A New Computer
Within the next month or two I hope to get a new computer. This one is on it’s last leg. It really has a hard time doing a lot of the basic tasks it used to do quite well. It still only has 512mb or ram when applications are demanding more. Try having an instance of Firefox open with multiple tabs while using Photoshop and IMs. The computer lags hardcore. So, the question is, do I go with a PC or a Mac? I really don’t want to run Windows Vista, and Linux is out of the question for me. Things just don’t seem to work right with me and Linux. I’m a bit hesitant to go the Mac route because they are a lot more expensive, harder to upgrade (and more expensive to) and it’s a completely alien OS. Everyone who has a Mac tend to love it. So, I don’t know. Macs have everything that I use most often, IM clients, IRC, Photoshop, and Firefox. I’ll still have my laptop if I need to do PC things on Windows. I wish I could mess around in OSX before I get a Mac, which is how I know I don’t want to run Linux. Does anyone have any suggestions on what I should do? PC or Mac? Fanboys need not answer :P
i think you should get a mac, and since im always right about everything. i just solved your problem lol
Well,
If you dont want Vista, and cant use Linux, then you really only have one choice, unless you go looking for the other OS’es out there.
That said, Macs are actually I think easier to upgrade than PC’s – all i’ve ever had to do is upgrade the memory or the disk, and those two components are EASY as PIE to upgrade. Macs are generally designed to have more staying power than a PC – in other words, you get more value out of a mac over its lifetime than you do a PC.
My G4 laptop is getting old, and I want to upgrade, but there’s no reason TO upgrade, other than my want for a faster CPU.
Sure the OS is alien, but its been user tested more extensively than Vista was, and has not had any major UI changes in years. So, once you learn it, that’s pretty much it. And windows arose from most of the usability that Xerox did, which came from Seymour Papert,
Get a PC with XP on it. That’s what I tell my friends to do. Vista isn’t worth it, Ubuntu might not be up to your standards yet (and that’s fine), But leaping into a Mac because “all the cool kids are doing it” sounds silly. You wouldn’t tell your students to follow that line of reasoning, would you?
Think for a second, Mike, about how picky you are with your computer. Imagine you reformatting your old one, or buying a new one. You’ll spend a few hours configuring everything to be _just_ the way you want it. Now imagine everything completely different, without the ability to change back to the way you’re used to.
I’m not advocating fear of change, but stick with what works, not simply Apple Envy (which strikes me sometimes, too). You don’t have a reason to go to OS X, but you are thinking about it because other people are using it. Did your Windows experience trouble you? (You didn’t say that it did, just that it’s old.)
I’m a strong proponent for Windows/Linux, unless you are exclusively either creating music, editing and/or writing copy, or performing intensive graphic design (moderate graphic design works just fine in Windows’ Photoshop). If you’re doing one of those three, get a mac, it’s what it’s good for. Also, a PC will keep weight *in* your pocketbook.
i hate mac fanboys and am no way going to base my decision because the cool kids are doing it. you should know me better than that. As for putting XP on it, that will only last so long before MS phases it out (08 i think) because they aren’t making money on supporting XP. i just want something different. I’m sick of windows. i really can do anything on a mac that i can on windows. if dave is right and they hold their own over time better than a pc, then it seems the smarter decision.
Get a mac……but
– be prepared to buy programs which you may currently use as freeware. I have spent more on programs since I’ve had the mac than ever on the PC
– memory. Just max it out. If it takes 2 gig, just get it. If it takes more, get more. OS X eats it big style.
It’s okay. It’s not great, you still have security updates from apple, you still have programs that stop responding, you still need to restart.
Oh yes, get a better mouse. Mighty Mouse sucks house-sized balls.
And buy Parallels and OEM XP from Amazon while you still can….
Im not sure if you have gone out and got a new computer yet but I would lean towards Windows. Windows is still more flexible and hardware is a lot cheaper. If you really want to use MacOS there are ways to do this on a PC.
Check out http://dailyapps.net/2007/10/hack-attack-install-leopard-on-your-pc-in-3-easy-steps/ to find out how you can install Leopard on a PC.
Apple hardware is becoming ever similar to PC’s now and I can see Apple focusing more on their operating system than on the hardware side of things.
I have both a Mac and a PC and like both equally, however, if I had to choose one platform, it would probably be PC.