Do you own an Apple Mac computer?

[rugby]

Originally Posted by Eric3a

I worked in an office that was "all Macs" for a short while and hated every minute of it. Hated the logic behind the interface, hated the fact that my deliveries which had to be in Word would NEVER look exactly the same on my clients machines (the government) as they were using PCs.
Had problems ALL DAY LONG with compatibility of files my clients would send me from their PCs. Never huge, but just mind bogglingly annoying.

Hated that a ton of the little cool freeware apps that helped me in my job on PCs simply didn't exist for the Apple.
Hated that I couldn't use a mouse with tons of buttons (I'm sure it's actually possible but office didn't want to) to speed things up.

Now that Macs can run PC software, might as well buy a top of the line PC.

I moved on from that job within a few months, and having to suffer Macs all day long was a significant part of that decision.

So the answer is "No. I'll never get an Apple computer".
Eric

Eric,

Sounds more like a problem with company policy than with the Macs. I do LOTS of crossplatform work and MOST issues can be worked through.

I agree about dealing with the gov however, they're usually at least a decade old technologically.

[Eric3a]

My clients were all under the latest office... and so were we but under Mac.
On the surface, docs created on the Mac were fine on the PC... but advanced functions never worked 100%. Usually it wasn't "much" and yes they could probably be "worked through" in most cases.

Since our client (Our ONLY client!) was under PC, I didn't see the point of any of that hassle.

And yes the company was seriously crappy so some of the hassles may have been more company related than Mac. I correctly predicted it would fail (the #2 reason I high tailed it). They made poor decision after another and to me not using the same OS as our client was one of many.

One thing they kept going on about was PC and viruses... While it's true PCs are a lot more at risk, in a work environment it's controlled.
We lost a lot more time on cross platform issues than I ever did on viruses. Also most of the rapid turn around crew -and I turned out to be of of them!!-had never touched a Mac so it was obvious we lost a lot of productivity because of lack of familiarity with these machines. Some of the issues could have been lack of experience also.

It was a few years ago so things may have changed since.

One thing for sure: It has left me a "never again" attitude to Macs. Seemed to me like a more complicated way of doing things just to be part of the "I don't do Windows" club.

Each his own and I like the fact that Apple is making some come back in the market that needs competition.
Personally I tend to see Apple as a fashion statement mostly. Certainly my view of the iPod, not the best DAP by far, but the "it" thing to have.
Eric

[Eric3a]

This guys says it best:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...60189868317794

Reminded me of my Mac experience!
Eric

[JoeDornan]

Mac user at heart. But I swing the other way when necessary.

I find both sufficient for most tasks. I've chosen the mac for my daily personal machine (it offers the tightest no-fuss hardware/software integrated package around).

I used a PC for my HTPC (why else would I be here?) because there was, and still is, nothing comparable to the Meedio/BTV one-two punch. Believe me I looked. I also tried using my mac.
Mac users: replacement for Link?

Although you can now buy an Intel mac and install windows in order to run BTV link on your mini, my advice to snapstream is to develop Link for mac os x on the mini.

Note that there is currently no equivalent to a D.Vine or Niveus type mac case which mac users would put under their televisions. And trust me, the mac users will want their HTPC to look good and be silent.

Unless of course you wanted to target the linux crowd as well and saw the mac market as a technological first step to the latter... but with deeper pockets. In that case code away!

[Eric3a]

Although you can now buy an Intel mac and install windows in order to run BTV link on your mini, my advice to snapstream is to develop Link for mac os x on the mini.

There are other mini PC solutions, but the mini is rather unique in cuteness and would work well as a link machine I'd think (not sure about the specs but it should do?)
Not sure how much effort would be involved in making BTV link work under Mac Os.
Once running, even I, would be fine iwht it as I'd only use the familiar BTV interface and never the Mac OS.
Eric

[Mistergq]

Once I have a HD TV, I will probably pick up a mac mini to use as a link machine. But I reserve the right to change my mind because that is many moons off.

[htpc_nut]

I've seen videos online of BTV Link running successfully on OS X with the Parallels software. My question is: Does this work with HDTV?

My hunch is that any virtualization/VMware type solution like Parallels isn't going to be robust enough to do a full-blown HD BTV Link situation. However, if anyone out there can speak to this issue, I'm very interested in learning more...

