Moving to a Mac

[nfotiu]

Originally Posted by Barnes

Show me your Compaq.

It is a compaq sr2050nx. The processor is a dual core, but pentium d, so it is slower than the new core 2 duos, but from benchmark tests I've seen it is like 10-20% slower, not an order of magnitude slower. Doesn't justify 3x the cost for my purposes.

I don't know what's with everyone calling bs on editing hd movies.

That was the purpose I bought this pc for, as my laptop couldn't do it.

I have a canon HV10 HD camcorder that records at 1920x1080i. I have been editing home movies using pinnacle media studio for a few months.

I bring in the video in HDV format, and can make 1080i or 720p movies in WMA, real, or mpeg2, and can set the compression to whatever I want.

Editing using that pc and software is fast, and troublefree. Converting a 20 minute HD movie takes some time to whatever format (especially highly compressed) takes some time, as it probably would with any software.

I've also authored 1080i HD-DVD onto regular dvds. Although you can only fit about 20-30 minutes onto a regular dvd. Can a mac do that??

I also can capture HD movies and TV shows from my motorola cable box and edit out commercials and archive them to my hard drive. As far as I know, macs don't have any drivers for doing this.

[Bobblehead]

Originally Posted by Frank the Tank

http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/tech/moving-mac.html

Interesting article on the pros AND cons of a long-time Windows user trying out a Mac. I'm not trying to start a Windows vs. Mac debate because those are pointless, its just an interesting article and a lot of people who have never used a Mac don't fully understand how wonderful they really are!

Trying or not, looks like you did a good job!

[Frank the Tank]

And here I thought I'd post an interest piece that wouldn't turn into the Mac vs. PC debate. Sigh......

[I-Hate-Hulse]

Originally Posted by Barnes

Macs are more "expensive" until you actually compare them using facts.

Yes but try and do an upgrade 2 years later and then tell me what those comparisons look like. The lack of upgradability on a Mac skewers those comparison (ie if you still have a good LCD / HDD to move to the new rig).

It's also safe to say that Mac owners are stuck paying list or near list prices (edu discount is as good as it gets), while free market forces in the WinTel world result in some pretty crazy discounts on hardware/software. Having the Mothership controlling both hardware/software cuts both ways....

Frank - I get what you were trying to do but your last "It's Happy Unicorns!" sentence was guaranteed to kick off this endless and unresolvable debate...

[Frank the Tank]

Originally Posted by I-Hate-Hulse

Frank - I get what you were trying to do but your last "It's Happy Unicorns!" sentence was guaranteed to kick off this endless and unresolvable debate...

True dat. I thought everyone would see it for the tongue-in-cheek-I'm-a-Mac-homer-but-willing-to-show-the-CONS sort of way. Ah well.

[fanforever1986]

Originally Posted by nfotiu

Are systems hand picked to make macs look good facts? Or is my real life experience?

I spent $399US on a Compaq with 1 gb/ram, dual core processor, 250 gb hard drive, DVD burner, 13 in 1 media reader.

I use the free software (Pinnacle movie studio) to edit high definition movies, quickly and with no problems.

Show me a comparable mac that is less than $1200.

http://h10010.www1.hp.com/wwpc/uk/en...-12731312.html

sure you did.

[nfotiu]

Originally Posted by fanforever1986

http://h10010.www1.hp.com/wwpc/uk/en...-12731312.html

sure you did.

Sure I did, what? Why is everyone so quick to call BS on everything I am saying in this thread?

[fanforever1986]

Originally Posted by nfotiu

Sure I did, what? Why is everyone so quick to call BS on everything I am saying in this thread?

cause you're lying?

[SpitFire40]

I'd NEVER go to a mac as my main machine.. I want a Macbook though just to have

[I-Hate-Hulse]

Originally Posted by fanforever1986

http://h10010.www1.hp.com/wwpc/uk/en...-12731312.html

sure you did.

Not sure what you're implying here... but in case you're doubting nfotiu here's a link to a Froogle search... one of which is the HP Online sales site....

http://froogle.google.com/froogle?q=...erchant_review

Given that it's a Pentium D (older gen dual core processors), it's totally possible that someone blew out their stock at $399 like nfotiu said. We're talking USD don't forget. No monitor it looks like but unlike a Mac you could use your old one or get one for uber cheap.

Like Kramer said.... "Retail is for suckers!!!".

[Bobblehead]

Originally Posted by nfotiu

Sure I did, what? Why is everyone so quick to call BS on everything I am saying in this thread?

