new ones are way ahead of the old G4's.

 

[BRADFORDBENN]

Not Apple, that's for sure. Credit rightly goes to Xerox's Palo Alto Reseach center, circa 1978. A mouse, desktop folders and other GUI aspects first appeared in Xerox's STAR Word Processing system.

Jobs saw a STAR and quickly determined that this was the type of interface they'd install on the Apple Lisa, the machine that bridged the gap between the early Apples and the Macs. I don't recall whether Xerox ever actually sold Apple the interface or whether Apple put it together in a sort of reverse engineering scheme.

Just pointing this out for accuracy's sake.

My understanding if I remember correctly is a hybrid of this version. Apple stole it and then got caught so they had to pay royalities to Xerox. Like I said that is from memory. Kind of like the Odysee Video Game and Atari...

 

[dlearl476]

BG, two things: One: you're an Apple girl, no doubt about it. I'll be much better for your photo stuff.
Two: I can't believe how this thread has gone. I've been swimming upstream! Been a MacAddict all my life, even still have a working Macintosh Portable. There was a time when there weren't ANY music/sound software options for PC.
I gave up two years ago and bought a Dell for my home desktop because I was tired of dealing with NO GPS support from mac and I've had great luck with it.

But I still say keep the old laptop for travel and get yoself a new mac. Check out the boys at GotApex.com for deals and steals no matter which way you go.

 

[dancogan]

Among the Photoshop photography professionals I'm aware of, there is no performance difference between the Mac and the PC. George Lepp, a very well known photographer and teacher, equips his digital classrooms with PC's. One thing that can be said about PC's-there's lots and lots of software out there. And the XP operating system is far more stable than some of the older systems. (However, nothing was worse than the OS that Apple introduced with the first Power Mac. That's the last Apple I owned, after starting with the Apple II.)

 

[SNOONE]

We can't forget the most important thing about Macs in general is their extreme user friendliness. It's plug it in and play.

 

[visian]

We can't forget the most important thing about Macs in general is their extreme user friendliness. It's plug it in and play.

OK, then please tell me how you record a sound on a Mac... right out of the box. Or.... play a video full-screen. (for fun... type "record voice" into the Finder help box.... and then do the same in Window XP)

I know this goes totally against the flow of this conversation, but as a 20-year mac user who mainly uses PCs, Macs can lose me faster and farther than just about anything known to man (except Fast Frank, the Macon Ace and Dr. Curve...)

Sometimes they are just too damned automatic, putting files where you can't find them, or doing little setup things behind the scenes and not telling you about them. Other times you just have to know their special tricks (much like our BMW's turn signals, or shifting techniques). And other times, I find myself saying "ok... how would I *not* do this on my PC because the freakin' Mac is just intentionally contrary.

Once you know their secret little ways, Macs are intuitive. Which, in my book, is counter-intuitive.

Or maybe I am just retarded.

Ian

 

[cjack]

OK, then please tell me how you record a sound on a Mac... right out of the box. Or.... play a video full-screen. (for fun... type "record voice" into the Finder help box.... and then do the same in Window XP)

I know this goes totally against the flow of this conversation, but as a 20-year mac user who mainly uses PCs, Macs can lose me faster and farther than just about anything known to man (except Fast Frank, the Macon Ace and Dr. Curve...)

Sometimes they are just too damned automatic, putting files where you can't find them, or doing little setup things behind the scenes and not telling you about them. Other times you just have to know their special tricks (much like our BMW's turn signals, or shifting techniques). And other times, I find myself saying "ok... how would I *not* do this on my PC because the freakin' Mac is just intentionally contrary.

Once you know their secret little ways, Macs are intuitive. Which, in my book, is counter-intuitive.

Or maybe I am just retarded.

Ian

You need some digital bread crumbs to drop on the desktop.

 

[robsryder]

For a long time I've had folks telling me how great the Apple macs were.

I looked at the mac laptops, but they seemed to throw off quite a bit of heat. My last 6 laptops have been HP/Compaq and I've had good success with them.

In 2005 I purchased a 20-inch iMac G5 and thus far I'm a bit disappointed with it. As a long time Windows user (WinXP Pro nowadays) I didn't really find the mac to be easier to use. And for the vast majority of my PC tasks, I find my WinXP machines easier to use.

I guess that my reason for getting the iMac was a hope that picture and video editing would be easier / better / faster. For me that has not turned out to be the case. After some initial experimentation, I've wholly gone back to my WinXP machine using Studio 9 or 10 software for videos.

My most recent laptop was purchased a couple of months ago for about $900 augmented by a memory upgrade to 2GB. For my needs this Compaq Presario v2310us was the best choice. Good power (processing speed), sharp screen, good ergonimics for keyboard and touchpad, light weight, relatively long operation time on battery, DVD burner, multiple USB 2 ports, firewire port, built-in wireless with good antenna, and compatible with existing adaptor for use in airplanes & cars.

