Why do people buy "Apple" computers?

[dannybin1742]

i really don't read all the posts, i don't have that kinda time on my hands, i just check on it once in a while, its always fun to add fuel to the fire, this is more amusing than anything because of all the people that defend apple

i could give a sh!t

 

[smp]

Someone mentioned linux on the desktop ...
I don't think I'de be happy to see linux as a consumer desktop solution, I also don't see that happening. I'm comfortable with linux/BSD being a server/geek platform, OSX being a consumer UNIX desktop and windows being windows. It seems this way that there is room for all three OSs, each having their own role. I like em all and I use them all.

 

[mjolnir2k]

5 pages...200+ posts...What the Hell have I started????

ask a simple question...

 

[LethalWolfe]

Originally posted by: mjolnir2k
5 pages...200+ posts...What the Hell have I started????

ask a simple question...

Simple!?


Lethal

 

[Mallow]

replying to original thread title: I use Apple computers a lot in lab research. A lot of scientific programs are only written for the MAC and thus keep my dependence on the darn things

 

[dannybin1742]

just out of curiosity, what do you do? the NMR lab and X-ray crystalographylab i work in are predominently sgi and dell machines, with a few sun boxes, but in general all the software we use (besides actual machine-computer interface software) is free for linux, and all the software run that is proprietary runs in either winNT or win2000

all running some form of unix

although our sequencing lab has a mix of apples and HP machines (some of the actual sequencing machines are toshiba and HP i think, but i don't go in there that often). granted they aren't doing shotgun sequencing, so it doesn't require high processor power.

i know when celera genomics compiled their human genome data they had a 500+ dec alpha cluster that did all the organization and sequence processing

 

[Eug]

Isn't BLAST running on OS X server?

EDIT:

Hmmm... Maybe not. Here is a press release which seems to indicate the OS X version is for the client side. (I don't use it so I dunno how this works.)

 

[dannybin1742]

blast is a tool you can use on the nih site for protein sequence alignement or dna sequence alignment, Blast was developed before OSX, i'm pretty sure it was developed for x86, or a unix derivative, although it is now availiable for mac OSs .

i've used that, but i prefer to use biowb.sdsc.edu, the database searches european databases as well as US data bases

 

[Eug]

Originally posted by: dannybin1742
blast is a tool you can use on the nih site for protein sequence alignement or dna sequence alignment, Blast was developed before OSX, i'm pretty sure it was developed for x86, or a unix derivative, although it is now availiable for mac OSs .

i've used that, but i prefer to use biowb.sdsc.edu, the database searches european databases as well as US data bases

Yeah, I believe that blast was originally unix, but for some stupid reason I had gotten the wrong notion that they had moved the thing over to OS X at some point. I guess I just misunderstood the original articles from way back.

Can you believe it? After a year in a molecular lab I might have used blast maybe 10 times (via the web).

 

[dannybin1742]

i use it mostly for protein sequence alignments to related structure of RadA recombination protein, no one knows how recombination proteins of this group attatch to DNA, thats what we are trying to figure out

i work at Iowa State university (i'm just an undergrad though)

where do you work?

also create and account at http://biowb.sdsc.edu <---- i think that is the link, its stored in my computer at work

i personally think the database is a bit faster and larger (its a supercomputing center left over from cold war that is now used a protein/genome database)

 

[Eug]

We're getting off topic now... Check your pm...

 

[Go3iverson]

Well, its here! My brand new 1GHz, 1GB Ram, SuperDrive, Airport, TiBook......

OH AM I HAPPY!

I still don't get the typical comment. If your using Art as your basis for my Apple use, you are greatly mistaken. I've spent under a year studying art. I've worked as an IT supervisor at my school for 4 years. I worked on general computing issues and such for years before that. I've studied CS/Prog languages/Hardware architecture for about 7 years, or so......I'm not really sure where Art comes into my decision making. I didnt even own Photoshop until 3 months ago! Well, besides the LE versions..

I've just liked my Apple's better. I used to only use the PC and decided one day, a buncha years back, to try Mac OS. I liked it, so I stuck with it. It's not for everyone, but its for me. I know lotsa people on campus who are unhappy with their PC's, but for some reason, they just refuse to try an Apple. Anyone can do fine on any platform, but if your not willing to give it a fair chance, it won't work for you. My PC, when I turn it on, has many more mp3 downloading clients than my mac. LimeWire gets most of my stuff for me on the Mac OS, but I think Morpheus is better. I know its a simplistic example, but its just a matter of finding the best way to get things done, recoginizing them, and implementing them.

