Posted by Pitstain at adsl-67-119-158-12.dsl.lsan03.pacbell.net on December 10, 2003 at 02:32:56:
In Reply to: Here's the deal.... posted by GTJDorris on December 10, 2003 at 00:22:35:
: ....if you're just a joe schmoe computer user like me and you don't have the cash to spend
on buying software like crazy to do what you used to be able to do, what you want to do,
etc. with a PC, then don't switch.
The things that you can't do on a Mac that you can do on a PC are basically limited to
Games, Viruses, and some niche products (custom or specialized software for certain
industries) at this point.
If you are joe schmoe computer user you don't have a bunch of software (expensive or
otherwise) to replace / upgrade. Most things that people are keen on are either included
with the computer or have a shareware/freeware/open source equivalent or the publisher (or
competitor) of the title has an upgrade option that is generally very fairly priced.
"Now, if you're going into graphic design, its essential to run a Mac because that's the
industry standard. "
No, it's not. It's a pretty even distribution these days... PC/Macintosh... it doesn't matter.
Macs are still BETTER for print (color management), but aren't essential.
"But now I'm addicted to the mixture of usability and flexibility I get with Windows. It's the
best cross between a Unix based OS and any version of Mac OS I've come across.
Come to think of it....it's the only cross between the two that I know of. "
Mac OS X *is* Unix. Apple's Open Source OS "Darwin" is based on BSD Unix. Darwin +
Apple's GUI (the Finder) = Mac OS X.
You can't recompile UNIX programs to work on Windows, you CAN recompile them to work
on a Macintosh. As the WINE project progresses linux/mac/unix users will be able to run
Windows programs without running Windows (Virtual PC runs a full-blown Windows OS
inside the Mac OS which is nowhere near as efficient as WINE will be).
"Mac's essentially are ONLY point and click."
A.) that's the point of a GUI and B.) that's not true by any stretch of the imagination.
"That bothers me to some degree because sometimes I know where/how to get to what I
want faster in other ways."
That sounds more like you not knowing how to use the Finder or the Terminal or Scripting
than a flaw in the Mac OS. I find things MUCH more difficult to locate/navigate/operate in
Windows.
"The best thing I can tell you is go to a library that has a Mac you can use, and do whatever
you use your computer for most on it (web surfing, word processing, whatever) and see if
you like it."
Also not true. Very few libraries will have a macintosh running OS X which is what all macs
ship with now. The BEST thing to do is go to an Apple Store (if you have one close enough).
They have all the latest computers, all the latest software, all the latest gadgets, and a staff
knowledgeable enough about the product to answer any questions.