How many of you are Mac users? - Page 2 - Polyloop

Altered_Ego · 7th February 2007, 17:35

I went through the Commodore Line, until Amiga arrived.

Then I got an Atari 520 ST... a "Mac wannabe." That proved immensely frustrating.

Then I went to the PC world, and started building my own computers.

medeamajic · 8th February 2007, 13:55

If you can build your own PC why would you want a Mac?

I prefere to build a PC with the OS, MOBO, Video card and peripherals that I want rather than buy what Dell, HP or Apple wants to sell me. I could not have my hot swappable bays (CD-ROM bay) or my Internal card reader (floppy drive bay) if I opted for a Mac.I would rather see you buy a laptop than an Imac. An I mac is just a laptop that can not run on batteries.

Dann-O · 8th February 2007, 14:22

I have been looking into gettign back on the mac. After reading about bootcamp and knowing that I can get many of my PC apps workign on the mac. What I liek is that there are a few mac only apps that are powerful and sweet. Pixels animation studio which I ran the forunner to it on my powermac back in teh 90's. It is basically nurbs modelign and aniamation rigging and all for about 150$ and to boot ther eis a new app called Cheetah which is about the same price but more poly based. There is nothign on the PC that is close to the price with the features.

Some links. http://www.cheetah3d.com/
http://www.pixels3d.com/

So that is why I wanted to switch but I really need to be able to use PMG messiah with it or else I would just get a mac mini and play with these and get a PC to handle the big stuff.

To tell the truth there are thigns I don't like abotu both platforms but that is what you got.

ApI · 8th February 2007, 17:24

Quote:

Originally Posted by medeamajic

If you can build your own PC why would you want a Mac?

Well, the ability to run OS X would be one good reason.

Quote:

I could not have my hot swappable bays (CD-ROM bay) or my Internal card reader (floppy drive bay) if I opted for a Mac.

Yeah, I wish Apple had made the MacPro drives hot-swappable like they did with the XServe. At least there are third-party options for making it work, for those who feel they need that capability and like to tinker with their systems.

Altered_Ego · 8th February 2007, 18:33

I personally don't see any benefit to hot-swapping drives.

Over the past couple years, I've purchased a few external hard drives. That makes installation so much easier. And I can hook them up to different computers quite easily.

MimiSoliel · 8th February 2007, 19:59

I'm new here. About 24 hours. I admire your work.

I've been a Mac user since 1990. I've been at jobs where I was forced to work on or deal with PCs using Microsoft operating systems. A royal nightmare compared to the organic flow and long-lasting dependability of a Macintosh.

I'm getting a MacBook Pro next month.

medeamajic · 9th February 2007, 10:50

I am not saying there is anything wrong with the the Imac or OS X. I was infact asking Altered Ego the question since he can build PCs. I can understand the purchase of an Imac if altered Ego wanted to use Final Cut Pro.

medeamajic · 9th February 2007, 10:56

Quote:

Originally Posted by Altered_Ego

I personally don't see any benefit to hot-swapping drives.

Over the past couple years, I've purchased a few external hard drives. That makes installation so much easier. And I can hook them up to different computers quite easily.

Installing a SATA or IDE drive with OS-X or XP is easy. Many PCs have external SATA but I don't think the Imacs do. Fire Wire and USB do not have the transfer speeds of SATA or IDE making editing of HD video hard to do. It can play one layer easy enough.

Altered_Ego · 9th February 2007, 17:15

I've actually grown tired of building my own PCs all the time... that usually comes after I've had some hardware problems.

I don't like the way many PC makers skimp on hardware..

I like the look of Macs.. I may eventually look at some of the fancier software such as Final Cut.. It depends on when/if I have extra money.

Right now, I'm just a hobbiest who wants to get into making videos for my own amusement.. as well as using Poser, etc.

steama · 9th February 2007, 18:25

Both are decent choices. Both platforms have their unique problems, compromises and strengths. I have used both over the years and see a lot of value in both.

It really just comes down to what you wish to use. I can't see any strongly compelling advantages of one platform over the other just different issues.

Right now I prefer using Windows.

medeamajic · 9th February 2007, 22:42

Quote:

Originally Posted by Altered_Ego

I've actually grown tired of building my own PCs all the time... that usually comes after I've had some hardware problems.

I don't like the way many PC makers skimp on hardware..

