# Why Mac if you have PC at home? (Why "Switch"?)



## decelerate (Jun 28, 2002)

I have been using Micro$oft software for seven years from Win3.1 to WinXP.  I love very much Mac design in terms of appearance, hardware and software (OS + apps bundled).  I want to switch (but wait... just want!).  Apple guys always say MacOS is more productive.  Not too much people say apps on MacOS are more productive.  I see the productivity gain from apps from Apple Inc.  However, what the users use most are apps from third parties.  What I use daily are JBuilder, Java, Dreamweave, Flash, Photoshop, Acrobat, etc.  They are from other software houses, not Apple Inc.  Therefore, the productivity should be not much difference on Win or Mac if not the same.  Only the design of the appearance, hardware and OS with few apps from Apple Inc are not worth for me to spend over US$1000.  In addition, ugly MS Windows .. I have used to.  Therefore, I still want only.

What do you think?


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## Zaphod_B (Jun 28, 2002)

Hi,

First of all: good to hear you're thinking about the "switch"! 

I just switched 4 weeks ago and I NEVER switched on my PC's since then. They're currently catching dust on top of a cupboard . What I like about MacOS X is that I get my WORK DONE. Using Windows (also from 3.1 'till XP) I always had to worry about stability (save my Word doc often to be sure, etc), and it sometimes took ages to get particular hardware to coexist in the same system (Sounblaster Live! conflicts with ASUS A7V133 board for instance, a f*ckin nightmare!) without driver nightmares, blue screens of death etcetera. 

Using MacOS X it just isn't there! No stupid blue screens, no trouble with the hardware. Everything inside this little iMac is from Apple and severely tested as a SYSTEM, not as a collection of seperate parts (ok, I used to build my PC's my own. your mileage may vary using Dell or Compaq). 

Also, the GUI of MacOS X is so intuitive, clear and simple, that it makes you more productive too. What seems eye-candy in the first sight is functional when you use it for a while. For a brilliant review, which pushed me to making the swith: http://www.birdhouse.org/macos/beos_osx/ 
This review is by Scot Hacker, before a BeOS enthusiast. As I also came from BeOS (used it for some time too) I knew Scot Hacker from the BeOS scene. 

So to be short: MacOS X saves me time by letting out the crap. So I have more time to be productive and have fun with my computer! I LOVE IT! 

Now I have to start saving for a Powermac G5 next year or so


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## toast (Jun 28, 2002)

I'm personally convinced switching has interest in your case. 90% of the time I spend in front of my G3/500 iMac is design: I work with Photoshop, Acrobat (just as you), but also Illustrator, Flash (a bit), Quark/InDesign, etc.

I find the Mac really adapted to this type of work. For its stability, for its better color management (ICC rules !), for many things designers care about.

I hope you will find some sense to this


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## decelerate (Jul 2, 2002)

I have gave lots of $$ to PC (Software and Hardware).  If I switch to Mac, I need to buy a Mac machine (e.g. eMac as a cheap but powerful computer), lots of software that I am using in PC (e.g. Photoshop, Micro$oft office X, JBuilder, Macromedia Flash and Dreamweaver, etc), even some peripherals (e.g. printer because my old printer is using serial port).  Is it too EXPENSIVE  ?  What I gain are somehow productivity, user experience, nice OS, *stability*.  Therefore, I am still with my PCs

What do you think?


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## voice- (Jul 2, 2002)

If you're like me at all you've spent much on better and newer hardware. I did this while I used a PC, no longer will I pay for additional hardware(save increasing my HD). Looking back I can say they in terms of hardware you save $$$ on the switch.
Software is another story, unfortunately you'll have to buy that all over...I'd still say it's worth it.


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## RPS (Jul 7, 2002)

The answer to all your questions.


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## decelerate (Jul 7, 2002)

I read it all and frequently check the link of "hearing from people who've switched" and "What is the press saying?".

In top 10 reason to switch, I just think the last one "it's beautiful" is the one can convince people.  We put our time in the front of the computer, it is very important for its appearance and GUI.  Other than that, umm... none of them is not a good reason.

