Help -- Going from PC to Mac

[Thurisaz]

Here is a video of Mike Huckabee on Fox News talking favorably about his recent switch to Mac.

http://macdailynews.com/index.php/weblog/comments/19688/

HA HA! Seriously though I think Picard is going to like this mini. I'm just worried about shipping the monitor. I'm going to bubble wrap the hell out of it. I think it is a good deal for the whole package, as the mini still has a year and a half left of Apple care and protection.

 

[msbae]

2 Things....

1.) I found this pic to be hilarious

2.) For those who insist a Mac will never break/crash/whatever... OWN3D!!!

Everything needs servicing sooner or later.

 

[Shaw]

Everything needs servicing sooner or later.

I certainly hope so... after all, servicing Macs is how I make part of my living. But last year I was responsible for the upkeep of over 130 Macs, yet made only 15 service calls for either hardware or software issues. Apple has effectively made me the Maytag Repairman of the computer industry.

But they do break down... for example, the logic board on my PowerBook G3 Lombard (from 1999) just died. And it is going to cost me all of about $50 to get a replacement system on ebay.

And they do crash, though I personally don't have that issue. Most of my systems are never restarted for crashing... in fact in the last year the only reason for restarting my main systems has been because of power outages (the last one occurring just over 154 days and 17 hours ago).

Strangely enough, the system that I own right now with the longest uptime is my PowerBook 3400c/200 (from 1997) which is running Mac OS 8.6. It has been running continuously (no restarts) since February 23, 2008.

Now, what can I possibly do on that little old dinosaur of a computer? It is, after all, 12 years old.

Actually lots of things, including this...

Click to play (6.5 MB)​

Which was made on that system using Strata Studio Pro (1994), Strata VideoShop (1996), Strata MediaPaint (1996), Macromedia Flash (2000) and Adobe Photoshop (1999).

Of course if you have the software, any system should be able to do anything... and I have a ton of software on that old system.

Adobe Acrobat 5.0
Adobe Distiller 5.0
Adobe Acrobat Catalog 4.0
Adobe Dimensions 1.0
Adobe FrameMaker 6.0
Adobe GoLive 5.0
Adobe Illustrator 8.0
Adobe ImageReady 2.0
Adobe LiveMotion 1.0
Adobe PageMaker 6.5
Adobe PageMill 3.0
Adobe Photoshop 5.5
Adobe Premiere 5.1
Adobe Type Manager Deluxe 4.6
AppleWorks 6.2.8
Apple iTunes 1.0
BBEdit Lite 6.0
ClarisDraw 1.0
Corel PHOTO-PAINT 8 LE
Corel WordPerfect 3.5e
CorelDraw 8 LE
Fetch 3.0.3
FileMaker Pro 5.0
Fractal Design Painter 5.0.3
Macromedia Flash 5.0
Mathcad PLUS 6
Mathematica 2.2.2
MathReader 4.2
MetaCreations Bryce 3D
Microsoft Excel 98
Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.1.7
Microsoft Outlook Express 5.0.6
Microsoft PowerPoint 98
Microsoft Word 98
Microsoft Word 5.1a
Mozilla 1.3.1
Netscape 7.0.2
Netscape Communicator 4.8
Nisus Compact 3.4
Nisus Write 4.1.6
Opera 6.0.3
Softpress Freeway 2.0.3 LE
PiXELS 3D Studio 3.7
QuarkXPress 4.11
QuickTime 6.0.3
ResEdit
SimpleText
Sound Studio 2.0.7
SoundEdit 16 2.0.7
SoundEffects 0.9.2
Strata VideoShop 3.0
Strata Studio Pro 1.5.2
StrataVision 3D 4.0
Strata MediaPaint 1.1.2
Theorist 2.0.1​

I don't use all that software on that system all of the time (I do have newer versions of most of those titles on my other Macs), but that list should demonstrate that that system is still a very active part of my computer collection. The other part of what I do is web design, and while I generally make use of Adobe LiveMotion 2.0 on my newer systems for Flash elements, there are times when only Flash itself can solve certain issues, and my only copy is Flash 5 on that old PowerBook (this demo site I made for a client had it's splash page made in Flash on that system).

Now I have no training in graphic design (my background is in math and physics), but if we were to compare what I can do with antique hardware and software to someone with an education and new PC hardware, I'm guessing that I don't fare too badly. Of course people with real talent were doing far better stuff with that hardware and software back when it was current.

