After nearly 15 years of frustration, freezes, losing files and jumping through hoops and mazes..my patience has worn itself out....I've finally decided to go full-on Mac. My 20-year old neice swears by it, a few co-workers, at a newpaper, have a standard response to a power outage whereby whatever you were working on just vanishes: 'That never would have happened with a Mac...'
I've never really gotten excited about the Internet and all that you can do because everything just seems like too much damned trouble to get to on PC Windows....It's been a tool for work, staying with the times etc....but I was never really sold on the Internet as this realm of endless possibilities.
The expense of Macs always hindered any serious thought of switching and of course, I've heard all the Windows-conditioned mass-perpetuated myths: Macs are too complicated, you can't find programs, they're not adaptable or whatever - heard them all and they kept me from seriously considering...plus, the standard, Why pay hundreds more for something I can get cheaper and get all the same stuff etc...?
I ventured into the Mac store over the weekend with my neice and saw a display with the Intel Core i5 Processor iMac desk top with a 21 inch monitor that just blew me away. I played with it and watched with childlike wide-eyed wonder as the Geek Squad kid took me on a journey to store my photos, record music, explore and have fun..... something I've never done with any PC Windows I ever had. I fell in love and it suddenly occured to me that, and Im no techie, I could take that plunge into a new dimension, away from what has become stale to me and actually explore and enjoy a computer.
Any Mac users here? Talk me into it.
Any anti-Macs? Talk me out of it.
I want to join the other side...but cost-wise, its a leap. Is it worth it?

Here's a funny Mac and Mick anecdote:

A Mac For Mick
Author: Andy Hertzfeld
Date: January 1984
Characters: Bob Belleville, Steve Jobs, Lynn Takahashi, Patti King, Bill Atkinson, Mike Murray, Andy Hertzfeld
Topics: Marketing, Celebrities, The Launch
Summary: We present a Mac to Mick Jagger
Revision: most recent of 18


Mick Jagger
he last couple of weeks before the Macintosh unveiling on January 24th were extremely hectic. The software still wasn't finished, and it wasn't clear if there was enough time left to get it into adequate shape. Meanwhile, the Apple PR machine was revved up to full speed, so there were also plenty of unusual diversions, like being interviewed and photographed for the national press.

The absolute deadline for finishing the software was when the factory opened at 6am Monday morning, on January 16th, eight days before the introduction. When I came into work on Friday, January 13th, I knew that I would probably stay there all weekend, along with the rest of the team, working as hard as possible to shake out the remaining bugs before Monday. Steve Jobs, Mike Murray, Bob Belleville and others were in New York city doing a press tour, so I thought we would be relatively free of distractions, and would be able to focus on bug fixing.

I came into work later than usual, around noon, since I had been at Apple until 3am the previous evening, and I wanted to get one decent night's sleep before the final push. As I went to sit down, I noticed that a handwritten note had been placed on my chair. It was from our software librarian, Patti King, who had taken a message from Steve Jobs' secretary, Lynn Takahashi.


"Andy - Steve J. called - we can deliver a Mac to Mick Jagger tomorrow. You can fly out to meet them by tomorrow noon and bring lots of neat software. If you can come, make arrangements for the trip through Lynn. Steve will call back in a couple of hours, also, he'll be at the Carlyle Hotel tomorrow."

Wow! A chance to meet Mick Jagger was a once in a lifetime opportunity. But we still had three more days before the deadline, and I would be absent for at least 30 hours if I tried to go to New York, plus I would be relatively useless when I returned from all the flying. I called back Lynn to tell her to tell Steve that I couldn't make it. But I was curious to find out about Mick's reaction.

I found out from Bill Atkinson when he returned from the East Coast on Sunday afternoon, and I got more details from Steve and Mike Murray a bit later. Steve had apparently gone to a party on Thursday evening, where he was introduced to Andy Warhol. Andy got really excited about the Macintosh when Steve demoed it to him. "You must show it to Mick,", he proclaimed, and arranged for Steve and the Apple crew to go to Mick Jagger's townhouse on Saturday afternoon to present him with a Macintosh.

