[Hybrys]

Quote:

I didn't take the time to read all of the above.
 
I'm studying audio at my school. Everyone there prefers Mac because it never crashes and it does wonderful things PC can't. The Macs at my school crash all the time and have all sorts of problems, and everything they do I can do easier on my PC. My PC isn't better, necessarily, but I know how to use it and I'm smart. My school is having troubles because it can't afford to upgrade its Mac computers when upgrading PC is easy and cheap, and you can do it yourself.
 
There are a couple of Mac specific programs, like Logic. But Pro Tools can do everything Logic does and more, although it sometimes requires a little more digging in the reference manual pdf, but when you do know how, it can do so much more. Pro Tools is the industry standard, and I personally feel it deserves this title. And Pro Tools works wonderfully on my PC.
 
I am currently interning under one of the best mastering engineers in the world. I feel very much so over my head at all moments. He has Macs and PCs scattered all over his house. He mostly uses Macs, but he mostly uses them running Windows. He has both plugged into his flat screen tv-as-computer-monitor, switchable as are the mouse and keyboard. I do see him doing most of his actual audio editing in Windows, though.
 
There's no best answer, no matter what people try to say. But I like Windows because it is cheaper, I can do what I want instead of being spoon-fed what I don't want, and because I can upgrade anything anytime myself. The upgrade parts are significantly cheaper for PC.
 
Did that help?

It's definitely a good post; no-one else that has posted here is actually in school for something to do with Audio, like me.
 
It's interesting that you find ProTools to be the pro standard.  I've seen so many different programs (ughlogic), and still haven't found anyone leaning one way or another.  Hell, my 'Theatre Audio' classes lean towards the light (in all senses) Audacity, and the scheduler SFX.
 
Good to see your thoughts.  PCs are more easily upgradable, and if everyone is just using Windows on Mac, there's no point.  I'll just have to make sure I don't tell everyone how wrong they are over and over.  >_>

 

[lxxl]

We can tell you all we think about Macs and PCs, but in the end you'll be the one who use it so it's probably better if you get or borrow one to test it; this is always how it ends.
 
As usual, there's always goods and bads on both, but it's like headphones, you'll never find a perfect one; it's a wild goose chase.

 

[krmathis]

..

 

[Hybrys]

Quote:

..

Oh, krmathis.  I know you love your Macs.  Come on, join in the conversation.  Tell me what makes it so good for you, and why you prefer it.

 

[krmathis]

For me it is a fine combination of hardware and software.

Hardware wise:
Well designed, crafted and feature rich machines. Chassis made of 100% aluminum, which is stable, durable and light weight.
Features not present in many other portable computers - especially 6 years back when I bought the PowerBook G4. Firewire 800, backlit keyboard, DVD burner, 1GB LAN, 54MB WLAN, and more. The components are also carefully matched to make a stable machine.  

Software wise:
Mac OS X is UNIX, and hence provide a lot of security and power to the user. The command line allow you to perform "any" task if needed/wanted.
User friendly UI with addictive features like Exposé, Spaces, Spotlight and more. Free software development suite (Xcode Tools) allowing you to build your own applications or just compile your favorite open-source ones.

I am using MS Windows at work and Mac OS X at home. No question asked which one I prefer the most…

 

[12thgear]

I just read through this thread, and nothing I can say is going to change people's minds one way or another, and I'm going to make zero effort to try. I'm just going to point out why I like what I like. 
 
I keep getting drawn back to the Mac as my primary, day to day computer, having used them since my first hand-me-down Mac plus. I used Windows (well, DOS first) PCs for almost as long, since my dad was a sim gamer back then. 
 
For me it comes down to spit and polish, and all the little things. I think of this quote from Charles Eames: “The details are not the details. They make the design.” With Apple's hardware, I appreciate the relative quiet of their desktops, and the industrial design and engineering of their laptops. I like the billet aluminum case on the new MacBook Pro, and the buttonless multi-touch trackpad. I like the crazy battery they're using. Etc. I like Mac OS overall because it feels pretty polished and I just get enjoyment out of working within it. I find good Mac apps more enjoyable to use than good Windows or cross-platform apps, generally. It's why, while Chrome is great, I use Safari, for example. Since I don't game much on computers (I like the caveman simplicity of just popping a DVD into my Xbox), I conveniently dodge the arguments against the poor gaming performance of Macs.

