'Puters

[Partial]

I really think that is quite stupid for a slew of reasons.

1. How many quality Windows laptop can you do anymore customizations than an Apple laptop?

2. As for Desktops, you can update a Mac desktop just as easily as a PC. I do agree that it sucks the big one that they don't have a mid level headless Mac. It really is ridiculous, but I can understand why they do it from a business perspective. I just don't like it.

Can you update a graphics card on a Mac now? A CPU?

Yeah, you always could. Since it wasn't an x86 architecture it was just more expensive.

Now, you can use basically any card and flash it is my understanding instead of getting the EFI mac based card.

Cannot wait until PC ditch legacy bios and get up to date with the current rockstar Mac.

I don't think that's the case bro.

In what regard?

I thought the manufacturers were the only ones who could (reliably) flash and design a graphics card to work on a mac? I still see new mac specific cards being put out and if anyone could flash a card why would that be the case?

The only difference between a PC and Mac now is having a next-gen bios instead of an old legacy bios and then quality software and hardware.

That said, any card that will function with an x86 card can be flashed to work with EFI instead of a bios.

That said, there are a lot of people who are either A) dumb or B) lazy so they still market Mac specific cards as most graphic cards won't work OOTB.

[Partial]

Just an observation because I build pc rigs all the time and not macs. Oh that's right....It's a pain to build a custom mac rig.

Fallacy. It is actually pretty damn easy to do a hackintosh nowadays. Mine runs like a champ. Benefits of linux without the pain in the ass that is linux

Benefits of slickdeals.net purchased hardware and stolen software = really cheap, nice Mac set-up that in most cases performances as well as my 5000 dollar set-up at work (8 core, 8gb ram Mac Pro with top of the line graphics (why I have no idea) and then two Dell ultra sharp 24" monitors). I purchased mine for about 600 total with two 22" monitors, decent graphics (8600 gt 256) 4gb ram, 500 gb 32mb cache drive, E5200 I believe overclocked to 3.6 ghz, Tuniq tower cooler

[Freak Out]

Where can I download the latest rev of OSX for free?

[Partial]

Where can I download the latest rev of OSX for free?

The usual places. Do some homework on iAtkos 5i it works like a champion.

[superfan]

As I type this I'm already regretting posting in this train wreck of a discussion, but what the hell.

Somebody posted earlier about no chance of cross platform incompatibilities with certain types of files. Not true. While both Mac and Windows OS natively support the file types mentioned when the appropriate software is installed, other factors certainly come into play.

Ziggy's file transfer issues she referenced multiple times are almost certainly due to an incompatibility with e-mail servers and/or clients. Different e-mail clients on different OS's manage attachment handling differently, and it is not unusual to see e-mail attachments get damaged/corrupted/stripped when sent cross platform. No need to blame and/or defend a particular OS, but to blindly expect all systems to seamlessly interact with any other system will lead to disappointment, this simply isn't reality.

There are many more cross platform incompatibilities. Off the top of my head -

.jpg - Many Mac designers create CMYK jpgs (popular for printing), but Internet Explorer and Powerpoint in Windows can't open a CMYK jpg, only RGB.

.pdf - Preview on Mac struggles with forms created in Adobe Acrobat for Windows, fonts are messed up and form data can't be completed.

.ppt, .indd - Formatting in these programs is not consistent cross platform, even using a common font such as Arial.

I could go on and on, but will spare whoever is unfortunate enough to be reading this. I'm not saying these are insurmountable issues, but they are potential headaches for someone who simply wants to power on their system and do their work without fighting avoidable problems.

Apple, Dell, HP, IBM, Microsoft, Google etc. all make good and bad products. Best advice for any individual is to find a product you like, you are comfortable with, and will fit your need.

I'm not spending mac money on an experiment. I have tried. PC to PC files work. Mac files usually work on my work computer. End of story. And end of discussion.

The quote above sums it up. For someone else a Mac might make sense. For Ziggy's situation, it makes perfect sense to stick with Windows.

Zig, I recently purchased a Dell Latitude E6500 laptop for a coworker and spent some time with the system. I was impressed with its build quality and bang for the buck. It isn't the sexiest laptop on the market, but should be a solid choice, and the models sold on the Dell outlet site are within your budget. Worth a look.

[Partial]

Suprfan, you pointed out some really random, rare cases.

While that may be so that an email client may strip out some stuff. I've never heard of this before outside of a few super old, horrible clients like Lotus Notes that no one should use, or unless the file format is considered dangerous. Simple solution is to archive it.

you don't need to use preview on a Mac. PDF is an open format and can be handled by any number of apps. Preview isn't a PDF viewer, it's an image viewer that happens to be able to interact with pdf. Surely anyone doing any serious work with PDF would have a dedicated application. If you really want to get picky, there is not a single application that I'm aware of outside of acrobat that handles the entire spec of PDF. Did you know you can in theory embed a swf in a PDF? How many viewers support this? As far as I've found from googling only Acrobat.

