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PBC2007

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so i was thinking of getting an imac but i don't know if it is even compatable, and if it isn't i will keep the pc laptop for my cutting and just use my imac for all the photoshop and video editing stuff. what do you guys think about those computers, any one have one and yay or nay..

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Mac computers are good machines. BUT they are HIGHLY overpriced for what you get. The same amount of processing power.memory,etc in a PC will cost you half as much. Many of the programs you have now for your PC will not work on a MAC, so figure in buying all new apps.

If you have never used a Mac before, you have a lot to learn. Many things that are a simple one click on a PC require more effort on a Mac. Even setting the clock is more complicated than it ought to be.

As Apple has drifted more and more into the consumer electronics business, their focus is no longer on computers.They even dropped 'computers' from the company name. Support is great if you PAY extra for it.

The only thing I can think of to justify switching to a Mac is if you are heavily into video editing. UNless you have money to waste, or just want to join the ranks of the Apple fan boys,stick with a PC.

Just my 2p worth after a 6 month trial of a Mac computer.Now gathering dust.

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WELL i am kind of do alot in video stuff and i have the whole adobe master collection and that mac will just pretty much have that and music on it. i will still use the pc for cutting. i know that it is more expensive but i have heard that there os is alot stronger as far as viruses and there are no pop-ups. i figure it will be a nice change and fun to play with.

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I do video editing on my system using windows xp pro and do not have any issues whatsoever. The mac os is not any stronger, it all boils down to user preference.

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The Mac being stronger against viruses is a misconception. It isn't. There are just not many viruses written for macs bacause of the low percentage of Market Share the Mac has. Some do slip through and there was one last year that got around a bit.

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Mac computers are good machines. BUT they are HIGHLY overpriced for what you get. The same amount of processing power.memory,etc in a PC will cost you half as much. Many of the programs you have now for your PC will not work on a MAC, so figure in buying all new apps.

If you have never used a Mac before, you have a lot to learn. Many things that are a simple one click on a PC require more effort on a Mac. Even setting the clock is more complicated than it ought to be.

As Apple has drifted more and more into the consumer electronics business, their focus is no longer on computers.They even dropped 'computers' from the company name. Support is great if you PAY extra for it.

The only thing I can think of to justify switching to a Mac is if you are heavily into video editing. UNless you have money to waste, or just want to join the ranks of the Apple fan boys,stick with a PC.

Just my 2p worth after a 6 month trial of a Mac computer.Now gathering dust.

I Guess I'm an "Apple Fan Boy".  I'm sure this will start a war.  But I'm procrastinating and feisty right now.

"Mac computers are good machines. BUT they are HIGHLY overpriced for what you get. The same amount of processing power.memory,etc in a PC will cost you half as much. Many of the programs you have now for your PC will not work on a MAC, so figure in buying all new apps."

False... in my opinion. 

For the sake of saving space. I'll only Cover the current Gen Macs.  I Sold my Quad G5 to a Friend.. Kind of regret not keeping it but oh well. Currently have a MacPro, and a MacBook Pro.  I have had absolutely zero downtime with all of my Mac's. Zero, Zilch, Nada. Apps, hardly, if ever crash. Faster than snot also.  They are used primarily for Photoshop, Illustrator, Final Cut Pro Studio, email, web, various other pieces of software... Office etc.  I can also run Windows on them both for work (AutoCad).  The only time either the MacPro or Macbook Pro crashed was while launching Parallels (a software used to run windows XP etc.) I Upgraded to the New Mac OS, but I had not upgraded my Parallels so it was causing a Kernel Panic. Upgraded to the new version Problem Solved. 

  My Time is valuable. So I consider 99.999% uptime pretty valuable. I've had Gateways, Dell's and very expensive self built Windows Machines. The Gateways, were a Joke, the Dell's were more robust but still far from trouble free.  My own built systems were by far the most stable but still far from great.  Always got infected by malware via security holes in Outlook, or explorer. 

    I always had to support two computers, a PC to run AutoCAD, and Mac's for everything else. The new Mac's with INtel Chips eliminated that. Now I can run AutoCAD on my Mac's and I lock the VM of the internet. So.... No Viruses and no need to run ridiculous amounts of Virus software.

    Now if you buy into a Workstation Level Machine from Dell or any of the big names, those are very robust machines.  Windows excluded... However, you're at a pretty steep price point then.

"If you have never used a Mac before, you have a lot to learn. Many things that are a simple one click on a PC require more effort on a Mac. Even setting the clock is more complicated than it ought to be."

