The Mac thread

[Crow]

All the programs I use for my mac are for work really and cost a small fortune. The only additional programs I use that aren't work related are spotify, firefox, the plug-in Perian and Growl. The latest os update has pissed me off as one of my favorite work related programs is now unusable and adobe refuse to update the software.

Like a trench coat?

Yeah... a mac (short for macintosh)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mackintosh

Yup and a proper Mackintosh will cost around the same price as a basic Macbook Pro.

[Buddy]

Really? I love my Mac. Microsoft required to much effort to keep it running smoothly.

I used to be a PC guy back about 5 years ago.  Much like the OP, I kept running into problems and having to purchase better and upgraded spyware/virus check programs.  Lost two HD's in under 6 months.  Went through 3 desktop PC's in as many years...just a multitude of issues that while the initial price was nice, the maintenance of that would turn ugly quick.

At one point I even was a Mac hater...but when my daughter started her senior year in HS, the school started a program of buying/including Macbooks in the tuition so every student started the year with a Macbook which the school implemented into their program.  I decided to give it a try...AND LOVED IT! 

There is a learning curve when going from PC to Mac, but after a week or so, it became like second nature.  Everything just works seemlessly.  Buy a program?  Pop it in and drag the icon into your program folder.  Done.  Want to get rid of a program?  Drag it's icon into the trash.  There are a few things that I still miss from PC, but the overwhelming ease is..well, lets just say I don't think about computer problems much at all anymore.  Two other things I like about Mac...OS updates = $29.99!  PC OS upgrades = $149.99 or more!  And the Genius Bar!  They will help you through any problem...FREE

The Macbook we bought about 5 years ago...still in use running the newest OSx very smoothly and havent needed to purchase any spyware since.  Virus free for 5 years and running...
[/quote]

My school has the Macbook program too, although I've been bringing in mine all year because of all the stupid programs that they put on them. (OpenOffice, crappiest program ever.)

My mac is refurbished Macbook that I bought off of eBay for about $400. Best computer I've ever owned. It came with the Adobe suite and Microsoft Office for Mac. I love it.

[AnimatedDirt]

My school has the Macbook program too, although I've been bringing in mine all year because of all the stupid programs that they put on them. (OpenOffice, crappiest program ever.)

My mac is refurbished Macbook that I bought off of eBay for about $400. Best computer I've ever owned. It came with the Adobe suite and Microsoft Office for Mac. I love it.

Lucky for us, our program didn't include OpenOffice.  They all came with MS Office for Mac as the only add-on.  I forgot to mention that the next year, which was her first year in college, the program she was in, required a computer.  The school didn't care whether you bought a PC or a Mac, but one or the other was needed...and the school required a certain setup.  Again, the computer was in the cost of the tuition so we simply chose the newer Macbook again...and it is also doing fine 4 years later.  Of course we bought her a newer Mac this past year.  We've not added to the heaps of e-waste in the last 5 years.

[Buddy]

My school has the Macbook program too, although I've been bringing in mine all year because of all the stupid programs that they put on them. (OpenOffice, crappiest program ever.)

My mac is refurbished Macbook that I bought off of eBay for about $400. Best computer I've ever owned. It came with the Adobe suite and Microsoft Office for Mac. I love it.

Lucky for us, our program didn't include OpenOffice.  They all came with MS Office for Mac as the only add-on.  I forgot to mention that the next year, which was her first year in college, the program she was in, required a computer.  The school didn't care whether you bought a PC or a Mac, but one or the other was needed...and the school required a certain setup.  Again, the computer was in the cost of the tuition so we simply chose the newer Macbook again...and it is also doing fine 4 years later.  Of course we bought her a newer Mac this past year.  We've not added to the heaps of e-waste in the last 5 years.

Yea, I'm hoping that this one will last me two more years. Then I'll buy a new one for college.

[ThinkAnarchy]

My school has the Macbook program too, although I've been bringing in mine all year because of all the stupid programs that they put on them. (OpenOffice, crappiest program ever.)

