Random thoughts about my experience with apple and microsoft
My ipod touch is the coolest, easiest-to-use,just works out of the box seemlessly, gadget I’ve ever owned. It promises to do a lot and over delivers.
I wish I had an iPhone.
I’ve never owned a mac but have wanted to for a couple years-mainly for the ability to make some great videos.
Every time I need to purchase a new computer for the house or dock I’ve looked at macs and just can’t bring myself to spend over double to get a similarly spec’d mac compared to a pc.
Windows 7 is a ginormouse step forward over any of the three previous pc operating systems I’ve used.
I LOVE it’s file system, love windows live writer for blogging, love windows LIVE movie maker(all new in windows 7), and many of the other features in win7
Although the iPad is cool as hell I’d rather have a $700 laptop with a 4g sprint connection which they will be rolling out this summer. faster speeds and you can do wayyyy more on a laptop than you can do on an iPad.
That’s not to say the iPad isn’t cool as hell, but you’d be able to do wayyyyy more on a $700 laptop with 4g.
I also think that a laptop is a better format for a mobile computing device than an iPad.
If you carry and iPad around you have to protect that screen. with a laptop you close the cover and the screen is protected.
With an iPad you need to hold it with one hand and type with one, with a laptop you adjust the angle of the screen to what works for how you are viewing it and bang away with two hands.
just off the top of my head.
Oh I’ll also add that the apple products have wayyyyy cooler interfaces.
the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad all are way cooler interfaces than any android or other phones or mini computers I’ve ever used.
Thoughts?
Comments?
Good Morning Gloucester 
Thanks to our converstations on the doc, I have made conversion to 7. My brother is a IT guru at UMass in Amherst. He said. “Do it. It’s solid,” What I found is that my machines are faster, more stabile, and easier to use.
I’m totally digging the Live Writer and as you have posted a few day ago, (thank you!!) my videos are now in Hi Deff and my work doesn’t look like crap when I make slide video any more.
I feel that we hafe lost some of the functionality in editing the music and sond tracks with the Live Movie Maker. But being able to make movie presentations from my stills and to take the videos from my Cannon point and shoot (couldn’t do that on the old movie maker) makes up for the lameness of the audio capabilities.
Sorry, no feedback on the MAC stuff. I’m not feeling the need of an iPhone. Graphics folks prefer Macs over PCs, and if that is what you do, then you should really consider the Mac.
Best regards,
Steve
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PS, Live Writer fricken ROCKS!
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Live writer does indeed rock!
I’m somewhat surprised there hasn’t been more positive press about Windows 7 but I guess that’s because it’s not trendy to say good things about Microsoft.
I was ready to jump ship when I couldn’t edit hd video on the vista/xp machines but just before I was going to buy a MacBook windows 7 came out and fixed a ton of the issues I had. I’m pretty happy with Windows 7. I wouldn’t have ever said that about xp or vista.
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You should check out Ubuntu 10.04. It’s free, there’s no need to buy a super powerful laptop to keep up with the required resources that a Mac or PC needs and it comes with a bunch of FREE movie editor, music editor… pretty much any other type of software you need.
You can try it out (for free) by installing Wubi http://wubi-installer.org/ It’ll allow you to dual boot your current Windows system. And if you don’t like it, simply remove it using Add/Remove Applications.
I’ve been using Ubuntu for around 3 years now and haven’t had a need to look back.
If you find that Ubuntu doesn’t give you exactly what you need, I say go with a Mac… but like you said you’ll have to pay more.
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I use Windows for Work and MAC for Home and have found that MAC is much more stable and less vulnerable to infection. The upfront costs are certainly higher, but in the long run a stable machine is cheaper, try getting Microsoft support!! Ipad is a springboard to a new computing device platform. if it wasn’t for APPLE pushing the market, Microsoft would have done nothing, they are a follower not a leader. my pennies worth.
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Couldn’t agree more. 🙂
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One huge thing you fail to mention is the whole world of viruses, worms, spyware, malware, and crapware.
As a tech person, I can’t tell you the number of hours I have seen lost due to this. If you are using a Mac, you are largely immune and while most people can’t bare to spend the Apple premium up front, it can save time an money in the long run.
The iPhone-iPad platform is closed and thus even easier to use and even less likely to be impacted by malicious software.
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Yup. I think it’s also good to note that Mac and Ubuntu are both (I believe) based off of Linux which by nature is more secure. Windows, though, is more open.
… and there is no Ubuntu premium 🙂
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Mac all the way. Interface matters not just for the pretty, but the functionality. Apple is intuitive and easy to use not to mention just awesome. iTunes, Address Book, iCal, Mail, Safari, iPhoto, iDVD, Spaces, Dashboard and Time Machine.
Have you used time machine? Oh my goodness! I can’t tell you how many times I’ve saved over a file or done something awful and you just go into Time Machine and choose an earlier version and *bling* there it is! I don’t have to make endless backup CDs or even think about it.