... OWN3D!!!

By the way, didn't you go to school for graphic design and use a newer PC? Hmmmm...

 

[TerriO]

Guys, last time, please keep to the original subject and keep the Mac versus PC religious war out of here.

Thank you.

 

[Chess Piece Face]

The funny thing about that picture is that the iMac isn't crashing, you can see it's running perfectly. It's got a bad video card or something like that. That doesn't speak to the stability of the operating system at all!

I have had over ten macs and since OS X I have had to reboot because of a crash (kernel panic, whatever you want to call it) maybe 4 times. We're talking 4 times in a matter of what, 8 years over 10 machines?

Yeah, macs suck.

 

[Lindley]

There are relatively few kernel-panic causing events I've encountered. I've triggered some of those events more than once in a reproducible fashion though.

For example, on one of the older OSX versions, opening the PICT editor in ResEdit (under Classic) would kernel-panic. That's since been fixed.

 

[BolianAuthor]

Well, I would ask why you would ever want to venture into the dark realm of Macdom, but instead of doing so, I'll just say that if you're not a huge gamer, and are not planning on doing any REALLY intensive 3D graphics, or a lot of high-end Adobe Illustrator or Photoshop stuff, you would be happy with the new MacBook. But if you go Apple, be prepared to pay a LOT more, for a lot less.

 

[Lindley]

It's pretty clear-cut, gaming-wise these days. Just install your old copy of Windows on a Boot Camp partition. Use that for games without Mac versions (or poor Mac ports), and switch back over to OSX the rest of the time. Aside from the rebooting required it's a pretty strong all-around solution, and you have alternatives if you don't want to do the reboot just to get into Windows.

 

[Thurisaz]

Well, I would ask why you would ever want to venture into the dark realm of Macdom, but instead of doing so, I'll just say that if you're not a huge gamer, and are not planning on doing any REALLY intensive 3D graphics, or a lot of high-end Adobe Illustrator or Photoshop stuff, you would be happy with the new MacBook. But if you go Apple, be prepared to pay a LOT more, for a lot less.

You don't know what you're talking about either. I am a graphic designer and I do all of my "high-end Adobe Ai and Ps stuff" from my 2.16 gig Macbook. Adobe was originally designed to run on Macs.

 

[BolianAuthor]

What I meant by my comment about the MacBook and "high-end" Adobe stuff, is that a lot of professionals like to have the full system, with the large monitors, so they can view multiple windows, from multiple Adobe apps at once, so they can coordinate work between large documents or spreads... but someone who does not require that capability, would be happy with a MacBook.

And as for my not knowing what I'm talking about... it's not my fault you can't understand it. I use Illustrator and Photoshop, and InDesign as well.

 

[Thurisaz]

What I meant by my comment about the MacBook and "high-end" Adobe stuff, is that a lot of professionals like to have the full system, with the large monitors, so they can view multiple windows, from multiple Adobe apps at once, so they can coordinate work between large documents or spreads... but someone who does not require that capability, would be happy with a MacBook.

And as for my not knowing what I'm talking about... it's not my fault you can't understand it. I use Illustrator and Photoshop, and InDesign as well.

I plug my Macbook into a 24" Samsung. I'd say about 90% of companies in my line of work prefer to run the Adobe suite on Macs. A lot of movie editors, and sound engineers also prefer Macs. I'm not saying there is anything wrong with PC's. A lot of 3D designers use PC for 3dsMax and other apps native to PC's. I also run Windoze XP on my Macbook for the rare occasions that I need to open up a Corel Draw file. To each his own. But I've met tons of people like Jon Picard who get fed up with PC's and would rather have the reliability of Apple. I don't know any who have switched back. If you are good on PC and are satisfied then I think that is great also. Believe me, I am not one of those "I use Mac so my shit does not stink" people.

 

[msbae]

Everything needs servicing sooner or later.

I certainly hope so... after all, servicing Macs is how I make part of my living. But last year I was responsible for the upkeep of over 130 Macs, yet made only 15 service calls for either hardware or software issues. Apple has effectively made me the Maytag Repairman of the computer industry.

But they do break down... for example, the logic board on my PowerBook G3 Lombard (from 1999) just died. And it is going to cost me all of about $50 to get a replacement system on ebay.

And they do crash, though I personally don't have that issue. Most of my systems are never restarted for crashing... in fact in the last year the only reason for restarting my main systems has been because of power outages (the last one occurring just over 154 days and 17 hours ago).

