OT: Way Cool New Apple Stuff, Mac Mini & iPod Shuffle Options

[Qarl]

Boy... everybody is sure sensitive and touchy here.

So for those of you that are pissed at me or think I'm an a-hole. I am sorry. It's really fun getting you Mac lovers all worked up!

Perhaps I should suggest to the Moderators that we ban the discussion of PCs vs. Macs, because everybody gets so pissy!!!!!

Consider this...

I believe OSX is a Linux variant. Linux, which was originally written 80386-processor base computers (ahem, PCs). Don't Macs and PCs use the same memory boards now?

So if you think about it, Macs, are really just glorifed PCs running Linux. (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/laugh.gif)

And to those that responded...

QUOTE

Wow, you really don't know anything do you?

Yes... I do know a lot about a lot of things... Some things I know more about than many of you.

I never professed to be a Mac expert...

I am supposed to love Macs because you do? (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/screwy.gif)

Okay, I'll stop posting on your thread so you guys can have so more fun.

I'm outta here!

[Gint]

Skline spewed:

QUOTE

Kind of like the IPod, when the batteries die on it, your only option is to throw it away and buy another one.

That's twice you've said that on this board Scott. It's not true. You can buy a battery yourself and replace it for under $40. Or Apple will replace your battery for $99. I bought a Gen II IPOD second hand for $125. It's still on it's original battery. I love this thing.

[Series9]

In my experience, 99% of Mac users have used PCs and are, therefore, qualified to comment in this debate.

Conversely, 95% of PC users have never used a Mac and are ,therefore, unqualified to comment, but nevertheless tend to be the loudest spewers of crap every time this topic comes up.

Let them keep their POS PCs.

Mac users unite!

[ws91420]

Mac's have their own niche. When I was working on office building phone systems some of my clients used Macs for desktop publishing on the early appletalk network. My sister who is a professor at Tulane uses Macs from way back because of the langauge fonts not available at the time on PC. Macs are great for graphic design. It's just that not enough people spend time developing software that runs on them. Look on the internet there are sites that require you download a program to use it and if you have a Mac you are screwed. I have a G3 I book but I use my HP more because that is what I grew up with.

On the antiturst suit you can play other mp3s on ipod but if you want to buy from itunes and want to put it on portable you have to use ipod. They are not making the format available to other manufacters.

[914forme]

QUOTE (Qarl @ Jan 12 2005, 12:12 PM)

I am supposed to love Macs because you do?   (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/screwy.gif)

Nope keep right on buying them Windozs and PC machines - you pay my bills.

You want to know the stinger here - I am a Windows and Cisco admin - I use a Mac for all my tasks. They work for me - you use what you want matter of fact keep right on using that PC, more $$$$$ in my pocket.

BTW, the house is 100% Apple - why because I don't have to go home and support a windows network - I can go home and do what ever I want.

Each to there own PC people love their stuff and so do Apple - I am a convert from 6 years ago - kind of like an AA meeting here.

Hi my name is Stephen
I used to be a PC Intel based user
I have been off that platform for 6 years now
Yes I still go to the PC bars but I fix the beer taps and don't drink, I just poor the mugs so the rest of you guys can get blindly drunk. (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/beerchug.gif) (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/beer.gif) (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/beer3.gif)

Onto the Car hookup Apple is working hard with manufactures to get interfaces for their products, BMW, Mini, Mercedes is a new one to me, Hopefully VW, Audi, and Porsche will follow suit. I would like that, not a big BMW fan except the M cars, don't need a stereo in them.

The FM transmitters suck even the Griffen digital versions. I went with a hard wired model that are used to install DVD players they still FM modulate - but they block all the FM form the outside so you get a nice clear signal. Alpine is your only third party vendor with the an control interface.

Allot of the third party decks have aux inputs built in or available for a nominal fee. But no actual interface controls. Thing that kills me about apple is they always sell iPods like mad - I have 2 of the minis on order right now. I allready have 3 in the house 2 are my wifes, I have the others, the Minis are for the kids. Apple is the only place that I know of that can get me to buy 1000s of $$$ right after the holidays.

Take care, Stephen - CNE, MCSE, CCNA etc.....

[CptTripps]

QUOTE (Qarl @ Jan 12 2005, 11:12 AM)

Consider this... I believe OSX is a Linux variant. Linux, which was originally written 80386-processor base computers (ahem, PCs). Don't Macs and PCs use the same memory boards now? So if you think about it, Macs, are really just glorifed PCs running Linux. (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/laugh.gif)

100% wrong...well, 95% anyway.

OS-X is based off of BSD unix, and the NeXT OS (NeXT-Step and then Open-Step) which was around almost a decade before Linux, or even the GNU projects. There is an open-source version of the Kernel, called Darwin, which some HAVE ported to x86 platforms, but not a useable OS by any streatch. The fact that they use similar RAM is like saying that my Saab, and your 914 use the same 92 octane gas, so they must have the same engine.

I have 6 companys that run nothing but OS-X Macs. We haven't had a virus, piece of SpyWare, or the need for a pop-up blocker...ever. Our uptime was close to 100% last year, and I have one of the most secure networks you'll ever see.

