OT- Windows 8 or a MacBook?

[Ratboy]

Originally Posted by Requiem

How many people with PCs do you know that are bossing 32GB of RAM in their system. Probably none.

Nice to meet you.

[Requiem]

Originally Posted by Ratboy

Nice to meet you.

Well of course they exist. I know a bunch of people who are PC enthusiasts who are total hardware junkies. That is cool you have a system that bomb. I was just trying to address the perpetual myth that goes around which states Macs are not expandable.

[itherapies]

My go to device for work is my iPad. I'm in sales. I love that my calendar, contacts, photos, mail, notes and reminders show and update the same on all my devices. And, with Dropbox, all my documents are on all my devices. I feel like computers finally have become the useful tool I hoped the could become. I have an iMac at my office, and carry my iPad and iPhone.

[montrose]

Thanks for the feedback guys, if money weren't an object I'd probably go with the Mac but it is so I'll still need to think it over. I am more interested in he stark contrast of responses regarding Windows 8. Those that love it: why? Those that don't: why?

Originally Posted by Wes Mantooth

What do you do for work Montrose?

Radio producer, I cut audio with Adobe Audition.

[orangemonkey]

Originally Posted by Requiem

I've been a PC guy almost my whole life and have had a PC of my own since I was 3 years old. Gave Windows 8 a serious try because I always like to see what is coming out. It is worthless and most people agree. Look at all the good tech sites on the Web and you won't see any groundbreaking reviews on it. Haven't really been impressed with any Microsoft OS since XP -- and even that took till SP3 to even be completely stable.

I would go with a Mac in a heartbeat. I bought a MacAir a year ago and the only problem I had was an issue with a trackpad, but that was fixed easily under Apple Care. One free year, three extended for $100 which is worth it on a $1,000+ investment. It has nothing to do with being a sheep. The high end laptops with Windows 8 cost just as much as a MacBook/MacAir. I don't think I have ever had a better machine than what I do now. It boots up in seconds and runs absolutely smoothly. The only thing I can say is with the flash state and how many websites use it, the battery life isn't as good as I expected. I'm not sure what the new generation of Mac's run at -- but my Air gets ~ 4.5 hours, sometimes 5 depending on the settings.

Go with the Mac. Orange Mane for Mac: (54) . . . Windows 8: El Guapo (1)

This is the key for me. I fought the transition to Mac for many years when IBM, Toshiba, even Dell made good hardware. Up until last year I was rockin' the very best $3K Windows-based laptops for business built by Lenovo, Dell, HP and Samsung. They are all absolute crap compared to the MacBook Pro unfortunately. Apple's laptop industrial design and performance is far superior to any x86-based Windows machine out there today. And to your point, the best Windows laptops cost as much as the MacBook Pros. Windows laptops are dying a quick death. The Mac OSx is solid but definitely has deficiencies like Windows.

[Willynowei]

Originally Posted by montrose

Thanks for the feedback guys, if money weren't an object I'd probably go with the Mac but it is so I'll still need to think it over. I am more interested in he stark contrast of responses regarding Windows 8. Those that love it: why? Those that don't: why?



Radio producer, I cut audio with Adobe Audition.

Its half a touch based interface and half a desktop interface in the spirit of windows 7. Only way to really know what is unique about it is to use it.

People complain because they can't get used to the fact that all the programs are on a separate panel that takes up your whole screen when you open the apps. People hate it for the same reason that people hated the start bar from XP but they all got used to that.

It's generally a somewhat innovative design but mostly impractical for the desktop environment (although great for touch) because the way that you actually look for programs to open is often through the start/docs (list) menu or the spotlight/ctrl+F search feature.

The idea of dragging a montage of pictures is great for touchscreen but doesn't translate to the desktop.

That said you might really enjoy the touch laptops that windows 8 is meant to be used with,again, its all about the hardware.

Focus on the hardware and its marriage to the software... i recommend you take a look at the foldable touch laptops for w8 or the air for mac osx.

Performance and tech specs are overated, intel's mobile division pumps out insane per wattage power and modern operating systems take up a relatively minuscule percentage of a computer's RAM.

A modern core-i ULV processor and 4GBs of ram could run just about anything.

[Ratboy]

Originally Posted by montrose

Thanks for the feedback guys, if money weren't an object I'd probably go with the Mac but it is so I'll still need to think it over. I am more interested in he stark contrast of responses regarding Windows 8. Those that love it: why? Those that don't: why?



Radio producer, I cut audio with Adobe Audition.

To be fair, I didn't even give 10 minutes to Windows 8. It was not user friendly what-so-ever. Win 8 was built for touch screen, so I guess if you're going that route, it might be useful.

[baja]

I don't get the cost thing when talking about a Macbook Pro

They cost about $1,500. You use them for three years and buy a new one. You are always up to date with the evolving tech and it costs $500 a year plus you make some school kid happy when you give him your old machine that will likely run just fine for another several years.

