Mac or PC?

Nath_From_NT

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Hi all,

I need to upgrade my old laptop and I can't stop looking at the new Apple Mac, the desktop version not the laptop. I'm still undecided on Mac or PC though, but Apple just seem to be able to get all their stuff to work together without me tearing my hair out. The iPhone and iPad I already have are excellent.

Given that I'll spend the next 4 months sitting in front the computer trying to work out LSP, what's everyones' thoughts? I know LSP won't run on a Mac, but I can get wine or something similar to run it through on the Mac.

What about all the other software/hardware that goes with all the blinking lights, will I have dramas running the Pixad8/DR4/whatever else I get on a mac?

Comments and suggestions welcomed.

Nathan
 

mrpackethead

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Nath_From_NT said:
Hi all,

I need to upgrade my old laptop and I can't stop looking at the new Apple Mac, the desktop version not the laptop. I'm still undecided on Mac or PC though, but Apple just seem to be able to get all their stuff to work together without me tearing my hair out. The iPhone and iPad I already have are excellent.

Given that I'll spend the next 4 months sitting in front the computer trying to work out LSP, what's everyones' thoughts? I know LSP won't run on a Mac, but I can get wine or something similar to run it through on the Mac.

What about all the other software/hardware that goes with all the blinking lights, will I have dramas running the Pixad8/DR4/whatever else I get on a mac?

Comments and suggestions welcomed.

Nathan


We have 7 Macs and 1 PC, i'd never go back to a PC ( running linux or windows ) unless something radically changed with apple. Your right, it just works with the apples, and you can happily run windows under fusion, parallels or emulated under wine or crossover..


You pay for your computers, at one place or the other.. Either up front when you buy it, or with endless pain when it breaks.
 

neilric99

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I have been converting my PC farm to Mac's and so far I will never look back. I now have 2 Mac Mini's, 2 MacBook Pro's and Ipad and Iphone. My PC farm is being replaced as it dies ;)

I run LSP and Madrix under VM Fusion and Windows 7 and it just works great. Sure I would love to see native MAC apps, but these work great.
 

fasteddy

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I dont own any macs but my brother who is involved in computer software design (and who used to work for microsoft) has bought one and is now preaching the benifits of a mac, there is less software available but as the others have said, all you have to do is run an emulator.
 

Nath_From_NT

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Thanks for the advice guys. I think I'd already sold myself on a Mac, but just needed that push over the edge. Goodbye tax return, hello Apple Mac! :D
 

mrpackethead

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JonB256 said:
I usually talk up the benefits of things I paid too much for. :)

As a bottom line to our business, moving to a macos x based environment has had a significant positive effect.
I just tell it as it is.
 

AAH

I love blinky lights :)
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If all you're going to do is run some blinky lights then Mac or PC is really just going to come down to a personal preference really. If you're looking to run other applications then you need to decide if you're going to use the enormous program base that PC has, use emulated PC software on a Mac or use the dramatically smaller program base that Mac has. The other thing to look at would be the possible performance degradation of using emulated compatability. I've seen LSP2 doing some number crunching and it looks like it takes a fair bit of processor power. It's possible to get a complete operational PC for $600 with OS, monitor, keyboard and mouse. If you want a real power machine then you can pay up to 10 times that for something that probably approaches a Cray supercomputer ;) . I'm not sure what a Mac costs these days but it's hard to beat the PC for price and program range.
 

mrpackethead

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AAH said:
If all you're going to do is run some blinky lights then Mac or PC is really just going to come down to a personal preference really. If you're looking to run other applications then you need to decide if you're going to use the enormous program base that PC has, use emulated PC software on a Mac or use the dramatically smaller program base that Mac has. The other thing to look at would be the possible performance degradation of using emulated compatability. I've seen LSP2 doing some number crunching and it looks like it takes a fair bit of processor power. It's possible to get a complete operational PC for $600 with OS, monitor, keyboard and mouse. If you want a real power machine then you can pay up to 10 times that for something that probably approaches a Cray supercomputer ;) . I'm not sure what a Mac costs these days but it's hard to beat the PC for price and program range.


The mac gods hav'nt picked you then?
 

Nath_From_NT

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AAH said:
If all you're going to do is run some blinky lights then Mac or PC is really just going to come down to a personal preference really. If you're looking to run other applications then you need to decide if you're going to use the enormous program base that PC has, use emulated PC software on a Mac or use the dramatically smaller program base that Mac has. The other thing to look at would be the possible performance degradation of using emulated compatability. I've seen LSP2 doing some number crunching and it looks like it takes a fair bit of processor power. It's possible to get a complete operational PC for $600 with OS, monitor, keyboard and mouse. If you want a real power machine then you can pay up to 10 times that for something that probably approaches a Cray supercomputer ;) . I'm not sure what a Mac costs these days but it's hard to beat the PC for price and program range.