I like the look of Macs.. I may eventually look at some of the fancier software such as Final Cut.. It depends on when/if I have extra money.

Right now, I'm just a hobbiest who wants to get into making videos for my own amusement.. as well as using Poser, etc.

If you have problems building your own PCs and are not that good at it than I can understand why you might opt for a Mac. Macs are not bad for the price now days but Keep in mind a Mac is the same as an HP, Dell or Sony. PC makers do not skimp out any more than Apple would. If you spend $399.99 on a Dell you get a cheap integrated hunk of junk. If you spend $2500,00 on a PC you will get dual SLI and a MOBO that supports dual CPUs along with SATA RAID. The Imac is OK. My Uncle just bought one. It is his first computer. After seeing my PC he realizes the Imac is just a toy. My uncle is getting into digital photography, video and 3-D animation. He likes my internal card reader and wished his I Mac had one. He likes the fact the my computer has expansion slots so I can instal high end audio cards or any generic PCI Express video card I want. I showed him my cheap $29.99 Samsung LightScribe drive and told him the Imac will not work with generic OEM PC desktop parts. He still likes his Imac but he understands it is very cheap and chinsy system compared to what I have. I showed him my Dell laptop and showed him the laptop is about as upgradable as his Imac. This was his first computer and when he buys another he will be much more cautious. My system was a lot less expensive but at the same time a lot more power full. I showed him my dual monitor set up. The Imac can run dual monitors but you are stuck with the Imac monitor as is a laptop stuck with it's monitor. The reason for this post is to say I can not image anyone who custom builds there own computers opting for an Imac. An Apple tower maybe. Also the Imac is not going to be a higned end system. I admit it will work for your needs but my system will blow it away hands down and so could a $1300.00 HP or Dell. The Imac looks nice but it is not a Class-A system. Steama, I agree with you. XP and OS X both work but to get an Imac because you think PCs are cheap makes no sense. I amdit the Apple Pro tower systems rock.

ApI · 10th February 2007, 19:02

Well, the iMac is not marketed as a top-end system. It's part of Apple's consumer line, geared toward average home users, cubicle farmers, or those doing publishing or web design but who don't necessarily need top-shelf systems.

If you spend $2,500 (the figure you mention above as enough to get a top-shelf PC) on a Mac, you get a tower housing a two 2.66 GHz dual-core Xeon processors with dual, independent 64-bit frontside buses, 1GB of DDR2 RAM (expandable to 16GB), GeForce 7300 (though this can easily be replaced or upgraded), 250 GB of SATA storage (with four drive bays for additional expansion), three additional PCI slots, etc. etc. etc.

And all of that comes in an elegant design with no tangled messes of wires or jumbles of parts that look like Dr. Frankenstein cobbled them together from whatever was laying around the laboratory. Plus you can triple-boot into OS X, Windows (even Vista), and Linux if you want.

Man, if I were gonna drop $2500 on a system today, it'd be probably be that one. It's also great that they don't depreciate in value as much as PCs seem to. In a few years I could sell it on eBay for close to what I paid for it new, and I could even keep my external card reader.

medeamajic · 10th February 2007, 19:38

ApI,

My post was for altered ego. It was odd that he stated PCs were cheap but he wants to buy an Imac. The Apple Pro is decent.

Apples will not retain value like they once did. The Price of Intel MOBOs and CPUs will drop in price faster than IBM or Motorola did in the past.

PC have been doing dual boot for decades. Keep in mind OS X is Unix/Linux based of Debain. The OS X should run a generic PC not be keyed into Apple only hardware.

I think my system looks better than the Mac Tower but that is a personal choice. I do not like the Mac Tower Look myself. I also do not like the fact that there are no generic expansion bays.

ApI · 10th February 2007, 20:08

Quote:

Originally Posted by medeamajic

Apples will not retain value like they once did. The Price of Intel MOBOs and CPUs will drop in price faster than IBM or Motorola did in the past.

Well, I think there's more to value retention than just current CPU prices. Besides, we mustn't forget that Mac CPUs can be upgraded in various ways. With the towers it's obviously easier than with the consumer models, but even on iMac the processor can be upgraded (though breaking the heat seal voids the warranty unless the operation is performed by an Apple Certified System Technician and probably shouldn't be done on a model that is still under Applecare protection).

Quote:

PC have been doing dual boot for decades. Keep in mind OS X is Unix/Linux based of Debain. The OS X should run a generic PC not be key into Apple only hardware.

