I'm thinking of switching to a 27" iMac - convince me Apple loyalists

[ModerateVoice]

I've been shopping to replace the crappy laptop that I communicate with you fine folks every day.

My initial instinct was to stick with Windows, buy a desktop so that I can get a great graphics card (to indulge the gaming child in me) and a terrific sound card for music......buy a big monitor and be happy for about $1000.

Then I see the new 27" iMac......................:eek:

Oh dear, it appears to be a techno geeks dream come true.

Here is the best pic I could find (its the one on the left):

http://i442.photobucket.com/albums/qq143/Roadsong66/IMG_1169.jpg


The reviews are great, its supposed to be an HDTV dream and I can finally chase my long delayed intention to learn photo editing (since the iMac screams "be creative!")


So, any Mac users? I'd like your thoughts........

Is it easy to learn the Mac OS after tinkering with Windows since the olden days?

[DavidC]

Make sure those are 120mhz, not 60.

but stick with Win7--Try Alienware

Don't gimp self.

[Wake-Up]

I switched to Apple 16 months ago and won't even touch my wife's Window based PC any more.

Took about 60 minutes to navigate around and learn the new icons and basics of the operating system.

16 months, never a crash, not even an error message.

Apple equivalent of Office simple to adjust to.

No complaints at all and wondering why I did not make the move years ago.

[ModerateVoice]

While I will use it for gaming 10% of the time, I am finding all the games that I've learned to love over the years are not available on Mac............and forget about Microsoft Flight Sims.

Nevertheless, a trip to the Apple store to play around is still in order....

[Dual867PowerMac]

Wait until you get your first supervirus or Windows decides to commit harikari.

Then you'll wish you'd never heard of Microsoft.

Linux, however, is largely free, but the learning curve is steeper. I recommend Ubuntu, which is probably the most user-friendly distribution.

[notluzn]

Something is wrong when you want to convert to a company that only has about 5% of the market. I would stick to PC IMO

[notluzn]

I switched to Apple 16 months ago and won't even touch my wife's Window based PC any more.

Took about 60 minutes to navigate around and learn the new icons and basics of the operating system.

16 months, never a crash, not even an error message.

Apple equivalent of Office simple to adjust to.

No complaints at all and wondering why I did not make the move years ago.

Mac is for those people that drive Hybrid cars and don't want to modify it to make it better and faster.. :)) :))

[DavidC]

While I will use it for gaming 10% of the time, I am finding all the games that I've learned to love over the years are not available on Mac............and forget about Microsoft Flight Sims.

Nevertheless, a trip to the Apple store to play around is still in order....


be smart. It's gimping self for sure. You'll hate yourself later.

[EnchantedFrog]

If you switch to the Mac, you will begin to perceive yourself to be superior and somehow cooler than common PC people. Kind of like people who pay $7 for a head of "organic" lettuce then try to convince themselves they are getting better nutrition from it. To avoid the embarrassment of admitting you got ripped, you will pronounce that your computer is faster or more stable than your friend's computers and that you didn't really want to run all those familiar programs anyway... the Mac programs must be better anyway because they cost so much more. You will put your fingers in your ears and sing la,la,la,la when you find out that your super duper operating system is really nothing more than a re-re-release of the age-old Unix that's been around for 50 years. Your wardrobe will evolve into t-shirts and blue jeans and you will develop a habit of slouching around with your hands in your pockets and sneering at the un-hip PC users. You will develop a compulsion to tell everyone how excited you are to now be a member of the Apple "community" as if owing a computer was a social movement.

[CaptainPike]

Just get a new PC. With a boatload of ram and HD space. And a really awesome video card.

You know you want it.

[davetexas]

If you switch to the Mac, you will begin to perceive yourself to be superior and somehow cooler than common PC people. Kind of like people who pay $7 for a head of "organic" lettuce then try to convince themselves they are getting better nutrition from it. To avoid the embarrassment of admitting you got ripped, you will pronounce that your computer is faster or more stable than your friend's computers and that you didn't really want to run all those familiar programs anyway... the Mac programs must be better anyway because they cost so much more. You will put your fingers in your ears and sing la,la,la,la when you find out that your super duper operating system is really nothing more than a re-re-release of the age-old Unix that's been around for 50 years. Your wardrobe will evolve into t-shirts and blue jeans and you will develop a habit of slouching around with your hands in your pockets and sneering at the un-hip PC users. You will develop a compulsion to tell everyone how excited you are to now be a member of the Apple "community" as if owing a computer was a social movement.


