Does anyone on the Escapist use a Mac?

[Amaror]

i don't own a mac.
I don't want to support apple, i don't like them.
And a mac just restricts you too much. Yeah it's more userfriendly, but i know how to work with a computer, i don't need a user friendly pc.
That said. I use linux on my laptop, because i don't use that one for gaming.

 

[zxvcasdfqwerzxcv]

I use Mac and am very happy doing so. I'm a sound engineering and most audio software I need is for OS X for just runs better on Mac.
I think a lot of people who hate Mac simply are afraid of trying to learn to use it (oh noes, teh buttons are on teh other side!). It's a lot quicker to use in my opinion! I think they are better at pretty much everything to do with computers with the exception of gaming.

 

[requisitename]

I have two Macs - a Mini desktop (used mostly for work-related stuff) and a MBP that I carry around with me to mostly do other stuff.

I love Macs and I love OS X. I find it less troublesome and more intuitive than Windows and, it seems that even a slower-spec'd Mac almost inevitably runs faster than any PC I touch. My Macs boot more quickly, programs open more quickly and I don't ever notice lag no matter how many Adobe programs I'm running at once.. I just find them generally faster and more pleasant to use.

I'll be honest. I like Macs. I like the nice clean interface and smooth functioning.

I've always used windows before. My old laptop is practically on its deathbed, and I wanna buy a Macbook Pro, but the steep price always puts me in doubt...

A decent Pro costs >$2k. A pc with a similar configuration would cost ~$800-1000.
I can't decide if its worth the extra investment.

Honestly? As much as I love to tell people, "Come over to the Mac side. We've got OS X.".. I have to say that it depends on what you'll use it for. If you just want a general web surfing/word processing computer or if you're really into gaming, you're probably better off with a PC.

Macs are real workhorses if you give them a job to do, but if you're not doing heavy graphics/video/music work or something else that's taxing like that, it's probably not worth the money you'd spend on a new one.

The one thing I'd say in the other direction is that Macs don't tend to become obsolete as quickly as PCs. Neither of my Macs is brand new or anything near it, really, and I've not run into anything that either of them can't do yet.

Also, if you're comfortable enough with Macs (and computers in general) to be able to be pretty sure you're not being ripped off, I always suggest to people buying a Mac used off Craigslist. Most of them are horribly overpriced, but if you'll keep your eye out and be a bit patient, you can often find a good used Mac at a good price.

I just tried to get my sister's to play a .avi file... It refused...

Possibly the 432nd reason I have personally found to not use one.

I've yet to find anything that VLC won't play on either a Mac OR a PC.

No, because I don't need to do any of the things Macs specialise in. I play games, and for that they are shit. I also hate the interface and the way the "x" is on the wrong side of the window. No. Stop. I don't care what you say. It's the wrong side.

Funnily, when I sit down to use a PC, I find that "X"s on the wrong side. Also, (annoyingly) if you hit what resembles the "command" key on a PC it does not do what a command key is supposed to do! Haha.

 

[j0frenzy]

No, because I don't need to do any of the things Macs specialise in. I play games, and for that they are shit. I also hate the interface and the way the "x" is on the wrong side of the window. No. Stop. I don't care what you say. It's the wrong side.

I will give you the "x" being on the wrong side of the window, if you'll admit that your command button is in the wrong spot on your keyboard. Oh, I'm sorry, you call that your control button.

Been using a Mac for 4 years. I'm very happy with it, but it is starting to show its age. I've been thinking of building a cheap little desktop to play a couple of games that I'd prefer playing on a PC that my computer can't handle.

 

[Trippy Turtle]

I find them similar to most apple products. Pretty but not very useful compared to their counterparts. It did give me the idea to download rocketdock though.

 

[Woodsey]

Oh god man, what are you doing? Don't you know that saying you find Mac pleasing will get you castrated here?

Evidently he is just pretending so as to bait the real Mac users into revealing themselves. And once they have? Off with their balls!

