Apple vs. PC

[TripletDaddy]

For personal life and artistic stuff, Mac wins.

I have heard this before. Can someone please give me a few examples?

What does it do better?

Here is what my computer does for me:

1. Word/Excel/PPT
2. Email
3. Internet
4. Outlook
5. House my mp3s
6. House my digital photos
7. About once a year, I get creative and splice together some video footage of my kids and put it to music.

That is basically it. I don't use my computer for much else. I do not design graphics. I don't game. I don't have a blog. I don't really IM people. I don't use a webcam (sorry guys!). I don't download all kinds of crazy programs.

I say "house" strategically...I do not really edit my photos, I don't own photoshop, and I have no clue how to use it.

What would a Mac do for me more efficiently than a PC currently does?

I just don't get the point of paying so much for something that I won't come close to using enough.

[Coach McGuirk]

I have heard this before. Can someone please give me a few examples?

What does it do better?

Here is what my computer does for me:

1. Word/Excel/PPT
2. Email
3. Internet
4. Outlook
5. House my mp3s
6. House my digital photos
7. About once a year, I get creative and splice together some video footage of my kids and put it to music.

That is basically it. I don't use my computer for much else. I do not design graphics. I don't game. I don't have a blog. I don't really IM people. I don't use a webcam (sorry guys!). I don't download all kinds of crazy programs.

I say "house" strategically...I do not really edit my photos, I don't own photoshop, and I have no clue how to use it.

What would a Mac do for me more efficiently than a PC currently does?

I just don't get the point of paying so much for something that I won't come close to using enough.

Under those guidelines, I would say the mac would do nothing to very little for you.

[Sizzle]

Under those guidelines, I would say the mac would do nothing to very little for you.

I would still disagree a bit. Editing photos together in iMovie is a snap with iPhoto and iTunes integration. I may be a bit naive, because I use my PC for work only because they make me, even though I plead for a Mac, and I have no clue how simple it is to use their photo software. I do know that the plug and play with digital cameras, keyboards/mice, anything of the sort works much better with a Mac than a PC. But if you are using it to surf the internet, then you are right, the difference is probably negligible.

I will admit, that I am very biased towards a Mac though, and this has been since I was 3. Yes, you read that right, 3.

[Coach McGuirk]

I would still disagree a bit. Editing photos together in iMovie is a snap with iPhoto and iTunes integration. I may be a bit naive, because I use my PC for work only because they make me, even though I plead for a Mac, and I have no clue how simple it is to use their photo software. I do know that the plug and play with digital cameras, keyboards/mice, anything of the sort works much better with a Mac than a PC. But if you are using it to surf the internet, then you are right, the difference is probably negligible.

I will admit, that I am very biased towards a Mac though, and this has been since I was 3. Yes, you read that right, 3.

Even for what TD laid out, I would rather use the MacBook, but he asked what advantages there were. Besides getting into Utestar's pants, I am not sure there are any, but that alone could be enough to make him switch.

[TripletDaddy]

Even for what TD laid out, I would rather use the MacBook, but he asked what advantages there were. Besides getting into Utestar's pants, I am not sure there are any, but that alone could be enough to make him switch.

I don't need a Mac for that.

[TripletDaddy]

I would still disagree a bit. Editing photos together in iMovie is a snap with iPhoto and iTunes integration. I may be a bit naive, because I use my PC for work only because they make me, even though I plead for a Mac, and I have no clue how simple it is to use their photo software. I do know that the plug and play with digital cameras, keyboards/mice, anything of the sort works much better with a Mac than a PC. But if you are using it to surf the internet, then you are right, the difference is probably negligible.

I will admit, that I am very biased towards a Mac though, and this has been since I was 3. Yes, you read that right, 3.

I do think the video editing software on my PC is not very good, but not sure if that is a PC function of simply because I haven't ponied up for decent software.

I guess the better question for Mac users.....what do YOU do with your Mac to justify the huge swing in price?

