Mar 10
A Mac in the mix? Time for a new PC
My computers (desktop and laptop) are in serious need of replacement. My wallet, however, is in conflict with my needs, which is why the needs are now dire. In the next two or three months I will have to bite the bullet and start replacing them. One of the questions I am seriously considering is whether to go for a Mac (or indeed two) rather than a Windows machine. I thought I would post my reflections sporadically here for two reasons:
- Some kind people out there might be good enough to give me some advice (and I know there are some readers who have Macs). Equally, while I hope comment advice will be forthcoming, I’m going to ask any commenter to avoid spelling Microsoft with a dollar sign or Windows with a “doze”.
- As I’ve started looking on the web for advice, most sites purporting to offer it are from people who have become Apple evangelists in their switching and have all the zeal of a convert — and as always, it’s not necessarily appealing to the unconverted. It seemed to me that if I blogged my thinking while I was doing it, someone else in their turn might find this helpful, whatever decision I come to.
I did once consider the Mac question before and on that occasion decided pretty quickly not to buy, as much on grounds of cost and software availability as anything else. I admit to generally having always liked their design and simplicity since I first played on a friend’s in 1985, but I was often put off by either what I saw as the company’s litigiousness (e.g pouring dollars and time in to trying to stop others using windows and mice), the fanboy zeal, or Steve Jobs’ control freak mentality. But the two major obstacles to my choosing a Mac at that time, both look somewhat different now.
Cost is far less of an issue. It’s true that you can’t buy a cheap Mac. But, at least in the consumer range, prices are roughly comparable for the quantity and quality of what you get. (I’m not at all sure the Pro range isn’t still seriously overpriced.) Macs have become competitors in the PC market rather than a niche product for designers.
Back then, as well, to make the change I would have had to change all of my software at the same time that I changed my hardware, and that would have been really hard and expensive to do. Now it is possible for me to run all my existing software, and make such changes as and when I feel ready to. One of the great advantages of Macs currently is that they are the only machines which can run software written for OS X and/or Windows.
So the choice is a real one, but it’s not the only one. Other things I have to consider are a) a mixed economy with, say, a Windows desktop, and a MacBook networked and b) a notebook only solution, with docking station. I don’t, initially, find either of those particularly attractive options. The former introduces potential complications I don’t really need, and additional software expenses. The latter concerns me about not having a back-up machine if one goes off for repair, and I’m also concerned that laptops still aren’t up to it in terms of cooling and battery life, or in having slower and smaller hard-drives, and less capable video cards.
Anywhere, bear with me. I hope for some good advice in the comments, as well as being able to help others looking at similar decisions. Next post coming soon. Once I’ve got a few up, I’ll index them on a separate and static page. And, hey, I’ve managed a whole post without once discussing the merits of the respective OSes.
March 10th, 2008 at 7:18 pm
My MacBook Pro offers you just one testimony. She sits cool on a fan every day, runs both the Mac OS and the Windows OS (via Parallels software–a must have). She never has to run malware, adware, or antivirus software like my two home boys (i.e., the PCs at home) do. She’s faster than them. She has given me a bit of a learning curve (new keyboard commands and software that can’t be looked at under the hood as easily), but she knows I like to learn.
March 10th, 2008 at 8:29 pm
Doug, it’s not that these new Intel-based Macs will run Windows programs within the Mac OS, if that’s what you’re thinking. You’ll need to partition the hard drive and install Windows on a separate partition, and then load the Windows software on there. One issue I’ve heard of (I don’t know anyone who’s done this personally yet) is that of drivers. There aren’t Windows drivers for Mac hardware, of course, though people are working on writing them.
Comparing laptop prices the other day, Macs are certainly more expensive than Windows ones, at least out here in CA (which really doesn’t make sense, since Apple is a local Bay Area company!).
If you’re going for a Windows machine, I’d recommend a Lenovo ThinkPad. Lenovo is the company that’s been making the IBM ThinkPads all along. IBM just dropped the facade. I’ve had a T20 since 2000, and it still runs just fine. I think they may be coming out with more models quite soon, as their prices have dropped considerably since November. Another laptop that some guys I know have gotten is the HP Compaq 8710w. These are drool-worthy. They’re enormous, but they’re desktop replacements more than mobile workstations. The display is magnificent. I’m wavering between one of those (because of the video/display) and a new ThinkPad (known reliability). Probably this coming month I’ll get one or the other.
So there’s my two cents.
March 10th, 2008 at 10:20 pm
I’ll be saying more about running Windows on a Mac later (esp virtualisation), but AFAIK the Boot Camp installer offers the option of installing Apple hardware drivers for Windows.
March 11th, 2008 at 12:16 am
I am an avid fan of Micro$oft’s Windoze XP. Sorry. Just had to do that. But, it is true. I love XP. I’ve heard mixed things about moving to Vista, though I’ve heard it works pretty well as long as you buy new hardware. I know several people who have had great success with buying a Mac and running Windows XP on it, with VMWare, Parallels, or Bootcamp. I’ve considered doing the same, though I have no intention of switching to the Mac. Since I am someone who programs on the Windows platform that is probably not a great idea :).