Macs have been doing dual boot for some time as well, though previously it was simply a matter of Mac OS and Linux. Now we have the triple boot option with Windows thrown into the mix.

BTW, OS X is not a Linux derivative of Debian. Darwin and the Mach kernel are derivatives of FreeBSD. They were, I understand, pioneered at NeXT and then brought back to Apple when Jobs returned.

Quote:

I think my system looks better than the Mac Tower but that is a personal choice. I do not like the Mac Tower Look myself.

Yeah, to be honest I'm not keen on it myself. I prefer the look of the older G4 PowerMacs. It'd be sweet if they resurrected that basic design with the brushed metal material of the new Mac Pro towers instead of the plastic they used before.

But mainly I was referring to the internal design. One thing that's always turned me off about PCs, especially ones constructed at home, is that they so often end up with tangles of wires and cables going every which way inside. And some people even feel the need to get windowed cases to show it off! If they're going to do that, they ought to at least get some cable ties and try to neaten things up. Heck, I even knew a guy who built a really awesome PC, which would have been great, but when he moved it from the workbench to his desk, one of the cables got caught in the CPU fan and he ended up cooking his processor.

I really like the way Apple has avoided all that with its cable-free internal design model. It's nice and clean and easy to work in.

Quote:

I also do not like the fact that there are no generic expansion bays.

Yeah, that's true. It's limited to the four HD bays and two optical drive bays. Still, if one really needs to use third-party equipment, one could always get a cheap external enclosure and hook it up to one of the USB 2.0, Firewire 400, or Firewire 800 ports.

That's how I added a DVD burner to my ancient Revision A iMac. When I upgraded the processor from the 233Mhz G3 that came with it to a 500Mhz G3 (blazing speeds, I tell ya

) I also added a daughtercard with two Firewire ports. I got a firewire enclosure for ten bucks at the flea-market, and put my NES DVD burner in it.

I still use that old iMac as a backup file server here at the house. Had to replace the HD (it only came with 4 gigs), so now I have 200 gigs of backup space here on my network. It's currently running OS X 10.3. Still pretty useful for a box made back in 1998.

Altered_Ego · 10th February 2007, 21:48

I stated my reasons for wanting a Mac (iMac) when I started the thread.

On the whole, I've had very little trouble assembling my own PCs.

In fact, I only really had trouble with one that was first assembled by a local computer shop. It was my only PC from a shop, and it had problems from the start. I gave it to my ex-wife when I moved out of her house. She tried to work on it, and burnt out the CPU. Good riddance.

I've done my research, at the Apple store, reading Apple-related reviews, reading the forums.

The new line of iMacs compares very favorably with similarly configured PCs.

Yes, the Super Mac looks good because it allows more expandability than the iMacs. But it does have a hefty price tag.

At this point, it looks like I might have much more money to spend, even after I've put away half of it into savings.

So it's entirely possible that I'll end up with a new desktop and a notebook computer as well.

ApI · 10th February 2007, 23:37

Quote:

Originally Posted by Altered_Ego

So it's entirely possible that I'll end up with a new desktop and a notebook computer as well.

If you end up with a MacBook Pro, the matte screen is recommended over the glossy for graphic work. My wife has one, but she's an early adopter. There have been a few issues with it; the Sony-manufactured battery had to be sent back, for example. I'm sure they've ironed out most of the kinks by now. She probably could have held out for a regular MacBook for her needs, though.

Altered_Ego · 11th February 2007, 00:05

Thanks for the tip. I do believe the Matte screen is the default...

I read that the glossy screen is liable to have way too much glare reflection.

Right now, the MacBook Pro, with 2 Gig of memory looks pretty nifty to me.

The question is whether I can afford to go "All the way," and get a Mac Pro and a MacBook Pro.

I do like the convenience of the iMacs, with their FrontRow and remote. (To say nothing of taking up less desktop room.)

To me, it's a matter of price versus priorities. I'm not making any money with my computer... I'm just learning, entertaining, and writing free tutorials for my fans.

medeamajic · 11th February 2007, 05:24

I told my uncle to scrap the IMac and just get a laptop next time. That is what he planes on doing. A 19" Imac for 599.99 would be OK but for $1,700.00 you might as well get a laptop.

