Help Me Pick Out A New Computer.

[Steven Ragatz]

Taxi: The reason that the law suit didn't go to court was because they both stole it from XEROX. Many people think that Bill Gates is the anti-Christ, but I'll bet Steve Jobs aint no saint neither.

Richard: A 17" i-Mac will do just fine for a home computer to access the Internet, edit promotional material with video, maintain a simple web site and take care of everyday business correspondence. If you have any ties with a local school, you may qualify for academic pricing on hardware and software - a big savings. Best of luck with your new machine.

Steven Ragatz

[Stephon]

[quote]Originally posted by martin ewen:
<strong>be uneffected by the fact that your very name becomes a byword for insulting behaviour.</strong><hr></blockquote>

Not insulting, just impassioned, ascerbic and occasionally really pissed off. All good qualities in someone who works with the public.

[nick nickolas]

My point of view,,,for wot it's worth...
I asked the same question a few months ago.....
I got the answers from the ( our ) people ...
I now have an ibook and it is a lot easier than a wife!
( though I havn't had one of those )
mmmm is that a contradiction in terms?????

[Mr.Taxi Trix]

Oi, Nickster. I've had a wife, and my g4 is a whirlworld easier to navigate, but the wife user interface was far more appealing.

Steve, did they really both steal it from xerox? takes a bit of the romance out of it for me. I actually based my initial choice on that story. Well that, and the fact that my ex father-in-law gave my daughter an old mac which worked better than my electric typewriter.

[Steven Ragatz]

Taxi:

Where it came from is debatable, but the similarities between the Mac interface and the systems being developed at Xerox were enough to cause the Apple-Microsoft lawsuit problems. There is some interesting history to be found at:

apple history

click on the "Graphical User Interfaces (GUI)" link in the right sub-window.

It's all details that are moot to the end user. However, it is interesting that you sited that the lawsuit was a factor in your decision to go Mac. I have found that most of the avid Mac users I know have a very strong emotional bond with their platform of choice, where as PC people tend to just accept the computer as an appliance. A generalization, but one that points to Apple's brilliant advertising campaigns over the years.

Steven Ragatz

[Danny Hustle]

[quote]Originally posted by Mr.Taxi Trix:
<strong>Oi, Steve, did they really both steal it from xerox? takes a bit of the romance out of it for me. </strong><hr></blockquote>

I had a business acquaintance when I first began installing computer networks that was with Xerox at the time.

He thinks that both Gates and Jobs are neck and neck in the race to be the current purveyor of true evil.

He told me the story and said that the engineers from Xerox were pretty pissed off at the time. They called it outright theft even though Jobs did get the okay from the top at Xerox. Unfortunately, the talking heads that gave it all away had no idea what they were giving away and didn’t consult the design team before they handed it over.

Some of the people on that team did later wind up with very nice positions with Apple.

If you look inside any major corporation you will find skeletons hanging by the thousands in every coat closet.

To the original question I still say if you are a non-computer person and want to be able to do powerful things on a computer with the shortest learning curve a Mac is the way to go.

File structure, design, and upgrade ability, are not going to be a concern on either platform for most new users because most new users will never be this involved with their home machine. If it breaks you will take it to a shop.

That being said, in my experience Macs break less often than PCs.

As far as software availability goes I think that anything you might want and need is not only available for the Mac but will run better and was built with a non computer background in mind.

I own and work on PCs as my primary source of income. I have nothing against them personally. I do think they require more tinkering and know how that the Mac.

I know for my own home use when I replace the monstrosity I am currently working on I am going to replace it with a Mac. I’m tired of tinkering when I’m off the clock.

I don’t think the Mac is necessarily “better” I just think it is a better choice for me. Plus, the new ones are sexy and run an OS based in Unix **tingle**.

Best,

Dan-

[stickman]

&gt;He thinks that both Gates and Jobs are neck and neck in the race to
&gt;be the current purveyor of true evil.

Ok, but I have more respect for Jobs. He got his start selling blue boxes in college (used for making free long distance phone calls, etc..) , and built the first apple with woz in a garage. Not to mention how many shares does microsoft currently have in Apple these days? Last time I noticed they held a controling share.

"Serial port for the mac"

You can buy a usb to standard serial port in most computer shops these days.

(Macs use unix)

So do PC's you just have to install it yourself.

Now saying that, I'm still trying to decide which platform to use for the laptop I'm about to buy. Sick of carrying my desktop around the world with me. This PC has seen 9 countrys in the last 3 years, most of them with a 17" monitor, etc.. beside it. Finally retiring it to the purpose of being a fixed webserver, so I can finally edit my webpage.

I'm definitly a PC/Sparc/SGI/etc.. person, and have used and repaired macs occationally. Both finally offer about the same specs, though Macs are a "little" (not by much) more expensive. The new mac laptop comes in a funky titanium case though! (cool factors still affect me) Keep hearing they are better for video editing, which is the prime purpose I'll be using it for. However each time I try to view a page with a performers video produced on a mac to convince myself to go mac using my PC desktop I'm unable to view it. I've installed quicktime etc.. Have premiere, ulead etc for the PC. Right now I'm leaning towards PC, mostly do to the fact I'm afraid my PC based clients won't be able to view my promos either. Open to ideas, but leave for Germany soon.

Stickman/Timothy Terror

http://www.weeble.org

http://www.angelfire.com/tv2/weeble

[ 03-24-2003: Message edited by: stickman ]</p>

[scot]

I like macs because they're pretty. I like PCs because you don't have to touch the mouse. I haven't learned the command line stuff for OSX yet, but I don' think it will compare to the PC ease of use for the power user. If you want to use a bunch of different plug in hardware things, PC will be better since there is more software and cheaper hardware for the PC. It's easier to get pirated software for the PC if you're not in an artist colony. But, mac is prettier, so I have a mac. You'll understand that my whole life is like this when you meet any of my girlfriends or see my room.