I get slagged here for materialism all the time (some of it TIC, I know) but it never ceases to amaze me how much coin people here blow on what I would consider to be nonsense......expensive bikes, cameras, computers, guns, etc... I guess it is only materialism if it is someone else's expenditure. If it is our own, then it is a hobby.

[Mormon Red Death]

Why is it EVERY TIME you sign off of MSN after a chat your machine mysteriously spams me with instant messages wanting me to win an ipod etc.? I know for a fact my MAC does not return the favor

I want you to see coolpix and to win an Ipod. What can I say I'm a good brother.

[Sizzle]

I do think the video editing software on my PC is not very good, but not sure if that is a PC function of simply because I haven't ponied up for decent software.

The video editing software is probably a combination of both. iMovie is great for what it is; a easy to use video editing tool that comes built in on the Mac. And if you want a step up from that, Final Cut Express is a good enough tool for 95% of home-movie makers out there that is a reasonable software purchase.

I guess the better question for Mac users.....what do YOU do with your Mac to justify the huge swing in price?

Starting in High School and through College, I did Graphic and Web Design for a job and as a way to earn some extra coin. I haven't done much of it since, but dabble occasionally.

I still do some photo and video editing that I like my Mac for. With simple stuff, I'm fine using iMovie, but for some of the wedding videos I've done for people I'll bust out Final Cut. Could I probably do a lot of that stuff on a PC? Probably. But the ease that I can do it with on a Mac certainly justifies my time.

Also, I've invested some in Software on a Mac, and it would certainly cost more to buy new CS suite for PC than to upgrade for Mac.

I hope my reply didn't come across snippy as it is not meant to be. I feel comfortable on a Mac. I work faster and more efficiently, and I do love my Macs.

[YOhio]

My wife has a Mac and she loves it. I think it's just a Ford-Chevy debate for the white collar crowd or in UteStar's case, the purple collar.

[TripletDaddy]

The video editing software is probably a combination of both. iMovie is great for what it is; a easy to use video editing tool that comes built in on the Mac. And if you want a step up from that, Final Cut Express is a good enough tool for 95% of home-movie makers out there that is a reasonable software purchase.



Starting in High School and through College, I did Graphic and Web Design for a job and as a way to earn some extra coin. I haven't done much of it since, but dabble occasionally.

I still do some photo and video editing that I like my Mac for. With simple stuff, I'm fine using iMovie, but for some of the wedding videos I've done for people I'll bust out Final Cut. Could I probably do a lot of that stuff on a PC? Probably. But the ease that I can do it with on a Mac certainly justifies my time.

Also, I've invested some in Software on a Mac, and it would certainly cost more to buy new CS suite for PC than to upgrade for Mac.

I hope my reply didn't come across snippy as it is not meant to be. I feel comfortable on a Mac. I work faster and more efficiently, and I do love my Macs.

No, not snippy at all. I was being sincere in my question. I have heard much about the superiority of Macs. There are 2 that I would say are universally accepted by both camps:

1. Fewer virus issues for macs, by a large margin
2. Graphic design is superior on a mac.

I know a few folks that do graphic design for a living. I have never come across anyone that does it for a living that uses a PC.

[Shaka]

As someone who worked for several years in the multimedia industry please allow me to weigh in.

There isn't a thing you can do on a Mac that you can't do on a PC. It's been that way for years and anyone who says different is biased.

Photos? Photoshop is available for both platforms. The programs that are bundled with both operating systems are sufficient for what most people do with pics.

Multitrack Audio Recording and Production? Pro Tools, the industry standard, is available for both platforms. Mac has Garage Band for free but you can download several multitrack audio programs for PC free of charge that blow Garage Band out of the water.

Graphic Design? Illustrator and Photoshop available for both platforms.

3D Animation? Several good programs available for both platforms.

Video Editing? I love FCPro but similar programs are available on the PC that are just as powerful. Avid is produced for both platforms as well. For the rest of us iMovie is great but Movie Maker is also simple to use.

Animation and Visual Effects? Adobe After Effects is available for both platforms.