Funny

[gdoane]

My choice of PC isn't actually so much a matter of choice as it is a necessity.

To be employable in today's workforce, computer literacy is every bit as vital as actual literacy. In a day and age where operating a cash register is running a computer and logins are more common than time cards, you HAVE to know your way around a computer to get anywhere on the job.

So far I've been lucky and the computers I get on the job are pretty much the same as the ones I kick around at home. I'm more than a little familiar with the beasts and the familiarity has paid off bigtime even though I don't like to mix work and play.

The only reason I know my way around a PC and the Windows operating system is because I spend a lot of personal time on it. I ran into Unix at work and realized I was good for that too because I played around with OS-9 on an MC-6809 TRS-80 computer as a kid. OS-9 was a subset of Unix. It's a fairly simple command-line based computer language, and apparently it was often imitated. I was kind of shocked, actually, that something I'd played with actually came in useful and blended in with the job.

I'm going to buy a Windows 7 PC just to have it to kick around because I know that someday, probably in the next year, I'm going to go to work and there's going to be a PC on my desk, with Windows 7 on it, and I'm going to be expected to know how to use that critter.

I'd like to get a Mac myself, if for no other reason than to broaden my experience but it wouldn't be my primary computer, it'd be a toy. I'd still need to get a business standard class PC.

[Wookinstien]

http://www.mac-sucks.com/switch_why.php

[gdoane]

http://www.mac-sucks.com/switch_why.php

I was with the argument until they dissed the iPod. That is the one thing Apple has done right. Microsoft took a shot at it and came up with the "Zune" which is about as cool as your average pet rock.

Apple has gone through the years kind of looking like the blind squirrel that occasionally finds the nut. The Apple Lisa was a total failure, and when they launched their videogame system "Apple Pippin" it made it into the top 25 worst technological launches of all time according to PC World Magazine.

Apple has the ability to kick Microsoft's ass. I mean seriously, iPod vs. Zune? Is that even a question worth the asking? Apple totally STOMPS Microsoft in that market.

Apple isn't going to get the PC market, but they don't have to anyway. The margins on PC sales are thin as the skin on bone. I saw a Windows 7 Laptop, a Toshiba, on sale at Wal-Mart yesterday for under $400 and it blew my mind. Either that hardware is cheap crap or the software is a giveaway. I almost bought it just to see what the catch was.

I won't, though. I've got enough garbage. I buy quality stuffs now for the basic reason that life is too short and space is too limited to put up with clutter.

[Mad Zagyg]

In my everyday life, I use both a PC and a Mac.

In my office at home they sit side by side and glare at one another.

In my previous profession as a web developer/designer, I also spent a great deal of time on both computer types.

Since 1994, I've used both computers on an almost daily basis.

I have noticed two consistent trends over the years that I can share with you to factor into your decision-making.

1. Every Mac I have ever owned has outperformed and been infinitely less problematic than any PC I have ever owned.

2. The vast majority of people who I personally know that use and claim to prefer a PC over a Mac have never actually owned or used a Mac with any regularity in their lifetime.

The only solid reasoning I can think of to choose a PC over a Mac would be if you are seriously into computer gaming. Not because they perform better on a PC (they don't), but rather, you'll find a greater number of gaming titles available for PC than you would for a Mac.

[DavidC]

I was with the argument until they dissed the iPod. That is the one thing Apple has done right.

After stealing it from another company.


Microsoft took a shot at it and came up with the "Zune" which is about as cool as your average pet rock.



I guess you don't know about them (The Zune).

Try downloading the software (free) and compare it to ITunes. And the Zune phone will be out before you know it and the interfaces and other connectivity. It will reign supreme.
http://img4.imageshack.us/img4/8977/zune.gif
actually the Logo itsef is a brainwashing tool

[DavidC]

The only solid reasoning I can think of to choose a PC over a Mac would be if you are seriously into computer gaming..

Or any serious, demanding, application

Mac components are always 6 months behind, even though they use Intel processors now. The only reason they get less viruses is because the mac population is so small virus writes, like Application writers just don't care as much--but ultimately, sloppy computer use is why people get viruses. Macs just don't have the horsepower or flexibility.

PCs are also far better for artistic application, 3D animation, video and music editing...you name it.

