Need a Mac user for an interview

[labuerkle]

I'm looking for some one who is Mac user who would be willing to let me interview them by email or by Forum which every you would prefer for a class project.

I would be asking like why you believe the Mac is better then PC and why you believe that?

I would prefer this person to also have some knowledge of windows so they could articulate their reasons better. Also I don't want this interview to be an anti Microsoft and PC bashing thing. I just need your honest reason why you like Mac over the PC.

Thanks

Larry Buerkle

 

[GonzoDaGr8]

Might be a little hard finding a mac-only user here that also has a good footing with Windows..I would help you out, but I am too 50/50 on macs and PCs'. Each one for me has its' own place in life. Macs for work and PCs' for play Maybe someone like Nothinman or n0cmonkey will be able to help you.

EDIT: One thing is for sure though...You will find lessbiased people in this mostly PC forum than you will find in a mostly Mac forum..Hope someone here can help you with your project..

 

[n0cmonkey]

Im biased, hate Microsoft, and think x86 based machines are typically junk.


If you ask the questions here, you will get plenty of responses and it might make an interresting discussion. It might not quite be what you need for your project, but it could be fun for the rest of us. And Im sure someone will just answer your questions (I know I will).

 

[dartblazer]

I'm willing to participate, pm or email me at seratne@seratne.com.

I've used pc's and macs for a while(mostly through work) and recently have "switched" to an almost all mac house. I'm an advanced user, but my dad and brother are very very much novices and i have helped them to see the light side . while im not as hostile towards wintel as n0cmonkey i have my reasons for dislike against it.

Lemme know.
Scott

 

[PlantATree]

You all need to post your responses in this thread. I would be very interested to hear everyone's responses. I am in that switch state currently and have been considering giving the Mac a shot.

Reply away

 

[ProviaFan]

Originally posted by: PlantATree
You all need to post your responses in this thread. I would be very interested to hear everyone's responses. I am in that switch state currently and have been considering giving the Mac a shot.

Reply away

I'd like to hear some responses from people who don't hate the X86 platform in general. I can certainly understand hatred for the Windows operating system which is quite prevalent on X86 systems, but why someone would hate the processor itself (especially when running Linux) is beyond my comprehension. Hmm, maybe I should get a mac, try it out, and report back; I don't have anything against macs (as long as they're running OSX).

 

[n0cmonkey]

Originally posted by: jliechty

Originally posted by: PlantATree
You all need to post your responses in this thread. I would be very interested to hear everyone's responses. I am in that switch state currently and have been considering giving the Mac a shot.

Reply away

I'd like to hear some responses from people who don't hate the X86 platform in general. I can certainly understand hatred for the Windows operating system which is quite prevalent on X86 systems, but why someone would hate the processor itself (especially when running Linux) is beyond my comprehension. Hmm, maybe I should get a mac, try it out, and report back; I don't have anything against macs (as long as they're running OSX).

Poor design. But its not necessarily the processor that is the problem... Well, not the entire problem. They have their uses. Its the entire x86 architecture I find fairly disgusting.

 

[GonzoDaGr8]

Originally posted by: n0cmonkey

Originally posted by: jliechty

Originally posted by: PlantATree
You all need to post your responses in this thread. I would be very interested to hear everyone's responses. I am in that switch state currently and have been considering giving the Mac a shot.

Reply away

I'd like to hear some responses from people who don't hate the X86 platform in general. I can certainly understand hatred for the Windows operating system which is quite prevalent on X86 systems, but why someone would hate the processor itself (especially when running Linux) is beyond my comprehension. Hmm, maybe I should get a mac, try it out, and report back; I don't have anything against macs (as long as they're running OSX).

Poor design. But its not necessarily the processor that is the problem... Well, not the entire problem. They have their uses. Its the entire x86 architecture I find fairly disgusting.

Too a point I agree..Mainboard designers and manufacturers need to get off the pot and ditch ALL legacy $hit like floppy drives, PS2, COM ports(this one still kills me to this day on why they are there) and parallel ports. There is nothing that can't be hooked up via USB or firewire these days. When Apple decides to kill off something, It is gone (remember floppy drives?), screw you if you don't like it!! PC manu's need to do the same. Other than that one little rant, the biggest bonus of the x86 architecture is its' flexibility, upgradeability, and tinkerability(part swapping, overclocking,etc,etc, you get the point)..