Strangely enough, the system that I own right now with the longest uptime is my PowerBook 3400c/200 (from 1997) which is running Mac OS 8.6. It has been running continuously (no restarts) since February 23, 2008.

Now, what can I possibly do on that little old dinosaur of a computer? It is, after all, 12 years old.

Actually lots of things, including this...

Click to play (6.5 MB)​

Which was made on that system using Strata Studio Pro (1994), Strata VideoShop (1996), Strata MediaPaint (1996), Macromedia Flash (2000) and Adobe Photoshop (1999).

Of course if you have the software, any system should be able to do anything... and I have a ton of software on that old system.

Adobe Acrobat 5.0
Adobe Distiller 5.0
Adobe Acrobat Catalog 4.0
Adobe Dimensions 1.0
Adobe FrameMaker 6.0
Adobe GoLive 5.0
Adobe Illustrator 8.0
Adobe ImageReady 2.0
Adobe LiveMotion 1.0
Adobe PageMaker 6.5
Adobe PageMill 3.0
Adobe Photoshop 5.5
Adobe Premiere 5.1
Adobe Type Manager Deluxe 4.6
AppleWorks 6.2.8
Apple iTunes 1.0
BBEdit Lite 6.0
ClarisDraw 1.0
Corel PHOTO-PAINT 8 LE
Corel WordPerfect 3.5e
CorelDraw 8 LE
Fetch 3.0.3
FileMaker Pro 5.0
Fractal Design Painter 5.0.3
Macromedia Flash 5.0
Mathcad PLUS 6
Mathematica 2.2.2
MathReader 4.2
MetaCreations Bryce 3D
Microsoft Excel 98
Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.1.7
Microsoft Outlook Express 5.0.6
Microsoft PowerPoint 98
Microsoft Word 98
Microsoft Word 5.1a
Mozilla 1.3.1
Netscape 7.0.2
Netscape Communicator 4.8
Nisus Compact 3.4
Nisus Write 4.1.6
Opera 6.0.3
Softpress Freeway 2.0.3 LE
PiXELS 3D Studio 3.7
QuarkXPress 4.11
QuickTime 6.0.3
ResEdit
SimpleText
Sound Studio 2.0.7
SoundEdit 16 2.0.7
SoundEffects 0.9.2
Strata VideoShop 3.0
Strata Studio Pro 1.5.2
StrataVision 3D 4.0
Strata MediaPaint 1.1.2
Theorist 2.0.1​

I don't use all that software on that system all of the time (I do have newer versions of most of those titles on my other Macs), but that list should demonstrate that that system is still a very active part of my computer collection. The other part of what I do is web design, and while I generally make use of Adobe LiveMotion 2.0 on my newer systems for Flash elements, there are times when only Flash itself can solve certain issues, and my only copy is Flash 5 on that old PowerBook (this demo site I made for a client had it's splash page made in Flash on that system).

Now I have no training in graphic design (my background is in math and physics), but if we were to compare what I can do with antique hardware and software to someone with an education and new PC hardware, I'm guessing that I don't fare too badly. Of course people with real talent were doing far better stuff with that hardware and software back when it was current.

... OWN3D!!!

By the way, didn't you go to school for graphic design and use a newer PC? Hmmmm...

1.) I remember that video. It was quite impressive.

2.) I went to school for Game Design.

3.) I used a few Macs on occasion at school. For one video project, I had no choice but to use the Mac since the PC's available at the time weren't up to the challenge. The Mac crashed on me at least 12 times in that project. The first three crashes happened while ripping the raw footage to the computer, all within an hour. Not good.

To be fair, these Power Mac G5's were very under-powered. They used 1GB of RAM and 1.8 GHz Motorola PowerPC processors. I think they were just there to give us a chance to familiarize ourselves with the Mac platform. The new iMacs that have since replaced them are much better and get regular use by the Graphic Design students.

4.) That dead logic board might actually be fun to fix if you know anything about soldering and component-level electronics repair. I was surprised at just how much I enjoyed learning how to do that last week at the TV repair shop owned by a family friend. I was stunned at just how easy (and quick) it was to replace those blown capacitors on that circuit board.

 

[TerriO]

Well, I would ask why you would ever want to venture into the dark realm of Macdom, but instead of doing so,

You could ask that.

But then I'd have to chain you to a Mac and make you do spreadsheets all day.