I can’t wait to get my mom an iPad. She doesn’t need to use Photoshop or any advanced programs and can’t get into too much trouble (but can have a lot of fun) with the closed system.
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Can I be your mom?
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Joey! Just go to the DARK SIDE Already!
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I’ve had PC’s in my lab since 1980 and Macs since 1985. Currently about 10 PCs and 20 Macs. My conclusion, PC Windows suck. They suck less than thy used to but they still suck.
1) Ease of use. Any Mac Program I can teach someone to use in ten minutes. Usually they just figure it out. PC programs usually require a manual. The PC science, data programs are just awful at this. Sometimes just printing some data out can be a nightmare. Never a problem on a Mac.
2) True cost of ownership, counting the programs that are seamlessly connected and already installed on the Mac, the longevity of a Mac. All my Macs are older than my PCs. When a PC gets a virus or an update, or something goes wrong I just throw it out because fixing it takes too much time. Not with a Mac. So counting true cost of ownership a Mac has always been cheaper and today is about half the price of a PC.
3) No viruses, no virus programs hogging CPU, no wondering if your computer has a bug, no worries. Really true cost of ownership you need to subtract all that time wasted too.
Computers 2010 Operating system: Win7 is OK. It’s almost as good as MacOSX, maybe version 10.3 from four or five years ago. But MacOSX 10.6 is today. Solid as a rock. I remember having to restart my computer when things get weird. My runtimes are now in the months and only are restarted after significant updates.
Computers 2010 Hardware. Macintosh laptops are about the only thing I would buy today. High end MacPro, everyday a MacBook. Art, photography, movies, web, writing, all can be done easily on one of these laptops. An iMac if you really need the screen real estate.
This week a laptop is heading off to summer school so I need to buy a new one. I am going to get an iPad and see if it will fill in. I think it will. With iWork onboard it should do writing, mail, internet, photo downloads. I’ve tried typing on one and I think I could get very used to it.
You don’t need a screen protector. I don’t screen protect my iPhone why should I worry about the iPad? Sure it will look well used after a year. Probably because it will be well used.
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IBLAH! JUST AN OVERSIZED ITOUCH!
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Hey the iTouch ain’t so bad, lol. It IS pricey though. If I were loaded I’d own one for sure.
Right now I’m savin up for a macbook though.
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I thought it was just an oversized iTouch too. I still do and I was hoping to wait until it had a GPS in it and a few other things to make it useful but then I tried it out.
The same feeling I got the first time I tried out an iPod. The same complaints back then. Just another mp3 player but heavier and more expensive. It will never sell.
No, it’s just an oversized iTouch but that is exactly what most of us need. Read a book, watch a movie, blog, cruise the web and email. Maybe do some photo retouching.
It will have GPS and it will have tethered usage to your camera. A remote view finder and an an instant viewer of the photo. I was going to wait but why wait? They’re cheap for what they replace.
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I agree Paul it is pretty cool but for my ” somewhat” power computing needs a MacBook or laptop with 3g or 4g would make higher priorities.
If they would have included the ability to edit movies and upload pictures without tethering it would probably be a clincher for me.
My guess is that the roll that shit out in the 3rd or 4th generation.
I understand why they left it out though- the majority of consumers will use it as a more readable larger iPod touch snd I gotta tell you, that really ain’t so bad. I absolutely love mine and for how much I use it it’s been worth the purchase price 2 times over. I probable wouldn’t say that if I didn’t have access to wifi though for a majority of my day.
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Once gone Mac, never going back…
Life is sooooo sweet when your phone and computer interface.
Btw the Ipad is not a $700 computer. It is an ipad.
If you like spending hours on PC’s, doing things that Macs do in minutes, obviously you’ve got way more time then $ !!! Have at ‘er.
Sometimes, there comes a time in our lives (often when we are older, as opposed to younger), when we we figure out that life doesn’t have to be crude and bloody. It is OK to go the softer, gentler, efficient, stress free and creative route…Most of us use power steering and automatic transmissions these days too! and yes, I was brought up to believe I’d get a higher place in heaven with all the suffering I do in life! So when I grew up, I got a Mac and a new religion 🙂 oh yea, if the $700 computer is so great, why are you giving the Mac all that free rent in your head?
Once gone Mac, never going back…
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As retirees and longtime Mac users we sprang for an iPad with 3G and GPS. Just got back from a cross continental plane trip taking the iPad instead of our MacBook Pro. Watched two full length movies each way using only 50% of battery power per trip. While in California we used the NetFlix ap to watch a streaming movie with the 3G connection. Also managed our e-mail, surfed the web to our hearts’ content, and followed some recipes using the Epicurious ap. The little beauty charges overnight and is ready for another 10 hours of untethered use.
Bought an Incase cover that provides protection and doubles as an adjustable easel. Also bought a nifty lightweight $65 Apple keyboard that connects with Bluetooth for lengthy writing.
We’ll be using the Navimatics navigation ap with ActiveCaptain to augment Nobeltec on our PC as we continue cruising.
No more fights over computer hogging which is a definite plus in the happy matrimonial department.
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