Jump to content

New computer


Charlie
This topic is 5925 days old and is no longer open for new replies.  Replies are automatically disabled after two years of inactivity.  Please create a new topic instead of posting here.  

Recommended Posts

  • Replies 30
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Sadly Macs suffer from many of the same megalomaniacal marketing strategies as Microsoft. Though they do seem to work better and Apple is the lesser of the two evils.

 

I use as generic PC hardware as I can find which has the advantage of being very cheap and super compatible. For software I've been using Linux (and some BSD) for over a decade. Very reliable, my computer stays running without a reboot for many many months. Some of my computers (I've a couple dozen as I do research and host some websites) have been running non-stop for years.

 

I generally don't let Microsoft in my house and it's not like Bill Gates needs my money. I've also a few MAC but I tend to dump macos (even OS X) and put a PPC Linux on them as soon as possible.

 

Open Source rocks! Even if you never do your own programming buying close source software is kind of like buying a car with the hood sealed to only be opened by the manufacturer.

 

>Have you considered a Mac?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Derek and I got a new Dell PC with Windows Vista last year, but we haven't been happy with it at all. So, we just went and got an iMac. We weren't really in the market for another computer so soon, but we were walking past an Apple Store recently, stopped in to check out the iPod Classics, and found ourselves drawn to the iMacs. These things are so sexy that we couldn't resist, so we made the switch over from PC to Mac, and the Dell went right onto craigslist. I love how the whole computer is located inside the monitor...no more clutter!

 

http://images.apple.com/imac/images/gallery/imackeyboard_2_20071026.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I would LOVE to have a an iMac. Unfortunately, I do online consulting work for a company whose system does not support the Mac--I have to have a pc. I asked last week if the new iMac that can run Windows was acceptable, but they said no, so I am stuck with getting another pc.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

People I know who've bought from PC Club have been happy. They generally deal with VERY generic components, and they'responsive/responsible for warranty/repair issues.

 

While I won't go so far as recommending Mac, I'll recommend you avoid Windows Vista like the plague. OEMs can still sell Windows XP although there is huge pressure to sell Vista. If you say something like "Maybe Dell would be better", XP will quickly become an option. ;-)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Rick pretty much nailed it. :p

 

There are actually two major gripes, but they're both pretty deep.

 

Incompatibility: darned few hardware vendors have released Vista drivers (including Microsoft!), making everything from fingerprint readers to keyboards to scanners and printers inoperable. And darned few software vendors have been able to rewrite to support Vista's security model yet (including Microsoft!).

 

Security: they've made your computer so secure you can't use it. Even with software written to work within Vista's restrictions users will end up turning off the security intended to protect them because it is so intrusive. Users of Microsoft's own developer tools (released about the same time as Vista) can't use the products without turning off UAC.

 

And all that for NO MAJOR BENEFIT over XP. There is NO NEW FUNCTIONALITY that users really need. All the "good stuff" was stripped out because they couldn't finish it in time to meet their ship date.

 

You can give this one a pass unless you're buying a new machine that's maxed out on RAM and you're also buying all new peripherals.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'll be very honest. I don't understand the all of the "knocks" that Vista is getting.

 

I am running Vista on my main system in my family room, my secondary system in my office and on my Gateway laptop. All of them run without issue. Microsoft Office 2007 (and 2003) work flawlessly on Vista Ultimate (I have to have Remote Desktop), the VPN from work operates better than it did on XP and Windows Home Server has more features on a Vista client PC. Adobe Photoshop Elements 5, Adobe Premier Elements 3, iTunes and SlingPlayer operate better on Vista than XP also.

 

The comment about all Microsoft software not being very good isn't necessarily true anymore. I used to subscribe to that theory and have been using Linux for over 15 years. However, I was recently contacted to be a beta test participant for Windows Home Server - a new operating system designed to be loaded onto special "appliance" hardware (but it is actually still available to OEMs and people with home grown servers can purchase this through several major online vendors).

 

WHS is designed to run on relatively low powered hardware (1 GHz P3 with 512MB of memory) without a monitor or keyboard. The only thing it requires is a wired network connection.

 

It has centralized storage (which is not organized with the standard drive letters - there is a storage pool managed by the OS), media server (music, photos, video) capabilities, remote access capabilities and has a superb automated backup mechanism.

 

Microsoft has designed some very cool technology into this product, especially the backup storage method. My WHS system happens to have 5 500GB hard drives in it - 500GB for the system drive (20GB which is drive C for the OS) and the other is part of the storage pool as well as the other 4 500GB drives. This gives me 2.2TB of storage.

 

All of my Windows PCs (XP and Vista) are connected to the WHS and backed up every night.

 

It even offers duplicated storage of files on the WHS and it will store the important data designated to be duplicated on different physical drives to handle drive failures without data loss.

 

It's such a good product (I ran test versions for 7 months) that I bought the software for $160. Money well spent. I have used the restore of a backup several times and it's a no brainer. Boot off of a CD, choose the backup to restore and in under 1 hour the PC is back to it's state when the backup was run. No need to load any OS, applications or data.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I agree about WHS, which seems to be most of what you wrote about. They got that one right. But it isn't Vista.

 

Can I assume that the machines you have running Vista were purchased for Vista? (i.e. not upgrades)

 

Can I also assume that all (ALL!) of the peripherals are relatively new?

 

If not, you are a miracle of modern science. :-)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

What Deej says about Vista is true. And technically speaking Rick is correct, Vista is icky. Some of it's ickiness is not readily apparent and according to Microsoft some of it's ickiness is not scheduled to be activated until 2010.

