Mac or Win (for laptop)

[germ_boi]

hi. guys. i'm new to mac, planning to get one for my sis since she isn't quite computer savvy.

but just one question: how come the macs (other than the super ex mac pro) dun seem to have the option of a faster graphics card? like 8800 series or the ati equilavent. wun it be quite a serious limitation for heavy games?

and do you think my 15 yo sis can switch to a mac easily without any reading? she uses vista and xp b4. if not, is there any one page manual like "all you need to know to switch to mac"? found a few online, but they really aren't "all you need to know".

There isn't. It's very intuitive. There's no need for a manual.

For anything you wanna find out specifically, you can always google it. And the thing I realised is the more I use the macbook, the more I realise how much I like the hidden features.

When you get your MB, PM me, I have some software (freeware) which you can use to clean up the Mac. For example:

Monolingual ( Mac comes with too many languages and architectural support like for PowerPC or Intel 32bit which we don't need and take up a few GB of disk space, this cleans it up)

Onyx (helps to clean up the cache)

Carbon Copy Cleaner (alternative to time machine)

and some others which are useful.

 

[satay16]

There isn't. It's very intuitive. There's no need for a manual.

For anything you wanna find out specifically, you can always google it. And the thing I realised is the more I use the macbook, the more I realise how much I like the hidden features.

When you get your MB, PM me, I have some software (freeware) which you can use to clean up the Mac. For example:

Monolingual ( Mac comes with too many languages and architectural support like for PowerPC or Intel 32bit which we don't need and take up a few GB of disk space, this cleans it up)

Onyx (helps to clean up the cache)

Carbon Copy Cleaner (alternative to time machine)

and some others which are useful.

hmmm, speaking of which, my sis types chinese very often, both simple and trad chinese. leopard can input chinese right?

 

[bousozoku]

hmmm, speaking of which, my sis types chinese very often, both simple and trad chinese. leopard can input chinese right?

Yes, it's not a big deal to use any language, including both simplified and traditional Chinese. You need to access the International preference pane in System Preferences to set up languages.

The Apple web site now has some video tutorials on using their latest operating system. Mac OS X is not difficult but things don't work the same as Windows does.

 

[theRBK]

hi. guys. i'm new to mac, planning to get one for my sis since she isn't quite computer savvy.

but just one question: how come the macs (other than the super ex mac pro) dun seem to have the option of a faster graphics card? like 8800 series or the ati equilavent. wun it be quite a serious limitation for heavy games?

and do you think my 15 yo sis can switch to a mac easily without any reading? she uses vista and xp b4. if not, is there any one page manual like "all you need to know to switch to mac"? found a few online, but they really aren't "all you need to know".

if she's not very computer savy but already can use Windows, why not stick to Windows?...

 

[satay16]

if she's not very computer savy but already can use Windows, why not stick to Windows?...

cos my mum doesn't, so i sort of want to test out on my sis first, and if she has totally no problems, i will be getting a macbook for my mum. now, i'm just abit worried by the graphics card, cos other than the mac pro, all others seem to have pretty poor cards, no 8800 options to choose or the ati equilivant.

edit: oh, and where to buy is the cheapest? i heard apple prices are pretty equal. the education discount can give me 100 bucks off, but i heard sls can give freebies totally more than 100 bucks. or university buy cheaper?

 

[F5user]

look at how much you want to spend, (imho.)


with regards to your comments on GPUs, erm.... now why would you need a 8800 on your laptop? Unless you're a pure gamer, for which a mac would DEFINITELY be out of the questions, any laptop with a ton of ram and a decently good core duo/quad would be MORE than sufficient.

However, my son recently bought a lappy with SLI 8800s GTXs for around the same price as a mac book pro with options. You might want to check that out. OEM companies like Clevo are one of the more popular ones. The Asus G series, though a tad old, does very very well as an everyday laptop for work/editing use.

MBs are lovely machines, and if you're a first timer to the MAC world, you will love it. I love mine, i love it for all the image editing s/w, i love it for its interface and all, I could go on for ever. However, due to work and other factors, i'm entirely reliant on my windows/linux based PCs for a number of reasons, cost and reliability being the main points.

Hope this helps. =)

 

[satay16]

look at how much you want to spend, (imho.)


with regards to your comments on GPUs, erm.... now why would you need a 8800 on your laptop? Unless you're a pure gamer, for which a mac would DEFINITELY be out of the questions, any laptop with a ton of ram and a decently good core duo/quad would be MORE than sufficient.