[El Guapo]

Originally Posted by CHANGSTER

I'm really not a fan of Windows 8. It's a version built for tablets that's supposed to be user friendly but comes across as dumbed down. And it makes everything take a second longer when you have to hold your cursor at the edge of the screen to get a menu open. It's pretty good for people who aren't exactly "computer people", though.

Interesting considering I have a masters in Computer Science and prefer W8.

[Requiem]

Originally Posted by El Guapo

Interesting considering I have a masters in Computer Science and prefer W8.

What about 3.1x?

[DenverBroncosJM]

Originally Posted by El Guapo

Interesting considering I have a masters in Computer Science and prefer W8.

Windows 8 is probably the most stable release I have seen from MS so far. Like I mentioned downloading an app to get rid of the native home screen is almost a must but after that its a very stable OS.

I recently "rebuilt" my desktop. New MB, processor SSD drive and windows 8. It screams and for 400.00 I have a brand new computer. For the people complaining about viruses etc on a pc, what are you doing? I have yet to get a virus on my new machine but I also do not download my claim form because I just won the Nigerian lottery

[Requiem]

Originally Posted by DenverBroncosJM

Windows 8 is probably the most stable release I have seen from MS so far. Like I mentioned downloading an app to get rid of the native home screen is almost a must but after that its a very stable OS.

I recently "rebuilt" my desktop. New MB, processor SSD drive and windows 8. It screams and for 400.00 I have a brand new computer. For the people complaining about viruses etc on a pc, what are you doing? I have yet to get a virus on my new machine but I also do not download my claim form because I just won the Nigerian lottery

We are fappin' JM.

/fapfapfapfapfapfapfap

[OOJack]

Originally Posted by enjolras

Counterpoint: All of the developers at my company have either Macbook Air's or Macbook Pro's. Our failure rate is higher than at my previous venture where we mostly used cheap Dell's.

Our average lifespan for a Macbook Pro is about 1.5 years. Which is good for a developers machine, but not fantastic. We're forced into it as all of our developers touch iOS at some point.

Do you and your developers a favor and wipe that sh*t they call Windows and OSX and put a real OS on.

Ubuntu LTS is my preference and the biggest community backing...but I wouldn't fault you for a different flavor.

Edit:
If you are forced into objective-c dev, then dual boot those biatches.

[OOJack]

And if you didn't know this already, Google engrs use a skinned Ubuntu LTS.

It just works...all the time.

[bpc]

I bought an HP w Windows back in early 2007. It burnt out in less than 6 mos. Apparently I got the dud. As I purchased at best buy w their protection plan, they comped me the money back towards another laptop. I went with my first Mac. Took me time to get adjusted to along w downloading word/excel, etc. That was prior to my wedding in mid/late 2007. I'm proud to say that laptop is STILL going strong. Performance is great, fast, all major parts still working. I had to get an external hard drive for more storage but that's it's.

My wife and I are both supplied laptops for work... Sure enough windows laptops. They crash and burn all the time. The amount of bugs and other junk in it is incredible. Do yourself a favor and go with Apple. You'll pay more but it is a higher quality product w much more uptime vs downtime.

[OOJack]

Originally Posted by DenverBroncosJM

Windows 8 is probably the most stable release I have seen from MS so far. Like I mentioned downloading an app to get rid of the native home screen is almost a must but after that its a very stable OS.

I recently "rebuilt" my desktop. New MB, processor SSD drive and windows 8. It screams and for 400.00 I have a brand new computer. For the people complaining about viruses etc on a pc, what are you doing? I have yet to get a virus on my new machine but I also do not download my claim form because I just won the Nigerian lottery

If you're not getting viruses, you're not surfing the web hard enough

[lolcopter]

Originally Posted by lonestar

Mac in a heartbeat if for no other reason I do not have to buy virus programs to keep my unit free of crap.

Some day I might have to but not now.

If you want to run windows on the Mac you can. Not sure why you would but you can.

This is completely wrong

[ZONA]

Originally Posted by CHANGSTER

I'm really not a fan of Windows 8. It's a version built for tablets that's supposed to be user friendly but comes across as dumbed down. And it makes everything take a second longer when you have to hold your cursor at the edge of the screen to get a menu open. It's pretty good for people who aren't exactly "computer people", though.

Yes thank you, finally somebody who knows what their talking about in terms of OS. Windows 8 GUI alone is reason not to buy it. It's definitely a phone OS cloning as a computer OS. I would stick with Windows 7.

As for Mac's, I have no problem with them. But they don't do anything special a Windows PC can't do, except take alot more money out of your wallet. They're so overpriced it's ridiculous.

[ZONA]

Originally Posted by bpc

I bought an HP w Windows back in early 2007. It burnt out in less than 6 mos. Apparently I got the dud. As I purchased at best buy w their protection plan, they comped me the money back towards another laptop. I went with my first Mac. Took me time to get adjusted to along w downloading word/excel, etc. That was prior to my wedding in mid/late 2007. I'm proud to say that laptop is STILL going strong. Performance is great, fast, all major parts still working. I had to get an external hard drive for more storage but that's it's.

