A poll about Apple

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Your Mac experience

Never used a Mac
9
26%
Use a Mac when i am forced to
3
9%
Have a Mac as my secondary computer
5
14%
Have a Mac as my main computer
2
6%
Only ever use a Mac
0
No votes
Would like a Mac
12
34%
No interest in owning a Mac
4
11%
 
Total votes: 35

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RobertGonzalez
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Post by RobertGonzalez »

Aparently that is true. At least I got that impression when I searched for available ports. :roll:
Roja
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Post by Roja »

Gambler wrote:If I want FreeBSD, I will use FreeBSD.
Ah, but by choosing FreeBSD, you lose one of the best window management systems in the world (Sorry, I love Gnome and KDE, but they don't hold a torch to OSX). You also lose flawless device management (TRUE plug-and-play), and some of the easiest to use applications in the world - while still being geek-level powerful.

FreeBSD has its place too. I would be unlikely to run OSX on a server. But for desktop usability, device support, polished UI, and apps? FreeBSD falls behind.
Gambler wrote:If I want to play games, I'm forced to use Windows.
Thats no longer true. The five games I play most (including World of Warcraft) all have been released on OSX, and more continue to be each day. The hardware is more than capable of it - in fact my Windows gaming machine at home is *less* powerful than the current MacBookPro offerings - and its a desktop!
Gambler wrote:What's the point of buying overpriced Apple-branded hardware?
It depends on your criteria. If you are comparing metal-to-metal, the apple hardware is only roughly 10-15% more expensive for the MacBookPro line (and offers hardware features you can't get from Dell or HP).

But if you include all of the software, applications, drivers, and so forth, it becomes well worth it - for some people.

For me, its the best combination on the market today. Screaming fast hardware, great device drivers, fantastic UI, incredibly powerful apps, AND a unix environment?! Its a no-brainer.

Then add in that it is the only hardware on the planet that can run Windows, Linux, and OSX natively, and its even more delicious.

Overpriced? Its UNDERpriced in my book.
Gambler wrote:Besides, Apple is one huge hype machine, and I simply don't like companies like that.
As I'm often heard quoting.. "The only difference between arrogance and self-confidence is whether I'm capable of the things I claim"
Gambler
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Post by Gambler »

Ah, but by choosing FreeBSD, you lose one of the best window management systems in the world
What does it do, exactly?
You also lose flawless device management (TRUE plug-and-play)
What devices could I possible manage? Can I even use Logitech mouse with Apple?
The five games I play most (including World of Warcraft) all have been released on OSX, and more continue to be each day.
If I would want to play horrible mainstream titles, I would buy XBox.
Screaming fast hardware
What is the price of the cheapest Mac that can run HL2 on medium settings?
The only difference between arrogance and self-confidence is whether I'm capable of the things I claim
http://www.apple.com/getamac/ads/
d3ad1ysp0rk
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Post by d3ad1ysp0rk »

Gambler wrote:
The five games I play most (including World of Warcraft) all have been released on OSX, and more continue to be each day.
If I would want to play horrible mainstream titles, I would buy XBox.
Screaming fast hardware
What is the price of the cheapest Mac that can run HL2 on medium settings?
Two things;
If you don't play "horrible mainstream titles", why would you care about it's ability to play HL2?
Also, do you avoid the radio because it's too "mainstream" and "conformist", so you listen to <span style='color:blue' title='I&#39;m naughty, are you naughty?'>smurf</span> local bands instead?

Mainstream is not always bad. Actually, it rarely is. Half life 2, WoW, FEAR, Halo, etc, are ALL great games.
Roja
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Post by Roja »

Gambler wrote:
Ah, but by choosing FreeBSD, you lose one of the best window management systems in the world
What does it do, exactly?
Basically everything that other window managers claim to do, but it actually does it.

Things like antialiasing that doesn't look like roadkill.

Easy install and uninstall of applications (just drag the bundle/folder to the trash can. No registry, no ini files, no search in system32, no digging through /usr/sbin, just ONE action).

Smooth transitions from one application to another, instead of the alt-tab, PAUSE for 1 minute while Gnome swaps memory on a system with 2gigs of ram just because thats the default behavior, wait for the screen to render, behavior. Or the Windows behavior of alt-tab, oh wait, the entire system crashed thanks to one app - even in XP.