However, my son recently bought a lappy with SLI 8800s GTXs for around the same price as a mac book pro with options. You might want to check that out. OEM companies like Clevo are one of the more popular ones. The Asus G series, though a tad old, does very very well as an everyday laptop for work/editing use.

MBs are lovely machines, and if you're a first timer to the MAC world, you will love it. I love mine, i love it for all the image editing s/w, i love it for its interface and all, I could go on for ever. However, due to work and other factors, i'm entirely reliant on my windows/linux based PCs for a number of reasons, cost and reliability being the main points.

Hope this helps. =)

actually, i was talking about the imac. if i expect the laptop to have 8800 inside, something wrong with me.:bsmilie: right now, my sis com is failing, so still wondering whether to get a laptop or desktop, mac or windows. right now, the reason for choosing mac is more of a experimental move to try out mac.

 

[F5user]

actually, i was talking about the imac. if i expect the laptop to have 8800 inside, something wrong with me.:bsmilie: right now, my sis com is failing, so still wondering whether to get a laptop or desktop, mac or windows. right now, the reason for choosing mac is more of a experimental move to try out mac.

ooo ic ic


the mac minis are nice try outs... the intel versions were nice little platforms for daily use. My wife's using one (she just learnt what a mouse was 3 yrs ago.) and she looooves it. =) Bought one for 350 USD used 1 year back. It's portable, yes, but so as long as you have a monitor/TV available where you are.


Oh and btw, yup.. i tried my son's lappy with dual 8800 GTXs inside.... Some game called Geared War or something, it was gooooood.
=)

 

[JillValentine]

I haven't found a reason for me to switch to Windows.

 

[F5user]

I haven't found a reason for me to switch to Windows.

Good for you! :thumbsup:

 

[xray]

There isn't. It's very intuitive. There's no need for a manual.

Actually there is a manual. Library > Documentation > User Guide And Information >
One for the Mac OSX, one for the hardware eg. iMac. But I've never had to refer to it.

 

[satay16]

ok. my sis decided on the macbook(cheapest one). any where to get the cheapest?

on the apple store, it's 1688 after the edu discount. good deal? i was wondering if it might be better to buy in sls and get free things like 1gb ram and laptop bag(which adds up to more than 100).

 

[Del_CtrlnoAlt]

everywhere is having almost the same price for Mac, controlled price it seems.

i always find mac abit slower in response as compared to a pc... probably just me... i just can't get use to using a mac...

 

[Erenon]

ok. my sis decided on the macbook(cheapest one). any where to get the cheapest?

on the apple store, it's 1688 after the edu discount. good deal? i was wondering if it might be better to buy in sls and get free things like 1gb ram and laptop bag(which adds up to more than 100).

Get it education, go to one of the mac shops (get recommendations here, me i'm out of touch) and get the ram and bag. You MAY be able to find a better deal than that, but that depends on your luck.


re your previous question about iMacs and graphics cards (it was you wasn't it?) Well, look at the iMac, think how thin it is.. next consider that its a monitor, cpu, hard disk, superdrive, power supply, etc etc etc all built into a space just a little thicker than a normal LCD screen... now, put in a 8800.. what kind of heat are you going to get??

 

[satay16]

everywhere is having almost the same price for Mac, controlled price it seems.

i always find mac abit slower in response as compared to a pc... probably just me... i just can't get use to using a mac...

hmmm.... mind elaborating it slightly? is it like boot up times or time taken to render in PS etc? cos if i'm getting the cheapest mac book, it'll be the slowest of the lot, then maybe i might reconsider the imac(or still use windows).

 

[Del_CtrlnoAlt]

well, its just personal feel, i felt programs run abit slow... even if the rams are maxed out... no proper gauge, just a hunch when i run the same procedure on my PC and then on a MBP. and my system was slower than the MBP.

Also, the file system was something very annoying... perhaps for people using mac will be ok, but i find that i'm pretty much raised by the MS-DOS and Windows... so to me, the file system and folder creation in M$ is probably something i've been accustomed to. Its hard to put into words how different they are, and my experience are very subjective as i've been using M$ stuff since 8 or 9, which is about 20 years already... The Mac tends to create some extra files when a CF card is placed in it.

I remember once a friend of mine copied the thumbnails (created by mac) and send for printing, in the end, all turn out pixelated...

iirc, the thumbs are _****.jpg and the original are ****.jpg...

 

[bousozoku]

well, its just personal feel, i felt programs run abit slow... even if the rams are maxed out... no proper gauge, just a hunch when i run the same procedure on my PC and then on a MBP. and my system was slower than the MBP.