1. The Mac...it just works
With PC and MS windows, it just works too.  More important, most of digital devices if not all (iPod) do provides drivers and software for window but may not for Mac.  As a general computer, "it just works" is normal.

2. It doesn't crash
Sorry, "it is rarely crashed" maybe better.  Even text mode UNIX system would have crashed.  I have seen it although it is not frequent.  The most importance is that "It" in "It doesnt' crash" is UNIX but not MacOS X.  Think about it.  Based on UNIX, but it is not only or the same as UNIX.


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## btoneill (Jul 8, 2002)

Hmmmm, why to switch, the question of the decade 

I recently switched for a variety of reasons. I've been a Unix person for years and years who has been forced to also have Windows around for those apps that don't exist in the Unix world. Well, all that has changed. I can now do everything I need to do, and did in Unix and Windows in OS X. I've found the productivity apps much more stable on OS X then in the windows world (Office, Acrobat, Quicken) and they are much more intuative IMHO. The biggest things that are lacking is some of the multimedia stuff (which surprised me). Alot of codecs aren't there for quicktime, and no real support for 5.1 digital audio (atleast that a consumer can afford).

As to the cost of upgrading, in honesty it didn't really cost me much at all. By selling off all my old hardware (SGI's, Sun's, PC's, etc) it just about covered the cost of my mac, and having just gotten my first power bill since turning off my old computers, I'm saving around $1.50-2.00/day on energy costs. So, thats $550-$700 or so a year I'm saving. 

But ofcourse, everything is based on the user and what their needs are. I'd suggest picking up a used G4 sawtooth box, and play with it and see if it does what you need. If it doesn't, you can turn around and sell it again with just about no, if any at all, loss in value (assuming you figure out in a month or so if you like it or not). If you do like it, you can either keep the used box you bought, or sell it and buy something new and speedy. Either way, you really don't have anything to lose going that way.

Brian


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## decelerate (Jul 9, 2002)

In Hong Kong, the second hand products do not cost too much.  To sell my old PC (Althon 700, Geforce2 MX, Combo drive, 256M Ram) and my new prize (Compaq laptop 1.13G, 14' Mon) is not a way to get a good price.  New PC is only cost US$300 with (Althon XP 1.8GHz, 256M DDR, 80 G harddisk, Geforce4), so my old PC...  The Compaq laptop would be better but I may get about US$1000.  So it is not enough to buy G4 Power Mac.  And, more important, I get 70% back if I sell the G4.  Therefore, your suggestion is not too good to be applied in Hong Kong.

I can do what I can do in Windows.  I am an experienced window user, so I may not realize the productivity gain if I use Mac.  I have a friend who is using iMac (old one) with OS9.1.  I use his iMac and I found it is not handy as I think and not enough freeware for me to do what I want.  E.g. I want to release the IP back to the DHCP server but I can't find any.  I have written one in Java and do it.  In MS windows, I just type "ipconfig /release".  So, it is a bad impression.  However, I am attracted by the OS X GUI and Dock.  Unix-based adds some points.  I think I would try Mac soon but I don't know which one I would buy.

My home lacks of space for new iMac or eMac.  It doesn't mean I can put either one at home but it is not as suitable as portable one.  I've two laptop, so portable computer is not necessary.  I would like to buy iBook because of the affortable price.  However, it's a G3 CPU, I think it would fade out soon (January next year but not this month MWNY).   Powerbook is out of my budget and it is not worth as my first trial.  I decide to wait for MWNY first.  I hope I can get one and make me switch.  I hope I would be a mac user and never go back to windows.  I dream G4 iBook come as soon as possible.


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## Annihilatus (Jul 10, 2002)

> _Originally posted by decelerate _
> *I have gave lots of $$ to PC (Software and Hardware).  If I switch to Mac, I need to buy a Mac machine (e.g. eMac as a cheap but powerful computer), lots of software that I am using in PC (e.g. Photoshop, Micro$oft office X, JBuilder, Macromedia Flash and Dreamweaver, etc), even some peripherals (e.g. printer because my old printer is using serial port).  Is it too EXPENSIVE  ?  What I gain are somehow productivity, user experience, nice OS, *stability*.  Therefore, I am still with my PCs
> 
> What do you think? *



I think you're absolutely right. I've been looking at the Mac as being my next purchase for a while and have tried very hard to ignore the rants of PC users among me who try to convince me that I'm looking the wrong way.