I could care less if anyone wants to use one, and you MAY know more than me on a lot of other topics, but not this one.

Now, back to cars guys...nothing good can come from this discussion! (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/biggrin.gif)

[airsix]

QUOTE (Qarl @ Jan 12 2005, 08:12 AM)

I believe OSX is a Linux variant. Linux, which was originally written 80386-processor base computers (ahem, PCs). Don't Macs and PCs use the same memory boards now? So if you think about it, Macs, are really just glorifed PCs running Linux. (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/laugh.gif)

Um Qarl,
Your comments about MAC's sucking because no 3rd party has provided a good medical billing application for that platform is like saying that your new Elise is a piece of shi+ because the local FLAPS doesn't carry a car cover that fits it properly. In other words, the statement doesn't hold water.

No, I don't own a MAC, but I know enough about them to know they are a very good platform.

OSX is built on BSD Unix, not Linux. One of the most stable and secure operating systems known to man. And yes, while Linux and Linux-like OS's such as Unix were written originally for various older architectures, they have been ported to DOZENS of newer architectures. They were written to be easily ported to new hardware. And when they have been ported to the new architecture they don't drag along a bunch of bagage as you might assume. They are trim and efficient. In fact, Linux is so easily ported that there was a functioning 64-bit version ported to the first Intel 64-bit chip before the first of those chips even came off the assembly line (months adhead of Microsofts beta that would run on it)!

-Ben M.

[BMartin914]

I switched to apple after being a thourougly dissatisfied PC user for years.

I have had 2 Compaq machines die and my Dell at work continues to run slower and slower all the time even with anti-virus software. The pop-up blocker also seems to degrade in its effectiveness over time.

My OSX 12" iBook has seved me well through 2 years of college and continues to work perfectly today. No viruses, no pop-ups, no more blue screen of death and random crashes. I am a thoroughly satisfied apple user.

[Rusty]

We need a yawning smiley. (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/dry.gif)

[Eric Taylor]

Arn't we all just a bunch of nerds today! YA, I was hoping their were a bunch of mac users on this board (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/biggrin.gif) .

For me, i've been using mac's since they basically came out, my family had an original macintosh LC and ever since I have been hooked. I'm currently typing this on my original powerbook G4, it's 3 years old and is still the best maching i've ever owned. The hard drive is getting way to full, so i'll have to replace it, but it should last the next 3 years of school, and at that time, i'll probably replace it. That's 7 years of faithful service doing everything and anything I ever expected out of it. Say that about your PC:). I would agree on one topic about pc's, in the business world, I would say that mac's have no place,really, most busines tasks are tedious and boring and require almost no computing power, and I feel that a mac has no place their, a pc fill's this niche much better. In almost every other application, education, home use, graphics, and everything else besides games, the mac wins in my opinion. It's a much better designed and polished product. You can see the craftmanship in the cases, and the hardware as well as the software. I had an original iBook before this powerbook, and It was basically thrown agaisnt a wall and it just turned right on, like nothing had happened. Try that with a dell laptop. It would probably crack in half. Anyway, it's just my 2 cents, apples are quality and you might have to pay a little more for it, which I find a worthwhile expense.
Eric

[SirAndy]

QUOTE (Otmar @ Jan 12 2005, 02:04 AM)

When I use a Windblows machine I get angry a lot.

well, but that's just because *you* don't understand computers ... (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/biggrin.gif)
sorry, just had to say that ...


to me, they all work just fine. dunno where all this "X is so much better than Y" stuff comes from.
worked with MACs for years, had PCs since they came out, loved my SUN workstation ...
i'm a computer power-user, i spend 12+ in front of the computer every day.
my PCs (Win 2000 AS, XP HE) don't crash, in fact i don't think i had a single crash in all of 2004.

i like the PC for the same reasons you guys hate it so much.
because it has a gazillion of options for hardware/software/drivers/tweaking/finetuning/programming that i have always missed on the MAC.
i can make anything work with a PC, and i mean anything. i can write my own device-driver in 30 minutes if i need to add some obscure hardware. i can choose between 3000 different graphics cards, 10000 different harddrives. i upgrade my systems *a lot*.
i build my own cases (which i can upgrade because the motherboards have a standard size!).

a PC is like owning a 914, i can take it apart, replace half of the components with better ones, add some stuff it didn't have before, throw other things out, then put it all back together, and voila! it's running again ...

bottomline, if it takes you 2 days, several crashes and a lot of frustration to make your PC work with a certain monitor, you don't know what you're doing!
(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/type.gif) Andy

PS: keep 'em coming, i got my flame-suit on!

[double-a]

QUOTE (SirAndy @ Jan 12 2005, 11:01 AM)

has a gazillion of options for hardware/software/drivers/tweaking/finetuning/programming

i'll give you that. those are definitely things that are better done in a windows environment..

~a

[Series9]

So I guess you can either become a 12+ hour/day professional with thousands of hours of experience in order to have a crash-free year or to spend less than two days trying to get a monitor to work with your PC...