My point is while the Mac used to be better for the tasks listed above these days it's a wash. Why do graphic designers use Mac? Easy, they were trained on Macs and have stuck with them. Could they do the same work as efficiently on a PC? Yes, although they would never admit it. I do know a few graphic designers that use PC's.

I love Macs. I think the Mac OS is better than Vista. The real question is whether or not a Mac is worth three times the cost of a similarly equipped PC. The answer to that is not only no but hell no. The average person could have a PC with Vista (post Service Pack 1) and be perfectly happy.

My work as a multimedia programmer required me to have high end versions both a Mac and a PC at my desk. My projects required me to render advanced animations and 3d content as well as video and multitrack audio. This is the type of stuff that will really test a computer. While both machines were awesome I will tell you right now that my PC crashed less than my Mac when performing these types of operations. It helped that I custom built my PC using only the best parts.

If Apple really wanted to take over the computer industry they would sell their hardware at a price equal to a similarly equipped PC. Until they figure that out Apple will never come close to winning the platform wars. Those of you that like to play the virus card should remember that the Mac are just as vulnerable as the PC but because the PC has a far larger market share most malicious code writers target them. If Mac starts to take over the market you will start to see it targeted just as agressively.

[woot]

It'll be interesting to see what happens when Windows 7 comes out. It seems to me that other than their sleek, stylish design, the only thing macs have going for them is their OS, which is very popular (with good reason, to be sure). However, MS always releases two operating systems for every one that they design, and Vista is one of their half-baked intermediates. Windows 7 looks like it'll be just as good as OSX. I think it comes out next year, too.

It does strike me as odd that anyone could believe that macs are so superior for video editing or graphic design. I looked at the market penetration recently, and mac is surprisingly still only at about 5%. I hope that number continues to rise, as competition is almost always a good thing, but why would the best software only be designed for 5% of the market? Mac-brand stuff would make sense, but otherwise it wouldn't happen.

Also, the only reason viruses are less common on macs is because virus writers also know about the 5% market share. Macs are not more secure than PCs. Personally, I consider anti-virus software to be viruses themselves with how much they slow down your system, so I haven't used them in many years and have never had a virus. It's not hard to avoid them.

[TripletDaddy]

It'll be interesting to see what happens when Windows 7 comes out. It seems to me that other than their sleek, stylish design, the only thing macs have going for them is their OS, which is very popular (with good reason, to be sure). However, MS always releases two operating systems for every one that they design, and Vista is one of their half-baked intermediates. Windows 7 looks like it'll be just as good as OSX. I think it comes out next year, too.

It does strike me as odd that anyone could believe that macs are so superior for video editing or graphic design. I looked at the market penetration recently, and mac is surprisingly still only at about 5%. I hope that number continues to rise, as competition is almost always a good thing, but why would the best software only be designed for 5% of the market? Mac-brand stuff would make sense, but otherwise it wouldn't happen.

Also, the only reason viruses are less common on macs is because virus writers also know about the 5% market share. Macs are not more secure than PCs. Personally, I consider anti-virus software to be viruses themselves with how much they slow down your system, so I haven't used them in many years and have never had a virus. It's not hard to avoid them.

I had been putting off making the jump from XP to Vista, but the IT dept finally dragged me into the office to reimage my laptop. I now run Vista and hate it. I was told to let it run all the time and allow the OS to index everything, thereby speeding up some processes.

I am bummed to have Vista when I am pretty sure W7 will be much better. Vista reminds me of that ill-conceived Windows ME edition that was around for about 2 years and everyone hated it.

btw, although i had not stated so previously, I love apple products. Apple revolutionized music with the iPod. I have just never understood why Macs were so much better.

[YOhio]

btw, although i had not stated so previously, I love apple products.

Of course you do.

http://stuffwhitepeoplelike.com/2008...pple-products/

[TripletDaddy]

Of course you do.

http://stuffwhitepeoplelike.com/2008...pple-products/

Stop calling me a black kettle, Mr. Pot

http://stuffwhitepeoplelike.com/2008/10/27/112-hummus/