I don't think anything convinced me to look away from Apple as much as the BeOS article that was posted earlier did. I absolutely agree that there's a lot of power hidden away in our CPU's that is neglected by bloated operating systems. I always wanted BeOS to thrive, I wanted BeOS to replace Windows at the helm. It never did. However, I knew that if BeOS HAD replaced Windows, it would have been because it was a superior operating system. 

Imagine that we didn't automatically associate PC vs Mac with Windows vs Mac OS X. Imagine it was BeOS vs Mac OS X. Despite the fact that XP holds its own, BeOS would have outright humiliated OS X. 

As such, buying a Mac seems like the decision to migrate from a bad to a mediocre operating system. You're migrating to the lesser of two evils. Nevertheless you're still migrating from steaming shit to dried shit.

I am very disappointed that Palm decided not to continue BeOS. With ex-BeOS heads now controlling Palm, let's hope they retract that decision and give it another go.

Andre


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## Annihilatus (Jul 10, 2002)

> _Originally posted by decelerate _
> *I read it all and frequently check the link of "hearing from people who've switched" and "What is the press saying?".
> 
> In top 10 reason to switch, I just think the last one "it's beautiful" is the one can convince people.  We put our time in the front of the computer, it is very important for its appearance and GUI.  Other than that, umm... none of them is not a good reason.
> ...



Well said.

Andre


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## symphonix (Jul 11, 2002)

I used to spend quite a lot on my PC - regularly upgrading components, replacing parts and so on. Spread out over a year, I was easily spending $100 each month just on hardware for a PC that I already owned.
When I toyed with the idea of switching to mac, the cost was one of my concerns. I have found, though, that this is another area in which Macs are far superior to PCs.
Firstly, they hold their resale value for a much longer period.
Also, they remain useful and productive for many, many years. I've even seen original, 1984 model Macs sell for $300+, and the buyers swear by them, simply because they do their work well, they are perfect for students and non-tech types.
They are reliable and well supported. The quality of manufacture and of the parts used is top-notch.
Macs encourage a different approach to upgrading - instead of spending money on parts, you simply put that money towards more and better equipment and software.

So, I made the switch. My Mac has never crashed in 12 months. Never. Nada. It does everything it is designed to do, and is an absolute pleasure to work with. I would never pay out for another built-from-parts-made-by-the-best-bidder-PC.


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## Androo (Jul 13, 2002)

I have switched. No, not from Windows to macintosh, but from os 9 to os x. And I am amazed. It hasn't crashed on me once!!!!!!! ok, it did once, but that's because i was screwing around with my mouse, it was broken. All it needed was new batteries. When i went back to os 9 to do a few things (my classic startup is fudged up) it screwed up. I am trying to fix it now. Macintosh is very easy to use, It is affordable, and it uses up NO space on your desk, lap, bed, floor, or wherever you want to put it. Check out the new iMac, it rox!!!!!!!
Well, I hope that you switch, for YOUR sake. For YOU to have a no hassle, fast, affordable, and very satisfying computer.
Later,
"Ziggy".


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## MikeMc (Jul 29, 2002)

I recently switched, bought a new iBook 700 with 640 MB ram and the 40 Gig harddrive after working with PC's for many years.  

I just got tired of the games that MS plays with versions... new version, bloated version, need new hardware, bloat, new, bloat, new, new bloat...  Then with XP, and the whole idea of not being in control, I gave up.

I got the ibook, installed Mozilla and I'm through with MS... Appleworks came installed, but once OpenOffice gets stable on OS X platform (under Aqua) I'll upgrade to that, since I'm familiar with it... 

So for me it was no more MS, no more MS tax... and no more registering everything, over and over again... 

