Computer Upgrade

[Dan V]

I'm so disgusted with myself for having bought both a windows desktop and laptop two years ago when I had to upgrade, that I'm no longer talking to myself.

The biggest PITA POS. I will NEVER get another windows machine. It's Apple from here on in, for me.

[Marko]

I have both an iMac and an XP box here, as well as a Minolta Dual IV scanner. While I could do all of my work (and my hobbies) on a PC if I really had to, I absolutely prefer to do all I can on a Mac. There's just so much less hassle with everything, starting with color and memory management, through security to periferal handling.

Nice thing about OS X, especially compared to Windows, is that almost everything is vertically compatible, most of the "legacy" stuff simply works and there are very few driver problems. You could run even the newest version of OS X on a G3 Mac if you really had to - not that it would be pleasant, mind you, but the possibility is there in a bind. Given the Minolta driver situation, this is something that could be important to the thread originator.

[Tom Duffy]

Thanks for all the replies. I was about to hit the "submit" button for the Dell, when I decided to ask here first.

As a result, I ordered a low end Mac Pro instead with a 20 inch cinema monitor. Per Ted's advice, I can upgrade it later. The cost was a bit painful, but I'm sure I'll get over it. For someone who grew up with edlin and dos command prompts, hopefully I'll figure out how to use it.

Take care,
Tom

[Bill_1856]

My trusty (slow) old HP PC went to my friend's house for a new video card, and I substituted my MAC as a temp just for email and Internet. (Normally I just use the MAC as a backup for storing and Photoshoping images).
Now, I am going out of my mind. Maybe the original OS was intuitive, but I am ready to throw my MAC out of the nearest window (joke). It could take a prize as the most awkward, unintuitive interface since Wordstar! Hell, it won't even display videos, and the local Appple dealer says that I have to bring it in to them to diagnose the problem (no one I know whom I could ask for help speaks MacIntosh, just Windows).
MACs may be great for anyone starting with them, but IMHO it's the kiss of death for a seasoned PC user to make the switch. YMMV.

[Daniel_Buck]

I've used quite a few mac machines (powerful workstations, and weak laptops) and I prefer a well built PC over one of the mac workstations. I don't really notice any speed difference from a fast dual processor quad core PC machine next to a dual processor mac machine (quad cores). maybe there are differences on benchmarks, but I don't notice any difference in use. Maybe just because I'm used to windows machines, but I prefer how they run. Software compatibility on a mac isn't near the issue that it used to be, so if you aren't already settled down with a PC, I'd say you probably can't go wrong either way.

[Brian Ellis]

"The way I look at it, with the Mac I am only in the dark when I profile and edit. With Windows XP or Vista I would be in the dark all the time "

Windows XP has worked very well for me, never had any problems I can think of with it. Actually I even kind of like the prints I make using it with my poor little 2 gig Dell, my Epson 3800 and QTR. But maybe I'm just in the dark.

Tom, I can't answer your questions but since that hasn't stopped most of the people here from responding I'll do the same. I'd suggest that you stick with what you're familiar unless somebody you respect can give you some very good reasons applicable to your specific situation for switching.

[Marko]

For someone who grew up with edlin and dos command prompts, hopefully I'll figure out how to use it.

If you're willing to play with Unix, there's always the Terminal. And you'll love your new Mac's scripting capabilities. Not to mention good security features, including a pretty decent firewall as a part of the package.

[Tom Duffy]

Thanks, Marko. Related to the firewall, do people think you should buy an antivirus program for the Mac? If so, which one?

[Joanna Carter]

Tom, there are a few free virus checkers out there but you really shouldn't need even them; you certainly shouldn't need to be running one all the time. The main difference between Windows and OS X is that OS X requires you to manually type in your password in order to install anything on the machine, therefore it is very difficult for anything to install itself without your express permission.

[paulr]

Thanks, Marko. Related to the firewall, do people think you should buy an antivirus program for the Mac? If so, which one?

There's only one reason to have a antivirus software on a mac: to keep you from passing viruses (like MS Word macro based ones) to windows users. This is most important in corporated environements where a lot of email is getting passed around with attachments. If you're not in the habit of forwarding emails with strange attachments to your friends, it shouldn't be an issue.

Right now there are no viruses in the wild that attack OSX. The main reason for this is structural features of the operating system (similar to ones MS says they're implementing in Vista ... we'll see how those work out). OSX's smaller market share plays a part, but not as big a one as many think. There were a number of viruses that attacked OS9, even at times of very low market share.

At any rate, if a virus did appear for the mac, you'd have to update your antivirus software at that time anyhow. So there's no point in having it "just in case." Just do your windows friends a favor and don't forward them mail with mysterious attachments.