Steve Jobs, Mike Murray and Bill Atkinson got out of the cab in front of Mick's two-story brownstone townhouse, hauling along a Macintosh in its canvas carrying case. They knocked on the door at the address they were given, but there was no response for several minutes. Finally, the door was opened by two huge guys who were obviously bodyguards, who didn't seem all that impressed to be talking to the co-founder of Apple Computer and his entourage.

The Apple folk were led upstairs into an elegantly furnished room to wait for Mick. Bill set up the Mac and launched MacPaint, and started to fool around with it. Then, abruptly, Mick Jagger strode into the room, dressed casually in a T-shirt and blue jeans.

Mick was polite, but he didn't seem to have heard of Apple Computer, Steve Jobs or the Macintosh. Steve tried to strike up a conversation, but he wasn't very successful. Steve told me that Mick couldn't seem to put together a coherent sentence. "His speech was slurred and very slow", Steve described it later, "in fact I think he was on drugs. Either that or he's brain-damaged." After a few minutes, it was clear that Mick had absolutely no interest whatsoever in Apple or the Macintosh, and an awkward silence ensued.

Fortunately, Mick's twelve year old daughter Jade had followed Mick into the room, and her eyes lit up when she saw MacPaint. Bill began to teach her how to use it, and pretty soon she was happily mousing away, fascinated by what she could do with MacPaint. Even though Mick drifted off to another room, the Apple contingent stayed with Jade for another half hour or so, showing off the Macintosh and answering her questions, and ended up leaving the machine with her, since she couldn't seem to part with it.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2011-07-19 06:08 by stupidguy2.

Take the leap. You won't look back, you won't regret it.

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doubledoor
Take the leap. You won't look back, you won't regret it.

And that's what I want to hear....but I still hear the whispers from anti-Macs about how Apple lost traction in the cyberwars...how Steve Jobs couldn't compete with Windows etc...
But that iMac was just so damn beautiful. I had originally considered a Macbook Pro, but for about the same price, the desktop is there in all its glory.

The Stones would do well to switch to Mac. His keyboard stylings are infinitely preferable to those of Chuck Leavell. And he only lives in America!

I switched this past March, from PC to a 21" imac. I'm so glad I did. They really make things a more common sense approach. I edit my photographs on aperture, don't buy the disc in the store for $200, instead download it for the Apple store for $80. I love imovie, I make a ton of videos on there.

Overall, they may be more expensive, but I felt like I got what I paid for. I'm very happy!

Switch to Mac.

Two point of views here:

I personally don't have any issues with W7 but then again I built my own system and use my own components and that no one can argue how flexible PCs are. I have a very powerful machine and extremely much cheaper than the equivalent MAC (not a customizable one whatever Apple provides you) and that's a selling point. W7 has proven to be a great OS I am not sure why you are having problems...

On the other hand the iOS is very powerful, not based on stupid DLLs, etc. a solid system, fast, and very reliable. Beautiful machines I might add. iMac is a great machine, think about getting the i7 Core. Whatever you end up getting make sure the new machine has 8GB of Ram and 2TB Hard Drive for extra space (we all need space).

So it all depends of your kind of work in my opinion, if you are an average user then go with Apple you will not regret it, if you want customization then PC is your choice.

Hope that helps!

I use both PC and Mac but at work, and most of the time at home, I use a Mac. I never thought I would but I must admit that my Air is wonderful! No problems at all, fast, no waiting and no viruses! Go for it! They are expensive though!

I switched about 2 years ago and bought a Mac Mini as I already had a decent screen. Go for it. Garageband if you're into recording your own stuff is a great little program.

NickB

You can't always get what you want.....

www.myspace.com/thesonkings

It is also in the name

"snow leopard" vs "windows7"

tasteful against ....

in short, go with the mac.

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stupidguy2
I've finally decided to go full-on Mac.

You will not regret it. A more user friendly OS, more stability, easier installations and removals, no real virus threats, no tons of third party software needed and lots of stuff to play with right from the start. The only thing I missed was Office and that was solved free with Open Office.
I use a stationary PC and a Macbook. When I updated my stationary computer a couple of years ago I went for PC again because of the price. I regret that I didn't went for a Mac Mini instead.