That's Ludicrous. Most keyboard shortcuts are nearly identical substituting 'Control' for the "Apple/Command" key.  It's true that if you're used to that Start menu catastrophe it may take you a day to get used to the Dock in OS X and navigating around.  Really pretty easy to pick up on.  BTW, To change the time, Click on the time in the menu bar, Click on "Open Date and Time" and change it to the proper time.  Can't imagine it getting any easier.  Certainly better than that disaster called Vista.  What a joke that thing is.  I had a headache 3 minutes into fixing a friends virus problem for him.

"As Apple has drifted more and more into the consumer electronics business, their focus is no longer on computers.They even dropped 'computers' from the company name. Support is great if you PAY extra for it.

The only thing I can think of to justify switching to a Mac is if you are heavily into video editing. UNless you have money to waste, or just want to join the ranks of the Apple fan boys,stick with a PC."

It is undeniable that the iPod has had a large affect on Apples business model.  But it was a revolutionary product.  The design has certainly carried over into their other products.  And yes they removed Computers form their name. So What?  Yes.  Apple Care is extra money.  But The computer ship with a 1 year Warranty (which is the same as Dell's) and 90 Day Phone Support. Trust me I've dealt with Dell and Gateways Support for Warranty Problems. They leave a lot to be desired.  Not sure about Apple's because I've never used them.  Closest experience I've had is a friend with a faulty optical drive in his Macbook Pro.  Took it to the Apple Store, they tested it in front of him, agreed the drive was faulty, and repaired it for pickup less than 48 hours later. It took Dell 7 days to get my Notebook fixed (even though the display was faulty fresh out of the box).

"Just my 2p worth after a 6 month trial of a Mac computer.Now gathering dust."

Send it my way.  I'll put it to use. B)

Truth is, I really don't care what you decide to buy.  Creativity is in the person not the computer. I'm just weary of these 10 year old misconceptions.  I will say this though, there is a reason that almost every design house you walk into will be full of Mac's. 

Let the battle begin I guess.

But I would layoff the snide Apple fan boy type remarks.  I'm sure I could think of plenty of names to call you if it comes to that.

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No point in arrguing with a Mac fan .But here is a fact:

I have Photoshop PC version...cost $700 when I bought it. I have Adobe Illustrator PC version...cost $400 when I bought it. I have MS Office...I don't remember how much that was but not cheap.

NONE of them will work on a Mac. Mac requires the Mac version.

The Signblazer software that I have will not work on a Mac.

The Flexi software I have will not work on a Mac.

That's another $1000+ dollars.

Those are facts.

Apple had to be dragged into the 'right click' world.

Apple mice are worthless. Get a regular USB 2 button mouse.

Any replacement parts/upgrades will cost you 2 or 3 times as much directly from Apple as from a third party vendor. This is especially true with memory.

Again I say,if you want a Mac,buy one. GReat for lots of things. IF you have money to spare.

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I just like the Mac commercials about Vista. Too Funny! But true.

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Yes, you're correct.  No point in arguing with someone making valid points.

You are 100% correct that PC versions of most software would not run on a Mac.  Unless you Ran Parallels or Boot Camp and Ran Windows on it.  But I can definitely see your point about having a large software investment.  Though that really wasn't the original posters concern.

As for the rest of your comments.  Welcome to 10 years ago once again.  Thank you for showing your ignorance in the Mac World.  Why would you think there are not third party Vendors for Mac Parts? 

Alll of my Additional RAM was bought from a 3rd party source. I believe a 1GB chip for my Macbook Pro was around $70.

I just bought 4GB for the MacPro for $170.  Of course it's expensive if you go through Apple.  Just as it's Really expensive if you by parts from Dell, HP, etc. etc.

Just put another Hard Drive in the MacPro... 500GB Seagate SATA $100.00 Same drive as a lot of PC's use.

Video Card is an Nvidia. Just like you would get for a PC. But it comes with a rockin' Video Card so really no reason to upgrade.

I can swap 2 Quad Core Intel Chips instead of my 2 current Dual Cores and essentially have a first Gen. Octel Machine. - Yes those processors are available on-line, ebay, and Fry's electronics.

Now since the OP was considering an iMac, I will agree that their upgrade paths are more limited.  thought that is true also of the PC all in one style units.  Memory is upgradeable, and on the same price point as the notebooks.  The Hard drive is also upgradeable, though probably a little to in depth for a non-techie person.  But honestly, a current iMac is a pretty strong machine. If Storage becomes an issue, there is always external drives.