You're right on the jpgs, but I cannot imagine that would be an issue. I've been using Macs for years, with many, many graphical applications and desginers and have never encountered this. This is an unrealistic situation, especially given Ziggy's situation.

Source on the .ppt and .indd problems? Again, I work with a lot of designers on a day to day basis and have made my fair share of power points on my Mac using Arial (second favorite font) and have never had an issue when doing a weekly presentation on a PC for over a year straight.

Perhaps your experience has been different than mine, but none of these seem like realistic issues.

[MJZiggy]

P, you've glossed over the issue. Think about who I'm trying to interface with. A GRAPHIC DESIGNER who puts out a PRINT magazine. This is why you drive people nuts. You're just not willing to hear an opinion that doesn't match whatever you can dig up on google.

Thank you, Superfan, that was incredibly helpful.
-
I have an old, beat up Dell that I use to get work e-mail at home. Solid, though it's traveled the world far more than I have and is a little (ok a lot) beat up. But I saved it from the trash heap and it gets e-mail and runs basic office just fine.

In the end, I wound up with a Toshiba with a numeric keypad and it does exactly what I'd like it to do easily. I haven't done a lot of photo editing yet, but that is coming.

[SkinBasket]

Perhaps your experience has been different than mine, but none of these seem like realistic issues.

Realistic issues?

Have you checked the score Partial? We have two people citing specific examples of issues related to specific file types cross platform versus your hypothetical denial of these issues. No offense, but I'm leaning toward the real world experience over the "that shouldn't be a problem on a Mac" argument.

[Scott Campbell]

Here's how this conversation boils down for me. We have Ziggy, who got some decent advice and made a decision, and seems very happy with her decision. And then we have Partial, who is trying his best to make her unhappy with her decision.

P, I've learned some valuable stuff from you, but it's no longer about being right or wrong. We want a happy Ziggy.

[Zool]

humerous that he does love to bring up every time he proves someone wrong

[Partial]

Perhaps your experience has been different than mine, but none of these seem like realistic issues.

Realistic issues?

Have you checked the score Partial? We have two people citing specific examples of issues related to specific file types cross platform versus your hypothetical denial of these issues. No offense, but I'm leaning toward the real world experience over the "that shouldn't be a problem on a Mac" argument.

We don't have any examples. Name one please. We have an example of Suprfan saying you can't edit a PDF in an image viewer. Surprise. You can't do that in photoshop either! You've got to use the correct app for the job and their won't be any issues.

I've never seen those issues, and outside of the jpeg issue, I can't see where there'd be any issues. Given that Ziggy says there is one Mac guy and 1000's of PC guys, what are the odds of having an issue with the jpeg? 1 in 1000, or .1% of the time. Probably less because said guy would know better.

Real world experience? Ziggy doesn't have real world experience, instead she cites really dumb theoretical examples. I work on a Mac every day for work, and on one at home. I use these computers to collaborate with colleagues on PCs every single day. I've never seen an issue beyond the Mac-format of zipping files. Suprfan does have the real world experience, but I can't say that my extensive experience has matched his at all. One would think giant Vendors like Microsoft and Adobe would get their software to be compatible (which from my extensive experience it is).

[Freak Out]

What Apple needs to do is release an OS for public distribution that will run on the "newer" Intel and AMD platforms for the enthusiast crowd to make use of...keep building macs and macbooks but allow guys like to build the rig I want, with the components I want without having to fucking steal the OS.

They need to nut up and put this thing out there.

http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=16060

[SkinBasket]

I've never seen those issues, and outside of the jpeg issue, I can't see where there'd be any issues.

So your position is that if you haven't seen it, it doesn't exist?

[Partial]

What Apple needs to do is release an OS for public distribution that will run on the "newer" Intel and AMD platforms for the enthusiast crowd to make use of...keep building macs and macbooks but allow guys like to build the rig I want, with the components I want without having to fucking steal the OS.

They need to nut up and put this thing out there.

http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=16060

From an enthusiast perspective, I agree. From a business perspective, why would they? People are just going to steal it anyway. Nobody legitimately buys windows unless they A) buy a machine factory built or B) are a business. Licenses OS X might yield more sales of a few HP and Dell machines, but few in business, etc.

Apple makes more money on hardware. They're a smart company and have more money in their bank then any other SV company. They used to be Apple Computer Inc before changing to Apple Inc, recall. They're first and foremost a hardware company.

[Partial]

I've never seen those issues, and outside of the jpeg issue, I can't see where there'd be any issues.

So your position is that if you haven't seen it, it doesn't exist?

No, not at all. Ziggy hasn't seen this, I haven't seen this, Suprfan claims they exist but I'm not sure if he's actually seen it. Google doesn't have documnetation supporting this, and I find it hard to believe huge vendors would have such poorly written software that files are cross-compatbile.