  If I could sum it up, I guess I'd say Macs feel like more than a collection of specs to me. They're a whole that works well together. For what it's worth, my taste in cars trends that way too. 
 
I recently replaced my old PC with a "new" one made of some nice new parts, like a Seasonic X750 PSU, compact Lian-Li case, and GTX275, and older, but good parts, like a Core 2 Quad Q6600/Biostar I45 that overclock very nicely. I want for no performance with that machine. My only complaint is the Xigmatek cooler likes to purr like a walrus at certain RPMs. Overall, it's a great machine, but I don't enjoy using it as much as my Macs with most of the equivalent applications, save maybe Adobe's Creative Suite (and some games obviously), but that's mainly because their UI has gotten atrocious and sucks equally in both environments. So if the interface is going to blow, it might as well blow on the fastest machine I own. 

 

[Hybrys]

Quote:

I just read through this thread, and nothing I can say is going to change people's minds one way or another, and I'm going to make zero effort to try. I'm just going to point out why I like what I like. 
 
I keep getting drawn back to the Mac as my primary, day to day computer, having used them since my first hand-me-down Mac plus. I used Windows (well, DOS first) PCs for almost as long, since my dad was a sim gamer back then. 
 
For me it comes down to spit and polish, and all the little things. I think of this quote from Charles Eames: “The details are not the details. They make the design.” With Apple's hardware, I appreciate the relative quiet of their desktops, and the industrial design and engineering of their laptops. I like the billet aluminum case on the new MacBook Pro, and the buttonless multi-touch trackpad. I like the crazy battery they're using. Etc. I like Mac OS overall because it feels pretty polished and I just get enjoyment out of working within it. I find good Mac apps more enjoyable to use than good Windows or cross-platform apps, generally. It's why, while Chrome is great, I use Safari, for example. Since I don't game much on computers (I like the caveman simplicity of just popping a DVD into my Xbox), I conveniently dodge the arguments against the poor gaming performance of Macs.

  If I could sum it up, I guess I'd say Macs feel like more than a collection of specs to me. They're a whole that works well together. For what it's worth, my taste in cars trends that way too. 
 
I recently replaced my old PC with a "new" one made of some nice new parts, like a Seasonic X750 PSU, compact Lian-Li case, and GTX275, and older, but good parts, like a Core 2 Quad Q6600/Biostar I45 that overclock very nicely. I want for no performance with that machine. My only complaint is the Xigmatek cooler likes to purr like a walrus at certain RPMs. Overall, it's a great machine, but I don't enjoy using it as much as my Macs with most of the equivalent applications, save maybe Adobe's Creative Suite (and some games obviously), but that's mainly because their UI has gotten atrocious and sucks equally in both environments. So if the interface is going to blow, it might as well blow on the fastest machine I own. 

If you consider yourself a power user, and can work your was through modding kexts, you could get OSX to run on your PC.  That might be best for you, especially if you still own a copy of an OSX OS (thus, it's legal to run).  Media suites/web browsing in OSX, and gaming in Win7, such as many people do. 
 
I recommend it on PC hardware, but not on OSX hardware.  It makes no sense to buy the overpowered hardware that works perfectly in the OS you'll tax less.
 
Thanks, krmathis.  I see that your comments rely on their older machines.  Do you think that the Apple Computer's days are past being king, or that the premium is still justified?

 

[12thgear]

Quote:

If you consider yourself a power user, and can work your was through modding kexts, you could get OSX to run on your PC.  That might be best for you, especially if you still own a copy of an OSX OS (thus, it's legal to run).  Media suites/web browsing in OSX, and gaming in Win7, such as many people do. 
 
I recommend it on PC hardware, but not on OSX hardware.  It makes no sense to buy the overpowered hardware that works perfectly in the OS you'll tax less.

 
I thought about a hackintosh, but that defeats part of the charm of worry free simplicity for me. I helped a friend with his quad core hacintosh. It was sort of fun, but I'll be honest, I just don't get the same satisfaction out of DIY any more. That, and there's only so much time in my days. I already have my Mac mini and my PC, and I just switch inputs on my NEC LCD. 

