I am new to the computer game, so I have a cheapo Advent lappy (which is actually a Toshiba inside) with 1GB DDR2 ram with 160 GB HD and a Intel Celeron duel core processor and a lovily 15" HD screen all for £330 on line and ready to go.

OK I have a mate who got me all the programs I need for a very reasonable price £0. For someone like myself who only uses his lappy for communication and windows office this machine is fine, actually, I'm rather fond of it.

Everyone of my friends whom work in Media or design of any sort would agree with you wholeheartedly. A Mac is a better work compuer where you dont have to worry about virises and a much better internal operating system. All of them though have a PC for doing stuff like this to avoid communication problems with their less tech savvy friends.

My first choice would have been a Mac as I hope to be able to work from my Lap-top some day and they are a much better computer, although, as you say, they are prohibitivly pricey, Very very sexy bits of kit though.

So for me at the moment it is going to be PC.

I do understand, Phat. And your point about the software is well taken - I've spent thousands between Office for Mac so I can keep up with my friends, to recording software. My roommate has spent nothing on software. It IS about price vs what you really need to get things done. Good price on that lappy!

John

john, i have similar experiences,
been building,(and taking apart) PC's since my commodor ,and apple2c.
and every thing up to what i have now.
at my house we have both, and honestly i like em both for different stuff.
some thing still just work better on my gaming rig. but yea, i hear you , there are some things that the imac runs real sweet.

although for my lil home studio, i'm running sonar7 and a few others and it runs like a champ.
that rig has a 780i chipset q6600 quad, 8gigs ram vista64 and an e-mu 1212 creative soundcard, well and another x-fi plat for mastering and playback (for some reason playback just sounds better on the x-fi than the e-mu)
sonar runs and records like a dream in 64bit mode:)

i never thought of trying to run my sound progs on the imac, but maybe its worth a try:)

You know, that brings up an interesting thought. Seems that there's alot of discrepancies between users of Sonar. I used a lesser version called Cakewalk, as did many friends. Some got incredible results, others got crap (like myself). I wonder if it's a chipset issue. You have the PC Quad?! SWEET!! THAT must be hot... I love my Quad - only multi-track recording can actually challenge it. Even video editing has not as of yet posed any issues.

I have the DigiRack 003, using Pro Tools 7x, and more plug-ins than space to write. About to buy the heavy metal expansion pack for Amplitube II.

I've seen you play on your videos - I'm envious. Very skilled, indeed. It's not the equipment, but the player.

John

oh yea, i forgot to mention that .
amplitube II rocks, yea, the metal expansion is all that.
i had a few versions of other cakewalk recording soft as well, and you are right the performance varries.
but there is no comparrison between the 32 bit and the 64 bit, its like a whole diff program.
ive never used pro tools, but id like too, i may need to ask you a few questions if i do get it if you dont mind.

yea, that quadrcore with the 8 gigs in 64bit mode works the best ive ever had a program go, well so far any way.
only problem is that certian vst's arent compatable, but i have plenty that do run with it
i still like the idea of trying out the imac sometime.

Yes; I'd rty the iMac as well. We use two of them, and they're flawless as far as we can tell.

I'd heard that there was a huge difference between Cakewalk and it's big brother Sonar. That may indeed have been my original problem.

Pro Tools help? I'll do my best! I don't know it all, but I know a lil, and I'm a quick study. Lemme know!

John

Sounds like you have a helluva machine there John. I think all PC's, be they Macs or windows boxes, are or can be powerful. It's the window's boxes are hampered by their OS - Windows. Full of bloat and not very stable, window's popularity has doomed computing forever to being stuck with unstable boxes that often give you more trouble then they're worth. XP was a mammoth step forward for the window's environment but now they're touting vista which, imho, is another dog. Many years ago I owned an Amiga box, I still consider the most stable and powerful machine I've owned to date. I'd have loved to see what the Amiga architecture and OS would have been like with the power of today's hardware. It would have been awesome.

However I've never owned a Mac. I used on for a while in work and my brother has a couple of them. They are decent machines and far more stable then a window's box.

Agreed, Tony. With the ditching of the Motorola chipsets and architecture, leaving Intel to dominate the market, both OS X and Windows run on the same machines. It now comes down to the OS. imho, the Windows registry is the single biggest problem with the OS - an unnecessary problematic database whose primary function seems to be to slow things down and preventing the removal of unwanted programs. XP was the most stable version to date. OS X is a derivative of Unix, one of the most stable and secure OS's ever. Sure is smooth...

;0)

John

wouldn't know a SATA bus if it bit me on the butt- but 3 TB- THAT I understand- computerwise, thats a big Johnson...

but like the old song says " gimmee dat ol' XP OS, it's good enough for me.."

Agreed, pastor Mike. XP is the ONLY version of Windows that I'D ever use.

JOhn

Well, for future computer purchases, I am sold on the Mac! I am currently working on a Dell laptop running Windows Vista (I know- "Shame, shame!"). I have been pretty lucky with it so far (compared to what I have heard). I am having a bit of computer envy now, however. :(

Good to see you, Barb. Mac are hard to resist once you've tried one. Just bring lots of money; they are quite pricey. If the Dell is serving you properly, then you are fortunate, and consider yourself lucky - many with Vista complain bitterly of unstable and over-secure system operations. Be well, and hope all is going well with you.