I have no idea. Pinnacle's Titanium edition can edit in HD.
I can't find the model computer you list, but in Canada on the HP website the closest is the CR2030, but it is an AMD CPU. In the US you may well have a model as you describe for that price.


The article Frank listed sounds pretty fair. Mac does a lot of stuff very well. It is a closed system so Apple can control the hardware used and minimize potential issues, and it does the bread and butter stuff very well. But since it is a closed system, it costs more and you can't upgrade as many bits and pieces as you can with WINtel systems.

For the people you know who will buy a computer this year, then use it until they buy another system in 5-7 years them perhaps Mac is the best choice. If you're someone who wants a really inexpensive computer and/or want to upgrade in bits and pieces over the life of the system; or the software you want isn't available on Mac, then stick with WINtel.

[Bobblehead]

Originally Posted by fanforever1986

cause you're lying?

You link to a UK site and use that as justification for calling him a liar?

I don't get how you can jump to that conclusion? Here it is.

[Barnes]

Originally Posted by Frank the Tank

True dat. I thought everyone would see it for the tongue-in-cheek-I'm-a-Mac-homer-but-willing-to-show-the-CONS sort of way. Ah well.

I stay out of these debates too. Or at least until people start saying things like Macs are expensive, Macs are only good for graphics, and so on that are clearly untrue.

Can I get a Mac for $399 US? No.

Would I want one if they made one? Hell no.

Does Apple have a product that competes in every product category? No.

Do they want to? No

[nfotiu]

Originally Posted by Barnes

I stay out of these debates too. Or at least until people start saying things like Macs are expensive, Macs are only good for graphics, and so on that are clearly untrue.

Can I get a Mac for $399 US? No.

Would I want one if they made one? Hell no.

Does Apple have a product that competes in every product category? No.

Do they want to? No

I'm not really even anti-mac. I've considered them when I've bought pcs.

I stand by my statement that they are expensive though.

I wanted this computer for 2 purposes. 1) To edit my hdv videos, and author HD DVD. 2) To archive HD TV/Movies from my HD DVR.

for 1) I would have to spend $1300 on hardware, and I believe another $1300 on software to do this on a mac (iMovie can't author HD DVD).

Seeing as how I can do this fine on a $399 Compaq PC, the mac option is too expensive.

As for 2), Macs aren't even capable of doing this.

[kermitology]

LOL at Claeren..

Mac's OS are a UNIX port so Vista's being as much like a *nix as it is a Mac OS.

The only reason I'm doing a refresh of my laptop is so that I can get ubuntu on it for dual boot. That and getting rid of a whole bunch of stuff from my previous employment.

The only problem I have with Mac's are the smug users. Tra-la-la I'm so much better than you are!

[Looger]

it's funny, the mactitude probably scares more potential users away than the price, which isn't 2x-4x like the bad old days i remember with $7,000 quadra systems.

my first experiences with mactitude were with school teachers, who were practically paid lobbyists in some bc school districts.

[Table 5]

Originally Posted by Looger

my first experiences with mactitude were with school teachers, who were practically paid lobbyists in some bc school districts.

haha, I can relate since I had a similar teacher in Junior High who was virtually a Mac Salesman. This was at a time when I think Mac's really weren't that great compared to PC's, as it was only after OSX do I think they really started to pull away in quality for a certain demographic (ie. me).

I do agree sometimes that Mac's come across as more smug (I personally hate the Mac guy in the recent ads), but if you can get past that and actually try the product, you will see why so many people are adamant about them.

[SpitFire40]

Originally Posted by kermitology

The only problem I have with Mac's are the smug users. Tra-la-la I'm so much better than you are!

So fricken true... like that hippie ###### on the commercials... Man I want to kick him in the nuts...

[Flame On]

Originally Posted by SpitFire40

So fricken true... like that hippie ###### on the commercials... Man I want to kick him in the nuts...

I work in a largely windows environment with a few Macs. Who are all so sure that it's so much better. With no real knowledge of why they think that.
For the most part I've found that when a mac person raves about them they're generally a hobbyist. That's what the ads are all about, essentially tinkering away at home with some photos and music stuff.
They wouldn't know what backwards compatibility meant if their life depended on it.

[Table 5]

Originally Posted by Flame On

For the most part I've found that when a mac person raves about them they're generally a hobbyist. That's what the ads are all about, essentially tinkering away at home with some photos and music stuff.

Actually, people who use Macs for photography are not tinkerers, but professionals. I work in the industry and deal with photographers/designers/illustrators on a daily basis, and I have not ONCE run into a one professional who uses a PC for these tasks. It's pretty rare in our world....definitely not something for "tinkerers". It would be like saying that gamers use PC's as a backup.