PC or Mac?

[Sgt Rock]

For Networking people it offers far more than Windows does.

And for non Network people they have the greater chance to screw up more

Anyhow if Apple did a 17" widescreen dual core Intel laptop, I'd get one.

 

[garyi]

Give it time.

 

[garyi]

sigh.

In terms of mice, any *any* usb mouse can be plugged into it and the software will pick it up no problem scroll wheels as well.

I use an MX1000 with 11 buttons, this requires a bit more software but straight out the box left right and scroll will work no issues.

Also whilst we are here, any USB keyboard will work as well, although obviously the start menu button won't bring up the start menu (that bit where you shut the computer down )

 

[Dev]

And for non Network people they have the greater chance to screw up more

At the moment I'd say they are comparable. My PC has been screwed up for the second time by adware. I ran 4 different scanning tools and they all detected different problems (from 26 to 143). Not one picked them all.

With Linux if the user doesn't login as root, the damage by such software/viruses is limited to the user's home drive only I have been told.

 

[greg]

sigh.

In terms of mice, any *any* usb mouse can be plugged into it and the software will pick it up no problem scroll wheels as well.

Cheers Gary. I'm sure it seems silly, but this basic assumption (ie. that OSX didnt support right click or scrolling) is one most PC users I know held as fact. So what happens when you right click? (or do you have to assign a function?)

 

[garyi]

A contextual menu appears just like on a PC depending on where your mouse is at the time, on the desktop for instance there are options for a new folder, changing the desktop background etc etc.

Third party software as PC I am sure allows you to assign different tasks to buttons and what appears in the menus.

 

[unclepuncle]

PC v MAC = Valve v Solid State = CD v Vinyl etc etc

No right answer all down to personal preference. If you don't intend to play games then MAC may be best way to go.

But personally I couldn't survive without my daily fix of Counterstrike: Source - oh how I love shooting students in the head:gatling: I'm with Paul Calf when it comes to students:torkmada:

 

[garyi]

The games issue really is coming down to support by the gaming companies now.

Mind you if I wanted to play games seriously I would get a games console.

 

[unclepuncle]

Consoles are fine upto a point and for some genres of games (driving, sports simulations etc) they and the contollers they use are excellent. I've already bought and sold two X-Box 360's cause there was nothing worth playing on it (and it was way too noisy to use as a dvd player in the lounge) and will probably buy another one when something decent comes out (Burnout Revenge or the new Tomb Raider perhaps).

But they fall behind PC's in performance terms very quickly after release - the Xbox 360 and PS3 specs were put down on paper over a year ago and already the latest graphics cards for the PC are miles ahead of whats inside an Xbox 360 or PS3 in graphics and processing power - imagine how far ahead the PC will be in 2 years or so (given that the consoles will be expected to have a lifespan of about 5 years in order for Microsoft and Sony to recover their development costs through software sales).

I also afraid that playing a First Person Shooter on a console controller is completely impossible - and given that the FPS is the king of game genres (Counterstrike Source, Half-Life 2 etc and the new Unreal Tournament which is out soon ) I'll be sticking to my mouse and keyboard

But as I said if you aren't interested in playing games this is all completely irrelevant:lol:

 

[greg]

And for non Network people they have the greater chance to screw up more

Anyhow if Apple did a 17" widescreen dual core Intel laptop, I'd get one.

Well looky here! Though not 17" (but hey you look like a freak with a 17" laptop anyway)

Edited to add: the price tag of £1499 (ex VAT) is actually very competitive indeed compared to other "proper" notebooks (eg. T43, HP NC series, etc.).

 

[jtc]

Greg, we'll get you converted yet

{cue maniacal laughter...}

 

[greg]

Well I'm not one for stubborn thinking and I have genuinely tried to take an open view on the subject and do see things quite differently now. I'll definitely consider a Mac based system for home at some point.

However one of my anti-Mac colleagues pointed out - take a Mac mini - if the integrated DVD/CD drive fails he coments one couldnt replace it easily. What do you do?

Two stumbling block for a home system - 1. IBM dont do Lotus Notes for Mac, 2. my kids are constantly downloading flash-based games - can I assume these would also work on a Mac?