March 11th, 2008 at 10:03 am
I have a Windows laptop as my only machine (although I must admit that there are three desk-tops and another laptop in the house, so if I were to get stuck, I would be able to negotiate time on one of them if necessary - even if I had to make do with Open Office on Linux for a while.) I have an external keyboard and mouse at my office and another one at home, and always travel with a small keyboard and mouse because I really don’t like typing for any extended period using a laptop keyboard and touchpad. I have never felt the need for a docking station as such.
My machine is about six months old and a Dell Inspiron 1520. It came with Vista installed, but seeing there is no Coptic keyboard for Vista and I am doing a PhD on the Gospel of Thomas, I didn’t try Vista for more than a few days before I “downgraded” to XP. The old laptop used to have fan/heat problems, but the new one doesn’t. I also have 3 GB of RAM, which is somewhat overkill for XP.
My colleague in the next office has a Mac and our experience is that Windows software for Macs functions somewhat differently to Windows software for PCs. When I try to show him how to use advanced features in Word, they work slightly differently on his Mac - but he is using Word for Mac, not trying to run Windows software designed for a PC. The thing I really, really hate about using a Mac is the way the desktop works. If you let your mouse move a mm (or 1/8th in, for those who don’t do metric) out of the program you’re actually using to anywhere near a desktop icon, suddenly random programs open in windows all over your desktop and it seems that Macs like to set things up so that you don’t have the program you’re using filling the whole screen so I constantly have these random windows opening whenever I’m using a Mac. If someone gave me a Mac and said I had to use it, I’m sure I’d adjust, though.
I’m also quite happy with the video on my machine, although I must admit I don’t do a whole lot of high end graphics manipulation. How big a hard drive are you looking for, incidentally?
March 11th, 2008 at 2:14 pm
Well, thanks all for these comments. There’ll be plenty more to comment on later. Just a couple of observations.
As Eric says, I’d be thinking mainly of running Windows software under Parallels or VMWare Fusion, though occasionally might want to boot into Windows especially while transitioning from one to another.
As Eric and Judy say, Windows XP is a fine operating system. I’ve been running it almost from when it came out (and the early days were a nightmare of driver problems and updates) and like it very much. I think Vista’s biggest problem is that most Windows users are happy with what they’ve got and see no need to upgrade.
I could quite as easily see myself running Vista as OS X.
It’s a real decision for me to explore, not a forgone conclusion. That’s why I’m going to really appreciate the feedback.
March 11th, 2008 at 9:35 pm
Why buy too computers. Get a fully featured notebook and add a wireless mouse/keyboard and even a larger flatscreen monitor for your office. Then you can use the two screens together! It may also help the budget issues as well.
March 12th, 2008 at 10:25 pm
Well, I’m clearly going to have to keep the one machine / two machines question open at the moment, and bracket it out a bit from the PC or Mac question. Maybe if I make my mind up on that one, the other will look a bit clearer.
March 12th, 2008 at 11:29 pm
[...] first musings about choosing between another PC or a Mac got some helpful comments. I hope you, dear reader, will [...]
March 13th, 2008 at 12:02 am
I know I’m coming late to this discussion, but it’s also worth noting that the latest Mac operating system (OS X 10.5 Leopard) includes Boot Camp, which allows you to run Windows on a separate partition of your hard drive. It’s very handy.
June 11th, 2008 at 7:49 pm
“…but I was often put off by either what I saw as the company’s litigiousness”
I don’t know what litigiousness you speak of. At any right one must admit that Apple has far better business management than Microsoft. Apple has 20 Billion in the bank,and despite the current economy is still making money, while MS actually isn’t even though it dominates approx. 90-95% of the market.
“pouring dollars and time in to trying to stop others using windows and mice” If you’re going to criticize either for pouring money into stopping the other, that would have to be Microsoft. And what do you mean about the mice bit. Apple more or less invented the mouse.
“or Steve Jobs’ control freak mentality.” …Have you ever heard of Steve Balmer?
“Cost is far less of an issue. It’s true that you can’t buy a cheap Mac. But, at least in the consumer range, prices are roughly comparable for the quantity and quality of what you get.”
Quite true. However, keep in mind that OSX uses significantly less system resources than does Vista. I don’t use Vista, but having researched it extensively I’d say you’ll need at least 4GB of RAM to do much of anything on it. On the other hand, 2 or 3 GB of RAM on with OSX is a very decent amount.
“One of the great advantages of Macs currently is that they are the only machines which can run software written for OS X and/or Windows.”
…Simultaneously. Still, don’t forget that you CAN run OSX as a dual boot on a windows machine (illegally) using x86 software. But Boot Camp on OSX is not limited to windows; keep that in mind. You can also run, simultaneously, Mandrake Linux, Fedora Linux, Ubuntu Linux, Solaris, BSD, and whatever other OS you like.
Just a couple other notes, if you’re looking at a Mac “desktop” don’t go for the Mac Pro tower unless you are really that kind of power for serious applications. Yes, the Mac Pro looks a lot like regular Windows towers so many people think its for average use. It isn’t; if you buy a Mac Pro you’re going to be paying for a lot of stuff you don’t need. Of course, i don’t know what kind of software you intend to run, but if you need a desktop for only average use go the all-in-one iMacs (which, I might add, are actually quite inexpensive).