[gdoane]

In my everyday life, I use both a PC and a Mac.

In my office at home they sit side by side and glare at one another.

They.... GLARE?

They're boxes. They don't have eyes to glare with. Unless you've got a webcam and even that's a stretch.

In my previous profession as a web developer/designer, I also spent a great deal of time on both computer types.

In my previous profession, I scooped ice cream. Vanilla was the most popular flavor, and people really like cones more than cups. I guess that makes me a total expert in the dairy dessert field.

I work in electronics and if you're not keeping up to date, then you're obsolete in a year. It ain't like vanilla ice cream.

Since 1994, I've used both computers on an almost daily basis.

Since... 1994? Are you serious? Like before Windows '95? So you've never seen the stuff from the 1970's or hand-coded assembly language? The Zilog Z-80 and the 6502 or 6800 would be Greek to you?


I have noticed two consistent trends over the years that I can share with you to factor into your decision-making.

1. Every Mac I have ever owned has outperformed and been infinitely less problematic than any PC I have ever owned.


What the heck does "infinitely less" mean? That's kind of like saying "less than zero" which is obviously a bit less than credible.

2. The vast majority of people who I personally know that use and claim to prefer a PC over a Mac have never actually owned or used a Mac with any regularity in their lifetime.

Wow, a vast majority. How many people would that be, if I may inquire? Are we talking double digits here?

I personally know nobody who owns a Mac. Even the article in the OP stated that fewer than 10% of people own Macs. The article stating that 90% of people who own computers don't own Macs is propably being kind of generous.

The only solid reasoning I can think of to choose a PC over a Mac would be if you are seriously into computer gaming. Not because they perform better on a PC (they don't), but rather, you'll find a greater number of gaming titles available for PC than you would for a Mac.

I don't game on PC. At all. I have 26 video game consoles in my house and I game on those. I don't even THINK of the PC as a game machine. It's all business, and every time I associate with business, it's never on a Mac.

If I did get a Mac, it would be one of my video game consoles and be used as such.

[ModerateVoice]

Geez, I didn't think this innocuous little topic would be as politically charged as the Washington politics thread!!!!

I'm going to do a cost-benefit analysis between the two and see where I end up........off to Newegg to do some research.

[Greyclouds]

Geez, I didn't think this innocuous little topic would be as politically charged as the Washington politics thread!!!!

I'm going to do a cost-benefit analysis between the two and see where I end up........off to Newegg to do some research.

That's a good idea.

My ideal work/play computer runs a dual-boot linux and windows 7. Sadly, I don't get paid enough to even build one myself, so I'm waiting until my career is well on its way to build an awesome one.


One thing to consider: If you want to stay on the technology wave with a Mac, you must buy a new Mac every year/year and a half. If you want to stay up to date with a PC, you just need the technical know-how to unscrew your case, connect your components and ensure that you can install the drivers. I've had the same Windows Vista box for quite some time (3ish years this coming December). It was rough the first couple of months, but now the OS runs VERY smoothly.

I just replaced my old GeForce 8800 Gts with a new GeForce 9800 Gtx and a new LCD monitor from Asus and I'm doing pretty good. Cost me just over $100 for the video card and about $150 for the monitor.

If you've got the money, the Mac is an equally viable option.

[WorldWatcher]

>


Depending on your pocketbook and you have money to burn...




My thoughts are that the only real reason to stick with a PC is the high end graphics cards available for gaming.



For general usage you can go with the MAC (it's pretty sweet) and still be able to run Windows. You can use "Boot Camp" to actually boot the MAC as a PC.



(I use a 22" MAC at work, and a Dell Laptop. I periodically have to boot my MAC into Windows because some of the tools I use for Oracle are not available to run in OSX.)


>>>>

[ModerateVoice]

W/O getting into the "geek" details...........which I have yet to do...........I went shopping at Newegg.com. A reasonably affordable gaming computer with Windows 7 can be purchased for $700. A 27" monitor can be gotten for about $400....I add a couple other minor things, and I am still several hundred bucks cheaper than the 27" iMac.........

I added Audioengine A5 speakers into the whole mix @ $300/pr/ and the "dream computer" really comes to the same price as the Mac........

I think I wanted to daydream about Mac, the sexy little Ferrari, but the pragmatism is pushing me back towards Windows again.