I used to do lots of video editing and photoshopping and the like on the Adobe platform, but I don't really have the time for it anymore. I had a go at some of the mac video editing software, and for what I want/have time for now, it's more than adequate.

I've heard LSP 2 will suck some power from the computer and I see what your saying about running it and some emulation software. How's does yours go Neil? I was looking at the Quad core i7 3.1ghz, so I'm hoping that will cope.

In the end, if it doesn't work well, I still have the laptop to run the show and the flash new Mac to do all the sequencing. I used the laptop last year for the lot and with a 15 inch screen, it was a pain in the bum.

Lastly, the wife has decided she wants the Mac. Who am I to argue?
 

Nath_From_NT

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mrpackethead said:
AAH said:
If all you're going to do is run some blinky lights then Mac or PC is really just going to come down to a personal preference really. If you're looking to run other applications then you need to decide if you're going to use the enormous program base that PC has, use emulated PC software on a Mac or use the dramatically smaller program base that Mac has. The other thing to look at would be the possible performance degradation of using emulated compatability. I've seen LSP2 doing some number crunching and it looks like it takes a fair bit of processor power. It's possible to get a complete operational PC for $600 with OS, monitor, keyboard and mouse. If you want a real power machine then you can pay up to 10 times that for something that probably approaches a Cray supercomputer ;) . I'm not sure what a Mac costs these days but it's hard to beat the PC for price and program range.


The mac gods hav'nt picked you then?

Andrew, I've been told that when you buy a Mac, Steve Jobs rings you personally and invites you to join a secret Apple fan club.
 

neilric99

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The price of something is only a small part of what you get, and with a PC comes pain and time keep protecting it from the bad elements out there and forever norturing it to keep running.

Having said that windows 7 is starting to become much easier that it ever used to be. now if they only took the same direction as the MAC OS and stop trying to support all that legacy stuff out there.

And as far a performance goes with 10,000 RGB channels, thats easy, use Madrix and let LSP just control it.


AAH said:
If all you're going to do is run some blinky lights then Mac or PC is really just going to come down to a personal preference really. If you're looking to run other applications then you need to decide if you're going to use the enormous program base that PC has, use emulated PC software on a Mac or use the dramatically smaller program base that Mac has. The other thing to look at would be the possible performance degradation of using emulated compatability. I've seen LSP2 doing some number crunching and it looks like it takes a fair bit of processor power. It's possible to get a complete operational PC for $600 with OS, monitor, keyboard and mouse. If you want a real power machine then you can pay up to 10 times that for something that probably approaches a Cray supercomputer ;) . I'm not sure what a Mac costs these days but it's hard to beat the PC for price and program range.
 

neilric99

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mrpackethead said:
JonB256 said:
I usually talk up the benefits of things I paid too much for. :)

As a bottom line to our business, moving to a macos x based environment has had a significant positive effect.
I just tell it as it is.

Andrew, I am with you on that. I have been fixing PC's since 1981 and Microsoft systems engineer since 1995, I switched to supporting some MAC users about 2 years ago and I am defintly dealing with a different crowd. my PC customers are always wondering why I cannot supply them with a cheap PC like they see advertised. By the time its been upgraded to at least Windows PRO versions and software added it's more expensive than a Mac and requires much more attention to keeping it secure and clean.

I am starting to see Apple getting back into the enterprise (I think the Iphone and Ipad are the main reasons for this) and more users are seeing the benifits of a the macbook as a laptop that just works.
 

mrpackethead

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neil said:
mrpackethead said:
JonB256 said:
I usually talk up the benefits of things I paid too much for. :)

As a bottom line to our business, moving to a macos x based environment has had a significant positive effect.
I just tell it as it is.

Andrew, I am with you on that. I have been fixing PC's since 1981 and Microsoft systems engineer since 1995, I switched to supporting some MAC users about 2 years ago and I am defintly dealing with a different crowd. my PC customers are always wondering why I cannot supply them with a cheap PC like they see advertised. By the time its been upgraded to at least Windows PRO versions and software added it's more expensive than a Mac and requires much more attention to keeping it secure and clean.

I am starting to see Apple getting back into the enterprise (I think the Iphone and Ipad are the main reasons for this) and more users are seeing the benifits of a the macbook as a laptop that just works.

Yeah, i dont' have any shares in Apple ( sigh, i wished ). When i was full time in the IT game, i was pretty happy for my customers to have lots of Microsoft products. It meant there was more and more and more work for us to do.. They were always intrigued why i had a Mac Book Pro for a laptop.. My favorite Mac quote is;

" Its hard having a Mac in a PeeCee World. Its just harder having a PeeCee "

And on the cool stakes, the mac just eats the PC.

As for "software", lets see, theres who knows how many apps in the Mac App Store...
 
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