 

[khaos974]

It all comes down to perceived quality, if you are talking about laptop, no single laptop looks both as sleek and solid as a MBP. Individually speaking, Windows laptops come with better specs at lower prices, but it feels cheaper and not as convenient as as MBP. For example  the MagSafe system is pure genius, people how lost their laptops due to an accident is the power cord is exceedingly rare, yet it reassures the average consumer. They were the first to have backlit keyboards and the seamless LCD screens. The unibody enclosure may not be as solid as the IBL/Lenovo chassis (I don't know and have never tested), but it feels solid and reliable.Individually, those specs are nothing, but they come together, and Apple is the first to apply them on every products.
 
For all those reasons, MBPs feel as well designed hardware, which they are to an extent. No single PC brand has a laptop that achieves such perceived quality new release upon new release. That's the force of Apple, a "quality signature", that's what HP is trying to do with the ENVY line. It my opinion that despite the real hardware problems (eg overheating which also happens to PCs), MBPs still remain leaps above Windows laptops in terms of perceived quality because of their design.
 
When it comes to Mac OSX, it's greatest strength is that it comes with tons of features, exposé, mouse gestures, multiple desktops, "cool" animations, and the unified graphical interface (you know the grey seemless UI on every mac app, one reason Windows is looks less sleek than OSX is that there are many separations and sharp angles in every window). In Windows , there are programs that do all these things, but it's not "out of the box", and those programs often slow down the system or are buggy. The fact that Apple locks down hardware is bad from the free market pov, but from the driver reliability (one the Windows major issue) pov, it's a fantastic idea, only approved hardware inside their machines means less opportunity for badly written drivers to appear.
 
Most problems in Windows go away when you know what you are doing, except that OSX is more idiot proof than Windows. It's the same with security, it does not matter that OSX is more or less resistant to ihacking than Win 7, less malwares and no viruses (almost) are written for OSX means less infections for the end user, problem solved. Apple provides a dumbed down UI for most users and command line for power user, Windows XP (and 7 to a lesser extent) is not as intuitive.
 
The one thing I don't know if is OSX slows down with time and multiple install/uninstall, it's better with Vista/7 but a new reinstall after format C: still feels faster than an old install on Windows.
 
There you are, do you feel the OSX's features and the perceived quality (translate into buyer's satisfaction) is worth the price premium, if so, go ahead, buy a MAC, if not buy a PC.

 

[krmathis]

 
Quote:

Thanks, krmathis.  I see that your comments rely on their older machines.  Do you think that the Apple Computer's days are past being king, or that the premium is still justified?

 
I do so since most of my reason to buy a MacBook Pro is based on the fact that I previously owned a PowerBook G4. Without that experience I do not know what I would be using today.
That said I still think they are the king, and I do not agree that they charge a premium. Simply have not found any comparable machine out there..

 

[bridge8989]

You should get one cause all the cool people have one.  Who doesn't want to be like those hipsters at the local Starbucks with their skinny jeans, fixie bikes, and macbooks updating their twitter/facebook?

 

[Hybrys]

Quote:

You should get one cause all the cool people have one.  Who doesn't want to be like those hipsters at the local Starbucks with their skinny jeans, fixie bikes, and macbooks updating their twitter/facebook?

This is half the point, if you'd bothered to read through the thread.  Because of my career path, it COULD be seen as a status item, and subsequently further my career.  (Working from nothing in a town where no-one knows me...)

 

[bridge8989]

Quote:

This is half the point, if you'd bothered to read through the thread.  Because of my career path, it COULD be seen as a status item, and subsequently further my career.  (Working from nothing in a town where no-one knows me...)

 
lol get one then.  personally Ill rather be unemployed then work for a douche.
 

 

[Hybrys]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bridge8989 /img/forum/go_quote.gif
 
lol get one then.  personally Ill rather be unemployed then work for a douche.
 

This is CAREER not just a job we're talking about, for one.  And for two, not everyone who owns a Mac is a douche.  <_<

 

[bridge8989]

Quote:

This is CAREER not just a job we're talking about, for one.  And for two, not everyone who owns a Mac is a douche.  <_<

not talking about people who own macs, but the people that judge others based on their computers.