...or you can just get a Mac.

Andy, you kind of made the Mac point for us.

[McMark]

Keep it cool guys, things are a little heated in here.

The Mac does has a shortness of specialized software. Mac's suck in those fields because if you wanna use a Mac.... you can't. VirtualPC is the same as buying a real PC so it's disqualified in my world. (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/tongue.gif)

Everything works fine, everyone can like what they want.

Bottom line - regardless of platform, we can all get onto the 914Club site and that makes all computers equal. (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/lol2.gif)

[SirAndy]

just in case that wasn't clear, i like the MAC too.
i worked with MACs for 4 years straight when i was working for a printing company.
used photoshop, quarkxpress, freehand, illustrator, streamline and more every day and i liked it very much.
of course, i had to redo the companys internal network and hook up all the MACs to the NT-Server they had (that was running the fiery color laser printer).
got all their PCs and MACs to share files, which wasn't easy in those days ...

(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/cool.gif) Andy

[SirAndy]

QUOTE (914RS @ Jan 12 2005, 11:12 AM)

Andy, you kind of made the Mac point for us.

yes, as i said, if you can't get it to work, you don't know what you're doing, in which case a MAC might be the right computer for you ... (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/wink.gif)

btw. i can throw a 100 different monitors at you right now that would not be plug&play with your MAC.
i would love to see you try to make them work!
(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/biggrin.gif) Andy

[Pnambic]

Hmmm...how about a car analogy....

Mac is to Toyota Prius as PC is to Porsche 914

Mac has Toyota's reliability, ease of use, gets from point A to point B with minimal hassle, but you can't upgrade it. No aftermarket parts and stuff.

PC is highly upgradeable, as reliable as the person running it is competent, but may spend more time on jackstands....err...crashed. (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/wink.gif)

They both work. Computers are tools. Use what gets the job done for you with the least amount of trouble. I wouldn't use a sawzall to change my oil....I think....but its still a good tool. (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/sawzall-smiley.gif) (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/beer.gif)

I don't know why Mac people would want to convert anyone. Do you think your computers are immune to viruses/worms and such? NOPE! Its just that since you're such a small target, no virus writers waste their time bothering you. But if you continue to run your machines without anti-virus, you're just asking for trouble. Keep the Mac a secret and you're more safe. As the number of Mac users grow (and especially as the number of iPod users grow) I would expect the viruses to start showing up. In fact I wouldn't be surprised to see a virus that specifically targets the iPod...

And to the comment that nothing good would come of this post, I respectfully disagree. I didn't know you could buy replacment batteries for iPods for $30. That is welcome news to me.

[Qarl]

Okay... so I was wrong about the Linux BSD Unix mixup... but I remember there being a reference to OSX being UNix or Linux or whatever.

And really, you can't take a little ribbing. I posted one comment and it started a flame war with you.

No matter what you say, I'm not gonna go to a Mac... Believe me, I've played with them for hours at a time... and I just don't click with them. But I was raised on PCs, I build PCs from scratch, I do some basic programming and I'm a devoted PC fan, as much as you are devoted Mac fans.

On another note, by the tones of some of your responses (addressed personally to ME), you guys are acting like a bunch of arrogant assholes.... seriously....

It's no longer fun to play with you guys any more.

I'm here if you need me. If not go play with your Macs and leave me alone!

[jfort]

I am a long time Mac user. Had to make a choice when the only PC operating system was DOS (and I wasn't about to try to figure that shit out) and when Excel ran only on a Mac. I programmed in Basic in college, but now I need to get things done. Here in the office, I currently have a dual processor G4 and beside it a Compaq and an iMac at home. As someone else said above, I use the PC but I enjoy using the Mac. iTunes, iChat, iCal, Address Book, iPhoto, iMovie, iDVD, iSync, MicroSoft Office and FileMaker do just about everything I need. Little applications like Grap, Retrospect and Stickies provide utility and ease of use not found on the Windows machine. The Cinema Display is gorgeous. I wish I have the 30" version. No service packs, no pop ups, no viruses, no spy ware. Let's keep it this way with the small market share. Apple will continue to set the standard for innovation and MicroSoft will play catch-up.

Check this out:

http://www.systemshootouts.org/

[airsix]

QUOTE (Qarl @ Jan 12 2005, 12:08 PM)

It's no longer fun to play with you guys any more.

Oh Qarl, you have to have thicker skin than that! No harm intended. What I get a kick out of are the people on both sides of the fence who say "I've used a ____ since the great flood, and they are best." Well, if you've never used the alternative how do you know which is better? Or my second favorite "I tried a ____ 30 years ago and they were junk." Well a lot has changed since then - on both sides of the fence. I've used everything from QNX to Windows Server 200X. Everything has it's strengths and weaknesses. That goes for OSX and XP as well. I can tell you that anyone who says either of them is no good doesn't know squat.

Ok, how about a REAL question. Boxster coupe or Elise? 'Cuz I mean, you gotta plan for the future, right? So which one? Pour your heart into the debate, guys.

-Ben M.