[outfromunder]

Snip:
I'm going to buy a Windows 7 PC just to have it to kick around because I know that someday, probably in the next year, I'm going to go to work and there's going to be a PC on my desk, with Windows 7 on it, and I'm going to be expected to know how to use that critter.
Why buy a full pc when you can just buy the program and save you some money when you buy your mac

I'd like to get a Mac myself, if for no other reason than to broaden my experience but it wouldn't be my primary computer, it'd be a toy. I'd still need to get a business standard class PC.
Do a comparison when you have both. I did and I love my mac.

[Nevarwinter]

With a mac, you'll need:

Microsoft Office (for macs)
One of the new mice with TWO buttons that is exclusive to mac. They're in development right now.
A fedora
long black socks (worn up to the knees)
canvas shoes (ankle high, without laces)
Odd colored but pressed and pleated shorts with a belt
A tshirt
a necktie
stop shaving with a razor and leave perpetual stubble on your face
sunglasses
A prius
pro-abortion bumper stickers, an image of Che, and something saying that you adopt dogs.

[ModerateVoice]

With a mac, you'll need:

Microsoft Office (for macs)
One of the new mice with TWO buttons that is exclusive to mac. They're in development right now.
A fedora
long black socks (worn up to the knees)
canvas shoes (ankle high, without laces)
Odd colored but pressed and pleated shorts with a belt
A tshirt
a necktie
stop shaving with a razor and leave perpetual stubble on your face
sunglasses
A prius
pro-abortion bumper stickers, an image of Che, and something saying that you adopt dogs.

Well, Buffy Wicks likes Dell...............I will avoid that brand....

http://i442.photobucket.com/albums/qq143/Roadsong66/buffy-wick1.jpg

[Nevarwinter]

Well, Buffy Wicks likes Dell...............I will avoid that brand....

http://i442.photobucket.com/albums/qq143/Roadsong66/buffy-wick1.jpg

no you didn't.

Buffy is about to be thrown under the bus for the NEA scandal and because she doesn't use a mac. Wait and see.

[birddog1]

My choice of PC isn't actually so much a matter of choice as it is a necessity.

To be employable in today's workforce, computer literacy is every bit as vital as actual literacy. In a day and age where operating a cash register is running a computer and logins are more common than time cards, you HAVE to know your way around a computer to get anywhere on the job.

So far I've been lucky and the computers I get on the job are pretty much the same as the ones I kick around at home. I'm more than a little familiar with the beasts and the familiarity has paid off bigtime even though I don't like to mix work and play.

The only reason I know my way around a PC and the Windows operating system is because I spend a lot of personal time on it. I ran into Unix at work and realized I was good for that too because I played around with OS-9 on an MC-6809 TRS-80 computer as a kid. OS-9 was a subset of Unix. It's a fairly simple command-line based computer language, and apparently it was often imitated. I was kind of shocked, actually, that something I'd played with actually came in useful and blended in with the job.

I'm going to buy a Windows 7 PC just to have it to kick around because I know that someday, probably in the next year, I'm going to go to work and there's going to be a PC on my desk, with Windows 7 on it, and I'm going to be expected to know how to use that critter.

I'd like to get a Mac myself, if for no other reason than to broaden my experience but it wouldn't be my primary computer, it'd be a toy. I'd still need to get a business standard class PC.

I have had a new PC with Windows 7 on it here at work for about two weeks. I do mainly office type work on it so there may be more to Windows 7 than I currently know about or will need but I have yet to find anything earth shatteringly new about it. It does have a few neat tricks regarding how it displays different windows and such but that is about it. By the way it also doesn't seem to get along perfectly with slightly older programs either.

[Mad Zagyg]

Or any serious, demanding, application

Mac components are always 6 months behind, even though they use Intel processors now. The only reason they get less viruses is because the mac population is so small virus writes, like Application writers just don't care as much--but ultimately, sloppy computer use is why people get viruses. Macs just don't have the horsepower or flexibility.

PCs are also far better for artistic application, 3D animation, video and music editing...you name it.

Macs can't handle serious, demanding applications? They don't have the horsepower?

Practically all of the artistic, graphics-based community does their work on Macs.

You have no idea what you're talking about.

[Mad Zagyg]

They.... GLARE?

They're boxes. They don't have eyes to glare with. Unless you've got a webcam and even that's a stretch.

Okay, Mr. Literal Interpretation. That was a joke.

