Why Buy A Mac ?

[goobimama]

1. I have tried Windows via virtualisation (using Parallels). I could use Internet Explorer and Solitaire without any problems. The speed is good (I got 2GB) and it feels like a native app.

Also, with Crossover 7, one can run apps virtually without installing Windows. The recent upgrade supports MS Office 2007 among others.

2. Installing Windows via Bootcamp, trust me, is actually easier than installing Windows on a PC. I haven't tried Linux yet so I can't say.

3. Via Bootcamp, it comes a regular PC. Via virtualisation, most of the apps except scientific/3D and DX9+ games.

4. On opening:
- Entertainment: Can play music, and *some* video. One needs to get Perian codecs (1MB file) to make quicktime play everything.
- Office Use: The Mac comes with iWork 30-day trial so yes, you can use all the office stuff you need.
- Synchronizing: Out of the box support for most handsets.

5. Yes. I have yet to come across a file format that is not compatible (oh wait, I think MS Access is still not compatible)

6. The Mac has three main Office suits. MS Office 2008. iWork (Numbers, Pages, Keynote) which costs $79 and which I personally prefer to MS Office. And last is NeoOffice which is the OpenOffice.org port to Mac OS X (Free).

7. Updates can be a little big. the point updates (eg 10.5.3) are sometimes over 300 MB in size. Other app updates are somewhere in 20-50MB region.

8. The Mac comes with something called X11? I think you can run Linux apps using that. Not sure though. As for open source apps dedicated for the mac, I don't think there are many. A lot of the apps are shareware.

9. Gamerz definitely. If you plan on running games via bootcamp, it defeats the purpose of getting a mac. Cause if you tend to use OS X, rebooting is not something you like to do (cause it comes rarely). If you tend to use Windows, then why get a mac?

I can't think of any other scenario for not getting a mac. The performance is amazing, and there are equally good/better apps for OS X. Maybe some people with specific equipment which doesn't have OS X drivers I guess should stick to Windows.

 

[FilledVoid]

How well will a Mac integrate in an environment when office apps used are mostly Ms Office? i dont think macros of MsOffice apps will work in the bundled Mac office suite(if there is anything like that )

Naturally I thought it would run but after checking some resources I found that the current version Office 2008 doesn't support VBA. Explanation given clearly in the source given below. Workarounds are also given.

Source: *www.microsoft.com/mac/developers/d...ad148fd4-1f3c-4690-8198-9a137b91f09d1033&ep=7

Edit: Thanks goobimama that explains that well .

 

[mail2and]

Show off.

Mehu

 

[MetalheadGautham]

@Gautham.. lets take a clear look.. Now a days almost all operating systems have same basic features.. how they impliment is different.. You can do almost everything in all operating system be it free or paid.. You can browse, create spreadsheet, surf .. and watch movies and other stuff.. heavy usage.. Photoshop and other MM tools are also available for most platform.. Main point comes to security.. and OS X is Unix based.. (lets keep aside the fact that OS X was hacked in two minutes).. but still each OS can do what the other does.. only the implimentation will differ..

On coming to the hardware .. it all depends on the budget and requirement of that computer.. if its your first computer and you have less money to spend then Assembled PC is the way to go..
If you are a gamer and want to play games with full eyecandy then its assembled ..

IF you have enough money and you are ready to trade a bit of "Speed" to sleek look and less clutter on your desktop then its iMac.

heck man.. Leopard runs smooth on my 4 year old P4 with 512 MB RAM and that too with buggy drivers

about the bolded parts:

1. I am a security freak. I think mac = insecure due to that hacking...

2. Hackint0sh abuser

Also .. iMac would be perfect for my dad.. he doesnot want any clutter in his room.. he hates wires.. but iMac is not for me cause I Will invest in a quad core processor for my budget, because its my requirement..

What about *www.thinkdigit.com/forum/showthread.php?t=89137 ?
Its cheaper and much much more powerful compared to an iMac...[kwad kore)

Show off.

+1

It's just like saying that " I know how to drive a car, already having a Maruti 800 in fine condition and don't have the budget for a higher end car like Chevorlet,Corolla or Benz. Can anyone tell me why should I buy a higher priced car if I'M already comfortable with what I have?"

Who says I have a maruti 800 ?
I have the speed of a mclaren
I have the acceleration of a ferrari
I have the 1337ness of a benz
I have the looks of a uber muscle car
I have the comfort of a bugatti
I have the reliability of a F1 car
I have the milage of a BMW



Finally, @Goobimama:

I am refering to the part where you say that "not having to customise" is mac osx's biggest plus point.
Well, I think you must have been quite mistaken when you said my OS was heavily customised and it takes time doing that.

It took me hardly five to ten minutes to get it customised to my liking, and even these involved only adding apps and themes, rather than system level changes.