 

[TonyL]

1. IBM dont do Lotus Notes for Mac

A Lotus Notes release for OS X (server and client) is apparently imminent.

2. my kids are constantly downloading flash-based games - can I assume these would also work on a Mac?

Flash works fine on a Mac.

I accept the point about Macs not being easy for home users to service. In many ways it is wise to factor the Apple Care extended warranty into the purchase price, at least that ensures that you have a working unit for 3 years, which is pretty much a computer's useful lifespan. I've bought the Apple Care for my iBook though I am going to gamble without it for my Mini (my Mini is just an emergency backup box so spends most of it's life boxed up).

Tony.

 

[silverback]

I run a small Mac network in an otherwise PC school. Frankly, the Macs win. They crash less and when they do can be easily sorted, theyre intuitive to use, run all decent software very well (but not games I agree), look nicer and are no longer expensive.
The emac can be bought as a 'refurb' for around £300 now and might be an excellent way to see if you get on with Macs?

 

[garyi]

Greg if the drive fails, send it off to get fixed.

hehe.

I have just had the new iMac arrived, its amazing frankly.

As for lotus notes, I got a beta of that and without doubt if they continued on the road they were taking, it promised to be the worse POS ever to hit the mac market.

With the intel thing, I wouldn't be surprised if IBM just don't bother with lotus. Also IBM have the most complicated, ill thought out and difficult to navigate website on earth, speaks volumes to me that does.

 

[TonyL]

As for lotus notes, I got a beta of that and without doubt if they continued on the road they were taking, it promised to be the worse POS ever to hit the mac market.

Not true – Notes is an excellent business messaging / database system. Can't see much / any use for it to the home user, but in a business environment it kicks the crap out of Exchange in every way and is blissfully virus free. I far preferred working for companies that used Notes rather than Exchange as I had way more time to spend with my feet on the desk snoozing.

Tony.

 

[Dev]

I understand that Notes was the main reason that IBM bought Lotus.

 

[greg]

With the intel thing, I wouldn't be surprised if IBM just don't bother with lotus. Also IBM have the most complicated, ill thought out and difficult to navigate website on earth, speaks volumes to me that does.

Well there are over 100 million Notes seats out there so there is a big reason to sustain the platform.

I do find ibm.com hard work. I think their problem, which is also oddly their benefit is they offer such a broad range of "things", to try to serve that in a meaningful way is extremely difficult.

In their defence (not that they need defending ) a lot of their products and services are really rather good (and so they should be considering the astronomical amounts of money they invest in R&D).

One example is their new range of budget Power PC based servers. The dual CPU 64 bit versions (Linux only) actually exceed a four way Intel Xeon based HP server in performance for less than half the cost. Plus now lots of server software is being priced by the number of CPU's you half licensing costs too.

At the end of the day Notes is a much misunderstood product which brought a wide range of concepts to market ahead of their time. I would argue if someone doesnt respect it it's simply that they dont understand it. Many people consider it to be simply a messaging platform in competition with MS Exchange. Amusingly the email "app" was just something Iris threw together for a trade conference. But it stuck in peoples minds and messaging is the main reason it took off. It's actually an extremely powerful application server platform and in some areas is still peerless (replication, security model, server-side application logic, speed of development, workflow, etc). Pays our bills anyway

 

[greg]

Not true ââ'¬â€œ Notes is an excellent business messaging / database system. Can't see much / any use for it to the home user, but in a business environment it kicks the crap out of Exchange in every way and is blissfully virus free. I far preferred working for companies that used Notes rather than Exchange as I had way more time to spend with my feet on the desk snoozing.

Tony.

LoL, nice to hear from someone not brainwashed by the Exchange monstrosity. Sadly it's general tendency to uptime and recoverability means Notes admins dont have much to do these days. Good for business but bad for the admins

 

[garyi]

Be Jesus I don't know what you are all on about. All I know is the beta was disgustingly laid out, really poor display and generally pretty much like Lotus Notes (I had the pleasure of this crap at a job I worked at. The admin guys were nearly as enthusiastic as you, i.e. "well it doesn't bollooocks everything up so its great" type of thing) God I am so glad I don;t have to deal with PCs to much.