In my previous profession, I scooped ice cream. Vanilla was the most popular flavor, and people really like cones more than cups. I guess that makes me a total expert in the dairy dessert field.

I work in electronics and if you're not keeping up to date, then you're obsolete in a year. It ain't like vanilla ice cream.

If you possessed any interpretive ability at all, you might realize that I was providing some background to explain that I used both computer types in my daily life for well over ten years. This was to give the OP some context of where I'm coming from and how I've formed my opinion.

To springboard off of your crappy analogy, who would you say is more qualified to comment on the taste of vanilla or chocolate? Someone who has tried both or someone who has tried only one of the two?

Since... 1994? Are you serious? Like before Windows '95? So you've never seen the stuff from the 1970's or hand-coded assembly language? The Zilog Z-80 and the 6502 or 6800 would be Greek to you?

You haven't made a relevant point yet.

What the heck does "infinitely less" mean? That's kind of like saying "less than zero" which is obviously a bit less than credible.

Oh, Mr. Literal Interpretation is back. How wonderful.

Wow, a vast majority. How many people would that be, if I may inquire? Are we talking double digits here?

I own and work at a game store. It is a community-based store with hundreds of customers that I personally know and speak to on a daily/weekly/monthly basis. It being a gaming store, the subject of computers is often at the forefront. I would guess about 90% of those people use PCs. I catch a lot of good-natured crap from them about my preference for Macs. When I press them to tell me their experience with both computer types the vast majority of them reveal an answer of little to none.

I personally know nobody who owns a Mac. Even the article in the OP stated that fewer than 10% of people own Macs. The article stating that 90% of people who own computers don't own Macs is propably being kind of generous.

I don't game on PC. At all. I have 26 video game consoles in my house and I game on those. I don't even THINK of the PC as a game machine. It's all business, and every time I associate with business, it's never on a Mac.

If I did get a Mac, it would be one of my video game consoles and be used as such.

Well then, I guess that makes you less qualified to give a meaningful answer doesn't it?

[CaffeineHat]

I switched to Apple 16 months ago and won't even touch my wife's Window based PC any more.

Took about 60 minutes to navigate around and learn the new icons and basics of the operating system.

16 months, never a crash, not even an error message.

Apple equivalent of Office simple to adjust to.

No complaints at all and wondering why I did not make the move years ago.
+1
I've been a dual user for a long time. I run PC's at work and macs at home. I have a 2005 iBook G4 that has "crashed" exactly once, and Apple admitted that it was a problem with a hardware component and repaired it for free.

In that one incident, I was on the phone for all of 15 minutes with them and most of that was me giving them my shipping information.

People spend a lot of time talking about how much cheaper Windows machines are. That's true, but if you factor in hours spent on the phone with tech support whenever anything goes wrong, and the fact that Michael Dell's company won't ever ever ever admit fault or offer a free repair, I think you have your answer.

I started out in a design type job and all we ever used were high end Macs, the RISC architecture made that a breeze. I use it, I love it, and I know the difference and choose it over Windows.

[Wake-Up]

+1
I've been a dual user for a long time. I run PC's at work and macs at home. I have a 2005 iBook G4 that has "crashed" exactly once, and Apple admitted that it was a problem with a hardware component and repaired it for free.

In that one incident, I was on the phone for all of 15 minutes with them and most of that was me giving them my shipping information.

People spend a lot of time talking about how much cheaper Windows machines are. That's true, but if you factor in hours spent on the phone with tech support whenever anything goes wrong, and the fact that Michael Dell's company won't ever ever ever admit fault or offer a free repair, I think you have your answer.

I started out in a design type job and all we ever used were high end Macs, the RISC architecture made that a breeze. I use it, I love it, and I know the difference and choose it over Windows.

Totally agree. It comes down to what you are using it for and price versus value.

I am not a gamer and use mine for mundane tasks like word processing, spreadsheets, internet access and photo editing. I find my MAC more than fast enough for anything I do and its 100% trouble free. I've been using this machine for 16 months now and have never had to call technical support for the hardware or any software I loaded on.

I don't need to modify anything to make it do exactly what I need it to do. Yes it cost more but I prefer to spend my time getting things done than playing with a device to make it work. That is the value that Apple brings to their products and to me, its worth the added cost.

Debating the pro's and con's of Apple vs Windows can be left to the technical folks that make their livings in the IT world. For me, its about reliability and ease of use.