Well, that and the unix core... I love unix, worked on it for the past couple years and run Linux at home as a server on the PC...


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## Androo (Jul 29, 2002)

listen to this
i installed os x on my computer
i clicked airport and clicked my network
my internet worked

that is sooo much work! hahahaha
i saw my friend hook up the internet on his pc, he spent a few hours on it
it took me less than a second

PCs are just complicated, i don't kno why people use them, it just wastes people's time, they suck for playing games unless you keep buying a new graphics card, more memory, and a bunch of shit, it costs a lot, once again the games suck, once again it costs a lot, it takes forever to get something to work, and they suck.

Macs are really good for games, the best computers for designing says Cnet, stable, fast, affordable, congruent, mistakeless, they recieve intersteller space modules, and they F*cken rock!
Anyone that doesn't like macs are just weird.


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## raisinsc (Jul 30, 2002)

It would be great if you can switch because I do believe OSX is a better OS w/ its UNIX backbone + stability.    But it sounds like you might pay a lot more for software because you use more professional programs. 

JBuilder - $300-$3000 (depending on the level)
Photoshop - $600
Dreamweaver - ??
M$ Office - $450 

I guess it's up to you since those can be pretty expensive.  But it might be worth it if you can get off Windows, and OSX is such a better OS with so much support coming from many commercial companies.


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## Torz (Jul 31, 2002)

at the end of the day, it all comes down to what you like... but theres one thing - You just cant compare OS X to MS Win.

I used to use PC (still do, well you cant avoid it at school lol). Anyway I personally think switching to Mac was one of the best thing I've ever done. 
power of Unix and simplicity of Mac OS.... mmmm  

oh yea by the way, spending cash on Mac to upgrade components such as RAM is totally more worth it that upgrading for M$ Win based peecee.

ciao
Torz


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## hulkaros (Aug 4, 2002)

Well, here are couple of lines from "The Matrix":

Morpheus to Neo:
I am the one to show you the door but you are the one to walk through it...
Relates to Mac users telling to the general (average Joes) PC users why MUST switch from the Dark Side!

Morpheus to Neo, again:
It is different knowing the path and walking the path...
Relates to Mac users telling to the hardcore PC users (the ones with all the knowledge, experience and answers for NOT switching --they think so) why MUST switch from the Dark Side!

Got it?


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## Androo (Aug 4, 2002)

That was a good movie, i think we all learned a valueble lesson from it - Always use a mac, not shitty pcs, and always run away from goofy guys in brown suites that always wear glasses.


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## pezagent (Aug 11, 2002)

> _Originally posted by Zaphod_B _
> *
> Using MacOS X it just isn't there! No stupid blue screens, no trouble with the hardware. Everything inside this little iMac is from Apple and severely tested as a SYSTEM, not as a collection of seperate parts (ok, I used to build my PC's my own. your mileage may vary using Dell or Compaq).
> 
> ...



I, as well as others, find the Apple GUI not as "intuitive" as others. The dock is absolute crap, and giant icons that tell you nothing about the documents they represent are worthless.

I have two iMacs and a PC laptop. I don't have any problems on my laptop at all. All this "bluescreen" of death is utter BS. And this is coming from a Mac (L)User *me* who has been using Apple products for over 20 years. Both platforms offer slightly different experiences, and when you can wake up and smell the coffee, I'd rather pay less for a PC than spend $NZ4000 more for a plastic shell (new iMacs). 

Using Photoshop, Illustrator, Flash, Dreamweaver, etc. is the same experience on a Mac as a PC. To say otherwise is blind faith opinion.


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## pezagent (Aug 11, 2002)

> _Originally posted by Torz _
> *at the end of the day, it all comes down to what you like... but theres one thing - You just cant compare OS X to MS Win.
> 
> I used to use PC (still do, well you cant avoid it at school lol). Anyway I personally think switching to Mac was one of the best thing I've ever done.
> ...



Why can't you compare OSX to MS Win (XP)? That's nonsense. At the end of the day, does it matter which OS provided you with the information you required? Does it matter which OS allowed you to use Photoshop or Illustrator or whichever commercial software is available for both platforms?

