Any former Mac users here?

[Duddy]

I've been on Windows since 98SE. I'm slowly transitioning from being a heavy PC user to just mainly browsing the web. Most of my life is online.

I'll make the switch as soon as I can afford it.

As a side note, I use to buy a new cellphone every 2-3 months. I had a MAJOR gadget lust. And nothing I did every satisfied it, until I bought an iPhone. And I'm proud to say that the iPhone has permanently satisfied that lust, and that I have been a proud and happy user since July 27th, 2007.

 

[Colt45]

I had an LC-II. hated apple ever since.

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: Dari
The first computer I bought was a tangerine Imac (back in 1998). I was always told Mac was better than windows. Then I remember going into the PC section of the CompUSA on Fifth Avenue and 38th Street. As I was playing with the computers I saw that you could actually multitask. Videos would play as you moved the window across the screen. The computer also wouldn't stop everything else as you did one task. They were cheaper too. Anyways, the iMac was my first and last Macintosh.

Of course, that was MacOS 8.6 then vs. Windows 98. The Mac operating system has gotten much better and stable but I still prefer the plethora of options in Windows.

I'm a huge Mac fan, but I won't touch anything prior to 10.4 Tiger. I prefer Leopard because of Time Machine. For what I do, XP works fine in VMware, especially since I can give it 2 cores and 3 gigs of RAM as a virtual machine. I just wish it had a non-emulated video card; maybe the new dual-GPU video cards will allow for that.

For me, Vista is only for Media Center and Gaming. I think each OS has it's purposes and strengths. I don't think Vista makes a very good consumer OS because it's pretty annoying to use and requires a pretty hefty machine to run well. I like Leopard a lot, but it really just boils down to what apps you use. If your apps only come in Windows flavors and don't run very well in a VM emulated environment, then a dedicated Winbox is necessary.

It's also a matter of where you're at as a computer user and what you're willing to learn. OS X can be a huge hassle if you're not into computers...it won't play Windows Media files out of the box, so you can't go to some news sites and watch clips without installing Flip4Mac. Little things like that can make it difficult for basic Windows users to switch over. Apps are different, the Dock is different, etc. It's more about what works for you than anything...if you're comfortable with it and it works for your purposes, then life is good

 

[indamixx99]

Originally posted by: Colt45
I had an LC-II. hated apple ever since.

Yes, that was my first computer! Pizza box design baby!

 

[Duddy]

http://zayarsan2.googlepages.com/MacTV.jpg

That was the 1st computer I ever used. It was a mac. It was extremely lame.

I started getting interested in macs when that iMac G4 came out. That thing was and is the coolest looking computer of all time. http://marvinshop.com/ebay/App...iMac_G4_17_Lepard_.jpg

 

[Pacfanweb]

Originally posted by: EGGO
Seeing that Macs are the ones who are the powerhouses video editors use now and almost every major artist I know uses one,

I think that's more because they've been using Macs since they actually were more powerful. I don't think that's been the case for a long time now, but Macs are sort of ingrained in that industry's mindset, so they stay with them.

 

[Fenixgoon]

Originally posted by: Pacfanweb

Originally posted by: EGGO
Seeing that Macs are the ones who are the powerhouses video editors use now and almost every major artist I know uses one,

I think that's more because they've been using Macs since they actually were more powerful. I don't think that's been the case for a long time now, but Macs are sort of ingrained in that industry's mindset, so they stay with them.

considering macs ARE pc's now, as far as hardware goes....

 

[n7]

I owned a Mac Mini for a couple months.

I think i used it once or twice before selling it.

I use OSX enough at work to know it's not for me.

 

[Auryg]

I honestly don't understand the 'OSX interface is so intuitive' comments here. I fairly recently just installed a 'hackintosh' partition on my laptop, as I'm sort of the local computer fix-it guy in my rural area and I was sick of trying to look like I knew what I was doing when I had to fix someone's Mac.

Anyways, I hate it. I hate how the top bar (forgive me, I don't know the names of these things) changes depending what program you're using, for that matter, I hate how a lot of programs aren't all that self contained. It's like every window in every program is all over the place and it's hard to keep track of.