I've been trained on both platforms, they both have merits and disadvantages...for me, I prefer the Apple platform...but that's just my way of doing my business...everyone's different. I will say, barring my Apple use, I'd hate to see the day they stop producing products. We all should be hoping Jobs' excitement over his 2003 line-up is accurate...if Apple wasn't around, everyone would be at a loss. Like 'em or hate 'em, they are responsible for many technologies that we enjoy today.

Ok, I'm gonna go goof off on my laptop now!

Have a great day all!

 

[ProviaFan]

Originally posted by: Go3iverson
Well, its here! My brand new 1GHz, 1GB Ram, SuperDrive, Airport, TiBook......

OH AM I HAPPY!

I still don't get the typical comment. If your using Art as your basis for my Apple use, you are greatly mistaken. I've spent under a year studying art. I've worked as an IT supervisor at my school for 4 years. I worked on general computing issues and such for years before that. I've studied CS/Prog languages/Hardware architecture for about 7 years, or so......I'm not really sure where Art comes into my decision making. I didnt even own Photoshop until 3 months ago! Well, besides the LE versions..

I've just liked my Apple's better. I used to only use the PC and decided one day, a buncha years back, to try Mac OS. I liked it, so I stuck with it. It's not for everyone, but its for me. I know lotsa people on campus who are unhappy with their PC's, but for some reason, they just refuse to try an Apple. Anyone can do fine on any platform, but if your not willing to give it a fair chance, it won't work for you. My PC, when I turn it on, has many more mp3 downloading clients than my mac. LimeWire gets most of my stuff for me on the Mac OS, but I think Morpheus is better. I know its a simplistic example, but its just a matter of finding the best way to get things done, recoginizing them, and implementing them.

I've been trained on both platforms, they both have merits and disadvantages...for me, I prefer the Apple platform...but that's just my way of doing my business...everyone's different. I will say, barring my Apple use, I'd hate to see the day they stop producing products. We all should be hoping Jobs' excitement over his 2003 line-up is accurate...if Apple wasn't around, everyone would be at a loss. Like 'em or hate 'em, they are responsible for many technologies that we enjoy today.

Ok, I'm gonna go goof off on my laptop now!

Have a great day all!

Glad you're enjoying your laptop; makes me wish I could afford a TiBook, but that's quite a while in the future - $2000 is a lot of money.

 

[Darien]

Originally posted by: mjolnir2k
5 pages...200+ posts...What the Hell have I started????

ask a simple question...

Lots of fanboys and it's not a very simple question...

 

[Eug]

Go3iverson,

Heh, I'm neither a computer programmer nor an artist. I'm the quintissential anand geek by night but business user by day. I do appreciate good aesthetics though.

One thing I cannot understand is why the frig no PC laptop in existence (or at least that I've seen) has either DVI or powered Firewire, and why 80% of them are 7+ lbs (usually closer to 8 or more).

To me that just seems bizarre. How long do 5.4 lb 15" laptops with both DVI and powered Firewire have to be available on the Mac side before the PC laptop makers get a clue?

EDIT:

Take a look at this pic.

Virtual PC 6 is very cool. You can now take the Windows images you use in Virtual PC and mount them in the dock. You can then browse the startmenu from the dock. If there is something there you want to use, you just click on it. Virtual PC will automatically launch and start the OS, and load the program automatically.

In the picture, on the left I have VPC loaded with its "real" Windows 2000 Start Menu. Then I have the VPC OS X Start Menu app loaded as well in the dock on the left, with its OS X Start Menu over it.

Using the Start Menu app, I loaded Photoshop 6 in Windows. Thus the Windows Photoshop icon appears in the dock on the right.

On the bottom I have Photoshop 7 for OS X loaded as well, and you'll see its icon in the middle of the dock. On the mid right of the picture is the OS X Finder.

Overall it's faster than VPC 5 too.

 

[starwarsdad]

So EUG, do I understand correctly? The newest version of VPC allows a user to run Windows stuff in something akin to "Classic Mode"?????? Or did I just completely miss what you were saying?

Thanks

 

[ahsumdude]

They're clueless... They're powerless... and they have never played a game on a PC!

