Convert me!
I've been a windows user my entire life, and i really dont have any big complaints. While I've heard a lot of bad things about windows machines, they seem to be good to me. But i'm looking for something new. I'm 15 and i'm looking to buy my self a new computer in the next few years, before my only options were building my own windows based PC. now, with the introduction of the miniMac, buying a mac PC is now in my price range. I dont do anything extreme on my pc i have now, i play some light games, i'm not an extreme gamer. I use iTunes for my music collection and i love how intuitive it is and how easy it is to use. The reason i'm even thinking about buying a mac is because of the future plans for my life. I have a big interest in film and I plan on going to film school after high school and it seems that most indy film makers edit, and basically do everything for their film on a mac. the reason i consider buying one is i feel that it would be good for me to get my feet wet with the way macs work and how the operating system is if i am going to be using them for a majority of the rest of my life.
so, given my situation, please give me atleast 5 really good reasons to become a mac user. if you dont think that macs arent for me, then say so. if you urge me to buy one instead of a PC, explain why.
thank you,
Adam
so, given my situation, please give me atleast 5 really good reasons to become a mac user. if you dont think that macs arent for me, then say so. if you urge me to buy one instead of a PC, explain why.
thank you,
Adam
Comments
Originally posted by Adam_89
I've been a windows user my entire life, and i really dont have any big complaints. While I've heard a lot of bad things about windows machines, they seem to be good to me. But i'm looking for something new. I'm 15 and i'm looking to buy my self a new computer in the next few years, before my only options were building my own windows based PC. now, with the introduction of the miniMac, buying a mac PC is now in my price range. I dont do anything extreme on my pc i have now, i play some light games, i'm not an extreme gamer. I use iTunes for my music collection and i love how intuitive it is and how easy it is to use. The reason i'm even thinking about buying a mac is because of the future plans for my life. I have a big interest in film and I plan on going to film school after high school and it seems that most indy film makers edit, and basically do everything for their film on a mac. the reason i consider buying one is i feel that it would be good for me to get my feet wet with the way macs work and how the operating system is if i am going to be using them for a majority of the rest of my life.
so, given my situation, please give me atleast 5 really good reasons to become a mac user. if you dont think that macs arent for me, then say so. if you urge me to buy one instead of a PC, explain why.
thank you,
Adam
If you really want to do video, save for a power mac, i is upgradeable and versitile, you get in the door for $1500, but when you want more speed, you just get more ram, a faster hdd, better graphics, and eventualy a proc upgrade, a pm can be what ever you want it to be. The mini is great for almost everything, but video is very intencive, like on mac, a 500$ pc would suck on dv editing. unless you get a gig of ram and a super drive, and by that point, you should just get an imac, and then, you are close enough in price, that the PM is a more sencable choice for the longer term, IMHO.
If all you want for now is something to play with, and maybe tinkering with FCE, (NOT USEING HD) the mini with 512 will likely work.
5 reasons
1) you want to
2) unix is rock solid, no known viruses or adware for OSX
3) the FC pkatform is industry standard, and not on windows
4) iLife Get your feet wet with iMovie, it is powerfull, yet simple, and it is included
5) ...i will work on it...
Originally posted by Adam_89
do you think a macintosh would be better for me than a PC, regardless of what specific mac it is?
Well, that is painting with a broad brush, if you have a 3.6ghz p4 a gig of ram and a 6800, then an eMac would be a step backwards to say the least, specs matter, what is your windows rig?
Originally posted by a_greer
5) ...i will work on it...
5) all the nice and cool people at AppleInsider who are willing to help, know their stuff and are fun to debate with (even in PoliticalOutsider).
For me, as I am in Video Editing (as an amateur) as well, the Mac is just the best you can get. iLife is simply fantastic, FinalCut Pro/Express is the industry standard, and the Mac just works.
Originally posted by Adam_89
i have an emachines AMD 2800+, with half a gig of ram, a geforce 4 MX (onboard, DVD+RWx8 driver, and a 160GB HDD. as you can see, i am no power user, and about 50 gigs of that 160GB hdd is filled. would a mac mini with : 1.42GHZ, 512megs of ram, a superdrive,and an 80GB hdd be that big of a step back?
In my opinion, no., it would not be a huge step back, far from it. I think you would enjoy your Mac. I was in a somewhat similar situation to yours last summer. The first computers I used, the first computer in my home, and the first computer I was ever on the Internet with, was a Mac. However, I then slipped into several years of Windows machines. I always thought, "Windows works for me."
Even today, I don't think Windows is this big bad thing. It can get the job done, but you must stay on top of things, and I think the casual user can get in trouble with spyware, registry, etc.
However, despite being somewhat satisfied with my Windows experiences, I wanted a Mac again. I wanted to see what this Mac world was that everyone (Mac people) raves about. It didn't take me long to see that world, and I saw that it was great. It is hard to explain, but I enjoy my mac, and I rarely turn on my Windows machines. Things work, OS X is amazing, and Apple's iLife and other applications make for a great experience. I wouldn't say that owning a Mac is something you must do at this point in your life. You have a very good computer, and you should continue to enjoy it. However, if you would like to try a Mac, you would probably love it. The Mac Mini you outlined above would be a system worthy of your enjoyment I'm sure. However, think about it, and don?t rush to any decision.
