Mac and Windows

[cocker]

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I changed to Mac to get away from the aggravation of Windows - so far ( 3 weeks into Apple I have been delighted - It's a different world) My business partner (my wife as well!) is looking enviously at my iMac!

[bayerische]

I'm running OSX and XP.

 

Vista? ... Don't get me started...

[sean_reid]

I changed to Mac to get away from the aggravation of Windows - so far ( 3 weeks into Apple I have been delighted - It's a different world) My business partner (my wife as well!) is looking enviously at my iMac!

 

My wife is also a photographer. We lasted about two months with me on a Mac and she on a Windows system. As the family.business IT person (a scary thought), I decided the most recent Windows frustration was my last straw and now Melissa is on a Mac as well. I realize that Windows certainly can, and often does, run smoothly but with three Macs in the studio now I spend much less time fussing with computers. That alone has made the switch worthwhile.

 

BTW, we bought a 24" iMac for Melissa. It isn't as flexible as the MacPro but it works beautifully nonetheless. And networking the three Macs was a piece of cake.

 

Cheers,

 

Sean

[S. Wong]

I've been using windows for most of my life (95 beta), and have no real objections to those who like Mac. The whole mentality of the Mac design and execution does not work well with the way I use computers though.

 

My requirements in a computer:

- 2 buttons on a mouse

- quickly access the command line

- flexible hardware

 

I don't like being tied to a single vendor. Now that Macs run on Intel x86-64 (EM64T for you intel nuts) processors, that windows can be installed, though why would you?

The only thing to pick up a mac for is the hardware design, which is quite good. However, I can't use the macbooks as they only have 1 button. I can't see spending the kind of money for an imac that is just a stationary laptop.

 

The only hardware worth getting is the Mac Pro towers, as the hardware is cheaper than buying separately, but that starts around $2500.

 

On to the software:

I have never had an issue with any NT-based system, from windows 2000, XP Pro, XP x64, or any of the server variants.

 

Most mac software costs more, does the same thing, and there are not as many options for the user. This isn't an issue for most pros, as they stick to Photoshop programs and built-in software for movies and music.

Having never used iTunes or the other built-in secondary programs, I can't attest to how they feel differently, only the overall OS.

 

OSX:

Looks... GUI... round, candy-shaped things that make little to no sense to me.

Pros:

- Finder, very fast

- Grapher, the best program I used for Mac for math programs

Cons:

- Programs? How do I find anything?

- Hardware? How do I know what this system has vs what is claimed (not always the same)

- File explorer?

 

As a GUI for a unix system, I would say that its got polish, but needs work. Still not clear for me how to do basics.

 

OSX does handle the memory subsystem, vs MS which lets programs take over.

This causes issues, which may cause the Mac to hang. I've heard of the beach-ball of death.

 

Having only seen 1 BSOD in... 4 years?... across 8 continuously working XP sytems, both custom boxes and laptops, I feel no compelling reason to change.

 

Just be careful about the hardware you get, and the software will generally play nice.

-Steven

[psamson]

Steve, a quick FYI. Apple's Mighty Mouse doesn't appear to have any buttons (left or right), and the default config is to only have a left-click enabled. However, this is easily changed in System Preferences such that you have a right-click enabled too.

[stunsworth]

Steven I'm no Mac zealot, but you just on the point of two button mice, that is a facility that's been available on Mac's for a very, very, long time. Application prices (for the most popular applications at least) doesn't seem to vary much between platforms, and applications can be found just as easily on my MacBook as on my XP desktop.

 

The cosmetic side of interfaces is of course a personal thing, but I wouldn't describe System X any worse than XP. Guess it's a personal thing.

 

I think the hardware in a Mac can be easily fount from the system application.

[S. Wong]

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Ah, but have you ever tried swapping out for a 2 button touchpad before?

The Mac Books have but 1 button, and that was the core of my remark.