 

[ProviaFan]

Originally posted by: GonzoDaGr8

Originally posted by: n0cmonkey

Originally posted by: jliechty

Originally posted by: PlantATree
You all need to post your responses in this thread. I would be very interested to hear everyone's responses. I am in that switch state currently and have been considering giving the Mac a shot.

Reply away

I'd like to hear some responses from people who don't hate the X86 platform in general. I can certainly understand hatred for the Windows operating system which is quite prevalent on X86 systems, but why someone would hate the processor itself (especially when running Linux) is beyond my comprehension. Hmm, maybe I should get a mac, try it out, and report back; I don't have anything against macs (as long as they're running OSX).

Poor design. But its not necessarily the processor that is the problem... Well, not the entire problem. They have their uses. Its the entire x86 architecture I find fairly disgusting.

Too a point I agree..Mainboard designers and manufacturers need to get off the pot and ditch ALL legacy $hit like floppy drives, PS2, COM ports(this one still kills me to this day on why they are there) and parallel ports. There is nothing that can't be hooked up via USB or firewire these days. When Apple decides to kill off something, It is gone (remember floppy drives?), screw you if you don't like it!! PC manu's need to do the same.

Yea, but I'd need to buy a new keyboard!!! :Q Oh yea, if I'm building up a new PC, I'd need an extra keyboard and mouse anyway.

Abit has been doing their share with their AT7 Max and IT7 Max boards; I agree with you that other manufacturers need to start doing the same.

Other than that one little rant, the biggest bonus of the x86 architecture is its' flexibility, upgradeability, and tinkerability(part swapping, overclocking,etc,etc, you get the point)..

Yea, that's really what I like about the X86 hardware. Of course, if you run Windows on it, you're missing out on half of the fun - you should be running Linux to extend the tweakability to the software department as well.

 

[Codewiz]

Originally posted by: GonzoDaGr8

Originally posted by: n0cmonkey

Originally posted by: jliechty

Originally posted by: PlantATree
You all need to post your responses in this thread. I would be very interested to hear everyone's responses. I am in that switch state currently and have been considering giving the Mac a shot.

Reply away

I'd like to hear some responses from people who don't hate the X86 platform in general. I can certainly understand hatred for the Windows operating system which is quite prevalent on X86 systems, but why someone would hate the processor itself (especially when running Linux) is beyond my comprehension. Hmm, maybe I should get a mac, try it out, and report back; I don't have anything against macs (as long as they're running OSX).

Poor design. But its not necessarily the processor that is the problem... Well, not the entire problem. They have their uses. Its the entire x86 architecture I find fairly disgusting.

Too a point I agree..Mainboard designers and manufacturers need to get off the pot and ditch ALL legacy $hit like floppy drives, PS2, COM ports(this one still kills me to this day on why they are there) and parallel ports. There is nothing that can't be hooked up via USB or firewire these days. When Apple decides to kill off something, It is gone (remember floppy drives?), screw you if you don't like it!! PC manu's need to do the same. Other than that one little rant, the biggest bonus of the x86 architecture is its' flexibility, upgradeability, and tinkerability(part swapping, overclocking,etc,etc, you get the point)..

I think you are missing the point. n0c hates the x86 architecture. That has nothing to do with components like parallel/serial/com ports. Those could be added to any platform and exist on sparcs, mac, and x86. I assume n0c probably hates the IRQ structure along with the entire instruction set of the x86 platform. I know that I much prefer writing assembly for the sparc over an x86 any day of the week.

You are dead on with that the x86 needs to ditch some legacy stuff but it isn't devices. The x86 instruction set is insanely big for what it needs to be. So many things are kept just to stay compatible. If we could drop a lot of stupid crap, it would make the x86 platform much better but would kill compatibility. I like Intel's idea of IA64. It is a great idea I just wish they had done a better job.

 

[sparkyclarky]

Actually, there are quite a few people that need com ports for specialty hardware that costs a lot of money. Not everything needs the speed of the newer buses. Just because you don't need it, doesn't mean others don't!