Local search done the way someone intelligent would do it, for one, is a huge win. Search is fast, doesn't steal huge amounts of processing (thanks windows fastfind), and even gives results that makes sense, as opposed to gnomes wonderful results of /usr/bin/some.file.from.a.man.page.that.doesnt.have.any.relation.to.my.search.1
Gambler wrote:
You also lose flawless device management (TRUE plug-and-play)
What devices could I possible manage? Can I even use Logitech mouse with Apple?
Digital cameras, film equipment, cellphones, iPods, external burners (DVD/CD/etc), memory drives, printers, monitors, and yes, even logitech mice!

The list is long and distinguished. You don't sound like you've faced the pain of poor device management. I've got a major market brand webcam that Windows - even in XP - still cannot correctly configure. Despite it being a "Windows certified driver", logo on the box and all! The Mac I tried it on, blissfully, immediately had it configured upon plugin. Thats the level of support of which I speak.
Gambler wrote:If I would want to play horrible mainstream titles, I would buy XBox.
*You* brought up gaming as a requirement. Mac's meet that need quite well. If you choose obscure titles that don't run well in OSX, feel free to use BootCamp to run windows to play them.
Gambler wrote:
The only difference between arrogance and self-confidence is whether I'm capable of the things I claim
http://www.apple.com/getamac/ads/
Can you point to something in those ads that they are not capable of doing, or did you ignore the context of my comment?
Gambler
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Post by Gambler »

*You* brought up gaming as a requirement. Mac's meet that need quite well.
The point is, Windows runs all OS X titles I know of, plus hundreds of other games. And I can build a killer gaming machine for the price of iMac, which has mediocre specs. As a gaming machine Mac does not make any sense.

And I don't think it is an adequate replacement for Linux/UNIX workstation either. You'd be forced to compile things manually all the time. (Apache and PHP, for example.)

Expensive "home computer?" Maybe. But I don't need an expensive home computer.
Can you point to something in those ads that they are not capable of doing, or did you ignore the context of my comment?
If you missed the message, Apple claims to be better than PC in all aspects, plus it claims to make people "cool."
matthijs
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Post by matthijs »

Ok, just one tiny example: everytime someone visits my house with a pc laptop, getting connected to the wireless is troublesome. People with iBooks, just open them up and immediately are online. Don't know if that's normal, but it was remarkable.

The white macbooks are doing pretty well around here in the netherlands, as all shops have trouble getting enough delivered.
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John Cartwright
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Post by John Cartwright »

matthijs wrote:Ok, just one tiny example: everytime someone visits my house with a pc laptop, getting connected to the wireless is troublesome. People with iBooks, just open them up and immediately are online. Don't know if that's normal, but it was remarkable.

The white macbooks are doing pretty well around here in the netherlands, as all shops have trouble getting enough delivered.
I can't recall anyone ever having trouble connecting with PC's on my networks :?
matthijs
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Post by matthijs »

Yeah, it could be my wireless of course, I don't know. it was just something I noticed. Anyway, a few days waiting and I'll be able to compare pc - apple better :) I think that even if half the stories about OS x are true I'll be a happy man. From what I've seen and the few moments of using it all seemed to work very well. But we'll have to see.
Roja
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Post by Roja »

Gambler wrote:
*You* brought up gaming as a requirement. Mac's meet that need quite well.
The point is, Windows runs all OS X titles I know of, plus hundreds of other games.
On that I'll agree. Microsoft, through its predatory monopoly, has built a strong history of lock-in with many software developers. Of course, encouraging that doesn't match my moral compass, which is why I'm more interested in alternatives than perhaps other people are.
Gambler wrote:And I can build a killer gaming machine for the price of iMac, which has mediocre specs.
Nice selective choice. Try stacking up against a MacBookPro. Suddenly, its not such mediocre specs, and it competes quite well at the high-end.

Gaming machines are VERY rarely anything but the high-end, so choosing an iMac is a bit of a joke.
Gambler wrote:As a gaming machine Mac does not make any sense.
Does it play *every* game I want to play? Yes. Does it do so without encouraging a convicted predatory monopolist that has destroyed entire business industries? Yes.