ApI · 11th February 2007, 06:00

Quote:

Originally Posted by medeamajic

I told my uncle to scrap the IMac and just get a laptop next time. That is what he planes on doing. A 19" Imac for 599.99 would be OK but for $1,700.00 you might as well get a laptop.

Which one did he get for $1700? The 24-inch? That'd make a great media center. Mount it on the wall, get a bluetooth keyboard and mouse set, run a TV signal to it, and you're good to go.

ApI · 11th February 2007, 06:01

Quote:

Originally Posted by Altered_Ego

I do like the convenience of the iMacs, with their FrontRow and remote. (To say nothing of taking up less desktop room.)

I think they all come with FrontRow and the remote these days. I know the MacBook Pro does.

7th February 2007, 17:35	#21 (permalink)
Altered_Ego NURBS Booleans are your friend Join Date: Apr 2006 Posts: 135	I went through the Commodore Line, until Amiga arrived. Then I got an Atari 520 ST... a "Mac wannabe." That proved immensely frustrating. Then I went to the PC world, and started building my own computers. __________________ My Site: http://www.ronknights.com/ My Forum: http://www.ronknights.com/forum/

8th February 2007, 18:33	#25 (permalink)
Altered_Ego NURBS Booleans are your friend Join Date: Apr 2006 Posts: 135	I personally don't see any benefit to hot-swapping drives. Over the past couple years, I've purchased a few external hard drives. That makes installation so much easier. And I can hook them up to different computers quite easily. __________________ My Site: http://www.ronknights.com/ My Forum: http://www.ronknights.com/forum/

9th February 2007, 17:15	#29 (permalink)
Altered_Ego NURBS Booleans are your friend Join Date: Apr 2006 Posts: 135	I've actually grown tired of building my own PCs all the time... that usually comes after I've had some hardware problems. I don't like the way many PC makers skimp on hardware.. I like the look of Macs.. I may eventually look at some of the fancier software such as Final Cut.. It depends on when/if I have extra money. Right now, I'm just a hobbiest who wants to get into making videos for my own amusement.. as well as using Poser, etc. __________________ My Site: http://www.ronknights.com/ My Forum: http://www.ronknights.com/forum/

9th February 2007, 18:25	#30 (permalink)
steama Boulet Join Date: Nov 2005 Posts: 452	Both are decent Both are decent choices. Both platforms have their unique problems, compromises and strengths. I have used both over the years and see a lot of value in both. It really just comes down to what you wish to use. I can't see any strongly compelling advantages of one platform over the other just different issues. Right now I prefer using Windows.

10th February 2007, 19:38	#33 (permalink)
medeamajic Now, I learn animation Join Date: Sep 2005 Posts: 1,028	ApI, My post was for altered ego. It was odd that he stated PCs were cheap but he wants to buy an Imac. The Apple Pro is decent. Apples will not retain value like they once did. The Price of Intel MOBOs and CPUs will drop in price faster than IBM or Motorola did in the past. PC have been doing dual boot for decades. Keep in mind OS X is Unix/Linux based of Debain. The OS X should run a generic PC not be keyed into Apple only hardware. I think my system looks better than the Mac Tower but that is a personal choice. I do not like the Mac Tower Look myself. I also do not like the fact that there are no generic expansion bays. Last edited by medeamajic; 10th February 2007 at 20:32.

8th February 2007, 13:55	#22 (permalink)
medeamajic Now, I learn animation Join Date: Sep 2005 Posts: 1,028	If you can build your own PC why would you want a Mac? I prefere to build a PC with the OS, MOBO, Video card and peripherals that I want rather than buy what Dell, HP or Apple wants to sell me. I could not have my hot swappable bays (CD-ROM bay) or my Internal card reader (floppy drive bay) if I opted for a Mac.I would rather see you buy a laptop than an Imac. An I mac is just a laptop that can not run on batteries.

8th February 2007, 14:22	#23 (permalink)
Dann-O AKA Monkey King Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Erie Pennsylvania Posts: 173	I have been looking into gettign back on the mac. After reading about bootcamp and knowing that I can get many of my PC apps workign on the mac. What I liek is that there are a few mac only apps that are powerful and sweet. Pixels animation studio which I ran the forunner to it on my powermac back in teh 90's. It is basically nurbs modelign and aniamation rigging and all for about 150$ and to boot ther eis a new app called Cheetah which is about the same price but more poly based. There is nothign on the PC that is close to the price with the features. Some links. http://www.cheetah3d.com/ http://www.pixels3d.com/ So that is why I wanted to switch but I really need to be able to use PMG messiah with it or else I would just get a mac mini and play with these and get a PC to handle the big stuff. To tell the truth there are thigns I don't like abotu both platforms but that is what you got.