 

[ProviaFan]

Originally posted by: sparkyclarky
Actually, there are quite a few people that need com ports for specialty hardware that costs a lot of money. Not everything needs the speed of the newer buses. Just because you don't need it, doesn't mean others don't!

Yea. My TI-89 interfaces with my computer with a serial cable. Also, I have a serial external modem. Both of these could be upgraded, but I'd rather not, so I will probably be keeping around a "legacy" system for some time. The kind of stuff you're talking about, though, commonly runs on RS-485 or similar type serial ports, instead of the regular RS-232 kind that we have in our PCs, so the people that use them have to use special peripheral boards whether or not their computers have RS-232 ports on them or not.

 

[GonzoDaGr8]

Originally posted by: sparkyclarky
Actually, there are quite a few people that need com ports for specialty hardware that costs a lot of money. Not everything needs the speed of the newer buses. Just because you don't need it, doesn't mean others don't!

1. I believe that you can still find add-in cards with COM ports..
2. Wouldn't be a few years until you couldn't find a board without com ports anyway(If manufacturers even did this).
3. By the time com ports are gone anyway, Whatever hardware you have that uses com ports would be way outdated and you will probably upgrade that item by then anyway..
4. Remember ISA cards? People pissed and moaned about them disappearing, but we all moved on anyway. It's all evolution.

EDIT: found your serial card here

 

[Pink0]

I am an audio professional and I work with graphics. I use both the mac and PC and I have done tech support for both. I'm an advanced Mac user and a very knowledgable PC user aswell. I'm not partial to either ones and I believe I could offer you some insight into why Audio and Graphics professionals prefer to use Macs vs PC or visa versa. PM me if you are interested.

 

[n0cmonkey]

Originally posted by: Codewiz

Originally posted by: GonzoDaGr8

Originally posted by: n0cmonkey

Originally posted by: jliechty

Originally posted by: PlantATree
You all need to post your responses in this thread. I would be very interested to hear everyone's responses. I am in that switch state currently and have been considering giving the Mac a shot.

Reply away

I'd like to hear some responses from people who don't hate the X86 platform in general. I can certainly understand hatred for the Windows operating system which is quite prevalent on X86 systems, but why someone would hate the processor itself (especially when running Linux) is beyond my comprehension. Hmm, maybe I should get a mac, try it out, and report back; I don't have anything against macs (as long as they're running OSX).

Poor design. But its not necessarily the processor that is the problem... Well, not the entire problem. They have their uses. Its the entire x86 architecture I find fairly disgusting.

Too a point I agree..Mainboard designers and manufacturers need to get off the pot and ditch ALL legacy $hit like floppy drives, PS2, COM ports(this one still kills me to this day on why they are there) and parallel ports. There is nothing that can't be hooked up via USB or firewire these days. When Apple decides to kill off something, It is gone (remember floppy drives?), screw you if you don't like it!! PC manu's need to do the same. Other than that one little rant, the biggest bonus of the x86 architecture is its' flexibility, upgradeability, and tinkerability(part swapping, overclocking,etc,etc, you get the point)..

I think you are missing the point. n0c hates the x86 architecture. That has nothing to do with components like parallel/serial/com ports. Those could be added to any platform and exist on sparcs, mac, and x86. I assume n0c probably hates the IRQ structure along with the entire instruction set of the x86 platform. I know that I much prefer writing assembly for the sparc over an x86 any day of the week.

You are dead on with that the x86 needs to ditch some legacy stuff but it isn't devices. The x86 instruction set is insanely big for what it needs to be. So many things are kept just to stay compatible. If we could drop a lot of stupid crap, it would make the x86 platform much better but would kill compatibility. I like Intel's idea of IA64. It is a great idea I just wish they had done a better job.

x86 is good for brute force power at a reasonable price. ISA took too long to get rid of. ps/2 I can see keeping around (I HATE USB ). Serial ports can be done with (get a converter if they are that important). I dont know enough about the instruction set to really hate it. Im not a programmer. I just know I see a lot of fluff I dont like (BIOS). IA64 is a great concept. I think Microsoft would do themselves some good by dropping legacy support, or making it an add-on. But unfortunately, this stuff does not happen fast enough on the x86 arch.