Does it do so at a comparable price, with comparable specs, and with a superior in almost every way Operating system?

Sure does.

Sounds like it makes a lot of sense - for me. Your criteria seem to be different.
Gambler wrote:And I don't think it is an adequate replacement for Linux/UNIX workstation either. You'd be forced to compile things manually all the time. (Apache and PHP, for example.)
Its not a *replacement* for anything. It is a direct competitor.

But as to the need to manually compile things, hogwash. Apple hosts a huge number of packages that you can install (yes, including Apache), but why stop there?

Use Fink, and get 6575 packages all preconfigured for OSX. Thats more than Fedora core (6066). Sounds like Linux is slipping?
Gambler wrote:If you missed the message, Apple claims to be better than PC in all aspects, plus it claims to make people "cool."
It is better than the PC in virtually all aspects, and frankly, running Microsoft's OS detracts cool points in MY book at least, which means by default, yeah, running OSX would make you more cool. (At least for me).

I've worked on PC's since the 286 days. I've seen over a decade of evidence showing an enourmous justification to use *anything* else instead. But most importantly, I've used a Mac.

The poll question, and the topic was what your experience with a Mac was. It sounds like you have nothing but a collection of complaints about what you've read and heard about Mac's.

Perhaps before jumping back in to the thread, you should use a Mac, so you can be on-topic.
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Chris Corbyn
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Post by Chris Corbyn »

Although things are within limits for now, let's try not to turn this into a flame war. I think you've made your point now Gambler thanks.
Gambler
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Post by Gambler »

I think you've made your point now Gambler thanks.
Aye aye, sir! Shutting up sequence is in progress, sir.
bg
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Post by bg »

I got myself a macbook pro. I have the 15in 2.16ghz core duo with 2gb ram. F-ing sweet computer, my first mac and never looking back. Got windows running through parallels and runs as if it were native, except for games of course. World of Warcraft looks and runs great on it. Never crashed. Not once.

I am one of the brave souls who replaced the stock thermal paste application. Replaced with arctic silver 5. I personally have noticed a big difference. I have pictures and could go into further detail the issues regarding the stock thermal paste application if anyone is interested.
bg
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Post by bg »

Gambler wrote:
*You* brought up gaming as a requirement. Mac's meet that need quite well.
And I don't think it is an adequate replacement for Linux/UNIX workstation either. You'd be forced to compile things manually all the time. (Apache and PHP, for example.)
I find it to be a pretty good replacement. One thing I don't miss is trying to mess around with automounting, HAL, kernel upgrades, WIRELESS wrappers, fstab, rc.d, the overhead of having to use GTK and QT and then trying to make the interface appear uniform, the hassle of upgrading WMs, configuring X to look good on a laptop, messing with composite to get half-assed visual effects... want me to go on? It's snappier, looks better, and "just works". I have all the gnu tools available to me. I can automount NFS shares, windows shares, well, anything really. I can download a sweet IDE (xcode) for free. In windows, I would have to pay a hefty fee for the "privilege" of coding for windows using their IDE. Oh yeah, and xcode uses gnu tools, so projects are easily portable.

Macs come stock with a web server, grid computing capability, video editing, audio editing, photo management, and media center capabilities. We do not have to worry about a "home" edition, "media center edition" or a "professional" version, or in other words, we don't pay a premium for features that should come stock.

Windows does come bundled with some decent software so I should point it out. Windows defender rocks, and keeps users safe from the constant barrage of spyware. IE has most ease-of-use for any hacker wanting to install software on your computer. Yes, and bringing the topic back to "sweet gaming rigs" I hope you figured the $300 its gonna cost to upgrade to Vista for the distinct pleasure of using DirectX10.
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Post by Jixxor »

My question is if it is at all possible to run OSX on a custom hardware setup? I enjoy the freedom of being able to design and build my own machines and thus far, the only OS choices I know of predominantly come from either a Windows environment or a *nix environment. If Apple has not broken in with OSX into this arena, I would love to see them do so. I don't necessarily run windows by choice, but virtually by the fact that it is the easiest to use at this time.
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