 

[aba1]

I'm a multimedia designer so I use a Mac I have used Windows for years like most people. I find Mac is better for anyone working on any sort of media while windows is better for gaming. On the whole while pc's tend to have better hardware the Mac OS is simply superior which helps make up for since it requires less powerful hardware to run as smoothly as a pc with much stronger hardware.

I have noticed a few people mention that many programs are PC only but honestly it has come up maybe twice for me ever in roughly 7 years and I have had the same issue with a PC backwards too so I don't really think it is much of a point.

PC is alot cheaper and better gaming that is it's two strongest suits.

 

[Carbonyl]

I'm loving it. I'm not great with computers, I had an unfortunate experience in middle school and in the end the smoke from the back of the computer set off the fire alarm. All I did was try to turn it on. So I'm glad my Mac is just like "You don't know how to do things, let me do them for you." I am fine with that, this is often a true statement with me and computers. Also, there are actually a huge number of really great protein modeling and chemical drawing programs for Macs, some of them better than those for PCs (Because f*ck ChemDraw, MarvinSketch can model PROTEINS and has a better interface, and it's FREE). All of the Microsoft Office things work on here, and that's all I really need from those guys, those free games of Solitaire are exactly the opposite of what I need.

I don't use my Mac for gaming, I've never really been a computer gamer, not since I was playing the Magic School Bus games in like, second grade. We only had the one computer, it was in a basement full of tax returns and old silverware, and we had a Super Nintendo so where do you think a 3rd grader is going to play video games?

 

[Carbonyl]

I just tried to get my sister's to play a .avi file... It refused...

Possibly the 432nd reason I have personally found to not use one.

You need to use the VLC media player to get .avi to play. It won't come up with the normal default player.


I was willing to learn this much computer information because I would be damned if I would let a file extension keep me from watching my episodes of Doctor Who.

 

[theLadyBugg]

I've been working with a MacBook for about three years now, and it is my most favorite laptop. I call her Stacey. There are far fewer system issues, crashes, etc, than I've had with PCs, and in the event that something does go wrong and I don't know how to fix it, AppleCare is infinitely easier to work with than Microsoft support. A little pretentious, but ultimately more helpful.

I'm not a big Apple fan brand-wise, I don't use an iphone or ipad or any other Apple tech, but Stacy and OSX have been doing me just fine. The major drawbacks most people run into are the price, which is irrelevant since yours was a gift, the gaming capabilities (which doesn't affect me much, I'm definitely a console kind of girl), and the incompatibility with Windows-originated files or programs. And to that I say: In three years of mac usage, I have never encountered something that I couldn't run on my macbook. If the capability doesn't come naturally, there's *always* a free program online that makes it mac-friendly.

 

[Hazy992]

I do quite like Macs but I'm happy with Windows so I have no reason to switch. If I'm ever in a position to be able to spend £1000+ on a computer I'd just build a really good PC.

 

[The White Hunter]

You can also run OSX on a regular PC. It isn't exactly allowed but since Apple use Intel and AMD parts you can install OSX on most PCs.

I'm really rather tempted to try that now, though I imagine the results will be less than impressive. Since the biggest strength of macs, as I recall, is that they're only built by Apple, with the software very deliberately designed with the specific hardware in mind.

Whereas PC is a licenced thing from IBM so there are so many various combinations of various pieces of hardware that it's really difficult to properly optimise things for a PC.

Hence macs run smoother in general. Though as a direct consequence cost a shitload more, so relatively few people use them.

Or at least thats what we learned in Economics.

 

[Akkiko]

As a laptop, Macs are a pretty good way to go. Good graphics, decent processing speed and can do just about everything you'd need for day-to-day living.

As a gaming platform, it's terrible. A lot of game developers tend to program for mac users as an afterthought and a lot of people just don't even bother because Microsoft has had a monopoly on the computer gaming market for a long time. One of the biggest drawbacks is (and lets be honest here) the mods. One of the major perks for a computer over a console is the ability to tweak your game however you like but a lot of modders do not program for the Mac OS system and if you're not that good of a programmer yourself, you can pretty much give up on the concept altogether. (Recently hit that problem with DA2 and Minecraft.)