HP still has a similar system for less than $760 (after rebate).
http://www.shopping.hp.com/webapp/s...oduct_code=EH459UAR#ABA&jumpid=reg_R1002_USEN

I believe that it is important to think about the applications for which the laptop will be used. For me the ergonomics (i.e., screen and keyboard) are just as important. Availablity and cost of software tools, portablity, and other factors should also be considered.

I certainly see a lot of folks at the nearby coffee house using macs (and PCs)! The important thing is to get something that most satisfies criteria set by you!

 

[visian]

(However, nothing was worse than the OS that Apple introduced with the first Power Mac. That's the last Apple I owned, after starting with the Apple II.)

Funny you should mention that. My PowerMac notebook was the first (and only) computer that I pounded into submission with my fists!

Ian

 

[cjack]

Among the Photoshop photography professionals I'm aware of, there is no performance difference between the Mac and the PC. George Lepp, a very well known photographer and teacher, equips his digital classrooms with PC's. One thing that can be said about PC's-there's lots and lots of software out there. And the XP operating system is far more stable than some of the older systems. (However, nothing was worse than the OS that Apple introduced with the first Power Mac. That's the last Apple I owned, after starting with the Apple II.)

One thing about PCs is that the latest games are available, but not so much for the Mac...if that is important.
I'm really ok with the XP os, and looking forward to Longhorn out this Fall or whenever. Wonder what the new os for Mac called Tiger? is about.
Still for the saddlebag, I think the iBook makes the most sense for me...or maybe the 12inch Powerbook.

 

[visian]

You need some digital bread crumbs to drop on the desktop.

Lordy... my desktop is way too messy already!

 

[USERNAME]

Lordy... my desktop is way too messy already!

daaaaang!

i thought i was cool for having a 24" dell LCD, but now i see that i am NOTHING!

 

[knary]

OK, then please tell me how you record a sound on a Mac... right out of the box. Or.... play a video full-screen. (for fun... type "record voice" into the Finder help box.... and then do the same in Window XP)

I know this goes totally against the flow of this conversation, but as a 20-year mac user who mainly uses PCs, Macs can lose me faster and farther than just about anything known to man (except Fast Frank, the Macon Ace and Dr. Curve...)

Sometimes they are just too damned automatic, putting files where you can't find them, or doing little setup things behind the scenes and not telling you about them. Other times you just have to know their special tricks (much like our BMW's turn signals, or shifting techniques). And other times, I find myself saying "ok... how would I *not* do this on my PC because the freakin' Mac is just intentionally contrary.

Once you know their secret little ways, Macs are intuitive. Which, in my book, is counter-intuitive.

Or maybe I am just retarded.

Ian

No OS is perfect. I usually tell people that if you're a complete n00b that you'll probably find the mac easier to use. If not, there's no telling which will be better for you. I've tried to use windoze machines and I found them confounding and, I'll admit, ugly (XP is, IMO, visually foul). But much of that is my years of being a mac user.

Record your voice? Why would you want to. Voice memo? It's not built in, but there are bits of software out there that do it, for mostly free.
http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/10089


Play a video full screen? Not a DVD, but just a little mpeg? Unfortunately, Apple wants you to buy Quicktime Pro to have that feature (command-F if you've got it). Apple has a bad habit of making phenomenal software, great hardware, and then hoping you'll shell out another few dollars for some feature that should have been included from the start. Having said that, there are scads of free video players available that do it.

If you want to be able to play something in a Windows Media format in quicktime (and Safari), you can use this.


Time for me to wake up.

 

[visian]

Record your voice? Why would you want to. Voice memo?

I interview people alot for scripts and stories that I write. It's easier for me to record while I interview instead of write. And it's easier to record on the computer, as opposed to a tape, and then listen while I type up what they say.

On the PC, you use the built-in sound recorder.

On the Mac, I wound up downloading a $15 program called xhead.recorder. But that was only after an hour of trying to get Garage Band to do **one stupid thing!!!*** (lord, what is is about *all* computer software? You go to the help menu and type in the one most obvious thing that everyone would want to do and the results will tell you how to build the friggin code in binary assembler language before it will tell you what you're looking for!!!)

You're right about Apple wanting to stick you for a few more bucks for the basics. Must have something to do with market share?

The one thing I *really* wish Apple would do is support ActiveX controls. I know....heresy!

But it would make for a much more integrated browsing experience on SO many web sites.

Ian

 

[dlearl476]

We can't forget the most important thing about Macs in general is their extreme user friendliness. It's plug it in and play.

WRONG, the most important thing about Macs is the moral superiority you get from owning one!

In my experience, PC users have difficulty with macs intitially, and mac users have difficulty with PCs, intially. First time computer users have much easier times starting with macs.

What I really can't understand, is how I can take a brochure I started at home on my pc to work and have it be completely fubar when I open it on the mac word.

 

[knary]

What I really can't understand, is how I can take a brochure I started at home on my pc to work and have it be completely fubar when I open it on the mac word.

That aint a PC/Mac question. That's a Word question. If I had the power, I would wipe that application from the planet.

 

[tessler]

Are we finished yet?

(Lemme start over)

Dear Rebecca,
Get a mac
(and have a great time with it)


..