Macs and PCs - Take 2

[pixeljammedia]

The reason you use something is because you know how to use it. You use a Wintel box because you have learned your way around the OS and the programs and you are fine with that. You get the job done screw the rest. I use a Mac (though I am an Intel employee, want my WWID#?) because it does what I want. Photoshop, Final Cut Pro, DVD Studio Pro have the workflow I know and use. Could I be using Avid or Adobe's DVD software? Sure, but who cares?

It is the same with Microsoft Word, could you be using Wordperfect or StarOffice or something to that effect? Sure they are cheaper, do everything Word does and have filters and compatible formats, but you know Word; it does what you want. Why take the time to learn a different program? There is more in this world to do than fixing something that isn't broken.

And that is where the decision lies. If your PC experience is broken, you suffer from viruses and spyware, the blue screen of death pops up often, someone tells you you need to edit your registry and your eyes glaze over then you might decide to switch. The cost of learning is time and effort and the question is if it is worth it to escape your previous experiences.

If your experience is fine, you know the platform and any issue that pops up you can and often enjoy solving them then switching makes no sense. More power to you, buy a new processor, I want the business.

I find, however, that those who use a Mac often have tried the latest on both platforms, or like me, have both platforms. Heck I even have a SUSE laptop and an old Desktop running Fedora. We understand the choices and have found a place for the Mac in our computing. Rarely do I find those who despise Macs have ever given them a chance. They may not have had the opportunity, but that doesn't mean you should hate it. This whole thread has been useless. Really, ask yourself, have you learned anything? Really? Really-really?

[Mark V]

I have learned most IBM users hate Macs and most Mac users hate IBM's reading this posting.

I was a die hard IBM user and hated Macs like 1/2 of the posters here, never bothered to give the computer a chance. My new Girlfriend now Wife had a Mac and i gave it a whirl and i no longer have any desire to use a IBM again unless i need it for a specific use.

I think it is time to close this thread because this subject is really useless to discuss anymore.

Mark V

[tWoSour]

I have learned most IBM users hate Macs and most Mac users hate IBM's reading this posting.

I was a die hard IBM user and hated Macs like 1/2 of the posters here, never bothered to give the computer a chance. My new Girlfriend now Wife had a Mac and i gave it a whirl and i no longer have any desire to use a IBM again unless i need it for a specific use.

I think it is time to close this thread because this subject is really useless to discuss anymore.

Mark V

Now, I'm a Mac-head all the way......but Mark, you do realise IBM makes the G5 chip right?

Its still wierd to me too, but Big Brother is with us now.....

[Paul_G]

@arnisandyz

Yes but people should learn about using a computer instead of getting spoon fed every step of the way, those who do not want to learn or can not be bothered deserve all the shit what gets thrown at them.

Some of those i would not even trust with a calculator.

[Mark V]

Now, I'm a Mac-head all the way......but Mark, you do realise IBM makes the G5 chip right?

Its still wierd to me too, but Big Brother is with us now.....

I dont care who makes the chip, Bill Gates could of pulled it out his ass and stuck it in a Mac. I like the way the Mac's OS works.

Mark V

[bazooka]

@arnisandyz

Yes but people should learn about using a computer instead of getting spoon fed every step of the way, those who do not want to learn or can not be bothered deserve all the shit what gets thrown at them.

Some of those i would not even trust with a calculator.

I could not have said it better myself.

[Shocker Milwaukee]

[bazooka]

Those were the days.

[pixeljammedia]

@arnisandyz

Yes but people should learn about using a computer instead of getting spoon fed every step of the way, those who do not want to learn or can not be bothered deserve all the shit what gets thrown at them.

Some of those i would not even trust with a calculator.

I could not have said it better myself.

I think people should learn to accomplish the tasks they need to accomplish, computer platform be damned. If the task is easy on a Mac then great. If you can learn it on a Wintel or Linux box then fine. A computer is a tool, like a car that gets you from here to there. The important part is getting to the destination. If some of us like the niceties the Mac offers along the journey then fine. We are willing to pay for it. No one complains when you buy a BMW instead of a Honda or a Ford or whatever else, why should someone bitch and moan over an Apple or a Dell or a Gateway or that hot-rod machine you built on your own?

[lordsmurf]

why should someone bitch and moan over an Apple or a Dell or a Gateway or that hot-rod machine you built on your own?

It usually starts like this thread did:
https://www.videohelp.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=257054
referencing this:
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2005/02/04/notes020405.DTL&nl=fix

Basically this: "Why do you use an inferior machine (PC) ? "
Or you get the "Isn't my Mac great?"

And PC users says "no" or "it's not inferior" and all the Mac lovers crawl from the woodwork like ants on a sugar cube.