Originally posted by Adam_89
any real disadvantages besides almost no support for games?
If you buy a mac mini yes. No way to upgrade it. But besides that can´t think of any.
Spec-wise it would be a downgrade from your current set up but if your plan is "to get your feet wet", the mac mini is literally made for you.
Use iMovie on it, then buy FCE when you can afford it (it will be able to handle the load nicely. People edit pro video on powerbooks with lesser specs). Buy a better screen later on. And when school comes around you buy a powermac and an extra card for your two screens. Thats how I would do it if I were you.
Oh and by the way SPSS SUCKS on a mac and I can´t find a decent CAD program that free/cheap, but you will need neither for your line of interest.
The 4200rpm of the mini could make video editing a bit slower than desirable, but I'd imagine that adding a cheap external firewire HD would alleviate that. Everything else should be fine for getting your feet wet - if you like it then you could probably ask your parents for something more in a year or so. Otherwise, you could sell it off on eBay for probably very little loss as they should be in very high demand to start out.
Originally posted by Adam_89
any real disadvantages besides almost no support for games?
Not quite no support. Some titles like Counter Strike have nothing for the Mac, but there's a bigger range than most people think. Popular games like Splinter Cell, Unreal Tournament, Sims, Star/War Craft, and the Star Wars stuff generally make their way over to Mac, some simultaneosly with the PC release, others not.
Upgradability is an issue that should not be overlooked. a_greer is totally right. If in a few years you start noticing that your Mac mini is a smidge slower opening and running Photoshop than the computers at the University computer lab, there's not much you'll be able to do past a gig of RAM. But with a power mac you can spend a few bucks here on RAM, a few bucks there on a faster/bigger HD, a few more bucks on a monster GPU, etc. instead of throwing out the computer. Then again, at $599, after a few years, the Mac mini is less of an investment and more of a disposable item.
I'd say for you the question is not "should a buy a mac?" but "which mac should I buy?"
We can definitely help you with that one.
--B
EDIT: the imac 1.6GHZ doesnt have a superdrive, i NEED a superdrive and the one that does have a super drive puts me above my $1500 limit. the mini has a super drive, as does the powermac. this is getting confusing now.
if you guys have any more reasons why i should switch, please post them as I am still a little bit on the fence.
Originally posted by Adam_89
I've been a windows user my entire life, ...
I am sorry.
Originally posted by Adam_89
...
please give me atleast 5 really good reasons to become a mac user. if you dont think that macs arent for me, then say so. if you urge me to buy one instead of a PC, explain why.
Off top of my head-->
? huge uptime (only shut-down, when on vacation, -
perhaps every 30-40 days)
? best hard- software integration on the globe
? easy to maintain system even for novice users
? Durability (my systems serve me 5-10 years)
? no adware, spyware, viruses, trojans etc
? in order to uninstall an app, you just
drag the app-icon to the trash bin
? no troubles regarding driver
? Drag and Drop everywhere
? Emotion
? Exposé
? Sex
Originally posted by Adam_89
if you guys have any more reasons why i should switch, please post them as I am still a little bit on the fence.
1) It just works! I've always had Macs, and they are far more reliable than everyone else PC seems to be.
2) Macs hold there value quite well - just have a look on eBay, you can always sell a Mac, so if you do want to upgrade in a couple of years time, and you are still on a tight budgte, at least your first mac will get you some money back.
3) If you are still on the fence, go and watch the MacWorld Expo. It shows some cool stuff in the future version of OSX 10.4, and iLife. If you buy a new mac in a couple of months time (ie around the summer), it will have both of these installed. The stream is at this page
Originally posted by Adam_89
i think i've established that a mac would be for me, but i cannot decide which to get. i like the imac because of the widescreen display, the g5 processor, and the "all in one" appeal of it, but it doesnt have a super drive, nor does it have iLife. the mac mini is cheaper, but i dont want to use my current CRT, so the apple 20inch display is $899 (student discount) that gets me to $1400, with a basic, bare bones, mac mini, which i dont want. the PM is too much and the emac is CRT based and not widescreen. do i really need iLife, or a Superdrive?
Hmmm, I'm pretty sure that iLife is bundled with all new Macs, you only pay for the upgrades in the future if you need/want them. Right now there is a transitionary (lower cost) upgrade to iLife '05 if you buy a Mac that comes bundled with the older version.
but would a superdrive really be necessary?
Originally posted by Adam_89
ok well that solves half my problem.
but would a superdrive really be necessary?
It is a must have if you are going
into movie editing.
Originally posted by Adam_89
ok well that solves half my problem.
but would a superdrive really be necessary?
I think you'll have no trouble finding an external DVD burner for $100.
--B
>into movie editing.
thats what i figured. damnit.
with $1466 (student discount) i get the following:
? 512MB DDR400 SDRAM - 1 DIMM
? 80GB Serial ATA drive
? None - Bluetooth Module
? Keyboard and Mouse + Mac OS X - U.S. English
? 17-inch widescreen LCD
? 1.8GHz PowerPC G5
? SuperDrive (DVD-R/CD-RW)
? NVIDIA GeForce FX 5200 Ultra w/64MB video memory
that is JUST below my limit...
PS, are the ram in the iMacs user upgradeable? i assume not, so would that mean that i have to send the machine into apple to upgrade to 1 gigabyte, where can I find info on this, I can't find it on apples site.