8th February 2007, 19:59	#26 (permalink)
MimiSoliel Vertex Join Date: Feb 2007 Posts: 1	I'm new here. About 24 hours. I admire your work. I've been a Mac user since 1990. I've been at jobs where I was forced to work on or deal with PCs using Microsoft operating systems. A royal nightmare compared to the organic flow and long-lasting dependability of a Macintosh. I'm getting a MacBook Pro next month.

9th February 2007, 10:50	#27 (permalink)
medeamajic Now, I learn animation Join Date: Sep 2005 Posts: 1,028	I am not saying there is anything wrong with the the Imac or OS X. I was infact asking Altered Ego the question since he can build PCs. I can understand the purchase of an Imac if altered Ego wanted to use Final Cut Pro.

10th February 2007, 19:02	#32 (permalink)
ApI Vertex Join Date: Feb 2007 Posts: 7	Well, the iMac is not marketed as a top-end system. It's part of Apple's consumer line, geared toward average home users, cubicle farmers, or those doing publishing or web design but who don't necessarily need top-shelf systems. If you spend $2,500 (the figure you mention above as enough to get a top-shelf PC) on a Mac, you get a tower housing a two 2.66 GHz dual-core Xeon processors with dual, independent 64-bit frontside buses, 1GB of DDR2 RAM (expandable to 16GB), GeForce 7300 (though this can easily be replaced or upgraded), 250 GB of SATA storage (with four drive bays for additional expansion), three additional PCI slots, etc. etc. etc. And all of that comes in an elegant design with no tangled messes of wires or jumbles of parts that look like Dr. Frankenstein cobbled them together from whatever was laying around the laboratory. Plus you can triple-boot into OS X, Windows (even Vista), and Linux if you want. Man, if I were gonna drop $2500 on a system today, it'd be probably be that one. It's also great that they don't depreciate in value as much as PCs seem to. In a few years I could sell it on eBay for close to what I paid for it new, and I could even keep my external card reader.

10th February 2007, 21:48	#35 (permalink)
Altered_Ego NURBS Booleans are your friend Join Date: Apr 2006 Posts: 135	I stated my reasons for wanting a Mac (iMac) when I started the thread. On the whole, I've had very little trouble assembling my own PCs. In fact, I only really had trouble with one that was first assembled by a local computer shop. It was my only PC from a shop, and it had problems from the start. I gave it to my ex-wife when I moved out of her house. She tried to work on it, and burnt out the CPU. Good riddance. I've done my research, at the Apple store, reading Apple-related reviews, reading the forums. The new line of iMacs compares very favorably with similarly configured PCs. Yes, the Super Mac looks good because it allows more expandability than the iMacs. But it does have a hefty price tag. At this point, it looks like I might have much more money to spend, even after I've put away half of it into savings. So it's entirely possible that I'll end up with a new desktop and a notebook computer as well. __________________ My Site: http://www.ronknights.com/ My Forum: http://www.ronknights.com/forum/

11th February 2007, 00:05	#37 (permalink)
Altered_Ego NURBS Booleans are your friend Join Date: Apr 2006 Posts: 135	Thanks for the tip. I do believe the Matte screen is the default... I read that the glossy screen is liable to have way too much glare reflection. Right now, the MacBook Pro, with 2 Gig of memory looks pretty nifty to me. The question is whether I can afford to go "All the way," and get a Mac Pro and a MacBook Pro. I do like the convenience of the iMacs, with their FrontRow and remote. (To say nothing of taking up less desktop room.) To me, it's a matter of price versus priorities. I'm not making any money with my computer... I'm just learning, entertaining, and writing free tutorials for my fans. __________________ My Site: http://www.ronknights.com/ My Forum: http://www.ronknights.com/forum/

11th February 2007, 05:24	#38 (permalink)
medeamajic Now, I learn animation Join Date: Sep 2005 Posts: 1,028	I told my uncle to scrap the IMac and just get a laptop next time. That is what he planes on doing. A 19" Imac for 599.99 would be OK but for $1,700.00 you might as well get a laptop.

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