I do know that you can put in proper 2 button USB mice, but that is not always available.

 

UI is always a personal thing, but stability can not be.

With the good hardware, and simple precautions, both systems are equally stable.

Apple just guards the hardware more closely, and insists that the drivers be written to 100% Apple specs.

MS didn't do that until Vista, and look at what everyone's mad about, the vast array of peripherals that don't work because they're not "MS Signed" (or whatever MS calls it).

 

Choose your poison. As computers are now disposable commodities, I find that it isn't worth my $$ to spend more than I have to.

 

-Steven

[R.Costello]

I'm running XP Home (SP2) with VMware Fusion (still on trial but think I will buy it). I use a Mac Pro Tower as prime and have a wireless network with a G4 MDD and MacBook G4. Nice machines and hated to get into Windows but wanted to use two Windows apps and so took the plunge. Tried the Boot Camp route and didn't like the rebooting so installed Fusion. I had a devil of a time getting my network Brother Laser Printer working even after installing "Bonjour for Windows". I finally found a solution that wasn't perfect but worked. (It seems many were having a similar or same problem) It was in a Apple Discussion Forum and I can't remember where off hand. At any rate I finally got that working too. I can live with this for the little I have to do with Windows Apps. I couldn't get the Windows software update to work very well. I just don't know much about Windows! I couldn't get SP3 to download and finally had my son send me a copy on a CD which I haven't installed yet but will this week.

 

Someone posted having problems with Leopard 10.5.3 and Photoshop CS3. I have had no issues with it on any of my Mac's.

 

Note on the mouse - I use a Logitech Cordless Optical Mouse two button with wheel and it works on the PowerBook and the Mac Pro tower and use a Wacom tablet on the tower too. Haven't tried it on the G4 MDD - that is used by my wife mostly.

 

Richard

[luigi bertolotti]

I'm running OSX and XP.

 

Vista? ... Don't get me started...

 

XP is sane and XP64 is super... Vista has been really a lemon : no one people I spoke with (and I'm in the IT biz....) has praised it and most of the people in the SW development world simply LAUGH when speaking of; "Vista" is an italian word and lot of jokes have been created around...

 

No doubt that Mac environment is addictive... for people like me is an ethernal temptation... maybe, if I'll become so smart in digital photo to think seriously to an "almost dedicated" machine... I'll cross the river....

[miami91]

I had a devil of a time getting my network Brother Laser Printer working even after installing "Bonjour for Windows". I finally found a solution that wasn't perfect but worked. (It seems many were having a similar or same problem) It was in a Apple Discussion Forum and I can't remember where off hand. At any rate I finally got that working too.

 

 

I found this quite easy --- perhaps it varies by printer. I have an HP laser printer attached to my Apple Time Machine's USB port (aka wireless router), and to get it working in VMWare Vista I just needed to a) download and install Bonjour for Windows, enable printer sharing in the Mac (the host OS), and c) use the Bonjour printer wizard for set up, *not* the Windows printer wizard. About five minutes beginning to end, and works flawlessly.

 

Jeff.

[R.Costello]

Jeff,

 

Right you are! I was using the wrong 'wizard' !

 

Had the sharing settings right but once I used the "Bonjour Printer Wizard" all is running just fine. Thanks for the fix.

 

Richard

[miami91]

Richard,

 

Happy to hear! Yet another example of brilliant Apple technology ---- Bonjour really makes discovering and connecting to LAN resources remarkably easy.

 

Jeff.

[mongrelnomad]

I've been using windows for most of my life (95 beta), and have no real objections to those who like Mac. The whole mentality of the Mac design and execution does not work well with the way I use computers though.

 

My requirements in a computer:

- 2 buttons on a mouse

- quickly access the command line

- flexible hardware

 

I don't like being tied to a single vendor. Now that Macs run on Intel x86-64 (EM64T for you intel nuts) processors, that windows can be installed, though why would you?