But on the bright side, that also means it's that much harder for malware to get into your system. So hey, silver lining.

 

[Limecake]

But on the bright side, that also means it's that much harder for malware to get into your system. So hey, silver lining.

while still technically true, it's quickly become a thing of the past. Computer usage has increased greatly over the past couple years with a large portion of the 'newbies' picking up a mac because of it's ease of use and 'lack of viruses'

However since macs have become even more popular, viruses have been turning up and some of them can be extremely damaging. The fact that the general population (of generally not very computer savy individuals) still think that Mac's are immune to viruses means that a lot of these people aren't even using anti-virus software. It's the same idea behind wearing a seatbelt while driving, it helps save you if you get into an accident but it doesn't mean you should be driving drunk at top speed.

Plus we've started discovering viruses for phones as well. The idea that any OS is impervious to virus attacks is outdated.

OT: PC guy myself, I don't mind macs but the attitude some fan boys have for them I can't stomach.

 

[zelda2fanboy]

I've used macs since I was 5 and I've been somewhat disappointed by my last few computers. One imac quit starting up entirely after about 3 years. Another imac would shut off at random intervals due to a faulty power supply, right out of the box (which they fixed). The hard drive on my current macbook failed, but they did replace it for free out of warranty. I had to buy a new power supply ($80) from Best Buy and didn't try to get a free one from the Apple Store because the nearest one is too far away for this to be economical. After replacing my hard drive, the case began to crack, which is a common problem with this model, so I have ugly scotch tape holding the base of it together. The screen also seems to be developing water spots or something. Also, the App Store is not compatible with my operating system, so if I ever want to use that source for software, I have to pay another $30 to get snow leopard, and I think another $30 on top of that to get Lion. The software package that comes with the computer isn't updated unless you buy the $80 packages with each iteration of the OS. There also isn't really a solid word processor designed by Apple anymore (R.I.P. Appleworks).

This current computer still runs relatively well after 4 years and I should upgrade, but so few models of laptop meet my specifications. All the baseline models have been replaced by the Macbook Air, which has no disc drive and almost no hard disc space (maxes out at 256 gb flash storage, which isn't helpful for the amount of porn and uncompressed music files I have backed up). The Macbook Pros start at $1200 and still don't have as much ram or hard disc space as computers that are $200 cheaper. I used to be able to argue that the system architecture was different enough that lower tech specs didn't apply to macs in the same way, but that argument doesn't hold water since they switched to Intel chips.

It's too bad because I do like the interface.

 

[BiscuitTrouser]

Because i run maintain and build the computers in my house for me and my parents i cant run linux on a custom machine like i want, instead i go with windows and im too lazy to boot a different OS just for me. I like windows in some respects but it doesnt really do it for me on other departments. Its good for gaming and i find the interface ok but its a pretty substandard OS. Mac has a nice OS but no games which is a little sad. Linux has a good OS but needs wine and the like which i imagine will irk me no end but ill probably get down to doing anyway.

Apple as a hardware sales company is overpriced to say the least and the chance of me buying one when i could get my own and buy the well built apple software instead is slim. Its the best of both worlds to do the above.

 

[roushutsu]

I've been used to Macs since I was in college and I use one for work. It's really good for web and graphic design work and I have not run into any problems with it yet.

 

[Raven's Nest]

I just tried to get my sister's to play a .avi file... It refused...

Possibly the 432nd reason I have personally found to not use one.

You need to use the VLC media player to get .avi to play. It won't come up with the normal default player.


I was willing to learn this much computer information because I would be damned if I would let a file extension keep me from watching my episodes of Doctor Who.

Having to use an alternative kind of throws the "Hi i'm a mac, easy and intuitive" argument away doesn't it?