Your Mac will crash as well. But my Macbook has not crashed as much as my Windows machines.

Buy it now and you'll get (at no extra cost) the latest Mac OS : Lion.
[en.wikipedia.org]

I bought my Imac in Oct.08 and I didn't have a single problem with it.
My old G3 (bought in 1997) still functions today so that should tell you about the reliability of Apple gear... Yeh its moe expensive but Rolls Royce are too. They're also built to last a looong time.

If you're on the fence and have the money don't hesitate : you'll like your Mac machine and the way it "thinks".

Go for it, you'll enjoy it.

One warning though, don't fall in the trap that many converts (ex PC users) do to start to muck around in the system files to clean up or organize things. DO NOT DO THAT, the Mac OS X takes care of it. No need to defragment, remove old files, move files around, etc, etc. The same thing for your iTunes and iPhoto folder. Leave it as is on the disk and organize your music and pictures in the app.

I've worked in the print industry for 30 years and everybody particularly graphic designers use Macs. We hate it at work when we get files generated on a PC!!! Most of the time they just cause problems and I created by people who hav'nt a clue what there doing.



John Nicholls

Quote
john nicholls
... We hate it at work when we get files generated on a PC!!! Most of the time they just cause problems and I created by people who hav'nt a clue what there doing.

stupidguy2,
Be sure to get your official Apple pencil, used by most "Applers" to clinch in their teeth, as they point their noses to the sky and proclaim to the world how superior Apple is (and they are) to anything... ever... essssssppppecially PC users...

Liiikkee oooohhmmyyyyg-g-od.... sooooooo s-u-u-uperior

I too plan on switching to a Mac next time around - far more simpler to use, and I love how everything is built right into the monitor - no stupid tower taking up space. That's great. I do dread the price, but I can't wait to make the switch.

Go Mac!

MAC expensive? So is a PORSCHE.... (you can always get a Yugo instead)

Well when you're talking hundreds for a windows PC these days vs. thousands for a Mac, I'd say that's expensive.

I've been using a Mac since 1996. I also use a PC at work. The Mac is my favorite by such a long shot that the difference could never be measured.

credentials: retired systems programmer. owned a macbook 5+ years now and also have 3 windows boxes.

Mac pros:

very elegant machine and OS. the hardware is really great to work with - especially the screen. Macs use IPS panel technology which is top of the line. one of the reasons they are so expensive and look so good. you may want to go with a 27" screen. the bigger the screen the better. you don't want to end up with penis envy later on. go all out! and you can always hook up a second monitor as well. i never run less than 2 monitors except when on the porch with the macbook.

very rarely crashes on me. very stable OS. did i mention great hardware???

Mac Cons:

am very experienced with Windows tinkering, but am completely illiterate with OS X, other than basic settings. you will most likely end up in the same boat. i think that is the norm. that's ok in one respect - why should people have to be computer experts just to keep their machine running. it's a crock. on the other hand, it's kind of frustrating. at this stage in the game, i'm not going to learn unix or any other programming languages for that matter.

iwork is a joke. you can get Office 2011 if you really need office apps, but be forewarned... it is not 100% compatible. using Office 2007 under Windows, i recently designed a spreadsheet full of VisualBasic procedures. tried editing and saving using 2011 and it totally jacked them up! tried twice just to be sure it wasn't user error. it wasn't.

Apple does like to keep you tied in to their way of doing things. i have heard that the latest version of imacs have been built so you can not change the hard drive yourself, or you'll fry your machine.

two pieces of hardware you also might want to consider if you're into such things - 1) Wacom tablets. just go out to wacom.com and see if it's up your alley. 2) eyetv. if you want to watch tv on you mac, eyetv is the way to go. very good tuner, excellent interface.

anybody else out there got any good suggestions for Mac accessories? i'm all ears!

good luck and enjoy your iMac. you'll love it!!!!



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2011-07-19 19:07 by josepi.