The only thing to pick up a mac for is the hardware design, which is quite good. However, I can't use the macbooks as they only have 1 button. I can't see spending the kind of money for an imac that is just a stationary laptop.

 

The only hardware worth getting is the Mac Pro towers, as the hardware is cheaper than buying separately, but that starts around $2500.

 

On to the software:

I have never had an issue with any NT-based system, from windows 2000, XP Pro, XP x64, or any of the server variants.

 

Most mac software costs more, does the same thing, and there are not as many options for the user. This isn't an issue for most pros, as they stick to Photoshop programs and built-in software for movies and music.

Having never used iTunes or the other built-in secondary programs, I can't attest to how they feel differently, only the overall OS.

 

OSX:

Looks... GUI... round, candy-shaped things that make little to no sense to me.

Pros:

- Finder, very fast

- Grapher, the best program I used for Mac for math programs

Cons:

- Programs? How do I find anything?

- Hardware? How do I know what this system has vs what is claimed (not always the same)

- File explorer?

 

As a GUI for a unix system, I would say that its got polish, but needs work. Still not clear for me how to do basics.

 

OSX does handle the memory subsystem, vs MS which lets programs take over.

This causes issues, which may cause the Mac to hang. I've heard of the beach-ball of death.

 

Having only seen 1 BSOD in... 4 years?... across 8 continuously working XP sytems, both custom boxes and laptops, I feel no compelling reason to change.

 

Just be careful about the hardware you get, and the software will generally play nice.

-Steven

 

You my friend are SO behind the times!

 

In answer to your criticisms:

1. As said before, you can buy a Mighty Mouse for any mac, which includes two-buttons, a scroll-ball (360degrees) and a 'side-squeeze'.

As for the laptops, Apple is FAR ahead of the game with trackpad development. My MacBook Air trackpad includes 'gestures' instead of buttons: click with two fingers to activate 'right-click'. Swipe up or down, left or right with two fingers to scroll through documents. Swipe left or right with three fingers to go backwards or forwards in website histories, or photos etc. Pinch and stretch to zoom in and out. It is BY FAR the best solution I've ever come across. As well as that, Apple trackpads are far more responsive than their PC equivalents (no need to punch these - you caress them instead).

 

2. Command Line Terminal: OSX is based on Unix, and comes with a series of "Utilities". One of these is "Terminal" - when opened, it means you are directly in the command-line of the acomputer. As it is an app, it means you can have it floating in a window - you can continue doing other things and swap at will. There's another program called "Automator" - a kind of GUI version of Terminal that allows you to create command strings for actions you perform regularly making them 'single-click' and accessible from the right-click.

 

3. Yeah, here you may have a point. The higher you go in the range, the more upgradeable they are (the MacPros being a case in point), but generally, they don't much like you playing with the insides past upgradeing the RAM. You can do it (I have a 320GB HD in my MacBookPro that I installed myself), but it does void the warranty.

 

As for programs: I I have never owned a PC, and do not have either Parallels or BootCamp on any of my computers. Why? I just don't need to. Yes, there are less programs for Mac than Pc, but generally, anything you want to do, there's a mac application for it, and it'll be as good, if not in certain cases better than the PC version. Case in point: I don't use MS Office (although it is available for mac and I do own a copy). Instead I use OpenOffice, a freeware, open-source suite of apps. Free, constantly updating, and absolutely wonderful with better 'international fonts' integration than MS's effort. With games you may have a point, but I have a Wii for my occasional fix

Check here: Mac OS X Software Updates and Mac OS X Downloads - VersionTracker

 

As for freezing Macs: In the 8 years since OSX launched, I've only ever had one crash - and that was a dying HD! Yes, apps crash (ALT-CMD-ESC force quits), but the OS is so stable, you end up finding the restart-necessitating software updates to be an unwanted pain.

 

Anyway... I just got a phone call... they need you back in the late 80s