BTW--the power of Unix was available a long long time ago, and Apple took a hell of a long time to get with the program. As far as the "simplicity" of Mac OS, the new Dock is crap, the text rendering looks like crap, the system is SLOW, and it's still buggy. (I was able to bring the iMac system down four or five times just playing a few games of chess).


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## pezagent (Aug 11, 2002)

> _Originally posted by Androo52 _
> *That was a good movie, i think we all learned a valueble lesson from it - Always use a mac, not shitty pcs, and always run away from goofy guys in brown suites that always wear glasses. *



What's wrong with this post?

Hey folks, what's inside that Macintosh of yours?

What makes an Apple an Apple?

Is it the hardware...?

Well, sort of... the motherboard is designed by Apple--sort of... the G4 spec dictates what can be and what cannot be done on the mb, it's not a great feat of engineering. The G4 chip as you are probably aware was designed by the AIM alliance and it's lifespan will be slow because Motorola can't get it's act together to supply the G5. The IDE hard drive in your Mac is not in any way designed by Apple. The CDRW or CDROM is not designed by Apple. The LCD screen is not designed by Apple.

Basically, nothing inside an Apple (save the firewire) has much to do with Apple at all. It's all in the design. Apple is nothing more than a really well-designed case modification that runs their own OS (which is based on UNIX, which had nothing to do with Apple, either).

So why should I buy another Mac--I've given Apple enough of my moola. I don't invest in their company anymore, why should I buy their products? Computer loyalty? Please.


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## hulkaros (Aug 11, 2002)

Hey... After AZOSX, another troll is in da house!  

Come, Pezagen-TROLL, come... It seems that www.macosx.com and its apple nature attracted another troll in here...

Well, ladies & gentlemen our new troll is (drumrolls):

-> PEZAGENT <-
aka: PezagenTROLL


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## pezagent (Aug 11, 2002)

> _Originally posted by symphonix _
> *
> When I toyed with the idea of switching to mac, the cost was one of my concerns. I have found, though, that this is another area in which Macs are far superior to PCs.*


Now we're just grasping for straws here... so your're telling me that a NZ$3500 price difference between a new iMac and a PC system is really a benefit in some way? Are you really Jean-Louis in disguise?


> *
> Firstly, they hold their resale value for a much longer period.
> *


This is absolute opinion. I had to sell my suped-up 9600, only two years old, for a whopping $250--WITH MONITOR. Furthermore, the depreciation on a Macintosh system is much more than a PC. Because of PCs competitive nature, you can find better leasing deals on a PC--which of course allows the tax break. 


> *
> Also, they remain useful and productive for many, many years. I've even seen original, 1984 model Macs sell for $300+, and the buyers swear by them, simply because they do their work well, they are perfect for students and non-tech types.
> *


 And? How is this different than a Windows system that uses MS Office or surfs the internet? In my opinion, older Mac systems are extremely slow and not worth the pain. Older windows systems, however, can be cannibalized for parts. I just got into Linux, and I'm using a 486 chip to run an email server. Works great. Can't do that on a Mac, sorry. (Believe me, I would have liked to)


> *So, I made the switch. My Mac has never crashed in 12 months. Never. Nada. It does everything it is designed to do, and is an absolute pleasure to work with. I would never pay out for another built-from-parts-made-by-the-best-bidder-PC. *


Well, I guess you're special then, because my iMac w/OS9 crashes all the time. The other day I got the Mac's version of the blue screen of death--the "Where's the OS?" flashing icon. Turns out the hard drive was unplugged. Would you like to explain to me how the hard drive could become unplugged in an iMac? I was horrified to think that the past two weeks of design work would be destroyed. And guess what? There's no easy way to check out the HD on an iMac. Luckily for me, the plug was next to the RAM bay. 

I WILL pay for a PC with parts at competitive prices... they're no different than the parts put in every Macinsloth that rolls off the assembly line. And at least if I put it together myself, I'll know if the HD is plugged in properly. (Apparently this is a problem on a lot of iMacs--go figure).


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