I use both, and could care less. The PC does more in terms of video, so I have to use them. Mac is nice, but really limited in certain areas (in video).

[vitualis]

Off topic:

Placebo I find it hard to believe that our profession could be around as long as it has only because of a "placebo" effect

If you read my other post I wrote: "physiotherapy + placebo effect + some cognitive behaviour therapy".

And don't forget that there are a whole industry of iridology (looking at your iris) or crystal therapy as well. PLACEBO.

And don't diss the placebo effect. It works. Up to a third of the effect of analgesics is probably placebo. I personally know that quite often the therapeutics I prescibe to some of my patients work mostly because the patient thinks that it will work.

In Israel, doctors can even prescribe placebos (which I think is somewhat unethical).

33 deaths have been reported in English literature [this includes all rearch that has been written in "english" from 1934-1992 [58 years]
of those 36% were reported to be chiropractors, while 24% of those were medical doctors attempting to do adjustmnets

Of course, most people who have a vertebrobasilar infarct do not in fact die. VBI infarcts post spinal manupulation are somewhat more common than that. I don't know about you, but even if I recover with no long term deficits, I prefer not to have a stroke.

Chance of serious medical complications from cervical manipulation? - 0.00002% Bascialy a 300% better chance of getting stuck by lightning and dying.

Don't know where you get your figures, but stroke post spinal manipulation is somewhat more common than that. In any case, this is where there is legal schizophrenia between the medical profession and allied health. I commonly have to inform people of risks in the order of 1 in 100,000 to 1 in 1,000,000 and would be considered negligent if I didn't (Rogers vs Whittaker).

As for Macs versus PCs, obviously whatever system you use is personal preference. I am sure that some (perhaps even most) Mac users don't "feel" that they are missing out on much from the PC scene. However, the impudation of the original poster is that Macs are so superior that it would be incomprehensible for any one to use a PC for home computing.

I think that I have argued fairly convincingly that there are many reasons why some people (in fact, if you look at sales figures, most people) prefer the PC platform to the Mac.

Regards.

[decay]

"I think that I have argued fairly convincingly that there are many reasons why some people (in fact, if you look at sales figures, most people) prefer the PC platform to the Mac."

I'd counter that many would use Mac if they had a chance to try one. People are easily led.

[bazooka]

I'd counter that many would use Mac if they had a chance to try one

No

People are easily led.

No, again.

Quit trying to run down a pc.

It is a tool.

I am glad that you are happy with your mac, but trashing the pc is getting old. You forget that not everyone has the extra money to buy a mac.

I have said that neither platform is superior, so just let it go. :P

[vitualis]

Well, many people have had a chance to use a Mac. I've used Macs at school and at Uni. Macs were pretty big in schools in Australia when I was growing up as they had deals with the Education Department and had good education software.

And yet, I still prefer PCs. As do most of my techie friends.

Don't think that most people choose a PC out of "lack of knowledge".

Regards.

[pixeljammedia]

Don't think that most people choose a PC out of "lack of knowledge".

I don't think the majority of folks really "choose" their computer. Rather they buy one because they need to have a computer and they go for what is available at the computer/electronics store. They go with what they know from work. They get a hand-me-down, or they have so much legacy software from a previous PC that they upgrade to a faster processor and don't want to switch. Their choice has little to do with the relative merits of whatever platforms are available.

Those that do choose Mac go out of their way to do so. "Techies" I usually assosciate with the "tinkerer" mentality that I know very well. They choose a PC because it is the platform of tinkerers. I bet many even use Linux. I would bet that most have invested so much time in learning the platform that moving to Mac makes little sense. They are now respected for their knowledge in using a PC that asking to start out as noobs on another platform does not appeal to them.

Ubiquity is not really an argument of merit. If it were, then sit-coms would be greater pieces of art than Shakespeare, and Britney Spears would be a better entertainer than Solomon Burke. This was all a pretty futile exercise in the first place. Do people choose PC's out of ignorance? For the most part (and I am using the strict definition of ignorance here) the answer is yes. Are there extremely informed people who choose X800 Wintel or Linux boxes, of course. I believe, however, that they were bringing baggage along with them like prior familiarity with the PC and it's programs.

If you had a fresh start. If you were coming at it with no prior biases I believe that many more would choose Mac than presently do. I do not believe you made a bad coice buying a PC. Consider, however, how strong a Mac person's allegiance to the brand is. Ask why 10% of the personal computing market is so vital and vocal. There really is something there, and it really is a different (and I would say better) computing experience.

Regards

[vitualis]

Small group? Vocal? Considered illogically so by many people? --> Fanboys.

There is a strong allegiance of some to various flavours of Linux, FreeBSD, BeOS, etc., etc., and etc.