Im sold. Truth be told, I already was....but appreciate the extra push to the other side.
I know I will have to re-learn a new system, way of doing things, but I actually look forward to it.....its like a rediscovery, a rebirth that has me very excited. I was going to drop a few hundred on a Dell laptop but only as a necessity, convenience......
Why not go in a different direction and explore a new world.
I can't wait...

Quote
Max'sKansasCity

Quote
john nicholls
... We hate it at work when we get files generated on a PC!!! Most of the time they just cause problems and I created by people who hav'nt a clue what there doing.

stupidguy2,
Be sure to get your official Apple pencil, used by most "Applers" to clinch in their teeth, as they point their noses to the sky and proclaim to the world how superior Apple is (and they are) to anything... ever... essssssppppecially PC users...

Liiikkee oooohhmmyyyyg-g-od.... sooooooo s-u-u-uperior

Yeah, I'm looking forward to that too....Mac has always been like that really cool, expensive car you thought was just a luxury item, but felt you had no real need for, but you like the way it looks and only cool people drove it.
Maybe its more than that - maybe Mac really is better. I want to find out.

Bought my wife an IPAD for christmas...she doesn't use it. Prefers her 4 year old laptop.

I have an Android phone, HTC, which is a marvel, blows away her Iphone.

Apple is overpriced/overrated.

I purchased a first generation ibook (She's A Rainbow was the theme music for the commercials - sucker!), which was so underpowered, it couldn't run software so I had to buy additional RAM just to be able to load a program.

It ended up being pretty useless for my needs, so I just used it for web surfing. A complete waste of money.

Apple's done a fine job marketing, but I constantly ready of quality problems...I'd be careful.

Why don't you just keep your old computer and look into Ubuntu?
Just throw out windows and install Ubuntu.
Or you can just keep the dodge windows for a while and try Ubuntu alongside. So that you can get used to the free alternative.
[www.ubuntu.com]

I've used both Macs and PCs plenty and they each have their unique virtues and liabilities.

See Mick talk to Steve Jobs on iChat:





Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2011-07-20 00:04 by Title5Take1.

Quote
treaclefingers
Bought my wife an IPAD for christmas...she doesn't use it. Prefers her 4 year old laptop.

I have an Android phone, HTC, which is a marvel, blows away her Iphone.

Apple is overpriced/overrated.

I purchased a first generation ibook (She's A Rainbow was the theme music for the commercials - sucker!), which was so underpowered, it couldn't run software so I had to buy additional RAM just to be able to load a program.

It ended up being pretty useless for my needs, so I just used it for web surfing. A complete waste of money.

Apple's done a fine job marketing, but I constantly ready of quality problems...I'd be careful.

But its not like I haven't used Windows..like most people, that's all I know and have been frustrated, bored...

I want to try something different. Also, we're all conditioned to what we're familiar with and Im ready to take a leap into new territory. With PC, I've been there, done that.

I've used Macs since they had B/W screens!! You'll never look back.....

Quote
stupidguy2

Quote
treaclefingers
Bought my wife an IPAD for christmas...she doesn't use it. Prefers her 4 year old laptop.

I have an Android phone, HTC, which is a marvel, blows away her Iphone.

Apple is overpriced/overrated.

I purchased a first generation ibook (She's A Rainbow was the theme music for the commercials - sucker!), which was so underpowered, it couldn't run software so I had to buy additional RAM just to be able to load a program.

It ended up being pretty useless for my needs, so I just used it for web surfing. A complete waste of money.

Apple's done a fine job marketing, but I constantly ready of quality problems...I'd be careful.

But its not like I haven't used Windows..like most people, that's all I know and have been frustrated, bored...

I want to try something different. Also, we're all conditioned to what we're familiar with and Im ready to take a leap into new territory. With PC, I've been there, done that.

Well, you've made your decision already, and I presume done the research. I'm only giving you my first hand feedback, but that doesn't mean that will be your experience.

I've tried to like Apple....I just don't get the zeal...Android looks like it will eat Apple's lunch. Doing so in smart phones already, and I believe they either have, or soon will have a version for tablet.