I also hate the bottom bar - I have it set to auto-hide, otherwise it takes up 1/8th of the screen at all times. Can't say I'm a fan of everything needing huge pictures either - give me the Windows taskbar any day.

 

[Pacfanweb]

Originally posted by: Auryg
I honestly don't understand the 'OSX interface is so intuitive' comments here. I fairly recently just installed a 'hackintosh' partition on my laptop, as I'm sort of the local computer fix-it guy in my rural area and I was sick of trying to look like I knew what I was doing when I had to fix someone's Mac.

Anyways, I hate it. I hate how the top bar (forgive me, I don't know the names of these things) changes depending what program you're using, for that matter, I hate how a lot of programs aren't all that self contained. It's like every window in every program is all over the place and it's hard to keep track of.

I also hate the bottom bar - I have it set to auto-hide, otherwise it takes up 1/8th of the screen at all times. Can't say I'm a fan of everything needing huge pictures either - give me the Windows taskbar any day.

I agree. I haven't used a Mac lately, but I did awhile back and I'm betting not much has changed.

I don't know how much easier Windows needs to be than XP.

 

[brtspears2]

I gave up at system 7.5, went to Windows 95.

Currently own a Macbook with 10.5, but it rarely gets used since it isn't too useful to me, except for being a tool and using it in public places.

 

[HamburgerBoy]

I was a hardcore Macintosh gamer from 1992 until about 2000 thanks to Deus Ex and Diablo II. Well, that and Windows 2000, of course.

 

[mrSHEiK124]

Originally posted by: Auryg
I honestly don't understand the 'OSX interface is so intuitive' comments here. I fairly recently just installed a 'hackintosh' partition on my laptop, as I'm sort of the local computer fix-it guy in my rural area and I was sick of trying to look like I knew what I was doing when I had to fix someone's Mac.

Anyways, I hate it. I hate how the top bar (forgive me, I don't know the names of these things) changes depending what program you're using, for that matter, I hate how a lot of programs aren't all that self contained. It's like every window in every program is all over the place and it's hard to keep track of.

I also hate the bottom bar - I have it set to auto-hide, otherwise it takes up 1/8th of the screen at all times. Can't say I'm a fan of everything needing huge pictures either - give me the Windows taskbar any day.

SERIOUSLY. I was using a friend's Mac, whoa, wtf, all the windows I had open are really small and in my face, why? "You moved the mouse to the corner" OK, where the fuck did Firefox go, huh? The right half of that monster at the bottom of the screen shows a ton of open windows, NONE of which are FF. "Oh, just open Firefox again" WHY? I NEVER CLOSED IT "It wasn't closed, it just comes up that way."

Windows XP FTW.

 

[nageov3t]

I used a mac once in college... it took me like 15 minutes to figure out how to eject the floppy disk I was using, after which I decided that a computer that retarded to operate had no business existing.

 

[mugs]

I used Macs almost exclusively until 1999, when I switched to PCs because I figured I'd have a better career as a software developer that way. I did also have a 386 at one point.

I think MacOS was far and away better than pre-Windows 95 iterations of Windows. After 95, I don't think either was clearly better. Not sure about now, I haven't really used MacOS since 8.x.

I'm amazed though that the OP owned a Mac and didn't know that it was quite capable of multitasking. Not preemptive multitasking, but multitasking on a Mac worked pretty well.

I'd like to have a Mac to play around with, but I can't justify the cost. Even a Mac Mini is more than I want to spend on something that wouldn't be my primary PC, and even buying them used doesn't save you much money.

 

[KaOTiK]

I use both quite a bit, but I prefer OSX over XP. I just like the feel of it more and I love expose.

 

[bunnyfubbles]

I'm not really a former Mac user as I have to deal with them on occasion, however I will avoid them if I can (the newer macs in the lab that have the ability to boot into windows is a relief). While not terrible they're certainly no better than Windows machines. Also, Apple's inability to understand the value of a solid, gimmick free, 5 button (at least) mouse is mind boggling - I have to bring my own mouse whenever I go to the lab to replace that mighty mouse POS.