My wife and I are both supplied laptops for work... Sure enough windows laptops. They crash and burn all the time. The amount of bugs and other junk in it is incredible. Do yourself a favor and go with Apple. You'll pay more but it is a higher quality product w much more uptime vs downtime.

I would have to say that your work is probably buying cheap crap if it continues to fail all the time. If you're talking about the software OS having issues all the time then perhaps your IT guy is crap. I have absolutely no problems with Windows 7. I've built 5 PC's and installed Windows 7 and I've not yet got one complaint from any of the people I've built them for. Same goes for Mac. I've used them alot also and no complaints, except that you indeed pay alot more for no reason other then the name APPLE.

[Kaylore]

Originally Posted by DenverBroncosJM

For the people complaining about viruses etc on a pc, what are you doing? I have yet to get a virus on my new machine but I also do not download my claim form because I just won the Nigerian lottery

I never got this either. I have had a virus problem exactly once in the last seven years.

Basically if you have problems with viruses or, heaven forbid, you are paying for virus protection, you are obviously a computer imbecile and a Mac is what you need because they are made imbecile proof.

[baja]

Originally Posted by Kaylore

I never got this either. I have had a virus problem exactly once in the last seven years.

Basically if you have problems with viruses or, heaven forbid, you are paying for virus protection, you are obviously a computer imbecile and a Mac is what you need because they are made imbecile proof.

Now there is a hell of a reason to opt for a PC. You prefer a machine that is more complex to run because you are smart enough to deal with the unnecessary complexities. Screw the simple elegance of a Mac I an smart enough to learn all the tricks and work arounds needed to use my PC successfully and my investment in time saves me a couple of hundred dollars over three years.

With that logic driving a Ford Escort is wiser than driving a Porsche 911 because both cars will get you there and the Ford is cheaper.

[Heyneck]

Originally Posted by Requiem

Not even remotely true at all. The only people who don't realize how you can upgrade a Mac are the people who don't know anything about computers other than how to boot them up and surf the web. It takes a little "smarts" to do it, but it easily can be done. How many people with PCs do you know that are bossing 32GB of RAM in their system. Probably none.

Well... I'll tell you this, 3 months ago I got my self an Asus laptop with windows 7. It freaking rocks!!! I was thinking about getting the new Macbook Pro with retina display, but what threw me off was that it didn't have an integrated CD/DVD drive. The upgraded version went for around $3500. My upgraded PC laptop upgraded version went for $1200. It has 2.2 Core i7, 32 GB ram, 1TB Hard drive, an NVIDIA 2GB graphic card.

I am a graphic designer, so the ATI graphic card that the Macbook has would have been preferred, but for the money deferential I ain't complaining. Windows 7 runs like a charm. Since I got a Windows phone (they are great by the way, got the Nokia 900), I decided to look into the Windows 8 upgrade. My IT guy told me to hold on a few more months just to make sure it is compatible with all the programs I use. Other than that, I checked it out on a touchscreen laptop and it was cool as hell.

[Chris]

I bought a macbook pro solely because I wanted to make tunes on my machine. Outside of that I actually feel like the interface is using metaphors that are fast becoming outdated. If I could go back I would have gone with the PC. Don't let the Mac branding bs force you into spending extra cash for equal or less specs and an (imo) inferior os to the live tiles of windows 8. That said, I'd prefer windows 8 on a touchscreen.

[broncosteven]

Originally Posted by Requiem

Not even remotely true at all. The only people who don't realize how you can upgrade a Mac are the people who don't know anything about computers other than how to boot them up and surf the web. It takes a little "smarts" to do it, but it easily can be done. How many people with PCs do you know that are bossing 32GB of RAM in their system. Probably none.

I only have 8 gig of ram installed in my desktop but using a 64gig flash drive I mounted I turned on Ready Boost and dedicated 32gig to it so technically I have 40gig of RAM. It helps with read times some. It helps more on my laptop where I have 4 gig installed RAM and use 3Gig of a 4gig Flash drive. I notice it helps more on the laptop.

I like Kahn's idea of just installing Win7, you can always install an older OS and still be licensed.

[baja]

Originally Posted by Chris

I bought a macbook pro solely because I wanted to make tunes on my machine. Outside of that I actually feel like the interface is using metaphors that are fast becoming outdated. If I could go back I would have gone with the PC. Don't let the Mac branding bs force you into spending extra cash for equal or less specs and an (imo) inferior os to the live tiles of windows 8. That said, I'd prefer windows 8 on a touchscreen.

I do think Apple stock is about to serious dump in value.

There is only one Steve Jobs just like there was only one P. T. Barnum. Apple will flounder for a while. Look at the huge screw up with Apple's map app. That doesn't happen with Jobs in charge.

Jobs knew what would sell and created those products and an cult following to buy them the minute they came out. In the herd mentality world of today those long lines to buy the latest Apple product made for priceless advertising and drove sales through the roof, course you have to have a really good product to really pull that off and Jobs made sure of that too.

Now the rest of the companies have caught on and are fully committed to be the company that comes up with the next great "thing" . Jobs had this market all to himself for years but he's gone and his business plan is not unique anymore.