John

Wow you do know much about computers and thank you for the knowlege. If I buy a new comuter any time I will just buz you up and see if you think I am making the right decisions in the type computers I prefer.

Always glad to offer some tips or advice - I hate seeing friends spend money to be frustrated by what they own. There's only a few things I know well; as of yet, computing is still one of 'em. Take care, dear.

John

Great post John! Although I've not owned a Mac I've known for years that they have the better machine for business and from what I am hearing now days for pleasure as well.

Much like yourself I've been in the computer game since long before the invent of the personal pc or internet. I've even had the pleasure of having my hands on a 305 RAMAC! That was the 1st hard disk computer produced in 1956! No I didn't touch the original, I am old but not that old. HA!

I do remember the days of SCP 86-DOS (for those that don't know this was the original DOS prior to Bill Gates and Paul Allen acquiring a license for it in 1980). After that all us old computer geeksters came to know it as DOS 1.0 in 1981 I am thinking. Sorry but the memory is not what it used to be.

I also remember cursing the hell out of Windows 1.0, most people I know loved it but I am one that resists change and I was not a GUI fan period. Give me DOS or give me death I believe is what I used to say. Although that was in 1985 it sure seems like eons ago! Since that time I've built nearly 1,000 computers. Started out as a business until that little prick Michael Dell pushed me out. Now it is more a hobby and one that I should change as I have nearly 30 in my computer room now.

Anyhow, interesting blog and I am thinking that I want to experience the Mac for myself now.

Suggestions on a model?

Wow, Ed. You DO have a PC background! I hated Windows so much that I refused to learn it until 3.11 - I preferred DOS using TSR's - remember those? Terminate, Stay Resident programs that were initiated by a keystroke combo? Long time ago... chkdsk/f, dir/w, copy c:dos*.exe <space> a:storage, etc.

If you want balls out power, you've GOT to test drive a Mac Pro - any model will floor you. Hell, try one regardless! They go from 2.66 GHz Quad cores to the latest 3.0 GHz Octo! And up to 32 GB RAM! But honestly, they'll try to push the 30" monitor (which I own). For $1,800 it's overpriced - Magnavox sells a BETTER unit for half the price, same size, and compatibility amongst monitors is a non-issue. A little less pricey is the iMac (I own 2 of 'em). Amazingly small desktop footprint, all the power most PC users need and then some, and many great features - WOW players love 'em, especially the small monitor model, since it refreshes faster. The monitor is the biggest drawback - although a stunning display, you cannot replace it. get the warranty on this thing, for sure. Remember, you'll have t' BUY software, as piracy is well controlled by Mac. Lemme know what ya think!

John

John, If people today had to suddenly type out the commands to move around a PC they would be as lost as I am around physics! HA! Ask some youngster how to reassign or resolve a conflict with an irg andd you get that deer in the headlight look! LOL!

I remember the old DOS days and reflect on them as some very good times. I remember having a BBS program that ran under DOS 5. I had 6 phone lines running into to it and over 300 people around town that would log onto my PC to play the games or leave messages or swap files.

Of course with Windows 95 came the death of using DOS commands for the most part just as with the invent of the internet killing the old bullitin board systems. Somedays I think progress just plain sucks.

Thanks for the info on the Macs. I am going to check a few of them out soon. I am really sick of MS and their security hole laden operating system.

Here is to dos memories;

BREAK
CALL
CHCP
CHDIR(CD)
CLS
COPY
CTTY
DATE
DEL(ERASE)
DIR
ECHO
EXIT
FOR
GOTO
IF
MKDIR(MD)
PATH
PAUSE
PROMPT
REM
RENAME(REN)
RMDIR(RD)
SET
SHIFT
TIME
TYPE
VER
VERIFY
VOL
APPEND.EXE
ASSIGN.COM
ATTRIB.EXE
BACKUP.EXE
CHKDSK.EXE
COMMAND.COM
COMP.EXE
DEBUG.EXE
DISKCOMP.COM
DISKCOPY.COM
DOSKEY.COM
DOSSHELL.COM
EDIT.COM
EDLIN.EXE
EMM386.EXE
EXE2BIN.EXE
EXPAND.EXE
FASTOPEN.EXE
FC.EXE
FDISK.EXE
FORMAT.COM
GRAFTABLE.COM
GRAPHICS.COM
HELP.EXE
JOIN.EXE
KEYB.COM
LABEL.EXE
MEM.EXE
MIRROR.COM
MODE.COM
MORE.COM
NLSFUNC.EXE
PRINT.EXE
QBASIC.EXE
RECOVER.EXE
REPLACE.EXE
RESTORE.EXE
SETVER.EXE
SHARE.EXE
SORT.EXE
SUBST.EXE
SYS.COM
TREE.COM
UNDELETE.EXE
UNFORMAT.COM
XCOPY.EXE