I installed it and started using it right away. Every software I ever wanted, including an office suite which a mac lacks that functions permanently, was present. But I heard with mac, things are a lot different. Is it true that majority of mac apps are paid ? I mean, whats the point of buying a software with a hardware then buying tonnes of different software for different perposes ?

And when DO you customise ? You do so when you want to enjoy yourself, or when you just install the system. I doubt macintosh is meant to be reinstalled after every single bug. So I don't think this already "customised" title is a plus point.

To give credit to apple, the theme looks really attractive alright, but it soon becomes too boring to the point of being ugly. The same thing happens everywhere, even with Crystal SVG iconset I use. Humans are never satisfied with just one thing.

As for the part "its customised for you already", I doubt it would be able to fullfill the needs of someone as demanding as me, who has supposedly wierd tastes, like a dislike of media management software(itunes in mac and rythembox in gnome), a dislike of an interface which is so minimalistic that its unusable(safari in mac and konqueror in kde), a liking for 1<00|_ looks with lots and lots of contrasting themes, etc.

So the above statements can be put in a nutshell as follows into a QUESTION:

Do you think the mac too is sufficiently customisable, so that I can actually theme a mac and make it look anyway I want, get rid of the dock, get an extra taskbar, etc ?

Next, about Security, Stability and Reliability

Is a mac secure enough ? I know its a fork of FreeBSD, the most secure OS, but what about the usability enhancements apple made for it ? I heard most of them opened up holes ? A MacBook Air was hacked in 2 hours flat. These kind of things worry me a lot, as I am one SERIOUSLY PARANOID kind of guy.

Mac running Applications

I don't think the mac version of X11 can run all X Apps. Especially ones using linux libraries and KDE/Gnome related stuff in them. I know kaffeine runs on a mac, but its quite buggy and unstable there. Mac has this issue with all non cocoa software running very badly, and at the same time, not inspiring coders to code in its own cocoa, mainly because the potential customers are too little; the system is too expensive for most people to consider and hence there are less targetable customers. Especially when it comes to OpenSource, coding to cocoa means that there will be ZERO ability to port it to other platforms seamlessly. So I think there is a BIG question mark on the validity of the statement that a macintosh can fullfill all my needs.

Mac and Pro Apps

I hear a lot now that a mac has lots of good pro apps. But aren't these all a hell lot costly ? Don't you think its better that I run windows, which is (most unfortunately) the OS that pro app companies usually use for releasing software, on any standard system of mine and use them spending a lot less money ?

OpenGL, Audio and Video

Hows the apple implementation of the OpenGL graphics ? I know OpenGL performs wonderfully on linux, and on games like Unreal Tournament 3, but how is it on a mac ? Can you please compare it to DirectX 10.1 and tell me how well it fairs ? I am a hardcore audiophile, so can you also tell me how good audio sounds on a macintosh ? How are the speakers ? How us tge sound chip ? Whats the audio driver native to a mac called ? How well does it perform when compared to something of PRO quality, like PulseAudio or Creative Audigy ? And how is video on mac ? Whats the quality of it ?

Advantages as a custom OS

In more ways than one, a mac can be said to be a custom OS by itself too. I mean, apple made a mac to be a customised unix style OS. Ment for its hardware. And hey, I too have an OS just like that. So how does mac fare in that category ?

 

[iNFiNiTE]

Who says I have a maruti 800 ?
I have the speed of a mclaren
I have the acceleration of a ferrari
I have the 1337ness of a benz
I have the looks of a uber muscle car
I have the comfort of a bugatti
I have the reliability of a F1 car
I have the milage of a BMW

My Answer in my own previous post:

And if you are THAT satisfied with your OS then why change?

Its just me wondering that, Is the entire point of creating this thread just to prove that you are running a superior OS?
Just curious, can you post some screenshots of ur customization and benchmark kinda thingys of performance?

 

[MetalheadGautham]

My Answer in my own previous post:


Its just me wondering that, Is the entire point of creating this thread just to prove that you are running a superior OS?
Just curious, can you post some screenshots of ur customization and benchmark kinda thingys of performance?

its not the OS but the HARDWARE AS A WHOLE I am intrested in.

 

[maxy69]

well to my deepest knowledge 95% ppl buy it just to show off........or else one is hardcore fan.

 

[MetalheadGautham]

well to my deepest knowledge 95% ppl buy it just to show off........or else one is hardcore fan.

since you are new here, I won't bash you, but please learn to read the first post FULLY.

I am sick of every system comparison thread being filled with replies like this. Here, everything was going purely academical and well researched, but some people fill it with simpleton comments. I clearly stated I wanted NO BULL$HIT in this thread.

 

[praka123]

@mail2and: Our so called mac boys are zero when it comes to extra tweakings.
atleast post a tutorial for them ,HOW TO USE DARWIN PORTS .many valuable foss s/w like deluge t/c etc are available.

//me will be getting eee pc + linux -perfect killer combination
@charan :awww!piracy? emeerra baba?