 

Supposedly in response to the security vulnerabilities of XP and other MS-windows products Vista incorporates Microsofts Trusted Computing Initiative. The result is really complicated development environments, and some ptentially scary restrictions on how your computer is allowed to be used. Things like Driver signing requirements limit the ability of older, obscure or even some new peripherals will work. Digital Rights Management (DRM) including their Protected Video Path are more related to agreements with major entertainment providers (ie Hollywood) than keeping your computer secure in the way you might expect.

 

Your software, peripherals and hardware upgrades may need to be Microsoft certified/approved to be fully functional on your computer.

 

Funny how Microsofties once claimed that unix (including Linux) multi user security capabilities were unneeded. Now MS-vista has the User Access Control thingy.

 

Bill Gates has a stated goal of seeing his software in every home. He is getting pretty close. Even if you trust Microsoft to always have your interest at heart it is a very risky thing to have everybody dependent on one companies propietary and very complex software.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest ryan2552

>I don't know about any of that...all I know is that Vista is,

>like, you know, icky. (Sorry to go all technical on you.)

 

I hate to get too technical as well but I have to agree with Rick's advanced description of Vista, its simply "icky." :D

 

That being confirmed have you noticed any issues leaving the Microsoft world for the IMAC? I've been considering the same move but hesitate due to the unknown.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for the feedback. I was interested in PC Club because they actually have a store here in the Coachella Valley, and they do repairs there rather than my having to ship the hardware somewhere. They also have machines with XP, whereas most of the big box stores only carry machines already loaded with Vista, which I do not need. My other problem, however, is choosing a monitor. They sell a 20" Sylvania LCD, but I don't know anything about monitors, and I haven't found anything about them on the net.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Charlie,

I have the same IMac pictured above in this thread. I converted from PC because I was told by tech friends that this new breed of Mac "with Intel inside" would run Windows as well if not better than a PC. It has. I am delighted with it. So you don't really have a compatibility issue any more. All you have to do is install Bootcamp and partition the hard drive and you're done--it's so easy--the instructions are simple to follow.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

>That being confirmed have you noticed any issues leaving the

>Microsoft world for the IMAC? I've been considering the same

>move but hesitate due to the unknown.

 

There is nothing inherently wrong with a Mac. For e-mail and web surfing, you'll be perfectly happy with a Mac.

 

For most everyday needs, you'll find software available to do your work. Heck, Microsoft Office for the Mac is light years ahead of Office for Windows!

 

If you have *any* niche needs, you may have problems or you may end up paying more for a solution because it's a smaller customer base. And you may have headaches from time to time.

 

I use a music engraving package that happens to have a Mac version as well, but every time Apple releases a minor upgrade to MacOS there are howls from users because major features break.

 

For my next PC (which is a couple of years away - knock wood!), I wouldn't blink about buying a Mac -- EXCEPT -- my next PC will be a tablet. Apple does not currently make a tablet. Change that one thing and my buying options change.

 

I'm a Mac fan. Used the platform heavily for several years. But the business world is Windows-centric and it's just *easier* to be in Windows if that's where you need to operate most of the time.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

>I was interested in PC Club because they actually have a

>store here in the Coachella Valley, and they do repairs

>there rather than my having to ship the hardware somewhere.

 

They also have a store(s) here in the Conejo Valley.

 

My only personal experience with them was taking in a Compaq computer for service. The Compaq "authorized service center" (Geek Squad at Best Buy) recommended going there.

 

They properly diagnosed the problem in minutes, but didn't have the part. They called up the part from the mothership and had the machine working and back in my hands 24 hours later. Total cost to replace the CPU cooling fan was about $40. Cheap!

 

Sylvania is a big name in televisions, so I can't imagine their monitors would be problematic. On the other hand, I've heard nothing either way about them. No big thumbs up and no big thumbs down. That's usually a good sign. ;-)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

That is exactly what I was hoping I would be able to do--it's one of the reasons I have waited so long to get a replacement for my old pc. However, when I ran this by my employer last week, they responded that their tech people said it wouldn't work, no reason given (I probably wouldn't have understood it anyway). So, I'm not going to invest in a more expensive iMac plus Windows software, only to discover I can't earn the money to pay for it. Alas and alack!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest ryan2552

>>That being confirmed have you noticed any issues leaving

>the

>>Microsoft world for the IMAC? I've been considering the same

>>move but hesitate due to the unknown.

>

>There is nothing inherently wrong with a Mac. For e-mail and

>web surfing, you'll be perfectly happy with a Mac.

>

>For most everyday needs, you'll find software available to do

>your work. Heck, Microsoft Office for the Mac is light years

>ahead of Office for Windows!

>

 

Yes these are my general computer needs. I also want to become more involved in digital photography and like the way the imac software appears to work so seamlessly.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest ryan2552

In regard to monitors you might want to check http://www.cnet.com for reviews if you haven't done so already. I find their reviews to be helpful even though they accept adverts from the firms whose products they test.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I recently switched to a MAC from a PC running Windows Millenium.

 

MAC has 4 gigs of memory and a 1 terrabyte hardrive. Took some time to move files but it all worked out. Hardest was my companies Quickbooks

files to MAC Quickbooks but a consultant made it happen.

 

To run XP on a MAC you need to install Parallels Desktop and that may be the hitch for your company.

 

The good news is I can open and run XP, Safari, Firefox and Adobe Illustrator all at the same time while listening to iTunes.

Speed is amazing.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.

×
×
  • Create New...