Also, the file system was something very annoying... perhaps for people using mac will be ok, but i find that i'm pretty much raised by the MS-DOS and Windows... so to me, the file system and folder creation in M$ is probably something i've been accustomed to. Its hard to put into words how different they are, and my experience are very subjective as i've been using M$ stuff since 8 or 9, which is about 20 years already... The Mac tends to create some extra files when a CF card is placed in it.

I remember once a friend of mine copied the thumbnails (created by mac) and send for printing, in the end, all turn out pixelated...

iirc, the thumbs are _****.jpg and the original are ****.jpg...

I'm not sure how anyone would find the thumbnails without digging. Everything that shouldn't be touched is hidden. You will see .DS_Store files anywhere you've changed the defaults of a folder.

Some things do work faster in Windows, no doubt, because of the poor security. A lot of applications use ActiveX, which is extremely fast and poorly secured. I'll take a more secure environment and one that doesn't try to help me constantly/get in my way instead of the alternative. Besides, Mac OS X seems faster with each release but the graphics are rather heavy on the system in Leopard.

 

[F5user]

hmmm.... mind elaborating it slightly? is it like boot up times or time taken to render in PS etc? cos if i'm getting the cheapest mac book, it'll be the slowest of the lot, then maybe i might reconsider the imac(or still use windows).

you can easily get a cheapo dell vostro lappy, dump in 3-4gbs of ram, and 1extra gb of turbo cache memory, on a 2.0 duo and the system loads up to the start bar of vista64 in 18secs flat. CSextended loads in around 4 seconds, and voala.. good to go. Oh yes... it's around 750$ usd for the configuration.

I doubt the MAC should be thaaaat slow, but if you're gonna get the base for 1600 sing, and want bang for your buck, just go for a windows based PC. Even with 3gbs of 677mhz ram and XP, you'll be up and going in less than 1.5 minute flat.

 

[Erenon]

well, its just personal feel, i felt programs run abit slow... even if the rams are maxed out... no proper gauge, just a hunch when i run the same procedure on my PC and then on a MBP. and my system was slower than the MBP.

Only thing that matters is numbers. The actually finder may feel slower, but that may be due to human interface guidelines. Apples to apples (ie photoshop tests), show me figures.

Also, the file system was something very annoying... perhaps for people using mac will be ok, but i find that i'm pretty much raised by the MS-DOS and Windows... so to me, the file system and folder creation in M$ is probably something i've been accustomed to. Its hard to put into words how different they are, and my experience are very subjective as i've been using M$ stuff since 8 or 9, which is about 20 years already... The Mac tends to create some extra files when a CF card is placed in it.

I find the windows file system annoying.
And creating folders can't be easier than the command-shift-n shortcut. I absolutely HATE having to right click and search for damnable create new folder button (or looking for it on a menu bar) Mind you that the same can be done on OS X, but shortcuts are far far far faster.

As for the extra files, well, that's cause winblows systems can't read the resource fork, so that's why the see the extra files. Its something you get used to if you work cross platform.

I remember once a friend of mine copied the thumbnails (created by mac) and send for printing, in the end, all turn out pixelated...

iirc, the thumbs are _****.jpg and the original are ****.jpg...

Thumbnails???? on a pc, one should always use the details view. That way you can see the file size...

 

[Del_CtrlnoAlt]

Only thing that matters is numbers. The actually finder may feel slower, but that may be due to human interface guidelines. Apples to apples (ie photoshop tests), show me figures.



I find the windows file system annoying.
And creating folders can't be easier than the command-shift-n shortcut. I absolutely HATE having to right click and search for damnable create new folder button (or looking for it on a menu bar) Mind you that the same can be done on OS X, but shortcuts are far far far faster.

As for the extra files, well, that's cause winblows systems can't read the resource fork, so that's why the see the extra files. Its something you get used to if you work cross platform.

Thumbnails???? on a pc, one should always use the details view. That way you can see the file size...

are you trying to make a flame bait between windows and mac? if you can't digest, probably you should try reading what i wrote again... i said a hunch, hence no figure, you still want me to produce figure?...

well, to each his own, like i say, i prefer windows, you can sing all you want about mac, but just keep it civil between them. drop your winblows and such...

about the thumbnails, well, like i said, the system creates .jpg thumbnails instead of some hidden thumbnails like windows, so my friend copied the thumbnails into a CD in mistake and send for printing...