And since I'm currently in possession of both a PC and Mac laptop, I can assure you that nothing untoward is conducting between them. Matter of fact, they're doing a very good job of ignoring each other.

 

[Lindley]

3.) I used a few Macs on occasion at school. For one video project, I had no choice but to use the Mac since the PC's available at the time weren't up to the challenge. The Mac crashed on me at least 12 times in that project. The first three crashes happened while ripping the raw footage to the computer, all within an hour. Not good.

Oddly, school Macs always seem to have significantly more problems than personal Macs. Probably due to the larger volume of users (and admins!) who don't know what they're doing.

Or at least that was true back in the OS9 days. I suspect OSX is a bit more "foolproof".

 

[ATimson]

You could ask that.

But then I'd have to chain you to a Mac and make you do spreadsheets all day.

Funny, 'cause my experience is that you can't do spreadsheets all day on a Mac--you either get a slow version of Office that runs in Rosetta, you get a Universal version of Office that doesn't support functions, or Numbers that doesn't support basic features like named cells/ranges.

I'm enjoying my MacBook Aluminum so far, but I really wish that there was a better spreadsheet solution. (I'd also like a cheaper database solution than Filemaker, but I suppose I can just install MySQL on my machine.)

 

[Chess Piece Face]

What I meant by my comment about the MacBook and "high-end" Adobe stuff, is that a lot of professionals like to have the full system, with the large monitors, so they can view multiple windows, from multiple Adobe apps at once, so they can coordinate work between large documents or spreads... but someone who does not require that capability, would be happy with a MacBook.

And as for my not knowing what I'm talking about... it's not my fault you can't understand it. I use Illustrator and Photoshop, and InDesign as well.

So you are basically saying that if an apple laptop is not enough for you, use a windows desktop? Because it sure doesn't sound like you are saying "if a macbook isn't enough for you, use a mac pro."

 

[Shaw]

3.) I used a few Macs on occasion at school. For one video project, I had no choice but to use the Mac since the PC's available at the time weren't up to the challenge. The Mac crashed on me at least 12 times in that project. The first three crashes happened while ripping the raw footage to the computer, all within an hour. Not good.

To be fair, these Power Mac G5's were very under-powered. They used 1GB of RAM and 1.8 GHz Motorola PowerPC processors. I think they were just there to give us a chance to familiarize ourselves with the Mac platform. The new iMacs that have since replaced them are much better and get regular use by the Graphic Design students.

Those are faster than anything I own and I edit video quite easily. Macs have been used for video editing since at least 1991 (that I know of). My video capture system is a 1997 Power Macintosh 8600/300, which hasn't crashed or been restarted since my last power outage. It has far less horse power than any G5 system.

I set up (for free) video editing systems for kids who want to get experience. I get older Macs for free and the Power Macintosh 8500, 8600 and (some) G3 Mini Towers came with built in composite video and S-video in and out ports. I have video editing software (Strata Videoshop), effects software (Strata MediaPaint), 3D software (StrataVision 3D) and sound editing software (SoundEffects) which I can distribute for free. I can usually round up an old VCR that works pretty good too, and that gives them many of the same tools that film makers of the 1990s were using without costing them (or their parents) anything.

But I get the idea that you are under the mistaken assumption that Apple moved to Intel because Intel had better processors. That is incorrect. It is also incorrect that Motorola had anything to do with the G5 processor, those were made by IBM. Apple left IBM after IBM turned it's manufacturing abilities from making PowerPC processors for Apple to making PowerPC processors for Microsoft.

Apple had been courted by Intel since the release of the first iMac back in 1998. People seem to forget that Apple took the very bold move of only using USB to connect (all) exterior devices to the iMac. USB, developed by Intel years earlier, was a forgotten technology in the PC industry. Hardware makers wouldn't include it because Windows didn't support it, Microsoft wouldn't add support because hardware makers weren't including it. But between the announcement of the iMac and it's release dozens of USB devices (keyboards, mice, scanners, printers, zip drives, CD burners, etc.) popped up on the market. That was when Intel started lobbying Apple to switch to Intel processors. Because Apple could do what no other company could... introduce totally new technology because they made both the hardware and software.