I've always had the feeling that OSX is engineered for the extreme technology idiots and the extremely software savvy, but not for users anywhere in between.

Originally posted by: Duddy
I started getting interested in macs when that iMac G4 came out. That thing was and is the coolest looking computer of all time. http://marvinshop.com/ebay/App...iMac_G4_17_Lepard_.jpg

of course you're allowed to have your own opinion, but I think it was one of the worst looking imacs ever, and its sales reflected that...the newer all-in-one monitor imacs are extremely awesome looking IMO

but I hate imacs in general because of how the form cripples the function (nearly impossible to upgrade/customize/repair) as well as drastically inflates the cost (relative to the hardware inside)

 

[EGGO]

Originally posted by: Pacfanweb

Originally posted by: EGGO
Seeing that Macs are the ones who are the powerhouses video editors use now and almost every major artist I know uses one,

I think that's more because they've been using Macs since they actually were more powerful. I don't think that's been the case for a long time now, but Macs are sort of ingrained in that industry's mindset, so they stay with them.

Proggies like Final Cut Studio 2 are the industry standard and can only be used on macs.

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

Actually I'm a new Mac user (started June 08 w/ MPB) and I love it.

 

[esun]

I recently got a 24" iMac (got a great deal on one) and I'm very impressed. I've never owned a Mac and only used them a few times before, but the computer itself is very nice and the OS is easy to use. My old desktop has WinXP on it, and my laptop has had WinXP, Vista, and currently Ubuntu on it, and I'd say MacOS is at least on par with those (though I still probably prefer Ubuntu overall, but that's because I love apt). I'll concede that for the cost-conscious, I'd be wary of spending $1700 on the iMac. If you can get an educational discount, though (got mine for $1100, plus a free iPod touch after rebate), then I'd say they can be an excellent value.

 

[mrSHEiK124]

Originally posted by: EGGO

Originally posted by: Pacfanweb

Originally posted by: EGGO
Seeing that Macs are the ones who are the powerhouses video editors use now and almost every major artist I know uses one,

I think that's more because they've been using Macs since they actually were more powerful. I don't think that's been the case for a long time now, but Macs are sort of ingrained in that industry's mindset, so they stay with them.

Proggies like Final Cut Studio 2 are the industry standard and can only be used on macs.

Industry standard says who? Adobe Premier (cross platform FTW?) begs to differ.

 

[Dari]

Originally posted by: EGGO

Originally posted by: Pacfanweb

Originally posted by: EGGO
Seeing that Macs are the ones who are the powerhouses video editors use now and almost every major artist I know uses one,

I think that's more because they've been using Macs since they actually were more powerful. I don't think that's been the case for a long time now, but Macs are sort of ingrained in that industry's mindset, so they stay with them.

Proggies like Final Cut Studio 2 are the industry standard and can only be used on macs.

No. That would be Avid.

 

[ultimatebob]

I have four computers... my work and home laptops use XP, my Mac Mini uses OS X 10.4, and my gaming machine uses Vista.

Out of those three, I've had the best luck with the XP systems recently. The Vista system still occasionally flakes out on me, and the old G4 Mac Mini is getting a bit long in the tooth and feels sluggish compared to my other computers.

I find myself using my iPhone for things that I would use my laptop for before, though... so I'm certainly still an Apple fan.

 

[Shlong]

Originally posted by: Auryg
I honestly don't understand the 'OSX interface is so intuitive' comments here. I fairly recently just installed a 'hackintosh' partition on my laptop, as I'm sort of the local computer fix-it guy in my rural area and I was sick of trying to look like I knew what I was doing when I had to fix someone's Mac.

Anyways, I hate it. I hate how the top bar (forgive me, I don't know the names of these things) changes depending what program you're using, for that matter, I hate how a lot of programs aren't all that self contained. It's like every window in every program is all over the place and it's hard to keep track of.

I also hate the bottom bar - I have it set to auto-hide, otherwise it takes up 1/8th of the screen at all times. Can't say I'm a fan of everything needing huge pictures either - give me the Windows taskbar any day.

You should try using spaces (f8) and expose (f9), that's mainly why I prefer it.

 

[Vehemence]

lol apple