 

[ProviaFan]

Originally posted by: ahsumdude
They're clueless... They're powerless... and they have never played a game on a PC!

Maybe some of them actually want to get some work done on their computer. Perhaps they find the Mac OS X interface easier and faster to use than the Windows XP interface. Maybe they don't give a sh!t about playing games.

 

[Eug]

Originally posted by: starwarsdad
So EUG, do I understand correctly? The newest version of VPC allows a user to run Windows stuff in something akin to "Classic Mode"?????? Or did I just completely miss what you were saying?

Thanks

Yep, you got it. Well, under the hood it's not running like Classic since classic isn't emulation and VPC 6 is. However, in practice it almost seems like Classic in some ways. Ie. If you click on a Classic program, it launches Classic. Similarly, if you're browsing the Windows image and click on an app, VPC automatically loads. Very cool.

 

[Woodchuck2000]

I can't believe how long this thread has run for...
I'm tempted to start a thread titled 'Why do people still buy nVidia graphics cards'

Light the fuse and stand well back



edit: 'cos I can't spell

 

[dannybin1742]

what is the point in getting a mac if you just load vitural pc onto it, why not just get a pc, and linux and save yourself a bundle of money?


but hey, sometimes people like to do things the hard way




i'm just messing around, i already know what the reply is going to be

 

[Eug]

Originally posted by: dannybin1742
what is the point in getting a mac if you just load vitural pc onto it, why not just get a pc, and linux and save yourself a bundle of money?


but hey, sometimes people like to do things the hard way




i'm just messing around, i already know what the reply is going to be

Well, I use both PCs and Macs. My Mac gives me both in the same laptop. Better than buying two laptops.

 

[SaveYourself]

In many things, Macs are like Bose speakers. On paper they look terrible (the Acoustimass-15 has a frequency-response hole - 10 dB down between 200 and 280 Hz, it does not go below 45 Hz, and it does not go above 18kHz.) So why do people still buy Bose? It's because they couldn't care less about the FR curves and the sound is pleasing ot the ear. With the Mac, it's the look and feel of the computer (the part that you actually use) that people care about, the simple elegance of the Dock, and the great visual effects built right into the GUI, without bogging everything down. And the most popular games, the ones that matter, are available for the Mac and I understand that the Mac runs them quite well. The reason they can get away with what would normally be considered outdated graphics chips in the PC market is that the CPU can compute the vertices without needing the GPU to speed the frames through to the monitor more quickly to create a sense of speed. Just like Bose relies on a lot of psychoacoustics in their products to get the sound that will be the most ear-pleasing to the consumer, though golden-eared audio purists with flat response from 5Hz-50KHz cry foul.

 

[Eug]

Originally posted by: SaveYourself
In many things, Macs are like Bose speakers. On paper they look terrible (the Acoustimass-15 has a frequency-response hole - 10 dB down between 200 and 280 Hz, it does not go below 45 Hz, and it does not go above 18kHz.) So why do people still buy Bose? It's because they couldn't care less about the FR curves and the sound is pleasing ot the ear. With the Mac, it's the look and feel of the computer (the part that you actually use) that people care about, the simple elegance of the Dock, and the great visual effects built right into the GUI, without bogging everything down. And the most popular games, the ones that matter, are available for the Mac and I understand that the Mac runs them quite well. The reason they can get away with what would normally be considered outdated graphics chips in the PC market is that the CPU can compute the vertices without needing the GPU to speed the frames through to the monitor more quickly to create a sense of speed. Just like Bose relies on a lot of psychoacoustics in their products to get the sound that will be the most ear-pleasing to the consumer, though golden-eared audio purists with flat response from 5Hz-50KHz cry foul.

I disagree. I like Macs, because they're well made and easy to use. I've used Macs and PCs quite a bit and I prefer my laptops to be Macs because of the overall setup and build quality. OTOH I generally don't like Bose speakers. The sound quality on some lines is noticeably worse than comparatively priced speakers and the build quality is often also worse than other speakers in the same price range.

As for outdated graphics chips, I should point out that the Geforce 4 first came out on the Mac (by a few days), and my laptop has a Radeon 9000.

 

[dannybin1742]

just a side note: the GF4 MX came out first on the mac, not the actual GF4. If i remember correctly....

All the gf4MX is a gf2 with a better memory controller and higher clock speed