Apple moved away from IBM toward Motorola with the G4 processor because it gave them a significant boost in speed of most application with a small rewrite using Motorola's AltiVec technology (which IBM wanted no part of). Apple was promised the fastest computer in the industry and that they would have enough processors to meet the demand. While the G4 easily out paced all other desktop processors at the time, Motorola's manufacturing was never up to the demand challenge. In fact, Motorola had to ask IBM to help make G4 processors to meet the demand for their original introduction. What made things worse was that Motorola's techniques for manufacturing were so poor that they couldn't get their G4 processors past 500 MHz for almost two years (some of the G4 processors made by IBM in that first run were actually rated as high as 700 MHz).

Apple started thinking about moving to Intel at that point because they were releasing Mac OS X (which had originally run on Intel based systems... I have an IBM ThinkPad running a developer release from 1998). But at this point IBM was worried about making the transition from 32 bit processors to 64 bit processors. The fastest processor around back then (and the first multicore processor) was the POWER4, but many of their workstation, server and supercomputer clients had been using 32 bit systems based on either the POWER3 or PowerPC 604e processors. They thought they would need a transitional processor, a 32 bit/64 bit hybrid, to help their move. So they wouldn't have to pay for development on their own, they got Apple to join in... that processor was the PowerPC 970 (the G5) which was originally based on a single core of the POWER4 processor.

How fast was the G5? Virginia Tech bought up 1,100 of the first PowerMac G5 systems and linked them together to make the world's third fastest supercomputer back in 2003 (at the record breaking low price of around $5 million).

All this started turning sour for Apple when IBM realized they didn't need the G5 for their client's systems. Moving from 32 bit to 64 bit turned out to be relatively painless. So IBM made Apple pay for ALL additional development funding of the G5 processor. But that wasn't what drove Apple into the arms of Intel. No, that was when IBM converted manufacturing divisions that had been set aside for making Apple's processors into making Microsoft's processors for the Xbox 360. I wasn't all that surprised when it happened, Microsoft has had a version of Windows NT for PowerPC since the early 1990s, and when they bought a ton of PowerMac G5 computers, a lot of people realized that they were going to be going PowerPC soon.

Intel promised Apple special pricing (even without having the Intel Inside on their systems) and first pick of new processors as long as Apple did what they were doing before anyways... showcasing new Intel technologies.

4.) That dead logic board might actually be fun to fix if you know anything about soldering and component-level electronics repair. I was surprised at just how much I enjoyed learning how to do that last week at the TV repair shop owned by a family friend. I was stunned at just how easy (and quick) it was to replace those blown capacitors on that circuit board.

If you think you could find the part on the logic board that is causing the issue and the replacement components needed to fix it... all while taking less than an hour of time and costing no more than $10 in parts, then great. But to me, it sounds like a fool's errand. I've got tons of better things to waste my time on.

 

[TerriO]

You could ask that.

But then I'd have to chain you to a Mac and make you do spreadsheets all day.

Funny, 'cause my experience is that you can't do spreadsheets all day on a Mac--you either get a slow version of Office that runs in Rosetta, you get a Universal version of Office that doesn't support functions, or Numbers that doesn't support basic features like named cells/ranges.

I don't see a down side there for use as punishment.

Isn't the generally accepted rule that Macs are better for those in the arts (musicians, graphic artists, etc.) while PCs are better for the business world?

Mac's getting more business software, at least from what I've been finding to set up my own small business, but they're nowhere near the level that PC has. I generally ask people whether they're going to use the computer for graphics work or spreadsheets and business-type stuff when they ask me whether they should get a Mac.

 

[ATimson]

I don't see a down side there for use as punishment.

Good point.

Isn't the generally accepted rule that Macs are better for those in the arts (musicians, graphic artists, etc.) while PCs are better for the business world?

A decade ago, sure. I had thought the gap had closed, until Office 2008 hit. But then, I'm also coming at this more from the personal world than the business one, so I'm sure that there's other specialized applications that I'm unaware of.

 

[msbae]

3.) I used a few Macs on occasion at school. For one video project, I had no choice but to use the Mac since the PC's available at the time weren't up to the challenge. The Mac crashed on me at least 12 times in that project. The first three crashes happened while ripping the raw footage to the computer, all within an hour. Not good.

Oddly, school Macs always seem to have significantly more problems than personal Macs. Probably due to the larger volume of users (and admins!) who don't know what they're doing.

Or at least that was true back in the OS9 days. I suspect OSX is a bit more "foolproof".

That Power Mac G5 was running the latest version OSX avaialble at the time. This was 2006 so, I think it was 10.5.3. Which is that, Panther?