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Sick of Microsoft...

S

sxr7171

Diamond Member
Okay guys I've been a Windows user forever and I am now vested in several Microsoft products that I think do not have an Apple equivalent. Some of those are Windows Home Server and Windows Media Center.

I have come to realize that Microsoft is just plain incompetent. They produce software with a decidedly monopoly point of view. They just plain do not care. I have explained the level of incompetence in other areas but it is glaring incompetence in things that should be simple and routine in 2010. I shouldn't be getting stupid network errors in 2010, I shouldn't be getting stupid file system issues in 2010, I shouldn't be needing to mess around with the registry to fight problems in 2010.

Anyway to get to the point what is the Apple mass storage solution like? Is there such a solution? What can I do in terms of making a Mac based Media Center? I don't think there is a solution to play Blu-Ray ISOs yet. I suppose I will have to initially use both platforms but I will move towards lessening my reliance on Microsoft software and I want to know how to begin.

Also, I will not be moving from Thinkpad laptops, IMHO no Macbook comes close (no arguments please - they are too big and heavy - even the Air). But I do wish to maybe Hackintosh a nice Thinkpag X210s and possibly a Sony Vaio X in the future.

So my first question is how mass storage works on Mac and I'm talking about 20-40TB of data. I take it these files can be accessed by a Windows machine. I also take it there some duplication or redundancy built in.

I really wish Apple could improve their media platform but it seems they are more interested in selling us iTunes videos than to give us a proper Blu-Ray playback and media playback solution. Boxee will help but Windows Media Center really does lead the category right now.
 
The network and filesystem issues you mentioned are probably hardware-related, not Microsoft's fault.

I'm not sure that you'd be any happier with a Mac. It sounds like you may just be difficult to please. I mean, even as you're talking about switching platforms you're already complaining about the platform that you're switching to.
 
The Xserve products seem to be okay. SMB should work fine for Windows. Some of the server side stuff seems a bit quirky (ldap), but works (with Macs, don't know how well it works with Windows).
 
Windows Media Center isn't all that great, it natively doesn't play Blu-Ray, I am not sure how to play BR on a Mac, but I'm sure it can be done. As for Media Center software Plex or XBMC both kill WMC. I use Plex on my Hackintosh it add's a few Mac specific features the XBMC port doesn't. Unless you need streaming to an XBOX360 there's no reason I can think where Windows Media Center will be your best choice.

<3 Plex.
 
QueBert said:
Windows Media Center isn't all that great, it natively doesn't play Blu-Ray, I am not sure how to play BR on a Mac, but I'm sure it can be done. As for Media Center software Plex or XBMC both kill WMC. I use Plex on my Hackintosh it add's a few Mac specific features the XBMC port doesn't. Unless you need streaming to an XBOX360 there's no reason I can think where Windows Media Center will be your best choice.

<3 Plex.
Click to expand...

There is currently no way to play Blu-Ray in OS X. However, you can stream to the 360 using Connect360.
 
The OP noted BR ISO, so possibility to play with VLC? I'm not sure on that, as I've never needed to try.

Media Center alternatives are.. Boxee, Plex, XBMC.

Connecting to/from Windows should be fairly simple using SMB.
As for mass-storage: HFS+
- Hosting and Managing a large file system isn't a problem.

Where you may run into problems sometimes is with NTFS, but there are ways around that.

Without linux experience you may find OSX's file system a bit awkward as far as permissions are considered.
 
Last edited:
zerogear said:
LOL. Did you read this before you posted it?
Click to expand...

Revise his statement to;
'I am not personally aware of any way to playback BluRay on OS X, however I would readily accept that my knowledge is incomplete and that there is a solution of which I was not previously aware'
 
... then invest $150-$300 on a decent standalone BR player.

I've got two HTPC's equipped with Blu-Ray, and I think we've used them a grand total of three or four times for BR discs, as opposed to the standalone or PS3. If you're ripping a collection of BRs to a media server, it makes sense to me, but really, for playing a disc, why is it so important to have it on a computer? At first I didn't quite get Apple's reasoning for not adopting BR- it didn't seem to make sense when BR players were ultra-expensive, but now I kind of get it. Why compete for redundancy with standalones that will eventually be $50 in every corner store? Yeah, I get it that some people want everything in just *one* box, but really, 2 boxes doesn't seem that bad to me for most any entertainment setup.

As to the OP- it cost me a bit more, but now that I've got a complete Mac-based solution for HDTV/NTSC/Tivo, DVD library, music, etc, I don't miss WMC in the least. EyeTV (with the right hardware to handle both sat NTSC and digital ATSC) Plex, Hulu Desktop and Boxee are all I need for most everything that WMC ever did. Plex launches all the others- a clear advantage over WMC which I find has to be hacked in unreliable ways to get it to seamlessly launch other non-MS approved apps.

About the only thing I really miss from Windows is xlobby, which was just perfect- a complete 100% user-customizable media platform/10ft interface for HTPC. If someone with the gift of out of box thinking could come up with something like it for Mac, it'd be the holy grail.

As for storage, look into a linux-based server running on a NAS. I've got one running ClearOS (formerly clarkconnect) serving up 6TB of media for the whole house- Macs, PCs, no prob. The thing is 'set it and forget it' simple. ClearOS takes about 10 minutes to set up and blows the doors off of WHS in everything from speed to ease of use, options, and flexibility. I've compared it to other solutions like FreeNAS (so damn slow I'm amazed serious tech-minded people would even consider it) and WHS and it's no-contest.
 
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