So 4 releases of Mac OS ago, we didn't have a right click.  What does that have to do with what is available now? If you want to go down that route, why don't you bring Vista by my house and I'll show you the countless features that they stole from OS 10.4..... That's the last Mac OS by the way.  You'll see the features we're using in Leopard right now in your next version of Windows in 2015.

Again I say, 10 year old opinions  are worthless towards what is available today.  So yeah, Mac's are great if you want a machine that just works. Day after day.  If you enjoy bargain basement PC'S more power to ya.  But while you're tinkering with it, I've done all my work and am streaming Lost in HD off of my MacBook Pro into my TV and am relaxing on the couch. Speaking of which...... that sounds like a fine idea right now.... B)

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I have used both equally, and think both platforms are great.  Its just up to your own personal preference.  Macs were used in the newspaper graphic offices where I got my start, and were stellar to the task.

My husband build our custom PC's for graphic design and our Imagesetter (film RIP), specifically geared to our own business.  We didnt' go with Mac on this due to the fact you cannot build a Mac. 

Like I said, use your own personal situation. Both are fine.

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Did someone say Linux?       B)

actually the mac OS is based on the unix core.(linux)

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  If you enjoy bargain basement PC'S more power to ya.  But while you're tinkering with it, I've done all my work and am streaming Lost in HD off of my MacBook Pro into my TV and am relaxing on the couch. Speaking of which...... that sounds like a fine idea right now.... B)

bargain basement PC's? dollar for dollar,part for part,the exact same hardware configurantion on a PC will cost you half what the same Mac would cost.

Apple hasn't really made any REAL progress,OS or hardware,in quite some time. In fact,if you are looking to do video,the software that ships with Lepoard is a watered down(pretty much useless) version of what came before it. But apple is kind enough to allow you to download the older version.

My main point is,and always has been,that Macs are just plain over priced. I will grant you that the OS is cheaper that MS's latest disaster.Not that leopard is worth the upgrade over 10.3.

That's all I am going to say on the subject. If you don't mind paying more for the Name and OS,by all means, buy a Mac.

Oh,I forgot to mention,the 'AIR' is very thin and lite. Also not as powerful as the powerbook,has no optical drive...but hey,it costs more.

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So what you are saying is the G4 To G5 chip wasn't a major update. Or G5 to intel? Or now two Quad Core chips are not a not a significant upgrade? Seriously.

Ok. Well, go buy a Motherboard that will support the Dual Quad core Intels, then buy the chips.  Add a couple GB's of Ram, a Decent size HD, An equivalent optical drive, now buy a quality case with a giant power supply that is capable of running 4 HD's 2 optical drives, the 2 processors, now include and OS, since it ships with the Mac.  Still at half Price. Sorry.  I've have built and still build PC's for other people, prices start getting close.  A comparably equipped Dell Workstation, same price point.

Could you build a PC with the same power as an iMac for less, probably, but not for half the price, and never in as nice of a package.

Actually 10.4 from 10.3 was a nice jump.  !0.5 (leopard, the latest release) is a giant leap forward.  The problem is you don't use it every day.  You probably clicked around a few times in the store or on someone else's machine.  When you deal with them day in and day out like I do, when you go back to a 10.4 machine you realize all of the stuff that has changed and what a great improvement 10.5 is.

As for iMovie. No serious editor uses iMovie anymore than they use that windows movie maker thing.  Yes the new iMovie is a huge step backward.  No question there.  However, they basically re-wrote the entire program and are slowly adding features back in.  Was it a disappointment? yes.  Would a piece of consumer concession software that ships as part of the OS stop me from buying a machine? of course not.  Yes, the older version is still available. Anybody remotely serious would step up to Final cut Express anyway.  But you can buy Final Cut Studio for a little over $1000 and be using the same software that we use at work to edit countless TV shows everyday, and the same software they are now cutting countless movies on.  Go read about how Atonement was made.  Sorry, but no PC running and Avid could have pulled that off.

I guess it all comes down to the point I greatly value my time.  So knowing that I'm not going to have an problems with my machine getting work done is maybe worth a few extra dollars to me. To have multiple machines running all day, everyday for years with almost Zero problems is outstanding.  How could that ever be argued with? 

But Like was said earlier, to each his own.

Now back to the Original Poster's actual Question:

Yes, Mac's are great for Graphic Design work(and almost everything else).

Yes, they will run the US Cutter Hardware.  I'm using a Laserpoint 24, a Kespan Serial to USB converter and SignCut, which is a Plug-in for Illustrator.

I have had a couple problems, but they were cutter related and not host computer related.  Ken has been great in helping me get them resolved.

Ok.... Off to a meeting.

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