 

[GonzoDaGr8]

(I HATE USB )

Umm..Why? Apple was the first one to use it as their sole link to keyboard/mouse after they killed off ADB.

 

[starwarsdad]

I use both regularly and prefer the PC, although OS X has been my new favorite plaything. One of the things that will keep me from making "the switch", is the cost of Mac hardware.

I can build a PC that is stunningly fast for $2500. A Mac that is comparable would cost $5000 or more.

Both do different jobs. I prefer the Mac for image manipulation. The interface is a little more intuitive (to me). I use my PC for most everything else. I have yet to find a player for the Mac that will reliably play DIVX 5 / XVID avi's.

 

[n0cmonkey]

Originally posted by: GonzoDaGr8
(I HATE USB )

Umm..Why? Apple was the first one to use it as their sole link to keyboard/mouse after they killed off ADB.

I think its about as well designed as much of the other stuff that comes out of Intel... My Mac is the only system I own that has a usb peripheral. And thats only a mouse. I wont trust it for anything worthwhile, thats why I have firewire.

 

[ProviaFan]

Originally posted by: n0cmonkey

Originally posted by: GonzoDaGr8
(I HATE USB )

Umm..Why? Apple was the first one to use it as their sole link to keyboard/mouse after they killed off ADB.

I think its about as well designed as much of the other stuff that comes out of Intel... My Mac is the only system I own that has a usb peripheral. And thats only a mouse. I wont trust it for anything worthwhile, thats why I have firewire.

Maybe it's just me or my older system (800mhz duron on a KT133A), but my mouse just seems more responsive when the system is under a heavy load when it's connected to the PS/2 port than when it's connected to the USB port.

Oh yea, how about a firewire printer? Do those even exist? My Epson printer works fine on the USB port, as does my scanner; I know firewire scanners exist, but what about printers? Or do you prefer to use a printer on the parallel port? Oh, and while we're on the topic of weird printers, were any SCSI printers ever made? (I saw something about SCSI being designed to connect many things, including printing devices, but don't know if that feature was ever implemented in any real hardware)

 

[n0cmonkey]

Originally posted by: jliechty

Originally posted by: n0cmonkey

Originally posted by: GonzoDaGr8
(I HATE USB )

Umm..Why? Apple was the first one to use it as their sole link to keyboard/mouse after they killed off ADB.

I think its about as well designed as much of the other stuff that comes out of Intel... My Mac is the only system I own that has a usb peripheral. And thats only a mouse. I wont trust it for anything worthwhile, thats why I have firewire.

Maybe it's just me or my older system (800mhz duron on a KT133A), but my mouse just seems more responsive when the system is under a heavy load when it's connected to the PS/2 port than when it's connected to the USB port.

Oh yea, how about a firewire printer? Do those even exist? My Epson printer works fine on the USB port, as does my scanner; I know firewire scanners exist, but what about printers? Or do you prefer to use a printer on the parallel port? Oh, and while we're on the topic of weird printers, were any SCSI printers ever made? (I saw something about SCSI being designed to connect many things, including printing devices, but don't know if that feature was ever implemented in any real hardware)

USB is fine for some things, but it has drawbacks. It does seem to be fairly host dependant (take its toll on resources). I think, but have no real evidence, it actually polls USB devices, which is bad. Firewire isnt used for a whole lot really. Its got bandwidth and it seems to be fairly well designed, but not a whole lot of x86 based machines come with it. For printing, you cant go wrong with ethernet

 

[starwarsdad]

Other than the obvious gain in bandwidth between 1394 and USB, I like the fact that 1394 is able to use DMA.

There are some 1394 printers. We have an Epson 10000 here at the office that uses 1394.

 

[ProviaFan]

Originally posted by: starwarsdad
Other than the obvious gain in bandwidth between 1394 and USB, I like the fact that 1394 is able to use DMA.

There are some 1394 printers. We have an Epson 10000 here at the office that uses 1394.

Wow, that's a nice printer! It's a little too heavy-duty for my needs, though. I've decided that my next printer will have an ethernet connection, and will take plain ol' postscript, since I've had enough trouble configuring Linux to print already with my Epson Stylus Color 880.

 

[Valinos]

Still looking for a Mac donation....I'm up for the switch...just need some money to get a Mac