Yes Open Office does suck, but it's also free. I ran out of licences for my copy of Microsoft Office and really didn't want to buy another one. Every now and than with open office my lines of writing will go all squiggly. 

[Crow]

My school has the Macbook program too, although I've been bringing in mine all year because of all the stupid programs that they put on them. (OpenOffice, crappiest program ever.)

Yes Open Office does suck, but it's also free. I ran out of licences for my copy of Microsoft Office and really didn't want to buy another one. Every now and than with open office my lines of writing will go all squiggly. 

Have you tried pages? its cheap and works with .doc files, I have never used it though but have friends who swear by it.

[Buddy]

I think Pages comes with Apple computers, doesn't it?

[AnimatedDirt]

Have you tried pages? its cheap and works with .doc files, I have never used it though but have friends who swear by it.

I've had some exporting issues with Pages, but I do like how it works.  I've had MS Office always and mostly stick to that for my wordprocessing.

[Asmodean]

I use Microsoft Office on two of my comps. The third has that Open Office open-source rubbish installed, but only because my Microsoft Office license is for two comps only 

[keithpenrod]

I'm a Mac guy all the way.  My dad was a fan of Apple before they even made the Mac.  I still remember the cheesey little games that we played on his Apple IIe, and having to flip the disk over at a certain point in the game. 

Anyway, I've been using macs ever since.  They're just so much nicer, smoother, easier to use, stabler, etc. 

If you do any programming at all--in any language--I would recommend using TextMate.  It's a brilliant easily-configurable editor.  As a math guy, I mainly use it to compose LaTeX documents, but it has bundles for everything, and it's got good documentation too.

[Asmodean]

nicer, smoother, easier to use, stabler, etc

I'd like to put a personal preference sticker on that. (Atually, I would call it bullshit, but much of it is in the eye of the beholder, so... Yeah. It can go for now)

If you do any programming at all--in any language--I would recommend using TextMate

What's wrong with VisualStudio?

[AnimatedDirt]

Mac vs. PC Cost Analysis: How does it all add up?

Within the comments of that June 2007 article is a test to see which is best for you.  I don't agree with the questions totally as they seem to be geared towards the PC side in the wording.  No matter, it's still interesting.

PC or Mac Test.

[Asmodean]

Mac vs. PC Cost Analysis: How does it all add up?

Within the comments of that June 2007 article is a test to see which is best for you.  I don't agree with the questions totally as they seem to be geared towards the PC side in the wording.  No matter, it's still interesting.

PC or Mac Test.

Like. (-ish)

When it comes to choosing a new platform, the correct choice, be it PC, Mac or something home-made with some open-source OS, depends on what you value, what you are willing to pay for, what pleases you more in terms of design and what you are willing to sacrifice to accomodate your needs and wants in the best possible way.

[ThinkAnarchy]

I'm a Mac guy all the way.  My dad was a fan of Apple before they even made the Mac.  I still remember the cheesey little games that we played on his Apple IIe, and having to flip the disk over at a certain point in the game. 

Anyway, I've been using macs ever since.  They're just so much nicer, smoother, easier to use, stabler, etc. 

If you do any programming at all--in any language--I would recommend using TextMate.  It's a brilliant easily-configurable editor.  As a math guy, I mainly use it to compose LaTeX documents, but it has bundles for everything, and it's got good documentation too.

I downloaded the trial version of TextMate the other night. So far I like it a lot better than TextWrangler.

I think Pages might have come with my first Apple Computer, but I had Office for that one and rarely used Pages. If I remember, it doesn't have a PP and Excel equivalent. I could be wrong about that, but those extra programs make for a decent free alternative to word.

[AnimatedDirt]

I think Pages might have come with my first Apple Computer, but I had Office for that one and rarely used Pages. If I remember, it doesn't have a PP and Excel equivalent. I could be wrong about that, but those extra programs make for a decent free alternative to word.

Keynote and Numbers is the equivelant to Powerpoint and Excel.  I've used Keynote and find it better than PP, but I've not used Numbers.

Edit: Pages, Keynote and Numbers as a pack, iWorks, = $99.00 as a Family pack and $79.00 single user.