That doesn't mean that it is actually "better" for the average person.

Regards.

[lordsmurf]

pixeljammedia, when I started into DVD media back in 2001, I had a large budget and could have bought whatever I wanted, in terms of platforms, and even to some degree, the capture hardware.

The plain sad truth is Mac cost more AND did less. It is still this way, in terms of video. Not only is their no benefit, it is a loss.

In terms of "everyday" things, it costs more AND does the same. Their is no benefit.

I chose a PC because it was the smart choice for my situation. More video abilities, lesser price. None of this has changed in the last 4 years.

People simply buy Macs because they like them. There is no other reason beyond that. Nothing magic, nothing technologically superior. They simply like them. I have no problems with this.

One of my close friends has a Mac. It's a nice machine. It is not without flaw, but he is smart, and knows how to make it work well.

To us they are just tools to get a job done.

[Mark V]

If IBM's do so much more why do all Graphic Designers and bigger design companys use Mac's then?

My Wife is a Graphic Designer and has worked at several different companys and they ALL used Mac's. When my Wife went to Graphic Design school she was tought only on a Mac.

When you look at a job ad for a Graphic Designer they all require Macintosh skills.

Mark V

[lordsmurf]

If IBM's do so much more why do all Graphic Designers and bigger design companys use Mac's then?

This is an easy one.

Back in the 80s and maybe the early 90s, the WYSIWYG type interface required for design was only available on Mac. By the time TRULY graphical WINDOWS came out, and even for quite a while afterwards, Mac was still better.

But none of this has been true for about 10 years now.

Now they just do it "because that's how it's always been done".

Most often, because they have a long-forged relationship with Apple, and Apple is known to wipe the tooshies of it's big clients and business/educational sector as much as it can. Why look at a PC when the "Mac guy" comes around and gives you updates for the same tools you've already been trained on?

PCs are just as good now in design hardware/software, but people don't like to switch. Should somebody start over 100%, either choice works. Just that one is most expensive (Mac).

The "one number support" for Apple is also a myth. Call Apple with a Adobe Photoshop error and see what their response is. One number help? Not by a longshot.

[Mark V]

So your saying the IBM is supperior in all ways then?

Mark V

[lordsmurf]

So your saying the IBM is supperior in all ways then?

Mark V

No.

Also, IBM is just a company. Their PCs suck. Like HP and Sony.

PC, more precisely, WINDOWS systems, can do just as much as a Mac.

The only place where PC excels is video software, and then video hardware choice too. That's it.

Otherwise, they are the same. Florida Oranges vs California Oranges.

[Mark V]

IBM based you are saying because Mac also has PC's so you cant really concider all PC's to be IBM based.

It is like VHS and BETA, all VCR's are VHS now even though Toshiba, Magnavox, Sony make VHS recorders we all call them VCR's so when you think of a VCR now days you automaticly think of VHS.

IBM= IBM based machines= PC
Mac= Mac based machines= PC too

I have a Mac PC sitting underneath my IMac.

Mark V

[lordsmurf]

Don't try to mush words.

PC used to mean PERSONAL COMPUTER. DV used to mean DIGITAL VIDEO. Neither mean that anymore. PC means a certain type of computer, almost always Intel or clones (AMD, Cyrix, etc). Just like DV is a certain format of AVI codec video now.

A PowerPC is still an Apple. It uses Motorola processors. Still a Mac.

IBM has not been the basis for computers known mostly as "PC" for 15-25 years. IBM doesn't really even make personal systems anymore, they're almost pure servers now.

Again, don't try to mush words. Semantics.


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http://www.happynowhere.net/mac_parody.php

[vitualis]

Thank you.

Need I remind you Mark V that the blessed union between Adobe and Apple ended in the late 1990s. Adobe makes and optimises its software for the PC first and the Mac second.

Regards.

[Mark V]

I was never talking about Adobe, i was talking about Quark Express.

What made anyone think i was talking about Adobe?

Mark V

[bazooka]

Ask why 10% of the personal computing market is so vital and vocal

Macs only account for about 3%, not 10%.

That is an obvious question. It provides choices, but do I say you are stupid for buying something more expensive?

No.

If IBM's do so much more why do all Graphic Designers and bigger design companys use Mac's then?

The obvious answer is not everyone is a graphic designer. Macs are also used for cinematography and education. Not everyone is into cinematography either.

I thought I killed this thread earlier.

I will say one more thing.

$70 for a modem for a Mac.

A pc modem can be bought for $10.

Goodbye.

[Mark V]

PLEASE KILL THIS THREAD!

[vitualis]

Okay. So Adobe doesn't make design/imaging/video software that is commonly used on the Mac.



Thread dead.

Regards.