[kramsauer]

I don't own one but would consider getting one. Frankly, the only reason I have a PC is they were cheaper when I was broke and didn't have much money. Today, I think if I had to start all over again, I'd get a Mac but for one reason. And you're going to love this: I can't use BTV on a Mac. Of the time I'm using my PC, 90% of the time it's with AFPOC (ass firmly planted on couch). So that's really what I need in a PC. I'm going to get a Wii (as soon as they are affordable and available) so I don't need games. Other than the random website surfing, I don't really have a use for a computer.
If Apple comes up with a satisfactory DVR setup (just like BTV but more stable/smoother), I think I'll make the jump. Until then, I'm fine.

[Plissken]

I own a 17" PowerBook as my main machine. A 15" PowerBook and 17" MacBook Pro for work. The only PC I use (that's not virtualized on the Mac) is my HTPC running BTV.

[Zaap]

I'm kind of torn. I own several Macs (an older Powerbook G4 Titanium) and a 2Ghz G5 tower I bought through work. I use them for Final Cut Pro and DVD Studio Pro, which are the best apps for those tasks.

However, I'm reluctant to buy a new Mac, despite needing them for the work I do. I loathe how stingy Apple is with hardware, and being a person who routinely pulls computers apart and knows exactly what's under the hood, when I spec out a new Mac I realize I'm paying something like $500 for a motherboard, on top of being grossly overcharged for the other lack-luster components. It's just hard to justify for the expense.

Macs are fantastic for people that don't really know or care what's going beneath the case of a computer, but for those of us who have no problem with a do-it-yourself solution that we hate paying too much for, they are overpriced baubles.

Yes, OSX is a nice OS, but then I've never had a problem with Windows XP either. (I think 99.99999999999% of people having problems with Windos are due to cheaping out on hardware). To me, the OS wars are a wash- whenever I price out a new Mac, I just scratch my head and realize how much more of a PC I could buy for the same jack. Luckily, I've been able to buy Macs through my work at a serious discount.

[rugby]

Zaap,

The new Mac Pro Towers have been shown to be cheaper than the comparable Dell pro towers. At least they did when they first came out, I don't know how they measure up now, but maybe they'll get a speed boost at MacWorld.

[queonda]

My wife just asked me the other day, why I used a buggy system like windows XP and not Mac or Linux (sp?). I told her cuz there are more programs for windows like BTV.

[rugby]

Originally Posted by queonda

My wife just asked me the other day, why I used a buggy system like windows XP and not Mac or Linux (sp?). I told her cuz there are more programs for windows like BTV.

True, but how many programs do you REALLY use on a regular basis. For most people it's 3-4. Email, web, typing possibly and a budget program at times. All of these are readily available for the Mac.

The best program I've seen for ripping dvd's and putting the .avi files on my htpc is Handbrake which is a Mac program.

For what 95% of regular people use a computer for a Mac is a great choice. I do faily IT support and recently told them I wouldn't give them any windows help anymore as I'm tired of them f**kin up their computers on their own. Everyone who has a Mac doesn't have to worry about their computers getting hacked or trojaned.

[fester]

The memory upgrade for mac pro dual woodcrest tower to run 1 copy of insanely expensive final cut pro 5 is about 700. I had to say no. I mean its just another 2gig of ecc ddr2 533 but it must comply with apple spec. the box is only 2100 base price for dual core woodcrest which is below dell/hp, etc. and the single mouse button really bugs me too. new macbook pro 17in laptop is a different story. i really want one.

[rugby]

Originally Posted by fester

The memory upgrade for mac pro dual woodcrest tower to run 1 copy of insanely expensive final cut pro 5 is about 700. I had to say no. I mean its just another 2gig of ecc ddr2 533 but it must comply with apple spec. the box is only 2100 base price for dual core woodcrest which is below dell/hp, etc. and the single mouse button really bugs me too. new macbook pro 17in laptop is a different story. i really want one.

Rule #1, don't ever buy memory from Apple. Buy from any other vendor such as Crucial, it wil save you money.

Rule #2, all Macs ship with a Mighty Mouse which can be configured as a 2-button mouse through System Preferences. It also has a bi-directional scroll wheel.

Rule #3, If you think Final Cut Studio is expensive, you don't need it. Get Final Cut Express or live with iMovie which is free on any new Mac.